On Boxing Day, the siege of Bastogne was broken.
They were no longer surrounded.
Patton's army claimed to have saved the 101st but they were far from saved.
Soldiers continued the difficult fight of staying alive out on the line. The weather turned to snow once again, temperatures continued to drop and conditions on the line only improved slightly, when supplies could finally be delivered to the front.
Toye was racing around, trying to gather coats for his guys.
And he did end up bringing them long winter coats. As well as gloves and scarves.
Rory put on her long coat and asked her Sargent;
"what 'bout you, Sarge?"
Toye shook his head;
"don't worry 'bout me, huh? I'll get something later one".
Grinning, Jackson wrapped a scarf around Rory's neck;
"we're 'gonna sleep well tonight, Roo".
Heffron shared his grin;
"yup – finally, huh? A fucking coat".
"Yeah but…it's still cold". Eddie Joint pointed out, "we ain't out the woods yet".
"Obviously". Heffron mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Just enjoy this, huh? Quit ruining my good mood, Eddie".
Toye chuckled quietly;
"alright, hey – make sure to get something to eat, huh? I've 'gotta see Winters with Buck and Guarnere. Babe, make sure Roo eats something".
Boxing Day was one of their best days out in the forest.
Morale was lifted by coats, scarves, thick gloves and some warm food.
For Easy, it felt like a belated Christmas present.
"Hey, look who's back". Jackson murmured.
Eddie, Heffron and Rory followed Jackson's pointed finger.
It was Dike.
Heffron snorted;
"shit…I ain't seen him since we fucking got here".
Rory sighed;
"yeah…me too, Babe".
"Think he had a turkey dinner?" Eddie muttered, "fucking asshole…".
Rory tried not to think about where Dike had been. The guy was never around. She was used to not seeing him every day. And besides, she didn't want him getting in the way of a good thing.
For the next few days, things remained settled in the forest. They were still called up to take part in the occasional night patrol but during those days, no one got wounded by shells or bullets. What Rory did notice, however, were men leaving the line due to frostbite, trench foot and other ailments. Frostbite was horrific. Rory saw a man's fingertips turn completely black. It was an image she'd never get out of her head.
Heffron's cough got better. Which was a miracle.
He woke up one morning and didn't cough as much.
However, Jackson was soon coughing.
Rory sighed, thinking she'd be next to catch the cough. The three of them shared a foxhole, after all. There was no escaping an illness out on the line. The men didn't have the proper water or soap to wash their hands. And they couldn't avoid each other. All different kinds of illnesses swept through the line. Depending on the season, it could range from gastric upset, a common cold or the full-blown flu.
And yet, despite illnesses, men from Easy refused to leave the line.
Rory rubbed Jackson's back, while he hacked harshly until he puked.
Heffron offered him water and assured him things would get better.
And they did all the could to keep Jackson warm and comfortable.
During one night of Jackson coughing, Rory realised he had run out of water. So, she volunteered to fill up their canteens. The stream wasn't too far from the line and Rory felt safe going alone, while Heffron looked after Jackson. Climbing out from the foxhole, she quietly slipped passed the men who were sleeping.
Following the familiar way to the frozen stream, Rory was thankful for her thick gloves. It was a freezing night, much colder than the previous night. Rory thought the weather was only getting worse, not better. Each night seemed to only get colder. And the days got shorter with the bad weather. Rory hadn't even checked the time before she left the foxhole. Though, she assumed it to be between midnight and two in the morning.
Nearing the stream, Rory felt a sharp and unexpected blow to the face.
It smacked her square on the nose, forcing her helmet to roll off her head.
At first, she thought she had walked into a tree.
But then, the 'tree' hit her again.
Rory ended up on the ground, slightly sitting up on her elbow.
Hovering over her, was a tall figure.
Her heart suddenly stopped, while she feared it was a German.
But the figure soon spoke and whispered;
"now".
Rory's eyebrows twitched, forming a tiny frown.
Hearing boots crunch in the snow behind her, Rory didn't have time to react, before a heavy object slammed into the back of her head. She fell back unconscious. Into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Unaware of what happened next.
…
When Rory came to, the cold hit her first.
It came as a shock, at how freezing she felt.
Dizzy, nauseous and confused, Rory opened her eyes.
It was still dark. She hadn't been knocked out for long.
With a tiny moan, she licked her bottom lip, which felt cracked and sore.
And she could taste a metallic taste.
Frowning a little, Rory's hand reached for her face.
Her skin felt sticky and wet.
When her fingers reached her nose, she hissed. And when they reached her eyes, she groaned quietly. That was also when she noticed that she wasn't wearing her gloves. Which confused her, as Rory remembered having them on before.
Hands moving further up her body, she noticed her scarf was gone too.
And her coat.
Rory sat up.
She ignored her dizzy spell and looked down.
Her boots were gone.
No wonder she was so cold.
Reaching for the back of her head, Rory felt more sticky and drying blood.
With a shaky sigh, her body began to tremble and shake.
Rory's hands fished around in the snow to find her helmet.
It wasn't too far away from her.
After putting her helmet on, she grabbed onto a tree and slowly pulled herself up.
Once on her feet, it took Rory a few moments to eventually start walking.
She still felt dizzy and sick.
Stuffing her hands into her pockets, her socked feet fell into the cold snow. Her feet were numb, Rory had a hard time walking. And she was sure they were now swollen. Her chest felt a little tight and she could feel tears reach her eyes. Breathing heavily, Rory slowly made her way back to their position. She wasn't exactly sure what could be done but Rory wasn't an idiot, she had to inform Toye that she didn't have a pair of boots.
Rory found her squad leader sacking out with Malarkey.
But they were both awake. At least, trying to stay awake.
Reaching their foxhole, they didn't hear her coming. Her socked feet travelled quietly in the snow. Standing before their foxhole, she croaked;
"Sarge, 'am hurt".
Looking up, Toye reached for her arm;
"come here, kid. Let's take a look at you – Malark, get the poncho and the flashlight".
Rory felt her breathing hitch.
Toye helped her down into their foxhole, while Malarkey got the items ready. With a frown, the Sargent set Rory down in front of him. He tried to ignore her soft sniffles, while he placed the poncho over the top of them. Malarkey turned on the light and shone it to her face.
Their faces dropped.
"Oh my God…".
"Shit". Toye whispered. "Aw, kid…what happened, huh?"
Malarkey frowned;
"Joe…she ain't got her boots".
Toye was having a hard time remaining calm.
He took in a few deep breaths and squished that anger down.
For the time being, anyway.
Rory had a bloodied nose, a swollen eye and a cut lip.
The two Sargent's knew that she had been beaten up.
And mugged, by the looks of it.
All her winter gear was gone and now in the hands of the desperate thief.
Malarkey and Toye were lost in her injures. But were brought back to Rory when they heard her choke out a tiny sob. Shaking his head, Toye moved towards her;
"hey…come on, it's alright, kid". He said to her quietly.
Sniffing, Rory mumbled tearfully;
"I'm sorry, Sarge…they came 'outta know where".
"Who did, huh?" Toye asked, while wrapping his arm around her, "you can tell me, kid".
She shook her head;
"I-I 'dunno, Sarge".
"That's alright". Toye murmured, "they hurt you anywhere else, Roo?"
With another sniff, she nodded.
The two Sargent's held their breaths.
Rory's bottom lip quivered, and more tears rolled down her cheeks.
Toye hushed her softly;
"it's 'gonna be fine, huh?"
"Yeah, you can tell us". Malarkey assured her quietly.
Rory's hand reached for the back of her head.
Toye gave Malarkey a nod;
"take a look, would you, Malark?"
With the flashlight in his hand, Malarkey moved to the back of Rory and took off her helmet. He shone the light to the back of her head and saw a gash. It wasn't bleeding anymore but it looked painful and deep enough for stitches. With a small sigh, he looked over at Toye and nodded. Confirming to Toye that Rory would need a medic.
Toye didn't want to cause a panic on the line.
