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"That bastard..." Elizabeth growled under her breath. She glared at the knot that she had clumsily created while attempting to tie off a bandage...for the second time now. Flustered, she worked the knot loose and began again, willing her mind to remain focused on the task at hand. "I swear I could kill him for this" she muttered angrily as her fingers tripped over eachother.

Into the evening hours, Elizabeth had been expecting William to sneak up at any point in time and demand an audience. She dreaded the meeting, and yet, the longer that she had to wait to get it over with, the more apprehensive she grew. She had been sorely tempted to march over to his tent and get it over with, but she didn't want to give him the impression that he affected her so.

"There" she said, more to herself than to the unconscious young man whose bandaging she had just completed. She glared at the lopsided knot, forcing down the scream of frustration that even now rose in her throat.

"Ms. Summers, please come with us" came a voice from directly behind her. Spinning around, startled, Elizabeth looked at the two unfamiliar soldiers warily. "Major Chapman has requested that you be brought to him." Elizabeth bristled at their word choice.

"Major Chapman...brought to him?? You can tell Major Chapman that he can-" Elizabeth began, her voice rising. A gentle cough from behind her shut her up. When she looked over her shoulder, she met the kind eyes of the Doctor.

"Please, can we take this outside perhaps? Many of the men have finally fallen asleep, and they need their strength," he soothed, his words meant more to beg Elizabeth to take care than to chastise anyone.

Heeding his unspoken warning, Elizabeth relented.

"By all means gentleman, 'bring' away" she said sarcastically, but much softer. The two young soldiers merely glanced at eachother.

"This way, ma'am." One of them bravely spoke up, but was silenced by an icy glare from the young woman.

"If any of ya'll call me ma'am one more time...exactly how old do you think I am?" she asked, slightly offended.The two men looked at her with stricken expressions. When one of them opened his mouth to respond, Elizabeth silenced him with a shake of her head. "Nevermind, please don't answer that. You must excuse me, I do not mean to be so rude but I have had a long day, and all that I want more than anything in the world is a warm bath and a soft bed and...I'm rambling...so I'm going to stop talking now." She trailed off. She saw the two men give eachother a look that clearly told her that they thought she was a bit off in the head, but by this point she was too nervous to care. She followed them across the camp, silent and docile.

After a few minutes, they reached a tent toward the outskirts of the encampment. Her guides paused, and waited with her. Moments later, William approached, and the two young men straightened up, standing at attention.

"Thank you soldiers, I-" William began, but was cut off when Elizabeth spoke up.

You have some nerve, you realize that? How dare you treat me like a child, when I saved your life? You think you can push people around just because of your rank, well I do hate to disappoint you but I am not one of your little soldiers!" Elizabeth shouted, stress overcoming her better judgement, placing her hands angrily on her slender hips. The two young men were startled at her outburst, and stared at her in something akin to horror.

"I should say not" came William's nonchalant reply.

"Well good. I expect not to be ordered around like a child!" Elizabeth shouted with finality in her voice. William only smiled once again though, and took a step towards her.

"Well that is where you and I disagree. You are correct in that you are not one of my soldiers, but for all purposes, you are still a captive." William said smoothly, his eyes flashing yet his tone casual.

"How dare you!" she cried, lunging at him. One of the soldiers quickly grabbed her right arm, while the other took a hold of her left. Struggling violently, Elizabeth cried out at him. "You son of a-" William held his hand up, effectively silencing her.

"Enough of your outbursts Ms. Summers. I will have you restrained and beaten if that is what it takes to finally teach you your place."

"I have told you before, just kill me already. Why toy with me, you sick bastard. I-" She nearly cried out when one of the men wrenched her arm further behind her back, ending her tirade. A tear trickled down her cheek, and Elizabeth looked miserably at her feet.

"Gentlemen, bring her into my tent. I wish to have a few private words with Ms. Summers." William said, his voice cold and emotionless. The two men nodded quickly, and yanked the angry young woman into the tent, depositing her unceremoniously on the floor. Still seething but too tired to physically fight back, Elizabeth sat silently.

