"Quit going easy on me," I panted as Benjamin swung another weak fist at my face.
     "I'm not!"
     I scoffed and returned a punch, coming inches from knocking his teeth out.
     Stunned, he took a step back to recollect himself and I could see a new fire ignite in his face. Game on.
     "Is that the best you can do?" I taunted as he lunged for me, unknowingly giving me enough warning with his eyes and movements to plant myself for a counterattack.
     "Oh, please, you don't want to see the best I can do."
     I laughed. "Yes, I do! Why else are we down here?"
     "To have fun," Ben quipped.
     "That is fun for me," I said, deflecting a punch.
     "It won't be when one of us has to drive the other to the hospital."
     "Oh, please. I'm not scared."
     He chuckled and threw a hard punch into my gut, using his other hand to pull me towards him. I was on the ground, pinned beneath his hands and knees.
     "Impressive. Now get off; you're crushing me."
     He leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on my head while releasing my arms, and I kicked his own legs out from under him.
     Scrambling to his feet in surprise, Benjamin exclaimed, "A man can't even kiss his wife nowadays without fearing for his life!"
     I laughed, ducking as he swung again.
     "Come on," he said, "you can do better than that. I want to see more offensives from you."
     Scoffing, I grabbed his fist mid-air and pulled it down, using my other arm to wrap around his neck in a chokehold.
     He purposely fell like dead-weight in my arms, causing me to stumble and lose my balance. Seizing the opportunity, he pushed against my stomach and used his other hand to wrench a hand behind my back.
     I grunted, and he said, "Tell me when you want me to stop."
    "Alright," I said, breathing hard, "you tell me when to stop."
     I kneed him inches from his groin and he instinctively released my hand from behind my back.
     "Oh, I see," he panted, "we're playing dirty now, are we?"
     "Wasn't that what the point?"
"France made you much more competitive, I see," he said with a wry grin.
"If you're mad, why don't you use your anger?" I faked a punch and knocked his knees out from under him, "Go ahead and beat me already."
Before I could even hear his response, he lunged for me, turned me around, and held me in a hold that had me hanging with one of my feet off the ground.
The mirrored wall of the women's basement gym reflected the two of us—Benjamin holding me pitifully in front of him. If he wanted to, he could slam my head into a wall or break my back with a single movement.
"Teach me." I squirmed to get out of his grasp.
"Did I win?" he asked hopefully, letting me gently back on two feet and out of his impressive grasp.
"Please, you have to teach me that."
He spun me around and kissed my forehead with a deep breath. "Alright; I will, but did I win?"
"Oh, bloody Nora, Benjamin. Yes, you won."
"Good."
"Now, teach me."
He strode over to the bench on the side of the gym and sat down with a long sigh. "I will—after I get a drink."
I sat down beside him, leaning heavily against his chest with my fingers laced in his.
     "You're going to have to sneak out of the women's gym before 7 o'clock," I said, looking at the old clock on the wall that read 6:45 AM.
Ben laughed softly. "What are they going to do? Reprimand us? I'm the head of the whole OSS, darling."
"No, they'll reprimand me."
"So then I'll reprimand them for reprimanding you!"
We both chuckled and Benjamin gave me a sip of water from his glass coffee mug.
     "What do you have to do today?" he asked me. 
     I shrugged. "I'm still working on that report for the Morale Operative in Istanbul so the information can be sent into other cities. It's excruciatingly tedious, but it's better than filing."
     Benjamin smiled a little and put a hand on my knee proudly. "I heard one of the Cairo Morale Operatives talking yesterday about how glad they were that you are in charge of rounding up the information. He said he trusts you to do it well."
     "Oh," I laughed, "I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to get extra favor with you."
     "He wasn't even talking to me!" Ben exclaimed, holding up his hands in mock-innocence, "I swear I was eavesdropping."
     We both laughed, and I stood up and held up my hands in a fighting stance.
     "Come on," I said, "teach me that one trick and then we can go up and start the day."
     He glanced at the clock and reluctantly let me drag him into the center of the dingy basement gym. "Alright—five minutes."
     "Thank you."
     He smirked and blocked a punch, working in slow motion to show each movement of the complicated tactic.
     "And here," he said, pulling my outstretched arm across his chest and using the momentum to lift me off my feet, "is where you need to put your arm—"
     "This isn't fair," I said as I found myself helplessly in the same position as last time, "because I can't pick you up. I'm not strong enough!"
     He set me down and brushed a few wavy curls from my face with a smile. "You don't need to know how to do the trick," he countered, "just how to get out of it."
     "Good point," I conceded, letting him set me up in the position again. Just as he began to teach me the escape, the heavy door clanged shut and a younger woman looked in shock at the sight before her.
     "I'm sorry," she stammered, "I thought this was the women's—"
     "Oh," I said, squirming out of Benjamin's grasp to get back on my feet, "It is. We're sorry; we were just...practicing."
     "We were just leaving. You'll have the gym all to yourself," Benjamin piped up, hurrying over to pick up our two canvas bags by the door.
     I jogged behind Benjamin as he walked quickly to the door, and the woman seemed to recognize him.
     "Major General," she said anxiously, stepping out of the way as he barreled towards the door.
     Ben was obviously embarrassed and trying to relieve the woman's embarrassment by rushing out, but I didn't think it was such a big deal.
     "I'm sorry," I said as I passed her, giving her an apologetic smile.
     Once in the empty hallway, Ben turned to look at me with a look of exasperated humiliation.
     I tried to contain my laughter, whispering, "Why is this so traumatic for you, pretty-boy? I can't tell if your face is flushed from embarrassment or the exercise."
    He scoffed and pulled me into one of the bathrooms across the hall, pressing one of the canvas bags into my hands. "Look at what we're wearing!"
     I looked down at my Claire McCardell shorts and halter-top, and Benjamin's woolen athletic pants and bare chest. I still barely filled out my old clothes, but I had gained some weight since my imprisonment.
"We were exercising; it's obvious we aren't dressing like this all the time!"
"I didn't have a shirt on," Benjamin whispered in exasperation, rummaging through the two canvas bags to find his dress pants and suit, "I'm the Head of Intelligence, Lou!"
I laughed and helped him button his crisp white shirt, patting his arms comfortingly. "I'm sure she didn't mind."
"Well I minded," he grumbled, handing me my brown Oxford heels.
Slipping into a dark red skirt, white blouse, and matching red jacket, I kissed Benjamin quickly before heading towards the bathroom door.
"You are romantically high-strung, you know that?" I asked with a laugh.
"I'm not high-strung," he said, putting on his socks, "I just care more than you do."
"Exactly." We both laughed.
"I'll see you at seven o'clock; we can go dancing after work," he said with a wink.
"I'll be there at 6:50," I smiled, slinging my bag over my shoulder and sauntering out of the bathroom.

