Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Mojave Rose v. Molly Pitcher

June 22nd, 2013

County Lake Estates, New Jersey

The sky was various shades of gray, not a speck of the familiar blue could be seen. Thunder cracked high in the heavens as lightning bolts streaked across the sky, occasionally striking the ground in a spectacular fashion. Though summer had just begun, instead of the characteristic hot weather, on this day in New Jersey, a storm had rolled in, bringing down the temperature to a cool level as the storm rained incessantly. It wasn't a downpour, but enough rain to drench anyone if they stood outside for several minutes. At this small town in New Jersey, its population has swelled as people from all over gather for the national finals. Both teams that are to participate in the match have arrived in town the day before. In the early hours of this Saturday morning, people were just starting to wake up and prepare for the day ahead of them. In a motel, Redwood, like most other motel inhabitants, was sleeping. A cross-country flight wore him down, as it did everyone else. In bed, he moved his arms about feeling for a spot in the bed that should've been occupied. This emptiness caused him to wake up. Reaching for his glasses on the nightstand, he wore them and looked at the bed. Buchanan wasn't in the bed him, sparking his curiosity which only lasted for a brief period of time as he then heard a groan coming from the bathroom. Getting up, he quickly went to investigate, and there, he saw his wife-to-be, hugging the toilet bowl.

"Are you sick?" he asked, kneeling down next to her to pull her hair back away to keep it clean.

"A...kind of sickness. Not from any flu, that I can guarantee. This one is different" she replied, voice strained. Her breath was long and drawn out, and from the sound of them, took a lot of effort to perform. She carefully stood up from her position, and helped by Redwood, walked back to the bedroom.

"If you're not sick from some flu, then that would have to mean..."

Buchanan turned toward him, showing a huge smile. No one in the world would be happy waking suddenly in the morning because they felt incredibly nauseous and had to be hunched over a toilet. Unless, of course, it was the tell-tale sign of greater things to come. There wasn't any doubt in her mind as to why she was feeling this way. She wasn't too old after all.

"I'm pregnant." she said. Her voice started to crack as the gravity of the statement hit and sunk into her. Redwood immediately picked her up and twirled her around. They were both overcome with joy, laughing, and crying happy tears.

"Oh my god. It's happening!" he exclaimed. "Oh! But we need to take a test to be sure!"

"Oh, yeah, we are taking a test! We'll do that after the match, though. We got some things to take care of before it kicks off."

"Mmmhmm, but for now...let's just relax for a minute," Redwood said, pulling her down to the bed with him. The couple was in each other's arms. Redwood couldn't resist himself from touching and caressing her stomach. "I'm going to take a guess and say that the half a million you saved was for a baby."

She didn't say any words, just hummed her answer.

"Thought so," he replied. "Wow, Gabby, there's planning ahead, then there's planning ahead."

They spent some time in bed in total comfort when Buchanan then glanced toward the clock.

"It's time to get ready. We got some pre-match things to take care of," she said, getting up from the bed and quickly got out of her sleepwear and into something appropriate for the weather. Then she went into her bag and got out a folder. Within were the memos she had used to 'persuade' the ATA to do the right thing. She folded the paper and stashed them in the inner pockets of her jacket. "Alright, let's head out."