The chilled air cleared her thoughts as she briskly raced through the camp, dodging jeeps and transportation trucks preparing to move out the 82nd and 101st. Edith buttoned her coat against the rapidly descending cold snap. Raking her mind, she struggled to remember details from the scads of paperwork concerning supply and ammo dumps in the area. All she could recall was that there weren't many.

She skipped the middle step hopping up to the apartment's front door. The small cottage in the village was a five minute walk from the camp. She knocked and waited, listening to the muffled sounds of a record player coming from inside. Concluding that Samantha and her roommates, two other administrative aides based at Mourmelon, couldn't hear her; Edith let herself in.

"Samantha?" She hollered, intently focused on her one hour ticking away.

Marching into the kitchen, she whirled around as Samantha and her new beau sprung apart. If it had been different circumstances, she might have laughed.

"I am sorry to barge in like this-"

"Miss Sink! No! We were just –dinner!" Samantha sputtered, smoothing her blouse as Edith faced them with a barely contained grin.

The young man was red faced and wiping the lipstick stains from around his mouth. He managed a half -hearted smile as he brushed back his ruffled curls.

"Miss Sink, Samantha has told me a lot about you," He exclaimed in a thick southern drawl.

"Corporal, I wish I had more time for pleasantries but I fear you need to return to camp now." She nodded towards his coat on the kitchen table, "There have been some developments."

Samantha blinked, her face blanching as Edith gave her a pointed glance.

"What kind of developments?" The soldier called Smokey asked as he pulled his arms into his coat sleeves.

"The Germans have broken through the line. Eisenhower has ordered your regiment north."

Samantha backed up against the counter, her eyes darting over to Smokey. He was digesting what he had heard as he stared at the tiles on the floor.

"Miss Quincey, we have some things to take care of." Edith motioned to the door.

Without another word, Samantha tore the apron from around her hips. Silently, the three of them strode out into the night without turning off the record player. Smokey gave Samantha a quick kiss on the forehead before sprinting towards the camp down the damp pavement.

"The men only have for ammo what was left over from Holland," Edith recited to Samantha, "They have yet to even receive their issue of winter clothing."

Samantha let out her breath slowly as they made it to headquarters where Colonel Sink was hopefully at that moment. Despite their circumstances, Edith knew in her heart that her father would support her crusade.

"Do they know exactly where they are heading? Are they being dropped in?" Samantha pushed the door open.

"In this weather? I certainly hope not."

The women made their way through the cacophony of frenzied activity; orderlies and officers buzzed like disturbed hornets. Colonel Sink was making his way to the door when Edith nearly ran smack into him.

"Edith, what are you-" Colonel Sink exclaimed.

"Colonel, that supply dump the next village over, was it completely cleared out?" Edith dove into the subject without hesitation.

Her father eyed her for a moment, ignoring the orderly hovering at his elbow.

"I can't say, Edie," He grimaced, looking over her shoulder at the door, "But I have to go now."

Edith gripped his sleeve, "Please dad, some of those boys don't even have helmets. Anything will be a help, we need to try."

Colonel Sink leveled his eldest daughter with the same eyes she shared with him, a surprising half smile tugging at his mouth. Edith was taken aback. She couldn't remember the last time he had looked at her with such pride. She swallowed hard.

"Here, it's parked at the curb." Colonel Sink pressed a key to an army jeep in her palm, "Be safe. I can't promise anything."

Edith nodded firmly, studying her father with the same awe as when he had rescued her eight year old self from the roof of their tool shed. She squeezed his hand and skipped back a step. Grabbing Samantha by her forearm, the women skirted the crowd out the door.

Traffic leading out of Mourmelon was dead compared to the dozens of vehicles from the Transportation Corps heading towards camp. The faces of the drivers were grey with exhaustion and their journey had barely begun. Edith wondered how long they had been on the road.

There were only a couple soldiers at the warehouse that had originally been an army supply dump. After parking the jeep, they raced up to the huge double doors illuminated by the greenish yellow light of overhead lamps. One of the men couldn't have cared less where he sat at a nearby fence smoking a cigarette with his weapon propped between his knees.

"We have come from Mourmelon for whatever we can get for supplies for the 101st and 82nd." She explained evenly to the sour faced young infantryman still standing. She noticed that he wasn't even an MP.

"That isn't possible, whatever is in there is being sent back to England by the New Year." He snapped, his fingers tapping his belt as his gaze lingered over Samantha's curves where she stood next to Edith.

"Soldier," Edith tried to keep her tone calm and authoritative, "We have come directly from Colonel Sink."

