The FO Officer Ch. 02

Well, it took a while, but I finally got this one over the finish line. I have to thank Blamed_4_bridgeburning for all his help and amusing sarcasm as he edited this. I haven't had that big a laugh in a long time.

To my two technical people, what would I do without you both, major hugs to you both. My beta reader who still puts up with and corrects my mistakes, I can never thank you enough, I try of course but I'm still a lap or two behind.

Some individuals commented both privately and publicly about my writing Ashley's rape into the last story. Be aware, this chapter contains the follow-up and healing process. Any comments about it on the comments section or to my email box will be deleted before I even read them.

*******

Freddy and Joan were still working late at the office; it was all minor details but all still needed sorting before the official/unofficial announcement was made in the secret places, within the likes of Whitehall and even Washington, The Unit was back. A few wondered at the wording.

Joan and Freddy had kicked Brendan out of the office when he suggested. "Due to some dick of a politician turning out the lights prematurely to save his own ass, the Unit came back and turned the damn lights back on."

Career soldiers they may be, but something told all three of them that that announcement may not go down to well in some quarters. Feeling frustrated, Joan asked Freddy for his input and that minor thought turned itself into a challenge.

Were we the 'new' Unit, or just the continuation of, the Unit?

Fortunately, the prompt action of the new Prime Minister allowed the Unit to fully reassemble. Admittedly three had asked for their papers, but even that request was cancelled when the united front of Joan Carmichael and Freddy turned up at each barracks and spoke personally to all involved. The wives were still living in the same houses close to each other, the move away to follow their husbands only really held in check due to children and upcoming school commitments.

After finishing her final coffee of the day, Joan's decision on many things were made. All the old members of the Unit were back at Kenton Barracks and also in the arms of wives and families. The only admin problem at the moment was accommodation for the newest member, Staff Sergeant Brendan Howard aka Trapper-John. But the Sergeants' Mess had him in accommodation there and between Unit activities and spending time catching up with his cousin, he hadn't even bothered to look for anything else.

Thanks to the organizational skills of Freddy, the armoury was restocked. The cage room once again had all the Unit's combat kit in it, even Brendan's.

Joan moved to stand at the window of her office, looking out at the view; light was fading, the admin block of Kenton Barracks showed a few lights on but not many.

She sighed. "Freddy, there is nothing new about us other than the inclusion of Brendan. We are the Unit, nothing new at all."

Joan heard, "Agreed." Behind her.

The Prime Minister even emailed Joan asking for an update on her progress she was making. She didn't look on that email as pressure, far from it. With General Brownlow admitting and expanding on the few personal conversations he himself had with

the new Prime Minister, this was the sort of support every PM had given the Unit, from the time of creation up to the day the late PM turned on them, in an effort to save his own career.

The more 'testing' point at the moment, was the forthcoming three months visit to America. Plus of course telling Ashley and Brendan that they weren't going. Deep down Joan knew why she hadn't said anything, When Ashley found out that there were other hostages and all women, it was Ashley that had made the decision to continue to place her own life at risk.

Joan smiled to herself, Ashley was Unit through and through. But keeping her own rape a secret, trying to distance the act from the Unit rather than seek the resources that were available couldn't be allowed to happen. The condition of Halo and even Curtis's bodies as they placed themselves in harm's way to protect others was an example; that list also now included Ashley, only her unwillingness to tell Joan and seek help was causing what was going to happen next.

*******

As predicted, it was dark when she got to the boat club. Joan waved at the people heading towards the clubhouse or walking the club's site as she locked up her car and made her way to the boat; all waved back. She loved this little piece of heaven; a couple even cast an eye at the holdall in her hand and asked if she was moving back in with Ashley?

She smiled and admitted to herself that inwardly she wanted to. But that was going to be down to Ashley. Joan dropped her bag on the ground; the deep breath she took and then held, calmed her. A part of her wanted to take the cowards way out and bring in backup; Ruth had offered, Constance even offered to fly over unofficially and help. She loved those two women, but right now, Major Joan Carmichael was in charge of the Unit and this conversation was going to be Unit business.

