Summary: Laura Taylor is a promising lawyer involved in a job she starts to hate very soon: covering the war crimes that the American Army commits during the war. Laura feels lost in a world where she doesn't know anyone, surrounded by rude soldiers and realizing the war's real absurdity. Hopefully, someone may prove her that war has its upsides, too, and she unexpectedly bounds with the men, especially with one redhead Lieutenant.

Personal notes: I had this story written in my mind for a little while. Actually, I wrote down something one or two weeks ago and finally found the courage to publish it here. Lieutenant (Captain, Major, whatever) Winters is always one of my favorite subject for hypothetical love affairs, I actually don't know why; I guess it's because I have a big crush on Damian Lewis, or because I think the way he is portrayed in the tv show (which is not so far from the way the real Major Winters was) makes him look like a real gentleman, a sort of prince charming, so it's kind of easy to imagine a romantic affair going on with him.

Post scriptums: Here's a story which is only a figment of my imagination, so no offense intended. Actually, I tried to report some real war crimes, but nothing of this "covering the war crimes'' thing is real. Second of all, I'm not a native English speaker since I'm Italian so I apologize for some possible grammatical or lexical error; just think I do of my best to avoid most of them.

Criticism is always constructive; positive reviews are well-accepted as well J

Here it is, I hope you like this first chapter!

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General Taylor was staring out the window, carefully paying attention to all the cars arriving at the base. The sun was about to rise: it was early morning, and the base already pullulated of cars, trucks and officers rushing here and there, and Taylor knew why. The latest news received from the Italian front were just a pain in the neck. What was worse, was that they had all the eyes focused on them for the next move. That could not happen again. Sure, the war always comes with some downsides, if he could call them that way, but the General knew that some actions would always be remembered, if not persecuted. And now, the world was pointing his finger to the American Army, and Taylor had to admit it had a reason to do so. Fuck that, he thought, why should he even care ? It was their mistake, not his. He was sure he would've never made such mistake, he would've never ordered that bombing. Nonetheless, Eisenhower wanted some measures to be taken. Fortunately, he knew exactly what to do. Don't be harsh on him, but some crimes, if you want to call them that way, could not just be avoided to be committed. The whole war thing was a crime itself, for Pete's sake! So, what was it? A bombed little town, two thousands civils dropped dead because of a mistake. Fucking fascists. They asked for it.

Taylor saw two men, officers, shaking their hands not so far from his view, the ones he was impatiently waiting for. The General took the seat behind his desk and cleared his voice, trying to repeat to himself the speech he was about to give to the men. A knock on his door echoed in the big office.

''Enter'' he ordered.

The two men made their way in, taking off their helmets and adjusting what was left of their hair.

''Sir, we rushed here as fast as we could. Good morning, sir'' said the man on the left with brown hair and an aquiline nose ''oh, maybe you hadn't met before. General Taylor, let me introduce you to Colonel Sink, commanding officer of the 506° Regiment.''

''It's an honor to finally get to meet you, sir'' the man with grey hair, visibly older than the other officer, made a step ahead to firmly shake his hand.

''It's a pleasure for me to meet you too, Colonel. I heard great things about what you're doing with your men. They are the future of the American Army, and I'm so proud of your job there.''

''Thank you, sir'' the Colonel's proudness at such words was highly visible when he let himself giving the General a large smile.

''Well'' Taylor exclaimed making his hands clapping '' without other ceremonies, have a seat and I'll tell you why I wanted you both here today.''

''Yes sir'' the two officers answered and took the seats in front of the General.

Taylor thought he had lost the words he had minutely prepared. He was now only able to picture in his mind the reporter's face, clearly Italian, speaking in a forced English accent, talking about disaster, destruction… Fucking fascists. His forehead frowned and looked at the ceiling while starting to explain to the two officers what was happening in Europe.

''You should already know, but I think I'd better shed some light about the latest hot news. Yesterday morning, our army bombed some kind of cloister in Montecassino, in Italy, where a battalion of Nazi scums were supposed to hide. Conquering Montecassino was, and still is, a necessary move to connect with our forces already settled in Rome. Unfortunately, this small town is settled on a high hill, almost impossible to be walked through. Bombing the cloister seemed the only choice they had. But, some recent information came up, and it turned up that no Nazi was hidden in the monastery, since the priests refused to give them protection. Two thousands civilians were killed during the bombing. Both English and American Generals involved into the operations apologized for the military mistake, and for the attempt to all those poor sorry souls. Obviously, this was not enough to calm the whole situation down, and there are priests telling around that we made it on purpose, and that we all should be persecuted for, you know, our sins.''

The General noticed both officers swallowing hard at his last sentence.

''Sir'', the brown-haired man interrupter sheepishly ''does it mean that…''

''No, no of course. None of us, neither the ones directly involved into the bombing is going to pay. The real problem is the public opinion about this whole thing.'' Taylor sighed heavily, still staring at the ceiling with his tangled fingers. ''Obviously, General Eisenhower want us to take some preventive measures, in order to avoid such scandals in the future, especially when the biggest army deployment is about to take up. Did I made myself clear?'' Taylor looked right to the two officers who exchanged some questioning looks, not really understanding what the General meant by ''preventive measures.''

