" No, you don't understand; I was there."
-
"BONJOUR, MONSIEUR," said Jo, sitting down at the chair next to the bed. She let out a breath and put her hands in her lap.
"Ça va?" he asked her.
"Bien, merci," she said and Julian nodded.
Jo thought for a second. She was not equipped for this. She was barely equipped for anything other than certain medical usage and that seemed to be the very last thing they would allow her to do.
"Je pense qu'ils essaient de me tuer," he said blankly. I think they're trying to kill me.
Jo furrowed her eyebrows and scoffed slightly under her breath. "Personne n'essaye de vous tuer. Sauf peut-être les Allemands." No one is trying to kill you. Except maybe the Germans.
"Mais ils ne sont pas ici pour le moment," she continued, pressing her lips together and letting her shoulders fall back. But they are not here at the moment.
The corners of his mouth tilted upwards and he leaned back into his pillow. It looked warm.
"Pourquoi êtes-vous ici?" he then asked. Why Are you here? Jo stayed still, looking at him. "Vous n'étiez pas placé ici, non?" he continued. You weren't placed here, right?
She straightened her pose and thought for a second.
"Ce n'est pas à propos de moi," she said. This is not about me.
"Really?" he asked.
She blinked. Her upper lip curling and her cheeks deepening. His accent was slightly amusing and she fought back to not lift an eyebrow at him.
"On dirait que vous peux parlez Anglais après tout," she spoke, leaning back and crossing her arms. Seems like you can speak English after all.
He hummed, whatever that meant, and glanced away. "I don't want to. The English are so full of themselves."
"Ce n'est pas important," she said. That doesn't matter.
The man murmured something beneath his breath and turned his gaze towards the ceiling. A silence fell in between them, the ones she dreaded so much. Tilting her heels back and forwards she decided to speak up again.
"How did you come here?" she asked and bit the inside of her cheek. She felt rather silly asking questions. But then again, that was what they wanted out of her, was it not?
The man opened one eye and looked at her.
"J'ai rencontré des britanniques et ils m'ont amené ici." I ran into some brits and they brought me here.
It wasn't enough to leave her satisfied, she told herself. But perhaps she just wanted the silence to come to an end.
She looked down and nodded slightly.
"Et d'où venez vous?" she murmured. And where are you from?
"Au début, j'ai été placé à Saint-Malo."
Once her attention peeked, he must have noticed, for soon enough both his eyes were open and looking intently at the nurse. Her arms had fallen away from her chest and she had already taken an unnoticed step forward.
"Saint-Malo?" her light voice broke off slightly and the man watched her carefully. He didn't answer.
"Est-ce que vous connaissez le Sergent Avair?" she continued, not hesitating this time.
It was André. André was at Saint-Malo and Jo needed to know if he was alright. She needed to know so many things which she didn't. Letters took weeks to arrive, sometimes months, depending on whether the post office was freed on not. There was no way she could keep track of her brothers moving- but perhaps the young man lying in front of her could.
Julian's gaze lasted on her for a few long seconds. A wondering look in his eye.
"Oui." Yes.
Jo's chest lifted and thin air was forced out of her lungs. "Est-il..?" she didn't know how to continue, so instead she let him do it for her. Is he..?
"Il est vivant pour ce que je sais," he answered. He's alive for what I know.
Her eyes flickered and she leaned back slightly into the chair. He was alright. It was alright.
That was all she needed.
"How come?" a voice broke her silent relief.
"C'est mon frère. Je n'ai pas eu de ses nouvelles depuis des semaines." Her voice was low, thought occupying her mind. He's my brother. I haven't heard from him in months.
He seemed to be looking for something upon her face. Something to recognize or perhaps recall, which he could not point out. Waiting before speaking, as though he did not quite know the outcome of it.
"Quel est votre nom, Mademoiselle?" his voice surprisingly soft. What's your name, miss?
Narrowing slightly, her eyes searched his for the same knowledge, but were left empty-handed.
"Josephine."
She didn't expect him to smile the way he did. In another circumstance, she probably wouldn't have noticed, but it slightly warmed her chest. She leant forward, getting a better look at his scarred face and fixing the bandage that was wrapped around his skull. Brushing away the dark hair that laid beneath it.
Perhaps some company wouldn't hurt.
-
William laid still in the grass. His pale blue eyes staring up into the sky.
It had taken him a day to realize that the journey actually was over. He delivered the message to Colonel McKenzie, yet it didn't feel like it. As soon as he closed his eyes it was all still there; the Germans, the dead bodies, Blake.
He hadn't left. How could he? The murmuring motors from the planes still could be heard as they flew over the dead plains and the gunshots still echoed through his mind. Gone as quickly as they came.
It nearly felt like daydreaming, the way it rose in his chest and then suddenly surrounded him to no repair.
It all became a blur. Unsure if everything was real or not. His ears were continuously beeping and his brain wouldn't let him go to sleep without forcing nightmares to become the new reality for him.
And then there was her. In all the chaos, he found himself noticing a girl.
He didn't know where she was or what happened to her when he left. He kept reminding himself of her. Every time he saw a nurse in their uniform he hoped it was her face he would see when they turned around.
It never was.
He didn't ask anyone or bother to truly look for her. Yet he always felt the urge to do just that.
She had been there too, after all.
His jaw clenched and his abdomen tightened once he got up, looking around for no apparent reason. A medical tent was close to him and without much thinking, he started walking towards it. He took a grip around the piece of white fabric that was hanging as he entered and went inside.
The tent wasn't as busy as it usually was. He didn't know what he would do in there until he saw a small woman standing by a wounded soldier and checking his blood pressure. He slowly approached her and watched as she looked up.
"Do you know where- is there a nurse named, eh, Josephine here?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably.
She stared at him for a second with a confused look before speaking up.
"The French girl?" she asked and Will nodded, the sturdiness in his face loosening for a moments relief.
"Well, she's over there, I think," she said pointing towards a direction, blocked by some people, but clear enough for him to not bother asking any more.
He muttered a light 'thank you' and started walking towards where she had pointed. Making his way around and then finally getting there. A tent, just like the one he just had been to. It was slightly off-putting how people managed to get around there without getting lost within minutes.
In the corner of the tent, she sat. Next to her, in the bed laid a wounded soldier and they seemed to be talking. He didn't know what they were saying, but it was enough for her to smile at the man.
She looked about the same, except slightly neater. Her hair was put away, drawn behind her ears except for a couple of loose, wavy strands that laid plastered upon her flushed cheeks. The apron, hanging around her waist was awfully clean, nearly mechanic compared to her dusted and grey surroundings. Her hands weren't covered in blood and the cut on her face from the first time he met her was nearly gone.
She was very beautiful, he thought.
Just for a moment.
He stared at her for a little too long for himself to admit, before taking a step nearer.
He had absolutely no clue what he was going to say. He never seemed to know in those kinds of situations.
_
Ooh, they're meeting again... Please feel free to give up ideas for the story. To be honest; I don't really have a canon story yet tihi, so please comment on what you want to happen.
Thank you so much for reading and please give it a vote. It truly makes a difference. Bye!
/connie