Joan clenched her fist and wrapped her knuckles on the side of the boat. She caught a glimpse of Curtis sitting in the shadows of the Keyleigh Ortiz. Her back straightened knowing he was ready and waiting if she needed him. Joan heard movement below and then Ashley's head appeared.

The curious frown crossed her face, rapidly followed by Ashley's famous smile. "Dammit JoJo, what's with the knocking? This is still partly your boat. Get your butt in here."

Ashley had hold of Joan's bag as both stood on deck for a moment, before heading down the steps. Joan watched as Ashley placed her bag on the table and then took a couple of steps back to sit on the bean bag next to it. She knew time was of the essence, Ashley wasn't stupid.

Joan held the zip and pulled it along the length of the bag, her hand went in and a bottle of scotch appeared. In one motion she placed the bottle on the table and took a half step to the side, she knew the location of the glasses they both used when they shared the boat would still be the same. Those same glasses also now sat next to the bottle.

Ashley watched and her smile grew. "So, it's official, you are moving in."

Joan shook her head. "Not till after we get back from America and even then, a great deal will have changed by then."

Ashley's brows creased in confusion. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

Joan held back her tears with pure willpower. Her hand went to the bottle, unscrewed the top and the two glasses were filled almost to the top. One was handed over to Ashley, seconds before Joan dropped her own arse on the beanbag across from Ashley's.

Her tears could be held back no longer. "I've waited for perhaps longer than I should have and you still told me nothing. I know Ashley. The doctor kept her oath but you seem to sometimes forget, I was an intelligence officer before I joined the Unit. Brendan and Halo got there in time to free the hostages, but not quickly enough to prevent you from being held down and raped."

In that one statement, it was out there. Two people held their breath. Both sensed movement on deck and collectively looked towards the door to the boat, Ashley and JoJo watched open mouthed as both halves of the door gently closed and sensed the weight of one-man rest against it. JoJo once again looked at Ashley, one of her truest and dearest friends, as Ashley herself emptied almost half the glass of fiery liquid down her throat.

The pause allowed both women to take a breath, to place their glasses on the table, to remember how they interacted from the very first moment they realised their friendship would work, and to know there was life for them within and separate from the Unit.

Ashley looked into the eyes of her friend, indeed at this moment, perhaps her very best friend, and the walls she was still building for herself, crumbled and she cried.

Joan rolled off of her beanbag and into the arms of her friend and cried right alongside her.

*******

Ruth snuck a look at both her sleeping angels, then left the Ortiz about an hour after Curtis did. She had found him sitting with his back to the door of Ashley's boat, his eyes closed until Ruth's hand went to the rail of the boat and then his eyes instantly snapped open. In the early part of their relationship, it weirded her out that he could do stuff like this, now she just looked at it as something that would always keep her family safe. Right now, and in her eyes, she knew he was keeping both JoJo and Ashley safe, in the only way he knew how.

It didn't stop her sitting on his lap, the coffee cup exchanged hands and a grateful kiss completed that exchange. Both held each other, both also had an ear in different directions. Ruth still listened for any movement within our own boat, while Curtis listened in case he was needed on the other side of what he was leaning against.

Slowly her head came away from Curtis's shoulder. "Did you leave your cell phone in the boat?"

She watched her husband nod his head, then asked him where he left it, Ruth smiled when he told her, he even got a kiss on the cheek, because to her, it was the right answer. Ruth pulled her cell out of her pocket and punched in a group of numbers, then tapped the side of her phone and the volume went up. They could both hear the girls breathing in their sleep, the odd cute little snore and one even turned over before the breathing rhythm started again.

Once it dawned on Curtis what he was listening to, he just looked at his wife. "I'm a guy, I'm just glad I don't know how to do that."

Ruth hugged him right back. "I'm your wife, I'm so glad you trust me enough not to ask."

Both just sat, listening to nothing but their own heartbeats. While their friends talked inside.

*******

Ashley placed her glass on the table. The temptation was to finish the whole contents of the glass, but Ashley realised she was in a fight for her whole career and needed a clear head to do it.

