"...5 thousand, 6 thousand, 7 thousand, 8 thousand!" Skip Muck, Bull Randleman, and other East Company men cheered as Bill Guarnere chugged down his beer bearing his jump wings in his teeth.

"HI HO SILVERRR!!" Wild Bill shouted. As he said this their company nurse, Laura Thistle, walked by balancing a tray of beers on her on hand.

"Hello Miss Laura, are you having a fun time tonight?" Bull asked her in his southern accent.

"Well why wouldn't I, I mean who doesn't love serving beers the whole night to obnoxiously loud new paratroopers?" Laura responded with a joking twinkle in her eye. The men who had signed up to be paratroopers in the War had just officially be initiated into the Airborne and were celebrating, drinking beers, smoking, and just messing around. Laura and the other nurses had been asked to help serving the beers.

"Oh L.A. ya know ya love us," Bill said "now put that tray down and sit with us for a while, relax, tanights a night ta celebrate!" Bill patted his lap as a cue for her to sit there as she sat the tray down. Wild Bill and her were very close friends and always joked around but nothing more. He had come up with her affectionate nickname "L.A." right after he met her in a nurses tent because she said he looked like a girl from L.A., even thought she was from North Philly. She always had tanned skin and bright strawberry blonde wavy long hair. She had green eyes the color of summer grass and a athletic but feminine body. She was also verrrrrry short, a whooping height of barely 5'1". She was used to hearing plenty of short jokes from the guys but she didn't mind too much.

"So Mr. Paratrooper what's it feel like to be part of the 101st airbourne?" Laura asked him with a smile as he put his arm around her back..

"I feel absolutly grand L.A., cept for the fact I gotta still deal with ol' Sobel"

"Oh really, I always thought he was quite handsome really nice too look at." She replied keeping a straight face.

Skip Muck chocked on his beer hearing this and asked still coughing, "Please tell me you are joking."

Laura started laughing her contagious laugh and said, "yes of course, I dislike him as much as everyone else!"

"Oh yeah youse is quite the joker L.A." Wild Bill said smiling.

"Well I try" Laura responded looking pleased with herself. Down the table she heard some guys talking about a "secret weapon" that the Airbourne was going to use when times got dire in the War.

Bill also heard this and commented, "Yeah what about this secret weapon?" When he said this Laura's throat closed up and she got a little tense. Bill sensed this and asked her, "Are youse alright there L.A.?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I just better get back to serving, you know." Laura said faking a smile and quickly standing up and gathering her tray.

"Well she sure got up in a hurry," Bull commented.

"Yeah your face probably scared her off," Wild Bill said laughing, but he knew there was something up. After two years of training and becoming really good friends with her he could basically read her like a book.

Laura walked over to the bar away from the conversation lost in her thoughts. She was pushed back into reality when she saw George Luz standing behind the bar talking to Joe Toye. She was also very good friends with both of them, and even felt a little something more for Luz but would never admit it. They were going into a war for crying out loud, not exactly the best time to get involved with someone.

Suddenly Luz and Toye looked over at her and Luz said, "Laura I swear to God you just get prettier everyday." As she set down her tray again and leaned one arm on the bar, the other on her hip.

She just chuckled and blushed a little and said, "Oh hello to you too Luzzy."

"Awww did you hear that Luzzy!" Joe said in a baby voice and grabbed George's cheek.

George swapped his hand away and said "Hey! Only she can call me that, it's cute when she does, it gives me the willys when you do." Then he continued, "Anyway sweetheart, darling, buttercup, baby, sugar dumplings –

He was suddenly cut off when Laura said "Luzzy I'll say this for the last time tonight and slowly so you understand...I am not giving you a congratulations kiss now that you are a paratrooper!"

"Ohhhhhhhh come on! Not even a little peck?" He said quivering his lower lip.

"You are some piece of work you know that" Laura said laughing.

"Well, I try," George responded using her commonly spoken statement with a wink. "Besides the kiss, which I'll get eventually, how are you doing this fine evening?" He asked, his chocolate brown eyes looking straight into hers.

"Oh, you know, fine," Laura said with a chuckle, looking down. Why couldn't she just act normally and stop feeling nervous when he did that, look right into her eyes like that.

George barely touched her arm that was leaning on the bar and said softly, "You sure? I mean I kinda noticed you've been a little jumpy, tense lately."

Laura tried to ignore the tingles she was getting just from his touch on her arm and said trying to sound reassuring, "Yeah I'm fine!"

George was about to say something again but before he could Colonel Sink walked into the room and attention was called. Laura cursed herself for showing her emotions so easily lately. How was she going to be any help if she let everyone figure out what she was really doing with the paratroopers.

The Colonel must've finished his speech because everyone was cheering and he suddenly asked, "Nurse Thistle I was wondering if I could have a word with you outside." Everyone in the room looking at her confused but she just walked towards him and followed him outside.

"What do you think that was about?" Toye asked George.

"Who knows," Luz said in his imitation of the Colonel and made Toye chuckle. He also was wondering what was going on with the nurse he had strong feelings for.

"I don't see why you two don't just get together already," Toye said. Luz's attraction and feelings towards Laura were noticeable to everyone, except her.

"Well first of all, she probably doesn't feel the same way, second of all she is too smart for me, third of all she is too damn gorgeous for me, and fourth of all we are going into war.

"So basically you are too chicken shit to tell her," Joe said with a smirk.

"Yeah basically," Luz said and took a gulp of his beer, still staring at the place where she just walked out.

"So secret weapon, I hope you are ready for your training tonight and to earn your every own jump wings," Colonel Sink said looking into Laura's face.

"Always ready sir," Laura said determination etched in her face.