Like a nervous father waiting outside the delivery room, Winters paced.
He was upstairs, pacing inside the bedroom he slept in. It was midnight, the patrol would start in one hour and Dallin had fallen asleep on the couch two hours ago. It was his first time not leading Easy into a mission. And it felt strange for Winters. He was almost biting his nails with anxiety. He wished more than anything to be there with the men. But Moose was a great man and a fantastic leader, Winters could trust him to keep the men safe.
Still, he paced.
When Nixon walked into the bedroom, he held up his flask;
"this is a one-time offer".
"You offered me a drink before". Winters reminded him, "and like last time, I will decline".
Nodding, Nixon took a swig and then said;
"good choice…more for me, huh?"
Sitting himself down on the armchair, he watched Winters pace quietly for a few moments, before asking;
"kid sleeping?"
Winters nodded;
"yup…fell asleep at ten".
"Oh, good". Nixon mused, "she'll be rested for Driel tomorrow".
He sighed;
"nope, not tomorrow". Winters said, "Sinks pushing the date…we leave here in four days".
Nixon raised his eyebrow;
"did he say why?"
"No, he didn't". He replied, "we've probably still got work to do here".
"Well…Dill won't be impressed".
"No, she won't". Winters agreed quietly, "but I can't change the Colonel's mind".
Nixon smirked;
"sure you can…you're his Golden Boy".
"Shut up, Nix".
"Not in the mood for jokes?"
Shaking his head, Winters muttered;
"no…not right now".
"Tough crowd". Nixon remarked, with a smile.
Suddenly, they heard a thump coming from downstairs.
Both men looked at each other.
Winters opened his mouth, meaning to say something. But a panicked scream was soon heard.
"NIE! NIE! PRZESTAWAC!"
"Shit". Nixon whispered.
Leaving the bedroom first, Winters ran down the stairs and raced into the sitting room. Dallin was on the ground, sitting on her knees. She was screaming, with her hands held out in front of her.
"TO BOLI! TO BOLI!"
Dallin sounded to be in a great deal of pain. And thinking on his feet, Winters sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around Dallin's chest. He pulled her back, so her back was pressed against him. Nixon stared down at her; eyes filled with worry. She squirmed against his hold, letting out quiet cries of pain and whimpers.
"To boli…to boli…". She cried.
Her throat hurt from screaming. And it cracked when she talked.
Winters hushed in her ear;
"it's alright…you're with me, trooper…you're with me".
Dallin coughed out a weak sob;
"prosze…to boli".
Winters wasn't sure what "to boli" meant. But he knew that she was begging for help.
Taking hold of her wrist, he told her softly;
"I'll get you some water for your fingers…it won't be sore anymore".
It was that same dream she had on the ship to England.
And that same dream she had at Shifty's house.
The one where the Gestapo burned her fingers with fire.
Licking his bottom lip, Winters briefly looked at Nixon;
"Nix? Get a cloth, put it under cold water".
Nodding, his worried friend left the sitting area.
When she coughed out another tiny sob, Winters shushed her;
"sh…it's alright, it won't be sore anymore".
Dallin took in quick, shuddering breaths. Her eyes were still wide, panicked and tearful.
"Breathe…". Winters murmured, "breathe out…nice and slowly".
"Abba…". Dallin cried quietly, "pomocy…Abba".
It broke his heart; hearing Dallin call out for her father.
"Sh…just breathe". He continued to encourage into her ear.
When Nixon quickly arrived back in the sitting room, he crouched in front of Dallin and wrapped a wet cloth around her fingers. Almost instantly, she relaxed. Her shoulders slumped, she leaned further back into Winters's chest and she closed her eyes.
"That's it". Winters soothed, "there you go…".
Dallin managed to slowly control her breathing, so she wasn't panting. She could hear Winters's heart against her ear, and she could feel his large and strong arms around her chest. Dallin was safe inside the farmhouse. She wasn't in Poland. The Gestapo were nowhere near her. And her fingers weren't burning.
Opening her eyes again, she looked to Nixon.
He looked less panicked.
But he remained concerned;
"okay, kiddo?"
Nodding, Dallin croaked;
"sorry".
"No, you can't help these things". Nixon reminded her, "just glad you're…back with us now".
Her eyes moved towards her fingers.
The cloth was still wrapped around them.
