Disclaimers: all the usual apply.
Chapter 20
Amelia POV
Standing behind the dike, waiting for the time to pass, Amelia admired the evening. The night was actually quite beautiful. There was a full moon in the cloudless sky surrounded by a thick blanket of stars. There wasn't a whisper of wind and it was the warmest it had been in weeks. She imagined herself walking hand-in-hand with a handsome man along the riverbank. She would laugh at his well-timed jokes and he would admire her wit before pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately. But that was another woman in another life. Right now she cursed the moon and the stars under her breath because of the harsh light they shone on the assembling Easy men. Even with their faces all greased up and every piece of exposed metal blackened she could still clearly make out everyone's features.
Moose had chosen a select group of Easy men for the rescue operation. They had drilled with the six boats the Canadian engineers had provided all day. By the end they could slip in and out of the water silently and everyone knew their parts off by heart.
She felt people approaching her and without looking away from the assembling men she said, "The next time I say how pretty a full moon is. Please remind me of this moment and tell me to shut it."
"Deal," she heard Derek's familiar deep voice.
Turning she found Derek, Dobie, Harry and Moose standing a foot or so away from her.
"Tell me Amelia, how do you look so infuriatingly calm?" Dobie asked her and she saw Harry grin.
"What can I say? In another life I was a famous Hollywood actress."
"Bloody famous if you ask me," Dobie responded.
She smiled at the intended compliment.
Moose glanced over her shoulder at the assembled men and then at his watch. He nodded his head to himself and said, "It's time. Amelia, you're with me and Dobie. Derek's with Harry."
"Yes sir," she said.
They turned and joined the rest of the men at the foot of the dike. The boats were already placed on the other side, at the water's edge. Each boat team assembled at the foot of the dike and when the order came they would sprint to the boats before setting off. She sensed Derek walking beside her and as she stopped by her team he gripped her shoulder and squeezed it warmly before continuing down the line with Harry.
Moose went to the front of their column while Dobie surprisingly took the spot next to her. She shot him a sideways glance and was surprised to find him wearing his signature Red Devils blood red beret.
She arched an eyebrow so high she was sure it disappeared behind the rim of her helmet. He shot her a cheeky lopsided grin and said, "I never go anywhere without it."
"Clearly."
Shaking her head at the man's insistence on wearing the red cap she felt her lips twitch into the start of a smile.
Maybe this wasn't going to be a complete disaster after all.
Moose gave the signal for the men to start moving forward and with one last look at Dobie she said, "Let the games begin."
As she sat in the back of the rubber boat the sounds of their oars breaking the water's surface made her internally flinch every time. She swore that when they'd trained during the day she hadn't heard a damn thing and now they sounded like toddlers floundering in the shallows for the first time. Her ears and eyes franticly searched the German riverbank for any signs that they were heading for an ambush, but so far she wasn't able to find any.
Her body inched forward when the bottom of their boat touched the river bed. The men at the front of the boat silently jumped out and dragged the boat to shore before the rest of the team joined them.
The men took a defensive position a few feet ahead of the boats while she followed Dobie and Moose half-way up the shore. She crouched down between Moose and Dobie and soon they were joined by Harry and Derek.
"I got the 30-cal on the left flank," Harry whispered to Moose.
He looked over in the direction of the machine gun. "Extend it out ten yards."
Harry shot up and ran to the left to carry out Moose's order.
Without looking away from the dark tree line of the forest ahead of them Moose said, "So colonel, where are they?"
The moment of truth was upon them and she held her breath as she waited to see if the British had made it this far.
Dobie confidently pointed slightly to their left and said, "Leicester."
"Square," the reply came out of the dark and she recognized Roger's voice.
"Come on in," Dobie said and suddenly Roger appeared out of the shadows like a ghost.
She finally let out the breath she'd been holding and an involuntary smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"Welcome back, sir," Roger said as he crouched down in-front of them and shook Dobie's hand enthusiastically.
"Good to be back."
"Heyliger. 506 of the 101st Airborne," Moose greeted the newcomer with a brief handshake.
"Never thought I'd be so glad to see a bloody Yank. Well, with the exception of your princess. Damn I'm always glad to see you."
She rolled her eyes. "It's good to see you to Roger. Now how 'bout we get this show in the road, huh?"
"Your show colonel," Moose added quickly. This was not the time or the place for long hello's.
"I'll be back shortly" Dobie replied before he and Roger disappeared back into the shadows of the trees.