''Honestly, sir, I don't think none of us has understood what you mean by that.''

Taylor took and heavy breathe. This was the hard part of the topic. What he was about to tell to the two man was completely mad and unfair, but war comes always with some downsides.

''I'm telling you, we are sending lawyers to each division and regiment that is going to be involved into Operation Overlord. These lawyers are going to check for the war crimes that you commit during the operations in Europe, and they're magically going to make them disappear. Or, at least, they're going to make them look smaller than they are.''

The two officers could not believe their ears. That was utterly a cheap shot. That meant hiding the injustices that came along with war, and spitting on their penal code. Above all, such maneuver was a risky one: what if someone came to know it? But the expression on the General's face was serious, and worried as well. The two officers deeply understood why such measure had to be taken: they could be free to take every measure possible to reach for their aim.

''So, General McCauliff: I'm sending to your division one of the greatest lawyer our Nation can claim. He has British origins and he's very conscientious doing his job. He's called Jude Astor. He's going to join your division in a week, since he's temporally involved in a big trial in Los Angeles. You could not ask for more.''

McCauliff gave him a nod, still wavering on the whole situation.

''As far for your regiment, Colonel Sink, I'm sending you a great lawyer as well. She has an eye for every detail, a large knowledge about each Country's law and great forensic abilities. She may even convince you that it was not the American Army to bomb that fucking monastery! ''

''Is this lawyer a woman, sir?'' Sink asked, clearly doubtful at the thought of giving such task to a woman. Taylor leant even more back to his chair and gave Sink a harsh look.

''Colonel, despite her age, she's probably the best you can ask for. She has a great experience in this kind of things. Her name is Laura Taylor. She's my niece. Take care of her, Colonel. And uh, she can be a bit harsh, when it comes to breaking the rules. Make sure you all try to respect them, or she'll give you hell.''

Taylor could see Sink's Adam's apple going up and down.

''Yes sir, I'll take care.''

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She had spent the last hour listening to what was supposed to be a Colonel, trembling in his chair at her view. He definitely knew who she was. She had questioned him about their habits at the regiment, how they treated their men, what kind of strategies they were trying. She needed to know all those things, even though the Colonel clearly doubted it. Everything could be used and seen as a crime, and it was her job to avoid that condition. At the end of the briefing, the Colonel shook her hand firmly, said it was a pleasure to have her with them and that a jeep was waiting outside the base to bring her to the house where she was quartered. He excused himself since he had not found something better, but she said she didn't mind, that she only needed a quiet place to study her books. The young Private took her heavy bags, visibly making a big effort, which made Laura snort at the sight of the weak soldier. She got up from her chair and adjusted her skirt, shook the Colonel's hand again and gave him her back to go away. The ticking of her heels reverberated through the office until she was out of the building, where they started to sink in the muddy ground. Laura made a soft snort of annoyance and quickly got on the jeep, while the young Private who was supposed to bring her to the house where she was quartered, was still struggling to put her heavy bags on the jeep. Laura was about to ask if he needed any help when he finally succeeded in, and jumped into the jeep by her side at the driver seat. The car started up with a loud noise of the engine, and was already off like a shot. He drove for a few miles and stopped in front of a store.

''Here we are, ma'am'' the Private announced with a louisianan accent that she found inexplicably annoying at the moment. She got off the car, just to see the private struggling again with her bags, thus she approached to the trunk to help. They approached a small door next to the store's one and exchanged a questioning look, since none of them knew who was supposed to knock. At the end, Laura gave a gentle knock on the door and waited patiently adjusting the glasses on her nose nervously when a sturdy woman on her 57's, wearing a long blue vest, opened the door and welcomed her with a sweet smile.

''Oh! You must me Laura! You're late, sweetie. Oh, come in!'' the woman said, making a sign to enter. Laura sheepishly made her way in and gave a quick look to the house, which she judged typically English. The Private was right behind her with her bags which he left falling heavily on the floor.

''I'm Miss. Barnes. Nice to meet you, sweetie'' the woman said, giving her another gentle smile.

Laura politely shook her hand to introduce herself ''I'm Laura Taylor, it's a pleasure for me to meet you too. It was very nice of you to host me'' she said, returning her smile.

''Oh, don't even say that! I've always wanted a daughter !''

Laura adjusted her glasses tensely again, since she didn't know how to consider the woman already taking liberties with her. Meanwhile, the private greeted both women and disappeared out the door; the engine's rumble pointing that he had left made Laura feel uncomfortable, since she was now alone with the grey-haired woman that was now making a list of what her fridge contained. Laura said she was not hungry and that she just wanted to take a bath and have a rest. Mss. Barnes nodded and showed her the rest of the small house. Laura could now definitely tell the house was typically English, from the wooden doors to the curtains. Meanwhile,the woman told her that her husband was taking some flowers to their son's grave, who died some years previously. That information made Laura understand why she was already considering her as a daughter and heart stopped a little. Finally, Miss. Barnes left her alone so that she could take her bath. Actually, Laura discovered soon there was not a bathtub, so she could only take a shower. The hottest temperature the water could reach was still too cool on her skin, sending her shivers down her spine. Laura could guess The Barnes didn't belong to a high social class and that she could not ask too much to them. She got out of the shower to cover her wet body with the towels that Miss Barnes gave her. They laid softly on her skin and stopped her freezing. She got out the bathroom and reached for what Miss Barnes claimed to be her room. As she entered, she found a slender, curly, blond man sat on her bed flipping through the pages of her precious law textbooks.

