One Way Line (Sinclair)

[Deleted]

Date: April 1944

Time: high noon

Location: Leeds train station


The English sunlight brightened the train station as patrons busily and briskly hurried to their appropriate trains. People from soldiers to civilians did not pass any glances as they packed into their locomotives to be shipped to various places. A young American woman was one of those people, but was there for as different purpose. Recently the young woman was gained the notice that she would be transferred to a more hostile front. Yvonne was not too thrilled about the change she had to go through, but that was what she had to do.

Yvonne blended in with the crowd, except for the fact that she wore a more casual nurse's outfit. The young woman busily collected her train ticket and made a attempt to maneuver through the crowds, looking for the right train to board to take her London. The sounds of voices and whistles filled the station. Yvonne clutched her single suitcase in her right hand, while holding the ticket in her free hand. She made her way to the platform, but she noticed that her train was not there yet. A sense of worry washed over the young woman as she began to believe that she missed her train. The nurse looked at her ticket closely and saw where he train would not arrive until the next hour. Great some time to kill... the American thought as she set her suitcase down and remained to herself.

Yvonne began drowning in her thoughts, thinking about things that would take her mind off of her nerves. It seemed like a normal occurrence for the woman to think about other things to calm herself down. She felt the sudden urge to write a personal letter to her grandmother back home, something that she lacked in accomplishing since she was notified about her sudden transfer. The young woman decided to wait until she is comfortably on her train ride before writing her letter.

[William Sinclair]

He was sitting at a box talking to some people from his units, some were waiting for different trains, most of them were going back to London, and Leeds was a town where a lot of people could change trains to go back to rest of their unit and enjoying the rest of their relaxation before going back to the front and fighting the fascists.

And despite being in the town of Leeds a group of soldiers wearing kilts and glengarries did still make some people look twice, but they didn't care to them it was their fine uniform. Despite it being annoying at times it was also a matter of pride, a Scotsman embarrassed about wearing his kilt wasn't a proper Scotsman, that was at least how he viewed it.

As a girl in a nurse outfit William looked after her for a moment before looking back at his comrades who had caught where he was looking and started to try and get him to go and try and talk to her "come on Will, go talk to the lass" one of the bit older men in the unit said "Ya now ya can do it" another one added, William shrugged and felt like at least trying "Heh, I don't stand a chance..." he told to his comrades before getting to his feet.

He took a deep breath and straightened his jacket and kilt before approaching the girl in the nurse outfit, "Apologies miss? Ya seemed ta be a bit confused, any way I might help?" he asked feeling like he was off for a poor start but he had never been good at this sort of things, but one had to start somewhere.

[Deleted]

Yvonne was minding her own business, muting all of the other outside noise. You can say that she was immersed in her mind, it was probably the young American was currently doing. Yvonne eventually grew tired of standing, so she arranged her suitcase vertically and then proceed to sit on it, crossing her feminine legs. The young woman wore a near blank expression like makeup, and her posture was deemed to nearly intimidate any flirter that would find it appropriate to converse with her. The young woman interlocked her slender fingers and placed them on her knee, she eventually began humming a soft tune to herself as she looked around to other people beginning to fill up the empty platform.

"Apologies miss? Ya seemed ta be a bit confused, any way I might help?"[/i]

A voice pierced through her silence. It slightly unnerved her by the way that a random person approached her with a strange question. Yvonne turned her head to face the person that spoke to her. When the young nurse's eyes absorbed the sight of the young man before her she tried to suppress a chuckle. To her he looked silly. She noted the kilt he sported and knew that he was probably Scottish. It intrigued Yvonne, causing her to wonder why a Scotsman would wear a kilt in English territory, but she never cared to ask.

"I don't think I am confused, I am waiting on my train."

Yvonne simply replied and almost dismissively, allowing her Harlem accent to drip from her tongue, sitting up a bit straighter and moving her crossed leg in a slight swinging motion. She honestly did not want to be bothered by anyone, in her mind she believed that it was a waste of time for a man to flirt with a woman, but Yvonne played to the tune then send the man off empty handed.

[William Sinclair]

She wasn't bad looking, which was the first thing he could think about as she looked at him, maybe this was a challenge worth the time, and of course he wouldn't hear the end of it if he didn't succeed. Then she talked, an American accent, at least would be his guess he had never been there and the chances of him ever coming there was slim, especially now there was a war going on. He knew that he should stop seeing the problems and start concentrating on what he was here to try.

