Missing You

Jenny (Chapter 7)

Jenny wished she could sleep, but with the events of the day and the thoughts racing about what she was about to fly into, there was no way her brain would shut down long enough to allow it to happen. At least she got several small naps before getting up, putting her uniform back on, grabbing her go bag, and heading towards the hanger bay.

"Good morning, Ma'am," one of the flight crew said in greeting. "We're getting the helicopter ready right now. There's breakfast over in the corner if you want to grab something."

"Thank you, Captain," she said and walked over to the table that was set up. Breakfast was an understatement for what was provided, though the fruit looked a little less rotten than normal. Grabbing an apple with the least number of bruises and a bottle of water, she leaned against the wall and watched as Marines bustled around her, continuing to do their jobs as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Crews were already rebuilding, which looked more like a game of Tetris than a rebuild. Supplies were limited, so they were reusing what they could reuse. There was also no sign that this had been a triage center just hours before. Life in this hellhole of a place seemed to already be back to its normal schedule.

"Captain," Colonel Jones said as he approached her. She looked for a place to set her food but was stopped almost immediately. "At ease. You ready to go?"

"Yes, sir, though I'm still unclear as to what I'll be doing."

"Everything is already there. Once you get to the city, get to the Hyatt Regency and someone will be waiting for you." She watched Jones as he grabbed something from the table and leaned against the wall beside her. Jenny could count on one hand how many times the Colonel had positioned himself near anyone, let alone her.

"Good job yesterday."

"Sir?" she questioned, not understanding what he was referring to.

"I got a few reports of how your stubborn ass kept going out to find people, despite your own injuries."

Oh, that. "I wasn't injured, and I was just doing my job. Sir."

Colonel Jones looked over at her and raised a questionable brow. Then, before she could see what he was about to do, he kicked out his leg and tapped her bad ankle with his boot, causing her to scrunch her face in pain. "Not injured, huh?"

"It's nothing, sir. Old sports injury."

"Will you just take the goddamn compliment, Captain?"

Jenny snorted under her breath and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Good. Don't screw this up." Colonel Jones used his back to push himself off the wall, nodded once in her direction, and walked away. That may have been the first time they had had a decent conversation. Ever. Now she was even more worried about what she was flying into.

"Ready to go?" the Captain that had spoken to her earlier asked. "It's going to be a quick flight from here to where the C-130 is." He handed her a headset, which she placed over her ears and walked, bent at the waist, towards her first class ride. Once seated and set, they took off and flew quietly over the vast desert landscape.

In just a short distance, they landed at another base, this one bigger and not damaged. The Captain took her headset and pointed her towards her next ride, which she walked right up into.

"Supply run?" she asked as another Captain walked up and took her bag while showing her her jump seat.

"Yes ma'am," he said and checked her seat belt before leaving.

That was probably the only reason they were sending her. The plane was already heading in that direction for supplies and all they had to do was take her there and bring her back. Crossing her legs at the ankles and folding her arms over her chest, she closed her eyes and prepared for takeoff.