Strawberry Red

Chapter 9 Buck

Buck was eating breakfast with Jack Kidd the next morning. He was waiting for Bucky who was currently talking to the new Colonel. Word spread around this morning that Colonel Huglin wouldn't be coming back to base as his injury was severe and it'd take months to heal completely. Buck was curious to meet the new Colonel. He had heard stories of Colonel Harding. Apparently, he was more chill than Huglin. Especially when it came to the crew's free time. Buck wasn't sure if he'd let Bucky stay Air Exec. Bucky was a great pilot and leader. But he certainly was a better leader in the air than on the ground.

"Jack, Buck," exclaimed Bucky when he finally entered the mess hall. He pulled out a chair and sat down across Buck. He waved his hand to get the attention of the server. Bucky was in desperate need of coffee to help cure his massive hangover.

"Well?" asked Buck and looked at Bucky.

"I got demoted," answered Bucky and shrugged with his shoulders. "In front of you is the new CO of the 418th Squadron. Sorry Jack, the boys are back with me."

"It'll be good to get my fort back." Jack emptied his coffee mug in one sip.

"Yeah, Harding wants to see you about that." Bucky lowered his gaze with a guilty expression on his face.

Jack's face fell as he starred at Bucky. "I'm Air Exec? You son of a bitch."

"It wasn't my idea," defended Bucky himself and raised his arms in surrender.

"Yeah, Huglin probably recommended it," supported Buck. It was known on base that Huglin wasn't particularly happy with Bucky being Air Exec. Sure, the boys loved Bucky and obeyed him without doubt, but his drinking habits had bothered Huglin immensely.

"Look at this way," began Bucky to try and lift Jack's spirit. "He thinks we're the least disciplined bomb group on the entire base. Maybe you can make a difference."

"I don't want to be the guy wiping your ass, Bucky," retorted Jack annoyed. He abruptly stood up and left the mess hall to talk with Harding. It was clear that he wasn't happy about his promotion at all.

"How are you doing, Bucky?" Buck continued to finish his breakfast which consisted of pancakes and strawberries. When Buck had walked up to the counter to get his breakfast, the chef recognized him from Ruby's stories and gave him a special breakfast. The chef told him any friends of Ruby's were his too and deserved a special treatment.

"I've been writing letters to the families of the airmen who died in combat all night. But there's still a whole lot which need to be written. I want them to get the letter from me, from someone they know," admitted Bucky and took a deep breath.

"I'll help you," offered Buck and finished his breakfast.

"I'd appreciate that." Bucky leaned back in his chair and put his arm around the chair besides him. "You know what? If this whole thing ended and there were only two pilots left up in the air, it would only be me and you."

"Don't count on it," replied Buck and smirked. Buck and Bucky spent the entire morning writing letters to the families. They had known the airmen personally and were befriended with most of them. And now they were gone and soon their things would be shipped to America. Their existence would be erased from base as if they never existed in the first place. Buck tried to argue with himself it was for the better. The crews needed to keep a clear mind for the upcoming mission. They simply couldn't sink into a deep hole of grief every time someone died. Otherwise, they'd be stuck and never come out of the hole again.

During lunch they were called to a meeting with all Majors to officially meet Colonel Harding. Harding was exactly as Buck had expected him to be based on the rumours. He made it very clear that he didn't care what the men did in their free time as long as the continued to work hard. He also expressed his concerns for the fast-climbing numbers of dead crews. But sadly, there wasn't anything they could do about it at the moment. The missions needed to get done.

After lunch the sirens began to howl and everyone on base was running around. It was as if hell broke loose in just one moment. Buck and Bucky got into their car and drove to the crash site. When they arrived multiple ambulances and hospital staff was already there, trying to find the remains of the crew. It smelt absolutely horrible and horrendous. The combination of blood, smoke and oil almost made Buck vomit.

"What happened?" demanded Colonel Harding to know when he reached the two Majors.

"Practice mission - he went into his turn too early and too slow. Engine stalled out," explained Major Veale who joined the group. They all starred at the crashed plane.

"Who was it?"

"Barnhill," replied Buck and put his hands on his hips. "One of the new crews."

Buck saw Ruby standing over the site with the medics. They were trying to recover the bodies. But all they found were burnt bones crushed by metal. Ruby's red hair was tied up in a bun and as usual she was wearing her red cross uniform. Thinking about it, Buck had only ever seen Ruby in her uniform. He only knew her as a nurse who worked at Thorpe Abbotts. Apart from that he didn't know much. He knew she had brothers, and he knew where she lived. But he didn't know her personally and that bothered him. He wanted to find out who she truly was, what she liked and what she disliked.

"They are all dead," said Ruby. Buck was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice Ruby walking over to them. "I don't think we'll be able to identify the bodies for burial. It's all just a big burnt mess."

"Try your best. The families will want to say goodbye to their loved ones," requested Colonel Harding. "Was he your patient? Barnhill, I mean."

"Yes, he was seeking medical attention. But that's all I'm allowed to say," responded Ruby.

"What was wrong with him?", Bucky chimed in and stroked his chin.

"That's confidential information. All I can say is that he was in perfect condition to fly, otherwise he wouldn't have been allowed to train today. If you want to know more, you need to get approval to look into his file." Ruby turned around and joined the medics again. They were now pulling out bones from beneath the plane.

"This cannot happen again. We cannot lose crews during practise missions. We're losing enough crews during combat as it is," said Colonel Harding with a grim tone. Then he left to deal with the paperwork.

It was late in the afternoon when Buck finally gathered all his courage and went to the hospital to speak with Ruby. Truthfully, he was worried about it the entire day. What if she was going to reject him?

"Ruby," called Buck out when he entered the hospital. He saw her standing in the corner with her friends, Helen and Tatty. They were chatting and drinking coffee. It was a somewhat quiet day besides the crash landing. With no mission going on, the hospital wasn't receiving any new patients.

"Buck, hi. What are you doing here? Are you hurt?", asked Ruby and put her cup down.

"No, I'm fine. I just wanted to talk to you," said Buck hesitantly. He took of his cap and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Sure, what's up?" Ruby led him to Meatball's bed in the other corner so they could talk in private. But she was certain that Tatty and Helen were eavesdropping on their conversation.

"A couple of the guys are going to the pub in Diss," started Buck. "I was wondering if you'd like to come. I think some of the nurses will be going as well."

"I would love to," answered Ruby and smiled. "What time should I be there?"

"We'll be going around nine, if that's fine?"

"Works for me. I'll see you soon." Ruby leaned in and for a few seconds it seemed like she wanted to kiss his cheek. But then she decided against it and smiled one last time before heading back to her friends.