He nodded "Waitin' for ya train? Well where to? South yes?" he asked before continuing "That train isn't here for another hour at the least, most likely delayed... So therefore it would be rude of me ta not offer a fine lady some company, far better then them English people ya will find around here..." he said in an attempt to sound convincing, although he was outnumbered by all the regular English people but them being in Yorkshire he was sure people just ignored them.

He thought for a moment on what to say, only knowing he was really bad at this and he was intruding on a random American girls privacy, but it was a bit to late just to apology and walk off. "So therefore! I'll be happy to offer ya some company as a sign of Scottish hospitality" he spoke with a smile being convinced that he was doing good right now, at least all things considered.

He decided to walk over so that he stood more in front of her so she didn't have to turn her head to talk to him. And now it was all be depending on how she reacted to it, most likely better then he hoped for, but he knew his lack of experience with girls would most likely affect this encounter and this one wasn't just another civilian girl she was a nurse, and might most nurse's he almost expected her to take distance from any enlisted man.

[Deleted]

"Yes I am heading south, I do not need company."

Yvonne responded, not even paying any mind to the Scotsman near her. She had no true reason to entertain the man, but he ended up becoming one of the persistant type of flirter. It was not her first time dealing with these type of men. The American woman continued to hold her calm composer. She ignored what the man had to say afterwards, until her light was blocked. A annoyed sigh escaped the woman's lips as her eyes met with the man directly before her.

"I see that you are the persistant type."

Yvonne spoke with an annoyed tone. She removed her hands from her knee and folded them giving eye contact to the Scotsman. Internally she did wish for the soldier to disappear, but part of her didn't mind the comapany, after all she would not see him anymore when she tranports to London then to France.

[William Sinclair]

As she replied to the obvious question of going south, considering they were on the platform of south going trains, he felt almost a kind of ignorant and annoyed chill from her and he could also feel his friends laughing at his coming failure but it wasn't surprising. The cold sigh didn't help his assumptions but he was hoping that some part of her enjoyed that he was trying to talk to her.

As she stated he was persistent he nodded "Aye lass, it's one of my weaknesses I have a hard time just quitting once I started something!" he smiled to her "Besides I'm not that bad a person to know..." he looked a bit around before looking back at her. He was thinking about what to say, and how not to make a complete fool of himself.

"And sorry I didn't introduce meself... I'm William Sinclair, pleasure to meet you!" he said and bowed his head for a short moment still with a polite smile. " So where are you from lass? In American I mean.. I never been there and met few people from there, should be a nice place aye?" he asked curiously actually seeming interested in what she would say, after all someone from America despite sounding funny, seemed near-exotic, and they all had something to learn from their dear allies, or something.

[Deleted]

"That is very nice to know."

Yvonne coldly replied. She is not normally a cold or arrogant person, she is really down to earth but it annoys her greatly when a man prefers flirtling to actually talking and getting to know someone. But a very small portion of her did enjoy his company and brightening her mood by his accent and native clothing. The nurse gave the Scotman her full attention as she stopped swing her leg, but kept her arms folded across her chest.

"Maybe if you talk to me as 'getting to know you' instead of flirting, maybe I will not act this way."

The American frankly replied. It was not difficult for a man to hold a conversation with a attractive woman without boldly wasting her time with useless flirts. She did enjoy the company of different kinds of people, but not their sly tactics to win her hardened heart. Yvonne continued to listen to the man before her as she stole a glance from a gang of soliders near by. They ranged in age and physical apperance, it was strange how the man talking to her was the only one wearing a kilt, but that was not here nor there. The woman sat up a bit straighter when he introduced himself.

"Very nice to meet you William. I am from New York City."

Yvonne simply spoke as she withheld her name. She believed that William will know when the time is right; she also enjoyed the sense of suspense that came along with not telling the latter her name. All of this kind of blended into a game and a nice talking companion.

"Well other than Scotland, where are you from?"

She herself have never ventured out of Harlem, this was a small surprise to her when she was shipped across the Atlantic to England. Of course from school and stories she heard of other countries, but she always held a hunger to visit them. Of course this was not the situation she wished to visit these countries, but it was something and it opened her eyes and broadened her horizons.

