Copyright: 12/2013
Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc., ABC, Image Productions etc.
Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, this WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT
He could smell the coffee as he padded his way to the kitchen. He also could smell the wonderful aroma of the cinnamon rolls she always made.
She was pulling them out of the oven when she noticed him standing behind her. "Merry Christmas honey."
He stood there admiring her; she still looked like the young nurse he married. He couldn't believe twelve years had come and gone. For a woman of thirty five, with four kids, five if you counted him, she never lost her sweet and loving disposition. She threaten to murder him a few times but that was only when she was in labor.
He pulled some mistletoe out of his pocket and held it up over his head. "Merry Christmas to you too, sweetheart!"
"Hey watch out. That stuff is lethal, that's how we ended up Paula and besides, I just got my figure back!"
His eyes twinkled as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. "Well, we did have fun!"
Even after all these years, it was always like the first time for her. When he kissed her she just melted in his arms.
"Aww come on Laura, can't I have my gift now?"
How could such an innocent remark still make her blush? It was because she knew it wasn't so innocent.
She smiled as she untangled herself from him. "Bill, speaking of Paula, she'll be up soon and wanting a bottle and the rest of our tribe will be getting up to open their gifts."
"Okay, I can wait for my gift."
"Bill your impossible!"
He started to grab her again, when they heard a groan. "Gee whiz Mom, Dad, you're sooo old to be doin' that!"
"Hey little girl, your Mother and I are not that old!"
Laura looked at Kirby. "You wanted a girl first."
"Yea but I thought Julie would be more like you."
Oh, she looks like me alright but what comes out of her mouth is all you."
"Mom you always say that!"
"It's because it's the truth sweetie, you are your Father's daughter."
"Oh, I almost forgot, Merry Christmas and Paula is up. She wasn't crying yet but I have a feeling that any minute."
Laura looked pleadingly at Bill.
"Alright, I'll change her if you get her bottle ready."
"Thanks, babe."
By the time Bill had made it to the stairs his two sons were sliding down the banister.
"If your mother catches you doing that, you won't be able to slide down much less sit down."
"Okay Dad. Oh, by the way Merry Christmas and the baby's cryin'."
"Couldn't one of you pick her up?"
"Dad she smells funny."
Kirby rolled his eyes and yelled, "Honey can you tell me why we decided to have more than one?"
He finally made it to the nursery. As soon as she saw him, she quieted down. Kirby loved all his kids but this one was special, she was like Laura. At 3 months she was a calm and good natured baby. He changed her diaper and her gown. "Now little one let's go and see if Momma has your bottle ready."
He often wondered what the guys would think if he told them that this had always been a favorite time of day with his children. They would have thought he was nuts.
When they entered the kitchen he saw his three children eating in silence. As he handed the baby to Laura, his curiosity got the better of him. "What gives?"
I told them if they didn't sit still and eat their breakfast without any arguments you wouldn't tell them a story.
Kirby had been telling them stories from the time they were little. They always wanted to know what kind of life he had as a kid or when he was in the Army. Some were true but some were made up because many of his stories were too sad. In his stories he was always the hero which of course, his kids just ate up with a spoon.
Kirby sat down and took a long swallow of his coffee; "Ya know, today I ain't gonna tell ya about when I was little. I'm gonna tell you a Christmas story that happened to me when I was in the Army back in 1944."
The kids loved these stories because he always added a lot of action even when there wasn't any.
As she fed the baby Laura looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Now you all know that Paula is named after Uncle Paul because as Caje would say, I was his "bone ami."
Laura cleared her throat. "Ah, that's bon ami."
"Yea, that's what I said. It means good friend, best friend and that's what we are the best of friends."
"Mom, were you there with Dad?" asked John.
"Well, I was there but I wasn't with Dad at first. Now listen he'll tell you."
Kirby closed his eyes for a moment. Laura looked at him and she could see that he was remembering everything. She wondered how much he would tell them.
"This happened about eight or nine days before Christmas. Our platoon was in Metz, France. We were told we would be moving up to help stop the German invasion. We were put into any vehicle that would move. They put us into an open truck. It was snowing so hard the driver could barely see where he was goin'. The snow was really deep, the driver had to make sure he stayed in the tracks that the other trucks had made. Every so often all of us guys would have to pile out of the truck and push it. It was gettin' colder by the minute and our feet were frozen. They hadn't given us the right kind of boots to wear in the snow. The ones we had would get wet and stay wet."
