A few things before we embark on the patrol:
1. No disrespect intended to Johnny Martin, who led this patrol admirably in real life.
2. I don't know anything (ANYTHING) about the medical world. I really should've given that disclaimer earlier on in the story, considering Nora's a medic, and I'm just a girl with internet access.
3. If you are active in the BoB fandom on tumblr, you should check me out at siren-meets, because I've been enjoying making friends there!
Chapter Eighteen
"Christensen, how's that line coming?" Nora whispered as the men shuffled around quietly on the bank under the cover of darkness.
"It's secure ma'am." He answered, tugging on it to emphasize his point.
"Alright, everyone in your boats. Let's go." She whispered, ushering the men forward and helping to direct them to their designated boats. When everyone had settled into the first boat, she climbed in as well, grabbing the rope to help steady them as they pushed off the bank.
"Keep it steady," She whispered as she began pulling at the rope to help them move forward quickly. The other men grabbed on and helped move it along as well. Nora turned to look over her shoulder and check on the three boats behind them. She exhaled deeply when the last boat left the bank and turned back to face forward. They were off. As soon as the thought hit, she heard a series of splashes and shouts and whipped back around to see that boat number four had flipped. "Damn it," she whispered. Sisk was flailing wildly and crying out that he couldn't swim. Nora sighed and signaled for everyone else to keep moving forward. They would have to just press forward without them.
"Stay low," She reminded everyone quietly as they reached the bank and filed out of the rubber boats, "Follow me."
She army-crawled across the snow with Babe next to her and the other men falling in line behind her. They stopped when they came to the barbed wire. "Cutters," she ordered, holding the barbed wire taut with her fingers, which were protected by her thick leather gloves. Babe pulled out the cutters and clipped the wire; the two of them held the severed ends and scooted aside to let everyone else crawl through. "Let's go, let's go. Stay low." Nora chanted as they crawled past. They climbed to their feet and ran over to the wood piles, where they crouched low, waiting. Once the last one had passed, Nora and Babe got to their feet and went to join them.
"Alright, guys. In twos," Nora commanded, signalling for the first pair to go. The group moved from one wood pile to the next, carefully and efficiently, while Nora's heart threatened to burst out of her chest. When they were all together again behind the final wood pile, she kneeled in the center of the group.
"Powers and Wynn, secure the left flank," She whispered. The men nodded. She turned to Jones. "Lieutenant, take Grant and Heffron and secure the right perimeter and the crossroads."
Babe leaned forward to give her a look that clearly said be careful, and she returned it, nodding. "Alright, security out. Go."
The men dispersed quietly, and Nora turned to focus on the assault team. She had drilled these five men particularly hard before they left, making sure that they knew the plan to a T. She waited a moment to give the security team a chance to get in place before giving the signal. "Come on, let's go."
The six of them crouched low as they ran from their hiding place behind the wood pile to the side of the building. Nora pressed herself flat against the wall when they reached it, and the others followed suit, trailing her as she led them around the corner to the front of the building. When they had reached the stairs, she stopped, bracing herself in a squat against the wall as she turned her rifle barrel to the sky. She pulled out her grenade launcher and attached it to the barrel, wincing as it clicked into place. The other men went to work checking their rifles and preparing as well. Nora took one deep breath, but didn't allow herself to hesitate any more than that. Instead, she stood and turned, firing the grenade through the window. The sound of the glass shattering seemed to pierce through the night, and she began counting down for the grenade in her head. Suddenly, Jackson was on his feet, too, and rushed past her to the stairs. She tried to reach out and grab him, but he slipped from her grasp.
"Jackson, hold up!" She warned as he started up the stairs. The grenade went off, and Jackson winced as the explosion broke another window near him, but he appeared unharmed.
"Let's go!" Nora called to the others, rounding the bottom of the stairs to follow. Jackson pulled the pin of a grenade and lobbed it through the broken window, bounding up the remainder of the stairs. "Jackson, wait!"
