January 29, 1968

Khe Sanh

Jesselynn Thorne and Roxanne Fischer

"C'mon, why don't you want to tell me? It's not like I'm going to judge you for actually having fun for once in your life!"

"I have fun."

Roxanne snorted. "Being elbow-deep in someone's gut doesn't count as fun, Jess. It's seventy percent insane."

Jesselynn rolled her eyes and turned to change an IV. "I just don't want to talk about it right now, Roxie. There'll be plenty of time later, okay?"

Roxanne narrowed her eyes at her friend and crossed her arms tight against her chest. "We've talked about this, Jess. Don't call me Roxie!"

"Whatever you say, Roxie." She countered, hiding her wry smile.

Their conversation was interrupted briefly when someone bellowed orders for one of the nurses from across the room, making Jesselynn jump and blush. Roxanne winced and clutched her head as the sound made its way to her. Jesselynn's smile faded. That was a very common action that threatened to bring back memories. She refused letting it have control again. Marcus was no longer part of her life.

She pushed those thoughts aside, grabbed Roxanne by the bend of her elbow, and drug her to a corner of the infirmary. Before Roxanne could protest, Jesselynn questioned her. "Are you hungover?"

For a split second, shock flashed across her poreclain features but she was quick to mask it with confusion. "What? No!"

Jesselynn cocked an eyebrow and looked behind her, spotting an empty tray for surgical tools. She swiftly reached for it and dropped it against the concrete.

Roxanne groaned and clutched the sides of her head again, glaring up at Jesselynn. "What's wrong with you! Jesus…"

"You're hungover and you lied to me."

"How do you know I lied?"

Jesselynn placed the tray back in its respective position, sending an apologetic look towards one of the doctors, and turned back to her. "You hesitated."

Rubbing away her throbing headache, Roxanne let her glare fade and exchanged it for her usual, innocent expression. "No I didn't. How would you even know the difference anyway?"

She didn't feel like explaining her real reasoning, so she used a different method. "Hesitating and lying are the same thing. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about here."

Roxanne caught on and her expression softened once again, this time one of concern. "Oh...yeah."

The tension between them was too much, she had to change the topic. "Just please, please, tell me you didn't do anything while you were drunk last night." Jesselynn practically begged as she took both of Roxanne's hands in hers.

"Um…" Roxanne hesitated again, thinking of the the best way to answer such a question. "It depends on our definition of stupid."

Jesselynn dropped her hands and crossed her arms. "Roxanne...what'd you do?"

"You're not telling me about what you did so why should I?" She countered, mimicking her motion.

"Because I didn't do anything last night! Now, just, tell me!"

"Tell me what happened with you and Kaden last night and then I'll say."

Jesselynn groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She felt like she was dealing with a child all over again! "Nothing happened. We talked, he forced me to dance, and then he tried to kiss me when we got back to the base. Happy now!"

Roxanne visibly brightened at the rushed story-telling. "He kissed you! Jess, that's adorable!" Roxanne swooned and cupped her mouth with her fingers.

"The key word was 'tried', Roxanne. I didn't let him and we said goodbye. Now tell me what you did."

Roxanne huffed. She was going to have to get more out of her later. "You should've let him, Jess. Kaden seems like a really nice guy!"

"Roxanne! What did you do last night?" Jesselynn asked, her voice rising with her aggravation.

The goofy smile on Roxanne's face melted when she took note of her friend's tone. She wasn't in the mood to play around anymore. She sighed; it was time she gave her her answer. "I slept with someone."

Jesselynn's eyes widened with a mixture of shock and horror. "Roxanne! How could you do something like that? I mean, that could be dangerous! And…" Jesselynn lowered her voice to a whisper and looked over her shoulder. "you could get pregnant! What would happen then, huh? You'd have to go back home!"

Roxanne resisted the urge to giggle at the sight of her shock and placed both hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, Jess. It wasn't just some random guy. It was someone you and I both know would never do something to hurt me."

Jesselynn stiffened at the description. Between the both of them, they only knew very few men here at the base. She didn't like the odds. They left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Jess, c'mon, don't make a big deal out of it! I was drunk, it meant nothing."

That didn't make her feel better. Matter of fact, she was still stuck on the partner she briefly mentioned. "Roxanne...please, please tell me you slept with Mason or Bowman...Or even Woods…" She slightly winced at the thought, but angrily pushed that aside. Now was not the time for conflicted feelings.

Roxanne was silent as she listed out the possibilities. She shook her head, much to Jesselynn's dismay.

"...Kaden?"

Another shake of the head.

Jesselynn felt her heart breaking when only one name was left standing. Not him. Please, anyone but him! She was overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through her and took a step back, away from Roxanne. Tears stung her eyes and she just wanted to disappear in that moment.

