Disclaimer: see part 1

By S. K. Allen

"Okay, Privates. There is a dance for those of you who want to go. I suggest that you attend because you won’t get many chances at entertainment," Sergeant Armstrong stated one Saturday evening after their training. "You are dismissed. If you want to go to the dance, come and let me know. You can wear your PT’s"

After a week of hot classrooms and M16’s, it was about time for some diversion. "This day is getting better and better," Jamie said to Katie as they broke off the formation.

"I know, no Sarge Major, and now this... So, are you going?"

"Oh hell yea..." Jamie answered walking towards Sgt. Armstrong.

After they had gotten their tickets, they entered the barracks to shower and change into more comfortable clothes.

"I hope there’s some good music... although I know there won’t be any reggae or anything. God, I wish I were home," Katie rambled on as she undressed.

"Well, you never know. They may surprise you. These drill sergeants may still know what fun is." Jamie grinned, stepping into the shower and turning it on. Outside, she could hear Katie singing something in a reggae beat. Jamie smirked and continued, eager to get going.

===============================================================

Angel picked up her car keys and her Dallas Cowboys baseball cap and headed out the door. Her day off and she had to spend an evening baby-sitting soldiers at a dance. She supposed they needed the diversion, she just wished that she didn’t have to work the next morning.

She put on her baseball cap, pulling her raven hair through the hole in the back making it a ponytail. She started the car and headed for the dance. The car radio was blaring.

Hey now you’re an all-star

Get your game on

Go play

She smirked at Smash Mouth’s new song and listened to the rest, learning only the chorus. "Catchy tune," she said to herself as she rounded a corner and came to a stop at the gym.

They were still setting up so she chipped in to help. Looking over the DJ’s shoulder, she shook her head at most of the selection. She walked away as she heard marching outside.

Jamie marched the small platoon to the party, being the only platoon leader going to the dance out of the whole company. There were people in civilian clothing standing outside the gym and loud alternative music was playing.

As they all filed into the gym, she found her self smiling, starting to enjoy the atmosphere and music. She looked around she recognized Sergeant Sanders, First Sergeant Supan , and a few other drill sergeants that she had come to know from kitchen duty. She flinched as she spotted Sergeant Major. "Great! Just what I needed."

"What do you mean?" Katie said then followed her line of vision to Major. She looked over what she was wearing, baggy jeans, Dallas Cowboys jersey and a matching cap. "Oh... forget her... All you have to do is avoid her... though, I think she looks pretty harmless today."

"Man she looks good in just about anything," Jamie said under her breath, then sighed. "I managed not to get smoked today... but, then again, the day ain’t over yet." She had been subjected to daily punishment, unless the drill was off and ... that didn’t happen often. Sometimes she wished she could turn her M16 on Sergeant Major herself.

"It will be over soon, we got 3 more weeks to go... We qualify on Monday, take those last test, and 3 days of bivouac the week after that and we are home free." Katie managed to soothe her battle buddy.

"True, but I just don’t know why she likes to pick on me so much." ‘Especially since my dreams keep telling me I want you.’

"She does it because you take it personally, and you still yell back," Katie answered.

"I guess..." Jamie trailed off, hearing a song from Cheryl Crow, "Ohh, I love this song! Dance with me."

" Whoa! What ever happened to don’t ask don’t tell?" Katie said jokingly

Jamie blanched at the woman’s words and laughed weakly. "You know I didn’t mean that. I just wanna dance."

They started dancing. "What is this song?" Katie asked.

"All I wanna do is have some fun," she answered, singing. They giggled, dancing around.

"Girl, you sing good. You shoulda became a singer."

Angel sighed, listening to one song after an other that she really had no interest in. That Cheryl Crow is pretty good though, she thought as she pulled her Cowboys cap off and tucked it into her jeans pocket. Running her fingers through her hair, her blue eyes scanned the area.

She kept her watch, which was pretty much fight prevention. That was not likely to happen without alcohol and she sighed with total boredom.

