Hey guys, sorry for the long wait - as per usual! This chapter will be a little shorter then the norm dude to some storytelling booboos, that needed to be fixed.

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If you had told most German soldiers that they would be helping the Americans fight against their own country, they would laugh and call you insane. Maybe spit at your feet and throw in a 'Heil Hitler,' for good measure. Vera on the other hand couldn't have been more ecstatic, maybe a little conflicted, but happy nonetheless. She was happy even though the majority of the eyes that followed her around Foy were hostile. She didn't blame them at all, it would take some time for them to trust a former Lieutenant in Hitler's army. A new uniform wasn't going to change the fact that Vera had killed their own and their allies for years. She tugged the collar of her coat up to cover her face, trying to block out the stares and whispers that were more biting than the cold.

Vera had been gingerly crossing the muddy ground with the crutches that she had been given by the ever-friendly medic, when a threatening voice rose from behind her. "I never thought I'd see the day when the United States Army would supply a fuckin' Kraut with winter clothes instead of their own goddamn soldiers."

She stopped in her tracks. Just because she wasn't expecting their camaraderie or respect it didn't mean that she didn't have to fight the gut reaction to confront whoever it was. Vera took a moment to remind herself that she was grossly outnumbered and outmatched before finally moving her crutches to start hobbling away from the voice.

"Look at the scared little Kraut running away." Vera grit her teeth and kept shuffling along. She also needed to remember that despite the hate and vitriol directed at her, this was far better than fighting for that raving lunatic Germany called its chancellor. She hadn't gotten far when suddenly one of her crutches was being yanked away from under her. The loss of support was almost enough to send her tumbling, but she managed to stay on her feet, grimacing as she put more weight on her leg than she should have.

The American soldier cackled at the sight of the wavering German and his group of buddies quickly joined in with the laughter. Throughout her life, Vera had been a part of a lot of terrifying things; fighting everyday with the constant threat of dying and being discovered as a woman was chief among those, but this was something that scared her in a different way. The malice of the soldiers was something that gnawed at her insides and shook her in a way she couldn't quite explain.

"May I have that back please?" Vera's broken English caused her tormentors to laugh even louder. While she showed no emotion on her face, her body was a different story. Her leg twitched painfully from the weight put on it and she tried to make adjust her weight in a way as to ease the pain. The slight shift wasn't lost on the young man in possession of the crutch, he made a show of leaning on it and let out a mocking groan.

"So tell me, Jerry, what did you have to do to not be shipped off with the rest of your kind?" He asked, leaning in towards her. The fear squeezed tighter in her gut, but she managed to not flinch away. "I'm guessing there were a few favors you could provide the others couldn't."

The suggestion in his tone made her face turn red. It wasn't from embarrassment, but rather anger and the anger was enough to snap her out of her fear. Once more she found herself fighting her instinct to attack the man. "Leave me alone."

"Maybe you can give us a few favors? Then we cou-"

"You heard the lady, leave her alone." A stern voice cut through the hostility that surrounded her. Vera and the other paratroopers looked over at the source. There, surrounded by another group of paratroopers, stood Malarkey.

"What's it to ya, Malark? She's a good for nothing Kraut."

"Normally, I would agree, but that 'no good' Kraut you're harassing saved my life. So, how about you lay off, Collins?" While Malarkey seemed sure with what he was saying, the group behind him didn't seem as convinced but they held steady by his side, ready to back up their friend need be.

While both sides were staring off at one and other, willing the other to bow down first, stuck in between was the ever-confused German. She could understand the anger and uncertainty the one group of Americans had, as much as she hated it. On the other hand, she couldn't fathom the other groups mindset; at least she couldn't understand the short red haired mans. His friends were being loyal to him, more than likely, but Malarkey…

She hadn't done that much to save his life. She had no doubt he would have been able to help himself anyway. That didn't call for him to start feuding with his own men.

"It's not worth it, Collins." Someone finally said, hitting the man's arm as he walked away. One by one, the others followed until only Collins remained, his scowl only growing worse as he stared at her.

"Fucking Kraut." The man spit on the ground in front of Vera and threw the crutch to the ground before storming off. Before Vera had a chance to, Malarkey moved to pick up the crutch for her. He held it out to her and she hesitated for a moment before grabbing it from him.

"You didn't have to do that." She said as she settled it back under her arm, taking the weight off of her leg. Vera watched as Malarkey's friends dispersed as well leaving her alone in the street with him.

"As amusing as it would have been watching you trying to pick it up, I don't think Doc would have appreciated it if you got hurt again." He said with a chuckle, but Vera was already shaking her head.

"No. I mean stand up for me. You should not have done that. All it will do is make the others angry at you too." She was grateful, she couldn't deny that, but she didn't want to show it. The last thing she needed was her presence causing dissention among the ranks. If the Americans began to fight amongst themselves because of her, that was sure to change their minds about keeping her on their side.

"It doesn't matter if they're angry at me. You are a resource we can't afford to lose just because some GI's full of piss and vinegar don't like seeing a Kraut around." Malarkey scoffed. Vera barely caught the hurt look on his face as he looked away. Evidently he didn't appreciate her lack of gratitude. "The way I see it, there's no way we can go on fighting this war with our translators spread so thin."

