When Nixon stood up, his leg bumped into the coffee table.
Winters sent him a tiny glare;
"keep it down". He hissed.
Nixon held up his hands and looked down at the couch.
Dallin was still fast asleep.
Shrugging, he walked over to the dining table and sat opposite Winters, who was quietly typing out a report. Nixon snorted and asked;
"still writing out that battle report from the 5th?"
"There's a lot to write".
"Right…but this is for Sink…not your college professor".
Sighing, Winters looked at him;
"you 'wanna do it?"
Nixon shook his head, with a smirk;
"nope".
"Then shut up, Nix".
Winters looked back down at his work and continued to type slowly and quietly. Nixon rolled up his sleeve to check the time. His eyes widened a little;
"Christ…it's eleven already".
"You calling it?"
"Nah…too early for me". He said, "figured I'd do the night checks…make sure the kids are alright".
Winters nodded slowly;
"good…you work better at night".
Nixon grinned;
"I'm a natural night owl, my friend".
Winters hummed;
"I'm both…I'm what they call…a walking corpse".
With a tiny chuckle, Nixon reached for his cigarettes.
After lighting a smoke up, he asked his friend;
"think the kid will be alright?"
"Dill?"
He nodded;
"yeah…think she'll be alright?"
Winters looked at him;
"I do, yeah". He replied, sounding confident. "Once we move to Driel, she'll calm down".
After taking a drag from his cigarette, Nixon commented quietly;
"Lip told me she wasn't doing too good after Campbell".
Winters frowned;
"well…I heard she's doing better now". He said, "Wild Bill likes to keep me informed".
Nixon smiled small;
"I like that kid".
"Yeah, I know". He murmured, "because of the-"
"the girls in the attic, yeah".
Shaking his head, Winters tried to hide his smile.
He looked back down at the typewriter and said;
"well, Peacock wasn't pleased".
Nixon snorted;
"I tell you, Dick…I don't like that guy".
"He gave me an earful the day after the 5th".
Nixon looked at his friend curiously;
"what'd he say?"
"Told me that Dill snapped at him, yelled and cursed at him".
Nixon looked amused with that answer.
And even more so, when Winters added;
"I told him his complaint was noted…but I never brought it up with Dill".
Nixon chuckled;
"ah…he probably deserved it".
Winters smiled small;
"I won't mention it in my report".
Nixon gave the typewriter a nod;
"what're you mentioning anyway? How the freaking world was created?"
"It's only one page so far".
Nixon hummed;
"you make it any longer…you'll put the Colonel to sleep".
Ignoring that comment, Winters asked;
"did you radio Moose?"
"Yeah". Nixon replied, "he's 'gonna let 2nd Platoon know about Dill".
"Good. What'd he say?"
He shrugged;
"that he'd see her in two days". Nixon replied, "and he'd make sure the fellas will keep their mouths shut".
"We don't want the enemy knowing about Dill". Winters said lowly, "these aren't just normal German soldiers, they're the SS".
"We're not getting much out of them". Nixon mumbled, "they're very loyal to that crazy sonofabitch they worship so much".
"What's your plans with them?"
Nixon sighed;
"keep them as prisoners". He replied, "try and question them more. They're with Regiment now".
Blowing out the smoke he had inhaled, Nixon added;
"kid told me that the SS she found said the Warsaw uprising failed".
Frowning, Winters looked at him;
"Poland lost?"
Nixon nodded, with a sombre look;
"yeah…that's 'gotta be tough to hear".
"Yeah". He agreed through a sigh.
Movement was heard from the couch.
Both officers looked towards Dallin and noticed she had turned onto her other side. Letting out a breath he had been holding, Winters mumbled quietly;
"keep on thinking she's 'gonna wake up screaming".
"I know". Nixon murmured, "you staying down here tonight?"
"Yeah". He replied, "when are you leaving to check on the men?"
Checking his watch again, Nixon replied;
"now".
"Keep low, Nix".
…
Waking up early the next morning, Dallin spotted Winters sleeping on the floor below the couch. Her eyes softened, when remembering the time, she had done the same for him back in Aldbourne. Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the dark ceiling. It was still dark outside, Dallin guessed it to be around five in the morning. The house was quiet, save from the rumbling noise of engines coming from outside. Sitting up, she wrapped the blanket around her body and got off the couch. Stepping over Winters, she walked over to the window and peeled back the curtain.