Her sharp gaze had spotted Jamie dancing around on the floor, with Katie trailing her. There are no slow songs played at these parties. There should be no reason for anyone to touch anyone unless they were looking for trouble. But she saw it; someone grabbed Jamie’s arm and hands kept going places where they shouldn’t. The private did her best to keep the hands at bay but that didn’t work.

She walked stealthily behind the male, her face the picture of the devil incarnate. As he pulled Jamie close, Sergeant Major grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled his arm around. He let out a painful sound as she proceeded to push him outside. "You’re not supposed to touch. Especially since she didn’t want you to touch her." She pushed him against the wall; she could smell a bit of alcohol in his breath.

Major quirked a brow and looked at the person’s face, she didn’t recognize him. "What company are you with? I hope you aren’t in basic training because you don’t wanna know what I would do to you."

"No I ain’t in basic training. I am with Charley company engineering battalion."

"You’re not very smart are you? I ever catch you so much as looking at a female trainee again, You will have much more than a twisted arm... got that?" her voice held a menacing quality. She let him go "Get your drunk ass home."

She watched for him to go. He headed for a car. "Don’t even think about it." She said to him and he scrambled on foot to wherever he came from. When she finally turned to go back inside, she winced at Jamie’s shocked face looking back at her. As she tried to push past her, she heard, "Thank you, sarge Major." She pretended to ignore it and continue on her way. ‘I was only doing my job.’

===============================================================

After that night, basic training was more bearable. Sergeant Major began to talk a bit more, especially when she had to teach them certain things. Jamie learned a lot from her, but Major seemed to love to terrorize her.

It was finally time for their bivouac. The prospect of sleeping in a tent with an M16 to cuddle with wasn’t Jamie’s idea of fun. Once they got there, they immediately started building their small shelter. It had been the day they had qualified for weapons. Jamie qualified as a sharp shooter. She was very proud of herself, thinking it ironic because she hated her weapon. All of the guys had named theirs, and made lurid remarks about them.

Now she had to patrol the area and pick a spot to dig her trench. As she started to dig, the rain came down. "Aw Man!" Jamie said, standing in a mud puddle beneath her.

"Is your trench dug private?" she heard a silky voice beyond the thunder.

"Yes, Sergeant," Jamie said.

"Get down then.... this is war, Private," Major drawled

"But the mud..." Jamie started to protest

"But what? If it ain’t raining, we ain’t training, Private, get down in there," SSgt. Major said moving on.

Beside her, Katie was already in her trench. "Look at it this way, J, you can get a facial out of this," she said giggling as she watched her battle buddy try to keep the barrel of the M16 out of the mud.

So it rained the first day, the sun was blazing the second day, and they had mosquitoes every night. To top it all off, MOPP (Mission Oriented Protective Posture) gear the very last night they spent there, so that they’d know what it was like in a chemical hazard area. They were bulky, carbon lined fatigues, rubber gloves, and rubber boots, and the face mask. And it was all because they had gotten gassed as they slept during the night just as warned.

Angel was not having much fun either. This was her least favorite part of the cycle, and the rain and bugs didn’t make it any more enjoyable. She did have a tent all to herself, as she was the only female drill sergeant. The best part of bivouac for her though was the last night. She was CQ for that night. She was bored, so she slunk around stealthily dodging the privates on perimeter patrol. "Halt who goes there?" a private said. She hid behind the tree and stopped breathing.

She waited until he got close enough and she reached out, surprising him and covering up his mouth. "You’re dead," she whispered and took his weapon. "Get some sleep, Private." She pushed him and continued to slink around. She got a couple more then, when it was almost dawn, she put on the gas mask, got out four tear gas canisters, and walked towards first platoon encampment.

She spotted the guard standing against the tree, sleeping. Shaking her head, she let go of the pin and yelled, "GAS!" A stir started, coughs and screams filling the dawn. She ran her way towards her platoon, canister ready. Once in the middle, she dropped an other and shouted, "GAS!"

