Hey everybody!

So first, I'm am so, so sorry this wasn't posted on Thursday! I've been in San Diego all week for a business trip. I put my story on a flash drive so I could work on it at night in my hotel room...but for some reason my work laptop wouldn't register the drive so I couldn't work on it! :( I was soooo mad (but of course not really super mad because I was in San Diego and got to go out and have fun hahaha). But yeah, I got back late last night and so I worked on this chapter all morning to get it out ASAP. Sorry for the delay!

Chapter Thirty

"Mail's here," a voice rose up above the group, all faces turning to the doorway where a private had just appeared, a bunch of mail in his hand.

The statement caught the attention of Adam, standing over in the corner with Lipton and Talbert. Talbert cut off the conversation mid-sentence as Adam drifted away from them, heading over to the private as if in a daze. Almost as if he wanted to reach the private, but also wanted to be as far away as possible. It was obvious he was expecting news, but wasn't expecting it to be good.

"He still hasn't heard anything?" Lipton asked and Talbert shook his head.

"Luz said it's been over a month since Meg's last letter."

"I sure hope nothing too awful happened to her," Lipton said with a sigh. "She was always a sweet girl."

They broke off as Luz himself approached them, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He had heard them though, and shook his head.

"Nothing," he told them, lighting the cigarette. "I helped sort the mail this morning and I double checked."

"Maybe she's just been busy. Or maybe mail where she is is backed up," Talbert offered but Lipton shook his head.

"Adam said the only reason her letters wouldn't get to him would be if something bad had happened. And even if that happened, he'd still hear news from the IIA."

"Well I don't know who I feel worse for," George said, taking a long puff, "Adam or Nixon."

"Nixon?" Talbert asked with confusion. Lipton just nodded, as if he was realizing what George meant and was agreeing. It seemed Talbert was the only one left out of the loop.

"Yeah. He and Meg have been sweet on each other since she joined us in Aldbourne. The fact that neither man's received a letter obviously means somethin' ain't right."

The conversation died as the Captain in question stormed by, obviously in a foul mood.

No questions from anybody as to why.

"I'm sick of this Goddamn weather," Lew announced as he stormed into Dick's office, slamming his helmet down on the desk and dropping into an empty seat.

"Hello Nix, Want to come in? By all means, have a seat," Dick said sarcastically, not looking up from his paperwork.

"I mean seriously, can't we get some nice warm weather? I'm too sick of the fucking cold."

Dick ignored his friend's rant as it continued, focusing his attention on his typing.

"Are you even listening to me?" Lew asked suddenly, causing Dick to look up with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I am," he said before looking back down. "Now why don't you tell me what's really going on."

"What makes you say something's going on?" Lew asked but his tone hinted even more that something was. Frustrated, he pulled out a cigarette and began struggling with a match.

"All I'm saying is that you're barging into my office, complaining about the weather, and we've only been in Germany for two days."

"I think I'm staying in the only dry house in Germany," Lew said, ignoring Dick's comment. Finally succeeding in lighting the match, he touched it to his cigarette before taking a long puff. "Since you don't drink, do you mind if I pop over to where you're staying tonight and pick up some things?"

"Nix," Dick said, finally turning his full attention on his friend. "You just got demoted to second Battalion S-3 for your drinking, are you sure you want to keep this up?"

"We got more mail today," Lew said, again ignoring Dick's statement.

"And?" Dick said, knowing exactly what his friend was referring to. Suddenly this whole interaction made complete sense to him. When Lew shook his head, Dick dropped his head down, resting it in his hands. "Alright, you can come over tonight and raid the liquor cabinet."

He knew he shouldn't be supporting his friend's alcoholism, but Dick felt this situation called for an exception. Lew and Meg had become more attached that Dick thought any couple was capable of being. And they had only done it in the past year. Now it was very likely that Meg was either dead or being held captive somewhere. Who was he to deny his friend at least some comfort in this whole situation?

"I think that's enough," Dick found himself saying hours later, reaching over to pry the whiskey bottle from Lew's hands.

"What if she's dead?" Lew asked suddenly, his fingers loosening to let the bottle go. "What if she's been killed over there and we'll never find out because the Germans won't admit it?"

Dick didn't know how to respond to his friend's drunken rant, instead choosing to just listen.

"Or worse what if she's being held and tortured?" he asked, his face showing slight fear. "Those Germans used to beat her when she'd go on those shorter undercover missions! Imagine what they would do to her if they found out she was a spy."