Lights from the jeeps almost blinded her but Dallin could make out grey berets and Strayer with some of his officers standing by the jeeps. It was nice to see Polish soldiers again. Dallin wanted to go out and greet them. But she stopped herself from doing so when a truck pulled up and six SS prisoners jumped out of the back. Feeling her heart race behind her chest, Dallin frowned and watched, while the Polish troops moved them away.
"What's going on-"
"Jesus!" Dallin hissed.
Closing the curtain, she sharply turned around.
Winters sat up, a sheepish smile on his face;
"sorry, trooper".
Shaking her head, Dallin whispered;
"it's…fine, sir…you scared me".
Getting onto his feet, Winters smoothed down his hair and asked again;
"what's going on out there?"
"More POW's, sir…Polish soldiers are moving them".
"Good". Winters nodded, "that's less for us to worry about".
After yawning, Winters turned on a small oil lamp and checked his watch;
"oh…it's later than I thought".
Dallin frowned;
"what is…the time?"
"0530".
Frowning a little, she mumbled;
"that is…late?"
"For me, yeah". Winters said, "I've got a Battalion inspection at 0700".
"What's that…sir?"
Sighing, he mumbled;
"just as it sounds, trooper…inspections. Battalion HQ billets. Officer billets. For infractions".
Dallin felt her lips twitch;
"sounds…familiar".
Winters chuckled quietly;
"ah…you're thinking of Sobel, aren't you?"
Nodding, she looked down at her boots.
"I miss…America". She mumbled, with a fond smile. "The food…music and…the small towns".
"It's still there". Winters said softly, "not much has changed back home…it'll be the same when we get back".
"If…we get back".
Winters tilted his head to the side;
"oh, I have a good feeling that you'll get back, Dill".
Frowning a little, she looked up at him;
"you do?"
He nodded;
"yeah…yeah, I do".
Rubbing her lips together first, she then let out a breathless laugh;
"I…don't know…where to live".
Winters smiled, a twinkle in his eye;
"got a lot of States to choose from, trooper".
Dallin scratched behind her ear and nodded towards the floor;
"you sleep on floor".
"Yeah, I did". Winters confirmed, "it's about time I returned the favour".
Shaking her head, she whispered;
"I did not suffer with…nightmares".
"No…but it was just in case".
Looking back up at him, she smiled small;
"thank you".
With a tiny sigh, Winters snorted and said;
"what are friends for, huh?"
And her smile widened slightly;
"we are…friends?"
"Well, I know you consider me a friend, Dill". He said, "and I hear that friendship is a two-way street".
Nodding, the smile remained on her face.
Rolling his eyes, Winters huffed out a laugh;
"alright…come on, let's get some coffee".
Hand going on her shoulder, Winters led her into a kitchen. He turned on the light and walked over to a very old-looking stove. Filling up a pot of water, Winters set it over the warm stove. Dallin found a chair by the table and sat down. The blanket was still wrapped around her body, but she continued to feel that morning chill.
When a hot cup of coffee was placed in front of her, she took a small sip. Winters made better coffee than Guarnere, Dallin concluded. But Winters wasn't quite as good as Liebgott. Still, it was a warm welcome. And the chill was no longer rattling through her body. However, she didn't take off the blanket. Dallin had missed feeling warm. Even if it was only temporarily.
"You have running water here, sir?"
Sitting opposite her, Winters shook his head with a smirk;
"no, we're not that lucky, Dill".
"I wish…my Platoon had barn to sleep in".
"They should have more billets in Driel". Winters told her.
"I will make sure…1st squad have place to sleep". Dallin said quietly, "with roof".
He smiled;
"yeah, you'll look after them, huh?"
Nodding, she took another sip of her coffee.
Winters leaned back on the chair, looking a little relaxed.
It was there, where he reminded Dallin;
"North British Station Hotel…". Winters chuckled quietly, "we lived in luxury".
"Yes". Dallin agreed lightly, "and they…fuck me dry".
There was a small spell of silence.
Blinking a few times, Winters looked at her;
"pardon me?"
Frowning a little, she mumbled;
"I use that wrong".
"Yeah…I think you did".