She continued the run until all four had been used. She leaned against a tree watching the commotion all around her. Behind the safety of the mask, she allowed herself a smile. That was fun

===============================================================

Jamie heard the commotion from first platoon, the screams of horror, and was prepared. She felt a slight stinging in her eyes and knew what was going on... she yelled, "Gas!" She nudged Katie to wake her up and quickly sealed herself behind her mask. She crawled out of her tent just in time to see a camouflaged figure run past into third platoon’s tent.

"Oh my god... I barely got mine on in time," Katie said crawling out after her.

"She’s fucking crazy," Jamie said staring after Major.

"Who? Major? Did you doubt that she would be capable of doing it?" Katie said with a chuckle.

"Not in the least," Jamie said with a smirk as they moved on to formation.

====================================================================

The very last week of basic training, they had just gotten back from bivouac, and the final PT test was less than 12 hours away. Jamie decided that she was going to try to make 300 points this time around. Last time, she was at her 80th percentile and she needed to go up all of 20 percent. Now that she had a little more freedom, she ran and exercised a whole lot more.

That evening, she heard an argument with a familiar voice. But it couldn’t be... Sergeant Major had been off that day because of CQ duty the day before. She stopped short and Katie nearly ran over her. "What?" Katie asked.

"You hear that?" Jamie asked listening to the voices.

"Angel, listen to me... I really miss you... Look at me!" the man said.

"Lou, you must be out of your mind coming here while you are clearly on duty. Let me make something very clear to you, Lou. I don’t want you anymore. You betrayed me, and on top of that, you attempted to use me the night before you had the guts to tell me." Jamie heard that and her jaw set.

"You ... You whore. Why are you doing this? You’re probably doing one of the cute little privates in your company..." she heard the man say. Jamie and Katie plunged into a run and got around the corner fast enough to see Sergeant Major standing over a prone uniformed sergeant with a murderous gleam in her eye.

"Oh shit! We have to stop her," Jamie said to Katie, running at Major and pulling her back before she kicked the living daylights out of him.

"Angel, you are going to pay for that..."

"Sergeant Melville, what seems to be the problem here?" First Sergeant Supan walked around the corner. Jamie and Katie let go of Major and ran off again.

It took all her resolve not to rush back and kill him. She watched him tell his ridiculous story of her attack. She had no witnesses, did she? All that the Jacksons saw was her ready to kill him.

"Major, you have anything to say?" First Sergeant asked her

"I came to get something, not to get fondled," she answered and folded her arms. "I could charge him for sexual harassment, or did you forget about those rules, Lou. As for the attack, all I know is that a man insulted me, and I lost my temper, he could charge me for assault, but... I doubt he will."

First Sergeant nodded then turned to Lou. "She’s right,," he said as he walked away.

"You’re gonna pay," Lou said, wiping the blood from his mouth as he walked away.

Angel took a deep breath and walked towards the barracks. She had forgotten what she had gone there for, but she headed for the office anyway. She shook her hand; she was starting to feel the pain now. She looked at it and saw it was starting to bruise. She reached for an ice pack from the freezer in the office and placed it on her hand.

She looked on the desk and spotted what she had come for. A packet with her orders to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. She was going home. She had already packed up most of her house, all of the furniture belonged to housing. All she had to pack away were her clothes and her television, all of which fit in the back of her Mercedes.

Angel looked up at the sound of Jacksons coming back from their run. She silently thanked silently and turned back to her orders.

Angel picked up her packet as she walked out of the office and went on to her car.

===============================================================

"You can’t get away. I’ll have you again. You may think you’re getting away from me. Huh... fat chance Angel," Lou said to himself as he walked into the darkness. He waited until she came out again and followed her home

He watched through her window as she pulled the shirt she had been wearing over her head. His mind wandered back to that night at the bar last week.

...A tall brunette walked into the bar and sat next to him. Lou turned on the charm. She was gorgeous, with her long dark hair and pale gray eyes. She was tall and lean.

===============================================================

Early the next morning, hours they were up and ready for the PT test. Major stood outside holding the cards for her group. "All right, Privates... When I call your name, you stand before me."

