Even In War
By: Lissa ©2008

Chapter 6

Jamie was humming a little tune to herself at her desk, flipping through the pages of one of her old anatomy textbooks and jotting down notes on the legal pad next to her. Lance stood in the doorway of the tent she was sharing with a few of the other medical staff and indicated to the others there to just ignore him and not let Jamie know he was there either. He was content to just stand there and look at the love of his life – moments like these were just too few and far in between for him and that much more precious knowing that at any moment, it could all just as easily be lost in this war.

He smiled as he heard her start singing a few words under her breath, recognizing the lyrics to one of the songs he used to sing with the guys when they still toured the country. And yet, he still didn't move from his spot. The reason for his coming, for searching her out was still in his hands, but he knew that it could wait. For now, he just wanted to memorize the look of her again, etching that image of her in his mind for the future when times didn't look as great as they did now.

A few minutes later, Jamie sat back from the desk she'd been hunching over and tipped her chair back, rolling her head from side to side to ease the tension in her neck. Turning her head to the left, she spotted Lance in the doorway and almost fell over in her chair. "Lance! How long have you been standing there?" she exclaimed as everyone else in the room started chuckling.

"Long enough to know you still know at least one of our songs by heart," he teased as he came over and gave her a soft kiss. "I still think you could have sung back up for us."

"Yeah, if we had known each other back then," she smiled. "For the sake of everyone's ears though, I'm glad. So what brings you here?"

Lance kept smiling but she noticed that a little bit of the sparkle dimmed from his eyes as he brought over an unoccupied chair and sat next to her. "The guys wanted me to give you these," he said, placing the envelopes he had in his hand onto the desk in front of her.

She looked at the pile curiously and picked one of the envelopes up. Slowly, realization dawned on her as she saw the names and addresses written in the guys' handwriting. "Lance?"

"They're just in case, Jamie," he started, trying to erase the worry that was slowly creeping into her eyes. "We're going on an excursion tomorrow to check on some old ruins and make sure that it and the surrounding areas are clear."

"Lance, these are letters from the guys to their loved ones back home. You don't think something's going to happen, do you?"

He sighed and took her left hand into his right and squeezed it gently. "I could lie and say no, but the truth is that I don't know. We're in the middle of a war zone and we never know what'll happen in the next hour, much less the next day. As I said, the letters are just in case the guys don't make it back. You'll be safe so if anything happens, at least they'll know you have those letters."

"But Lance…" She turned her eyes back on him and couldn't find the words to say. Being here was one thing already, but to add to the fact that even the guys knew that their futures weren't guaranteed… She felt a wave of hopelessness rising up in her and she found understanding gazing into his eyes, those green eyes who knew her best. It took her a few moments to fight against that feeling of despair, knowing that it wouldn't do anyone any good, and in the end, calmed her heart down for a little bit. Sighing quietly, she nodded. "I'll hold onto these for the guys then."

He gave a small smile and brought her hand up to his lips for another kiss. "Thank you."

She nodded again and gave his hand a squeeze before leaning over to give him a proper kiss. "Just watch over yourselves while you're gone, that's all I ask," she requested as she leaned her forehead against his.

"We will, I can promise you that." Lance closed his eyes and gave a small sigh. 'God please, if it is at all possible, please, please let us all get home safely after all this is done. Please God…'

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