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prettyinlimegreenboots · 1 month ago

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Taking Comfort (In Your Arms) - Bonus Content Part 3 - Nightmares

Here's the next bonus part of "Taking Comfort (In Your Arms). This takes place after the war, after John and Addie have returned to the states and living in Kansas. There is a flashback that is in italics.

September 1945

“Squadron, 418th. Group, the 100th Bomber Group. H for Heavy. Headquartered at Thorpe Abbotts. Are you a baseball fan, Major? Certainly that’s not a national secret.” Lieutenant Haussmann looked at him from across the desk.

“Cigarette? Sorry they are not as good as your American brands. Lucky Strike is my personal preference. Baseball is still a bit of a mystery to me, with all the sticks and bases, running in circles. There was the big championship last week, wasn’t there?” Raising an eyebrow, Haussmann waited, giving John an opportunity to start talking.

“Yeah, the World Series.” John replied back, knocking off a bit of ash.

“Yes, the World Series. The New York Yankees versus the St. Louis Cardinals. A rematch, yes?”

“We were up two games to one when I went down.” He replied, inhaling on the cigarette, attempting to get comfortable in the chair.

Haussmann perked up at that bit of information. “So you are a Yankees fan? Would you like to know the outcome of the World Series?”

John remained silent, guarded. His mind whirled with keeping on guard, not letting any secrets escape.

Haussmann’s lips turned upward. “Was Buck Cleven a Yankees fan? No? Yes? I hear he was quite a flyer. I read of his exploits in the Regensburg attack. He was your friend, wasn’t he? It seems we’re shooting down all the good pilots. Did you know that on your Münster attack, only one of your planes returned? One. But back to you, Major Egan.”

“Baseball. Did you ever take your sweetheart to a game?” Haussmann raised an eyebrow. “From what I hear, you met her much more recently. Adelaide Baker, former ATA pilot.”

John bit the inside of his cheek. He seethed, fingers tightening around the cigarette. His eyes never trailed away from Haussmann’s as the two men stared each other down. “John Egan, Major, O-399510.”

“Major, you’re not helping yourself. The Gestapo, they are different than me. Me, I’m like you: A flyer, a man of honor. And I can understand things in a way that perhaps my colleagues from the highly indoctrinated security forces might not.” Haussmann pursed his lips, attempting to get the man in front of him to open up and spill something. “I’ve heard of how worried Addie is - she had several men from Thorpes attempting to get any information regarding you and your colleagues. She’s worried about you, Major.”

Fishing something out of the folder in front of him, Haussmann held a photo up, examining it closely. “Your Addie, she’s a pretty girl, if I do say so myself.”

Flipping the photo over, John attempted to school his features. Of course, it had to be that photo. The photo that John had plastered to his fort’s panel before every flight. The photo he forgot to grab before he abandoned ship. His Addie. Her sweet smile, brown eyes staring back at him. The smirk on her face - that one that she often flashed him when she had something up her sleeve or a secret she couldn’t wait to tell. Her hair was pulled back off her face, uniform crisp. The photo was her official ATA headshot. Clearing his throat, he sat up straight in the chair, looking over the photo at Haussmann’s amused grin.

“John Egan, Major, O-399510.” John replied, inhaling the cigarette smoke, before stamping it out, leaning back in the chair.

“Major, I’d like to talk to you about Buck Cleven, Addie Baker, and the number of replacement B-17s expected to arrive next week at Thorpes Abbott.” Haussmann gave him one more chance to talk, fed up with the silence and the games.

“John Egan, Major, O-399510.” John stared at him, refusing to say another word.

Gasping, he sat up in bed as he was violently ripped from the nightmare he was in. Taking in gulping breaths of air, he willed himself not to wake up Addie as she slept peacefully beside him. His heart beated erratically, as he continued to take in air.

