"Yeah well, around the guys I don't," Jess joked back. "But you were the only other female enlisted in the company. The only female NCO in the battalion."
"I'll be in the intelligence office, you can stop by anytime you want."
Jess laughed, shaking her head. "I'm a line sergeant, a team leader. I don't go to battalion HQ unless I'm under orders. There be monsters there, abandon all hope, ye who enter here and all that shit."
They both laughed, and Linda understood. "I'll miss you too. You always kept it real with me, and never hit on me. Better than some of the other NCOs in this battalion."
"If you want to, I still can," Jess teased her. "Trust me chica, I can teach you some shit that Brutus's never even thought of."
Linda laughed, and lifted an eyebrow. "Who says I don't already know those things? Maybe you only know what I want you to know about me."
Jess leaned back, and laughed. "And that's what I will so miss about you. I don't think I'll be able to relax like that with another female enlisted, even if they do bring one in. And Lieutenant Starr, I mean… bars and all that."
"Definitely a big no there," Linda said. "Well, this bag's full… want to help me with the TV? That's the biggest thing that I've got in here that I didn't steal from someone else that was leaving."
Jess nodded in understanding. While the military allowed troops to purchase items for their barracks room, it was often deemed too much of a hassle for them to take those items with them when they left for another unit, or another base.
"I'm sure the boys will appreciate it," Jess said, going over and unplugging the TV, carrying it in her arms, the two left the barracks and to her truck, where they set the items down. "So are you going to take a bit of time off?"
"Nah, although I did put in for the weekend prior to Brutus's training camp starting," Linda said. "I'm just glad that now that I'm at HQ, and not deployable, I can actually be at his games."
"Sounds like a plan. Look, I have something really important to ask you," Jess said seriously. "If we get another deployment like what just happened, and shit does go bad… take care of Sabby for me? At least, make sure she knows that she saved me?"
Linda stopped, seeing the emotions in Jess's eyes. Reaching out, she hugged the muscular woman, patting her on the back.
"First off, you're going to live longer and be a better soldier than I ever will," she said. "You're five feet tall and bulletproof."
"Five foot six, thank you very much."
Linda hugged Jess harder. "Second, you tell her how much she means to you now. Third… yeah, I will. I promise. If something happens to you and Hollywood, I'll be there for Sabby."
They climbed into Jess's truck, and as she sat down her phone buzzed. Linda pulled it out, smiling at what she saw. Jess noticed. "Brutus?"
"Yeah, just checking on me. Says he'll see me after work." Linda typed back a simple message. "Okay."
"What did you tell him?"
"I love you. It's all I really need to say."
ArmyCommendation Medal
EPILOGUE
BRUTUS
"See them?" Sampson looked and saw the large group of soldiers, some of them pinning a banner that read "Cranked For Superstar" on the wall in front of their seats. "Yeah... those your Army people?"
"Technically they're Charlie Company and they're here to see Linda, not me," Brutus said with a smile. "Though it's pretty cool they showed up for me too."
"Is that so, Keishi?" he asked Takeshi. "Giving my girl a hard time?"
"Nah, superstar, just making sure she's got the support she needs since you're too busy playing ball," Takeshi replied with a grin, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
Linda stood up, her baby bump visible in her loose shirt. The sight of her made Brutus's heart skip a beat, just as it had since the first day they'd met.
She'd been through so much with him—the long-distance relationship while she was deployed, the worried nights when he was injured on the field, and now carrying their child. Every sacrifice had led to this moment.
"You gonna stand there staring, or you got something to say?" Linda called down, a challenging smile on her face that he'd fallen in love with during their first meeting at Fort Pickett.
