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Episode 23: Saved By the Belle

Hannah is a little out of her element as she, Chris, and Juliana are invited to a Civil War reenactment. Juliana has a blast, but will Chris and Hannah adapt to a day of 1800's life? And what happens when a beautiful Southern Belle gets the hiccups? --The Author

Seventeen-year-old Chris Beloit sat on the couch at his family's home, halfway watching whatever sitcom rerun happened to be on the TV. With Mom and Dad still at work, Amanda at softball practice, and Sarah away at college, he had the house to himself after school today, as he often did. But his girlfriend Hannah and their friend Juliana were coming over any minute to hang out, so he wouldn't be alone much longer. Just as he reached for the TV's remote control to change the channel, he heard a familiar knock at the door. Jumping up from the couch, he opened the door. "Hey sweetie," he greeted Hannah, and gave her a quick hug.

"Hey!" Hannah answered happily, and kissed him on the lips.

Juliana, meanwhile, was talking on her phone, and simply followed Hannah inside, giving Chris just a little smile instead of a 'hello'.

Chris and Hannah didn't talk at first, but instead just stood and listened to the half of Juliana's conversation that they could hear.

"That would be so awesome, you sure you wouldn't mind if I came with you?" Whatever she and the other person were discussing, it was clear that Juliana was excited about it.

"Aww thank you so much! Oh, can Hannah and Chris come too? And Amanda?" Chris raised his eyebrows. Apparently Juliana was volunteering them for something.

Hannah just shook her head. "I have no idea; I think she's talking to her aunt."

"Great, this is going to be so much fun! But hey, I have to go now, I'm at Chris's place."

"Oh yeah, I'll ask Dad but I'm sure he won't mind; he has to work that day anyway."

"OK, love you too; bye!"

Juliana had hardly put down the phone before she excitedly began to tell Hannah and Chris what her conversation had been about. "That was my Aunt Irene; she and Uncle Harry are going to --" she paused for a moment, realizing she hadn't even said hello to Chris yet. "Oh, hi Chris, by the way," she laughed.

Chris chuckled. "Hey Jules!"

Hannah laughed too. It wasn't often that Juliana got this excited!

Juliana quickly continued. "So yeah, they're going to a Civil War re-enactment down in Georgia next Sunday, and they'll let us come, too!"

Hannah and Chris looked at each other, and then back at Juliana, with quizzical expressions on both of their faces. "A what?" they said, practically in unison.

"A Civil War re-enactment!" Juliana repeated. "You know, where they have a Civil War battle - with fake bullets of course - and they do everything like it was in the 1800's, and dress up in old-fashioned clothes, and yeah, it's like living history!"

Chris didn't say anything. It sounded interesting, but he didn't have nearly the same level of enthusiasm that Juliana did. Hannah thought for a minute, and then answered, "That sounds kinda cool; and they want us all to come?"

Juliana seemed a little disappointed that her friends didn't share her excitement. "Kinda cool? It's awesome! I mean, you don't have to go with us... but you will, won't you?"

"So we'd dress up in fancy dresses like Scarlett O'Hara?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah! Aunt Irene said they have extra period clothes from my cousins."

Hannah smiled and put her arm around Juliana. "OK, I'm in! It might be fun to dress up and act all fancy, for one day of my life!" she giggled. "What about you, Chris?"

Unlike Juliana, Chris had never found history to be his favorite subject, but he had to admit it sounded pretty interesting. Plus with Hannah and Juliana going, what else was he going to do? "Sure, why not?" he agreed.

"Do you think Amanda could come?" Juliana asked.

"I'm pretty sure she has softball games that day," Chris said. "But you can ask her when she gets home."

Juliana frowned. "Well, Ellie would probably kill Amanda if she missed their softball game."

"No, Amanda would kill us if we made her miss her softball game!" Chris countered.

Juliana laughed. "Oh well, at least the rest of us can go."

"Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun!" Hannah agreed.

* * * * *

Hannah's enthusiasm was tempered with a bit of uncertainty as she stood inside Uncle Harry and Aunt Irene's very authentic-looking tent at the historic battlefield site. In front of her, from a line stretched across the large tent, hung the clothes she would be wearing for the day. They looked a whole lot less comfortable than the shorts and t-shirt she currently had on, but the dress was beautiful; Hannah was excited about that. As Aunt Irene dug through a trunk that looked like it had actually gone through the Civil War, looking for shoes that would fit the two girls, Hannah whispered to Juliana, "The dress is super pretty, but what is that thing?" She motioned to a very stiff-looking item that looked a bit like a vest with a very long ribbon hanging from it.

