Chapter Three

Chapter 3

AN: Still in memories. It's a longer one!

Matthew sighed and leaned back. He hoped the ride wasn't too long. He didn't like road trips. The Canadian starred out the back of the truck at the war torn fields of western France.

"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but do you know what the date is?" The man writing the letter asked.

Matthew turned to him. "It's no problem. Today is April 9th, 1917." He said. The man nodded and thanked him. Canada turned his attention back to the fields.

It had been an hour or so since they left the air field and the truck was in the middle of nowhere. The man who was writing the letter had finished. They had talked. Matthew had found out that his name was Michael and he was training to be a mechanic for the air and ground vehicles. Michael was a nice kid. He was raised just outside of Owen Sound on the lake.

The truck suddenly stopped. The man who was talking to the driver turned to him. "Crashed plane. First ones by, so we need to check it out." He said climbing out of the truck. Matthew blinked and followed him after moving Kuma.

"Finally! What took you guys so long?" A familiar voice called jokingly. Jack was standing beside his crashed plane. The aircraft was shot to pieces, literally. It had pieces of the wing missing as well as the Rudder. It also had oil dripping down the side of its nose. Canada was surprise he was able to land the plane. "Hey Matt what are you doing way out here?" He asked spotting his commander.

Matthew smiled and shook his head. "I should ask you the same question." Jack ran over and pulled him into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay." He said. Jack had become like a little brother to him.

"Let's go guys. We need to get back on the road if we want to make it there by supper." The driver called out the window. Matthew, Jack and the other man climbed back into the back of the truck. Canada sat back down where he was before and Jack sat across from him. The truck started back down the road again.

"It was a wild ride going down." Jack said shaking his head. "I'm going to need a new plane, eh?"

"Maybe you'll get an upgrade finally." Matthew said. The Canadian hadn't been shot down yet and hoped he wouldn't be, but it's unpredictable.

"As if." Jack grumbled. "They only give new planes to the good aces."

"You landed a plane with half a wing missing, no tail controls and an oil leak. You’re a great ace." Matthew assured him with a smile.

"But I was shot down though." He argued.

Matthew rolled his eyes. "It happens to even the best of us. What matters is that you landed the plane safely, you're not injured or been picked up by the enemy and taken as a prisoner of war."

"I guess so." Jack sighed running a hand through his hair. "I saw Lloyd go down. His plane caught on fire. There's no way he survived."

Matthew looked down. Lloyd was gone. He let out a long breath before looking back up to Jack. The kid was looking out the back of the truck. They rode in silence for a while. Kuma had crawled over to Jack and the boy was absent mindedly petting the small sleeping polar bear. Canada was reading over his notes from the last meeting and doodling in his book.

"What are you doing out here anyways?" Jack asked breaking the silence.

"One of the British Generals wanted to see me." Canada sighed. It was starting to get dark.

"What does he want? Photo shoot or something? Are you in trouble?" Jack asked. Kuma growled when Jack stopped petting him. The boy rolled his eyes and started to pet the bear again.

"Not sure. I hope it's not a photo shoot. I hate having my picture taken. I think it's just a meeting." Matthew lied twirling the pencil in his hand.

"Where are we going anyways? I forgot to ask." Jack yawned. He looked about ready to fall sleep.

"Base number 178." Matthew replied.

"And where is that?"

"Some were in France." Canada smiled.

"Shouldn't you know we're that is?" Jack asked raising and eyebrow.

Canada shrugged. "Probably." Jack rolled his eyes and yawned again. "Sleep, I'll wake you when we get there." Matthew said. Almost immediately Jack fell asleep. The kid must have been really tired. It was about two more hours of bumpy dark road before they finally reached the base. Canada shook Jack awake and grabbed Kuma before he fell off Jacks lap. Jack yawned and stood up and stretched. Matthew grabbed his pack from under the bench and hopped out of the truck.

A Lieutenant Colonel was waiting for them. Matthew recognized him immediately. "John, it's good to see you."

"Ah, Williams. It's been awhile." John said with a smile. "I'm here to brief you on current affairs."

"Thank you." Matthew noticed Jack next to him. "His plane crashed and we picked him up along the way."

"He can stay in the guest quarters and return to the airfield in the morning." John said and dismissed Jack. The boy nodded and went to find his way to the guest room. John led him through the busy halls to a small meeting room. He carried his pack on his back and a sleeping Kuma in his arms.

The pair sat down at one of the tables. John pulled a file out of his jacket and handed it to Matthew. The Canadian grabbed his glasses from his coat pocket and scanned through the writing.

"All the battles we've been in so far. Ypres, Vimy Ridge which started today, they're all there." John said. "I'm sure you already know most of what's going on."

Matthew nodded. He did know what was going on with his forces. He'd been getting regular letters from Arthur Currie as well as other generals and he could sense it.

Ypres was the worst battle so far. The Germans attacked with gas that settled in the Canadian and allied trenches leaving many soldiers burned and blind. Others died by drowning in their own lungs.

------"Whenever the Germans found the Canadian corps coming into the line, they prepared for the worst."-----

The day the Germans released the gas Canada had been sitting at his desk at the airfield in his room doing paper work when he noticed a burning pain in his chest. He got up and laid down in his bed. The pain grew worse until he could barely breathe. Matthew wheezed trying to catch his breath.

Kumajirou pawed at his arm. "Are you okay?" He asked worried. Canada didn't respond. He passed out from the pain and lack of oxygen.

The Canadian woke a few hours later. Kuma was still beside him. The burning pain in his chest was still there, but it was dulled. Matthew grabbed the canteen off his bed side table and drank half of it. "What the hell was that about?" Kuma demanded.

"I don't know." Canada coughed and sat up. He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. It didn't hurt to breathe anymore or it wasn't hard to either. "I'm okay now."

Matthew slowly got to his feet and looked out the window. Everything was still busy as normal. He was thankful that today was his day off. Being up in an airplane and passing out would have ended badly. The Canadian moved to his desk. He wanted to finish his paper work.

Matthew blinked. The words were fuzzy and he couldn't make them out. Canada shrugged. He thought it was just a side effect and decided to leave the papers for later.

The next day his squadron had patrol just before lunch. He was in his plane high above the fields when he decided to check his gauges, but he couldn't read them. Matthew leaned closer to see if that helped, but it didn't. He leaned back and finally the letters came into focus.

Later that day Canada went to the medical tent and had his eyes tested. The doctor said that he'd become far sighted and he would need glasses for reading and seeing things up close. The doctor also said that it wouldn't affect his flying and seeing targets.

-----"Fly on to the last drop of blood and the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart.”-----

Matthew snapped back to reality when an officer walked up to John and him and saluted the pair. "Colonel McCrae, General Williams." He greeted and turned to John. "Colonel McCrae, you're wanted in the hospital."

John nodded and stood up. "We'll have to catch up later." He said before following the soldier out of the room.

AN: In case you didn’t know, John McCrae wrote the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ and yes, he was Canadian. I always use quotes for line breaks! I really like the head cannon were Canada had vision loss due to the gas at Ypres and the one we're he is far sighted and America in near sighted. Killed two birds with one stone.