Joe came running up behind them to tell Moose that the boats were all secure and as intently focused as she was on the forest she couldn't help but quickly glance in his direction. For a split second their eyes met and then he was off again to pass on the word that the Brits were on their way.
Dobie and Roger were probably only gone for thirty seconds or so, but on that exposed shore on the enemy side of the river it felt like hours went by.
Suddenly three shadows ran out of the forest and she suppressed the urge to level her rifle at them.
Dobie, Roger and another soldier she vaguely recognized but whose name she couldn't place fell down in-front of them and she could feel the relief coming off of them at the sight of the American paratroopers.
"Moose Heyliger," the newcomer said.
Moose extended his hand and the other man shook it. "That's me, sir."
"God bless you my man."
"We're ready. Where's the rest of you?" Moose asked.
"I'll get them," Roger said as he sprang up and ran the length of their line.
Looking to her left she was taken aback by the stream of men who appeared out of the nowhere. Moose followed her line of sight before quickly glancing her way with a raised eyebrow.
"And here we all are," the British soldier said.
"Well, let's go."
It took them three trips to get all the Red Devils back on the Allied side of the river. In total there were almost a hundred and forty men. Some were wounded, but most were just tired, hungry and grateful to be back on their side of the line after weeks of running and hiding from the Germans.
Someone from Regiment had found a few cases of beer and had them delivered to the barn Easy'd been using.
It didn't take much encouragement for the American and British soldiers to take full advantage of the warm beer and triumphant mood and before long everyone was slightly tipsy and deliriously happy. After weeks of running and holding their positions it finally felt like they had a win on their side of the score card.
Squeezed in between Roger and Nixon she was trying to listen to Harry tell a story over the noise in the room and the buzz in her head from the two beers she'd already been given.
"Princess, you want another one?" Roger's voice came from right next to her ear and glancing in his direction she saw that he'd bent down and his face was now inches away from hers.
She turned her head back to her drink and shaking to bottle she was shocked at how light and empty it felt.
"Oh, no thanks. I'm a bit of a lightweight it seems. I've had enough for now."
"You, a lightweight? In Sicily you drank us all under the table."
"That's because instead of water we drank wine all day."
"Good times," he said with a mischievous smile that reminded her of a naughty schoolboy. "Well I need another one. Walk with me?"
"Sure."
Leaving the small group, she followed Roger to the back of the barn where the beer crates were stacked haphazardly. On the way there they had to stop and chat to every second man. Either she introduced Roger to one of her Easy friends, she greeted a man from the Red Devils she hadn't seen in what felt like years, or he would introduce her to some new recruit by telling them some painfully embarrassing story about her time with them.
Finally reaching the beer she leaned back against a stack of crates that looked marginally more stable than the rest. Roger popped open his drink and casually sauntered over to her.
He tilted his head a fraction to one side and a crooked little smirk played across his lips.
"What?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow of her own.
"Nothing, just thinking how glad I am to see you again."
"You would have been glad to see anybody that wasn't German."
"True, but I'm especially glad to see you. Mostly because you're far better looking than the company I've been keeping the last few weeks,"
"No offense, but you all look pretty terrible so that wouldn't take much. But I'll take the compliment anyway."
"You should. Not a lot of woman can still look good covered in grease and mud."
"How many beers have you had?"
"This would be my third. So no, I'm not drunk."
He took a step closer to her and she put her hand on his chest. "OK, calm down Casanova. You've been away from civilization for a while and you're probably drunker than you think."
He was about to say something more when a hand grasped his shoulder from behind. "We got a problem buddy?" she heard Joe snap.
A devilish smile tugged at Roger's lips and as he took a step to the side she saw the dark look on Joe's face as he eyed the officer.
The two men held a silent staring contest and she groaned internally.
"Roger, would you excuse us for a moment. I need to speak to Joe outside real quick."
Roger slowly looked away from Joe and shrugged. "Of course princess."
Without another word she grabbed Joe's arm and practically dragged him outside into the cold night. He allowed her to lead him until they were a decent distance from prying eyes and ears.
"What's your problem?" Joe exclaimed as he jerked his arm from her grasp and came to a sudden stop.
She rounded on him and threw her hands in the air as she exclaimed, "What's my problem? God what about you? Where do get off mouthing off to one of my friends, who just so happens to be an officer?"
"Oh please, the guy was hitting on you and it was obvious from a mile away."
"So what if he was?" she could hear herself shouting, but she didn't give a damn who heard her.
"What?" he almost spat the question.