"They…clean me dry?"
Clearing his throat, Winters leaned forwards and said;
"you mean…they took away your money? Like they robbed you?"
Nodding, her eyes lightened a little;
"yes…they robbed and fuck me dry-"
"no, Dill". Winters cut her off, "no…they…they didn't do that, alright? It was an expensive hotel. And a lot of your savings for the moon…went on that hotel".
Humming, she looked back down at her coffee.
Winters felt his lips twitch;
"your spending too much time with Wild Bill".
After taking a sip of her coffee, she asked;
"no fucking?"
An amused smile lifted his face.
Closing his eyes, Winters shook his head;
"no, Dill…not that".
Dallin smiled and nodded;
"yes…fine, sir".
Opening his eyes, Winters commented softly;
"Edinburgh Castle was nice, huh?"
"Yes". Dallin agreed, "touring castle was not expensive…castle did not fucking rob me".
Winters barked out a laugh.
Giving his head a shake, he pointed at her;
"alright…cut it out, huh?"
She snorted into her coffee;
"I don't know…what you mean, sir".
"Yes, you do".
Checking his watch, he soon got onto his feet;
"I've 'gotta get Nixon up".
When Winters left, Dallin continued to drink her coffee. She could hear the Captain upstairs. There was silence. For a few moments, Dallin couldn't hear anything. But that spell of silence was broken by Nixon, who gave a panicked cry;
"No! No!"
Dallin frowned and looked up towards the ceiling.
Soon, she heard Nixon laugh and yell;
"you fucking asshole, Dick! You asshole!"
Putting her cup down, Dallin dropped the blanket and made her way up the stairs. Both men continued to laugh. She stepped into the room and sniffed the air. Nose twitching, she asked;
"why does it smell…like urine?"
Both officers looked her way, still laughing.
Dallin then noticed their uniforms were wet.
Frowning, she asked;
"you are both…covered in pee?"
Nixon threw a pillow at Winters;
"blame your Captain".
"Me?" Winters laughed, "Nix, who keeps a pitcher of their own piss right by their bed-"
"someone's who too damn drunk to find the bathroom". Nixon argued with a grin.
"I'm sorry". But he was still laughing, "before I realised it wasn't water…it was too late. You really need to get up when I tell you, Nix".
Dallin stared at the pair of them.
Soon, she smiled.
And then, she laughed.
Nodding, Dallin told them;
"that is…very, very funny".
…
Dallin was cleaning her rifle when Lieutenant Heyliger walked into the farmhouse. She was alone, Winters and Nixon drove to Nijmegen in search of showers. Looking up from her weapon, the Lieutenant smiled at Dallin. Sitting opposite her on the coffee table, he took off his helmet and asked;
"boss not around?"
Dallin shook her head;
"no…he cleans piss off his uniform, sir".
Moose frowned a little;
"okay?" He murmured, confused.
Looking back down at her rifle, Dallin nodded;
"yes…they will not be long, sir".
Moose blinked a few times, trying to remind himself why he needed to see Winters to begin with. When he did remember, he cleared his throat and said;
"Operation Pegasus is tonight".
Dallin frowned a little;
"oh…what is that?"
"I've been picked to lead twenty-three men across the Rhine to rescue members from the British 1st Airborne. They've been stranded over there since the failure of Market Garden".
Raising her eyes to look at him, she asked;
"and Easy will do this?"
Moose nodded;
"picked guys mostly from 3rd but got Malarkey and Bain from 2nd coming along too".
"That's good…sir".
With a smile, Moose gave her arm a gentle shove;
"fellas are missing you…how're you holding up, Dill?"
With a tiny shrug, she mumbled;
"it's…fine, sir". She replied, "Captain Winters and Nixon…keep me company, sir".
"That's good". He said softly, "won't be long 'till we're in Driel. Then you can get back to your buddies".
Dallin was looking forward to it. She missed her friends in Easy.
"I wish…I was helpful tonight, sir".
She sounded guilty.
Moose shook his head;
"you've 'gotta keep your head down, Dill. We've got the rest of Easy and 2nd Battalion covering us while we cross the river. I'm hoping we won't need the covering fire though".
Dallin nodded, agreeing with him;
"it might…be a win, sir".
Moose huffed;
"yeah, lets hope, Corporal".