Lyss Writes

Speaking of the devil, LT Powell seems to materialize as soon as she becomes the topic of conversation. Daniel smooths his face into smooth blankness as she approaches. Per the course, Charlie completely ignores him in front of everyone else and is gone as quickly as possible. Daniel is a professional at keeping his features bland as it all happens, and continues to ignore her presence as well. It’s easier this way, for both of them.

“What’d you do to deserve that cold front?” Dagz asked with a low chuckle once Powell is out of earshot. “Couldn’t tell you. Been like this since day one. If you manage to figure it out let me know.” 

His poker face holds up well, but his words lack truth. Daniel’s seen how she interacts with Richard, how awkward it all was with her father praising him and ignoring her entire existence. Daniel burns with second-hand embarrassment at the encounter, and he can only imagine how that feels personally. Daniel’s never had a father to disappoint. Furthermore, he’s never had a father to disappoint him, either. The relationship between the Powells seems stilted and uneven, and Daniel has to wonder if all of her resentment is from how Richard speaks of him. He wonders if his soulmate feels the same way as Powell, with her issues with her father, too.

He can feel Powell’s gaze into the side of his head and he pointedly ignores it. One by one, the troop fills up. Dagz’s squad is to be primary, with three other squads of grunts filling in. The engineers are to be split, with three of each travelling with each Humvee. Thankfully, Powell is with Dagz in the front squad with her favorite kid, Baker. SGT Edwards takes the rear, with Powell’s CPL taking the third truck.

“Check your suits,” Dagz barks out to the group once they are assembled. “You have three grease monkeys riding with you, so make sure you clean out the extra seats.” A small grumble cuts through the crowd, as well as some snickering. Dagz motions over to where Daniel stands, out of the way. “We got the Boulder here with us too, so make sure you spit shine your hub caps if you don’t want his wrath.” 

“You’re an ass,” Daniel mutters to him once he dismisses the group to double check their Humvees before they take off. Dagz laughs at him, shaking his head slightly. “Come on Daniel, let me have a little bit of fun.”

Charlie can hear Baker chuckling at her as she glares a hole in the side of Daniel’s head without realizing it. Baker’s laughing being the only thing that gets her attention. “I said.” Baker throws his hands up cutting her off. “I didn’t say a word.”

Charlie is for once happy Sam isn’t also here. The last thing she needed was the two of them teaming up on her now. Sam had tried to get Charlie to let go of her one sided feud with Daniel and actually give him a chance but Charlie couldn’t or wouldn’t. Honestly she wasn’t sure which is was.

The rest of the squads started filing in as Charlie and Baker shifted the conversation to talking about food that they missed until Dagz got everyones attention. Charlie looked anywhere but at Daniel. Determined to not let him actually ruin the run for her. Charlie loved runs like this. She liked getting off the base, feeling like she was doing something far more active then working on the Humvees in the garage. Not that Charlie didn’t enjoy that, it was just more fun when it was out there, where she could actually feel like she was apart of something more.

Charlie joins in one the snickers when Dagz tells the crews to clean out the extra seats but cuts it off the second he mentions Daniel being there. She hold her breathe as the assignments of the Humvees is listed out and Charlie breaths a sigh of relief that Daniel isn’t in the same one as her but she actually gets Baker with her and Dagz who she has a decent relationship with. 

It doesn’t take long for them to check over everything that they could needed and stand waiting for Dagz to tell them to load up which happens quickly. Once in the Humvee Charlie is beaming again. There is just a slight adrenaline rush from the runs that Charlie gets, like going on a roller coaster. She seats herself next to Baker and playfully elbows him.

Once they are off there isn’t much to do but wait as they drive. Charlie debates pulling out her pen and writing off to her soulmate but doesn’t. He said he was going to be busy and Charlie doesn’t want to bother him, yet after about ten minutes in she still lifts her sleeve up to see if there is a message there. 

Baker is the only one who notices what she is doing and gives her a teasing look which Charlie returns with an elbow to his side again. He lets out an audible grunt and Charlie plays innocence when two people turn to look at them. 

for: @lysswritespage​​​ who: daniel + charlie verse: permanent marker au timeline: end of September

Daniel can finally breathe again. Most of the ‘recruits’ are now fully trained and distributed  amongst their ranks and the rebuilt FOB. The summer sun is finally starting to cool down as October approaches, and he doesn’t feel like he’s sweating through his boots any longer. His Sergeants are kicking ass, with Greene falling in with the crew assigned to Daniel with ease. They’ve all fallen into a routine, which is his favorite part of any deployment. Except the end, of course.

Daniel wakes up in the morning, does PT with whatever squad is scheduled that day, and meets with his Sergeants for objectives. He finishes his paperwork, base assignments, and goes into any meeting on the docket for that day. He deals with the officers whenever necessary, making sure their brass is still shiny and managing the newest officers that aren’t technically under his command, but fall into his responsibility, unofficially. After dinner he usually has down time to pester his soulmate, hang out with some of the other NCOs, or write home to his mother. it’s a daily grind that’s easy to rinse and repeat, and the order of it all is soothing for him. Just a couple more months and he’ll have the holiday off. Just another year in the sand and he’ll get to spend some extended time stateside.

Daniel is scheduled to tour the new FOB, and make sure they don’t need to re-distribute their forces after talking with some of the command staff. Dubbed FOB Liberty, the ‘new’ base has been fully functional for all of two weeks and taken half of their engineer corps over to make sure that transportation, base functions, and everything else is functioning smoothly. The infantry company asks for a whole engineer squad to accompany them, and LT Charlie Powell volunteers her troop for the work. Daniel’s eyebrow quirks at the paperwork as he approves it; Powell must not realize he’ll be on the trip too.

Charlotte Powell continues to be an enigma. She’s rude and disrespectful to Daniel, toeing the line of what she can get away with without formal reprimand. She doesn’t seem fond of Renee either, but functions like an actual adult when dealing with most of the other NCOs. The worst part is, she’s one of the best combat engineers he has, and her troop is fiercely loyal with her. Her Sergeant is a young guy named Edwards who gets along with everyone. The CPL, SPC, and privates that fall under her jurisdiction seem like a tight knit group of eight, and Daniel just wishes she’d take the chip off of her shoulder to make his life easier. He doesn’t hold his breath.

After writing his soulmate the night before, to let her know that he’ll be out for most of the day and possibly until tomorrow, Daniel rises early. He checks his gear, piece by piece, including the goddamn SAW he knows better than his left arm at this point. By the time of his most recent promotion, they offer to give the spot to someone else on the base, but Daniel’s used to the machinegun already. He is one of the first to approach the gates where the infantry platoon is waiting for them.