"I'm sure Meg's fine," Dick said, hoping to ease some of Lew's fears. "She probably just can't find a way to write without getting detected. I'm sure someday soon we'll be sitting here, eating our breakfast, and she'll come waltzing in to surprise everyone like she always does. It'll be like last Christmas all over again."

"Yeah," Lew said distractedly, gazing into the fire Dick had built.

A knock on the doorframe caused them both to look up and see Adam standing there, looking miserable as well.

"Szalinsky said you wanted to see me?" he asked and Dick nodded, motioning to Lew.

"I figure you two can make good company for each other," he replied, standing up and passing Adam on his way out.

With Dick gone, Adam walked over and took his chair, pouring himself a glass of the whiskey.

"So I take it we're sulking for the same reason?" Adam asked, raising his glass in Lew's direction before downing it. The Intelligence Officer merely nodded, sliding his own glass across the table so Adam could refill it.

"I would assume so, unless you're sulking for a reason other than your sister's disappearance."

"Marco doesn't think she's dead," Adam said softly, eyeing the amber liquid in his glass. "Marco thinks she's just in too deep to make outside contact."

"And does Marco have this on good authority?" Lew asked, his voice dripping venom when he spoke the name. Adam shrugged.

"Marco knows Meg better than anybody. They're too much alike. If he thinks she's still playing the job, then I guess we have to trust his judgment that she's playing the job."

"But obviously you don't agree, deep down," Lew said, nodding to Adam's glass. "If you did you wouldn't be as pissed off about all of this as you are."

"I just know Meg's never gone more than two weeks without writing to me. Ever. Even after..." he faltered and Lew looked up at him over his glass. "Did Meg ever tell you about Christian?" Adam asked, suddenly changing the direction of the conversation.

"Yeah, she did the last time we were together," Lew told him, realizing this was obviously a big thing since Adam seemed surprised.

"I don't think she's talked about it since it happened," Adam said, almost to himself. "With the exception of to the IIA doctors of course," he clarified before finishing his drink and continuing back to his previous topic. "Anyway, when Meg was on her sabbatical, she wrote to me almost every day. Her letters were short and sometimes didn't contain much more than her saying how much she missed Christian, but she told me she hated going long periods of time without writing to me. Meg's resourceful; she's the one who came up with our code. If she wanted to write to me, she'd find a way."

"Were they in love?" Lew asked, switching the topic back. It took Adam a moment to realize who he was talking about.

"Meg and Christian?" he asked before scoffing. "No. At least I don't think so. I was with them 90 percent of the time we were together and I never saw any romance between the two of them. Meg always told me she loved having two older brothers because we both treated her so differently. And I know Christian looked at Meg as a sister. Their feelings for each other never seemed to go any more than mine and Meg's for each other."

The two men fell silent, both of them thinking of their Meg. When Lew reached for the bottle again, Adam stopped him, his hand on the bottle neck.

"Because we seem to be having a heart to heart, I have to ask," Adam started, taking the bottle and filing his own glass before topping off Lew's. "What exactly were...are your intentions where my sister is concerned?"

Lew knew what he was asking. If Meg knew he was married, there was no way Adam didn't. And the fact that he hadn't worn his wedding ring since his short leave in Aldbourne meant nothing to anyone except himself. To the world he was still married to Katharine, whether he felt like it or not.

"I love her," he said plainly, deciding that was the best way to phrase it. "If I had my way, I'd marry her."

"But instead you intend to break her heart," Adam stated, causing a wave of guilt to pass over Lew. "I know my sister loves you too, and I know she'll kill me for saying this, but I can't help but feel that all you're doing right now is leading her on. What do you intend to do when the war's over?"

Lew's silence was Adam's answer. He didn't know.

He wished it were that easy; to just return home and give Katharine the boot. But he couldn't do that. Despite the unhappiness she filled him with, she deserved more than that. It wasn't entirely her fault that he had fallen out of love with her and into love with Meg.

"I love your sister, and I would never do anything that would cause her harm if I could help it," he decided to settle on.

"Cheers," Adam said and both men raised their glasses to each other before drinking on into the night.

"Two bucks," Spiers said, tossing the bills down on the table.

Spiers, Harry, Lipton and Lew were seated around a large table, enjoying a nice round of poker. Well, nice to three of them.

Lew's thoughts were elsewhere, wherever Meg was.

It had been almost two weeks since his drunken heart to heart with Adam and they still had no word. Adam had been called back to Base, apparently to discuss things with Marco. This pissed Lew off even more than it should. He knew they were back in England, discussing Meg, and he wanted to be there. It annoyed him that a group of people could have more right to talk about her than he could, but he knew it wasn't fair of him to think that. They were Meg's family.