It was too late. The moment Jackson kicked open the door, the grenade went off, and he walked right into it, recoiling from the blast. He fell to the ground, screaming, and Nora rushed through the door, stepping over him defensively with her rifle held high. Webster was right behind her, shouting orders in German. There were three men in the room - one was wounded, and the other two were shouting frantically. One was holding a pistol.
"Put it down!" Nora shouted, training her rifle on him. "Put it down now, and keep your hands where I can see them!"
She wasn't sure if Webster had translated it for her, or if the man had understood from the ferocity in her eyes, but the man dropped the pistol and huddled in the corner with the others. Nora told Webster to watch them and keep them quiet, then lowered her rifle and kneeled next to Jackson.
"Jackson," She said, rolling him over with some difficulty. One side of his face had been very badly burned and swollen by the explosion, and he seemed to have taken some shrapnel, though it wasn't clear where or how much. She itched to check, but remembered that she didn't have time to be a medic at the moment, unless she wanted more men to get hurt.
"Vest," She ordered, "take care of him."
Vest knelt and pulled Jackson's head into his lap, trying to suppress a gag. He was going to lose it. Nora climbed back to her feet, readying her rifle again. They needed to get out of here, quickly. "Ramirez, watch Vest's six."
Ramirez did as he was told, and Nora went back to Webster, who was managing to keep the prisoners contained with his rifle and his German threats. "Webster, check them for weapons. McClung, cover him." She ordered. Webster began to check them for weapons, and McClung held his rifle at the ready so that they wouldn't move. Nora crossed the room, grabbed the charges for the time-delayed explosion, and worked quickly, priming and burying it. Her hands shook as she worked - this was the last thing. All they had to do now was get the prisoners - and Jackson - back across the river.
"Webster, tell those two to pick their friend up," She commanded, gesturing to the wounded German soldier. "Ramirez and Vest - carry Jackson. We're moving out."
The men shifted to get into position, and the German soldiers continued to shout, causing her to jab her rifle threateningly toward them. "Shut up! Alright, come on, everybody. On my command. We all go together."
She shifted so that she could follow behind the Germans with her rifle trained on them as they walked past. "Let's go! Move! Everybody move!"
Speirs, Winters, and Nixon stood on the balcony behind Liebgott, who was waiting for the signal to provide suppressing fire. Luz was sitting next to him, prepared to feed the machine gun with more rounds if needed. All five men had watched anxiously as the grenades lit up the windows of the building. Several other windows were now lighting up as the Germans awoke from the noise, and Speirs tried not to fidget as he watched. They couldn't have been inside the building more than a minute now, but it felt more like ten. When they finally emerged from the building, someone was being carried, but it was difficult to tell who.
"Looks like they've got wounded," Nixon said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Speirs stepped forward, trying his best to make out the figures. After everyone was down the stairs and standing out against the white contrast of the snow, it was easier to see. He was fairly sure he recognized Nora's posture behind the prisoners, holding her rifle at the ready.
"I see 'em," Luz said.
"Yeah, that means they can, too," Winters reminded him. "Liebgott, get ready."
"Ready, sir." Liebgott said, looking like a cat ready to pounce as he held the machine gun steady. Gunfire began to rain down on the patrol, and it would only be a matter of moments before mortars followed. The group ran for the river bank, and he could see Nora breaking away once in a while to grab the others and make sure that everyone was falling back. The first mortar hit.
"Jesus Christ, come on!" Liebgott growled impatiently, "blow the goddamn whistle!"
"Wait for the signal." Winters ordered firmly, though he was looking at Speirs, who was practically crawling out of his skin as he watched. The C.O. was about a moment away from overruling the plan and telling Liebgott to open fire.
Finally, mercifully, someone began blowing the whistle, and Liebgott opened up, laying a steady blanket of fire for them to run under. They made it to the river bank and began piling haphazardly into the boats.
"They're gonna need more hands at the river bank," Speirs said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Winters and Nixon turned to look at him, and Winters nodded after a moment.
"Why don't you go ahead, Captain?"