"It's called a corset," Juliana explained. "That's how the ladies got that hourglass figure that you see in the pictures from back then. We wear them in drama when we do Shakespeare plays, too."

"I knew there was a reason I'm not on the drama team!" Hannah laughed.

Aunt Irene turned momentarily from the trunk. "It's not as uncomfortable as it looks, I promise. It sure beats those high heels I can't seem to find!"

Once Aunt Irene had gotten her all dressed, Hannah had to agree. She felt stiff and awkward, but not particularly uncomfortable. Never having been one for heels, she convinced Aunt Irene to let her just wear the flat shoes that she had brought along. "I'll get blisters if I walk around in those heels all day!" she insisted. Her dress was a beautiful lavender color, with lace trim. Thanks to the tight corset, it came in sharply at her waist, before billowing out into a wide skirt that flowed right down to the ground.

"I've never felt this skinny in my life!" Hannah joked as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"You look gorgeous, Hannah!" Juliana gushed.

Aunt Irene agreed. "That dress is beautiful on you! But it wouldn't drag on the ground like that if you'd wear the heels."

"Will that hurt the dress? I can change my shoes if you need me to," Hannah asked, not wanting to get Aunt Irene's dress dirty.

"Don't worry about it; as you can see it's not perfectly clean anyway. Juliana's cousin Leah is shorter than you, so even with better shoes it dragged a bit with her."

"OK, if you're sure," Hannah said. "I love it; it's so elegant!"

"Just wait until Chris sees you!" Juliana exclaimed.

Meanwhile, as the girls got dressed up, Chris was being inducted into the Confederate army. Well, not really, but it sure felt that way. Uncle Harry's group of re-enactors was several men short, so they had offered to let Chris join them. He was hesitant at first, but with some prodding from Juliana and encouragement from Hannah, he had agreed.

After being suited up in a sharp gray uniform, Chris was instructed in the rules of the mock engagement. He had wondered how re-enactors knew when they'd been "shot". As it turned out, they did a random draw to decide who would "survive" the battle, and who would spend some time lying very still on the grassy field. The other men discussed their part of the battle, and what Chris would need to do to fit into the scene. It felt a bit like a crash course in 1800's warfare - which is pretty much what it was.

Finally, having been sufficiently educated, Chris followed Uncle Harry back to the tent, to meet the ladies and take part in the other events of the day. The mock battle wouldn't occur until the afternoon. On the way back, Chris asked Uncle Harry how he had gotten into this whole re-enactment business.

"My daddy - Juliana's mom's father - did it before me, and probably his father before that. It's just part of being in the Lee family."

Chris was in awe. "So you and Juliana are descendents of Robert E. Lee?"

"Well, not exactly, more like distant cousins. We all come down from 'White Horse Harry' Lee, who was a Colonel in the Revolutionary War."

"That's awesome," Chris said. "So then are you going to be the general in this battle?"

Uncle Harry laughed. "No, I do look a bit like General Lee, don't I? But he actually wasn't even at Chickamauga. If he had been, it might have been a more decisive victory for the South. As it was, Braxton Bragg squandered away the advantages of his victory here, and the Confederacy never did recapture Chattanooga."

"I see; so Braxton Bragg is our general?"

"Yes, you'll probably meet him at one of the historical exhibits," Uncle Harry explained. "Interesting fellow, but a terrible tactician." Chris was beginning to wish he'd paid more attention in American History. He was about to ask Uncle Harry more about this Braxton Bragg fellow, when he saw something that made him completely forget what he was going to say. Stepping out of the tent ahead of them was a beautiful girl in a lovely lavender dress. Her deep blue eyes sparkled, and her face was beaming. She had curled her usually-straight blonde hair into wavy ringlets that fell effortlessly around her face. It wasn't necessarily authentic 1800's hair styling, but it was a lot more attractive!

"Wow, you look amazing, Hannah!" Chris breathed.

Hannah just laughed, but she could tell that Chris really was entranced by how beautiful she looked. It felt good. "You look pretty handsome yourself, young man," she said, beaming.

Chris looked down at his plain gray uniform, made of heavy, old-fashioned cloth. "Well, this thing is definitely hot enough, that's for sure," he commented.

