A/N: D-Day+1


Chapter Forty-Seven


Alice woke to an explosion. The sun had yet to rise, and she realized she couldn't have been asleep for more than a handful of hours. In the distance, flames lit the horizon. A few anti-aircraft missiles still penetrated the sky.

Her muscles screamed in pain as she shifted her head from against the tree trunks she'd fallen asleep on. Mostly it hurt in her shoulders and neck. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked across the fields and trees of Normandy. She was home, but her home burned.

She hadn't expected anything different, but seeing the country she'd been dreaming over for two years crumbling beneath the war machine pulled out all kinds of emotions. Enamored by the dying country before her eyes, she didn't notice she had company until she smelled the cigarette smoke. Alice glanced to her left, hoping the darkness would hide her tear-stained cheeks.

"Nixon said you'd gotten in," Ron Speirs said. He stood next to her, looking out over the same smoking fields. Then he glanced down at her. "How was your jump?"

Alice forced herself to smile. She shrugged. "Fairly uneventful."

Watching him, she noticed he looked much more tense than usual. She scolded herself for not realizing immediately; something seemed off with him. What could've shaken Ron Speirs, she didn't know. Alice pushed herself off the ground, leaving her helmet by her feet. After a tense moment of silence, Alice taking in his still form while he stared out over Normandy, she spoke again.

"Something happened?"

He shrugged. "Nothing that couldn't be handled." A cloud of smoke released from his mouth slowly. He turned to her. "We do what it takes to win."

After looking at him for another careful moment, she nodded. "Whatever it takes."

"I'm surprised you didn't find Easy when you got in," Ron said.

He didn't even need to specify it as a question; Alice knew that's what it was. This time, she clammed up instead of him. Taking her own cigarette out and lighting it, she shrugged. "Didn't feel like talking."

"Well, they did good work. Winters led the men of Easy who've gotten here in an assault on a German garrison at Brecourt. They took out three guns and a good number of German infantry. Dog finished up the fourth one."

"That's good."

Silence fell between them again. They stood shoulder to shoulder, cigarettes burning as they watched the flames eating Normandy's beautiful landscape. The sounds of the Allies in the town at the base of the hill still floated up to them: rumbling trunks, a tank or two, soldiers shouting and moaning in pain. Alice had expected the sounds of injured men, but she'd never imagined just how loud war was. The Maquis had relied on ambush and sabotage. This was loud, chaotic, obtrusive.

"You should get some sleep," Alice said. She turned to him. They'd been standing silent for several minutes.

Ron scoffed, cigarette bouncing in his mouth. He took it out, blowing a cloud of smoke. "Right. And you probably need food."

Her stomach growled. He was right. Alice looked at him and shrugged. When he offered her a K Ration, she took it, frowning. But a K Ration was better than nothing. Once she'd started on the bar, Ron walked back down the hill. Alice watched him go. Back to the flaming countryside, her gaze wandered over the town below. A few moments later, she locked eyes with Johnny Martin, who stood chatting with Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye. Their own eyes followed his.

There would be no keeping to herself now. Alice bent down. She picked up her helmet and put it on, leaving the straps dangling loose. Then she started down the hill. It didn't take long before she stood with the men of Easy Company.

"There she is," Guarnere said. "We heard you was back. Johnny 'ere was telling us about your day."

"Yeah?" Alice looked at Johnny Martin.

He shrugged. "Not like we did much."

Alice agreed with him. They'd done a lot of walking. Beyond that, they'd run into very few German soldiers. Most of the killing they'd done had been on mosquitoes. She turned to Joe and Bill. "Ron Speirs told me about your attack at Brecourt. Nice job." She saw Joe Toye's expression change to complete and utter annoyance. She looked at him in confusion. "Didn't go well?"

Bill laughed, gesturing with his thumb at Joe. "Joe took two grenades. He's one lucky bastard."

"You got hit by two grenades?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "Fuckin' things gave me a shitty headache, but not much else." Then he leaned in and looked at her closer. He pointed to her cheek. "Looks like you got hit good, though."

"Ah, it's nothing," Johnny scoffed. "She got hit by somethin' on the plane."

Alice laughed at his comment. "You're saying it's nothing now? You were worried over it when you saw it first!"

"Yeah, well, now the docs saw it. Quit whining," Johnny told her.

With a small smile, Alice shook her head. She turned from the three men, looking around her in the town. They stood in a dark street, lit only by the headlights of a couple jeeps that had been parked nearby. Soldiers still roamed around. A few people even meandered in from down the road.

"Winters was looking for you, by the way," Johnny said. He tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned, he gestured down the road towards a large building. "The officers that've made their way here set up in there."

"Who's that?"

"Nixon, Winters, and Compton from Easy, and obviously Speirs from Dog," Guarnere said. "Major Strayer's accounted for too."

"No one's seen Welsh?" Alice shuffled uncomfortably.

Joe shook his head. "No one's seen him or Meehan, either. But you two showed up from Welsh's plane, so we know it didn't go down. Meehan's though, no one's here."

Her head snapped back to look at him. Her heart clenched. "No one? So Winters is in charge."

They all nodded. Moving to look between the Officers' headquarters and them, she finally decided to go find Dick. Bidding them goodnight, she gave both Joe and Bill quick hugs. Alice moved down the street. The door to the house she'd been pointed to opened easily. Inside she found half a dozen lieutenants of the 506th. All eyes followed her as she moved past them. When she spotted Heyliger, she stopped.

"Hey, Moose, you seen Dick?"

He nodded. 'Upstairs. He grabbed a room with Nixon and Lieutenant Compton."

