The Woman in Uniform

The Little Girl Soldier

"Even more so, I'm afraid I'll forget the small things about everyone else once they're gone. I've made it my mission to notice the small details about someone important. It doesn't matter how young or old they are. The deaths of my brother and fiance taught me that you can never pretend like death won't strike those close to you."

"In all honesty," Dugan said softly. "I would've lost it by now."

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to either of them, Dugan," she said softly. "I never said goodbye unless I know that death is unavoidable. I always saw 'goodbye' as the last step of life, that there is nothing after that simple word."

"And now you don't?"

"No, I don't see that word in the same light," she shook her head. "It's different now. You never know when your last time seeing someone will be never be followed by another greeting. I suppose that saying the simple word won't make much of a difference, but at least saying 'goodbye' implies that you actually cared for someone enough to say it."

"If you're afraid they didn't know that they meant the world to you, there's no need," Dugan said softly. "They knew, Marlene. You were their world too."

Marlene blinked back her tears and sent him a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Marlene lowered herself onto the ground, waiting for sleep to consume her. Eventually, it did.

***

The following morning, Jack Thompson made the mistake of sneaking up on Marlene while she was lost in thought. He wasn't necessarily sneaking up on her. He was more so going to tell her they'll be moving out soon. He had also made the mistake of not announcing his presence.

He moved forward to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. He was almost immediately thrown to the ground with a knife held to his throat, Marlene crouching over him with her foot on his wrist, stopping him from reaching for his gun.

Everyone's head snapped towards them seeing as a body hitting the ground was not exactly a quiet sound.

The Howling Commandos were ready to burst into tears of laughter. Peggy tried her best to conceal her smile, knowing that Thompson's ego was shatter a little. Yet, she also knew that it was Marlene's after effects of the war kicking in. There was also the part of Peggy's more forgiving heart that felt terrible for Thompson, who was simply trying to do his job. He might be a complete bastard, but that didn't stop Peggy from feeling bad.

"Oh bloody hell!" Marlene exclaimed, jumping to her feet and pocketing her switch blade, the same switch blade Bucky had given her all those years ago. "I'm so sorry, Thompson."

She offered him a hand.

He didn't take it and simply got to his feet, rolling out his shoulders.

"I was just trying tell you we were leaving, Rogers," he said angrily.

"Yes, well, perhaps if you would've announced your presence, I wouldn't have judo flipped you," Marlene retorted. "I can't exactly help if defending is my natural response when startled."

"So it's my fault?"

"No," Marlene rolled her eyes at his stupidty. "It's not your fault. What is your fault is shouting at me for something I can't control, Thompson."

Thompson's face began to grew a lovely shade of red. Whether it be from embarassment or anger, Marlene didn't know. However, judging by the smoke practically steaming from his ears, she assumed it was out of anger.

"Well, perhaps I can't control my shouting problem," he snapped.

"Then, perhaps, you should work on that just as I am working on not attacking people that startle me," Marlene replied cooly. "Besides, if you want to be a good agent, it's not down to who shouts the loudest. Volume control is a very important factor."