"Yeah, I'd say you look hot," Hannah giggled.

"Not like that!" Chris argued.

"Aww, well come inside, it's cooler in here," she offered. Taking his arm, the two ducked through the doorway of the tent: beautiful Southern belle and dashing young soldier, if but for a day.

A short time later, as they walked across the camp with Uncle Harry, Aunt Irene, and Juliana - who looked quite beautiful herself - Hannah told Chris about the awkwardness of her own outfit. "I love the dress, but I feel like I can hardly move!" she laughed.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"This corset thing is so tight; there's no way I could bend over, and I have to have perfect posture. But it's not uncomfortable, it's just really tight around me. Here, feel it," she offered, putting Chris's hand on her stomach.

Chris wasn't typically that interested in the intricacies of 1800s' women's clothing, but when Hannah talked about it, it immediately seemed like a far more fascinating topic. "That does feel tight," he agreed. "But it doesn't hurt?"

"Nah," she assured him. "And it feels really nice to look so good!"

"You always look amazing, though!" Chris countered.

Hannah laughed. "I don't know about that, but thanks anyway," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

They spent a couple hours exploring the various historical exhibits and talks that were going on, before it was time for lunch. Uncle Harry's group was joining up with a few other groups for a shared potluck meal. Of course, everything was made 1800s' style - or at least maybe it could have been. "I actually bought this potato salad at Kroger," Aunt Irene whispered to Juliana as they set it out in a large metal bowl. "Usually I make my own, but I didn't have time yesterday!"

Store-bought potato salad notwithstanding, the spread was quite authentic. One group had brought venison; another brought home-grown vegetables. One woman stirred a huge pot of beans that hung over a small fire.

The food was just as delicious as it looked. Hannah laughed when Chris got up to get a third helping. "Don't eat too much or you'll be too full to go off to war!" she teased.

"And you'll need a bigger uniform!" Juliana chimed in. Both girls laughed, and Chris chucked too, but continued toward the food undeterred.

When Chris returned with a slightly smaller plate of food, he found that all the laughing had given Hannah the hiccups. Now it was his turn to laugh. "That's what you get for making fun of me!" he said.

"What?" Hannah asked, not catching his drift.

"You were laughing at me, and now you got the hiccups!"

"Oh! *hic*" She understood now, but just shrugged. "That's just me, *hic* I would have gotten them a-*hic* anyway."

It wasn't until she'd finished her own meal - carefully, so as not to choke on a hiccup - that Hannah really even paid attention to the hiccups. She rarely commented on her hiccups, but unlike her usual cases, this time they hurt. "These hiccups are really *huck* painful; I don't know *huck* why!" she complained with a little frown.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Chris sympathized. He put his arm around her, his hand on her shoulder, and felt her body jerk back slightly with a hiccup. "They don't feel that hard," he commented.

"I know, right? *huck* But they really hurt my t-*hilk* tummy!" The last hiccup made a loud and unusually high-pitched sound.

Juliana's attention had been elsewhere, but with the extra-loud hiccup, she turned toward Hannah and Chris. "Gosh, are you ok, Hannah?"

Hannah made a wry face. "Stupid hiccups, *hurk* they hurt pretty *hic* bad!"

"It sounds like it!" Juliana laughed. "I'm sorry, though."

Chris put his hand on Hannah's stomach. It felt unnaturally firm, no doubt because of the corset holding her body tightly in place under the dress. When she hiccupped, it barely even seemed to move. "I don't think your stomach has room to move in there," he pointed out.

"Maybe that's *hilk* why they're so *hic* bad."

Juliana agreed. "It could be. I hope they don't last too long."

The discussion was interrupted by Uncle Harry. "Hey kids, General Bragg is about to talk about the history of the battle you're going to be seeing. Do you want to go hear about it?"

"Sure!" Juliana answered, and the others agreed.

At the small amphitheatre where "General Bragg" was going to speak, Uncle Harry and the three friends sat together on one of the long wooden benches, near the front. It had taken only a minute for Uncle Harry to notice Hannah's painfully loud, almost squeaky hiccups.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked as they sat down.

"I'm fine," Hannah assured him. "I get *hilk* hiccups all the time, *hic* like every day. Th-*hyuk* They're just extra b-*hic* bad right now!"

"Do you need anything for them?" he offered.