Allen

Christian

Eaton

Gonzales

Jackson, Jamie

Martinez

Jamie groaned at the sound of her name being called by the wicked witch of Echo Company. She walked over to the group and listened as Sergeant Major instructed them as to what was going to happen.

"All right, Privates," Major said after she finished her instructions. "I want you to do your best. You get this done and you’re going to graduate at the end of the week. I want no hold overs, got that?"

"Yes, Sergeant Major," the group echoed.

Quickly they scrambled in line. Jaime purposely going for last. The tall drill sergeant made her nervous and the more time she had to calm her nerves the better. When it was her turn, Major’s eyes looked contemptuously at her. Jamie met her eyes with a glare of her own. She would prove she could do it.

Jamie got in the beginning position for push-ups and waited for the prompting. Major kneeled beside her. "You think you can max this? There’s no way you’ll get that 300... Almost doesn’t count Jackson." As soon as she was told, Jamie started her pushups

Angel watched as Jamie angrily pushed 85 times in the two minutes. Past experience had taught her that anger helped that particular private succeed. Jamie had maxed the push-ups for men in a younger category. "Not bad, Private, but you still got two more to go.

Jamie smiled her way to the back of the line, giving a few high five’s to her line-mates on her way there. The next turn, she saw total boredom in the big drill sergeant’s eyes. She placed herself in the beginning sit up position. "There is no way, face it, you can’t be like me." she heard Major say as she belted out 79 sit-ups. Then she smirked at the blue eyes.

"Seventy-nine, Sarge..."

"You’re not done yet, go less than fifteen minutes on the run and then we’ll talk," Major said, chuckling, as she walked inside the building with the cards.

Ten minutes later, Jamie was on the cattle truck. Her stomach was doing flip-flops. Her time had decreased on the run, but it still wasn’t her best activity. They got to the track and got off the truck. She caught a glimpse of Major at her car, taking out the cards. "I’ll show you," she mumbled to herself, walking to where Major had moved to gather her group.

They were off and running the two miles. ‘It’s only two miles, so keep going,’ Jamie chanted to herself as she ran. She kept a fast enough pace, not looking back, only forward. Her lungs burned as she reached the one-mile mark. She turned around and slowed her jog a little to catch her breath. Come on you can do it you can do it, she chanted to herself as she started to speed up. She could hear the goading of the male soldiers that must have finished before her. This made her go even faster. She didn’t think she could go any faster than she already was, but when she saw the finish line and Sergeant Major standing watching on the sidelines, her legs moved faster and faster until she crossed the line.

Sergeant Major wrote fourteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds on Jamie’s card as she watched the girl fly by her. "I knew you could do it, Jackson," she mumbled to herself and continued counting the rest in her group.

Jamie felt like she would collapse. She hadn’t heard her end time, nor did she care at that moment. She walked around trying to get her heart rate down.

Later that day, Jamie received her physical fitness patch for maxing her PT test. Sergeant Major personally handed it to her. "I told you I could do it," Jamie said to her.

"I knew you would prove me wrong, Private," she answered, then walked away, leaving Jamie open mouthed.

===============================================================

The night before graduation was not a happy one for Jamie. The day before had been Sergeant Major’s last day as a drill sergeant, and apparently she wouldn’t be coming to graduation. She didn’t know why the prospect of never seeing the woman again bothered her so much. She wondered if the reason she was gone, was because of what she’d done to the other sergeant.

To top it off, her parents wouldn’t be there for family night, so she was staying on post. She sighed and walked on to the 18-man bay where the rest were watching a video. "Half baked". She looked at the screen and hoped she hadn’t looked that stupid back when she was smoking.

She sat on a bed with Katie. They had become incredibly good friends in the short time they had known each other. Katie didn’t have anyone at all coming. Her family was from the Caribbean and, except for her father; she was alone in the states. She lived with him in New York in order to get her green card. She spent her last year of high school in the states and took some college courses until she decided she didn’t want to stay with her father anymore. Her father was an asshole and didn’t care what happened to her.