Joan did the same, her stare never leaving her friend. Both stole a glance at the closed door, they could hear Ruth's voice talking to Curtis, but the whispered words didn't divulge the content. Both women took comfort of two close friends being so close and only a call needed to bring them in. They knew it was truth time, the outcome would be decided, once all the emotions of the evening were put to bed. For now, Joan sat and watched her dearest friend.

Ashley stood and kicked her bean bag closer to Joan, it bounced off of her arm and Joan smiled as she patted it into place, almost connecting it to hers. She slumped down, Joan could see the concentration on her friend's face; her biting her bottom lip as she sat simply reinforced her feeling that this was going to hurt.

For a moment Ashley simply stared at the other side of the room, then she looked at Joan. Her friend looked back at her; pain slowly etched itself across Ashley's face as her memories were allowed to surface once again.

"I stand by everything I wrote in my report Joan. But that's not what you're after is it?"

Joan Carmichael felt her neck warm, then her cheeks. Her eyes once again watered as she slowly shook her head.

The nod of her own head came first from Ashley, she looked away for a brief second, a respite from what she needed to say next. Her own mind counted back the days, weeks, months and years to a time when those two special ladies took her aside and shared with her, so much pain from their own memories.

"My mum and dad gave me an eighteenth birthday party. Many of the guests were family. When I announced that I was going to enlist at the end of the month, it felt like you could hear a coin hit the floor from the other side of the room. They all knew that I wasn't interested in nursing or cooking, I wanted front line action."

Two women in the crowd that heard her birthday speech supported this young lady, they both knew she needed to go into all this with open eyes, not only for her sanity, but for her own survival.

The phone call from one of her family members left her confused; it was an invitation to spend the evening with both her and one of her aunt's, both strong women in their own right. Ashley knew she couldn't decline, just as she knew that the sun rose in the east and set in the west. When either of these two women invited you to one of their homes, the only response they expected was "What time?"

Drinks and cakes were sitting on the coffee table, the pause in the social conversation meant that these two women were getting to the point of the invitation.

"At the time of the great war, when so many young men left to fight in the trenches of France. It was the woman of our families that stood firm, that carried the weight of the men folk until they returned. Our family thrived, our women and our bloodline held us all in good stead. When those that survived returned, some were but husks of their former selves. The women stood even firmer, as the years past it became tradition, a silent understanding that the womenfolk took charge, kept the peace and became a record of our family's history."

Joan sat in awe as she listened to Ashley; as word followed word, a true understanding of this woman came to her.

"My aunts acknowledged my reasons for joining the army and wanting to be in an infantry regiment rather than be always behind the lines and relatively safe. But with that acknowledgment had to come understanding."

Ashley rose to her knees and sat back on her legs so she could look directly at her friend.

"My aunt started her conversation with the words. 'To the winner go the spoils.' It's been like that since man first took up arms against each other Ashley."

It was also then that both women would share a secret with Ashley. "Wars or conflicts, whatever you wish to call them have few rules away from the news cameras Ashley. Officers point to the men and say we go there, that's what our army will expect from you. But if you're captured Ashley it might not end well. You have the uniform of this nation on, but you're still a woman in a combat zone."

My aunt then pointed to her partner in crime and said. "Trisha was raped by her then boyfriend six years ago. Trisha spent three years in a mental health facility, She's spent the other half of the time since then in therapy. The women of this family closed ranks around her and we all looked after her."

Aunt Trisha then looked at Cousin Fiona. "This one handled it better because of what she saw me go through. Oh yes, she went off men for just over four years and then met Gregory." Aunt Trisha rolled her eyes in mock drama and said. "Then she met and found her special someone and have been together ever since."

It still didn't stop Cousin Fiona from giving her aunt a playful slap across her upper arm.

Ashley stopped talking for a moment and looked at Joan, her friend's mouth hung open in an O.