Alice thanked him. The stairs on the left had been crafted of a dark, rich brown wood. It creaked under her boots. When she reached the top, Alice looked around. Several large rooms branched off. At the end of the hall she saw Strayer talking to Dick.

"Klein, there you are," Strayer said, looking her way. "Glad you made it."

"Thank you, sir."

"Beds are first come, first serve, so if you want one make sure to grab it." Strayer gestured towards the open doors as he walked down the hall. Passing her, he just nodded again. "See you all in the morning."

Both Dick and Alice bid him goodnight. As he retreated down the stairs, Alice turned to Dick. She smiled softly, walking over to him where he stood in a doorway. Beyond, she saw Nixon and Compton chatting at a small table, sipping at canteens.

"I heard you took out a German battery," Alice said, lowering her voice as they stood in the hall. She glanced beyond him. Then she looked back. "How'd it go?"

His small smile dropped completely. With a shrug, he looked beyond her, past anything actually physically present. He sighed. "I lost a man, a kid."

"Who?"

"Private John Hall, Able Company. He was a radio op," he said. But with a deep breath, he turned away. "I'm not tired. Take the bunk I claimed."

Alice looked at him in displeasure. He'd yet to completely wash the oil and paint camouflage from his face but beyond the discoloration, she could see plainly he was lying. Two beds sat in the room. Buck's gear already lay in a heap by a pile of blankets and an extra pillow on the floor. Evidently he'd been last in the room.

"Dick-"

"Take it. I'm serious," he added. "I know you're perfectly fine with sleeping on a hardwood floor, but you don't need to when I'm going to be pacing half the night anyway."

Alice frowned. Still, it made sense, and she knew he told her the truth. So she nodded. Stepping into the room, it didn't surprise her to see someone had already tossed her pack into a corner. She'd left it with some of Easy's stuff outside; Nixon had probably found it.

"I'm afraid you two have a new roommate," she attempted to joke. To their credit, both Buck and Nixon gave small laughs at her comment. So she just tried to smile in return. "Hard to believe that in two years I've never gotten the pleasure of sharing quarters with my own rank."

Nixon scoffed. He tossed her his flask. "Rank has perks. It's about time you started using them."

"Hm, maybe you're right." Alice took a long drink of his Vat 69. Letting it settle in her throat and mouth, coating it, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she passed the flask back.

"You didn't happen to see Harry in your travels, did you?" Dick asked, leaning in the doorway.

As she took off the heavy coat of her paratrooper uniform, she shook her head. Her muscles ached as she shifted it off. Every movement hurt. Finally she had it off, and she tossed it aside to where her pack sat sprawled against the ground. "No. I only ran into Sergeant Martin. But Harry jumped late. Someone in our stick got hit by some shrapnel and he went to check it out while the rest of us jumped."

"Someone other than you," Buck pointed out.

Alice half laughed. She nodded, running a few fingers over the stitched up cut from the top of her cheek bone down towards the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, other than me." She eased herself onto the bed, her baggy pants contrasted by the tight white sleeveless top she wore. "I'm sure he'll turn up."

"I don't know, guys. Alice is being optimistic? Is it the end times?" Nixon smirked around his newly lit cigarette. He pushed himself off his chair. After pulling off his own jacket, he settled on the other bed.

As the other two officers laughed, she rolled her eyes. Then she paused, frowning. Her thoughts had drifted to Ron's cockiness which had brought comfort, but then she recalled his stiff hesitance earlier. "Anyone know what was up with Ron?"

Dick and Nixon both frowned. But Buck just scoffed and shook his head. "Speirs stole my pack of cigarettes. But that's all I saw of him before watching him take the fourth gun."

"Some sergeant in Charlie Company took half a dozen men prisoner," Dick explained. He shook his head. "Strayer needed someone to change that. We were told no prisoners."

Alice nodded. "We do whatever it takes to win this war," she muttered. Ron's comment from earlier finally made sense.

Nixon agreed with her. Finishing up his cigarette, he smashed it on the side table next to his bed. "Given his reputation, I can only imagine how this will influence the men."

Buck shrugged. "So long as he gets the job done, that's all that matters."

"And if he doesn't steal your smokes," Nixon teased.

Alice left them to chat as she retreated into the bathroom off the bedroom. She flipped on the dim light and closed the door. The water ran chilly, but she didn't mind. Carefully, Alice cleaned her face, avoiding the stitched up cut as best she could. She tried to get the blood and dirt out of her hair, leaving it a wet, wavy, tangled mess. Wearing just her old PT shorts and her tank top, Alice left the bathroom, still frowning.

"We've got about four hours until sunrise," Dick said. He looked out the window at the far side of the room. "No doubt we'll get moving sometime today."

"Yeah. And hopefully by then we'll have more men," Nixon muttered.

"Let's get some sleep."

Alice didn't add anything, but she nodded. Fatigue crashed over her, mingling with her aching pains. After taking a long drink of lukewarm water, she crawled into the bed. Despite the loud springs and general poor quality, the fact that she had a blanket, sheets, and a pillow on top of a mattress meant she didn't even consider complaining.

It didn't take long before Nixon had climbed into his bed too, and Buck took up the floor. Dick turned out the light at the front of the room before disappearing outside. The hypocrisy of his order to sleep did not escape her, but Alice didn't have the energy to point it out.

As she lay in the quiet room, mosquitoes occasionally buzzing around her and a slight breeze drifting through the open window, Alice started making a list of the people she knew were safe, and those she'd not gotten information on yet. The list of unknowns dwarfed the safe ones. Still, she hadn't expected much else. She just hoped that by the end of the day, at the next setting sun, that she'd have even the sides a bit.