"Nothing st-*hilk*-ops my hiccups. I just *huck* hope they don't *hic-ulk* last for hours!"

Hannah turned a little and leaned back onto Chris's chest. He gladly put his arms around her. With each hiccup he could feel her body shudder, as if there was nowhere for the spasm's energy to escape. He felt sorry for her, because of how badly they seemed to be hurting her, but he still loved holding her like this, especially when she had the hiccups. Hannah felt a little bit better, too, even though they still hurt.

There was no way she could keep quiet, though, and once the talk started, she felt a little bit out of place. Some of the people around them snickered and giggled at each of her loud, throaty hiccups. One man on their got up and left. Even the man speaking as General Bragg couldn't help but notice. After just a couple minutes of talking, he walked down toward Hannah's row, and gestured toward her with his canteen in his hand. "It sounds like you need this more than I do," he offered.

The crowd laughed and, good-natured as she was, Hannah wasn't embarrassed; she just smiled and replied, "Thanks, I *hilk* wish it could help, *huck* but it wouldn't."

Eventually General Bragg's talk was over, and it was time for the men to go off to the battle. By this time, Aunt Irene had joined them, so they all bid farewell to Chris and Uncle Harry. "Show those Yanks what you're made of!" Juliana admonished playfully.

They could joke about it, but Aunt Irene pointed out the seriousness of the real-life situation that was being re-enacted. "Just imagine if they were going off to war and we didn't know if they'd ever come back," she reminded Juliana and Hannah.

"I know, *huck* that would be so horr-*hilk*-ible!" Hannah agreed. She gave Chris a long hug.

"Good luck with your hiccups," Chris said as they parted. "I hate to leave while you've got them!"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Psh, *hilk* you know I'll still ha-*hic* have them when you *hic-ulk* get back."

"For your sake, I hope not!"

"Yeah, sorry, *huck* but me too!" Hannah laughed.

Chris and Uncle Harry made their way to where their mock army was assembling. The leader of their brigade reminded everyone of the role their group was supposed to play. Some men received special orders. Chris and an older man were assigned to go into the forest, work their way around the main battlefield, and scout the enemy's positions. Of course, having just seen General Bragg describe the sequence of the entire battle, they all knew where the enemy lines were - but the scouting mission was all part of keeping it realistic. Once they had collected information about the Union positions, they would return and give a report; unless, of course, they were captured or "killed" in the process.

Other regiments of men had already entered the battle, and already the sound of gunshots - just blanks, fortunately - and cannon fire met their ears. A low cloud of gray smoke began to form over the field. Now and then, a shout or a scream could be heard. He wasn't afraid like he would be in an actual battle, but it all still felt very real to Chris. There was a twinge of fear in his heart as he watched Uncle Harry and most of the other men charge toward the din of the battlefield.

"Quite a spectacle, isn't it?" said the man who had been assigned to scout with Chris.

Chris nodded. "I didn't know these battles were so, like, realistic."

"Just wait until guys start playing dead or injured when they've been 'shot'. They can be pretty convincing."

The thought of it made a chill go up Chris's spine. Maybe it was a good thing that they'd be out in the forest for a while.

Soon the two departed on their scouting mission, working their way around toward the other side of the battlefield. Since they didn't know the area, they stayed close to the edge of the forest, where they could still see where they were going. When they were particularly close to the action, they could see the fighting, partially obscured by the thickening cloud of smoke. The two sides seemed to be roughly arranged into lines, from which they fired at one another. Sometimes one side or the other would make a charge toward the enemy, and if they were successful, they would gain ground. If they failed, many of the men would spend the rest of the battle lying very still on the grass.

Chris and his companion had stopped momentarily to watch one of these charges, when suddenly they heard a voice coming from ahead of them. "Don't move!" A Union soldier seemed to materialize out of the smoke, with his rifle pointed at the two of them. Rather than wait and see what he intended to do, they both fled into the forest. The Union man followed in hot pursuit, firing his weapon in their direction. Chris wondered if he was supposed to "die", but he hadn't been given a time to die, so apparently he was supposed to escape successfully. He wondered if his partner was supposed to survive as well. It was all kind of silly, being so afraid of fake death that was determined by random drawing, but it drove home in Chris's mind the terror that a real soldier must have felt, fleeing from enemies with very genuine weapons and bullets.