"You heard me, what if he was? This thing between us," she waved her hand into the empty space between them as if you could see the strings which held them tied together, "it keeps dragging on. We both get jealous and upset over what Joe? There is no future here. Unless I misunderstood you the other day."
She planted her hands on her hips and waited for him to respond. Her chest was rising and falling quickly and it felt like she'd run a mile at full tilt by the way her heart was pounding.
Joe's eyes searched her face and she saw him clench and unclench his fists as he searched for the words that would determine their way forward.
He took a step closer to her and she could feel the heat coming off of his body even through her OD's.
"So what then? We just pretend nothing ever happened? That I didn't fall for you the moment I met you even if I didn't realise it at the time? That our kiss never happened?" His voice was low and soft, only barely above a whisper. The voice you used when you told your best friend your deepest secret and you hoped to god they would keep it safe for you.
The tension left her chest and she dropped her eyes to the ground trying to collect her thoughts and process his confession. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she willed them away, but she felt one seer a hot path down her cheek anyway.
Looking up slowly she met his dark eyes. He reached over and brushed the tear from her face with the calloused pad of this thumb, his brow furrowed together and his usually hooded eyes open and vulnerable. She leaned her head into his touch ever to slightly and closed her eyes. He never removed his hand from her cheek.
It felt like her heart was breaking all over again, but she knew what she had to do, they both did.
Opening her eyes she reached for the hand still resting against her cheek and held it tightly with both of hers. "Of course not. This is complicated enough without me lying to you or to myself. I meant every word I ever said to you Joe. I wish I didn't, but I do."
They stood like that for a long time. Each one staring at the other as if they were saying goodbye to the love that could have been.
Taking a deep breath she scraped together enough courage to ask the one question she already knew the answer to. "What do you want Joe?"
"I want you to be happy Amelia, but seeing you with anyone else kills me. And I know it ain't fair and I'll get over it in time, but it eats at me that I can't give you want you deserve…" he trailed off and his eyes fell to the space between them. He took in a shaky breath and looking up to meet her eyes he continued, "What I want to give you but can't."
As another tear ran down her cheek she brushed it away hurriedly. "You and me, we have all the chemistry in the world but our timing is terrible, and you need both. Maybe if we'd met back in the States and I was just a normal girl things would have been different. But I'm not a normal girl, haven't been for a long time."
She untangled her one hand from the hold they still had on his and reached for his face, gently resting her palm against his rough cheek. "And you deserve a nice normal girl Joe, one that's going to make you happy and treat you right. And one day when you meet her, I promise I'll try not to hate her too much," she said with a sad little smile.
He rolled his eyes and she dropped her hand from his face as she finally let go of his hand she'd been grasping. Wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand she lightly shook her head to clear her thoughts.
His signature smirk tugged at his lips and she couldn't help but return it with a weak lopsided grin of her own.
"Gee, thanks Em. You know who ever the lucky bastard it that gets to be with you is going to have to go through me first right?"
"Between you and Derek I'm going to die alone."
"Nah, you have guys queuing around the block."
She rolled her eyes and scoffed.
The smirk faded from his lips and suddenly the air between them was quiet.
"So this is it then? This is how it ends?" he asked.
"Did it ever really start to begin with?"
"Yeah…suppose you're right."
He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. With his lips still touching her hair she heard him breathe, "I love you beautiful."
"I love you too Joe," she whispered into his chest.
She wasn't sure how long they stood like that but a loud cheer from the barn suddenly whipped her senses back to reality. They both took a step apart at the same time and he immediately reached into his jacket for his pack of smokes.
Playing with the pack in his hand, he said, "We should get back."
"You go ahead. I'm gonna turn in for the night. Sounds like it's getting a bit rowdy anyway."
"Since when does that bother you?"
"Oh…ha-ha. Glad to see you still have your sense of humour. I'm just tired. It's been a long few days."
"True. You need me to walk you back?"
"Nah, we're right around the corner. And by the way Hashey and Garcia were downing their beers I suspect they'll be joining me soon enough."
"Lightweights," he said and she rolled her eyes at his over confidence.
Movement over Joe's shoulder caught her eye and she thought she saw the retreating form of Babe disappear back inside the barn where someone had started singing horribly off-key.
Her heart sank even further and suddenly she felt utterly exhausted. She flicked her eyes back to Joe's and plastered on a reassuring smile. "Tell Roger I'll find him tomorrow morning please? And say you're sorry for being a jerk."