Flexing his hands, he grounded himself in bed, pushing himself so he sat on the edge of bed, his feet on the ground. He heard the jingle of Meatball’s collar as the dog pushed his head on John’s lap. Carting his hand through the coarse fur, John felt his heart calm down and his breath returned to normal. He pushed his free hand through his hair, feeling the sweatiness.

Licking his lips, he sighed, letting his head drop to press a kiss to Meatball’s head. “Thanks buddy.”

“John?” A sleepy voice called behind him. He felt her shift in bed, before a hand rested on his back as came to sit beside him. “Everything okay?”

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead as his free hand found the swell of her stomach. “Nightmare.”

She sighed, reaching over to lace their hands together, giving his a squeeze. “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not particularly.” He mumbled, hand still rubbing absentminded circles in Meatball’s fur. “It was a bad one.”

Biting her lip, she hummed, supportively. “Well, let’s go.”

Pushing herself off the bed, she grabbed her nightgown, slipping her feet into her slippers before padding out of their bedroom and down the hall. He pushed himself to a stand, grabbing his own robe before following her out of the room. “Where are we going, Ads?”

He followed her laugh into the kitchen. “Well, you’re not going back to sleep anytime soon and neither am I. And your child is craving chocolate so I figured we’d make some hot chocolate and talk about anything but this nightmare.”

Grabbing a pot, she made quick work of gathering the sugar, cocoa and milk, all while humming to herself as she mixed the ingredients. While she did that, he grabbed the mugs and marshmallows, before taking a seat at the counter. Addie raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t say a word as she stirred all the ingredients together.

“What are you thinking about?” John asked, watching her work.

A smile played on her lips as she continued to stir. “My mom would always make us hot chocolate when we had bad dreams. She would bring us downstairs, sit us on the counter, much like you are now, then make hot chocolate, just like I am now. She would talk about random things, attempting to take our minds off whatever the nightmare was about.”

“Sweet memories.” John mused, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder. “What did she used to talk to you about?”

Addie shrugged, turning off the heat, pouring the warm liquid into the mugs before offering one to him. She pulled herself on the counter to sit beside him, taking a sip of the hot cocoa. “Books I was reading, school, the weather, boys I liked, whatever came to her mind during those times. As I grew up, it was more often about boys and makeup and the drama at school. Somehow, she always knew what me and my siblings got up to - never figured out how she always knew. Oftentimes, when Josie and I got into trouble, she would know before I arrived back home - nothing was ever a secret on bases. Mothers on bases were a completely different kind of mom.”

“They all had to look out for all the kids on the base.” John chuckled. “Everyone looked out for one another.”

Addie nodded. “True - one big happy, military family. It was always hard when a family had to move away but we made some great friendships along the way.”

Taking a sip of the cocoa, John hummed. “This is really good.”

“It is a tried-and-true Baker family secret.” She smiled. “Mom always used to say that it was cooked with love and that’s why it turned out so good. Years later, we found out that she used to put a dash of vodka in the cocoa - she said that it would help us fall asleep quicker.”

John threw his head back and laughed. “Another Baker family secret - vodka in the cocoa.” He paused, taking another sip. “You didn’t put any in here, did you?”

Shaking her head, Addie smiled. “Not this time. Though, after the little one is born, there is a distinct possibility that I’ll make it that way.”

“God, Addie, can you believe our lives? You’re teaching flyboys how to fly and me going through officer’s school and teaching. And we have a little one on the way.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Can’t believe how good we have it.”

She smiled, setting her mug down, running her nails up and down his back. “Made it through all the crap and look at us now. Cheesy as it sounds, all of our hopes and dreams are coming true.”

Humming, a yawn escaped his mouth before he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I love you, Addie.”

“Love you too, John.” She mused, laying her head on his shoulder, intertwining her fingers with his, giving them a squeeze.

Silence descended on the kitchen, before John squeezed her hand. “My nightmare was during my time in interrogation before I was thrown in the Stalag. My interrogator brought you and Buck up, attempting to make me talk.”