[William Sinclair]

As she said it would help if he talked instead of flirting he was caught a bit off guard, had he flirted with her yet? he thought to himself being a bit speechless for a moment while trying to figure out what had sounded like flirting, it was his intentions but so far he hadn't even complimented her or her 'exotic' look, maybe he was worse at this then he thought. "I'm sorry?" he said a bit surprised not being to sure what to do.

He noticed that she looked over in the direction of the soldiers he had been talking with before, at least now she knew why he had looked nervously in that direction a couple of times, with her assumptions so far he was sure that she would try and make it tougher, which didn't say much it seemed a lost cause from the beginning.

As she said it was nice to meet him he smiled a bit more "New York? 'eard it was a nice place" he stated pondering a bit over why she didn't mention her name, he thought it weird more then some kind of building mystery over her or something of the like. Then she asked the nice question of where he was from in Scotland and he smiled "Well I'm from a town in Lanarkshire funny enough from the town of Lanark, you should go to Scotland some day, it's nice up there" he said with a smile.

He thought for a moment what she might have experienced so far "How much of leeds you seen so far?" he asked curiously knowing that to many Americans especially one from a large city, would feel that a lot of town are very small and the architecture, he was sure it was different. "How was the trip here?" he also asked not knowing how it would be to travel for that long from one place to another.

[Deleted]

The nurse acknowledged the Scottish soldier's short apology. She could tell by the sound of his voice that he was slightly questioning himself and his previous discussion. Yvonne gave William a small smile of recognition as she adjusted her cold heart and the numbness of her body, from the hard leather of her luggage.

The woman would occasionally steal a glance to the man's comrades, trying to understand fully where his motivation was coming from. Despite the man's native apperance, the other men mostly wore a full military uniform. Maybe a scattered few bravely beared their country's dress, but that was a menial few. Well it did not matter to the American nurse as her thoughts were interrupted by the visitor. When he told her about what he heard about New York, she could
not help but to smile a bit wider.

"Maybe, if we ever see each other again, I can show you around. It is a crowded city, but it is amazing."

This is not the first time she was this nice to a man- even though it has been a while, it was not infrequent. She heard his small advice about visiting his home country. She knew that she would love to visit, to experience more than the towering metal and brushing souls down concrete; but the looming medicine of the war kept her mind slightly mundane. When she was asked a question about her small experience in Leeds, she could not help but to look at the man, without a comforting smile.

"Well honestly, i have not seem much of Leeds. I came here from the countryside. I wish I could enjoy it but-"

She stopped her reply short, she did not want to think about the constant bite of war. The clawing nails of probable death could not stop scratching at her brain. She wished that she could stay, and not be shipped to Normandy, but she was needed- she chose to do this. "How was the trip here?" Another small question that saved her from drowning.

"It was nice, pretty fishy, if you mean across the Atlantic."

She could not help but giggle, the question was so broad, but that got her thinking though.

"Well what about you William?"

[William Sinclair]

He was starting to become a bit uncertain on what to say, he had a feeling that their conversation didn't go far, but then again it was half his own fault, she seemed to be constantly looking between him and his comrades he felt like she was almost in doubt of his intentions or something along those lines, but he wasn't to sure yet, hopefully he'd find out at some point before they had to depart. Despite she didn't seem to keen on sharing, he was sure she was kind, but after all he was just another soldier.

As she answered his question on how the trip was he gave a simple smile, 'pretty fishy?' was that her nervous attempt at making a joke although he wasn't quite sure how to react to it. "Well I also wondered if you experienced something?What you expect and so on" he said to follow up on his question. As she asked what about him he arched his brow "What about me?" he asked a bit hesitantly not being certain on what to answer after all he hadn't crossed the Atlantic in a ship he had been to the desert and was most likely going back there pretty soon.

He removed his hat for a short moment to run a hand through his hair nervously while thinking of another question, "So what do you do in your spare time? Play any musical instruments? plan on seeing something while you are in England? There are a lot of beautiful places around which seems magical and untouched by everything going on, if you ignore all the uniforms and planes that is... But you get the idea" he said hoping that it didn't sound like he was just ranting.

