Behind Enemy Lines

-C.C.-

Sleep wasn't ever anything that came easy to me. Call it a soldier's nightmare what have you but tonight being here in this new place was more of a rational reason than any. Ms. Jacobs had put me up in a room on the opposite side of the house than where Celeste's room was. I got the point but I didn't think she had to worry too much, though I couldn't tell her that at all. Mothers worried, even when they didn't have to.

It was a guest room for the most part but because I had only slept for two hours initially when I came in here I had started looking around the room more. I managed to find two photographs in the drawers that were a part of the night stand where the lap sat. One of a man who looked to just finish working with a glass of cool lemonade in his hands. He was taking a sip when the photograph had been taken. I didn't think too much of that really until I looked at his eyes. They were more than a little familiar to me.

I paused for the briefest of moments wondering if Celeste knew this was in here. My conscious had been pulling to inquire about it but knowing that it might be too early to talk about that. I didn't think it was a safe subject, yet. Later, perhaps.

The other photo was of the same man and a younger Celeste. It had to be taken on the porch outside. It looked like the same place. They were reading a book together. It was a nice a photograph. Again, I paused nearly wanting to take it out the drawer and find out more about it but I stopped.

There wasn't a clock on the table instead one was next to the door but you couldn't see it unless you had the light on which was why I was grateful that I still had my wristwatch on and that it lit up at night.

A quarter to 4AM.

I let out a quiet sigh before rolling over and shutting my eyes. A couple minutes of trying to coerce myself back to sleep and then I slipped out of the bed which was much too soft not necessarily for me but because of my previous living conditions. I had heard the stories before. It was just starting to set in now. I really hadn't slept in a good 32 hours but that didn't seem to play a factor in my all-consuming night of wakefulness.

I didn't want to wake anyone but I didn't want to stay in this room either. It was a restless reminder that I was fully awake. I was careful as I slipped passed the door and walked down the short hallway to the living room continuing on to the kitchen. The light was already on which nearly gave me pause but I held it together and stepped in the light.

I coughed, wanting to make sure she heard me.

"Why hello, Cameron. Couldn't sleep?" Ms. Jacobs was standing near the stove in a night gown with a cup of coffee in her hands.

Smiling softly at her. "No, ma'am. Would you believe I haven't slept in almost two days?"

"Not even on the plane?" Her eyes widened in horror.

Shaking my head, I laughed. "Nope. Not used to sleeping much if at all."

She shook her head. The concern was etched right across her face. It was a nice feeling to have someone fret over me that wasn't immediately a brother in arms.

"It's okay. I'll probably get to it at some point."

I don't think that exactly helped but she did seem to understand. I wondered why she was awake now. Early mornings, I suppose.

She gestured to the coffee machine that had a fresh pot under it. Nice and warm that invited you in. I thanked her as she showed me where the mugs were and I poured myself a cup. The brew went down smoothly while giving me an extra small boost to my already pretty awake stupor.

"If you don't mind me asking, what afr you doing awake Ms. Jacobs?"

"Oh, I'm usually up getting an early start on most days even when there is so little to do around the house. Since you're up, why don't help me start the breakfast?"

I could feel the heat rise up to my face before I could even tell her that my culinary knowledge was limited. "Do you know how to cook eggs?"

This was really embarrassing. "Um, not really sure."

She just laughed as she patted me on the shoulder. "You poor child. I'll give you a quick crash course. C'mon." She took the mug from my hand even though I didn't have much left in it.

This was how Celeste found me twenty minutes later. Stirring the eggs until they were cooked completely.

She woman herself looked almost as unnerved as I had been at first. It was much more endearing on her.

-C.J.-

I woke up slowly. It wasn't quite morning yet but I felt like I had slept entirely too long. That was something that I always seemed to do ever since finishing college. I was used to the early mornings but this was much earlier than what I had gotten up for classes. I'd call this a pull to be up doing something but that wasn't exactly the truth.

It didn't occur to me until I was halfway to the kitchen that I wasn't the only one awake. As expected mom was already awake with a cup of coffee in her hands as she spoke to someone. I tried to wait to see if I could hear a response from the other person but after a solid couple beats I decided to just join the two of them. I nearly took half a step back when I saw the broad shoulders and the freshly cut hair of the one soldier in my life.

My hair was all over my head and I was in one of the thinner nightgowns that I possessed and a sweatshirt that I had chosen to slip on before coming out of my room. I fumbled to rake my hands through my hair. Split ends were something I needed to take care of but I did my best for the moment before mom noticed my presence. "Morning, sweetheart."

I was almost sure that she knew I was there but was giving me a moment of reprieve to assemble myself before making it apparent to her male counterpart. Cameron for his part smiled over his shoulder at her before turning back to the stove where he was stirring something.

I moved over to the cabinet closest to my mother to grab a cup so that I could pour some coffee. I drank it very rarely but felt that I could use it right now. I was barely awake and I needed to be conscious to endure all that was going on.

"What are you doing?" I asked him once I had a few good gulps of coffee.

"He's never made eggs." The sound of distain in mother's voice made me laugh. Eggs were a basic essential to any family even my own. To most people actually. It was easy to make, especially scrambled.

"I'm sure he hadn't the time with the whole being in the war thing."

Cameron speaks up then. "Well, to tell you the truth I do know how to cook some things. Eggs are just not a thing that I've had a lot of time to use or had my hands on. I spent a lot of my childhood eating slop."

"You poor man." The distain evaporated from the older woman and in it's place was a solemn expression. It was clear to me that my mother knew about Cameron's upbringing in the orphanage. They had clearly been talking. I didn't know how much she knew but that was definitely a starting point. A huge one actually. My mom was the type to want to take care of people if she could. Cameron could be well on his way to being her newest project. I probably couldn't stop her completely but I could try to help him out of it a little.

