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Sobel was sent to Chilton Foliat and Sink brought 1st Lieutenant Meehan of Baker Company, to be Easy Company's new Company Commander. Sink also brought in 1st Lieutenant Sweeny as Easy's new Executive Officer – while Winters took his old command as 2nd Platoon leader. He didn't seem to mind; Winters had enjoyed being a Platoon leader. Easy was just glad to have Winters back and an efficient Company Commander. Meehan didn't mirror Sobel at all – he was slender, fairly tall, willowy, he had common sense and competence. He was strict but fair – as any CO would be. Under Meehan, Easy became a normal Company.
For every Platoon, they aimed to have two Officers – as it stood, Easy Company struggled. But with Sobel gone, Officers would surely stick around. In early December, 2nd Platoon was given a new Officer; Lieutenant Lynn 'Buck' Compton, a star catcher on the UCLA baseball team and a football player as well. Buck was tall, muscular, blonde, blue-eyed and grew up in Los Angeles. He was warm, friendly and approachable. And Buck quickly became good friends with Malarkey, Guarnere and Toye. The four of them would often play cards together. Buck would sneak into their Nissan hut after lights out.
Shortly after Buck's arrival, it was Christmas Day, and the men had the holiday off. Under normal circumstances, Christmas was a magical and exciting day. In the Airborne, it was treasured. The men knew some would be looking at their last Christmas, so, they did what they could to create a magnificent Christmas. With no presents or a tree, the men relied on food. For dinner, the Sergeants cooked a turkey with potatoes, vegetables, stuffing and gravy – the gravy was powdered and mixed with boiling water, but it moistened the cooked bird up nicely. In the barn, the whole of Easy was present, Officers included. They had wine, brandy, whiskey and beer. No one questioned how the Sergeants managed to get all that alcohol. Hiding under their table, Alex and Nelly held a glass of whiskey each.
Punchy stood at the foot of a table to carve the turkey. But as he did, he tapped the knife against his glass of red wine. "Gentlemen, lady". He called – the Company quietened down and faced the Platoon Sergeant. Punchy smiled. "Special thanks to Talbert, Toye and Guarnere for cooking us this incredible feast".
Raising their glasses, the men cheered.
Punchy's smile turned amused. "I know how hard the process was for you, Tab. We all heard your breakdown in the kitchen".
The others laughed, including Talbert. "It's over now, Punchy". He grinned.
"Well, this turkey looks delicious". Punchy's smile softened. "Well done to you three".
The men cheered again.
"Another thing". He said, "We're all incredibly thankful to have Lieutenant Winters back – "
"yeah, we are!" Someone cheered and clapped.
The rest followed shortly after.
Winters's smile turned bashful. "Yes, thank you...".
Punchy chuckled. "Fellas – cool it, huh? We're 'gonna embarrass our Lieutenant and he might leave for good this time".
The chuckles quietened and the clapping stopped.
"And a special welcome to Lieutenant Meehan". Punchy added, "Who's finally giving what our Company deserves – fine leadership in the field and a firm hand when needed – thank you, sir".
The clapping erupted again – along with a few whistles and cheers.
Meehan smiled and raised his glass. "It's been an honour so far, Easy".
"Of course – hey...". Punchy raised his voice over the cheers. And he waited a moment for the clapping to end. When it did, Punchy continued softly. "Of course, none of that would have been possible without our little Nelly...".
At the mention of her name, Nelly frowned at the table. No one clapped or cheered when Punchy mentioned the girl – they went quiet and looked toward her.
The Platoon Sergeant smiled softly at her. "I think I speak for everyone in this room when I tell you, thank you. Not only did you save Easy, but you sacrificed your position here in doing so. You've made me proud; you've made your Sergeant and friends proud. We're all proud of you, Nelly".
Winters smiled over at Nelly – mostly everyone did.
It felt so strange, to have so many people proud and looking at her. Nelly couldn't remember the last time someone said they were proud of her. In fact, she didn't think anyone ever had. Nelly's eyes remained glued to the table when she felt them sting. She wanted to get up and run away from the barn and all the attention. But Nelly couldn't move – as if her butt was stuck to the seat and she couldn't get up. With a shaky sigh, she brought the glass of whiskey out from under the table and downed the entire glass.
"Let's give it up for Nelly!" Punchy beamed.
And while the men clapped and cheered, Alex squeezed her shoulder. "You okay?"
Nelly nodded faintly.
"Speech!" Someone yelled, "Speech!"
Punchy chuckled and looked over at Nelly. "I'm not sure if she'll – "
"do it, Nelly!" Skip grinned.
