What happens AFTER the battle is over? Why.. another battle on a totally different field.. one that BeachHead unfortunately does NOT excel at.

Sorry that I suddenly continued with this epilogue.. but it was a rabid plot bunny. Had to kill it somehow.

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In the Pit:

"I'm just sayin' that you're a great driver!" BeachHead stalked along the hallway, trailed by an angry CoverGirl.

She snorted. "Yeah.. and what was the part about me being infantry?"

He shook his head. "What does it matter that you're half useless on the field without a vehicle, Cinderella? As long as you got a tank or something, you're better than any other Joe we got." He suddenly ducked and tried to dodge as she beat at his back with her fists. "Ow!! Stop it woman!! Dang it!"

She stood clenching her fists, ready to spit she was so mad. "You're such a jerk! I'm not useless!! I'm just as good in the field as anyone!"

"Yeah right! If you stick to a vehicle, you're great, but you aren't big enough! Heck, a full field pack just about outweighs you! That's not your fault, you're just too lightweight to be effective!" His reasoning didn't go over well and he rolled his eyes. "Look Barbiedoll, stick to what you do good, and do your best otherwise, but you'll never match up to one of us infantry in field conditions." He tilted his head at her, hoping she understood he wasn't dissing her for things she couldn't help. That's how he caught the fist to his right eye.

"You big dumb rock!" She stormed off down the hall, and he picked himself up, winking and rubbing his eye.

Feeling to see if it as going to swell up, he turned to go back up the hall and nearly walked into Lifeline. "Whoa.. sorry. Didn't see you there."

Lifeline leaned to look at CoverGirl as she disappeared. "You know Beach.. you're a good guy, but you have a thing for the 'one step forward - three steps back'... don't you?"

BeachHead snorted. "I dunno what you're talkin' about." He stepped around the medic and headed up to his office.

Much to his annoyance, the medic followed him. "Well, I thought you had the idea, with the being nice to her, you know. But it's pretty apparent that you sort of screwed it up."

"I have been nice to her. I don't know what you're talking about! Besides.. why should I bother being nice in the first place? She doesn't want anything to do with me, why should I need to do anything to make her happy?" He scowled and felt at his eye again. She packed a nasty punch when she got mad, and when she hit you in the eye, you sure knew you'd been hit. Of course, she'd probably break a knuckle if she hit him in the jaw.

Lifeline stepped into his office after him. "Of course you should be doing things to make her happy. Didn't you say you thought she liked you? Didn't you say you might even like her back some? What changed?" He was answered with a grunt. "Oh.. come on. And if you say the words 'no fraternizing' I'll punch you in the eye myself."

The sergeant tilted his head at him in a scowl. "Yeah right. You useless pacifist, you wouldn't punch me if I was strangling you to death."

Lifeline crossed his arms. "You didn't answer me."

"No, I didn't." BeachHead seated himself at his desk, and dragged out his performance review reports to work on. "It doesn't matter. It was stupid for me to even think anything could happen. I'm higher in rank than her, and besides, she's the most gorgeous woman on base, why would she want to think about me?"

Lifeline sat in one of the chairs and leaned on the front of the desk. "Why would she? Does it matter? She's obviously still thinking about you. Otherwise, why would she get so angry over your opinion? She wants you to think well of her. And if you think about it, CoverGirl doesn't really care about most people's opinions of her." He got no response, but he saw the papers being flipped slow down as the sergeant thought that over. "She wants to be in your good graces, because you matter to her. If she didn't care, she wouldn't be after you to ask about her performance on the field, she wouldn't be upset if you thought she was off, and she certainly wouldn't try so hard to make you proud in every way she can."

Now the ranger stopped pretending to be interested in the paperwork. He flipped the file closed and put his elbows up on he desk, resting his head in both hands. "Lifeline.. there's no reason for her to be interested in me. I don't know what to do.. what does she want?"

The medic sighed. "Why can't you at least try to be her friend?"

Dropping his hands to the desktop, the sergeant stared at him. "Don't you think I'm trying?!? I told her she's the best driver we have." He sighed. "This stuff is too hard."

Lifeline reached over and gave his hand a quick reassuring pat. "If you'd stop at the 'best driver', you'd do fine. Just don't point out the 'not good enough' in other ways next time."

"That's ridiculous! How is she supposed to improve her shortcomings if I sugarcoat everything?" Suddenly the sergeant was up and moving, urging Lifeline out of his office. "You're being crazy anyway. Nothing is going to happen, and it's just a waste of time to bother thinking about it. I have work to do." Despite his protests, Lifeline was pushed out and had the door click shut in his face.

He pressed his lips together and then turned to walk away, muttering under his breath at the stubbornness of BeachHead.

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End Chapter.. end story! Really!! It is the end!! Seriously this time! SHUT UP Lil Beachie! I'm NOT adding anything more!