"Jesselynn…" Roxanne started in a whisper, reaching out to take her friend's hand in hers.

Jesselynn wrenched her hand away from her, though. The thought of a drunken Roxanne luring her baby brother in some disgusting backroom made her already broken heart shatter into a million pieces. How could she do something like that? Even if she was drunk. Didn't she realize what would happen.

"...J-Justin…?" Jesselynn eventually stuttered out.

Roxanne tried to reach out for again, but Jesselynn refused. "Jess, please, be sensible! I told you, we were drunk! It meant nothing."

The sadness she felt was now gone at her words. An angry glare was plastered on her face as she looked up at Roxanne. "Nothing?! Why don't you go tell that to my brother! He didn't wake up with a hangover, Roxanne! He wasn't drunk enough to call it 'nothing.' He thinks it was something! How could you…" She let her sentence trail off as she started to walk away from her, retreating to her office.

Roxanne was glued to her place at the revelation and tears welled in her eyes. "Jess! Please, wait!" She called after her, ignoring the looks she was getting from her fellow nurses and surgeons.

Jesselynn ignored her calls and slammed her office door shut behind her, blocking off everyone else. With the moment to herself, she allowed the tears to fall as she collapsed in the corner of the room, hugging her knees to her chest.

She wasn't mad that Justin chose Roxanne. Matter of fact, in another time she would've hugged the both of them for it. She knew Justin was smart enough to chose which girl was right for him and she believed he did.

That was what upset her. Her worst nightmare was coming true. All their life, Justin had Jesselynn to rely on. Though Justin was more capable of trusting people, that was not Jesselynn's case. Caring for Justin was the only life she knew. She couldn't see her doing anything but that. What was she supposed to do if not look after her baby brother?

With Roxanne, or any other girl, in his life, he no longer had a need for her. Her life of protecting her brother would be forced to end and she'd be left alone. It was selfish, she was aware of that, but she didn't care. In the past, with Justin's childhood relationships, she found a way to sabotage them. She never had the courage to tell Justin of her wrongdoings and she vowed to never tell. He could never find out.

Was that what she should do now? How could she sabotage a relationship like theirs though? They were both grown adults, one with a daughter of her own. Was there anything she could do? She couldn't let Roxanne take away her brother! She loved Roxanne like a sister, but her love and need for her brother easily outweighed the need for friendship.

She didn't need friends as long as she had Justin. He was the thing that kept her sane. The last, living remnant of when her life made sense. When she was truly happy. She saw her mother's innocent, carefree spirit in each laugh and her father's strong, fiery passion when someone threatened him or those he loved. He was the perfect combination of them both and she never wanted to lose that.

She was nothing like her parents. She couldn't sing beautifully like her mother, she didn't have her father's strength. She was stubborn, selfish, and weak; nothing like her parents. They'd be ashamed of her. A disappointment.

Her self-loathing monologue was interrupted when she heard someone violenlty enter her safe-zone. She jumped and hugged herself tighter. Marcus used to enter every room like that back home. Was he here to insult her again and make fun of her for showing emotion?

"Jesse?"

She looked up when she realized that it wasn't Marcus' gruff voice, but a more familiar one. A more comforting one. As comforting as it was, she didn't want it. Why couldn't anyone just let her be?

"Go away, Woods." She whined, hiding her face in her knees. He couldn't see her tears. No one could.

For a moment, she thought he actually listened to her when she heard the door shut. Woods' voice told her differently as it sounded closer.

"C'mon, get off the floor. There's no need to get your ass dirty, no matter what happened."

Jesselynn lifted her head an inch and peeked above her knees to find Woods' eyes. They weren't extremely close, but he was standing in front of her, one hand waiting on her.

"No. Just leave me alone."

Woods sighed and straightened. Jesselynn hoped he was going to actually listen to her and go away. She was wrong. Before she could react or protest, Woods grabbed her by her waist and pulled her to her feet. Like she was a little child. She hated that.

She immediately backed away from him, her back bouncing off the wall. Woods stood in front of her, arms crossed tight against his chest, the muscles in his arms more pronounced. Sometimes, she feared his strength. Someone like him could really hurt her. If she thought Marcus was bad...She refused to let that thought in. Especially not in front of Woods. He could practically smell when she thought of Marcus. She hated that too.

"I ain't leaving. Now tell me what happened."

Jesselynn wrapped the cardigan tighter around her and nibbled on her already-chapped bottom lip. "How'd you know I was even in here?"

Woods relaxed as he took a step back and sat on top of the closest desk, absentmindedly playing with the trinket near him. "Roxanne came and told me. Justin wanted to come, but Roxanne managed to convince the kid to set this one out."