"The trucks drove all night until we finally reached Luxembourg. There wasn't any houses for us to stay in so we had to dig foxholes. The ground was so hard but we knew we had to dig so we could have some protection and a place to sleep. Me and Caje shared that foxhole. We took care of each other, made sure nothin' bad would happen to either of us."
We had to hold the line and we knew we were goin' to be there until it was all settled."
Michael, their youngest boy looked upset. "Daddy why couldn't they use bombers or some other kind of plane? Then you and Uncle Paul wouldn't have be out there in the cold."
Bill picked him up and put him on his lap. "Ya see Michael, the planes couldn't fly because it was snowin' so hard and there was so much fog. They couldn't see the enemy."
"We stayed out there day and night makin' sure the enemy didn't try to cross our lines."
"One day Caje happen to notice that it was Christmas Eve. We hadn't gotten any letters or packages from our friends and family in a long time. Doc had walked all the way down to our command post to see if maybe there were any letters. We had been on the move so much our mail never seemed to catch up with us and ya know what? There were. Good ole Doc he packed them all up in a couple of sacks he found. He slung them on his back. When we saw him we all thought he looked just like Santa Claus."
"He was handed out stuff to everybody. It was happy time, just holdin' somethin' from home. I remember Caje got a letter and a sweater I think. He also got some pralines from his Mother. Boy, I still can taste them. They had nuts in them and they were so sweet, they just melted in your mouth."
There was a hesitancy in Julie's voice. "Dad, didn't you get anything?"
"That's the funny thing. Doc kept handin' out stuff to everybody but nothin' was comin' my way. I figured your Grandma didn't mail it off in time or somethin'. But then Doc opened up the other sack. It contained three letters and the biggest box you ever saw and they were all addressed to Pfc William G. Kirby. I just kept lookin' at em' and Doc asked if I was gonna ever open them. I noticed that one of the letters was from your Mom, so I put that one away until later. The other two were from your grandma. I finally got to the box. I opened it and I saw all these little boxes wrapped in red and green tissue paper."
"Inside there was a little note that said Laura had asked her Mom to make me a scarf and some gloves. She did one better, she made a scarf for all the guys in the squad too. My Mom made me the warmest sweater I ever had. Ruthie bought me a bunch of warm woolen socks. As I dug down deeper into the box there was one more item. It was in a shoe box all tied up with pretty ribbons. I knew what it was even before I opened it. It was a fruit cake because you could smell….
"Bill, Bill, Laura yelled. I think that is enough about the fruit cake!"
"Oh yea, your right, honey. Sorry about that."
"Dad what about the cake? Was there something wrong with it?"
The kids looked expectantly at him. Kirby was at a loss, how was he going to get out of this one?
Laura smiled at her four Kirby's. "The reason your Daddy knew it was a fruit cake was that he could smell all the delicious candied fruit and all the spices that my Mom used."
She looked over at Kirby and could see his crooked smile and knowing that he wanted to laugh at that explanation.
The kids were on the edge of their seats. "What happened next Dad?"
"We all took turns sleeping that night. The next day was Christmas. We were told that we had to try and break through to a small town that was near us. So Lt. Hanley led the charge. We needed to clear out the Germans so we could take the town. I had my BAR and was runnin' and firin' as fast as I could. All of a sudden I fell. I got up and tried to fire my rifle but my arm didn't work. That's when I realized that I had been shot not once but twice. I tried to move forward but they were shooting at me so that's when I fell back down to the ground. I didn't move, I knew I had to wait until the enemy was either killed or captured. It seemed like forever before anyone came lookin' for me. I heard Caje and the Sarge callin' my name. I been out there for a long time and was half frozen. I could hardly call out so I pulled my BAR next to me and was able to get off one shot. The Sarge found me first. They helped me get to an Aid station and from there I was sent to the 93rd Evac Hospital where I got the best gift ever."
Julie looked from one parent to the other. She smiled at her Mom. Was Dad your best Christmas gift too?"
"Your Dad had lost quite a bit of weight and looked so worn out but to me he looked like Prince Charming to me! The best gift I ever received are you kids and Daddy. I love you all so much. Now, don't you want to open your gifts? "
The kids jumped up and ran to the tree. Laura and Bill watched the mayhem ensue. Bill put his arm around Laura and whispered, "Candied fruits and spices? That cake had so much booze in it you could get drunk just by breathing in the aroma!"
The End
*There is one true statement in this story, my Mom made my Dad a fruit cake and it was loaded with a lot of brandy or whiskey more likely whiskey. My Dad had said, "That cake had so much booze in it you could get drunk just by breathing in the aroma!"
Here's wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!