Ella had walked off in the direction of the mess hall with Dr. Bradley and Dr. Baker, leaving me alone with Captain Cooper. I sighed and rolled my head back, looking up at the blue sky. Just when I thought I was in luck the girl who had haunted my dreams wanted nothing to do with me. She was so unpredictable. She had watched the stars with me last night--we reconnected--I was positive that I hadn't just imagined the chemistry between us. She couldn't just pretend we were strangers--not after the way she had looked at me. Her blue eyes had expressed it all--how much she missed me, how happy she was that we met again.

So why had she pushed me away?

"Gabe!" Captain Cooper snapped. "Are you okay? You were very zoned out."

"Yes, Sir," I sighed. "...it's just...Nurse Anderson."

"Ah, did you engage in sexual intercourse with her last ni--"

I put my hand over his mouth, annoyed. "Sir, with all due respect, please learn some social skills. At least learn common street slang."

He peeled my hand away from his mouth, "So you did," he paused, choosing his words carefully. "bone her?"

I ran my hand through my hair and groaned, "You're hopeless, Sir. And no, I did not sleep with her. She just... rejected me."

"Ah, why am I not surprised that you've been rejected, Sergeant?" smirked the strawberry blonde girl, approaching us. She smiled and hugged Captain Cooper's arm, "Hello, Captain!"

"Private Morgan," Captain Cooper grunted through clenched teeth. "Get off of me. That's an order."

Private Morgan let go of his arm and saluted him, "Yes, Sir!"

"Ah, still no development in your love life? What a shame," I smiled sweetly.

"I'll hit you," she snapped.

"Oh, Private Erika Morgan! You would hit your superior? That's outrageous!"

She began to snap back, but was cut off by Captain Cooper, musing aloud. "So did she reject you after you offered to bone her?"

Private Morgan and I both groaned and walked away from him, leaving him befuddled.

~oOo~

At 18:00, dinner was served. However, my father had called me at 17:55 and I was inclined to answer. We had a short conversation (filled with clipped and snapped replies) for perhaps three minutes until father handed the phone to Samantha, who squealed into the phone. I held the phone a little ways from my ear, "Sam, you're gonna make me go deaf."

"Oh, Gabe, I haven't heard your voice in forever! Tell me everything! Why haven't you called me?"

I held the phone away from my ear, "Sam, slow down. You're talking a mile a minute."

"I missed you, Gabe. Like more than you could think. When are you coming home?"

"I'm deployed for another four months, don't worry, I'll see you soon."

"You don't miss me?" She whined.

I rolled my eyes, and leaned back against the wall, "Of course I miss you, grow up. You sound the same age as your kid."

"I can't help it," I could hear the pout in her voice. "I love you, chum."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too," I saw Ella across the pavilion, washing her hands by the water pump. "Hey, tell Craig I said "hi." I gotta go now, there's...something I need to handle."

"Bye, call me later!" I hung up and jogged across the pavilion to Ella, who was still washing her hands. As I approached her, I heard her murmuring the ABC song to herself and I chuckled to myself. I stood behind her quietly for a few seconds, waiting for her to turn around. "...next time won't you sing with me?" she murmured before turning around. Upon seeing me, she gasped and fell backwards a bit. I grabbed her left wrist to keep her from falling.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, helping her regain her balance. "Were you just surprised to see somebody as handsome as me?"

She rolled her eyes, nodding sarcastically, "Yes, yes, of course."

I chuckled and looked downwards, suddenly noticing her arm. On her left forearm there were light lines, going in all different directions. She realized what I was looking at and began to pull her arm away from me, but I held onto her wrist. "Ella..."

"It's not what you think," but her shaking voice said otherwise.

"Ella, did you do this to yourself?" I asked seriously, looking into her eyes. She didn't answer me and instead looked down at her mint green tennis shoes.

I was at a loss for words. They looked like older scars, they didn't recent, but I didn't remember her having a scarred arm when we met. I couldn't fathom just what could have happened that could make her do that to herself. Instead of saying anything, I began to pull her into a hug, but she flinched when I moved closer to her.

I let go of her wrist, and watched as she scrambled off to the mess hall, pulling the sleeves of her sweater back down.

~oOo~

I arrived at the mess hall at approximately 18:13, and took my seat beside Captain Cooper, who had been sitting with Private Morgan and Private James. We were being served beef stew tonight, cooked by Private Garay, who was an excellent chef. However, I didn't have much of an appetite. I was thinking about Ella, who sat at the table in front of mine. She was staring at her food, not touching it. Beside her, Dr. Bradley was asking her if she was alright, and she simply nodded absentmindedly, "Yes, yes, I'm just not hungry tonight."

Private Morgan smiled at Captain Cooper, offering him her biscuit. "I know how much you love the biscuits; you can have mine."

Captain Cooper stared at her blankly, "No, thank you. You need it. You're too skinny."

"Captain!" Private James groaned. "Sir, you need to learn what not to say to a woman. My wife would kill me if I said--"

"Do you like women with more meat?" Private Morgan asked eagerly. "I can gain more weight if you'd like!" She grabbed Private James's biscuit off of his tray and ate half of it in one clean bite.

"Hey, I love those biscuits!" Private James protested, but Private Morgan swiped my biscuit off of my tray.

She was taken aback when I didn't even react to her thievery and asked, with her mouth still stuffed full, "Rhut's 'oour parbum?"

I shook my head and got up, leaving the mess hall. "Nothing."

~oOo~

Several hours later, at 23:00, I regretted skipping my meal. I sighed and I sat in the kitchen, eating a cup of instant noodles. I was still worried about Ella and, for some reason, I was angry at myself for not having been there when she had needed me.

I heard a creaking behind me and turned around to see Ella, the girl I had been thinking about. She glanced at me and turned around to leave. "Ella!"

She cringed and slowly turned around, "Yes...?"

"Let's talk."