-1Author's Note: Chapter four! Well, actually it's number three, but it's the fourth chapter type thing that I've put up…You know, I just confused myself.
Title: Just One Word
Rating: T (PG-13) Yeah. For language, death and probably violence. But mostly language and death.
Summary: An unknown solider. Tossed aside, she was forgotten. It would have been nice to know some one cared…And even though she was surrounded by a company of men, she was so very alone…
Disclaimer: Since these are real people, I own nothing but my characters. This story is purely fictional, and I hope no one is offended by it. Thank you.
My reflection,
In the window when I ride,
Could not save us,
But I swear to God I tried.
Take a picture,
Write a letter to my love.
I was almost honest.
But I was almost honest.
...'Cause I was almost honest…
- Josh Kelley, Almost Honest
Chapter 3: Explosions And Promises
"Take Cover!"
Shit.
Her feet just wouldn't move fast enough. Scrambling desperately, she felt them slide out from beneath her once more. "Shit!" Her arms stretched in vain towards a branch that was too small and too far away to save her. She scrabbled for purchase in the snow, and watched, in awe and depressed fear, as another mortar exploded only yards away from her.
The blast sent her body backwards, and she landed on her back, clutching at her side. A small fragment of the shell had hit her. Desperately, she picked herself up off the ground, stumbling and falling as she tried to regain her feet.
The next moment, a strong pair of hands had wrapped themselves around her collar, and dragged her backwards. She kicked, trying to stand on her own, and twisting to see her rescuer. "Let go, damn it! I can walk on my own!" Instantly, her rescuer responded by sprinting faster, pulling her down into the safety of a foxhole.
"Yeah, you were doing a great job of that out there by yourself!"
Blinking as another mortar landed about 50 yards away, the woman crouched down in the foxhole, staring into the dark eyes of the redheaded man she had met when she first came here. The one who had gone to get Winters.
Another mortar exploded close by.
"Damn!" he cursed, pulling her down further into the foxhole, and covering her body with his own. Squirming, she pushed him off, but did not sit up. She wasn't stupid. The red-head gave her a look that was a mix between anger and annoyance.
"Look, I'm not gonna break! Worry about your own hide, not mine!" she growled as loud as she could. Covering their ears as another shell exploded nearby, the two soldiers crouched low in Heffron's foxhole, hoping desperately that it would be enough to save them from a fatal hit.
As they crouched in the bottom of that hole, M.J. glanced up overhead, watching in quiet awe as the shells exploded in the treetops, sending fragments of trees in every direction. "Wow…"she breathed, before the tree beside their foxhole burst apart. "Shit!"
She leapt on Heffron, and pushed him to the ground, right before the tree slammed on top of them, trapping the two in the foxhole. "Damn, that hurt…" Babe mumbled from beneath her. She moved as best she could, pinned down by the tree's many branches.
"Yeah."
A few moments later, it was silent. "Looks like the shells stopped. Now, how're we gonna get outta here?" The woman asked her companion quietly. Babe shrugged, and stuck a hand up through the foliage.
"Help! Anyone there? Help!"
M.J. Sighed heavily. "Well, that'll work, I suppose."
"Stay in your foxholes! Stay in your foxholes!" Sergeant Lipton ran by, and Babe called out to him. Lipton, hearing his calls, hurried to their aid.
"Hehe, guess I overdid the cover on my foxhole, eh, Sarge?" he asked, as both he and M.J. were pulled out of the hole by the men. M.J. snorted, before the low, tell-tale sound of incoming mortars broke up their moment of hilarity. She snorted again as she dove for cover, following Lipton into his own foxhole.
Hilarity, indeed.
Lipton huddled near the side of his foxhole, and M.J. huddled beside him. She could hear the mortars exploding here and there, in the treetops, on the ground. She wrapped her arms around her body, but pulled her hand back when a sharp pain in her side caused her to jump.
Glancing at her glove, she wondered, briefly why it was covered in blood. She gently touched her ribs once more, only to find a small fragment sticking out of her uniform, embedded only an inch beneath the skin. Hissing, she withdrew her hand, and huddled near the wall of Lipton's foxhole.
She had forgotten she was hit. And throwing herself on top of Heffron didn't improve the situation.
The explosions continued for a few more moments, before silence reigned once more. She glanced over at Lipton, who was slowly raising himself out of the foxhole. Patting him on the back, she nodded. "I think we should be sure no one's hurt. Come on."