She heard William dismiss the men, and then heard the soft rustle of canvas when the two left from the tent. William entered, lighting an additional lantern in the corner, and turned towards his desk. He unbuttoned his shirt in an attempt to cool off, but the sultry heat of the night gave little relief. Instead, he turned towards the young woman who sat on the floor of his tent.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for what was still to come, Elizabeth lifted her gaze and met William's gaze. Given the dim lighting, Eliabeth's eyes too a moment to adjust to the darkness inside of the tent. As he moved towards her, out of the shadow, the soft light from the small lantern played across his chest and stomach, making his skin glow like polished gold. When he leaned down towards her, Elizabeth closed her eyes and waited for his fury to come.

"Elizabeth," he whispered softly, extending an open hand down towards her. Wary, Elizabeth took his hand and was lifted to her feet. "Follow me" he said gently, pulling a clean linen shirt on and moving towards the back of the tent. When he raised a panel, and motioned for her to follow him out the back of the tent towards the dark woods, she hesitated, fear in her eyes.

"No" she said quietly, her back rigid. The many possible reasons that he had for sneaking her off into the dark woods ran through her mind, and none of them were pleasant.

"Elizabeth, if I wanted to hurt you, I could have done so here in this tent. Will you please come with me?" He asked this time, his azure eyes begging her to comply.

She watched him carefully, as she pondered his words. She decided that he was right, that walking in the woods with him could pose no more threat to her than remaining here in his tent. In fact, her odds were probably safer further away from the hundreds of confederate soldiers who slept just outside of the tent in which they now stood. Or so she told herself when she raised her chin and followed him out of the tent and into the darkness.

Once outside, William held up the lantern and entered the woods, staying on a small path. Because they walked in silence, Elizabeth was able to watch William carefully.

He walked with his head held high, which gave him an air of an almost boyish cockiness. His chin was set stubbornly, and yet his face looked almost peaceful, relaxed. His long legs were capable of covering distance quickly, but his slow gait told her that he was enjoying the process of getting to wherever they were going. He moved easily in the darkness, his steps both purposeful and silent. It was his hands that told her the most though. She had studied them while he lay unconscious back at her home, sick with infection. They were strong hands, scarred from hard work, but not calloused like a farm hand. Even when he had grasped at her, delirious with fever, they were gentle, soft almost. When he had traced the skin around her throat...No, she thought. Don't think about that.

When she jerked herself away from her thoughts, she realized that they had reached the river. Although the water was still high, the current had slowed and the river had receeded back within the safety of its banks. The air was cool, slightly damp from the remnants of the storm. Glancing up, Elizabeth saw the outline of the moon peeking out from behind some clouds. As the clouds swept away, the sliver light danced through the branches of the trees to sparkle off the gentle lapping waves of the water.

"Beautiful, isnt it." William said, setting the lantern on the ground and taking a seat on a large rock near the water's edge. Not sure how to respond, Elizabeth remained silent. She recalled the last time that they had spoken during the night like this, next to a different river, during a different time. She thought back on his words.

In the fight, you kill men that, had there been no war, could have been your friends. You march until your feet blister in the heat, and then huddle together around a dying fire to shield away the cold. If the fighting doesnt kill you, the infection might, the disease might. Everyone looks like a hero holdng a rifle and advancing into battle, but it is when they fall that you see the fear, the youth being stripped away from them as they bleed to death on a muddy battlefield. There is nothing heroic about a soldier when he lies on the ground, crying, knowing that he'll never see home again. It is those sights that age a man. Matthew's too young for that."

"Is that what haunts you?"

"The demons I carry are far worse than that. You would be best to keep that in mind."

"I hate this, you know." William said quietly, staring out over the water.

"You were the one that wanted to talk" Elizabeth said, knowing that William was speaking of deeper things. She was unwilling to admit that she knew exactly how he felt. He was unfazed though, and ignored her statement.

"I used to enjoy moments like this: quiet, calm. They relaxed me, refreshed me. Now whenever I sit still I am reminded how close that the war is. I spend so much time wishing that the moment would last that before I know it, its gone, and I have used it all up with worry or fear or anger." He reached down and absentmindedly picked up a stone, which he threw into the water. Elizabeth watched as the ripples spread outward before being overcome by the slow current. She took a deep breat and leaned against a tree trunk.

