The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

Bonus Chapter: Floyd Meets the Lancasters

"Floyd?" Charlie asked when the sound of the driver's car door shutting rang out.

Finally, mercifully, he looked down at her. Still, his eyes were wide.

Charlie grinned and lifted a hand to caress his cheek. "You are too cute. I wanna squeeze you."

He laughed a little under his breath and kissed her hand where it was resting against his face. "You live here," he said after a beat. He glanced back at the sprawling mansion, with its dark brick and large French windows and lit chandeliers peeking out from between lush velvet curtains.

"Sometimes," Charlie agreed. "When I'm not in California, but you already knew that."

"But you grew up here," Floyd went on.

Charlie smiled softly. "Yes, precious, I grew up here. This is home."

He breathed an awed laugh. "I mean, I knew you were rich but damn."

Charlie sighed and withdrew her hand from his face. "It doesn't change anything."

"I know it doesn't." Floyd ducked his head to try to prompt her eyes back to him. He knew her well enough by now to know he was wandering in dangerous territory. "It's just not what I'm used to. I mean, you've seen where I grew up."

"I like where you grew up," Charlie protested in a mumble.

Floyd squeezed her hand and rubbed his thumb over the back of it before using it to gently turn her to him. When she reluctantly met his eyes he let go of her hand only to cup both of her cheeks, and his heart almost burst at the way she looked at him. No one had ever looked at him the way she looked at him. How could it be that she looked at him like this? How had he ever gotten this lucky?

"I love you so much," he told her with all of the sincerity he could muster, because he couldn't have meant it any more. "More than anything in the whole world. You're the best thing about my life and the best thing that ever happened to me, twice. You know that your money doesn't change any of that, because we fell in love when neither of us had anything, so you also know you're being silly right now."

Charlie grumbled half-heartedly, because she did know that she was being silly by being weird about the money thing, but reached for his waist to pull him closer to her anyway. "I love you too," she mumbled when she'd finished complaining. She tilted her chin up higher. "I'd like another kiss now, please."

Floyd grinned. "Your wish is my command."

Of course, it was in the middle of that kiss that Charlie's mother decided to open the door. "Charlotte Lancaster!"

Again, Charlie and Floyd leaped apart.

"Oh dear," Charlie mumbled.

"If you're quite finished, now might be an appropriate time to come inside," Charlie's mother called to them cooly, unimpressed. "It looks as though it's about to rain."

Charlie looked up and noticed the stormy grey clouds for the first time - she was sure there had been clear blue skies up there when she'd last checked - and quickly reached for her suitcase with one hand and Floyd's hand with the other. "Coming!" she called.

Floyd was clearly a bundle of nerves as he trundled along beside her, wheeling both of their suitcases at his own insistence even though it would have been much easier and faster if they'd both just taken their own. He carried them inside and hastily dropped to the floor to start taking his shoes off, before Charlie leaned down and gently guided him back to standing by his shoulders.

"We don't do the shoe thing, remember?" she whispered in his ear, easing the door shut behind her.

"Oh." Floyd flushed as she got off of her tiptoes and came back to facing him again. "Right."