“Staff Sergeant!” One of the Infantry Sergeants snaps off a salute, which Daniel returns. SGT Dagz is a hulking beast of a man, standing two inches taller than Daniel and just as wide. His skin is a deep brown and he has the strap of his helmet undone as Daniel approaches him. “SGT Dagz, how is the grunt life treating you?”

“Better than the wrench monkey life, Boulder. You part of our group today?”

“Command has me tagging along. You’ll have LT Powell with you today.”

“Oh, Richard’s kid?” Daniel nods, and Dagz lets out a low whistle. “Well aren’t we special.”

There wasn’t a time in her life where she could remember this not being her goal. Even as a small child when someone would ask her what she wanted to be when she grew up the answer was the same, just like her father. Her plan never faltered. Only ever changing from enlisting to going to West Point per her fathers orders. Not that she would change going to officer school for a second.

Charlie liked being an officer. She liked having a leg up over those who just enlisted. Mostly she liked being trained in most things more so then basic could have ever given her. Being deployed is everything Charlie could and couldn’t expect. 

Charlie was use to the structure and the strict rules from her home life and West Point. She knew how to bend the rules she didn’t like and followed the ones she needed to perfectly. She never would get use to the sand and honestly Charlie would sell her left kidney for a plate of hot wings and an ice cold beer and she wasn’t even halfway through the deployment yet. Everything her soulmate and father had warned her about that she didn’t think would actually be that big of a deal was becoming a crashing realization.

One thing that shocked most people was how much Charlie actually did well with the structure. She liked having a firm schedule. Knowing each day had a purpose and she would be doing something to make a difference made her less annoyed to be up at 0600 every morning. And she was good at it. Charlie couldn’t help but brag just slightly. Charlie liked working with her hands. She liked being able to work on the Humvees, much more then she expected too. Charlie even liked her higher ups, mostly.

Once Charlie was passed on to another Sergeant she became a bit less of an ass. Her group started doing a lot less extra drills and push ups due to her acting out. She got along with Greene, much more then Daniel. Still when ever she had to work with him Charlie couldn’t keep the annoyance off her face and no matter how much Sam begged her, she couldn't help but make at least three snarky remarks no matter the consequences. At least now she didn’t see him as often with her group being passed on to Green.

Charlie signed up for as many extra routes and jobs as she could. She liked the busy days and enjoyed being able to get out of the FOB every so often. The first time she signed up for an extra route on what should have been her days off the Sergeant in charge thought it was a joke. That was until Charlie showed up early and ready to roll.

Today wasn’t any different. Charlie approached the gates almost 10 minutes early and almost stops in her tracks and curses under her breathe. She hadn’t thought to check who else was signed up on the run. Of course it would be just her luck that he would be going out with them and with her soulmate saying he was going to be busy the day and possible next Charlie couldn’t even write him on the ride to bitch about Daniel being in the group.

She rolled her eyes and tried to play her face as neutral as she approached the gate. Charlie snaps a salute when close enough and only looks at the Sergeant in charge of the run.

“SGT Dagz.” She greets him before continuing past to see Baker already there as well. They were still missing a few people and once Charlie can tell she is well out of ear shot once she is next to Baker she lets the annoyance show on her face.

Baker lets out a chuckle. She had become almost as close to the kid as she was to Sam. He has heard her bitch more then a dozen times about Daniel. “So you didn’t know he was going to be here. Me and Sam had a bet. She owes me now.” Baker shakes his head still laughing.

The jackets are awful, but they do the job of lessening the tension he feels creeping back in. 

Daniel wants to ask for more. Her first name. Her current base. Even her exact MOS. When her question comes back through, he can’t help but feel a bit disappointed at her next question. It moves the conversation back into a safer, less personal space, and Daniel tries not to feel a bit discouraged today. The fact that she even answered him and continued the conversation is a win, overall. And they’re close. Maybe, one day over the next year, if he’s braver, he’ll ask to meet. Maybe.

none of them I keep hoping they’ll move me to Korea one of these days

There’s a small bit of shuffling down the hall, and Daniel finds himself rolling away from the door. It makes his arm harder to read, but lessens the likelihood of anyone catching on to what he is doing. A couple of other Sergeant’s snores fill the air and he knows he should get to bed after checking his watch.

It’s getting late

A thought pops into Charlie’s head as she waits for an answer. He had mentioned at the start of their conversation him having a visitor that day. With her dad showing up at the base it makes her freeze. It could just be a coincidence. It most likely is just a coincidence. Anyone could have visited any bases in the country today. Her father wasn’t the be all end all of important people. There were many people of high rank, more important, even equal importance then her father that it could be.

Her pen hovers. She wants to ask who his visitor was. If it was her father then she would know he was on the same base as her. Charlie would know he was close, with in reach of her if, just if, his important visitor was her father.

Charlie hesitates to long and see his message saying it’s getting late. He’s right. It’s getting late and Charlie isn’t sure she is ready to have that piece of information on if he is there or not. Instead she swallows the question with the lump in her throat.

Korea would be nice.  You’re right though. Got an early morning too.

Charlie pauses slightly before adding one more line.

I hope your day tomorrow is better.

I’ll get us jackets. You can be Sand Queen now.

He’s nearly holding his breath, waiting for an answer to his question. It’s getting late, and he has to be up early in the morning to run class, but part of him aches for something close and familiar right now. He worries that she won’t answer for a moment. He could always wipe it off, and they could pretend like he never asks. It would be a blow to his ego, sure, but maybe she isn’t interested in crossing that boundary with him.

Her reply has his heart feeling like it’s in his throat. 

The thoughts that have been lurking in the back of his head come roaring to life, full of what-ifs. What if she’s at his FOB? What if he knows her already? What if she knows who he is, but refuses to acknowledge it because she hates him? There is doubt and uncertainty and it causes a small delay in his answer.

The gut feeling he’s had, that she’s closer than he imagined, makes a sudden wave of nervousness flood through Daniel. He’s had a hand building every major base in the area, and his reputation is definitely known. Has his soulmate heard of him? Has she met him? Would she be disappointed, if she had? All questions he doesn’t have any answers to.

Iraq. I’ve been at every major operating base in the country and a couple in Afghanistan.

Charlie smiled down at her arm with a snicker at his comment. She tried to draw two jackets, writing Sand King on one and Sand King on the other. She blamed the dim lighting for it being far from any of her best doodles and decided that he would need to be the designer of the jackets that she hoped more then anything would not be made. Now understanding his hatred of the sand it was the last thing she would want on a jacket.

Still she chuckles and wait for his answer to were he is. Charlie had watched every Staff Sergeant in their base so carefully when she got there. Trying to see if anyone seemed to match the personality of the person she had been writing for years. After a week she knew that she wasn’t just going to be able to get lucky and guess which one was him, if any. 

