Gunslinger

Dana shook off the strange feeling that she had about her conversation with the old woman, and followed Brian into the medical tent. Two medics were scurrying about dealing with the casualties. She realized that she had no idea what Brouchard looked like. Brian turned to look at her.
“Who are we supposed to talk to?”, he asked her brusquely.
“His name’s Brouchard but I don’t know what he looks like”, Dana responded. One of the nurses walked toward them.
“What are you two doing in here if you’re not injured?”, she asked.
“Lieutenant Somerville needs us to speak with Brouchard”, Brian responded, eying the petite blonde nurse with interest. Dana rolled her eyes. Typical of the man. You could put him in the middle of the war zone and he was still a horny bastard.
“He’s over there”, the nurse pointed to a short dark haired man who was removing a piece of shrapnel from a soldier’s arm. Dana looked toward where the nurse was indicating, and frowned when she realized that she didn’t recognize Brouchard at all. Squaring her shoulders she walked toward him. He glanced up at her.
“Kinda busy here Vandenberg”, he muttered. He had a thick Southern accent, and was only about 3 inches taller than her own 5”3”.
“Somerville wants us to speak with you’, Dana sighed. Brouchard glanced at both her and Brian with a look of confusion, his brown eyes narrowed.
“Why?”, he asked her simply. Dana shrugged in response, running one hand through her black hair.
“It’s been a strange day”, she eventually responded. Brouchard signaled for the nurse to take over, and took Dana’s arm. He led her over toward an empty cot and asked her to sit. She hopped onto the cot, her legs hanging down over the side.
“What’s been so strange?”, Brouchard asked her.
“You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you”, Dana sighed. She placed her arms behind her and rested her hands on the cot mattress. She glanced toward Brian but he had leant himself against another of the cots and shrugged at her.
“Well, why don’t you start at the beginning”, Brouchard responded. Dana struggled internally for a moment, wondering what she could say to Brouchard without being labeled a nutcase, and having both her and Brian marched off in straight-jackets. She giggled to herself. Well, maybe seeing Brian marched off wouldn’t be such a bad thing. She looked up and noticed Brouchard frowning at her, obviously waiting for her to continue speaking.
“I think something may have happened to Brian and I”, Dana muttered eventually.
“What makes you say that?”
“We don’t remember anything”, Dana responded, looking up at him to gauge his reaction.
“What do you mean by not remember. You obviously remember your name, and who Brian is. You two used to be inseparable until you caught him with that nurse…” Brouchard broke off, and hid his face as a little as he blushed.
“What?. Me and Brian. Oh my god, ewwww”, Dana exclaimed. Brian looked over at them, his eyes narrowed at what Dana had said. “Oh my god, I’m in my own personal hell.”
“Just tell me what’s going on, Dana”.
“Alright alright”, Dana sighed. She sat up straighter and brought her arms in front of her. She clasped her fingers together and looked Brouchard in the eye.
“Brian and I don’t remember anything from before D-Day.” Brouchard’s eyes widened.
“Not a thing?”, he asked. Dana shook her head.
“We don’t remember anything or anyone. And then the old woman spoke to me outside, and Brian didn’t see her.” Brouchard’s eyebrows raised, and he leaned forward so that his face was mere inches from her own.
“What was she wearing?”, he asked her with a serious expression.
“Brouchard, now is not the time to make fun of me or try to picture a hot woman.”
“Hot woman?” It took Brouchard a moment to catch what Dana was inferring and he blushed again. “I didn’t mean that”, he stammered.
“She was wearing a black dress, and she had some kind of floral scarf around her neck”, she muttered. Brouchard’s eyes widened so much Dana thought he was going to faint. He regained his composure after a moment and muttered, almost to himself, “what the hell is she doing?”
“You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”. With a sigh, Brouchard nodded. “Well, who is she?”
“She’s my grandmother”, he responded. Dana’s eyes widened and she looked at Brouchard in shock.
“You brought your grandmother to a war?”, Brian asked. He had been silent up until now and both Dana and Brouchard turned to look at him. He threw up his hands at their twin looks. “Just making an observation.”

Brouchard sat on the cot next to Dana and looked at her nervously.
“Oh god, what the hell is that look for?”, Dana asked.
“Where are you from?”, he asked, looking between Dana and Brian.
“Huntington Beach, California”, Brian responded. “Both of us.”
“Dammit, she did it”, Brouchard sighed.
“Who did what?’, Brian asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. This conversation was going around in circles and he was beginning to get a headache.
“You”, Brouchard said, pointing to Brian, “are from Huntington Beach.” He pointed to Dana. “But you’re from Chicago.”
“So what the hell does this all mean?”, Dana asked after a moment.
“My grandmother’s up to her old tricks”, Brouchard sighed. Dana and Brian glanced at one another.
“What does she have to do with this?’, Brian asked. Brouchard ignored his question, and took Dana’s hand. Brian felt a feeling surge through him that he wasn’t familiar with, and he frowned. For a moment he had wanted to knock Brouchard away from Dana. He couldn’t explain where the feeling had suddenly come from, and it wasn’t a feeling that he was entirely familiar or comfortable with.
“When are you from?”, Brouchard asked next. Dana’s mouth opened in shock.
“You know?!”, Dana shrieked. The nurse glanced toward them with a frown, and Brouchard motioned for Dana to keep her voice down.
“What year?”, Brouchard asked.
“2005”, Brian responded. He was paying more attention now, and he eyed Brouchard with suspicion. How could this man know that he and Dana were somewhere they had no business being.

The room was silent for a moment whilst the trio looked at each other warily.
“Okay, now for the million dollar question”, Dana sighed. “It’s 1944 isn’t it?”
“Yes. June 7th”, Brouchard replied. “You two are paratroopers with the 101st Airborne. Dana, you were picked as an experiment to see how a female could cope with the rigours of training. You weren’t supposed to actually jump, but Somerville pulled some strings.”
“Holy crap, I’m in the middle of world war two”, Brian complained. “All I wanted to do was go out, drink and get laid! What the hell have you dragged me into, Vandenberg?”
“Of shut your fucking mouth, Haner”, Dana snapped. “I didn’t exactly ask to come here either.”
“Maybe if you weren’t so besotted with me I’d be safe back at the bar, with a brew and a hot babe.”
“Besotted with you! I'd like to see things from your point of view but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass.”
“You know you want it, baby”, Brian responded with his trademark smirk.
“I can’t believe you were the sperm who swam the fastest”, Dana sighed. “Of all the men that I could get catapulted through time with I end up you. I fucking despise you, you cumguzzling douchebag.”
“Okay you two, that’s enough” Brouchard interjected before Brian could respond. “Obviously, whatever happened back at Toccoa has carried over. Now quit behaving like children so we can figure out how to get you back where you belong.”
“Well, go and find Grams and get us out of this mess”, Dana said, turning so that she was facing Brouchard again.
“It’s not that simple”, Brouchard responded. “For right now, you two are stuck here.”

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