"Mom..." I warned her. It was nowhere near as stern as it could be but I was still dragging my feet.

"What?" She turned to me with an expression that was heavy in confusion and slight amusement at me. She crossed over to the side as she told Cameron he was done and to turn off the burner. When she was standing in front of me she just gave me a tiny smile before patting down some of my hair. "He's a quick learner. I'm sure he'll make you all kind of eggs in no time."

"Mom!" I whispered loudly causing Cameron to laugh because he heard the comment. "It's fine, Celeste." She looked at his head over her mom's. He was too tall for his own good but I saw the happy expression on his face and counted that as a good thing. As long as he wasn't bothered by my mother who was I to take the experience away from him? He had missed a lot without a true mother figure.

This made me think of the ladies at the orphanage. I had been wanting to talk to him about that some. Granted he hadn't even been with me for more than a day. It didn't mean I didn't want to find out more about him. I figured that was a long part of the reason why he was here. He wanted to get to know me too. In more ways it was his way of showing gratitude for the part that I played in his life during his tour.

He had done his part well for me too. We had more or less talked about that too. This was new and dizzying and special in it's own way. I wasn't sure if anyone else got that as much as we did but then again it had been a surprise when he had surprised me the day before.

I was grateful when mom poured herself another cup, took some eggs and a two slices of toast into the living room and turned the news on. It was her own way of telling me that she was on her own.

"Hi." Cameron started as he stood on the other side of the kitchen. He had stepped away from the stove for the first time. This was when I was allowed to really see what he was wearing. A pair of jeans and a gray and navy blue sweatshirt.

"Did you sleep at all?" I was curious, I knew that sleeping wasn't something that came easy for war vets and knowing that Cameron had past traumas in the form of lost friends and injuries that he might have suffered. It seemed like something highly plausible.

He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Only a little. Couldn't get comfortable." I had read about this. Soldiers often have trouble adjusting after sleeping in hard places for so long. I knew he slept in barracks too but that couldn't have been as plush or soft as a mattress at home-or my home rather.

"Sorry. Want to watch the sun rise?" It just sort of fell off my tongue but I couldn't exactly take it back, so I pushed on. "I usually do that if I'm awake around this time. I have trouble sleeping too." I told him as I went to refill my cup one more time.

"How come? The sleeping issue."

"I'm a morning person, I guess." I shrugged, stopping myself short. "I should probably change...quickly." She added, looking down at what I was already in. A nighty on a cool morning like this was not ideal even if we sat out there for only a few hours.

Cameron had this small habit of smiling in order to not make me feel awkward or embarrassed both of which he knew I was most of the time. The shifty ground we stood on was not lost on him. If anything he felt it more when we were like this; utterly alone in our little space of freedom.

I made it quick, knowing that there was only about fifteen minutes until the sun started to rise from beyond the horizon. I liked to be out there as soon as possible. I slipped on a pair of jeans and toed on some shoes before meeting him back in the kitchen. We headed out the side door and took a seat on the deck that faced the back of the house. This was a new place for Cameron.

"Have you always lived here?" He questioned a few moments shy of the sun rise.

"As far as I remember. I don't remember ever moving until college. Of course, we took several trips to families homes with my aunts or uncles and cousins but this has been home for a very long time. This is what I know. NYU was a change for me."

He nodded, understanding. "Just about the same when I did my first tour. I had never known anything outside of Louisiana. Same goes for here. I had watched movies as a kid. There were only two of 'em that the orphanage had. One being Home Alone and the other a very boring take on a classic book that I don't entirely remember."

"Did you like Home Alone?" I didn't want to tell him that I had never seen it if he enjoyed it as much. Odds are I would probably watch it eventually. As much films as I had watched, I had missed some gems. Addison being one of the people who got me into some of the cult favorites. You wouldn't expect Addison to like films that were very indie but she did. Most of the them were 80s films and all starring some of the same people but she ended up liking the actors enough to find some more current works of theirs.

"It was cool. I have only watched it about ten times but not since I left the place. Have you seen it?" I cringed a little having to admit that I hadn't.

"No.." I drew out while I looked up at him bashfully.

"Wow, a Yank who hasn't seen a film set in her state. How delightful." I swatted him playfully. "Hush. At least I know how to make eggs more than one way."

"I had a very different childhood than you, Miss Jacobs." He pretended to be hurt by my teasing but I could tell it was all an act.

The bright orange tinge that flitted over his face made me look out to see what I had been missing. Cameron on the other hand found the horizon less breathtaking than the calm that slipped onto my face as I took it in. The cool wind of the morning flicking at my hair as we sat on the steps.

"Welcome to your first real day in this crazy place I call home."

"Oh, I don't think it's that bad." He mumbled, shifting his attention out to where I focused my eyes. Streaks of reds and bright oranges melded together as the trees blocked some of the sun from view.

"Wait until we go into town. I'm sure they'll find a reason to make us go fetch something."

"What will happen then?"

As if telling a secret, she beckoned him closer to her. "Whispers."

We were quiet for awhile. Just taking in the morning. It wasn't long however until I felt like something was different.

I turned, only to find him tucked into the arm of the swing. He had fallen asleep finally. I smiled, beginning to get up to get a blanket from inside but mom was already there. "Thanks," I whispered quietly as I placed it around him.

"35 hours, poor guy. You stay with him while I make more breakfast." Knowing not to disobey my mom, I stayed there looking at the soldier who looked completely at peace now.

I turned back to the morning sky. It was a beautiful morning.