Frowning, she whispered;
"I hate…that the pain is still there in my dreams".
Winters gave her chest a pat;
"I know, Dill". He mumbled softly.
"Want me to take this off?" Nixon asked, nodding towards the cloth.
Dallin nodded, with a small sniff;
"yes…there is no pain now".
With his hand on her shoulder, Nixon told her;
"you're…you're 'gonna beat this, kiddo. Remember, you used to have nightmares almost every night, huh?"
Swallowing back the tightness in her throat, she whispered around the lump;
"I just…I feel…like freak".
"You're not a freak". Winters told her, "Dill, you were tortured for one and a half years. And when you freed yourself, you were shipped over to America".
Nixon removed the cloth from her fingers.
Sniffing again, Dallin whispered;
"sorry…if I wake you".
"We were already up". Winters assured her, "finding it hard to sleep".
"Pegasus?" Dallin guessed.
"Yeah". He replied quietly.
Nixon smiled a little;
"Captain Winters has been pacing for the past two hours".
Winters rolled his eyes;
"that's an exaggeration".
"No, it ain't". Nixon argued lightly, "and so what, huh? I can't sleep either".
With her hands free from the cloth, Dallin wiped the tears off her cheeks.
"You're worried?" Winters asked, "I thought the intelligence was…fine?"
"Oh, it is". He murmured, "but…everything has its risks, Dick".
Winters sighed;
"great". He muttered.
"We can stay up and wait". Nixon said, "but if we're doing that…we're making coffee".
Winters nodded;
"fine. But don't Irish it up".
His friend chuckled;
"ha…that's a good joke, Dick".
"Don't Irish mine up". Winters warned him, "or Dill's".
"Wasn't planning on it".
Nixon got up with a grunt;
"I'll make the coffee". He said, before disappearing into the kitchen.
Winters gave Dallin's chest a pat;
"ready to get up?"
She nodded;
"yes, sir".
Once on her feet, Dallin let out a tiny sigh and mumbled;
"I…clean up now?"
"No need". Winters told her, clapping her on the shoulder.
Frowning a little, she looked down.
Hearing herself sigh with relief, she mumbled;
"it is…getting better".
…
Dallin was surprised to find Shifty sitting on the armchair when she woke up.
In fact, she thought it was a dream.
A very vivid dream.
When she sat up, the young man smiled. His helmet was resting on his lap, his hair was messy and sticking up at random places. Dallin had seen that messy hair before. She saw it in Brighton when they woke up together in the hotel.
"Bill Kiehn is back from the hospital". Shifty told her, "I sure as hell nearly shot him on top of that dike, thinking he was a Kraut. We sure were tickled that I didn't pull the trigger".
Nodding, her lips twitched;
"yes…as am I".
Shifty chuckled quietly;
"well…suppose you heard the good news, huh?"
"Operation Pegasus was a success". She said softly, "well done, Shifty".
"Not a single shot fired". He said, "those Limey's sure were glad to see us".
Licking her bottom lip, Dallin tilted her head to the side.
Shifty cleared his throat, telling her;
"Jimmy's going home…ship got sunk somewhere in the Pacific. He got rescued. He's heading back to Clincho".
A soft smile met her lips;
"that is…very good news, Shifty".
"It is, ain't it?" He agreed quietly. "Mom and dad sure are glad to have him back".
"There is…more reason for your visit, Shifty?"
Shifty smiled again;
"there's a fella who knows you from back home".
Dallin frowned;
"who?"
"Calls himself Leon".
Her eyes widened a little.
Leon.
The Catholic boy from her village. The friend her Abba didn't approve of because his family didn't like Dallin and her family. Her friend at school.
"Leon is…here?" Dallin whispered.
Shifty nodded;
"he wants to see you". He told her, "had a few beers with him last night…real nice fella, you know. Real easy to talk to".
She snorted;
"yes…Leon has always been…talkative".
Grinning, Shifty got on his feet;
"well…you 'gonna come see him?"
Dallin hadn't seen Leon since she left Poland. Now, they were both twenty-one and young adults. They weren't children anymore. Both had changed a lot since they were running in the woods, searching for adventures. She knew seeing him again was going to be strange, but Dallin hoped for a pleasant reunion.
After washing up, Dallin joined Shifty outside.
They walked across a quiet road and headed into a barn.