Tears welled in her eyes. She was too late. It was already happening! Roxanne was slowly going to take him away from her. If he can be easily convinced to stay away from his sister, he was too far gone.

Woods noticed the tears in her eyes and hopped off the desk, taking a step towards her. "Jess, what happened."

She was quick to wipe the tears away and tried to compose herself. "Nothing….I should get back to work." She tried to walk past him, but Woods' caught her with one arm.

She should feel threatened. Scared by the strength in one man, but she wasn't. Surprisingly, it was comfortable. She didn't feel any threat in Woods' strong hold on her. It was...different.

"What. Happened." Woods demanded this time. She wasn't going anywhere without talking, she realized this now.

Defeatedly, she sighed and stepped back in front of him. Woods still had a gentle hold on her elbow in case she decided to escape. "Roxanne….Roxanne slept with Justin last night. At that party."

Woods' brow crinkled at the news. "They fucked?"

Any comfort she felt in him vanished and she pulled her arm away from him. "Don't talk about my brother like that!"

Woods shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and looked back at her. "I'm sorry. Why does that make you go batshit? Roxanne's a good girl, Justin's smart enough to know that. You should be happy he went after her than some whore."

Jesselynn shook her head. He doesn't understand."You won't understand, Woods. Now please, let me go!"

"No. Not until you tell me why it upsets you. I won't understand until you make me." His blue eyes shined with determination as the other hand reached out and held her other arm; she was completely captured in his grasp. Again, she told herself she should be scared, but she wasn't.

"Because she's going to take him away, Frank! Roxanne's going to take my place and he won't have need for me anymore! It's already starting. He chose to listen to her instead of look for me!" Tears sparkled in her eyes hearing the words for the first time.

Woods' captivating gaze softened slightly as he loosened his grip on her. "Justin's not going anywhere, Jess. Roxanne's not making him do anything."

"You don't understand! With Roxanne, he won't need me anymore! He always came after me when I was upset about something, no matter what someone told him! He didn't this time because of Roxanne!" Her voice rose as the tears in her eyes threatened to spill over.

Woods tightened his grasp to fully get her attention. "Jess, it wasn't just Roxanne that told him to stay. I told him to listen to her and let me handle it. He wanted to come; he ignored Roxanne until I made him listen to her."

Tears spilled over as she melted in his grasp. "W-What?" She croaked out.

A grin tugged at Woods' mouth as he pulled her closer, gently sliding his hands up her arm just an inch. "Yeah, I chose to come instead of letting Justin. See, you have nothing to go batshit over."

Jesselynn's heart hammered against her chest when she realized the intimate position they were in, but didn't do anything to stop it. "Why?"

Woods seemed equally stumped at that moment. The mere question brought him back to reality. He slowly let go of Jesselynn and stepped away from her, allowing a good amount of space between them. "'Cause I wanted to. The last thing I want is some family drama shit starting up."

Jesselynn decided to end her questioning and took a moment to assess what just happened. Justin really wasn't choosing Roxanne over her? He wanted to come, but Woods took his place. A small smile brightened her features as she brushed the tears from her cheeks with her fingers.

"Whatever the three of you got going on, you need to get it sorted out. We're leaving again in less than a week." Woods spoke again, not as confident as before.

Whatever she felt before of Justin and Roxanne was gone at his words. They were leaving? Justin was going to be far away from her, too far away. "Where are you going?"

"Hue City."

Justin wasn't going to be just outside the base anymore. He was really leaving her. "You're leaving...is...is it going to be dangerous?"

"This is war, Jess. Of course it is." Woods scoffed.

Jesselynn winced at the harsh tone in his voice and she realized how much of a stupid question that was. Justin was going to really be in the heart of battle and she had no way to protecting him. She knew she was never going to be able to, he was going to have to survive on his own skills and training, but she never realized it was going to affect her this much.

It wasn't just Justin going in though. Jesselynn glanced up at Woods and saw the cut still healing on his forehead. She wasn't at risk of losing just one important person, but two. Woods, along with Roxanne, had easily become her best friend over the short time they were forced to coexist on one base. What would she do if she lost any of them?

As Woods turned to leave, Jesselynn chased after him and took a hold of his arm. Woods stiffened at the gentle touch and looked back questioningly.

"You stay safe, okay? I know you're going to protect Justin for me, but you look after yourself as well, okay?" Jesselynn asked gently, tears forming again. So much could happen on one mission. It was easy to lose someone in the middle of war because of a simple mistake.

Woods was silent as he studied her. She wasn't sure whether he had someone tell him this before, well outside from home, and it wasn't her place to know. That was his business and she was okay with being left out. She wasn't okay with letting him go without showing that she cared. That she appreciated the friendship he offered her.

With a stiff nod, Woods left the room and her.