''Who the hell are you?'' Laura yelled in embarrassment and terror, trying to adjust the towel around her body ''what the hell are you doing in my room and with my books!''

''Hey, hey, slow down, chick!'' the man said, giving a last glance to her book and then closing it and standing up ''Miss. Barnes asked me to bring up your bags. Darn it, they were so heavy I could not help but looking inside. I thought you had bombs or something.''

''Well, I suppose you satisfied your hunger of knowledge, now !'' she shot back, letting go of her towel and clearly more concerned about a stranger poking his nose in her affairs.

''Ok, sorry, my fault'' the man said, making a step towards her and raising his hands in excuse ''let's restart anew: I'm Second Lieutenant Harry Welsh. I'm quartered here with The Barnes. And you are?''

''Laura Taylor, lawyer'' she replied quickly, noticing only in that moment the uniform the man was wearing.

''A lawyer? And what brought you here?'' Harry asked giving her a questioning look.

''I'm working for the Army'' she said, as it was the most obvious of the things. Harry gave her a smirk of his mouth, as it was very obvious she was working for the Army, or she wouldn't be quartered there, in a house hosting soldiers.

''And what do you exactly do for the Army, lawyer?''

Laura reached for the night table to finally put her glasses on, quite annoyed by the mocking tone the Lieutenant was using with her ''I detect crimes, try to cover them or try to defend you all, Lieutenant'' she replied with a tad of haughtiness.

''Cool, so I'd better keep you close, uh?''

''I think you'd better behave, instead'' she gave him a harsh look ''and you already seem to lack of manners, since you sneaked into a lady's room and didn't find inappropriate to stay even though if the lady involved has only a towel on.''

Harry gave her a questioning look ''you know, there's nothing unknown under that towel.''

Now clearly upset at the soldier's manners, she pointed at the door and firmly ordered ''Get out!''

''Ok, ok, I'm going.''

Laura followed with her eyes the young Lieutenant getting out of her room and noticed he was unbelievably too skinny to be believed a soldier. She wondered how in the hell they were supposed to win this was with such elements in the Army.

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The following morning, she woke up earlier than what she was supposed to. After getting herself ready she went to the ground floor to notice no one had woken up yet. The lights were turned off when she entered into the kitchen to hopefully find something to have breakfast with when she was taken aback from an undefined figure of a man. She was trying to switch the lights on when the figure did it before her, revealing a tall redhead with blue or green eyes in a uniform that made him look very respectable, giving her a sweet smile while sipping some kind of liquid by a cup.

''Good morning,'' he said, almost whispering '' I see you're already on your feet.''

Laura found herself inexplicably taken aback by such smile that made her legs tremble a little and finding the words to reply seemed impossible.

''Would you like some coffee?'' he chuckled, noticing her disconcert.

''Uh, yes…Yes, I would, please'' she sheepishly said, noticing her stoic self-confidence fading away for no apparent reason, and took a seat on the chair near the table looking at the man in uniform who was now pouring the coffee in another cup.

''Here it is, it's still hot.''

''Thank you.''

''You're welcome'' he replied, giving her another tiny smile that didn't move her as his first did.

''Oh, I forgot the good manners. Let me introduce myself: I'm Lieutenant Winters, but you can call me Dick. And , if you're wondering, I didn't sneak in as thief. I'm quartered here with the Barnes.''

Laura put her cup down and introduced herself in turn ''Nice to meet you, Dick. I'm Laura Taylor, the…''

''Lawyer'' he interrupted ''I was already informed about your arrival. I hope you'll do some good at the regiment and bring back some more discipline.''

''You can bet on it, Dick, that's my job'' she replied, visibly glad he already knew what her job was about there, not like the young and skinny-to-bones Lieutenant she met the night before.

Laura noticed he was studying her well with a questioning look ''are you up to the base?'' he asked.

''Yeah, why?''

''Well…'' Dick gave her a last inspecting look ''do you intend to come over dressed up like that?''

Laura looked down her pressed black suit ''what's wrong with that?''

''Uhm, nothing'' the young Lieutenant shook his head and Laura could bet she noticed a short, amused smile by him ''Listen, let me give you a tip: you're going to enter in a military area, this means you're be surrounded by a mass of soldiers who hadn't seen a woman for a little while so… a skirt is not a very good idea, it may cause some unpleasant comments. And we don't want them to, do we?''

Laura figured out he was right, and the same time that she had to say goodbye to all her suits that she paid through the nose.

''Thank you for the tip, Dick'' she nodded at him and took her last sip ''with your excuse'' she said formally, and gave him a short smile before going back to her room, trying to find some more appropriate clothes to put on.