Charlie always assumed he had to be in a different country. The idea of him being that close, in the same country ask her, maybe even the same base, just seemed to lucky. Charlie assumed she used all her luck to actually get stationed with Sam. She didn’t have any left for him to be within reach.

But the word Iraq showing up on her arm made the breathe catch in Charlie’s throat.

Which was your favorite?

Daniel’s hands trace over the lines of the tent. Sometimes, he can trick his brain into thinking he can feel the pen strokes over his skin. It doesn’t work like that, of course. Marks never came with pain or sensation, just image, but Daniel can picture her heavier lines, usually slightly crooked or askew as she fills in the gaps under his drawings. There is a comfort he takes from it, always being connected and just a small amount of writing away from someone linked to him.

Too bad we don’t have a time machine. I’ll be king of the sand one day.

A small smirk at the title, now that she knows his pain firsthand. Daniel feels himself growing sleepy, the weight of the day settling over him like a blanket. Her words show a softness Daniel doesn’t see too often; most of the time his soulmate is quick to make light, or a joke of, serious things rather than talk them through. 

What country are you in?

He holds his breath after writing it. No matter how deep their conversations have gotten, there is always a line that isn’t crossed. They don’t write about specific names or places. They leave details vague, neither one of them pushing for more. For all Daniel knows, she could be right down the call, or on the opposite side of the continent. Deserts exist all over. Still, from the timing of her messages, Daniel knows that she had to be close somewhat close by. Their schedules seem similar, with gaps for meal preps and even from training. Not for the first time, Daniel has wondered if one of the many soldiers shipped over last month could be his soulmate. What if she’s over in finance, with Miller, and he has no idea? 

Sand King. You need a new name badge.

Charlie can’t help but chuckle lightly to herself. It seems as if his mood as slightly improved since the start of their chat and Charlie is glad. He always has been there when she feels shitty and down. The last she can do is try to be there for him when he has a bad day as well. And the conversation has at least helped her forget just slightly about the shit ass day she has had as well.

She knowns she should say good night and actually try to sleep for PT in the morning. While Charlie isn’t expecting to see her father before he is off the next day, she should mentally prepare just in case. Her pen hovers, about to write that she is going to head to bed but she pauses as she sees more words showing up on a black space of her arm.

The question really makes her pause. Charlie had always been afraid to ask the serious questions first. She blamed it in the past on how he seemed freaked out by the messages when they first came to the term pen pal. But their conversations had moved so much past that stage that Charlie really didn’t have an excuse then for not trying to ask anything. But he had never asked before now either. Both of them seeming to scared of what might change if the conversations became more real.

Her pen hovers and Charlie chews at the inside of her lip before her presses the pen to her skin.

Daniel smiles back at her response, enjoying the admission. There aren’t a lot of people to really miss Daniel. His mother makes the short list, and some extended family that visits her. Other than that, though? There is no one else waiting for Daniel back home, no one else to care if he’s there or not. The thought of his soulmate missing him makes him feel warm and gooey inside, which would normally annoy him more than anything else.

our base had a visitor today  I spent most of the day trying to make everything look perfect, even though we have so much work left to do.

Daniel adds a cloud, behind the moon, and some more stars to the picture. He smudges away his words so they have more room to draw a night sky out there. If Daniel cranes his neck, he can see out of the main door of their bunks and into the night sky. The one beautiful thing about living at the FOB is the view of the moon and the stars as most of the lights are muted. The desert is truly a beautiful place, once you get past all of the sand.

His tours with Richard have left him tired, especially after a tense conversation between the two of them and one of the Majors on base who has made his disdain for Daniel very clear. Every time Daniel tries to get something down, there are unforeseen roadblocks, extra paperwork, or denial of funds to get through. He’s tired of the petty bullshit, and wants the old base restored so it can go back to being someone else’s problem.

He blames his tiredness on how open he is tonight. Usually Daniel keeps his thoughts under a strict lock and key, buried in his head. There’s no use in complaining, after all, when there is work to do. Renee is his best friend, and Daniel hesitates to tell her half of the things he struggles with. His soulmate though? Daniel’s never had a hard time talking to her. That was always the problem.

sometimes i feel like im always being watched judged like im under a microscope with everyone waiting for something for me to fuck up, i guess its tiring

It grows darker in the bunks as everyone finally seems to start settling in for the night. With PT early the next morning almost everyone like to turn in early. It goes from one day to another of hard work and Charlie can’t name one person who all the training and drills doesn’t make exhausted at the end of the night. But once the words appeared on her arm Charlie was instantly awake again. She would take hours on hours of talking to him even if it meant have no sleep at all.

Charlie wonders if this is how he felt all the years of being able to instantly write to her when he was deployed and she was still in school. It’s easy, having someone there almost 24/7 that you could talk to with such ease. There was no waiting for letters or when it’s your chance to use a phone on base to make a call back home. The connect between them makes the messages instantaneous. And while they might not be able to actually talk every minute of every day due to their crazy schedules, its nice to know that if they could, they had the option without any of the wait.

Im sure your visitor knows that you tried your hardest to make everything perfect. And knowing how you are, Im sure it was. :)

Charlie adds a little tent under the moon. Making the image look more like a small camp site that could easily be anywhere in the world but the sand they were in right now. The picture becoming a small escape from where they are and the stress that comes with being there. She is adding a small camp fire when they rest of his message appears on his arm.

On a certain but less level Charlie can imagine how he feels. Her whole life everyone looked at her wondering if she would live up to her fathers name or keep being a reckless child who never amounted to anything. Everyone watching her every move, judging. But she doesn’t say that. She doesn’t want to make him feel like she is trying to change the topic to her. Charlie is there to listen to him tonight. Even if there messages have changed over the last year since she turned twenty one, it’s still rare for him to be this open and Charlie isn’t going to do anything but let him get it off his chest and be there as support.

Daniel is grateful to get away from the awkward Powell dynamic that he’s experienced for the first time. When he sees Richard later that night, Charlotte is not in attendance, and it goes much more smooth. For a moment he wonders if this is how his soulmate felt, when her father went on and on about someone that wasn’t her. Daniel can see why it would be annoying; he saw firsthand how devastated Charlie was, and he felt awful about it. And he doesn’t even like Charlie Powell, grade-A pain in his ass.

Their tour goes smooth, with Richard singing his praise in a way that Daniel appreciates. It always feels nice to have someone in his corner, willing to hype him up and have his back. They end the meeting with a game plan for tomorrow, and Master Sergeant Powell’s convoy departs right after lunch. It’ll be a busy morning and he will have to skip PT and leave it in Miller’s capable hands.