"Yes ma'am," he replied with a sly smirk and mock salute.
She slapped his shoulder playfully, "Oh shut-up."
His laughter ran through the night and she joined in with a deep belly laugh of her own. All the tension of the last few weeks finally finding an emotional outlet.
Catching her breath she said, "See you in the morning darling."
"Night beautiful."
As she walked to the barracks she glanced over her shoulder at the retreating form of Joe outlined by the light streaming from the building the men were celebrating in. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. And although she could feel the sadness in her bones when she thought of what could have been, she also felt settled and calm for the first time in weeks.
XXXXXXX
The next morning, she crept out of the makeshift barracks as quietly as possible and yet still she received a few moans and choice words from the hung-over men sprawled all around her.
Once outside she lit a cigarette and enjoyed the blissful quiet of the cool morning air as the events of the previous night replayed in her head. She'd thought she would feel sad and hurt after things ended with Joe. And even though those emotions were there they were overshadowed by a sense of relief that she finally knew without a doubt where she stood and what she wanted.
"Hey Amelia," the soft spoken voice of Lipton came from over her shoulder.
Turning to face him she said, "Hey there Lip, I didn't see you."
"Did you have fun last night?" Lipton asked as he handed her his canteen.
Taking a sip of the cool water she nodded her head. "Yip," she replied while closing the cap and handing it back to him. "You?"
"It was good to see everyone loosen up a bit. And those British friends of yours were good fun too."
"Oh yeah, that lot. I figured you'd all get along swimmingly."
"They had a few interesting stories to tell about you," Lipton said and his lips parted into a broad smile which immediately made the heat rise in her cheeks.
"Oh no, what did they say? I promise you it's not true."
"Not much. Just how two nights before the jump into Italy you stole a few bottles of wine from the officers' barracks and then proceeded to have a party in the tent with the men. Where one of them was left with a black eye the next day from your right hook."
She looked at the ground and bit her lip, knowing she looked guilty as hell. Lipton chuckled and she glanced up to meet his playful gaze.
"Yeah, OK. Maybe that one story is true. But in my defense they bet me that I couldn't throw a decent punch so I had to prove them wrong."
"I see, and they bet you couldn't steal the wine either?"
"Oh no, that was all me from the very start."
Lipton shook his head. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
She couldn't hide the smug little smile that spread across her lips.
"Well, I got to wake up the men. Wish me luck," Lipton said as he started to walk to the barrack entrance.
"Word of advice. Breathe through your mouth."
He shot her a concerned look and moments later she heard the moans in protest coming from inside the building.
Slowly but surely the men started to file past her one at a time, each one looking even worse than the one before. She chuckled at a groggy Luz hanging onto a scowling Frank as they made their way out into the morning sun while humming some show tune she vaguely recognized.
A familiar mop of messy red hair caught her eye and a silly smile started to form on her lips. "Hey Eddy, you look a bit fragile this morning. Have fun?"
Instead of stopping to talk to her he barely even glanced in her direction. All she heard as he pushed past her was a mumbled comment of, "Not as much fun as you."
Her brow furrowed and her stomach clenched into a tight knot, but before she could stop him to find out what that comment had been about she heard Derek call her name.
As she turned to go to Derek she missed the pained look Babe shot her way or the perplexed one George had on his face as he looked between the two of them.
"Hey Derek," she said flatly.
"Amelia, all good?" he asked her suspiciously.
"Oh, yip. All good. Just tired."
"H'mh, if you say so."
She rolled her eyes and waited for him to go on.
"C'mon, we're having breakfast with Dobie and some of the Red Devils. Roger's there and I know he wants to see you before they move out again."
"Ooohhh…fancy officers' food. So excited. Please tell me the coffee's warm?"
"Aggressively lukewarm."
"I'll take it!" she exclaimed and skipped past him into the building the officers were using as their makeshift mess.
"You're far too excited about this," Derek said from behind her.
She shot him a dazzling smile over her shoulder and as she turned back she caught a glimpse of Babe standing off to one side smoking a cigarette with a deep frown etched across his forehead.
Probably just a hangover, she told herself. But somewhere in the back of her mind even she didn't really believe that.
XXXXXXX
I was really torn about the scene with Joe and must have re-written it half-a-dozen times, but in the end I went back to my first instinct on this one. Anyway, I do hope you all had an amazing week and and even better weekend. Thank you so very much to everyone that added the story to their alerts, for the wonderful reviews and words of encouragement and input and to everyone that takes the time to read my little story.