"I idolised those two women, Joan. They warned me ahead of time of a worst-case scenario. More so with what we do with the Unit, I weighed that risk with what the rewards were. We got those women back their freedom, Joan, I will go to therapy if you insist and get it out of my system. But I will carry that rape with me all my life."

It seems that on her first leave when we all got back, she went home and talked to Aunt Trisha and Cousin Fiona again.

"The two women in my life that I can never thank enough, said welcome to the club and both then wrapped me in their arms, they have also enforced the need for therapy."

Joan leaped across the little space between them and cuddled with Ashley. She told Ashley that both she and Brendan were going into therapy while the rest of the Unit fulfilled its commitment with the regiment in America.

Ashley's eyes did drop for a moment and she replied, "I have a confession to make, Joan. The man who raped me, I researched his background. He had a wife and two children when he left for his war zone. It was they he left when he also went native with the daemons in his head. She eventually divorced him and is married again now; the new husband has since adopted her boys."

Both had tears running down their cheeks as Ashley continued, "She has a new life; I plan to have a new life when my therapy gets going. I'm a cousin Fiona type of girl Joan. I still like men, I dealt with the man I didn't like all that much, twice."

The rest of the evening was question and answer time between them both. Joan was happy with the outcome of this conversation; in fact, she was so pleased that, with the help of Curtis, she moved back onto the boat the next afternoon.

Constance sent her plane for Ashley and I, the rest of the Unit were sent via the RAF. The usual cat calls of ass-kissing the boss were exchanged and smiled on in the humour they were given. News is closely guarded by the Unit, news about one of its members never gets further than the wives. They knew because Ashley sat them down and told them what we would be doing while their menfolk are in Texas. Group hugs became common that evening.

*******

One of Constance's security people collected us and we spent the night at the ranch. We spoke with Halo; Kitten went into a full-on body hug with Ashley and neither were seen for an hour after she dragged Ashley out of the room and in the general direction of the stables.

We got to the hospital at nine the next morning and were escorted to an office a few minutes later. A nice woman stood and handshakes were exchanged. Doctor Carol Hastings flat out told me that at best I would be a supporting role in all this. I knew that ahead of time, so I took the heat out of any conversation, telling her she was the boss, not me.

As day followed day, Ashley's therapy sessions lasted the full amount of time, sometimes she came out with tears in her eyes, but usually Ashley and the therapist came out with smiles on their faces.

We did hit a wall when the good doctor wanted me to go into details of that day and the run up to Ashley's rape. I pulled my cell from my pocket and phoned JoJo in front of the doctor to ask how much information I could share, JoJo asked me to hand over my cell to Doctor Hastings. The good doctor nodded her head at whatever JoJo said to her and eventually finished the conversation with "Agreed."

When the doctor handed me my cell back, all I got from JoJo was. "Tell her everything."

The therapy sessions seemed to go better after that. Although the stumbling block seemed to be, why did Ashley go back into the tent to kill the man a second time. Eventually she settled on Ashley's answer of "I needed for my own peace of mind, to know that he was dead, both physically and mentally. I knew I could put my rape by this man behind me now, he could never hurt me or anyone else for that matter."

I was allowed in on all the remaining sessions after that one conversation. We all lasted another two weeks before the good doctor decided that Ashley was as well adjusted to her being a victim of rape that she was ever going to be.

Doctor Hastings did enforce on Ashley that she may have a trigger within her. "You need to search within yourself Ashley, find it and seek peace with it. From what you've said about your aunt and cousin, they found theirs and are at peace. Find yours, your own peace will naturally follow."

*******

We made it to the Texas infantry base with a week left of the Unit's trip, we even got involved in the competition that was to last for two days between the Unit and the regiment. Two days later when they counted up the points awarded, the draw was announced to all and agreed that it was a fair result.

We all headed home two days later. We didn't know at the time, but another invite was sent to the ministry of defence for a return of the Unit any time they wanted to come over. The Prime Minister read the letter sent from the general of the Texas regiment and smiled. He handed it back to General Brownlow and both agreed that it was three months well spent, not only for the Unit and the credibility of our armed Forces, but for the two people that spent time in a hospital office.