Daniel’s back in his bunk, a small room with some of the other higher ranking enlisted soldiers stationed at the base. It’s nowhere near as fancy as the officer’s quarters, but Daniel prefers their small nook. Renee trades some stories about her day, and one of the major fuck ups of a private who can’t seem to do anything right. Daniel wishes that she could take Morgan, too, and alleviate his old headache at how lazy the guy is. He settles into his bed soon after, using a small portable light to jot down some notes in his notebook. It’s been nearly two days since he’s really had a chance to sit down and write his soulmate, and he finds himself missing her.

today was exhausting

Daniel scribbles out. He draws a moon next to the ‘g’ of his words, tapping his pen. Now that she’s finally deployed, Daniel feels their bond strength over the last month. Before, she hears and sympathizes with his struggles overseas. Now, she has a new grasp on them, sharing issues and understanding his plights with firsthand knowledge of things. It’s new and exciting, and Daniel finds himself drawn to her more and more every day. They’re both adults now, and some of his restraint has been slipping recently.

I missed you these last couple days

Sam can instantly tell Charlie is in a mood when she returns after lunch. Charlie barely says a word to her before changing and heading to the small gym on base with Sam right behind her. It’s almost odd in a way. Charlie would normally take to going out and drinking until she didn’t care to get over a shit day like today before she was deployed. That isn’t an option when she has PT first thing in the morning and there isn’t a bar anywhere near them.

So she has taken to working out more. It works differently but well enough that Charlie can keep going until her brain doesn’t let her be mad anymore. Instead she is just sore and tired and has Sam bring her back something from mess for dinner since she doesn’t want to get called over to another awkward meal with her father if he is there. Between picking at her lunch and the workout afterwards Charlie devours the meal without a care of how shit it taste.

Charlie is staring up at the bottom of Sam bunk trying to get her brain to shut back off from the day when she notices the words start to appear on her arm. There is an instant soft smile on her face. Ever since she got deployed Charlie hasn’t been able to write as much as she would before. Some days leave her so exhausted she isn’t sure how she even makes it back to the bunk. It makes her understand why she wouldn’t always get messaged from her soulmate before. 

Even with being busy Charlie still tries to always check her arm even if she isn’t able to write. It’s a habit that was engrained in her from always waiting for messages before when she was still in school.

Her fingers trace the moon and then the second line of text before she reaches for a pen she keeps inside her pillow case when she is in her bunk so she can easily access it.

Youre telling me

She adds a few stars next to his moon as she rereads the bottom line. Charlie almost wishes she didn’t smile at her arm with the stupid grin she knew was on her face as often as she did. There was something much less disconnected in there messages for a while now. It made Charlie more annoyed they hadn’t been able to meet before her deployment.

Daniel watches them interact carefully, trying to figure out the dynamic a bit more. Whenever it’s just him and Richard, he talks about his daughter in a proud, gruff sort of way that he’s come to expect. In her presence, though, he barely gives Charlotte the time of day. It’s kind of sad to watch and Daniel is happy to sit back and let the two of them talk.

It’s strange, to see Charlie talking passionately without being a smartass. He can tell that his training has actually stuck, despite her attempt to give him a hard time at every turn, and there is a shine to her eyes that he has never seen before. Their gazes lock for a second and Daniel has to bite back a smile when she talks with pride about solving the Humvee issue first. Since the original PT, Charlie has stood out as an excellent mechanic, so much so that the Lieutenant Colonel of the FOB insists on keeping her in their company instead of sending her forward to rebuild. 

Richard seems to cut her down at the knees, and Daniel has mixed feelings about it.

“The rebuild’s been a team effort, sir. I’m just grateful for how well it’s going.” The bitterness is clear on Charlie’s face, but Daniel knows it isn’t his place to get in between their family dynamic. He takes another couple bites of food before getting to his feet, tucking his hat back under his arm.

“It’s been a pleasure to see you Richard. I’m sure you want to spend some time with Charlotte while you’re here. Get settled in, and I’ll take you through inventory after dinner.”

Charlie pushes at her food more. Fully given up on being apart of the conversation and stealing any attention from her father. She checks her watch again and wonders if she can make an excuse to leave early from the lunch. As excited as she had been for it earlier Charlie is ready for it to be over. She rather have to be doing push ups until her arms gave out and she was covered in salt from head to toe then sit there any longer. 

It seems she isn’t the only one with the idea to bolt. Charlie’s attention snaps up again when Daniel stands, not expecting him to leave so soon. She is back to trying to not make eye contact with him again. She isn’t able to school the annoyance fully off her features anymore and doesn’t want him to notice the jealous that she tries to hide.

Richard nods, telling Daniel that he has kept him to long from his work and he will join up with him later. Charlie can’t help but wonder if he hated the lunch as much as she did. He probably wanted the time with Richard to himself as she did and she bites back more bitterness.

The conversation is lacking on all sides once Daniel leaves. Charlie can count the number of words that Richard says to her as Charlie tries at first to fill the silence with telling him what all she has got to experience and the lack of an answer makes her fall quiet quickly. 

“You think too highly of me Richard.” Daniel lowers his voice slightly as he delivers his next line. “Trust me, there are some duds in this class I wouldn’t want associated with my name.” Richard lets out a guffaw as they eat, stirring the pasta with his fork in an attempt to cover it with the meat sauce.

“How have operations been running?”

Daniel launches into the statistics for the FOB, and their new supply chain. Since the recruit class has hit, there’s a sense of relief around base. A lot of the work load has slowly been lightened as new people come in to replace jobs, and Daniel sent ten of his twenty-five engineers to help with the remnants of the supply vans that survived the IED and now their business is almost back to normal. Richard fixates on the stats, asking for exact percentages and short-term plans that Daniel has the answers to. This base is his life blood, after all, and his micromanaging of the unit comes with its benefits every so often.

Throughout his entire speech, he finds himself looking over at Richard’s daughter. She’s never looking at him when he glances over, keeping her gaze down and eating in silence. Daniel’s never seen Charlie like this, subservient and small, like she’s hunched in on herself despite the perfect posture she sits with. It make shim feel like an intruder, uncomfortable and a small bit guilty at interrupting their lunch. He stops talking and tries to turn the conversation around, with the realization of why Charlie is so awful to him slowly sinking in the longer that Richard ignores her for him.

“You’d have to ask Charlotte about more of the day to day ops around the base. Her squad and Donovan’s have been working on all of our Humvees, making sure that they are ready once the final lines are re-established.”

Charlie instantly is taken back to anytime her father would be home from a deployment or even just a trip to the different bases. Any time he would come home from any visit he had with Daniel. She never thought much could be worse then sitting around the dinner table, wanting to just share what she was doing in school and then West Point and not getting a word in because her father walk talking about Daniel Cox, bright man, amazing soldier, someone the army really needed.