It was like a spotlight was shining down on her. Nelly felt a twist in her gut while she stumbled onto her feet – her knees knocking against the table in the process. And once on her feet, Easy quietened and settled down. Nelly cleared her throat a few times and said, "Words are hard".
A few knowing smiles reached the faces of close friends.
"I did it because...". Her eyes looked down at the table. "It felt right and...".
There was a short spell of silence. Winters's head tilted to the side with a small frown – where he briefly wondered if he should step up and help. Nelly's hands did shake a little, he noticed, and Winters was sure a lot of men noticed. Nelly bit down on her bottom lip, eyes searching the table for more words to say.
"And...". She began to say quietly, "And...". Eyes leaving the table, Nelly soon spotted Winters's slightly concerned look. However, when their eyes met, he sent her an encouraging smile. Nelly cleared her throat. "In war...in combat...in scary places...you try to find light. And...".
Staring up at her, Alex smiled.
"And it's there...". Nelly's voice softened. "The light it's...it's in people. It's in friends. Family. It's everywhere...". She gave a faint nod toward Winters. "It's in Lieutenant Winters and...we need him...our light...to lead us into scary places". She said, "That's why I did it".
Punchy smiled. "Thank you, Nelly".
Meehan held up his glass. "To Nelly and finding the light in dark places!"
"To Nelly!" The men cheered back.
Looking over at Winters again, Nelly sent him a nod while sitting down. Soon, Punchy was carving the turkey and servings were handed out to each Paratrooper. Digging into the feast before them, men's eyes were larger than their bellies. It was the largest family dinner, any of them had ever attended.
"What a sweet kid, Lieutenant". Meehan mentioned to Winters.
Smiling softly, Winters looked over at Nelly. She was talking and laughing with her friends. With a nod, Winters stared down at his plate again. "She's come a long way, sir".
...
New Year came and went, the men were now in 1944. January was always a long, cold and dark month. But Nelly did hear Winters's birthday was sometime in January. And because she was so fond of her Lieutenant, Nelly made him a card. She wasn't much of a drawer. Nelly was trying to draw Winters as a dwarf on the quest for Erebor. Nelly gave him an axe, a long beard and some armour. It's setting – the foot of the Lonely Mountain. Over the months, her friends had helped Nelly with reading and writing. She was still learning but managed to write on her card:
"Lt Winters.
Happy birthday!
From, Nelly".
On the 21st of January, Nelly proudly held her card and approached Winters. He was standing with Lipton and Welsh outside the barn. Standing behind them, Nelly softly cleared her throat. The men turned around. Welsh grinned at Nelly.
"Murray". He greeted. "Because I'm Irish, I can handle this weather like you – ah, but these rookies are having a hard time".
Lipton chuckled and agreed with Welsh. "It's true, sir. We've not had the stoves off since October".
Winters smiled down at her. "Everything okay, trooper?"
With a faint nod and a small blush, Nelly held out her card. "I – eh – happy birthday, sir".
A curious look crossed Winters's face while he took the card from Nelly. And he soon smiled, upon viewing the drawing. "Oh – is that me?"
"Yes, sir". She replied, "As a dwarf...from The Hobbit".
Winters chuckled quietly. "Thank you, Nelly".
"Hey – that's pretty good". Welsh pointed out. "Gold stars for you, kid".
Nelly ducked her head at the praise – Welsh was a teacher before the war, after all. "Oh...thank you, sir".
Opening the card, the amusement left Winters's face as he read what was inside. And once he read it, he looked at Nelly. "Did you write this?"
Looking up at him, she nodded.
"You did?"
"Yes, sir". Nelly confirmed. "I did".
A soft smile met Winters's lips. He felt a tiny lump form in his throat – so, clearing his throat, Winters carefully folded the card and set it in his front pocket. "I'll take it with me everywhere". She really had come a long way, Winters thought fondly.
"Happy birthday again, sir". She said to him softly.
"Thank you, kiddo". He thanked her kindly.
"Sir". Once she saluted the Lieutenants, Nelly headed into the barn for lunch. After collecting her bowl of stew, she found her seat next to Alex and opposite Skip and Malarkey.
"Did he like it?" Malarkey asked her with a smile.
"Yeah". She replied.
"Are you 'gonna go to Scotland with Speirs?" Skip asked.
Nelly shrugged. "Probably".
"You don't want to?"
With a tiny sigh, Nelly scooped up a chunk of beef soaked in watery gravy. "I just...I don't know him and...".
"I get it". Skip sent her a smile. "But you know, it'll be a good way to get to know him".
"Actually, I heard something about Speirs...". Malarkey said to them quietly.
Nelly frowned at him. "What?"
