Chapter Three
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The weeks passed slowly for all at Millington Army Base. Justin called his family as often as he had the chance, if for no other reason then just to ease their minds and let them know he was okay. Every soul was praying for the best and fearing the worst.
Everyone waited anxiously for word to come of the war's end, but none ever came. As each day passed by they grew closer to being shipped out. All of the cadets' hopes of going home were starting to spread thin, and Justin didn't know how to ease his family and girlfriends' minds anymore. He was facing facts that he had to go to war.
For most of the time he had been at Millington, Justin had always pushed his fears asside, and gave one hundred percent to the training exercises. He always urged his friends on. His commanding officer noticed when he suddenly started to keep to himself during training sessions. Justin seemed harder, more intense.
Their drill sergeant understood their fear, but he continued to push them, knowing that they would absolutely have to know everything before they left. An overwhelming feeling of uneasiness settled over the entire base, and it only grew worse with each passing day.
One day during training, everyone had been sent back to their sleeping quarters immediately, and were waiting nervously, wondering what was happening. Justin was sitting on his cot talking to James, Lance, Jc and Joey when Chris came in, no color to his face and wearing a very solemn look.
"Everyone, listen up," he said, his voice cracking slightly. Everyone quickly looked up and awaited the word on what was happening.
"Our forces have been ambushed. Troops all over Iraq have been ambushed. We've taken... a devastating blow. Everyone with enough training is being sent to different locations. We will be stationed north of Baghdad, in Kirkuk."
"When?" one of the men asked.
"We will be leaving tomorrow. Each of you may call your families. Tell them what's going on, and tell them that they will be allowed to see you before we leave tomorrow."
With that Chris walked to his cot and laid down on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Nobody could even move to call their families, they were all having a hard time soaking in all of the information. Justin bit his lip and figured he'd call now and get it over with. It'd be better than waiting until everyone else wanted to.
He got up and shuffled across the room, over to the phone. He knew his parents would be gone since it was still morning, but he knew Austin would still be home. He dialed her number and waited patiently for her to pick up, smiling as he heard her voice on the other end.
"Hey, princess."
"Justin!"
"How've you been?"
"I'm alright. Miss you a lot... When are you coming home?"
"Well, sweety... Not for a little while."
"Oh no... This doesn't have to do with that thing that happened overseas, does it?"
"Yes... It does. We're being sent over tomorrow," Justin fell quiet as he heard Austin start to cry softly on the other end.
"Justin... you can't... you can't go..."
"I have to, baby."
"But, Justin... Justy you're gonna be a daddy..." she said softly.
Justin felt tears start to well up in his eyes.
"I am...?"
"Yes... I'm three months along. I went in two days ago and they told me."
Justin was silent for a minute. He had no idea what to say. He wished more than ever now that he didn't have to go.
"I wish I could get out of this, I really do. But I can't. You know that just as well as I do."
"I know... Will I be able to see you before you leave?"
"Yes. Actually that's partly why I called. We're gonna be allowed to have visitors here before we have to leave. And you'll get to meet Jc, Lance, Joey and Chris."
"That'll be nice... but I just can't wait to see you. Want me to let your parents know so they can come with me?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," Justin let out a small sigh.
"Hey Aussy I have to go. Everyone else has to call their families."
"Okay Justy. So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes. Anytime before... I think two."
"Okay then, we'll be over early so we can spend the morning with you."
"Alright baby, see you then."
"Bye."
Justin hung up the phone and moved out of the way so the others could use the phone. He walked over to his cot and sat down, his mind reeling. He couldn't stop thinking about what Austin had told him. He was really going to be a daddy.
Lance watched Justin from his bunk, wondering what it was that had his friend so distracted. He finished jotting down what he was writing in his notebook and closed it, the pen inside it on the page he was writing on, and set it down on the cot next to him. He stood up and made his way over to the other side of the room and sat down next to Justin.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Hey," Justin said, looking up at Lance and noticing his concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"So who were you talking with on the phone over there?"
"Austin."
"Ahh. She comin' up tomorrow?"
"Yeah," he looked down at his hands and started to pick at his fingernails.
"She said she's pregnant."
Lance sat back in surprise, and then his expression changed back to concern.
"I hope we're back before she has it..."
"I do, too. I hate the thought of leaving her like this. Especially now."
Chris rolled up from his laying position and rested his elbows on his knees.
"We could break your legs for ya, then you wouldn't have to go."
Justin looked up at him with a smile starting to touch his lips.
"Yeah, but I need all my body parts to work..."
"Damn logic." Chris said, scratching the back of his neck for a moment.
"How far along is she?"
"Three months."
"Well, aside from what happened we've got things under control over there. We should be home before she's due."
"Yeah, and we can all be there when she has it," Lance added.
"Sure. You guys can be uncles," Justin said, flashing a full smile.
"You know, it's a shame we weren’t famous. That smile would make us millions," Chris stated.
"No wonder Austin fell for you."
"Well, she didn't like me at first... She thought I was some jock."
"Well, she had that bass ackwards. What turned her around?" Chris asked.
"I saved her life."
"Ohhh how? What happened?" Joey asked as he walked over with Jc and sat down.
"I remember this..." James said, sitting down on the other side of Justin.
"One of our friends was throwing a party, and it got out of hand. Somebody was fooling around with the fireplace and somehow caught one of the living room curtains on fire. The place caught fire pretty fast, and we all barely got out.
"I turned around to look back at the house and I saw Austin up in one of the second story windows. The whole first floor was engulfed and she couldn't get out that way. So I went over to a tree and climbed it. It had a branch that hung by one of the second floor windows."
"I didn't notice that he went back at first. I went to say something to him and he wasn't there, so I went back and I was under the tree," James added.
"Well she noticed me heading for the tree, so she had run over to the window and opened it. There was about four feet of space between the branch and the window, so I told her she had to jump. She kinda looked at me for a minute, and then started to climb out the window to jump.
"When she jumped I knew she wasn't going to make it onto the branch by herself, so I reached out and grabbed her so she could get a good grip. I thought we were fine, but then the branch broke."
"Yeah, I saw them comin down at me and I started yellin for help. Justin kinda twisted before they hit, so he would be underneath her to help break her fall. He ended up breaking his right arm and busting up his ankle," James finished.
"Ouch..." Chris said, rubbing his own arm.
"She came to visit me every day after that. She got to know me and fell right in love with me."
"Wish I had a tale like that. I don't even have a girlfriend," Lance said.
"You will, Lance. We'll introduce you to some people," Joey said, draping an arm over Lance's shoulders.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Jc asked Joey.
"Several," Joey answered.
"Several girlfriends?" asked Justin.
"Several girls that wish they were girlfriends," Joey responded with a sly smile.
The guys all talked for a while, until everyone had finished calling who they wanted to see the next day. Chris looked up at the clock and announced that it was time for dinner. They all went to the dining hall and ate, and unusual silence hanging over them. The rest of the night passed by quickly, and soon it was lights out. They all went to bed, trying to push back the thoughts and fears that were surfacing in all of their minds. What was it going to be like? Were they all going to make it home?
Justin's mind was filled with thoughts and images of what life would be like after Austin had their baby. Those thoughts kept him away from all the thoughts of war, and eased him into a peaceful sleep.
| Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six |