Speirs didn't hesitate, disappearing from the balcony without a word.
Nora and the men exited the building and quickly made their way down the stairs. "Powers, come on!" Nora shouted to Shifty, who was providing covering fire a few yards off. "We're moving out!"
He joined them as they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed back toward the river. The sound of gunfire had broken through the night, and she knew their window to get back across the river safely was quickly closing.
"McClung, keep those prisoners' heads down!" She ordered. Dead prisoners weren't going to do them any good, and then their efforts would be wasted. She dreaded the moment when they would have to get everyone, including their new buddies, back into the boats.
"Wynn, come on! Fall back!" She called as they passed Popeye's position. "Heffron! Grant! Fall back! Let's go!" The security team joined the rest of the group, and they all headed for the boats. Gunfire seemed to be coming from every direction, and Nora was very aware of the fact that she was wearing no helmet. The first mortar round hit the ground and blew dirt everywhere.
"Jones, blow the whistle!" She screamed over the chaos. Jones, fortunately, heard her and blew the whistle to signal to Liebgott that they were reading for more substantial covering fire. The chaos intensified and Nora shouted for the men to keep their heads down as they ran. They finally reached the river, and Nora grabbed hold of the first boat, securing it and ushering the men in.
"Get in! Now! Go go go!" She shouted as the men piled into the boats. As she sent the first two boats off, she silently prayed that neither would capsize - especially the one with Jackson in it. She heard Vest threatening to shoot one of the prisoners after he was loaded onto a boat with them. He had snapped. "McClung! Watch him, will ya?" She shouted. She managed to load the remaining men into the last boat and climbed in herself, almost falling out until Lt. Jones reached out and grabbed her arm, bracing her. They readjusted and grabbed the rope, pulling themselves slowly across the dark expanse of the river.
"Keep moving!" Nora called as the boats in front of them struggled to make it. Between the prisoners and Jackson, each of the two boats ahead was running low on manpower to pull the rope. Thankfully, Perconte and a few others were waiting on the shore to help pull them in.
"Be careful with him!" She called out as she watched the men lift Jackson out of the first boat and carry him off. She pulled harder on the rope to help anchor her boat against the shore as the second boat unloaded. She attempted to step onto the shore with one leg, but the boat shifted suddenly under her, and her foot instead fell into the water, planting deep into the mud as the water seeped into her pant leg and boot. She wobbled sideways as the mud shifted under her foot, waving the arm that wasn't holding the rope to stabilize herself. Just when she thought she was going down, a firm arm grabbed her forearm. Speirs pulled her up the bank, and grabbed the boat to anchor it on land as well so that the other men could climb out. Nora practically crawled up the bank and jumped to her feet, running in the direction where the others had disappeared with Jackson. When she entered the cellar, the men were all shouting.
"Move!" She commanded, pushing through them, "Make room! Move!"
The crowd parted, and she knelt down next to Jackson, tilting his face so that she could better see the damage. "I need light!" The men around her shuffled frantically, and someone lit a lighter over Jackson's face.
"Eugene," She said, trying to get his attention. "Eugene, just relax, okay?"
She heard a commotion going on in the far corner and whipped around to look. She saw Vest threatening the prisoners with a pistol while Popeye attempted to hold him back. "Jones!" She screamed, pointing at the scuffle, "Watch him!"
Jones rushed over and grabbed Vest, reprimanding him and forcing him into a seat. Nora turned back to Jackson, who was kicking and attempting to roll around while a couple of the men held him down.
"Ramirez, we're gonna need a stretcher. Jackson, look at me. It's okay. It's okay," She said as Ramirez ran off. Jackson definitely had a head injury, judging by the dilation in his eyes and his erratic and confused motions. They would need to get him to a hospital. She heard another altercation erupting behind her and turned, shouting, "We need those prisoners alive!"
When she turned back to Jackson, he was choking and convulsing. She grabbed his jaw and looked into his mouth. His airways were completely blocked, but she couldn't see the obstruction. "I need a knife and a pen." She announced. The men produced a knife for her quickly and scrambled through the belongings they'd left in the cellar earlier that day in search of a pen. She cautioned the men holding Jackson to keep him still as she made an incision on his neck just under his adam's apple. The knife was too large, and the work was messy, but she pushed ahead anyway.
"Will a pencil work?" She heard Cobb shouting.
"No!" She exclaimed, growing impatient. She grabbed the medical kit that the men had laid next to her and pulled out a syringe. She pulled the needle out, cursing as she accidentally stabbed her finger with it, and then yanked the plunger out as well, leaving just the narrow hub and barrel. It was pretty wide, as far as tubes went, but it would have to do. She tilted Jackson's chin up to help open his airway and then inserted the narrow end of the tube into the hole. She leaned forward and placed her lips to the other end, sucking on it briefly to ensure that nothing came through but air. Once she was sure it was in his airway, she leaned back and waited. His convulsing lessened, though it didn't go away completely. She waved a hand over the tube and sighed in relief when she felt air coming through. A few more men entered the small space with a stretcher, and Nora signaled them over. "Come on, let's get him up. Don't jostle him."
They loaded him onto the stretcher and carried him off as Roe, who had come in with the others, monitored him to make sure the syringe tube didn't fall out. "Jones, McClung, Webster." Nora called, getting up off the stone floor with a grunt, "Nobody gets near those prisoners. Understand?"
They all nodded, and she spotted Jones placing a hand on the top of Vest's head, trying to calm him. "Everybody stay here," She added before following the stretcher out. Her stomach was in knots as she rushed alongside the stretcher in the frigid night. She still wasn't so sure that Jackson would make it, and she was desperate to get him to the hospital alive. The Germans were still firing across the river and lighting up the night, and Nora didn't even notice that she was still helmet-less. They got Jackson into a jeep, and Roe climbed in after him.
"I'll go with him," He insisted. "Go handle your men. And get a damn helmet on."
Nora nodded and thanked him, turning on her heel and heading back in the direction of the rendezvous building. The raucous sound of gunfire was everywhere, and the sky was still lighting up here and there with flares. Nora navigated the dark street by the light of the flares - if it wasn't for the fact that the streets were completely vacant of life and movement, the display would remind her of a fourth of July celebration. Everyone was indoors, either sleeping or waiting for the barrage to stop so they could get back to their beds. When Nora saw a soldier coming down the street at a brisk pace, she knew it wasn't one of her men, because he was wearing a helmet. She kept walking to meet him, and when he pulled his helmet off, she saw that it was just Speirs. She should've known, considering he was the only person she knew who walked with that much purpose.
"You alright?" He called when he was a few yards away.
"I'm fine. We got two pri-"
He didn't slow down as they met in the middle, and Nora hesitated, thinking he was going to collide right into her. He did, and she gasped lightly as his arms wrapped around her waist to brace her, and his mouth crashed against hers.
Nora stiffened in surprise, and there was a long moment where Ron was sure that she wasn't going to kiss him back. He brought a hand up to cup the side of her jaw and tentatively moved his lips against hers. She relaxed into him, and his heart rate sky-rocketed as she pressed closer, and her arms wound around his neck. Their lips separated for a moment, and she automatically bounced to her tiptoes, pulling him back down to her.
Nora didn't even register that the kiss had escalated until her back met something solid, and she realized that he had pivoted them to press her against the wall they'd been standing near. His arm came out from behind her back and moved to rest on the other side of her jaw so that he was cradling her face with both hands, and he pushed forward to eliminate any distance between their bodies. Nora felt a vibration come from his throat that might've been a groan, but she couldn't hear it over the whistling of mortar rounds.
Before she could register that the whistling was too close, a mortar round hit the pavement about a dozen yards off and exploded. The two broke apart as they flinched away from it and crouched low. Ron's arms folded protectively around Nora's head as they ducked.
After the debris stopped flying, they stayed frozen in a crouching position, and Ron looked down at her. Nora looked like a deer in headlights - her eyes wide, lips swollen, and chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes met his, and he fidgeted a little, uncertain. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on them.
Nora cleared her throat, the weight of reality crashing back down on her shoulders. She took a second to straighten out her spinning head and then moved to get up. Ron scrambled to his feet as well, rushing to help her up.
"Thank you," She said stiffly as he helped her up. "I should-I have to go be with the men."
Ron nodded, shifting awkwardly on his feet. He swooped down to pick up the helmet he'd dropped on the ground. "Take it. You're going farther."
Nora took it from him, nodding gratefully as she began to back away. "So I'll…I'll report back about the patrol...in the morning…"
Ron watched her go, his stomach turning wildly. They were going to have to talk about this at some point.
After the barrage stopped and daylight broke, Nora and a few men from the patrol emerged from the cellar to report to Winters and hand over the two prisoners they had secured.
Nora watched Webster and Jones order the prisoners into the back of a covered truck and sighed in relief as the truck pulled away. It felt good to have the deed finished and have the prisoners out of her hands.
She came to stand in front of Winters, very cognizant of the fact that Speirs was standing just to his left. She hadn't seen him since their encounter the night before, and she was afraid to look now.
"Status?" Winters prompted.
"Private Jackson took a grenade fragment and was sent to the hospital. We haven't heard anything back yet," She reported, pausing, "It was his own grenade."
Winters nodded somberly, "Any others?"
"No, sir," She replied, "All accounted for."
Well, except for the third German prisoner that they had left lying on the bank in their frenzy to get back. Nora's eyes drifted over to where Speirs was standing, and she caught a glimpse of his side profile as he stared off at something in the distance. Ron, who had been doing an excellent job of pretending to stare at some distant point, turned to look when he felt her gaze. Nora's eyes snapped back to Winters.
"Well executed, Captain." Winters told her. It was the first time anyone had used her title in a context that held any weight, and yet she felt unsatisfied and undeserving. Jackson had been hurt in an accident. Uninvited thoughts of Hoobler's death came flooding back to her - she hated accidents. The complete loss of control, and then nowhere to lay the blame except on yourself for not being able to foresee the future - for not being quick enough, perceptive enough, good enough. Winters seemed to read her thought process like a book. "It's not your fault."
Nora nodded, only because he wouldn't move forward until she accepted the reassurance.
"Spend some time with your men, and try to get some rest. We'll let you know if we hear about Jackson." He told her. Nora walked away with Jones and Webster at her heels, forcing herself not to look over her shoulder and find Speirs with her eyes again. Webster and Jones sensed the tension as she walked wordlessly back toward the cellar that had become her team's base of operations. They exchanged a look over her head, and Jones swallowed.
"Permission to speak, ma'am?" He asked. Nora had already been so deep inside her head that it took a moment for her to realize he'd spoken to her. She slowed her pace and glanced at him warily.
"Granted."
The sound of their boots crunching against the frozen grass was loud as Jones paused, considering the best way to say what he wanted to. "I think Jackson would have died if you hadn't led the patrol."
Nora eyed him for a moment and decided that he wasn't so bad.
Nora was frustrated. She was frustrated that they had been waiting all morning and afternoon with no word on Jackson. She was frustrated that the very thought of rest had eluded her earlier, and she had managed to get none. She was frustrated that she'd been sitting in the cellar sulking with the men for the last two hours. She was frustrated that she hadn't been able to prevent Jackson's accident. She was frustrated that she might be leading another patrol tonight. But most of all, she was frustrated that, in spite of all these concerns, Ronald Speirs was managing to jump to the top of the list.
She sat with her elbow on the table, her hand resting against her mouth as she absent-mindedly gnawed on the side of her finger. The rest of the men sat around her silently. She had debriefed with them earlier, but soon after, rumors of another patrol set for tonight began to spread, and it didn't seem worth parting ways until they knew. So, they sat there.
The kiss had seemed to activate an entire portion of her brain that had previously laid dormant, and the inside of her head felt like pandora's box. Her mind had been running tirelessly through every interaction she could remember having with Ron, filtering them through a new lens until they were practically unrecognizable and her head hurt. Most notably, she kept replaying the last time he had pressed her against a wall, in Carentan, when he had snatched her from the street and saved her from a mortar round. She had felt the spark then, but she'd buried it. She needed to bury it again. It was just one more thing that she had allowed to slip out from under her control, and her chest felt tight from the weight of all those things.
"Whatcha lookin' at Webster?" Cobb's snide tone was an unwelcome intrusion on her thoughts, and her posture straightened. Webster was surprised by the challenge, judging by the way his mouth hung open, and he looked down. "Yeah, that's what I thought, college boy."
Jones, who had planted himself in the chair next to Nora and lit a cigarette, turned to face Cobb. "Are you drunk, trooper?"
"Leave me alone," Cobb replied, slurring.
"Answer the question." Jones said.
"Yes, sir. I am drunk, sir," Cobb continued, "Drunk. Sick and tired of fucking patrols."
"Oh yeah?" Nora spoke up, shifting in her chair to face him, "You been on one lately?"
A pin drop could be heard in the ensuing silence, and Cobb averted his eyes, taking another swig from the bottle in his hands. Since the patrol had worked out, Nora hadn't raised hell about the boat that flipped and the boys that had stayed behind, but she'd be damned if she let Cobb stand there feeling sorry for himself and taking it out on the men who actually had to do it. She wanted to say more - a lot more - but Cobb looked like he'd been put in his place, and she didn't think it'd look good to take out the rest of her frustrations on him. After all, that's what he was trying to do to Webster.
"So, he knows about Jackson?" Winters asked incredulously as he and Nixon stood facing the river and the danger that lay just beyond it.
"Yeah, he knows," Nixon assured him, "He also knows you picked up two prisoners who talked."
"About what?"
"O.B., supply trouble, Hitler's favorite color," Nixon guessed, "I don't know. None of it gets us across the river."
"Then what's the point?" Winters argued.
"Honestly?" Nixon said, "Sink's been on the phone all day, bragging it up. Talking about how he's got the first woman in combat in his regiment - how one woman in the airborne is worth her salt more than five men in the infantry. I think he's just showing off now. They gave it to the media for a morale builder back home, and everyone's going crazy about Nora."
Winters bristled, "Yeah, and if the patrol had gone south, they'd have sent her home and wiped her from the record completely."
"I don't know, Dick. I don't know what to tell you. You gave him a successful patrol, now he wants two."
Speirs approached the two of them. "Sir, the men are mustered. If you want me to brief 'em, I'm gonna. It's the same roster as last night. Well, mostly."
Winters turned to look over his shoulder at him, but didn't respond, so Speirs continued, "I was going to ask you about switching Price out for Malarkey or Martin on this one."
Winters and Nixon exchanged a glance, considering the request. "Is she okay?" Nixon asked.
"She's fine, sir. I just don't think she slept today." He replied.
"Evening gents," Colonel Sink said, announcing himself. The three men straightened to attention. "At ease. Y'all did a damn fine job on a tough mission last night. And I wish you good luck, because I'll be expecting more of the same."
"Yes, sir." Nixon replied.
"Make damn sure you remind the men how proud I am of what they did. And be sure to tell Price how much we're all supporting her."
The men deflated a little bit at that, the option of pulling Nora off the patrol obviously gone. Sink walked away, and Winters sighed.
"So, I'll brief 'em now, sir?" Speirs asked.
"No," Winters replied. "No, I'll do it."
"Captain, they're on their way in," Webster said, entering the cellar. Nora jumped to attention with the rest of them, though it wasn't because she was outranked. Winters, Nixon, and Speirs appeared at the bottom of the steps, and everyone took their seats around the table as Winters came to stand at the head of it. Speirs moved to stand just behind Nora's right shoulder, and she resisted the urge to turn her head and look up at him.
"You all did an excellent job last night," Winters said, pulling his helmet off and running a hand through his hair. Nora sensed that Winters was stressed, and her gaze flicked over to Nixon, who gave her a remorseful look from his place leaning against the wall. "I'm proud. I just saw Colonel Sink, and he's proud too. In fact, he's so proud, he wants you to do another patrol, across the river, tonight."
The atmosphere in the room turned heavier as he spoke. Of course, they all knew the rumors had been true when they'd been mustered for this meeting. Still, hearing the confirmation was a real blow to morale.
"Any moment now, the outpost we hit last night will go up in flames, which means we'd have to venture farther into town this time. Captain Speirs, you have the map, please?"
Ron jumped to attention at her side and pulled out the map, brushing against her as he leaned forward to hand it to Grant. Nora took the opportunity to look at him and saw him pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He was clearly upset. Ron hadn't stepped back after moving closer to her, and she half-listened to Winters' instructions until she heard that they'd be setting off in boats from the same location as last night. That caught her attention.
"We're not changing the plan at all?" She asked, her arms crossing. Winters' eyes met hers and then looked away.
"No, the plan is the same," he replied. Nora exhaled deeply through her nose. This was a suicide mission, and everyone in the room seemed to know it, though nobody acknowledged it aloud.
"It'll be 0200 hours instead of 0100 hours," Winters added. Ron looked down at Nora, trying to gauge her reaction to the news. Her shoulders were tense, and he thought that he saw her shrink closer to him in her disappointment. His hand hovered over the small of her back for a moment, but he thought better of it and retracted it without touching her. His eyes caught Heffron's, and the furrowed line between his eyebrows indicated that he had noticed the gesture from his place at the table.
"So," Winters continued, "I want you all to get a good night's sleep tonight. Which means, in the morning, you will report to me that you made it across the river into German lines but were unable to secure any live prisoners."
Nora hadn't realized that so many muscles in her body were tensed until they began to relax. To say she was surprised was an understatement - it wasn't like Winters to break the rules, and it certainly wasn't like him to lie. But he was a good man, who made the right call, and she knew the men would respect him more for it, just like she did. Her eyes flicked to Jones, hoping that he wasn't going to raise a stink about the breach in protocol. His eyes met hers, and his chin tipped the slightest bit to acknowledge her with a nod. She sighed, relieved.
"Understand?" Winters asked. Everyone nodded and replied in the affirmative. "Good. Look sharp for tomorrow. We're moving off the line. Oh, and we got word about Jackson. Looks like he's gonna pull through."
The men broke out in relieved grins and began smacking each other on the back in relief. Nora breathed her own sigh of relief and turned to face Ron. When he didn't say anything, she opened her mouth to speak, but then he did at the same time, so they both stopped. Before either of them could work up the courage to try again, Babe came and threw an arm around Nora's shoulder, breaking the tension. God Bless Babe Heffron, Nora thought.
"We made it!" He exclaimed triumphantly. Nora smiled and allowed Babe to lead her out of the cellar.
"That we did, Babe."
Nora stood at C.P. next to Luz, watching Lipton receive his battlefield commission. Nora was relieved to be back to business as usual with Luz and Lipton, and to be moving off the line tomorrow. She smiled as she watched Lipton shake hands with Ron.
"Our little man's growing up," Luz joked, nudging her with an elbow. Nora's smile widened, and she rolled her eyes. Nobody deserved a battlefield commission more than Lipton, and it felt good to see justice done by him after everything he did to lead them in the Ardennes. Lipton turned to see them watching and gave them a shy smile, which she returned with an eager thumbs up. Without her permission, her eyes traveled to the man standing beside Lipton. Ron was clapping a congratulatory hand on Lt. Jones' shoulder. His face was open and relaxed as he spoke, making him look more friendly and boyish than usual. Almost as soon as she caught it, it was gone, and it felt like her own little secret.
"Nora? Hello?" Luz asked, his voice exasperated. She jumped slightly and turned to look at her best friend. "I was trying to sneak you a chocolate bar, but you missed your chance."
"Like hell I did," She retorted, darting forward to snatch one out of the box he was holding.