Finally, Chris stopped. He couldn't see or hear the Union soldier any more, and he had no idea where he was. His companion was nowhere to be found, either. He was afraid to call out for him, in case the enemy was still lurking in the woods behind him. So he decided he would continue on in his mission alone.

The direction to the battlefield was clear from the sound of the guns and cannons, so Chris started off back through the woods, traveling at an angle so as to not reach the battlefield again until he was well behind the apparent enemy positions. He felt like he was beginning to get the hang of this soldier thing.

It was only after hiking for a few more minutes that Chris suddenly realized that he was probably supposed to have used his own mock weapon to fire back at the Union soldier they had encountered. He felt kind of silly, running away without even thinking of fighting back. Maybe his partner had fired back at the enemy. Maybe he'd even "killed" their attacker. Maybe Chris hadn't quite figured out being a soldier after all.

The forest was thick, but Chris pressed on toward his goal. Then, without warning, the ground seemed to give way beneath him! He reached out for a tree branch, but without success. Before he even knew what was happening, he had fallen into a large, deep hole.

* * * * *

Hannah, Juliana, and Aunt Irene had found a shady spot to set out their lawn chairs and watch the mock battle. At first, Hannah found it exciting to watch the action unfold. Men streamed into the battlefield from each side, and even from their vantage point, she could see some of the dynamics of the battle that was being reenacted in front of them. She kept an eye out for Uncle Harry and especially for Chris, but as the smoke grew thicker, it wasn't long before she was unable to make out the faces of the men.

After a while, though, Hannah began to lose interest. Juliana and Aunt Irene were having a fantastic time, sipping cold lemonade and chatting with old friends of Aunt Irene's family. Of course, Hannah didn't mind chatting with people, but she didn't know all the long-lost friends and relatives that they were talking about. And on top of that, it all just felt a bit strange: drinking, gossiping, and cheering for a fake battle. Lighthearted a girl as she was, Hannah was still impressed by the irony of the whole situation. It was almost as if they were at a ballgame, rather than a reenactment of the deaths of thousands.

Then again, maybe she would have been able to enjoy it more if her unruly hiccups weren't making it almost impossible to even hold a conversation. They seemed to grow harder, faster, and more painful by the minute. As if that weren't bad enough, everyone had a suggestion for how to cure them. There's something about a person with hiccups that seems to bring out the doctor of home remedies in everyone. But when you know in advance that none of the well-meaning suggestions have a chance of working, it can get a bit tedious listening to cure after worthless cure. Hannah would have tried almost anything, though, if it would have had a chance of working. Her stomach, punching forcefully against the restrictive corset with every hiccup, was killing her. It hurt badly while standing; sitting down was making it even worse.

Finally, Hannah decided she had to get away. "I'll be *HULK* back in a li-*HIC-ulk* little bit, ok?" she told Juliana.

"Ok, you need anything?"

"Nah, *HUCK* I'm just gonna w-*hic*-alk around a little."

Hannah wandered through the assembled crowd, and finally made it to the far side of the battlefield, where she could be alone for a few minutes. Lifting up her beautiful, flowing dress, she carefully walked out into the forest.

The din of the battle still assaulted her ears from afar, but it was quieter in the woods. Standing up and walking around helped keep her hiccups from hurting too much, even though they were as loud as ever. But Hannah thought little of them now, as she walked among the trees. She thought about her distant ancestors, who might have lived through the real experience that was being reenacted today. How terrifying it all must have been, both for the men who had to go off into a horrific, bloody war, and equally so for the women and children they left behind. It was kind of fun to be a Southern belle for a day, but Hannah realized she definitely wouldn't want to make a lifetime of it.

As she stopped to admire a tall, branching pine tree, she heard something. Was it a cry from the battlefield? No, there it was again. It was closer, off to her left. Then she realized, it was someone's voice; and it was calling her name! "Who's *hilk* there?" she called back.

"Over here, it's me, Chris!" the voice answered.

Hannah was bewildered, but scurried toward the source of the sound. There she found Chris, at the bottom of a hole, just a few feet wide but nearly twice as deep as he was tall. "Oh my *HULK* God, Chris, are y-*hic* you ok?" Hannah gasped.

"I'm fine," Chris assured her. "Somehow. I just can't get out of here!"

Hannah looked around for something she could use to help him. Several yards away, she spotted a small log that had been cut from a fallen tree. "Hey, just *huck* a minute here," she said. Running over to the log, she dragged it to the hole. "If I *hic-ulk* drop this in with *huck* you, you could cl-*huck* climb up it and maybe then *hic* you could r-*huck*-each to where I can pull you *hic-ulk* out," she suggested.