She didn’t think it could get much worse then that but here it is. It’s having to be a third wheel to a conversation with them. To have to hear him talk about how Daniel is running the base better then he could have expected. To hear her father account that she is doing well and shaping up only thanks to Daniel. Having to sit and not be included in the conversation going on between them.

Charlie picks at her feed and only answers when she needs to, which is very rarely as she pushed the food around her plate, feeling less and less hungry as the conversation goes on and she has to stop herself from checking her watch or pulling out her pen.

It’s Daniel’s voice that actually tries to get her involved in the conversation and Charlie’s head snaps up quickly and can’t help but actually look at Daniel this time instead of avoiding him glance like she had all meal. Charlie doesn’t pause for long, feeling like it might be her only chance to actually speak and taking it.

Charlie starts quickly about the PT and work on the Humvees. She jumps into the skills they have been able to put to use that were taught to them at West Point and being able to use them hands on. She can’t help but try to brag a bit, hoping to make her father even the slightest proud of her as she mentions the drill they had a few weeks back. “I solved the largest issue with our Humvee and even was able to help a fellow team get theirs up and started again.”

She looks between the two of them again, her eyes pausing on Daniel with almost a thankful look of being brought into the conversation. For a split second Charlie feels bad for thinking that he must have been reporting everything back to her father. Charlie had thought maybe she was wrong when they first walked in, when her father asked how she was doing like he didn’t know and Daniel answered much nicer then she ever thought he would speak of her. But now it seems like she might have been completely wrong on that idea when he is the one who got her father to listen to her.

It’s short lived.

“It seems you have a great program you have formed here Dan."

Master Sergeant Daniel Powell is one of Daniel’s favorite people. Living a life that revolves around tours and deployment, Daniel doesn’t have a lot of time to make meaningful relationships back stateside. He has some friends from high school, casual acquaintances that he has made over the years, but most of his bonds come from the Army. MSGT Powell fills the role of friend, mentor, and even sometimes father figure for Daniel, a guy who grew up dirt poor to a single mother household with the idea of bettering his life through service.

And Richard has definitely delivered. He catches Daniel early in his career and sets him up for success. Daniel knows he would never have made Staff Sergeant without Richard’s guidance. So when his mentor calls him, saying that he’s coming to visit the FOB and check the progress of their newest recruits, Daniel makes sure that the engineer’s quarters of the base are in tip top shape. He greets the convoy that comes through at the gates, exchanges a quick but firm handshake with Richard that has him pulled into a brief hug. It’s funny, because Daniel is a solid head taller than the Master Sergeant, but Richard’s presence on base is unrivaled.

“Staff Sergeant, I swear you get taller every time I see you.”

“It’s all the extra sand in my boots, Master Sergeant,” Daniel drawls, and Richard laughs at him, walking through the area like it’s his base and he’s giving Daniel the tour.

“Is your mess serving lunch yet?”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright then, we’ll go eat and you can tell me all about the recent changes.”

They cross the way over and head past the barracks, a bunch of people snapping off stiff salutes as Richard passes by. He puts them all at ease, waving off some of the newer guys on the front bunk that nearly trip trying to get up for a salute

They reach the mess hall after a couple of minutes and Daniel is unsurprised to see Charlie there. Of course Richard would want to see his only child for the short period of time he’s in their area. Charlie looks surprised to see him, and the disappointment that washes over her face is impossible to miss. She refuses to even look at Daniel, which has him internally rolling his eyes as they continue through to get food.

“How’s my girl been doing out here, Dan?”

“She’s a Powell for sure, sir,” Daniel says in a light tone.  “One of the best mechanics we have in her troop, a quick learner, and a natural leader. You should be proud Richard.”

The worst part is, all of it is his real opinion. There’s no point in bringing up the fact that Charlotte is a gigantic pain in his ass for an unknown, exasperating reason. That she tries his authority every second she can and toes the line just to piss him off. That she’s one of only a handful of people to ever succeed at getting under his skin and there is a small amount of resentment towards for her for it.

Charlie feels like a child following behind her father and Daniel. They move through the mess hall and Charlie watches the faces of everyone who is standing jumping to attention. Anyone who knows the Army knows her fathers name. Even a few of the new recruits who might not exactly know her father by name know the rank pins and badges that cover are enough to make them stiffen quickly.

It’s even worse when her father ask about her like she isn’t just a few steps behind them clearly in ear shot. Charlie physically tenses. She didn’t think it was even possible for her to tense more but she does. She waits for Daniel to lay in on how much of a hassle she is. How insubordinate and an out right bitch, thought she is sure he would say it a lot more professionally, that she can be and that hard times she gives him constantly. 

Charlie is glad they both are walking ahead of her and can’t see the utter confusion that covers her face when Daniel keeps his tone light when talking about her. There is even a compliment through in there. He has to be just playing nice since it’s her father. He can’t actually think any of those things. If he did Charlie might have to actually feel bad for how she has acted and she knows she isn’t able to do that yet.

“It must all be having you as a teacher.”

Yes of course. Richard writes it off as Daniel being the only reason she is doing well of course. She obviously couldn’t have got there on her own. Charlie remembers the events her father would show up to and how Sam would sneak her drinks when able. She looks around the mess for her friend and emotional support but sadly is on her own this time.

Charlie lets out a small sigh that she hopes goes undetected as they get their trays and move to the tables. Her father sits and Daniel next to him and from across the table Charlie feels even more like a third wheel on a date that should have been just her lunch with her father. She still refuses to look at Daniel and it’s fine. They keeps their conversation up almost like she isn’t there for a solid few minutes before her father graces her with attention.

“You are lucky Charlie to have Staff Sergeant Cox here to teach you. One of the best soldiers you could be lucky enough to learn from.”

“You are going to shine a hole through your shoes.”

As much as the comment made Charlie want to chuck the boot at Sam’s head, the girl wasn’t wrong. The boots physically couldn’t get more shined. Charlie had been working on them for at least the last twenty minutes. Charlie finally slide them onto her feet before standing and looking over her uniform again.

For once every single item was perfectly in place. Her rank pin shined almost as much as her shoes and Charlie had pinned and unpins her name tag at least seven times trying to make sure it was in a perfectly straight line. She had to make sure everything was perfect. The slight singular hair out of place wouldn’t go unnoticed and Charlie needed to look exactly perfect.

The letter came from her father two weeks before he was set to come visit and Charlie had been anxious ever since. She could feel the tension in her neck as she stood looking over herself and clearly Sam could see it as well as the girl grabbed her shoulders and tried to give her a shake. Sam had seen her this way many times. Any time her father was set to visit her school Charlie would get the same way. Only relaxing then if she had a drink.

