October 15th, Pearl Harbor
Margaret's POV

"You better start explaining this letter to me right now General!" I say, barging into General Watkins office with little regard for his position as my superior officer.

He looks at me startled and literally jumping out of his chair. He tenses when he sees what I'm holding. The letter with the list of names of the U.S. Soldiers and pilots that were KIA, hurt, in observation at the hospital, and those who were coming home. Gerard's name was on the list of pilots who were in observation at the hospital, but there was no mention of him coming home. Needless to say, I was furious about this.

"The letter is very self explanatory Miss Williams." Said the General
"Self explanatory my ass!" I raise my voice
"Miss Will-" he turns red when I raise my voice
"According to this, we had a total of 200 soldiers and pilots stationed all around England. 150 of them are dead. Of the other 50, 30 are severely injured and in the hospital. Which means we have 20 men still fit for duty. 20! That's not even a full class of students! You have to get them out of there!"
"I don't have to do anything!" The general starts to stand up from behind his desk
"General, you're loosing men. GOOD men! The best of the best! And they're dropping like flies!"
"Is this about Lieutenant Way?" He asks. I freeze on the spot.
"I don't..." I start but he cuts me off
"Oh I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're upset because Lieutenant Way isn't coming home despite his injuries."
"I'm upset because we're loosing good men in this fight and you're not doing anything about it!"
"I should have seen this sooner. I've heard rumors among the men that came from New York. That a teacher had fallen in love with one of the pilots. Obviously the teacher was you. And then when Lieutenant Michael Way was injured, you forced us to transfer him here for treatment" he says, squinting his eyes at me. I can hardly breathe. My heart is almost beating out of my chest and my mouth is dry. When he sees that I don't answer, he continues, "At first I thought it was him. But I saw you with him at the hospital, and you two didn't look romantic. But then it hit me. His older brother Gerard. He's the one you fell for. Do you deny it?"
"I... I don't..." I stutter. I realize that there's no way out of this, "My personal feelings are not what's important right now."
"I think they are. Very important. You lost your objectivity. All you care about is if he survives."
"I care for Gerard's safety as much as I care for any other men out there. My feelings for him in no way affect the desire to get what's rest of our men home safe and sound." I say
"So you admit it. You do care for him."
"Yes I do. But I haven't lost my objectivity nor have I forgot the reason why I'm here."
"It's good of you not to forget Miss Williams. And if I were you, I would pay very close attention to what I'm going to say next."
"I'm listening."
"If I were you, I would leave the important decisions to the MEN in charge and redeem myself to teaching the class you were hired to teach. Also, I would keep my feelings in check and in secret from now on. What you and Lieutenant Way are doing is against the rules, and I can assure you that I have no problem in firing you and give him a dishonorable discharge for inappropriate involvement."
"Y-you can't do that! The Air Force is his life! You want to punish someone, punish me! Not him!" I panic. I can't get him kicked out of the Air Force. That would destroy him!
"Then I suggest you follow my advice Miss Williams. Because I promise you, you cross the line again, and you and your little pilot will be shipped off back to the mainland faster than you can blink!"

(Time lapse)

"That son of a bitch!" Mikey says, trying to sit up but immediately wincing in pain, "I should punch the bastard!"
"I don't think punching him will do much good Mikey" I say, sobbing a bit and Kristin hands me a tissue
"Sweetie what are you gonna do?" She asks holding my hand
"What can I do Kris? He's threatening to fire me and Gerard. If it was just me I would be fine with it, but I can't allow that to happen to him!"
"So what now? The General will be looking over you like a hawk! You probably won't even be able to send him letters" says Mikey
"For now I need to keep doing my job. I'll continue teaching my classes like nothing happened. As for the letters, I'll write them in your name, or I'll start addressing them to Frank or to Ray. I don't know. But right now, I need to keep my head down. I don't want to give that bastard any reasons to annoy me further."

(Time lapse)

After everything that has happened today, walking sounded like a good idea.

After I left the hospital, I decided to walk home. Which turned out to be a very bad idea because it was a long walk, I'm wearing heels and it's incredibly hot.
When I finally reach the bungalow, I'm happy to find out the that house is empty. The girls must still be at the hospital.

I decide to take a bath. So I walk to the bathroom and start undressing.

I don't know exactly what happened, but one minute I'm getting out of my dress and the next and puking into the toilet. I feel dizzy and my eyesight is foggy. I feel like I'm about to faint.

When I finally stop puking, I decide that maybe I should wait until one of the girls to arrive so I can take a bath in safety. The last thing I need is to pass out in the bathtub and probably drowning.

I get up and put on my night gown. I lay down on my bed and try to get some sleep.

Clearly, to much heat and stress are not a good combination.

Notes

Hope you like this new chapter! Let me know what you think?

A lot of love to all of you!