"I got an idea". He said, "let's go see if Winters has some boots hanging around, huh?"
Malarkey gave Rory's shoulder a squeeze;
"great idea, Joe. Hey, maybe he's got another coat, huh?"
"Oh, I bet he does". Toye said, "that man's always resourceful".
To save her from walking Toye said;
"I'll put you on my back, kid. You get a free ride to HQ, ain't you lucky".
Malarkey smiled;
"only the best gets that sort of treatment, Roo".
With Malarkey's help, Rory was soon on Toye's back.
Her arms loosely wrapped around his neck, while she buried her face into his shoulder. Malarkey had the task of sending a medic up to HQ, to meet them there. He picked Roe for the job, seeing as the guy was still awake. Roe grabbed all his supplies and managed to catch up with them before they reached Battalion.
"What happened, Toye?"
"Kid got mugged". Toye almost spat.
Clearing his throat, he said more softly;
"she – uh – she has a pretty nice cut on the back of her head, doc".
Frowning, Roe noticed her lack of winter clothing;
"they took her boots too, huh?"
"Yup". Toye muttered, feeling anger once again.
Roe spat out a curse word in French.
Toye nodded slowly;
"exactly".
Looking up at the girl, Roe asked;
"Rory? Are you feeling sick?"
Quickly, Rory replied a tiny;
"yeah".
Roe sighed;
"she has a concussion, probably. We'll need to keep her awake until she starts feeling better".
Toye shrugged;
"I wasn't sleeping anyway, doc".
Soon, he started to feel Rory squirm around on his back.
With a tiny frown, he asked;
"what're you doing up there, kid?"
"I 'gotta get down, Sarge". She said, sounding breathless, "'am 'gonna puke".
"Shit – hey. One second, huh? Doc, help me".
They weren't far from HQ.
Once Rory was down on her feet, she hunched over and started to retch.
Wincing, Roe placed a hand on her back.
Nothing came up at first. Rory just painfully dry-heaved, until tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm 'gonna get her a blanket". Toye told their medic.
"Okay, Toye".
While Toye raced to grab a blanket from HQ, Rory continued to dry heave.
Eventually, she brought out bile.
Roe sighed;
"that's it, there we go". He murmured, "deep breaths, you're alright".
Toye arrived back with more than a blanket.
Winters was rushing right behind him.
Without waiting for Rory to stop dry heaving, the Captain scooped her up into his arms.
"Doc, Toye, let's go". He ordered them both.
…
Inside one of the foxholes, Rory sat next to Winters.
Toye was holding the flashlight, shining it to the back of her head.
Roe inspected her cut;
"yup. That's 'gonna need stitched up". He concluded, "I can do that here".
"She doesn't need the aid station?" Winters asked.
Roe shook his head;
"unless she feels any worse then…she's fine to stay here, sir".
The medic grabbed what he needed from his bag. A needle, a long piece of thread, a pair of scissors and a bandage. Rory had moments where she felt too dazed to understand what was actually going on. So, Winters took that opportunity to ask Toye;
"what the hell happened?"
The Sargent sighed;
"she got mugged".
Winters eyes widened;
"what?!" He exclaimed, "where?!"
"Uh – we never got that far, sir". Toye said, "she came over to me…said she was hurt and now we're here".
Shaking his head, Winters said;
"what the hell was she doing on her own?"
"I ain't sure, sir". Toye replied, "Jack's not feeling great…might have something to do with him".
"Do we know who did it?"
"Afraid not, sir".
Winters had to take his own calming breath.
Rory came out of her dazed state and blinked a few times.
Breathing a little heavier, she panicked;
"what's 'gonna happen?"
Winters wrapped his arm around her shoulders;
"stay still, trooper". He told her, "docs 'gonna fix you up".
The thread was in the needle. Roe moved her hair to the side and saw where he'd make his first move. First, he warned Rory;
"this might hurt, petit". He then added, "can someone hold her hand?"
Winters grabbed a hold of her hand;
"alright, we're ready".
"Stay still, Rory". The medic warned her again.