"First Officer Adams."
I opened my eyes and found myself in the cockpit of the P-51 Mustang.
"My name is Tallmadge," I muttered to whoever was speaking. My hands weren't on the control stick, but the plane seemed to be navigating itself. All I could see were darkened clouds.
An explosion rocked my plane from behind, sending shrapnel into the back of my head.

I awoke, breathing hard, but quickly found myself asleep once more.

"First Officer Adams."
"Tallmadge," I corrected, not yet understanding what was happening.
Explosion. Shrapnel.

"First Officer Adams."
I tried desperately to turn in my seat in the cockpit, searching to anticipate the fire from the offensive plane.
"I can't see them," I shrieked, finding myself blinded by a blood-red light.
Explosion. Shrapnel.
The dream continued until the plane hit the ground, bursting into flames that engulfed me.

I awoke with a start, disoriented. Somehow, I couldn't stop myself from falling back into the miserable sleep.

"First Officer Adams."
I tried once again to see the attacking plane. Just let me see it. I have to see the plane.
I was blinded again with the red light.
I turned to face forward and pulled the control stick into my stomach, sending me into a steep climb.
Shrapnel.
Suddenly, the plane came into full view in front of me, glistening an ethereal white in front of the deep grey clouds.
Shoot it.
     I fumbled for the trigger for a moment, the pilot's face coming into view just as the first shots began to ring out.
     Benjamin Tallmadge was wearing a green knit sweater over a white button up, suddenly splattered with blood.
     The only thing I could see as the aircraft burst into flames was a terrified glance of desperate betrayal in Benjamin's face.
    
     I woke up screaming, grappling hysterically at the sheets as though it would save Benjamin from dying in my dream.
     "Louisa, Louisa," Benjamin yelled, jerking out of a deep sleep of his own, his hands instinctively reaching to hold me to his chest, "It's okay. I'm here. Breathe."
     "Oh Ben," I sobbed, "I can't do this anymore. I can't take this."
      "It wasn't real. It wasn't real, whatever it was."
     I didn't tell him what I had dreamt.
His heart was racing, and his own hands were shaking.
"Did you have a nightmare too?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Let's go back to sleep, okay?"
"Okay."
I laid down beside him and we were silent for a few minutes.
     "Are you still awake?" I whispered.
     He grunted affirmatively.
     "I was going to wait to tell you this until later, but now seems like a good time."
     Benjamin turned to face me with interest.
     "I'm pregnant."
     I could see his eyes glimmer with emotion in the darkness. "You're—you really are? Are you joking? This is not a funny joke Louisa Tallmadge—"
"I'm not joking," I chuckled, "I really am pregnant, darling."
He put his hands to his mouth with a loud gasp.
     "I knew you could do it," he exclaimed, elation in his voice. Suddenly serious, he added, "Louisa, why did you let me fight you this morning at work? I punched you in the stomach!"
"I wasn't sure I was pregnant this morning," I said in a soft tone in order to get him to lower his voice, "You didn't hit me that hard, anyway."
"I thought you couldn't—you know. I thought what they did to you in France—"
"I thought so too," I took his face in my hands and looked at him earnestly, "but I don't want you to get your hopes up. There's a high probability that the baby won't survive."
He nodded. "I know. But just the fact that it's possible at all," he ran his hands through his hair incredulously, "I'm so happy."
Pulling back the covers, Benjamin laid his head gently on my stomach, whispering, "Hello there, little one. It's nice to meet you."
I laughed as he kissed my stomach with a wry smile. "Your ma is the best lady in the whole world, you know. And me? I'll teach you everything you want to know. Unless it's about spying—you aren't allowed to work for the OSS until you're at least 40. The private sector pays better."
We both chuckled at the thought of a 40-year old trying to enter the OSS; we barely passed the physical exams at age 20 and 22.
"And this war?" Benjamin continued, "It'll be over before you can even remember it. We'll win it for you—I know victory is coming."
Tears filled my eyes as Benjamin reached up to embrace me, cradling me in his strong arms.
"Victory is coming, Louisa."