That made sense to Vera and suddenly she felt unbelievably stupid for not realizing that his defense of her had been because of her usefulness. From her experience, German soldiers with an understanding of the English language were in high demand in the German army. It was why she had been chosen for many operations, any English documents she could translate provided the 3rd Reich with useful intel. Based on what she knew from the meeting regarding her fate, it was the same here. There were two, maybe three, soldiers in the 2nd Battalion who had enough of an understanding of the German language to be of any use. It wasn't the greatest arrangement having them run from company to company to translate everything. Since she was to be Major Winter's pet project, she was going to remain with 2nd Battalion to assist with these translations as well as provide any other information she can.

"Also, it's nice to have something easy on the eyes to look at for a change."

When those words were uttered, Vera's thought process came to a complete halt. Her cheeks burned and her mouth loss function, so she just stood there with mouth agape – watching the man as he smirked at her. She had been told growing up that she was attractive, but that was usually followed up with a comment about how she should act more ladylike – that she would be gorgeous then. And that was before the war. Now she was dirty, injured, and just as rough looking as every other soldier there. This time, as she floundered in her confusion, he provided no further comment, just a quick wink before he walked away.

"Hey, Fraulein!" The evident call for her attention shook her out of her stupor. One of the men from the meeting was waving her down, his bushy eyebrows perched expectantly on his forehead. Vera readjusted her grip on her crutches, and began the labor intensive journey across the mud-covered road. It would be a miracle if she reached him without slipping and making a fool of herself.

After a few painstaking seconds, the young German woman crossed the muddy terrain with only one or two close calls. Once she arrived at the Intelligence officer's side, he quickly ushered her into a modest country home. The opening and closing of the door caused the rooms occupants to glance up from the table they surrounded. She recognized most of the faces from the meeting as well and once again she found herself worrying that they had changed their minds.

"Good she's here," The colonel with white hair said. "Finally we can get this shit figured out."

The German lieutenant glanced to the man beside her, trying to gauge what she was to do. Simply step up to the table and peek at the papers? It wasn't like before when she was privy to such meetings. The man with the bushy eyebrows, Nixon, gently nudged her forward and she braced herself against her crutches, expecting the worst. Winters pulled out the lone chair at the table for her to take a seat at. She stiffly made her way over to the table and slid into the offered chair. She was all too aware of the looks she was getting, but couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief as she finally took her weight off the injured leg.

Her relief was only momentary, however, as the older man began speaking again. "Captain Spiers has mentioned to us that you have information about Haguenau." Colonel Sink spoke, breaking the all too uncomfortable silence that once again filled the room as she had moved to her seat. Vera quickly glanced over at the mentioned captain, surprised that he had taken her words to heart. As the expectant looks that were turned on her started to grow impatient, she quickly began speaking.

"They- they know that this point is important." If Vera was ever self conscious about how heavy her accent was whenever she spoke English, it was now. Lieutenants, Captains, a Major and a Colonel were now waiting with bated breath to hear what she had to say about the outpost sitting on the Rhine. "You… we… need to cross over the Rhine? Yes? And they need you to s-"

"We know this, Ms. Dietrich. That is why we are going to be heading there." The Colonel shifted in his seat, looking incredibly unimpressed. "Tell me you've got more than that so I don't regret this decision. I've already got the brass on me for letting a female Kraut in the army. I can only imagine the uproar if nothing comes from it."

"Y-yes, sir. I…" She was sitting on the edge of her chair now, to look closer at the maps. "I can help. I meant it." Vera pulled the map closer to her and pointed at the town. "The last I heard, they are holed up in these buildings, a little ways back from the river. The… th-the officers? The building they meet in-"

"The headquarters." Winters helpfully supplied and she nodded quickly.

"Yes, the headquarters. It is in a building further back, closer to the trees." Her finger moved past the buildings to point at the woods she had been talking about. "There are two or three 88's hidden in the trees here. I am not positive how many. They were discussing whether they had wanted to bring another one in or not." Vera lastly pointed at the tracks further back about 10 miles or so. "And there is a railway gun on this track. They move it up and down the track every so often so as to not be an easy target."

"And how do you know this information?" One of the platoon leaders asked, looking from her to his superiors. "How can we really trust she knows what she is talking about?"

"I am a Lieutenant, in case you have forgotten. Same as you." Vera grumbled as she sat up straighter. The looks from around the room reminded her that her pride could easily result in her death. Still, she didn't back down this time. Pushing aside her nerves, she met the gaze of each man in the room. If she was going to stay with the Americans, she didn't want to spend the rest of the war timidly hiding away. "There was a chance we were going to help support that outpost and so the officers were meeting to discuss what is there."

"Is there anything else you can tell us, Lieutenant Dietrich?" Major Winters asked.

"They'll have snipers, of course, keeping an eye out to make sure no one crosses, and mortars. Besides that," Vera gave a shrug. "It would be just your average soldiers, just trying to hold the line. I do not doubt they will not go out of their way to attack."

"How come?"

"This last push into Belgium? We may have had surprise on our side, but now that you have broken that offensive… The German Army did not have much left in it before and now… we would not have the resources to pull off another attack like that." Even as she spoke, the magnitude of her own words hit her. After so many years fighting and surviving, it seemed that the end was finally in sight. She felt breathless and continued in a soft voice. "We- they will be on the defensive, but it is simply a matter of time now. This was the last hope and now they have lost that. They will just want to survive to see the end of the war now. Soon, you will cross over the Rhine and into Germany."

The men in the room with her were silent as they thought on what she had said. When they looked at her now, the glares were gone. It seemed as though the news of the imminent end of the war was exactly the kind of information she could provide to make hate her just a little less.