"Nix?" Lipton asked, indicating it was his turn. Before making his play, Lew grabbed his bottle of Vat 69, eager to get another glass. When the drizzle that came out stopped, he frowned and set the bottle down.

"Nah I'm out," he said as he stood up to search for another bottle. Finding nothing in the one room, he headed to the bedroom, practically tearing apart the footlocker. When that too turned out to be void of whiskey, he practically groaned. "God damnit," he said as he stood up and grabbed his jacket.

When he walked back into the main room, Ron was going on about the war, spewing nonsense about who got what.

"Go ahead and deal me out of the next hand," Lew said, heading for the door and ignoring Ron as he called after him.

"What about your money?"

Stepping out into the night, Lew groaned again when he realized he had forgotten it was raining. Lighting a cigarette, he thought back to another time when it had been raining. A much happier time.

It was back in Aldbourne and, as was usually the case, it was raining. He and Meg had chosen to escape the downpour by spending a few minutes drinking tea in his office while he typed his daily reports.

"You know when I was little," Meg had finally spoken, breaking the silence. Wanting to catch his full attention, she waited until he looked up at her and repeated herself. "When I was little, my mother and I used to love rainstorms. We had them all the time, it was England of course, but I don't think there was a single one we didn't go outside and dance in."

Obviously not believing her story, he smirked.

"Every one?"

"It was our favorite thing to do. We would always put on our galoshes and hurry outside to jump in the puddles." She laughed, obviously thinking back to those days. "Father used to always be so mad when he'd come home to find us drenched, pools of water throughout the house." She trailed off and looked back out the window. "But it didn't matter. Every time it rained, we did it again."

"Sorry, I'm interrupting your typing," she said suddenly, blushing at the fact he had caught her in such an intimate memory. He waved her off, leaning back in his desk chair.

"I needed the break anyway, my fingers are getting stiff," he explained and she laughed. Leaving the window, she walked over to his desk and sat against the edge of it.

"You were barely writing for ten minutes," she said and he shrugged.

"Eh, I still needed the break."

"So what about you Lieutenant Nixon? Do you enjoy the English weather?"

"Oh God, not more questions," he moaned, teasing her for her inquisitive behavior. "I dunno, it's alright I guess. It'd be nice if it wasn't raining all the time."

"That's England for you," she sighed as she set her empty teacup down on his desk and stood up, walking back to the window. Seeing her distance herself from him, he had a sudden ache to get up and join her.

"Am I boring you?" he asked, head bent back over his typewriter. That was the much safer option.

"Not at all," she responded. "Let me know if I'm annoying you and affecting your work."

"Annoying, yes. Affecting, no," he said before looking up and winking at her. He was pleased to see her blush again. He definitely had an effect on her, although possibly not as big an affect as she had on him. Seeing her face light up like that made him feel warm inside. Seeing her like this made him realize just how beautiful she really was.

How beautiful she would always be to him.

"Morning," Lew said the next morning, walking into the mail office. Private Vest looked up as he walked in.

"Captain Nixon, good to see you sir. I think I have some mail for you," Vest said as he walked around to the counter. "Yeah, I was gonna drop it off this afternoon with all the other sack of battalion mail but since you're here..." he trailed off as he looked at the rack of mail, reaching for a letter. When he handed it over, Lew merely tossed it aside, intent on his own mission.

"Thanks," he said quickly, moving on to the point at hand. "Listen, I'm having trouble finding some whiskey."

"Whiskey?" Vest asked, wondering what the Captain was getting at.

"Yeah, a particular brand of whiskey," Lew explained, hoping the Private would understand what he meant. He couldn't just drink any German alcohol.

"Vat 69," Vest said, nodding in realization.

"Exactly."

"I gotta be honest sir, that ain't gonna be easy to find here in Germany. Pickings are kinda slim here," Vest said apologetically and now it was Lew's turn to nod in understanding.

"Yeah don't I know it."

"And even if I do find some sir, that ain't gonna be cheap."

Lew looked at the young private, realizing the kid didn't understand how much Vat 69 meant to him.

"Well that won't be a problem," he said as shouting was heard from outside.

Suddenly Private Janovec ran in, announcing that 300,000 German forces had surrendered and they were moving out in an hour.

Realizing he had things to do if that were true, Lew stormed out of the office, almost forgetting his mail.