God she wished she had a drink.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited to see Richard. It’s not that Charlie was homesick as some of the other members of her squad were. Charlie was use to going months to years at a time without seeing her father. But she wanted to show off. She wanted her father to see her here. To see her doing well and actually proving she was able to do this. Charlie wanted her father to be proud of her.

“It’s going to be fine Char.” Sam tried to reassure her when she could see Charlie’s mind spinning. 

“I know.”

She checked her watch again knowing the time her father told her to meet him. Charlie knew he got on the base much easier that day when she was still in PT. He wasn’t there just as a visit to her after all. Coming to check on the base and how everything was going. Richard made it clear that he would make time to have lunch with her in the mess hall but the rest of his day was booked.

Charlie was outside the mess hall almost fifteen minutes earlier then she needed to be. Wanting to show her father she could be there on time and in perfect shape. When she saw him approach her stomach dropped when she noticed who he was walking with. No, this was suppose to be her lunch with her father. Why was Daniel walking with her father. 

She tried to keep her face blank as she shot into a perfect salute as they both approached and wished there was a way for it to be clear it was for her father and not as all for her Staff Sergeant, but there wasn’t and she knew if she didn’t greet her commanding officer as she greeted her father she would hear about it as the first words out of her fathers mouth.

“Master Sergeant Powell.” She tries not to change her tone as she looks over at Daniel. “Staff Sergeant.”

Her father gives her a small nod before giving her the order of “at ease” and Charlie relaxes.

“Your Staff Sergeant is going to be joining us for lunch.”

Charlie’s expression flickers to disappointment for a second as she looks down at her feet. Fuck, while she already knew it, she still had hoped he would dismiss himself after they walked up and Charlie could have just the lunch with only her father.

He lets them joke and talk with each other. It’s good, to have the feeling of success to share and joke about. Daniel isn’t heartless, after all. He wants his trainees to succeed and live out here. Eventually Powell is the first one to head over to help out. Donovan follows her lead, going to the other Humvee to trying to figure out the problem.

Daniel watches the scene with a quirked eyebrow and nothing else. Of course, the one person to pass his silent test would also be the bane of his existence on most days. It’s the worst part about Charlotte Powell, the fact that she has the ability to be a good soldier, when she wants to. He sees Richard in her the more time they spend together, and it is endlessly aggravating when the good parts shine through. If she was just awful all of the time, Daniel could just write her off as a lost cause, a young girl rebelling for no real reason and a pain in his ass. But then moments like this happens, and Daniel finds himself at a loss for how to reconcile the two very different sides of Charlotte Powell that come and go.

Morgan’s arms give out. He tries to push himself back up but Daniel can tell that he’s spent.

“Keep going Morgan.”

Morgan can’t even fathom a response as he tries to pick himself up and he can’t. One of his friends is hovering, right outside of their interaction, too scared to intervene. “I said keep going, Private Morgan.” Morgan tries to lift himself again and eats it, falling face first into the sand. He coughs and sputters, and Daniel bends down again, keeping his voice low.

“If I ever see you fucking off like that again, you’ll be out of here. I will be find a base on the ass end of this godforsaken desert that makes the FOB look like a goddamn winter paradise. Do you understand me?” “Yes sir,” Morgan barely wheezes out. Daniel grabs him by the back of his collar and hauls him to his feet in an impressive show of strength. Once he is sure Morgan won’t fall over, he lets him go.

“Line up,” Daniel calls out, once all five of the vehicles are running. They take their normal position and Daniel waits a moment before talking.

“As combat mechanics you will be expected to work as part of a team to solve your issues. Sometimes, your teammates will be other engineers. Sometimes, you will be the only gear head stuff out in a sea full of grunts. That truck is your responsibility. Your wrench should be your first weapon.” Daniel scans over the group, person by person as he talks, making sure they are listening. “We always get the team home. There are no schoolyard rules outside of this FOB. There are no resets or do overs. You do, or you die. You help, or you lose.” His eyes stop on Charlie Powell, letting his gaze linger there. “And we never leave a soldier behind. Is that understood?” A resounding ‘yes, Staff Sergeant’ is echoed back, and Daniel lets the groups break up. He stops LT Powell on her way out, his hand landing on her upper arm to still her.

“You did good work today, Powell. Thank you.”

Charlie is going into a detail explanation on what they had missed and how they could notice it next time. She makes sure to fully explain so they can use the information and learn how she caught it just like she was taught at West Point as the other group thanks her for coming to help. It’s less then a minute later and Charlie hears the other truck roar to life with Sam and another LT beside her who helped the other group.

For a second Charlie looks disappoint that Morgan is standing when she finally looks over in Daniel’s direction when he calls for them to line up. She can’t help but smile at herself slightly, and actual smile and not a smart as smirk like she normally has when lined up in front of their Staff Sergeant. She not only found the last problem on her own team but helped the another team get theirs up and running.

Charlie didn’t want to actually enjoy this PT as much as she had. But something about actually being hands on under the Humvee working to get it running again reminded her why she went with the degree at West Point that would lead her to this position. It was a rush getting to work like this.

Charlie can’t help but make eye contact back as Daniel looks at her during his speech. She is still to proud of herself, to happy with how the events of the drill had turned out. So happy that she doesn’t stop as she normally would after just saying ‘yes’ and joins in with everyone else on the full “Yes, Staff Sergeant” with everyone else around her.

The groups are dismissed and hears someone say something about going to the mess hall and Charlie nods with the rest of them. She doesn’t expect the hand on her arm, stopping her from leaving with the group and while Sam turns when she instantly notices Charlie isn’t still beside her, she just raise an eye brow before continuing to walk with the group.

Charlie is preparing to be yelled at. To get told how it was noticed that she fell out of regulation after crawling under the truck. Maybe despite the speech given to get told that she wasn’t suppose to help the other group. So much goes through her head in the split second of silence between her being stopped and Daniel speaking.

Donovan’s group clears next, their Humvee sputtering to life quickly. Daniel does a quick assessment of it and sees all of the fixes done, even if some aren’t done very well. He marks the areas of improvement down and circles back around. The last three groups are starting to stall, and Daniel does nothing to help them. He walks around each Humvee, noting what has been done and what hasn’t, and lets them struggle.

“No one leaves until every truck is running.” His eyes glance over Charlotte Powell and her group. She looks well put together and is doing significantly less gloating than he would have pictured.

The PT is a skills test today, but it’s also something else. Daniel knows that not all of the groups will finish on their own. Some of the mechanics are still new, and some problems go unseen. Despite his dressing down of Morgan, part of his words aren’t a universal truth. Sometimes, you do need a second set of hands to show you a new angle or help with a problem. They never leave a soldier behind. He wonders how long it will take another crew to step up and go help their brothers and sisters in arms. 