So now she was just going to hang around until she went to Fort Bragg.

"Why don’t you come home with me? My parents are driving back to Baltimore.

"That would be ok, I guess."

"Sure it would..." Jamie sighed involuntarily.

" What’re you thinking about?" She asked as she looked around the room. They stood up and walked on to the bathroom.

"Nothing, just thinking..."

==============================================================

At home, Angel was laying out her dress greens. She decided to attend the graduation ceremony tomorrow, and leave promptly afterwards. She packed everything into the back of her Mercedes then started to make travel food for herself. She made some tuna sandwiches and packed some fruit, three bottled waters, and some juices. She left it all in her refrigerator so it wouldn’t spoil before she packed it in the cooler in the morning.

Before she packed everything into the trunk, she loaded up her CD changer with her favorite disks. With a sigh, she sat on the couch with a pint of Jamocha ice cream, wanting everything to be over. She was going to have ten weeks of almost living as if she were going through basic training. She wasn’t looking forward to that.

The phone rang and she picked up. "Hey mom," the tall woman said before hearing the other woman’s words.

"Hey, how did you guess? How are you, Anjulee?"

"Ready for a break. I’ll be home at noon the day after tomorrow unless I stop off somewhere to sleep," Angel said to her.

"Great, I’ll be so glad to have you back... Do you remember Marcus?" Angel set the spoon full of Jamocha back into the vat of ice-cream. Of course she did, he’d been the only man who had satisfied her sexually out of the three men she’d slept with, not to mention her first.

"Yes, I do. Why?" Angel also remembered that he was married now. A good man she should have never left alone.

"He’s back in town and he asked about you," she answered

"Yeah? What did you say?"

"I said that he should ask you when you got back." Angel smiled at that. She talked to her mother for about an hour, and finally hung up when she could no longer keep her eyes open.

She moved quietly to her bed and, with a sigh, closed her eyes and slept.

===============================================================

Jamie stood in front of the platoon, waiting for instructions. She spotted the silver Mercedes rounding the corner. She kept herself from leaping for joy when she saw the dark haired drill sergeant step out of the car in her "Class A" uniform.

She walked to stand in front of the company "All yours, Sergeant Major," First Sergeant said and she smiled.

"Company... Attention!" Major called, smirking, she had always looked forward to the graduation drop. They always got a funny look on their face when a drill sergeant told them to assume the push-up position. "Half right face!" This group was no different and she mentally smiled as she saw the look of horror on their faces. "Front leaning rest position, move!" They all dropped. There were no hesitations, no protests. They were good soldiers perfectly trained. "In cadence... one, two, three."

"One!" they all responded

"Recover, Privates." She stopped them after one set and moved to the front of her platoon and winked at them. The First Sergeant then marched them all to the field. They went through the pass and review and the ceremony, executing perfectly.

There was the pride in her soldiers as she marched next to them back to the barracks. She met parent after parent who said, "Oh I heard about you... you don’t seem too mean after all." She smiled at the comments.

Jamie pulled her mother forward. "Here, mom, I want you to meet the woman who made my life a living hell all these eight weeks."

Angel turned around at hearing the word hell. She smiled sweetly at Jamie’s family. "Hello, nice to meet you," she said, shaking their hands.

"My god... she doesn’t look so mean." her mother said.

"Looks can be deceiving," her father answered.

"Yes, they can Mr. Jackson," Angel said.

She was moving away when she heard Jamie’s brother say. "The way you wrote about her. I thought she was this ugly fat woman. That girl is fine, Jamie."

Angel headed for her car and grabbed her duffel bag, taking it back into the first sergeants office and changing quickly. She let her hair out of the French twist. She dressed in a white tank top and a pair of thoroughly ripped jeans. These were her traveling clothes. Her favorite pair of jeans accentuated the best parts of her legs and she felt good every time she wore them.