Lipton agreed, and followed M.J. as she heaved herself out of the hole, briefly touching her wound in assurance that she had done no damage to the already torn skin. "Lieutenant," she heard the voice behind her as Lipton touched her shoulder. "You're wounded. Do you need a medic?"
M.J. waved him off. "Not now I don't. I'm sure there are others who need one more than me. Now hurry." Lipton nodded, looking a bit unsure, but followed her anyway.
M.J. could hear voices up ahead. They sounded worried, punctuated with a cry of distress every couple of minutes. She quickened her pace, Lipton following right along behind her. As she came to the small clearing that looked like it'd be hit with several shells, she noticed that both Joe and Bill were sitting on the ground.
Bill was clutching his leg. It looked like a small piece of shrapnel had embedded itself in it, just as it had with her side. And Joe, too, clutched his leg. There didn't seem to be too much wrong. Hurrying over, she knelt beside Doc Roe. "What's the damage?" she questioned hurriedly, before pulling out the aid kit attached to her belt and handing it to him. He offered her a grateful look, before nodding and answering her question.
"Nothin' much, ma'am. A bit of shrapnel hit their legs, but they'll be up and walkin' in no time flat. There's not much damage either. It's a good thing. Don't worry." He patted her on the shoulder, before his eyes strayed to her side, where a once small splotch of red, had evolved into a very large crimson circle.
"Looks like you got hit too. Want me to take a look at it?" He motioned towards her ribs, and she nodded, slowly.
"Yeah. It's nothin' much. Just a small piece of shrapnel. Can you pull it out and bandage it up?" she watched as he tore a small hole in her jacket and uniform, expertly working his way down to the lodged piece of shrapnel and pulling it out. He cast her a knowing look, and nodded.
"Sure can." He pulled out a packet of Sulfa powder, and sifted it onto the wound. Wincing slightly, she allowed him to tie the bandage around her torso, pulling it tight to apply pressure to the wound. "All right. Try not to move around too much. Let it heal up a bit, and when I can, I'll get some stitches on it. Okay, lieutenant?"
M.J. dipped her head gently, before sitting up against a tree, allowing her gaze to flicker from Bill to Joe. Both had their wounds treated already, and looked no worse for the wear. Bill was even venturing to stand up. "Feelin' okay there, Bill?" she questioned from her spot beneath the tree. He only nodded, offering her a thumbs up and a small, grimacing smile
George Luz shuffled over to the gathering, an odd look on his face. M.J. watched as Lipton spoke with him, questioning him on something she could not hear nor understand. As long as it didn't concern the mildly wounded being evacuated, she wasn't too interested. George nodded slowly, pointed to Buck Compton, and then wandered over to join her beneath the tree.
"What happened to you, lieutenant?" he asked, gesturing to her bandage. M.J. let her gloved hand touch the soft white cotton, before allowing her gaze to fall upon Joe and Bill.
"Nothing much, George. Shrapnel wounds, that's all. We'll all be fine. What about you? Looks like you've just seen a ghost. You all right?" Her eyes softened momentarily as they met his own, and he smiled as he nodded, slowly, thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I'm all right, lieutenant. Thanks for asking."
Only a few hours after that, M.J., Bill and Joe were sent back to their foxhole.
---
"No shit? He really did that? Didn't think Heffron was that much of a gentleman."
M.J. heaved a long suffering sigh, and rolled her eyes. "Of course he is. Not like you Mick's. And besides, I returned the favor a few seconds after that, you know, before the tree fell on us."
Joe chuckled and shook his head. "A tree fell on you? You seem to have all the fun, don't you, lieutenant?" Joe held his M-1 tightly in his arms, as though he was afraid he might lose it again.
M.J. kicked his foot. "I told you already, you don't need to call me lieutenant, all right, Joe?" Bill patted his friend on the arm.
"Yeah, we have privileges. Like not usin' them ranks and titles all the damn time, Joe. Isn't that right, beautiful?" He slung an arm around M.J. offering her a charming smile. The tiny woman scowled, and picked his arm off of her shoulders.
"Don't push it, Bill," she growled.
Laughing, he patted her helmet, while Joe looked on quietly. "I like em' feisty," he commented thoughtfully, before being slugged lightly on both arms, from both of his friends. "What?"
M.J. shook her head, and then lifted it to gaze over the rim of the foxhole. "You know, we'll be taking Foy in a couple of days, right?" she mentioned casually, her eyes never leaving the German occupied town.
Bill cursed, while Joe shook his head. "Not you, M.J. But we will. There's no way Winters would let you in on that attack, and you know that. You'll be staying here, safe and sound."