As he walked, he glanced down, realizing the letter was from Katharine. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he ripped it open. He hadn't gotten a letter from her in months, and he sure hadn't sent her one to respond to.

Lewis,

It has recently been brought to my attention by Franny Walters that an unpleasant piece of gossip has been traveling west from England over the past few months. What may be most troubling is that it concerns you and a young British woman.

I'd like to think that maybe that were the reason we have grown distant but I know I can't put all the blame on that situation. Nor can I be mad at the girl, since I don't know the full story so, for all I know, she may be unaware that you have a family back here.

No, in all honesty, our lives have been growing distant ever since we married. With you away and me home here with little Charles, it's to be expected, and I think it would be for the best if we acted on this as adults.

The truth is that I've met someone else Lew. I've been keeping it to myself, afraid of what you would say when you found out, but with this recent scandal reaching my ears I've realized I'm not the only one who's been unfaithful. Eric is a wonderful man and I know he will shower me with more love than you could. Not that I blame you or say that to be harsh, I just know it to be true. Mother and father have offered to let me move in with them for the time being but I told them that wouldn't be necessary. Eric, Charles and I are perfectly capable of living in this house, since it has been mostly my house for the last four years. Besides, I know you are completely able to find a place for yourself when you get back to the States.

To put it plainly Lew, I want a divorce. I know it won't be possible until you're back on American soil, but Eric has proposed and I can't agree to his proposal until I am a single woman again.

Because you have been gone so long, Charles doesn't know of you as his father. I promise you will be allowed to see him, and perhaps when he's a little older he can even come stay with you every once in a while, but I think it best if he stay with me, his mother.

Also, Eric has taken such a liking to your dog that I feel it would be best if he stay at the house too. He probably wouldn't even remember who you were when you returned anyway. I've been feeding and walking it since you left, so it has become more my dog than yours. This way, you'll be able to buy yourself a new one when you come back.

"Jesus Christ the dog?" he asked to himself, rolling his eyes as he read the sentence.

"Lew?" Dick's voice sounded as he came up behind him.

"Kathy's divorcing me," he said to his friend as they wove through the throngs of men getting ready to roll out. Suddenly he had more pressing things to worry about than Meg's disappearance.

"I'm sorry," Dick said, his tone saying that, once again, he didn't know how to handle Lew's situation.

Lew couldn't bear to finish the letter and instead, folded it up and shoved it in his left breast pocket.

" And she's taking everything," he continued to explain why he was so upset. "She's taking the house. She's taking the kid. She's taking the dog," he listed as they walked. Dick chose to stay silent, just listening to his friend rant. "It's not even her dog," Lew said, coming to a stop by their jeep. "It's my dog," he said, his voice raising. Suddenly he ripped his helmet off his head, slamming it into the jeep. "She's taking my dog!"

Dick came to a stop next to Lipton, both men standing there, staring at the infuriated Captain. Neither knew what to say so they both looked away quietly. The shouts of "let's move out!" echoed throughout the crowd and everyone turned, their focus changing from Lew's outburst to loading into the trucks.

As the men started to sing, Lew sighed, dejectedly climbing into the back seat of the jeep he shared with Dick.

It was going to be a long drive.

Thanks so much for the reviews guys! Let me know what you thought about this all being in Lew's POV. Yay or nay?

coffee14 - Thanks for your review! As for all your speculations...you'll just have to see! I'm not giving anything away haha, but I like that you're thinking about all these different possibilities!

LovingBOBThePacific - Haha yeah! I really wanted people to be shocked by this revelation, so I'm glad it worked well! Don't you just want to kill Christian now? And if any of the boys were going to beat him up, Joe Toye and his brass knuckles would be the best bet right!? He'd scare the shit out of anybody haha. And in regards to your recent review of my Fictionpress story: YES, I have seen it. And if you've seen in my author's notes like, the past 3 weeks hahaha, all I've gushed about is how much I love Aaron. In fact, confession: I made a Tumblr account just so I could follow a bunch of Aaron people and get a daily dose of his amazingness lol. Thanks for all your reviews!

IceColdInAlex - No! You're not stupid! Haha that's actually EXACTLY how I wanted people to feel when they read it. I wanted it to be such a shocker plot twist that no one saw it coming, so I'm glad it totally caught you off guard. I was worried it might be obvious, so thank goodness it wasn't! Thanks for your review!

ilovemedia18 - Thanks for your review! I like your ideas, but you'll just have to wait and see if you're right! I will say that it was really exciting to write what happens next, so I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations!