It was a tense morning after another wounded man left the line.
Skinny Sisk was unfortunate enough to have a shell go off behind him. The tree burst and his leg and foot got cut up with splinters. Roe and Perconte dragged him away from the line, while they secured a jeep for him to take the wounded man into Bastogne. Apparently, it wasn't much of an aid station in the town. They converted a church into a hospital. Only, the hospital didn't have enough supplies. They used sheets for bandages and alcohol for the pain.
"Hey, Roo". Heffron came sliding into the foxhole, with a grin, "guess what happened to me".
Looking away from her rifle, she met her friend's excited stare.
Which was odd to see in the Bois Jacques.
Frowning a little, she mumbled;
"what?"
Laughing, he said;
"so, me and Spina went off to look for supplies, right? And I fall into this foxhole. And this Kraut was in there and kept on yelling, 'Hinkle? Is that you?' It was funny, Roo. The fella tried to shoot at us, but we got away".
Frowning still, she asked;
"who's Hinkle?"
Heffron shrugged;
"hell, if I know…just some Kraut".
Licking her bottom lip, Rory said;
"well…I heard Peacock's leading 1st Platoon for a patrol".
"Yeah?"
She nodded;
"yeah…Kraut hunting".
Heffron sighed;
"shit…that fella ain't bright enough to lead a damn dog".
Rory felt her stomach lighten a little.
And she could feel the corners of her lips twitch.
Looking back up at Heffron, she snorted softly;
"yeah".
He smiled at her;
"don't worry, Roo. We ain't 'gonna be here forever".
With a tiny sigh, she looked away from him;
"don't, Babe".
"Nah, come on, listen, huh?" Heffron tossed his arm around her shoulders, "you listening?"
Her eyes softened.
Rory felt something pull at her heart when she suddenly remembered Miller;
"you listening?"
"I'm listening, James".
"Here's the deal, alright?" He had said, "these guys ain't 'gonna like us".
"They don't know us".
Heffron smiled at her again;
"it's shit out here, Roo. But it ain't so bad when you've got a buddy, right?"
Heffron then added;
"winter don't last forever, Roo. One day, its 'gonna stop fucking snowing and the sun's 'gonna come out. And we're 'gonna get a supply drop. And then we'll-"
"kill the fucking Krauts in Foy". Rory finished off quietly.
Heffron raised his eyebrow.
And shrugged;
"yeah, pretty much".
Licking her bottom lip, Rory said;
"I'm 'gonna see Jack later".
Heffron nodded;
"how's he doing?"
"He's doing fine". She mumbled, "he'll be back soon…he thinks".
"You miss 'um?"
"Yeah…don't feel right without 'um now".
Smiling a little, Heffron told her;
"he'll be back to himself when he gets back, Roo".
"Yeah". Rory mumbled, "yeah he will".
A figure soon loomed over their foxhole.
The pair of them looked up and saw Toye standing before them.
But Rory's eyes landed on his feet;
"you're missing something, Sarge…".
The Sargent looked irritated;
"don't remind me, huh? My damn boots got blasted away".
Rory ran her jacket sleeve under her running nose;
"that ain't good out here".
"No, it ain't". Heffron agreed, "what you 'gonna do about it, Sarge?"
Sighing, Toye replied tersely;
"nothing – alright, shit needs to be done. Get those foxholes bigger and deeper. When 1st Platoon gets back from the patrol, we're 'gonna need more water…did anyone find a stream?"
"Yeah, Bill did". Heffron replied, "we was 'gonna head up there later on anyway".
"Is it frozen?"
"It is". Heffron answered, "but the waters still running underneath".
Rory's eyes left Toye's socked feet.
She looked up at her Sargent;
"Dike back?"
He sent her a firm sort of stare;
"don't you worry 'bout Lieutenant Dike".
With a tiny sigh, she mumbled;
"guess he ain't 'round then, huh?"
Toye would give anything, to be honest with his guys. He'd like to tell them how he truly felt about Dike. They all would, Buck included. But it was his job to stop his men from breaking, to keep them following orders, keep them busy and in line. Toye knew his men would speak about Dike, he knew they had nothing nice to say about their CO, but it wasn't his job to join in.
Giving her a nod, Toye said;
"foxholes. Get it done".
Taking her entrenching tool, Rory began to chip away into the frozen and snowy mud.
Heffron did the same.
It was taxing work, digging a hole. The mud was frozen, their hands and fingers were exposed to the harsh weather and they would much rather be moving around, to keep themselves from turning into ice.
Rory felt exhausted.