[Deleted]

The air around the two quickly became uncomfortable and stiff. Honestly she was quiet bored with how the conversation was going; in her mind, excuses of the soldier being too nervous and annoying foamed - but most of it was her fault. Holding onto past superstitions and pain hardened her heart, lumping every male attempting conversation with her to be lewdly flirting, and clearly that was a shallow way of thinking. William was very brave for striking a conversation with her, but in the softer parts of her heart... she wanted him to be attracted to someone, more attractive and lovely. Yvonne believed the total opposite about herself.

She heard his questions, but she did not answer them. Aside from the monster of external warfare, she was fighting within herself. Yvonne noticed that he did not return hers, well he did, but as stiff as she did. Maybe karma was slapping her with her previous rudeness, in a way. Emotions of guilt and empathy clouded her brain as she heard him babble in his slightly incoherant tongue. Yvonne focused her attention to William, not anyone else around her, believing that giving him her full attention should lighten the short time they had. She pited him, no was concerned about him. She knew that he was probably to one sent on the frontlines, to risk his life for the safety and well-being of others. Despite the grim picture, she held a respect for him.

As soon as the last question fell from his mouth, the sound of Screaming whistles could be heard. She was anticipatimg for the train to London, but alas anxiousness consumed her. She did not want to leave, to be spit out somewhere in a hospital on the battlefields of France. And for some reason, she did not want to leave William. The fear of never seeing William plauged her. She did not feel any romance brewing, but a enjoyment of his company and personality. With each passing second, the sounds of gears and whistles came closer to the dock. The nurse stood from her resting spot, a small distance from William. The train to London came to a stop, making a silent reminder to the female that her seconds are dying.

[William Sinclair]

At all the silence and her not answering his question he was starting to see this more and more as a lost course and he knew that he would definitely hear about this from his friends who were probably having a laugh right now and most likely already resolving whatever bets they placed, after all they were liked that and they had a bad habit of betting, or drinking when finally off duty. And they would definitely comment on whatever losses they had gotten in the hope he would succeed or fail with the nurse.

As the whistle broke the current silence between the two he turned his head and looked at the train which slowly arrived at the station with the sound of steam and gears moving. He looked back at the nurse who seemed like she was becoming more sad at the arrival of the train, although he had no idea why this would be after all she hadn't been very keen on sharing anything from whatever questions he had asked.

He stood there for a moment as the train came to a halt, he looked at the train again for a short moment and looked back at her smiling at her again "Well seems to be the train in the direction of London.. Going in that direction? If so, want me to help you with your bag?" he asked with a polite voice as people started getting off the train, if they both had to go to London or even further then at least he could spend some more time before trying to gain her trust or whatever was needed, although he would also have to be careful not to seem a nuisance.

[Deleted]

Over the commotion of departing passangers and griding metal, Yvonne heard a couple of questions from the private.

"Yes. I am heading to London, then across the channel to France. I have been called to aid a field hospital, somewhere near Normandy. I honestly wish I can stay, but I can't. That would be very kind of you William."

The nurse answered with a meloncholy smile. She knew that William possessed no clear understanding on why she is so sad. He never will in this life, but what can be known is the simple gratitude of a brave soldier keeping her company. Of course, it would have been better if not for her previous attitude, but time travel does not exist. As the remaining passangers cleared, the conductor exited the train.

"All aboard!"[/b]

His booming voice echoed through the crowded docks, falling upon frantic ears. A sense of heightened anxiousness filled the young woman as she began to make her way to the train, pausing to allow William to catch up.

"I really thank you for your help, I-"

Before the last word could be uttered, the final warning whistle sounded. Yvonne quickly made her way towards the train. She was about to rush onto the train- but for some reason, she paused. She turned around to face the helpful soldier.

"By the way, my name is Yvonne."

She walked closer to the soldier with a small smile on her face. The nurse had no idea what she was doing, why her feet were leading her closer to the man, but before her judgement could grasp her fleeting heart, she placed her petit hand on his cheek; placing a soft kiss near his lips. It was a small gesture, but something Yvonne has never experienced or thought would be an option in her book. But she was not complaining.

"Last call! All aboard to London."[/i]

Yvonne looked back at the train, then back to the young man before her. Her fingers laced the leather handle of her suitcase, grazing the other's hand. A wider smile appeared on her lips.

"I guess I really need to leave. Thank you so much William."