Morgan really starts to slow down, and Daniel does nothing but watch him. He’s taking deep, sputtering breathes and his push-ups come slower and slower as he raises and lowers himself. Daniel gives him another three minutes before his arms give out.

“Are you tired Private Morgan?” Daniel asks with his standard monotone. “No… Sir.” Morgan’s words come between labored breathing and his arms start shaking. Daniel almost feels bad for him. No. “The enemy does not care if you are tired Morgan. The enemy will not pity you, and neither will I. Keep going.”

Once Sam group finished Charlie is over by their Humvee. Pulling Baker along with her since she knows Albertson and Davis won’t tease the other group with her but she can talk Baker into doing it.

They both look smug as they approach and Charlie is smirking an all to familiar smirk to Sam. “Good job coming in second guys.” Sam shoves Charlie softly, much more playful then it should be if she was trying to even pretend to be annoyed and the three of them laugh and Charlie and Baker keep teasing about finishing first and Sam lets out a inappropriate comment about letting others finishing first under a hushed breathe that makes Charlie laugh too loud.

Charlie stays there. Standing with Sam’s group, taking to them about what issue their Humvee had and how they fixed them. They compare notes back and forth between the two groups and Charlie tries not to watch Daniel talking down to Morgan with satisfaction.

“Glad that’s not you for once?” Someone from Sam’s group ask and everyone standing close enough to them has to hold in a laugh as Charlie just rolls her eyes.

A third group seems to get their Humvee started and Charlie keeps watching the other two. She can hear the clicking sound every time they try to start the Humvee and it won’t come to life. Charlie tries to remember everything she can from classes and mechanical courses at West Point. 

She honestly isn’t sure if they are suppose to help the other groups of not. But the sound the Humvee makes every time it won’t start is to familiar and it finally snaps in place in Charlies head what is probably wrong with the Humvee. She doesn’t think about how she could be getting herself and the other group in trouble as she approaches the group and forces herself between two of them looking over the engine.

“What all have you guys checked so far?” She ask as one a couple of the members of the other group side eye her. It’s one of the enlisted who looks like he is about ready to give up who seems eager for the help and starts listed off what they have fixed and tried.

The groups head for the Humvees, and Daniel watches them like a hawk as they disperse. He purposefully separates some of the people he knows are close - Powell and Donovan, Morgan and Michaels, and Davis and Patel - and puts them in new formations. The morning is warm and there is a light breeze that cuts through the heat. Without any light source, there is a small light show as a dozen handheld flashlights click on and aim to diagnose the issues. Daniel has a clipboard with him and jots down progress notes for the groups.

Donovan’s group springs to action, everyone discussing their findings and working as a team. Patel leads his group with an iron fist, which works at first but they fail to find the trickiest issue. The other two groups struggle to find leadership, their Lieutenants too green to grab the reigns. The most surprising performance is from Charlotte. Daniel expects her to struggle for power with Albertson, but she defers to his experience easily. It’s half amusing and half infuriating. Powell is willing to listen to a peer in charge but gives Daniel the hardest time for simple tasks. He wonders for a moment if it’s an enlisted vs officer thing, but quickly dismisses that. None of the other Sergeants have issues with Powell. It seems to be entirely personal.

Powell’s team runs well, sans for one lazy bastard. He sees Charlotte disappear under the Humvee, Davis not too far behind her, with a belt full of tools. Donovan’s crew is almost working as cohesively. They are leagues ahead of the other teams, who struggle to find the underlying issues. Each Humvee has a different set of issues so none of the groups can cheat off of each other.

“Start her up,” Daniel says, not letting on to the fact that he watched them solve all of the issues. The Humvee roars to life and Daniel nods at the group.

“Private Morgan,” Daniel barks out, causing the young guy to climb to his feet. “Since you decided to leave your team to fix your Humvee, you can drop until the other teams are done.” “Uh, Staff Sergeant I-” 

“Now Morgan,” Daniel’s voice raises for the first time that morning, and the Private grumbles under his breath, and Daniel goes from hovering over him, to being down in his face. “Did you have something to say Private?” “No, Staff Sergeant,” he says through gritted team. “Because if you have any excuses I would love to hear them. Do you think this is a beach vacation for you Morgan?” “No, sir!” “It’s a rhetorical question, Private. This is not your sandbox. You do not have the luxury of sitting around, bitching and moping while your team works their ass off. There is no engineer team out in the field - it is just you, Private, and a bus full of chumps waiting for you to fix their ride. In real life, you are fucked private, as the enemy is shooting through your vehicle and killing your fellow soldiers. How does that sound?”

Morgan knows better than to answer. Daniel stands back to his full height from the squatted position, his face back stony and impassive. He hears the private start to struggle with push-ups and ignores his huffing breath as the other groups continue to troubleshoot.

It’s impossible to miss the shit eating grin on Charlie’s face as the Humvee roars to life and Charlie gives Baker a high five next after Davis and can’t help the “Fuck yeah” that comes out as she realizes they are the first group that has actually solved all of the problems. She has completely forgot the sand on her. The annoyance at it and her hair sticking to the sweat on her skins.

Instead Charlie is just too happy at how well they worked together. Impressed with her group at getting everything working and doing so down a person pretty much since Morgan wanted to be an ass. And that apparently didn’t go unnoticed. 

Charlie literally bites down on her bottom lip to stop from laughing out loud at Morgan getting his shit reamed. She even takes a step back, trying to use Baker almost as a human shield to hide the level of amusement on her face in this moment. That last thing Charlie wants is to get down in the sand again. Much less have to do push ups with Morgan for laughing at him. It was give the jerk to much satisfaction and Charlie doesn’t want to lose her high of finding the last problem herself.

When Daniel stands back up Charlie schools her face to indifference and refuses to look in Morgan’s direction because she knowns she will look far to amuse if she does. Instead she seems to remember that her shirt is untucked from climbing under the truck and goes to tuck them in too quickly, trying to get back in some assemblance of regulation.

Daniel checks his watch as the soldiers hurry back to the bunk. Well, all of the soldiers except for one. He knows that Charlotte Powell will be back with milliseconds to spare, which is fine by him. A couple of the eager Privates are back at the halfway mark, and Daniel does a personal inspection for them to make sure that their loadout looks good. Daniel remembers being so young and eager, as he looks over their faces, and gives small praise when their gear kit has everything needed for the exercise. He’s not a monster after all, even if the rumors that circulate camp might state he is less than human. The four kids - because really, they’re not even old enough to drink and look fresh out of high school - look at him with this awed kind of respect he doesn’t think he will ever get used to.

