[MillietheWarrior]

Luz walked by, and grabbed M.J. by the collar, pulling her back with a laugh. "Easy there, lieutenant. You don't want Joe to see you gettin' so close to another fella." M.J turned around and smacked him a good one on the arm, growling a bit under her breath. Webster, meanwhile, had come into the room, looking quite bewildered.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

[MillietheWarrior]

Luz shook his head. "Ah, nothin' much. Lip's just got pneumonia." He unfolded a blanket he had carried in with him, before spreading it out on top of Lipton, who gave a few, shaky coughs.

"I'm sorry," Webster voiced, looking concerned.

George laughed, smoking on a cigarette, before heading towards the other room. His voice floated back to them. "What the hell are you sorry for? He's got a couch, a nice blanket, hot food. He's snug as a bug." M.J. chuckled, leaning over the back of the couch and reading over the papers Lipton held in his hand.

[MillietheWarrior]

"I wish you wouldn't do that, M.J.," he sighed with a smile. "I can't concentrate when someone reads over my shoulder."

"For God's sake. Go sack out in the back! There's beds and clean sheets back there!"

M.J. glanced up sharply, narrowing her eyes, before she came face to face with one Captain Ronald Spiers. She hadn't ever met the man, but she knew a real solider when she saw one. She stood, and saluted.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Lieutenant M.J. Heartford, at your service," she supplied automatically. Spiers looked confused to see a woman in his CP, nearly dropping the paperwork he had in his hand as his cigarette dangled dangerously out of his mouth. "And this is Private David Webster. He's lookin' for where he belongs. Sergeant Martin old him to go to First platoon."

Spiers seemed to regain his composure, because he stared hard at Webster. "Fine, first platoon then. And Lieutenant, where do you belong?" he gave her a quizzical look, and, as M.J. stared at him, she wondered if this good lookin' fella was really the crazy lieutenant everyone had made him out to be.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Er," she blushed under his gaze. No one had looked at her like that in quite a while. "I'm right where I'm 'sposed to be. I'm Easy's new part-time intelligence officer. Didn't anyone tell y-?"

"I'm Lieutenant Jones. I was told to come here to find Easy's commanding officer."

M.J. and Spiers turned at the same time, both with identical looks of annoyance written across their faces. Jones looked a bit frightened at first, but after a few eye blinks, and one snort of laughter from M.J., he calmed down.

[20]

[MillietheWarrior]

"Lieutenant Jones, is it?" M.J. questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Realizing she was a woman, he gaped. He probably would have pointed and jumped up and down too, if he wouldn't have gotten his ass fried for it. "Never heard of you. Are you a replacement?"

"Ah, our West Pointer?"

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. started, and glanced over to see Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon walk into the room. She grinned, and saluted, simply because she knew she was supposed to. "Ah. What a happy little reunion. I'm having a very good day today, aren't I?" she hugged herself, before hopping over to Dick. "Did ya miss me?"

Dick chuckled, and nodded. "Yes. Colonel Sink kept saying how happy he was to get rid of you. Seems you caused quite the stir back at Battalion HQ. Poor man. You gave him the hardest time of his life, didn't you?"

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. nodded. "Fighting a hundred Germans would have been easier on him." Snorting, she crossed her arms over her chest. She heard Nixon laugh, and glanced over her shoulder to see him turn back to her, an annoyed looking Lieutenant Jones left in his wake.

"What'd you say to him?" she muttered. Nixon only laughed harder, and clapped her on the back, strolling past she and Dick like nothing had happened. "Oh God, he probably insulted his mother or something," M.J. growled. She turned to Dick. "Eh, I'll take him and Webster over to the...Wait, where are the other guys anyway?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Dick shrugged. "I'm almost positive they're in a house a few blocks down. It's not far. I'll have two of my best soldiers show you there. They're both waiting outside." He too, clapped her on the shoulder, smiling in a 'nice-to-have-you-back,' way, before he turned, nodding to Spiers to follow him, and strode out the room.

Spiers offered M.J. a brief smile, and the young lieutenant felt her cheeks lighting up as she quickly turned and motioned for Webster and Jones to follow her out the door. Spiers only smirked, watching her go with an appreciative eye, before following his commander into the other room.

[MillietheWarrior]

Pushing open the door, M.J. turned to be sure Webster and Jones were following her. Jones seemed interested in where they were going, while Webster looked confused. Why was this woman showing them where to go? Couldn't they get anyone else to do it? He sighed and hung his head, trudging along in his own personal slump.

M.J. spotted the 'two best soldiers' sitting across the rubble filled street, smoking cigarettes in the shelter of an old archway. She smiled and began picking her way over to them. Jones stayed by her side, giving her odd looks the entire time. "What?" she asked after a few seconds of silent, intent staring.

[25]

[MillietheWarrior]

"You're a woman."

M.J. sighed. "Yes, thank you Captain Obvious. I am a woman. Would you also like to point out that the sky is blue? Or that the grass is green? Because really, we'd all love to hear it." Jones looked taken-aback, but smiled.

"How'd you end up out here?" he questioned. M.J. shook her head.

"Long story."

[MillietheWarrior]

"Where are you from?"

"The United States."

"What state?"

"The state of 'None of Your Business.' It's pretty small. You might not know it."

"What's your first name?"

"Really nice, actually. But not many people know what it really is."

"How long have you been in Germany?"

"Longer than you've been out of school, West Pointer."

"Do you ever answer anyone's questions?"

"Yeah, I do. See, I just answered your question."

[MillietheWarrior]

Instead of getting aggravated with her game, Jones seemed amused by it, for he appeared to be unable to wipe the strange grin off his face. As they headed towards the soldiers, he simply seemed to become more and more intrigued by this strange woman. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

M.J. was getting desperate. She had seen this look before. She didn't know what to say, or do. And she could almost hear the next question before he asked it. She braced herself for the inevitable, just as she reached the two soldiers.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Do you have a fella back home?"

Sighing out loud, she grabbed the first soldier's arm, pulling him forward roughly. He dropped his half-smoked cigarette, and growled a bit when he saw what he'd done, muttering a 'damn it, M.J. That was my God-damned cigarette.' "Yep, sure do. Only, he's right here, and not at home. So don't try nothin' or he'll whip your ass. And we're in love, so I don't foresee any 'Dear John,' letters in the future. Yeah. End of discussion. End of questions. Got it, Lieutenant?"

[MillietheWarrior]

By now, Lieutenant Jones was speechless. The gesture had taken him by surprise; he hadn't expected that. In fact, he had expected a witty remark, and then another question. But not this! Furrowing his brows, he frowned, before shutting his mouth, and saying nothing more.

[30]