The young woman snorted softly, and pulled her M-1 onto her lap. "Like hell I will. This place isn't any safer than the rest of Europe. I gave Winters the information he needed to take Foy. He better let me in on that attack, or he'll be fighting his own battle back here. With me." She crossed her arms, while Bill only laughed.
"She has ya there, Joe. When a woman wants somethin', she usually gets it. I doubt Winters would wanna deal with her here, when he has to deal with the attack out there. She's too much of a firecracker. He'd burn his hands for sure."
Joe regarded M.J. carefully, but said nothing. He didn't like the idea of her following the attack into the town. He didn't want her anywhere near this place. He wanted her to go home. To be safe. But no matter how much he wanted it, he knew it could never happen.
"Right…Burn."
---
M.J. was jolted awake by the loud explosion that nearly sent her flying head over heels out of the foxhole. Joe and Bill bolted upright as well, eyes wild s they glanced around for the source of the explosion.
M.J. clutched her helmet to her head. "Shit! Incoming!"
It was another attack, another God damn shelling! M.J. clutched her rifle and slouched in the hole, throwing her arms over her head as the explosions continued to rock the ground. Joe grabbed her shoulder, as though to assure himself that she was still there, and huddled next to her, covering both of them with his arms. Bill followed suit.
The shelling didn't last long, and in no time, it had quieted down. M.J. shifted slightly beneath Joe's arm, before gently lifting it off of her. "Thanks," she muttered softly, receiving a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement from her friend.
Bill shook his head, debris and dirt falling from his shoulders as he hefted himself out of the hole. "I'll be right back, you two stay here. I'm gonna go see if anyone was hurt. All right?"
"Yeah," Joe nodded slowly, M.J. echoing his sentiments when he said; "Be careful, Bill."
M.J. watched him disappear from the cover of the foxhole, before she turned to her remaining companion. "You know, you don't have to do that."
Joe looked confused as he swung his gaze over to meet hers. "Do what?" he questioned automatically, not noticing how close the two were as they sat beside one another. M.J. sighed heavily, and rolled her eyes.
"You know," she clarified, waving her hands about. "Trying to protect me. I'm not gonna break, and I'm certainly not afraid to die. At least I know that I made a difference, even if I'm dead. I chose to do this. Why are you so worried about me when I'm not even worried about me? I mean, you hardly even know me, Joe. What are you so afraid of?"
Joe remained silent as he listened to her speak, his dark eyes never leaving her own. "I don't know," he said finally, sounding a bit lost. "I don't know why, but I just…The thought of you dying…I don't want you to ever get hurt." He gestured to her side, where the large white bandage kept her wound bound tightly. Roe had stitched it up a few hours after the attack.
"That…It feels like it's my fault. I wasn't there to stop it from happening. I couldn't do anything to help you. I don't like that feeling." He fell silent as M.J. mulled over his words, her eyes and face thoughtful as she peered at him from beneath her dark lashes.
"So…what are you afraid of then, Joe?"
Joe looked a bit surprised by the second asking of the question, and said nothing at first, regarding the ground a though it had become an object of great interest. "I guess…" He sounded like he didn't want to continue. M.J. sighed, and placed a hand on his own. He glanced at it, and then at her. "I don't want to lose you."
The diminutive woman looked startled, before her eyes softened. "Aw, don't worry about it, Joe. You're stuck with me, for life. I promise, I won't ever leave ya. You or Bill. All right?"
This seemed to put his mind at ease, for he seemed to relax almost instantly, leaning back against the wall. For a moment, it was quiet, the silence punctuated only by the distant calls of 'Medic!' that were shouted into the air. M.J. observed Joe for a long while, before she leaned in, and pecked him on the cheek.
"Don't worry about it."
When Bill came back, he found both of them sitting side by side, exactly how he had left them. "Hey, Bill?" As he slid into the foxhole, he turned his head to glance at M.J. curious as to what she wanted to say.
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry about a thing. Neither of us plans on getting killed anytime soon." Confused, Bill offered the small woman a very puzzle looked. Smiling, she shook her head.
"Just don't worry about it."
---
Author's Note: (Slaps Face) This chapter ending sucked….Darnit. Well, I changed things. Yeah, that isn't what really happened, but this story is different, and different things will happen in it. Yeah. Read and review, please! I love to get feedback, good or bad, from everyone! Please review! Thanks!
Next Chapter: The Assault on Foy! And the aftermath…