Addie looked over at him, not knowing what to say, opting to squeeze his hand. She knew there was nothing she could say, that he would have to work through it all on his own. “I kept repeating my rank, name, and serial number but he kept talking, attempting to get a rise out of me.”

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. “Then he showed me your ATA headshot photo - and taunted me with that. You were already pissed at me for going up to avenge Buck and now this deplorable man was taunting me with your photo. He kept going on about how pretty you were and how worried you were about me - pouring salt into my wounds. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do but sit there and listen to him. All I could say was my name, rank, and serial number - I couldn’t say anything else. But I wished I could.”

“What would you have told him?” Reaching up, she turned his face to meet her concerned eyes. “What would you have told him if you wouldn’t have gotten into trouble with your truths?”

Clearing his throat, John exhaled slowly. “I would have told him to keep your name out of his mouth, that he didn’t deserve to talk about you, that he didn’t even know anything about you. I would have told him that you weren’t a baseball fan, but I was bound and determined to make a fan out of you yet. I would have told him that I dreamed about our future - that I wanted to marry you and have lots of babies with you. I would have told him that I loved flying with you and would be your copilot anytime you wanted. But mostly, I would have told him how much I love you and couldn’t wait to start our future together. And I shouldn’t have walked away that day, leaving you upset and angry. I should have spent five more minutes with you, telling you how much I love you.”

Silent tears streamed down her face at his confession. Reaching over, he cupped her jaw, his thumb catching the tears as they fell. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips gently to hers. “I love you, Addie.”

Sniffling, she reached up and wiped the tears away. “I love you too, John. Do you feel better?”

Nodding, his eyes swept over her face, thumb running smooth motions over her jaw. “I do - thank you for listening.” “Always, John.” She smiled. “I’m always in your corner whenever you have a nightmare - we’ll make hot cocoa and talk about random stuff until you’re ready to talk about the tough things. You ready to head back to bed?”

“Not quite yet.” He said, hopping off the counter and crouching in front of her. He put his hands on her expanding belly as she leaned back on her hands. Leaning forward, he pressed a few kisses to her belly as she carted a hand through his hair. “Hi baby. You know, you have a pretty incredible momma, and we cannot wait to meet you.”

“She has a pretty incredible daddy too, you know.” Addie whispered, as his eyes flew up and met hers.

“She, huh?” John’s voice was thick with emotion as he looked between the belly and Addie’s mischievous wide eyes.

Nodding, Addie bit her lip. “The baby feels like a girl. I’m not sure if that’s 100% true but it feels like I’m carrying our daughter.”

Just as she finished saying that the life in her belly nudged John’s hands in agreement. “Seems like this one is agreeing with her momma.”

“Scared, John?”

“Of you and our daughter ganging up on me?” He chuckled, rubbing the spot where he felt the nudge. “Absolutely - I’m not going to be able to tell either of you no when you gang up on me.”

Addie laughed, shaking her head. “You wouldn’t be able to tell her no regardless. She’s going to have you wrapped around her pinky from the day she’s born.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He mused, pushing up to his full height, before offering her a hand. “Shall we head back to bed? You’ve got a busy day in a few hours.”

Hopping off the counter, Addie sighed. “Don’t remind me. Taking me back to bed, Egan.”

“Yes, Mrs. Egan.” He dropped his head, placing a kiss on her lips before lacing their hands together and leading her back down the hallway to their bedroom.

Through the nightmares and the bad dreams, she would be there to make hot cocoa, talk about randomness, and remind him that he had made it through.

Thank you so much for reading. This was one that came to me while I was writing the chapters and wanted to show John working through the lasting memories of the war and Addie being the supportive spouse who was there with a bit of chocolate and a listening ear. Hopefully, I pulled it off. As always, feedback would be most appreciated. Thanks again for reading my little story!!!

#Taking Comfort in Your Arms #John Egan Fanfiction #John Egan X OC #addie + john #Masters of the Air FanFiction #mota fanfic

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