They all did.
Both physically and mentally.
Some men handled it better than others.
Rory didn't think she was handling things well. Though, others would disagree.
Clearing his throat a few times, Heffron eventually coughed into his elbow.
Rory flinched. The cough didn't sound very nice. It was chesty and wet.
Sitting up in the foxhole, Heffron leaned over the top and spat out what he be brought up, out of his mouth. Rory grimaced. She watched, while he got back inside and continued to dig into the mud. Biting her lip, she asked;
"you sick?"
Heffron shook his head;
"nope". He replied, voice sounding a little hoarse.
Rory faced the mud again;
"m'kay". She mumbled.
All morning they chipped away at their foxhole.
The pair of them sat on the edge of their foxhole, running an old rag up and down their rifles. It was almost half one in the afternoon. Heffron had coughed a lot that morning. And he continued to cough into the afternoon. Rory asked him again if he was sick, but the young man argued that he felt fine.
They could hear distant shots being fired. And assumed it had something to do with 1st Platoon. That was confirmed when Peacock rushed back into their line. Buck stopped the man by the shoulders;
"where are your men?" He demanded.
Shaking his head, Peacock rushed out;
"we hit the damn line! A kids back there, he got shot! They're trying to get to him-"
"who?!" Heffron asked, already on his feet.
Peacock looked over at Heffron.
Shaking his head, he stammered;
"I…don't know…the guy who arrived in England!"
That could have meant anyone.
Rory thought about Garcia, Hashey and Julian.
Taking hold of her rifle, she nudged for Heffron to do the same;
"let's go help 'um, Babe".
…
Running through the snow, Heffron and Rory huffed and puffed.
They raced along the tracks and passed by Dog Companies position.
The snow fell thick and fast. It was almost impossible to see what was in front of them. Rory was leading the run towards the patrol, Heffron's heavy breathing slowed him down. It was obvious now the man was sick. But he continued to power through, knowing one of their friends were in danger and needed help. Every so often, Rory would look over her shoulder, making sure Heffron was still running close behind her. They could hear the quick bullets from an MG-42 more clearly, the further they ran. Rory could see faint outlines of boot prints, while the new snow tried to cover the evidence up.
Eventually, they reached the patrol.
Up ahead, Rory could spot Martin and Bull taking cover behind a pile of logs.
And lying there, on the road, fighting for his life was Julian.
Heffron's eyes widened;
"Julian!" He screamed.
He ran past Rory and headed towards the two Sargent's.
Quickly, Rory followed after him;
"Babe, wait up!"
Heffron dove onto his belly and began to crawl towards his friend. Bullets were dangerously close to hitting him. Rory let out a scream got down by his feet, where she began to pull him back;
"Babe, stop it!" She screamed, "you're 'gonna get hit!"
"Let go of me!" Heffron yelled back. "Julian! Hang on!"
Julian had been a friend of Heffron's since jump training.
And Rory could hear the desperation in her friend's voice, while he cried out for Julian to hold on. Heffron was determined to get Julian, he was going to grab his friend back to safety. But Rory couldn't let him do that, not when bullets threatened to take his life. Closing her eyes, she moved further up and grabbed his waist;
"if you're going! Then I'm going with you!"
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Heffron screamed.
"No!" Rory screamed back, "I can't, Babe!"
Heffron squirmed around, trying to make his way towards Julian.
And Julian was still alive but only just. The bullet had gone into his neck, blood was spurting up like a fountain. He had his arm reached out as if he wanted Heffron to pull him back. The only problem was, Heffron couldn't reach his friend's hand. The German's wouldn't allow him, and neither would Rory.
Her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist.
"LOOK AT ME!" Heffron yelled to Julian, "STOP MOVING OR THEY'LL KEEP SHOOTING!"
"HEFFRON! Martin yelled, "LET'S GO! COME ON, KID!"
Rory wasn't sure how Bull managed to do it. But he pulled Rory up and tossed her over his shoulder. Lifting her head, she saw Martin grab Heffron by the jacket, forcing the young man onto his feet. Martin shoved Heffron forward, he soon started to run.
"WE'RE COMING BACK FOR YOU, JULIAN!" Heffron screamed to his friend.
They ran with the rest from the patrol. And eventually, they found themselves by the entrance of the road leading up towards the Germans. They could still hear the enemy firing, so, a few guys set up their machine-guns to fire back, while the others took cover.
"Martin? Martin!" Nixon's voice soon cut through the chaos.
"Sir?!" Martin looked over at the Captain. A little surprised to see him.