Dallin spotted him almost straight away. Leon was a short man, with dark hair and brown eyes. He was only five-foot-five. He was the shortest male in school. And now, he was the shortest man in his Company. When Leon noticed his old friend, he laughed and ran towards her.
"Fili!"
"Czesc…Leon". Dallin greeted back.
They shook hands.
"Look at you, Fili!" Leon gushed, "you got pretty, yeah? But not as pretty as me…".
Giving her head a shake, she mumbled;
"you don't change, Leon".
Ending the handshake, he slapped her arm;
"beer?"
"Nie…too early".
"Come on…let's get drunk like rabbits, hm?"
Frowning, Dallin stuck her hands in her pockets;
"they don't…drink".
Leon laughed;
"it's good expression!"
"It…it never makes sense, Leon".
He waved her off;
"ah…fine, no beer…well, you fight with Americans now".
Dallin hummed;
"tak…and you fight with British".
"No choice, Fili". Leon said, "they need us, don't they?"
Her lips twitched;
"you are right, Leon…they do".
He shrugged and elbowed her side;
"huh? You know why, yes? Cause we are strong…we are Polish".
Leon placed his hand on her shoulder and led her further down the barn;
"I think…you have questions for me, Fili". He said lowly, "so, you can ask".
Dallin sighed quietly;
"what happened to my parents?"
When they reached the end of the barn, Leon gave her shoulder a squeeze;
"after Germans invade our country…you know, everything changes, Fili".
"What?"
He sighed;
"a lot of…good men got shot". He whispered, "men who try to…resist the Nazis. But you see, Fili, we are strong…so, we start our own resistance".
Dallin nodded;
"yes…I know". She whispered, "I know about…Ghetto".
Leon frowned;
"I try to get your parents and Kacper out of country".
Her face dropped;
"you did?"
He nodded;
"tak…but I couldn't, Fili. Because new laws happen in Poland. Jews, they were not allowed to own business, property. They could not enter cafes, clubs and parks. And soon, they made Jews very own…town, tak? The Ghetto". He said, "they round up your parents and Kacper and they go to Ghetto. I never see them after, Fili. I'm sorry".
Dallin took a step closer to him;
"and…our home?"
Leon shrugged;
"Nazis take the house". He mumbled, "it belongs to some…bastard German officer now".
Dallin felt her heartbreak.
They had lost their home.
Their garden.
"But I did save…something". Leon told her softly.
She looked at him;
"what?"
Smiling, he told her;
"Felix".
She felt her eyes sting with tears;
"tak?"
He nodded;
"yes…he stays with my parents. He still lives. He eats a lot. But they don't mind".
When Dallin blinked a tear rolled down her cheek.
Leon snorted;
"when you see him…he might be very fat, Fili".
Shaking her head, she mumbled tearfully;
"I…don't care".
Grinning, he clapped her shoulder;
"you silly girl, Fili…crying over cat".
She sniffed;
"he is…all I have".
His smile vanished;
"your parents…they might still live, Fili".
Swallowing thickly, she mumbled;
"my brother…Gestapo shot him".
Leon visibly flinched.
Dallin nodded;
"I know…he fights with resistance. He was never…much of fighter".
Leon sighed;
"no…Kacper was…very smart".
She crossed her arms over her chest, worried for the answer to her next question;
"Leon? Where do they take…the Jews?"
And he sighed;
"I don't know, Fili". He replied, "but…if the rumours are true-"
"what rumours?"
Leon looked uncomfortable;
"Fili, I…I don't wish to say".
She frowned and took a step towards him;
"why?"
"Because it…because you are Jewish".
"I know".
Rubbing the back of his neck, Leon told her;
"they say…they take them to this place…a place where they all die".
Dallin pulled a face.
She uncrossed her arms and huffed;
"no…that is…stupid rumour".
Leon nodded;
"yes…it doesn't sound real-"
"because it's not". Dallin grumbled, "they would not kill…every Jew, Leon. Because we help run the country, yes? We live, work and…and go to school. We do nothing wrong – nothing!"
When she snapped, the barn quietened down.
Leon cleared his throat softly.
Aware that eyes were watching them.
Lowering her stare, Dallin took in a deep breath and whispered;
"it is…only rumour".
He nodded;
"yes". Leon confirmed quietly, "just rumour, Fili".