"He met someone – an English girl". He said, "Back in November. In Winchester. It's not too far from here but Speirs had to go there to set up a camp for the Infantry Division coming in from Africa".
"What's her name?" Nelly asked softly.
Malarkey shrugged. "I don't know...I just heard some of the guys from Dog going on about their Lieutenant being all – heart-eyed over this girl".
"Explains why you haven't seen much of him, Nelly". Alex pointed out.
"Anyway, I stuck around and heard the details". Malarkey said, "Just not a name".
Nelly almost sounded relieved when she said, "Maybe he won't have time for Edinburgh".
Skip chuckled sadly. "I feel bad for Speirs".
Snorting out a small laugh, Nelly gave her head a tiny shake. "He's...cool but...still weird".
"Exactly why is he weird?" Alex asked curiously.
"He like...avoids anything with feelings all the time". Nelly said.
"Hm...". Skip hummed and said, "Emotionally constipated".
Nelly pulled a face at her friend's choice of words.
"Skip can be very poetic with words". Malarkey remarked.
"Yeah". She said, "Anyway...". Casting Skip one more frown, Nelly looked back down at her bowl of hot stew. "He's not like you lot".
"You know, he's got that mean sort of look about him". Skip said, "That tough-guy look".
Alex looked amused. "Nothing like us".
"No". Malarkey said, "We're not tough looking at all".
Leaning back, Skip puffed out his chest. "Speak for yourself". He joked.
With a tiny huff, Malarkey rubbed at his ear. "Jesus – it's like a damn worm's in there".
Skip shot him a worried look. "Your ear again?"
"I hope it's not the same thing I had in college". He said, "They put me in hospital".
"Hospitals are good if you're sick". Alex pointed out kindly. "And if you need one again, you'll be fine, Donnie".
"It's only a little sore". Malarkey mumbled, "But it itches like hell".
"Is there like...stuff in it?" Nelly asked him with a concerned frown.
"I'm prone to ear infections". Malarkey said.
"And they let you in the Airborne?" Alex questioned with a smile.
"What they don't know, can't hurt them". Skip said with a shrug. "Besides, we jump out of a plane, we don't land. And Donnie's not flying the thing".
"I heard Smokey's colour blind". Alex said lowly, "And he can't see well. He cheated on his eye test".
"I'm glad he did". Skip said, "That man's a good machine-gunner".
"Have you met his assistant?" Malarkey asked with a grin. "The feisty guy from Long Island?"
"His family are Irish". Skip pointed out.
"Well, Mellett gets along with everybody...but he has this thing against Shifty". Malarkey informed his friends.
"Shifty?" Alex asked with a small frown. "He's harmless".
"I know". Malarkey agreed. "Weird, right?"
"They're both from totally different parts of America". Skip said, "They probably can't understand each other".
"Nelly's from a different country and we understand her". Malarkey pointed out. "Why's that?"
And Skip frowned at her. "I have no idea".
Nelly said, "I had to talk proper when I joined the British X".
"So, if you talked normally, we wouldn't understand you?" Alex sounded very interested. "We've 'gotta hear this".
Skip nodded eagerly. "Say something".
Setting down her spoon, Nelly nodded. "Eh...I'll 'gie 'ye a 'skelpit lug".
Malarkey was torn between amusement and confusion. "What?"
"I'll hit you on the ear". Nelly translated.
Alex grinned. "Got another one?"
"Dinnae teach yer granny tae suck eggs".
Skip huffed out a laugh. "Excuse me?"
Nelly smiled a little. "It means to stop teaching someone something they already knew".
Skip pointed at Nelly and faced Malarkey. "I like that one".
Alex chuckled and said, "We're screwed if we go to Scotland".
But Nelly assured him, "We don't say stuff like that all the time". She said, "Whenever someone comes over from another country...we talk like we're meeting the King".
"Well, you can relax around us". Malarkey said and snorted, "We're far from Royalty".
"You'd need a dictionary". Nelly said.
Alex grinned and raised his chin. "Speak for yourself, peasant. I'm Thorin, king of Erebor".
"Oh, I'm so sorry, your highness". Malarkey remarked with a smirk.
"What dwarf did you turn Winters into, Nelly?" Skip asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know...but he's got a long beard".
"As long as Gandalf's?"
She nodded faintly with a tiny smile. "He looked...so cool".
"Aw – I wish I saw it". Skip pouted.
"It was good". Malarkey said lightly. "I'm glad Winters liked it, Nelly".
"Me too". Nelly said, "I thought...he wouldn't like the beard".
Alex grinned. "But he did".
"Happy days are here again!" Skip cheered.
"Hey – keep it down would, 'ya?" Guarnere grumbled, "I'm eating here...".