DEEP WATER | "didn't you get the message, love? i'm too stubborn to die."
where Sophie is an annoyed doctor trapped at Dunkirk and Alex is the soldier she keeps running into, and the two of them both just want to get home
[ alex x oc ]
[ dunkirk...
"it is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it"
general douglas macarthur
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As HMS Paris arrived at the Mole, untouched by German subs and Stukas, Sophie wanted to feel happy. She wanted the aches in her mind to disappear and the ringing in her ears to cease but a feeling of dread settling inside her.
They'd lost Calais, how long until they lost Dunkirk?
However, to the soldiers — the ones who didn't know how badly the Germans were biting away at their borders — HMS Paris was a symbol of the allies' hope and strength. The relieved smiles and sparks in the soldiers' eyes managed to make Sophie a little more optimistic.
"You alright, Soph?" Cassidy asked from beside her. The two were stood at the end of the mole, watching as soldiers were carried onto HMS Paris and away from the battle.
Sophie didn't glance away from the ship, "I'm fine."
"Really? You look like shit."
"Thanks, Cassie," Sophie sent her a sideways stare, eyebrow raised in mock annoyance, "Your bedside manner is impeccable."
Cassidy rolled her eyes, "I'm being serious, Sophie. You look like you could do with a rest. You don't have to be here."
Sophie reluctantly took a glance at the beach.
The soldiers were a swarm of muted greens and greys, all of them with the same stare. One that belonged to the lost, whose home was just out of reach.
She avoided the soldier's faces, scared that she'd see a familiar person amongst the crowd of strangers.
To her, the beach had never looked less appealing.
"I'm fine." She said quickly, "I'm fine here."
Sophie didn't have to look at Cassidy to know that she didn't believe her. Cassidy nudged her side gently, "Is this about wanting to be there for the men you've helped or about avoiding your pretty soldier?"
Like a pressure point had been struck, Sophie jerked away awkwardly.
"I— I don't—" Sophie cleared her throat, "He's not my soldier."
"But there was a soldier?" Asked Cassidy.
Sophie brushed her hair from her eyes, well aware her cheeks were burning and her actions mimicking that of a child caught red-handed.
"How do you even know?"
"One of the nurses saw you," Cassidy shrugged, "Who is he?"
"No one." The words tasted like acid on her tongue. Sophie sighed at Cassidy's expression, "You remember the soldier who refused to get checked up by anyone?"