"But I don't see him with you now," He snorted, "So I suggest you broads make your way back to Mourmelon. Those boys will do fine on their own. They're paratroopers, right?"

He spit into the dirt. Before Edith could reply, indignation swelling in her belly, she was cut off by Samantha who stomped forward.

"Boy, you best be steppin' back right now 'cause that dog just ain't gonna hunt," Samantha's voice rose into the frigid air, her thick Kentucky country accent coating her anger like strong moonshine, "Or so help me, I will neuter you. Those boys need any help they can get and your skinny ass ain't gonna stand in my way tonight."

His jaw sagged opened, his cigarette falling to the ground. His buddy off to the side collapsed on the frozen ground with laughter. Once recovering from the shock of witnessing her sweet tempered Aide cut the cocky GI down to size, Edith smirked as she gently pulled her back.

"I think you had better listen to the girl," The other soldier hooted, chuckling as he approached the door, "She's ready to take that sidearm right off your hip and pistol whip you into submission." He opened the warehouse door and waved an arm in, "Help yourselves, ladies."

They loaded a couple boxes of mortars, M-1 ammunition and one box of grenades into the jeep. However, except for three containers of light, summer socks and a dozen helmets, there was nothing that would be of much help to keep the boys warm. After finding one last box of k-rations, they concluded there wasn't much else at the dump.

Swallowing her disappointment, Edith checked her watch. They had fifteen minutes to get back to camp. With the prospect of the heavy traffic, she felt a lurch in her stomach. Samantha seemed to read her mind.

"You get in the passenger seat, Miss Sink." Samantha directed pleasantly, hopping up onto the running board by the driver's side.

Edith smirked and tossed her the keys, "I'm not going risk your ire. At least not tonight, Quincey."

Samantha threw her a playful wink. Hitting the ignition, she nearly skidded out onto the main road. Edith hung onto the dashboard. Scooting in and out of traffic, Samantha wound the steering wheel like a race car driver.

"I have older brothers, a 1930 sedan and lots of country roads back home." She explained over the drone of engines after catching a stunned glance from Edith.

As they pulled into the camp, the men were being herded into the trucks like cattle. There were no benches in any of them in order to fit as many soldiers as possible, Edith assumed. In the chaos, she miraculously caught a glimpse of Dick standing by a barrel fire as the snow began to fall. She jumped from the jeep before Samantha had brought it to a complete stop.

"Captain Winters!" She hollered, walking to the back hatch and unhooking it.

She glanced over as she lifted the bin of k-rations. He was striding towards them. The determination that she had seen earlier on his face had bloomed into downright doggedness. He exuded authority; giving the air of a controlled yet effective leader. Despite herself, Edith was nearly winded by how wildly magnetic he was at that moment. Without a word, he took the box from her arms. She felt a burst of electricity in her gut as he met her eyes with an effortless intensity.

"You made it." He stated firmly as though he always knew she would.

"I did my best."

"And it's more than I could have asked for."

Edith stirred as Samantha brushed past her with a box of socks. She glanced over to see a couple of men from Easy Company trotting over through the flurry to help. One of them was Smokey who took the box from Samantha and then proceeded to plant a firm kiss on her lips.

"Do you know yet where they are sending you?" Edith asked as she picked up another box.

"We are heading out blind as far as I know. I'm pretty sure General McAuliffe doesn't even know where the 101st is going." He explained as they walked side by side towards one of the trucks.

Setting the containers down, the man Edith knew to be Lewis Nixon walked over, "Dick, we still can't find Dike."

Edith couldn't help but smirk at the statement. With a sigh, Dick glanced up at his close friend wearily.

"I'll be there in a moment."

"Sure thing," Nixon winked at Edith before leaving, "Good to see you, Miss Sink."

"I'll leave you to it then." Edith managed once they were alone.

She held out her gloved hand to him with a small smile. She hoped he would think she was trembling from the cold. Her words to Samantha echoed back in her mind, personal feelings combined with your work is a recipe for disaster. She still believed that statement. However, she was having a hard time reminding herself at the thought of Dick being sent into the waiting arms of a desperate enemy.

Dick razed her with that same look that struck sparks in her brain. He reached out and grasped her hand. Initially giving it a firm shake, he paused. Looking down, he covered her hand with his other fingers, cradling it quietly.

"I don't know when I will see you again, Edith." He breathed without looking at her, "But I hope you know, I will very much miss your company."

Edith's mouth went dry. Unable to find the words to reply, the wind caught a swirl of snow in the silence between them. Dick released her hand and turned away without another word. She watched him walk away through the snow and firelight.