Chapter 3

Flashback, 2 years earlier

Scarlett stood in front of Duke's quarters, incredibly nervous. Things had been rocky between them for about a month and she never knew what mood Duke would be in when she saw him. But tonight, she had something to tell him that was going to change their lives forever. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Glad you could make it." Duke commented as he opened the door.

"Something smells good." She mused taking in the scent of something cooking, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm just finishing up…" Duke informed her and went into the kitchen. Scarlett sat on the couch and flipped on the television making herself comfortable. An envelope that was placed on the coffee table in front of her caught her attention. She picked it up, recognizing the emblem on the legal envelope as belonging to the Army's Officer Candidates School. She opened the flap and let the paper fall out. It was a congratulatory letter for Duke stating his course schedule would be starting in a month. Her mouth dropped open and the paper fell to the floor. Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion. Duke came into the room to tell her dinner was finished.

"Con, what is this?" Scarlett asked picking up the letter from the floor. Duke's eyes grew serious when he saw what she had in her hand.

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about this." Duke sighed taking a seat.

"Are you leaving?" Scarlett asked confused as to why Duke had not said anything about this before.

"I think it's finally time I take the offer to be an officer." Duke began.

"I thought you didn't want to be an officer?" Scarlett responded back feeling her heart sink.

"I'm getting older and I can't be a field sergeant forever. This will be a way up the ladder. I figure I'll get my promotion and then see what's out there. I've always wanted to lead a team overseas." Duke replied.

"So that's like your five year plan?" Scarlett questioned her heart now pounding.

"In a nutshell, I guess. I mean I wouldn't be disappointed if I stayed here on American turf." Duke thought about the possibilities.

"What about marriage? Children? Are those in your five year plan?" Scarlett asked directly.

"I don't know. I mean I guess so." Duke answered hesitantly.

"So you 'guess' you see me in your five year plan? And what about my aspirations? Did you think about what I want in the future?" Scarlett asked getting heated. She stood up and glared down at Duke.

"I-" Duke started but got cut off by Scarlett continuing her tirade.

"I'm not going to be a trophy wife. Or be stuck barefoot and pregnant. I'm not going to stand silently on the sidelines while you conquer everything you want to do." Scarlett fumed.

"This is why I didn't tell you about school. I can't tell you anything anymore without it leading to an argument. How do I even know you want to be in my five year plan? It's not like we've been seeing a whole lot of each other lately." Duke grumbled.

"It's not my fault I keep getting put on recon missions. I'm not in charge." Scarlett threw at him.

"You think I want you on all those missions with Snake Eyes?" Duke asked standing up.

"At least with me on missions you don't have to try and fit me into your schedule. With me gone you are free to do what you please, like sign up for these classes!" Scarlett stood up as well.

"You fitting into my schedule? Remind me who said 'no' to breakfast a few days ago." Duke responded heated.

"If you only knew…" Scarlett whispered softly thinking she only heard what she said.

"You were probably cleaning up after a night with Snake Eyes!" Duke challenged. Scarlett drew back her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"How dare you! You have no idea what's going on!" Scarlett shrieked making her way to the door.

"Oh I got an idea all right... did Ninja Boy unsheath his sword for you?" Duke continued to jab while following her to the door.

"If you were paying attention to anything, you'd know what was going on!" Scarlett ignored his last comment. "I think we should end this right now. We've already said and done things we don't mean."

"Fine, you know the way out." Duke snarled and disappeared into his bedroom.

Scarlett slipped out the door and made her way back to her quarters.

(End Flashback)

Scarlett felt like little needles were pricking her eyes, as tears threatened to spill over. She hadn't thought about that night in a long time, at least in not as much detail. That was not the way the night was supposed to end. She had so much to tell him, so much to share. The remarks about Snake Eyes had sent her over the edge. It was true she had dated Snake Eyes in the past, but that was a long time before Duke had even joined the team. She remembered how embarassed she felt walking back to her quarters, especially because Diva had just moved in. She knew she had to faces these demons now, rather than have them come out in a few weeks with Duke around. Things only had gotten worse from that night and those were memories she would have to face in the coming weeks as well.

Scarlett heard a soft knock on her door. She opened the door to find Diva standing there in a rather ravealing outfit.

"It's for the plan." Diva smiled at Scarlett's reaction.

"Plan?" Scarlett asked still pulling her mind completely from her memories.

"Yes, remember, the plan to embarrass Falcon? I have it all worked out." Diva smiled. She was about to reveal her plan when there was a call for everyone to gather in the large assembly room.

"I guess this is the announcement." Scarlett sighed and then looked at Diva, "If I were you I'd throw something on over that outfit."

"I was just thinking that!" Diva quipped and dashed out of Scarlett's room. Scarlett entered the main room and soon Diva did the same. The two left for the meeting together.

The meeting had only lasted about fifteen mintues, with most of the Joes feeling heavy hearted that Hawk was leaving, but ecstatic that Duke was returning. She could feel many soldier's eyes on her once Hawk revealed who was taking over. Everyone who had been a part of the team when Duke left knew of the bad break up. There was a small handful of Joes who knew every detail of the demise of her relationship with Duke, and only a few of that handful were still with the team. As the soldiers exited the meeting, a lot of them wanted to ask Scarlett how she was handling the news. Diva had shooed them all away and had protectively brought Scarlett back to their quarters.