They were all expecting Rory to start screaming when Roe dug the needle into her flesh.
But she remained as still as a statue.
Nodding slowly, Roe proceeded to stick the needle into another piece of skin.
Toye's hand shook a little, meaning the torch did.
Roe stopped and looked at him;
"keep it steady, Toye". He reminded the Sargent calmly.
Exhaling, he nodded;
"right…sorry, doc".
With the light once again still, Roe continued.
Everyone was quiet.
Winters gave Rory's arm a rub.
She felt like a statue.
"Hey…". He mumbled, "you 'gotta keep breathing, trooper".
When she exhaled, Rory whimpered.
"It's alright". Winters murmured, "almost finished".
Her breathing was heavy again.
A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks.
But she bit down on her tongue, preventing herself from crying out.
The sensation of a needle being pushed into her skin and her skin then being pulled around was sickening. Rory could feel her stomach churn. Her mouth filled up with saliva and she felt like retching again. More tears reached her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Her body started to shake and tremble, both from the cold and the pain.
Roe was having a difficult time stitching her up.
Eventually, he said;
"someone get her another blanket. Keep her warm".
Winters grabbed his blanket and quickly wrapped it around her shaking body.
His arm went back around her shoulders.
Rory carefully covered her face and took in a deep breath.
Her legs started to move around as if trying to run away from the pain.
Roe stopped what he was doing.
And calmly reminded her;
"I know it's hard, petit. But you've 'gotta keep still".
Rory let out a tiny whimper and stilled her movements.
But her left foot continued to tap against the frozen mud.
"Docs almost done, kid". Toye assured her, "you're one brave son of a bitch, huh? I'd be pissing my pants if I was you".
He was lying.
But Rory didn't need to know that.
Her stomach churned again. Rory could feel her throat tighten.
And she didn't give anyone any warning before she retched.
Luckily, Roe wasn't aiming to dig the needle into more of her skin.
Toye grimaced and looked at the Captain;
"she get any on you, sir?"
"I'm used to this, Joe. Don't worry". Winters assured him, thinking back to Mrs Barnes clean carpet getting puked up on by Rory. He rubbed her back, waiting for the feeling to pass. Rory didn't throw anything up, Roe put it down to her feeling anxious or stressed out about the whole ordeal.
When Rory finished retching, she quickly said;
"sorry".
"Don't be sorry, it's okay". Winters told her.
"I'm almost done". Roe said, "just 'gotta tie this in place and then put a bandage around it".
When it was finally over, Rory felt herself lean heavily against Winters side.
Sighing, Toye gave her arm a gently pat;
"good job, kid".
Closing her eyes, she felt tears roll down her cheeks again.
Her bottom lip quivered.
She bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from embarrassment.
"Okay". Winters said quietly, "Joe, get Nixon up and find a pair of boots".
"Right away, sir".
"Doc, let's clean her up a bit". He then added, referring to the blood on her face.
Using the water from their canteens and a couple of sheets, they managed to clean the blood off Rory's face. By the time the blood was cleaned, Toye returned with a pair of boots. They weren't in Rory's size, but they were better than nothing.
Toye placed her feet inside the boots and tied them up tightly.
Rory didn't look as pale as she once did.
In fact, she was almost sleeping against Winters side.
With a tiny smile, Toye's hand fell on her shoulder;
"you 'wanna take the express ride back to the line?"
Rory's lips twitched;
"your back?" She croaked.
His smile widened a little;
"that's right, kid…what'd you say?"
Winters looked down at her;
"you 'gonna be alright, trooper?"
"Yeah, sir". Rory whispered. "I feel alright now".
He gave her arm a gentle squeeze;
"good". Winters said, "try and get some sleep, alright? You look tired".
With the Captain's help, Rory was back on Toye's back.
Arms going around the Sargent's neck, they took off back to their position.
Winters watched the three of them go.
With Nixon by his side.
"You good, Dick?"
Winters nodded;
"only one person owns a size four boots, Nix. That's Rory".
Nixon smirked;
"you 'wanna track down those thieves?"
"You're damn right I do".