"I guess I never recognized just how close that this war was. When my older brother left to go fight, it was this distant thing. Now it seems like its everywhere." Elizabeth said, her voice beginning to waver as she spoke with complete honesty for the first time in what felt like months. "We had thought that this would be a quick fight, that it would all be over and the South would be free, and that things could just go back to normal, that our boys would come home. Now its two years later, and the war is raging in our own backyards." A lone tear slid down her cheek."There is a big part of me that keeps thinking that I will just wake up, and this will all be over."

"Elizabeth, I wish I had never dragged you into this, I wish more than ever that I could take you home," came William's voice from beside her. She looked up to find the soldier standing next to her. Silently cursing his abiltiy to move so quietly, Elizabeth straightened and faced him, her green eyes flashing with anger.

"How dare you? You kill my family, you drag me from my home, and now you say you wish you hadn't done it?" She raged, bitter tears flowing from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how I could every explain to you how sorry I am..." William placed a hand on her shoulder, but Elizabeth violently shook him off, and struck out at him.

"Liar! You murdered them, murdered my family!" She cried, and shoved him back. "I want you to take me home, I want to go home!" She cried.

"It's not safe there, Elizabeth." he said, trying to sooth her. "The Union will be marching on Richmond, the city isn't likely to survive the attack. You can't be there when that happens. You could be killed" he explained, compassion and pity in his eyes. That only infuriated the young woman more though.

"What do you care?! You've taken everything from me." Elizabeth sank to her knees. "I dont care if I die!" She cried weakly.

"But I do."

Elizabeth looked up as William knelt beside her, her tearful green eyes meeting his clear blue gaze. Something inside of her broke, and she could no longer hold the tears in. Her body wracked in silent sobs as the tears flowed from her eyes. Her body shuddered, and all of the strength went out of her. William's arms came around her, supporting her. Although she put her hands on his chest to shove him away, the gentle contact was too inviting. Instead, she slid her arms around his neck and buried her head on his shoulder as she let the tears come.

Somewhere deep inside, she still recalled the words that they had exchanged near the river the night before this all began. Although she wasn't ready to accept it yet, she somehow knew that nothing that had happened was his choice, that perhaps his apology was real. All that she knew was that she desperately needed his soothing touch.

"Shh" William soothed, his lips finding her forehead. He kissed her tearstained cheeks gently, whispering words of comfort against her cheek. Neither of them knew what had happened, but suddenly their lips were fused. William drank in her kiss, as Elizabeth clung to him like her life depended upon it. He reached a hand up and cupped her face, tilting her chin to allow him better access.

Never before had Elizabeth experienced this. She felt as if she were melting into his embrace. His touch thrilled her, and his kiss enflamed her. It was like she was awakening for the first time. She opened her lips to him, arching her back into him.

William moaned, wishing more than ever that he could take her right there, along the riverbank. Although he was aching to touch her, he knew that to do so could frighten her again. As his emotions waged war within him, William slowly became aware of a voice calling out.

"Major Chapman?"

Elizabeth sat back quickly, her lips swollen from his kiss. With wide-eyed fear she scrambled to her feet, looking in the direction from which the voice came. Shaking with the power of the conflicting emotions that raced through her mind, she gripped onto the tree for security as William stood.

"I'll take you back to your tent, then I'll go see what they want." Elizabeth nodded mutely, unable to speak. William lifted the lantern, and took her by her arm, guiding her gently back towards her tent.

They soon reached the tent, without having said anything to eachother. Elizabeth turned towards the entrance of her tent, her mind still racing. She stopped though when she realized that William, despite reaching their destination, had not yet let go of her arm. Elizabeth ooked up at him, her eyes questioning. William leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, lingered there a moment, then abruptly walked off, leaving Elizabeth standing there in confusion.

That was exactly how Rose found her when she turned the corner moments later.

"What happened, lil one?" Rose asked gently as Elizabeth followed her into the tent.

"I am not quite sure..." Elizabeth said slowly, her brow furrowed in thought. "I have no idea."





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