"What's going on?!" Nixon asked.
"They got Julian!"
Heffron shook his head and yelled;
"he's still alive!"
"We don't know that!" Martin told him firmly.
"We 'gotta get to him, sir!" Heffron almost pleaded with Nixon.
"Did you hit their OP or their line?" Nixon asked the Sargent.
Rory was crouched behind a tree, behind Heffron.
"Their line, sir!" Martin replied.
Heffron tried again;
"we 'gotta go back to get Julian out of there!"
"No, fall back!" Nixon told him, "come on, Martin, fall back! Get them 'outta there!"
When Heffron didn't move right away, Rory got on her feet and took hold of his arm;
"come on, Babe-"
"get the fuck off me!" Heffron snapped.
And he pushed her.
Rory fell back into the snow.
She stared up at him, with wide and frightened eyes.
Heffron clenched his jaw and spat out;
"why didn't you let me go?! He's dead now because of-"
"hey!" Christenson snapped.
He took a hold of Rory's arm;
"Heffron, get back – we're falling back, come on!"
Sending Rory one last glare, Heffron turned around and ran.
Christenson pulled Rory up to her feet;
"come on, Roo. Let's go!"
…
Back in their position, the patrol dispersed.
The morale had dropped, the men felt bad for leaving one of their own. But no matter how hard they tried; they couldn't get to Julian. Heffron sat himself down, staring at the snow with a distant look. He coughed a few times, bringing up phlegm. He knew he was sick. But Heffron didn't have time to get sick.
"We couldn't get to him, Captain". Martin was telling Winters quietly, "we tried. Babe tried. We couldn't get to him".
Their Captain's eyes landed softly on his men.
Clearing a small space, Winters sat himself down beside Bull.
His eyes looked over at Heffron, who was sitting on his own, a little away from the group. And he frowned when realizing that Rory wasn't next to him. Winters was informed that both Heffron and Rory had gone to help rescue Julian. And he was a little confused at not seeing the girl by her friend. Looking at Bull, Winters said;
"you're missing someone, Randleman".
Bull scratched at his stubble on his chin;
"she went to see her buddy, sir".
"Jackson?" Winters questioned, "I must have missed her".
Bull's eyes flickered towards Heffron, who was walking away from the group.
With a small sigh, he told Winters;
"they're fighting, sir".
Winters frowned;
"who?"
"Roo and Babe". Bull told him, "Babe's pissed at Roo for pulling him back".
His frown deepened;
"what do you mean, Bull?"
"She was holding Babe back from getting to Julian, sir". Bull told him, "she saved the boys life but he ain't seeing that. Babe's too cut up 'bout losing his pal".
Martin sighed heavily and sat on Bull's other side;
"damn kids, huh? They'll work it out".
…
At Battalion HQ, Rory found Jackson.
He was sitting on the edge of a foxhole, cleaning his rifle.
Digging her hands into her pockets, Rory walked over to her friend. He looked up when he heard boots crunch against the snow. And he smiled a little when he saw Rory. She sat down next to him, shoulders sinking into her body. The smile left his face and he whispered;
"who was it?"
"Julian". She mumbled.
"Shit". Jackson said through a sigh, "is…is Babe okay?"
Rory shook her head;
"no".
She could feel a lump form in her throat.
Rory clenched her jaw, to stop herself from crying.
Looking at her, Jackson frowned;
"are you okay, Roo?"
Rory could feel her face start to crumble.
But she cleared her throat and took back some control;
"fine". She replied quietly.
Jackson didn't believe her, but he didn't want to push her for an answer. It was dangerous to push anyone out in the forest. Men had to be strong. Jackson knew that far too well. So, they sat in silence for a few moments, until Rory stopped herself from breaking.
"I'll be back tomorrow". Jackson told her.
Rory nodded;
"that's good". She whispered.
"Yeah". He said, with a tiny smile, "back with you and Babe again, huh?"
Rory clenched her jaw again.
Jackson missed her struggle;
"I saw Peacock run right over here". He said, "wouldn't tell Nixon what happened, just that the fellas were in deep shit".
Shaking her head, she mumbled;
"he left 'um".
Jackson sighed;
"yeah…Winters wouldn't do that".
"No officer would, Jack". Rory mumbled, "they're meant to be leading us, not running away".
"He sets a pretty shit example, don't he?"
"So does Dike". She added quietly.
Jackson sighed again;
"can only get better, right?"
"Rory?"
The two friends looked behind them and saw Winters.
With a tiny frown, she got onto her feet.