The next section of engineers come back looking less out of breath as Daniel inspects them too. Donovan is back with a little over a minute to spare, her partner in crime nowhere to be found. “Good job Lieutenant,” Daniel says after a couple seconds of scouring her gear. and Donovan snaps back a “Thank you, Staff Sergeant” without any of the animosity or pettiness that he’s come to associate with Charlotte. 

Once Powell is back, Daniel checks her gear, seeing it all in place as well. There are twenty-five of them in total, with ten newly minted officers and fifteen enlisted in front of it. It’s much more officers than Daniel would normally have, but he knows at least half of them are going to the FOB in three weeks and that command sent them out here specifically for the crash course Daniel is known for holding. Daniel leads them over to the large barn that holds most of their convoys. Instead of heading inside, he leans the group behind the building, where there are no lights and no cover.

“Attention,” Daniel barks out and the group falls into line. “There are five Humvees out here, all with various mechanical issues and problems. Your job is to assess the vehicles, find any issues, and repair them. Groups are as follows.” Daniel divides them easily, putting two officers with three enlisted men. All of the Humvees have easier to fix issues, as well as one or two complicated fixes that will take a keen eye and working knowledge of the vehicles.  “When you believe you are clear, call for me.”

Charlie knows she has all her gear and that this time it is all currently in place as it should be. She is thankful off all the practice gear and classes she was given to already be use to the weight of the full gear. She can see the slight more shuffling and adjusting of some of the young enlisted members as they try to get use to the weight on their shoulders and backs. Charlie stands casually as Daniel looks over all of her gear without a word.

She takes the back of the group as they follow their Staff Sergeant back to the barn that Charlie knows has to hold most of their convoys if not all of them. Charlie made a solid effort any time not in training and PT to explore and try to memorize every piece and location around the base, wanting to make sure she knew the area like the back of her hand. She might not know it quite that well yet but at least she knew the areas important to her.

This was one of them.

They all fall in line behind the building and Charlie wants to curse at being outside and not inside under the cover of the barn. There has to be plenty of space in there for them to do this drill. Making them do it without any cover Charlie knows is just to add more to the circumstance of the test.

Charlie forces a pout over at Sam when her name is listed in another group. Charlie gets along with most of the other officers, but Sam is still her ride or die and she likes having the friend as close as her close by. Still she looks over her group. The other officer didn’t go to West Point with her. The male, Albertson, is older, having enlisted a few year ago then went off to officer school recent. The three enlisted members are mostly okay. Charlie gets along super well with Baker. The kid slowly becoming like a younger brother to her that she is trying to corrupt. Davis is fine enough just a bit more quiet.

Morgan however, Charlie is taking as a personal attack being placed in a group with him. The guy is annoying, and arrogant, and not in a Charlie way where she at least knows what she is talking about, he is an idiot and likes to act like he knowns more then he does. She also knows the kid personally doesn’t like her for the amount of extra work he has had to do thanks to her mouthing off.

She rolls her eyes at his glare before they all group together around their Humvee and try to figure out where to start. Albertson takes the lead and Charlie listens. The guy is smart and knows what he is talking about. They are able to identify and fix all the easier issues without a problem and one of the larger problems is easily identified by Baker which makes the boy smile from ear to ear that he found the problem.

There is still something clearly wrong when the Humvee won’t start after the other problems are fixed and Albertson seems at a loss as they look it over again. Morgan is sitting on the sand, bitching about the drill being too hard and Charlie has to fight the urge from kicking him while he sits there useless.

She crawls under the Humvee, cursing the sand as she feels the motion of crawling on her back making her shirt untuck and sand stick to the sweat on her lower back. She can feel the tie in her hair start to loosen and pieces fall, sticking to her forehead and neck and Charlie ignores it and doesn’t even think about how much out of regulation she is now.

It takes about ten minutes of her down in the sand and she is about to just give up and go back to looking in the engine with the rest of the group when she notices something that doesn’t look quite right. One of the plugs underneath looks busted, as if it could have broken and came loose from reckless driving or coming under attack and Charlie yells for Albertson to see if there is another piece to replace it around or in either of their gear. 

The entire squad drops and Daniel has to stifle a sigh as they do their push-ups. As always, Powell isn’t going to make the day easy for him. Why would she, when she seems so intent to carry around some ridiculous, one-sided grudge. A grudge Daniel is still trying to figure out the origins of, considering they’ve known each other for all of two weeks and Charlie has acted like she hates him the entire time.

He ignores her. It’s for the best, really, because giving Charlie attention only makes her out act more. Daniel considers writing Richard a letter, trying to figure out how and why she is the way she is, but doesn’t. Powell is his responsibility now, and he will turn her into a trained soldier if it’s the last thing he does. Once her shirt is tucked back in, Daniel walks the line of them, doing another look over. Despite how early it is, the heat of the day is starting to cut through the dry, desert morning and Daniel can tell from experience that it is going to be a scorcher.

“Today we’ll be doing something different for your PT.” He can feel all eyes on him as he walks down the row of them again. There’s a reason he has them meet outside of their bunker today, instead of out on the course. “Head back inside and grab your full ruck. I want you combat geared for a mission in five minutes. Move.” His voice never raises. Unlike Miller, and some of the more aggressive Sergeants, Daniel learns early on that he does not need to raise his voice to be heard. His tone is direct, low and sharp, and most of the group scrambles back into the doors of the bunk, eager and willing to suit for something that isn’t running laps around the FOB or doing burpees until the sand is everywhere.

When he isn’t paying attention to her Charlie rolls her eyes and gets a side look from Sam. It’s one she knows well. One that is pleading with her to stop her shit before they get in more trouble and Charlie lets out a low sigh. But when she looks back in Daniel’s direction she can’t help but feel a bit annoyed again.

She has to admit that part of her annoyance is at the fact that he doesn’t show any sign of her actually getting to him and under his skin in the slightest. If he would act even a slight bit bothered by her actions it would give her even the smallest amount of satisfaction for bothering him the same way he bothers her. Honestly Charlie keeps waiting for a letter from her father, telling her to cut out her shit and stop acting like a child.

The longer time goes and she doesn’t get one the more Charlie has to question if he is actually reporting her every action back to her father like she though. Even if he isn’t her assigned babysitter Charlie still can’t help but feel jealous any time she looks at him after years of hearing his praise from her father in a voice she wished he used to speak about her.

Everyone else rushed back to the bunks and Charlie turns on her heel slowly and is one of the last ones in the bunk, moving as if she has no where to be in no time limit at all. She sets a five minute timer on her watch that she brought with her and when Sam hears the beeping off it she sighs, knowing exactly what Charlie is doing.