Army of One

8

Eight o'clock Saturday evening found Amanda in Emma and Cassidy's room; waiting for Emma to finish readying herself so they could go out for the evening.

Cassidy had been asking too many questions already, but when she kept asking them after Amanda arrived, Emma decided to hell with it. She'd already told Major Prescott what happened with Ethan and now that he was stationed here, well, she figured the truth needed to come out in case he decided to harass her at some point in the future when her friends were around. It only took a few minutes to fill them in on what happened several months ago and exactly what an ass he was to her in the ER.

"Oh-my-God, Emma. I-I mean... oh-my-God!" Amanda stared at her friend in shock while Cassidy applauded her.

"So you and Sergeant Hottie from last night, huh?" Cassidy nodded in approval. "Way to go, Em."

"I can't believe... but I have to because, I... oh WOW. This is THE Sergeant Dolan we're talking about?" Amanda was dumbfounded, although it did explain a lot.

"I'm not saying I'm proud of it, Amanda. It just, well... sort of happened."

"I just can't get over it. All that time spent being mean to you only to find out he has a crush on you."

"Oh no. There is no crush. No crushes to be had on either end. It was a heat of the moment, purely physical thing and it's NEVER going to happen again. Last night, he basically acted like it would be a privilege for me to jump back into bed with him."

"I say go for it." Cassidy encouraged her.

"Uh-uh," she shook her head. "He's arrogant, conceited, has no respect for women, antagonistic, crude and-and..."

"And you got it bad. Admit it, Em. He wouldn't be able to get under your skin and make you react like this if you didn't want him."

"Whaaaaat?" She looked from one friend to the other, both had very different expressions on their faces, but Amanda's suggested she agreed with Cassidy's opinion. "Whatever. Can we go now?" Amanda nodded. "You sure you don't want to come, Cass?"

"Sorry but, the NCO club?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Not my kind of place."

Indeed it wasn't. The NCO club was the government's idea of a bar which was located directly on post. The bulk of its patrons were comprised of soldiers, whether officer or enlisted and Cassidy was a wild child, a bad girl of sorts that preferred the darker, more questionable kind of bars.

She would have her fun. Just not tonight.

oOo oOo oOo

Emma and Amanda had just made their way inside and up to the bar when a familiar face approached them.

"Hey-hey, ladies. Don't tell me you two are stationed here?"

"Sergeant McCarthy? Oh wow, how are you?" Emma was the first to greet him and he immediately gave both girls a quick hug, insisting that they call him Grayson now that Boot Camp was over with so they could leave the formalities behind. "You were right, both Amanda and I got assigned to the MEDDAC here."

"Ah see? I wouldn't steer you wrong. So how do you like the Army life so far?"

"Honestly? I love it!" Emma gushed. "It's sooooo different than anything I expected."

"We've only been here for about a month but the post seems really nice," Amanda turned to pay the bartender for their sodas.

"Speaking of post, there's someone else stationed here that you two might remember." He was curious as to Emma's reaction once he told her because he was sure Ethan was going to pass a brick once he found out she was here.