"Just don't drop it on me!" Chris warned.

Hannah rolled the log to the edge of the hole. "It's ab-*huck* about *huck* - ugh, stupid hiccups! *hic-ulk* It's about six feet long, *hic-ulk* I'll tip it in." She slid it as far in as she could without dropping it. "Ready?"

"Ok, let it go."

Chris dodged the falling log as it landed in the hole with a thud. He moved it to where it would slant diagonally against the wall, and carefully climbed to the top of it. From there, he could just barely reach the surface - and Hannah's waiting hand.

In a moment, he was back above ground. He and Hannah shared a long embrace. "What happened?" she asked.

"I was supposed to go through the woods to scout the enemy lines, and I fell into this hole. If I hadn't called to you when I heard your hiccups; I don't know how I ever would have gotten out! But what are you doing out here anyway?"

Hannah had to chuckle. "Maybe it's *huck* a good thing I h-*hic-ulk*-ave these hiccups, after *HULK* all. I just *huck* came out here to *huck* get away for a min-*hic*-ute. My stomach is *hurk* killing me cause *huck* of my hiccups and th-*hic*-is corset."

"Aww, sweetheart," he exclaimed, with his arms still around her. "Why don't we go back to the tent and you can change? I don't want you to be miserable!"

Hannah frowned. "I hate to do *huck* that, but it really *huck* would feel a lot better. *hic-ulk* But what ab-*HULK* about you and the b-*uck* battle?"

"They can get along without me. I'm sure they know where the enemy lines are by now, anyway," Chris laughed.

Back at the tent, Chris waited outside while Hannah changed back into her more comfortable clothes. But after just a minute, she called to him. "I need *huck* some help," she asked sheepishly.

Entering the tent, he saw Hannah's face peeking out from behind a large sheet that hung from the line. "This thing is *huck* laced up my back *huck* like a shoe, I *hic-ulk* can't get it off *huck* on my own."

Chris had never had a girl ask him to take her clothes off before! Still, he understood her need for privacy, too. Hannah folded the sheet back so that Chris could reach around both sides, but stayed mostly behind it as she carefully guided his hands to the top of the long row of laces. He slowly worked his way down her back, unlacing the long ribbon, while trying to be careful about just where he touched. "I'm sorry, this is probably really awkward for you," he admitted nervously.

"Oh, no, *huck* it's so sweet *hic-ulk* of you, love."

Finally the corset and dress were off, and Hannah stood - still behind the sheet - in just her bra and underwear. "Oh my word, *huck* that's so much *huck* better!" she practically sang, "It's never *hic* felt so good to un-*hic*-dress!" she laughed. "Thank you *huck* soooo much!"

Chris put his arms around her and the sheet, with his hand on her stomach. When she hiccupped, it sucked in and then kicked out hard, as if making up for lost time. She turned toward him, even if it did mean losing some of the privacy the sheet afforded as wrapped haphazardly around her. He held her close, and their lips met. It felt so good to kiss her.

They might have stood there, locked in one another's embrace, for a few seconds, or half an hour - who keeps track of time at a moment like that? - but eventually they heard the voices of a small group of people walking past their tent. Hannah pulled her lips away from Chris's long enough to say, "We better stop; *huck* what would *huck* Aunt Irene s-*hic* say if she came *huck* back right now!"

Chris had to agree, and Hannah disappeared behind the sheet again to finish dressing. "It's amazing *huck* kissing you," she whispered.

"You're the amazing one," Chris responded.

"Psh, *hic* you just love *huck* me for my hic-*ulk*-cups," Hannah giggled, emerging back in her normal clothes.

He embraced her once again, "I love you because you're the most sweet, beautiful, wonderful girl in the world."

Hannah smiled and gave him another kiss. "Aww... *huck* I love you *huck* too, sweetheart. But one *hic-ulk* thing's for sure: *huck* I'm not cut ou-*hic* out to be a South-*huck*-ern belle!"

Chris laughed. "And I'm not much of a soldier, either. Thanks for rescuing me out there. I guess we'll have to stick to our own century from now on!"

Hannah couldn't have wiped the radiant smile from her face if she had wanted to. "As long as we're *huck* together, that's all that counts!"

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