She headed out to her Mercedes. She waved at some people as she drove off. Jamie saw her as she headed to her car and her jaw dropped. The rips in the drill sergeant’s jeans caught her eye, especially the one in the upper region of the back of her left thigh. "May the lord be with me... I won’t be able to live without seeing those legs again," she muttered to her self.

Katie, who was standing next to her, asked, "What did you say?"

Jamie blushed and laughed, "Nothing, just my warped brain in overdrive again."

"Come on, girl. Lets change and get the hell on out of here." Katie led her back inside.

===============================================================

Angel drove all night. It was a 10-hour drive and it was almost over. The clock on the dashboard said 3 a.m.

She listened to Jewel’s Who will save your soul and shut off the radio. That girl was starting to grate on her nerves. Music was the only thing that kept her sane most of the time. Even though she loved it, sometimes she had to have a break. She drove in silence for the rest of the morning, watched the sun rise over Austin. She drove to San Antonio and to her mother’s two-story home. She was there by noon.

She used her key to let herself into the house. "Hello?" She walked around the first floor of the house. She knew her mother was there because her car was out front. Angel heard some footsteps come from her mother’s room. She walked up the stairs, and as she reached her mother’s door to knock it, her mother opened it.

The older woman smiled at her daughter. Her pale skin was flushed and her short dark hair a bit tousled. "I over slept."

"I see..."Angel smirked, wondering who was in that room with her. She walked with her to the top of the stairs. "I’ll just go get my stuff and bring it to my room."

"All right dear," her mother said turning back to her room.

Angel loitered outside as long as she could before she brought her first bag in. As she stepped inside the house, she saw a younger woman trotting down the stairs and blinked in surprise. ‘Jesus, she’s younger than me,’ she thought.

"I...Oh... I’m Terry..." she said extending a hand to Angel

"I’m Angel, pleased to meet you. Be right back, I need to dump this stuff in my room she answered then looked up at her mother who was now descending the staircase.

"Does this bother you?" her mother said to her.

"Would it matter if it did?" Angel answered with a grin.

"Not really," her mother said, hugging her tightly. She was only a few inches shorter than Angel but otherwise they were a mirror image of each other. "Have you met Terry, Anjulee?"

"Yes, I have..." Angel answered her.

"How about some breakfast? I’m famished," the older woman said leading them to the kitchen. Angel bit back a snicker and followed them to the kitchen.

===============================================================

After a wonderful afternoon of chatting, Angel sat on the couch with her headphones on. Terry had left a while ago, and her mother had just left for a bridge game she usually had on Wednesdays. She felt a presence and opened her eyes, pulling off her headphones.

There was a knock on the door. She moved to answer it. When she did, she ran her eyes over the neat Timberland boots topped by wide legged pressed jeans, followed a blue and white Fubu shirt, He had beautiful milk chocolate skin, and pink lips, wide round nose, and big brown eyes in a handsome face, framed by neatly-cut hair.

"Marcus," Angel said, somehow managing to keep her voice even. The sight of him always made her shiver.

"Hey, Angel... can I come in?" Marcus asked. She opened the door wider and stepped aside.

"How have you been?" she asked softly.

"All right, I guess... Thinking about you a lot," he answered

"About me?" she asked, sitting on the couch and signaling for him to take a seat as well. He sat on an overstuffed love seat.

"Yeah, I should have never broken up with you in the first place... You’ve always held my heart."

"That kinda sounds like a line... How’s your wife? Have any kids yet?"

"Ow, that cut deep," he said with a grin. "We separated..."

"Why?"

"I kept calling out your name..."

Angel couldn’t help but laugh at the comment. "You’re a fool..." she said and watched him move to sit next to her.

"It was irreconcilable differences. The papers are going to be served next month."

"Is that why you have been thinking about me?"

"I had been hoping you had waited for me."

"Sorry," she said, "but do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

He leaned back in the couch thinking. "You’re right, can we start all over again?"

Standing up, Angel walked over to her stereo and turned to an oldies station. "Perhaps... would you like something to drink?" she asked, walking over to her mother’s liquor cabinet. She looked around unsure of what she wanted.