Walking over to the Captain, she noticed his frown. Winters looked worried. Rory had seen that look before, too many times. Standing before him, her hands left her pockets. Slowly, she looked up and met his worried stare;
"yeah?" Rory whispered.
Sighing, Winters gave her a nod;
"are you alright?"
She felt that lump in her throat again.
Rory mumbled around her;
"yeah, sir".
Crouching down a little, Winters's hand fell on her shoulder;
"I think Heffron feels a little bad, trooper".
Feeling her chin quiver, Rory quickly bit down on her lip.
But her eyes still burned with tears.
Frowning, he said;
"you should go and talk to him". He told her, "he probably needs a buddy right now".
Rory's eyes left his stare.
She looked down at the snow and felt a tear roll off her nose.
Shaking her head, she sniffed and mumbled thickly;
"was my fault…".
Winters shook his head;
"no". He said, "no, it wasn't-"
"yeah, it was". Rory cut him off, voice thick with tears. "Julian might still be here if I…".
Her voice trailed off.
She felt more tears roll off her nose.
"He hates me". She said, voice breaking.
Winters felt his frown deepen.
Giving her shoulder a squeeze, he told her;
"he doesn't hate you, Rory". He said, "he lost a very good friend and he's feeling pretty bad right now".
Rory sniffed again and shook her head.
"Come on". Winters urged gently, "you're only 'gonna feel worse if you don't talk to him, Rory".
Rory wiped a few tears off her face.
Winters gave her shoulder another squeeze;
"come on, I'll walk you there".
Rory didn't want to speak with Heffron, worried he'd only yell at her again. But she trusted that Winters was right and agreed to go along. After giving Jackson a small wave, she left with the Captain and headed back to the line. Rory continued to wipe her face; worried tears were still stuck to her skin. By the time they reached the line, they spotted Heffron sitting on his own.
Taking in a deep breath, Rory looked up at Winters.
Looking back at her, he asked;
"you'll be alright now, huh?"
And despite not feeling confident, she nodded.
With a tiny smile, Winters gave her shoulder a squeeze;
"good. It'll be fine".
Heffron coughed into his elbow.
Looking away from Winters, Rory stared at her friend.
Frowning, she left the Captain's side and walked over to him.
Winters remained where he was and kept a close eye on them.
When Rory was next to Heffron, he didn't say anything. So, she sat down beside him. Licking her bottom lip, she tried to think of what to say. But just as she was about to apologise, Heffron beat her to it;
"shit…I'm sorry". He whispered, voice heavy with guilt.
Heffron ran a hand down his face;
"I'm such a dick". He croaked.
Hearing the tears in his voice, Rory shook her head.
She pressed her face into his arm and grabbed onto him tightly;
"you ain't". Rory mumbled thickly, "you're my friend".
Eyes closing and chest tightening, Heffron wrapped his arm around her.
His face got lost in her helmet, while a few tears squeezed out of his eyes.
Taking in deep and sharp breaths, Heffron clenched his jaw.
And he tried to compose himself. He tried to get a grip on himself, knowing that showing any sort of weakness out on the line, was bad. It's what they had been taught. Even before the army. Men don't cry. But Heffron heard himself choke out the smallest of sobs and he gripped onto Rory tighter as if she were holding him together.
Rory's arms went around his waist, there, she whispered;
"it's okay, Babe…I'm here".
Heffron sniffed and tried to muffle his quiet sobs into her helmet.
Rory could feel his body shake and tremble.
He coughed.
And quickly pulled himself away from Rory, not wanting to get her sick.
He ended up covering his whole face. And once the coughing ended, Heffron took in deep breaths and managed to quieten his cries of grief. Rory kept a hand on his arm, with tears of her own stained her cheeks. Heffron sighed heavily into his hands. He scrubbed his face from tears and managed to uncover his face.
Looking at Rory, he mumbled;
"sorry…".
She shook her head;
"no, don't say that".
With a shaky sigh, Heffron told her;
"you was only…keeping me safe out there".
"Yeah". Rory whispered.
Biting down on his lip, Heffron tossed his arm around her shoulders;
"you're a good friend, Roo". He said, "I'm shit".
She shook her head;
"you're great, Babe". Rory mumbled, "and you'd do the same".
"Yeah, I would have". He agreed.
"We 'gotta do something 'bout this, Babe". Rory whispered, "'bout Peacock and Dike".
Heffron was glad she had changed the subject.
Nodding, he said;
"alright…let's find some pigs, huh?"
A very small smile reached her lips.
She knew the pair of them would be fine.