"Sure, I’ll have a soda. I know you don’t drink, and I want to be able to enjoy every moment with you," he answered. Angel rolled her eyes and headed for the kitchen. She grabbed two cans of pop and a pair of glasses, filling them with ice. She brought them back and placed one in front of Marcus.

They sat and talked, catching up on each other’s lives. During an awkward pause, they looked deep into each other’s eyes. A song started to play in the background that made Angel look away. "You remember that song?" Marcus asked. Angel just nodded. Earth Angel remained one of her favorites. "Lets dance," Marcus said, standing and holding a hand out to her.

As they danced to the song, Angel’s mind drifted back to when it had become one of her favorites.

I’m just a fool... "Look... umm... what’s your name?"

"Marcus."

"Marcus, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to run into you," Anjulee apologized.

"What’s your name?" Marcus asked.

"Anjulee," she answered.

Back to reality, Angel pulled apart from Marcus and looked at him. "Wanna go roller skating?" she asked with a smirk

Marcus smiled and agreed.

=============================================================

Angel had fun that week of leave. She and Marcus were like they were fourteen years before, no sex and lots of kissing. Back then, she’d asked that they wait until she was ready and he did. They waited until her 17th birthday. This time she asked to wait again and he told her the wait would be worth it. Besides, he was still married, even though he was separated.

Angel and her mother spent many a day talking to each other. Angel explained all of her problems with Lou, and her concerns about Marcus. Her mother again said not to limit herself; there was plenty of time to find someone.

At last, the day came when she had to go to the base. It was only fifteen minutes away from home. She packed her duffel bag and placed it in the trunk of her car. "Well mother, I’m gone again." She reached out and hugged her.

"Be good, Anjulee," she said.

"I will," she answered.

She walked to the driver’s side of the Mercedes and suddenly there were a pair of strong arms enfolding her from behind. She turned around and kissed Marcus then pushed him away. "I’ll never leave at this rate." After one last kiss, she turned around and climbed in the car and drove off.

===============================================================

Jamie’s parents had rented a conversion van to get themselves to the graduation. It was a just after 6 p.m. when they had reached the harbor. Sean drove the rest of the way home. Jamie had stretched out on the back seat after she had taken her turn. Katie still sat in the front and opened her eyes to see the harbor.

They unloaded the van and walked into the house. All of the members of the household fell straight into bed. Jamie awoke when the phone rang. She picked up sleepily. "Hullo?" she said, her groggy voice almost a whisper.

"Hey, you’re back!" Shannon’s voice came from the other end.

"Not quite," Jamie mumbled snuggling under the covers.

"Wanna come over?" Shannon asked purring into the phone.

"Not unless you come and get us... I don’t feel alert enough to drive."

"Excuse me... Us?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah, I brought Katie with me. She doesn’t know about us yet and I want to keep it that way." Jamie answered while she stretched out on the bed. Sleep was slowly moving to the back burner.

"When are we supposed to spend time together? I miss you." Shannon asked

"She can come along Shannon, it all doesn’t have to be sex," Jamie answered, sliding out of bed.

"Did you miss me?" Shannon asked.

Jamie took a little too long to answer that question. She hadn’t really thought of Shannon unless she was sleeping. All the red head and she ever talked about was Shannon’s work and all the terrible things children went into the hospital with. Other than that, it was almost all physical. "Of course I did," she answered her.

"Sure you did. You sound more awake now. Are you guys coming?" Shannon sounded a bit disappointed.

"I guess, yeah... Let me check to see if she is awake," Jamie said walking out towards the guest room. She knocked softly on the door and heard a soft "come in". She opened the door and saw Katie combing her long hair, already dressed. "I see you’re ready to go out."

"Yeah, I just wanted to wear my civilian clothes. I missed them." Katie grinned

"A friend of mine invited us out. Want to go?" she asked.

"Sure," the younger woman answered with a shrug.

"I’m gonna get dressed and we’ll be out, okay?" she said on the phone. "I see you later then."

"I love you." Shannon said

"Bye." Jamie said and hung up the phone.

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They went out to dinner, and then to one of their favorite hot spots in D.C. Jamie drank little since she was driving. Shannon said she wasn’t working the next day so she tied one on.

Katie danced to all sorts of music, moving them from one dance floor to the next. Jamie found herself getting annoyed with the redhead’s drunkenness. As she drove home, she fumed in silence. Katie sat next to her, trying to keep Shannon from distracting Jamie as she made the hour and a half long trip back to Baltimore.

"We’re almost home, Katie. I’ll drop you off first," Jamie said, turning off at the exit to head towards home. She stopped in front of her house, letting Katie off. Remembering that she had to unlock the door for her, she turned off the car and walked her to the door and unlocking it. "I am so sorry, K... I don’t know what’s going on with her."

"Well, you don’t seem to be getting along that’s for sure. You smiled more while getting smoked by sarge Major," Katie said.

"You mean that ugly drill sergeant you were telling me about?" Shannon had gotten out of the car and pushed through the door.

"Shannon, I’m going to take you home now. Come on." Jamie pulled at her arms speaking low.

"Aw come on honey, I haven’t met your parents in all of the time we’ve been together," Shannon announced loudly wrapping her arms around Jamie and starting to nibble at her ear.

Jamie pushed her away, her eyes wide, as cast a furtive glance at Katie. Then she heard a stirring from upstairs. "Shannon please lets get out of here... Come on."

"Come on Jaaaaayyymieee. Lets meet them," she said heading up the stairs.

Jamie and Katie exchanged worried glances and both grabbed an arm and pulled her down the stairs. Her mother appeared at the head of the stairs and it was all Jamie could do not to cringe. "Come on, Shannon, let’s go." She tried pulling her out again.

"Do you love me Jamie?" Shannon asked.

"Now is definitely not the time for this. Come on," she answered her face white as a sheet, trying not to look at her family standing at the stairs.

"Do you think I’m sexy? You haven’t touched me all night, Jamie," Shannon said, her voice a little sad.

"ShanAnne... Lets go to your house and she’ll answer everything okay?" Katie tried now that Jamie looked as if she were going to die. She ushered her out of the door and walked out with her.

Jamie finally looked up at her parents, who looked angry and embarrassed. "Is it true?" Her mother asked.

Jamie did not say anything, just looked into her eyes until her eyes blurred with tears. All she could hear was her fathers growl, "Get your things and get out of my house, I don’t ever want to see you again." He turned and stormed back into the bedroom with her mother in tow.

For a long moment Jamie just stood there. Katie went back inside and placed her hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.

"Sure, my family and my career down in one fell swoop," she said bitterly.

"You know I’d never tell," Katie assured her.

"Thanks. Lets get out of here. You up for a road trip?" she asked heading up the stairs Jamie packed all that was important to her, which wasn’t much. All of her clothes and her teddy the only thing that meant anything to her. She met Katie at the door of the guest room. Her mother was standing at the door a look of utter disappointment on her features. Jamie’s expression became hard and she walked away.

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Road Trip

"Are you all right?" Katie asked as she sat next to Jamie. They were somewhere in Virginia Beach. It was crowded but they had decided to spend the rest of their week off along the beaches before Jamie dropped Katie off at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about my family. I can’t believe they could hate me like that," Jamie answered shaking her head and looking out at the ocean.

"Your parents will come around. They just have to get used to it, that’s all. They’ll get over it. They love you," Katie said placing a hand over Jamie’s bare shoulder.

Jamie had finally given in and bought a bikini when they had gotten to the first beach. Her body was now toned in places she didn’t think could be toned, and she could feel the appreciative stares on her. "So, you ready to cross the border?" Jamie asked, looking up.

"Yeah, let’s go... I feel homesick, but these beaches are depressing compared to home," Katie answered. "I’ve had my fill."

"All right, lets go." They packed up everything they had and headed for their car.

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