bob

Out of the hedge, Nelly pulled Cobb and Meth along Park Street. They raced by a row of half-destroyed houses. She had to ignore Meth's cries and Cobb's shaking. Her main goal was to get back to Easy Company and get those two men to safety. She could appreciate their fear, Nelly was close to pissing her pants a few times too – she wouldn't forget Nuenen anytime soon. As they rounded the corner to reach a road which would take them to their fallback position, a tank suddenly rolled onto the same road. Nelly mentally cursed herself – she thought she was doing them all a favour by going south. But there was no time to back up and find another way – they had to keep going.

"Oh my God!" Meth yelled fearfully. "No – no, Nelly!"

"Just – keep running!" Nelly yelled back, "We'll be okay!"

"I can't! I can't!"

"You are!"

Because despite Meth's fear, he was running. Nelly wouldn't let him go. And she didn't let go of Cobb either. Wherever she went, Nelly was dragging them with her. The Panzers turret swirled and its cannon aimed toward the racing troopers. Seeing this, Nelly quickly dragged Meth and Cobb to the side – just as the tank's powerful gun fired out. Its aim wasn't good, the tank was on a slope and its shell skimmed off the ground and hit a nearby house. Sharp shards of glass and rock bellowed through the air and knocked on their helmets. Nelly choked on the dust – mostly the dust from before when they were inside the house – it was now trying to force its way up to Nelly's throat and evacuate out of her mouth. She coughed, spluttered, stumbled but continued to run.

Nelly spat out lumps of dusk and chalk with a grimace. Through watery eyes, she saw the road, trucks and Winters yelling for his men to hurry up. A lot of men raced by Nelly, Cobb and Meth – each running for their lives. That final fifty-metre sprint to the trucks was hard on the lungs and feet but she made it. Letting go of Meth and Cobb, Garcia reached down and helped the two men onto the back of a truck. Nelly coughed into her hand, left that truck and moved toward Toye. He grabbed Nelly, picked her up and set the girl down onto a bench – all the while, she coughed and choked on dust, chalk and whatever else got trapped in her lungs.

"Drink – come on, drink". Toye tipped the opening of his canteen into her mouth and Nelly swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. Toye then cupped his hands, poured water into them and began wiping the chalk and dust off Nelly's face. "Get all that shit out, kid. You're okay".

Leaning forward slightly, Nelly continued to cough.

Toye's hands left her face, and he began rubbing and patting her back. "Good girl, there we go – you're okay...holy shit...". Slightly shaken, Toye sighed and continued rubbing her back.

"Jesus Christ...". Babe whispered beside her.

"That was fucking close". Jackson said quietly.

Malarkey got off the bench and knelt in front of Nelly. Hands taking the side of her face, he raised her head and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Nelly nodded faintly. "Yeah". Her voice was croaky and hoarse from coughing.

His thumbs wiped away small traces of chalk and water. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah".

Relieved, Malarkey sighed. "Good". He mumbled, "I thought...I couldn't see you, I thought...".

"Not dead". Nelly whispered. "Just tired".

Toye huffed out the faintest of laughs. "I'll bet".

"Buck got hit". Malarkey quietly told her, "In the ass".

Nelly frowned. "He's okay?"

"One bullet, four holes". Malarkey tried to joke. "Crazy, right?"

The truck inched forward. And the men all turned and looked back at Nuenen. A few dead lay on the road. And a lot of Germans continued to fire at the moving American vehicles. It wasn't a good feeling, retreat. It was a guilty feeling, knowing they couldn't secure that Dutch village and the Dutch inside were now locked in their cellars. During that battle, hours had gone by. Though it felt like minutes because things happened so quickly. The sun was setting, as the trucks took them back. And it was Nixon who came up with the trucks. Nixon knew Winters would need help and he raced back to Battalion to order the trucks up to Nuenen. Nelly overheard Hughes telling Jackson.

Nixon saved them. Nelly thought Shames was wrong about Captain Nixon. Because the man Shames described, wasn't Nixon – not the Nixon they knew. He wasn't lazy and he wasn't too drunk to do his job. Nelly thought Nixon, was great. And they were lucky to have him around.

By the time they reached Tongelre - a suburb of Eindhoven - it was dark, and Winters had his men dig themselves a hole for the night. Nelly was exhausted. Babe did most of the digging, but he assured her, it was fine, and he didn't mind picking up the slack. And while he dug, he soon informed Nelly.

"I found out what was wrong with Bill".

Sitting on the cold grass, Nelly looked up at Babe.

With a small frown, Babe said, "Punchy died".

It felt like a train just crashed right into her chest. "What?" Nelly whispered.

Babe's frown deepened. "Aw shit...I forgot you were all close – I'm sorry, Nelly".

Punchy Diel. Their old Platoon Sergeant and 1st Sergeant through Normandy. It was a heavy and hard loss to comprehend. Lips rubbing together, Nelly rose to her feet. "I'm just...I'll be back in a minute...".

Babe nodded. "Sorry, Nelly". He said to her quietly.

"It's okay, Babe". Nelly whispered as she walked away.

She walked far enough away from their foxhole and the men dug in close to them. Nelly's side leaned against a tree, as she stared out toward the tops of buildings in Eindhoven. For once, it wasn't raining, and they had a clear night. Nelly tried to think of the weather, rather than losing a good friend. But it was hard when all she could think was Punchy comforting her when Nelly dislocated her shoulder in the forest. Or Punchy's speech about Nelly on Christmas Day. He was such a sweet, kind and loyal man. When he called her "Bub", Nelly knew everything would be okay. And as she thought back to those moments with Punchy, she suddenly remembered a conversation they had in a foxhole in Normandy. Nelly remembered asking if he ever got scared and he asked what kept her going when she got lost.

Punchy looked interested. "What saved you?"

"I guess...I just wanted to come home". Nelly said, "Back to Easy".

Punchy smiled softly. "That would keep me going too, bub".

Nelly's hand went toward her chest. "My heart saved me...you lot weren't there but...you still saved me out there".

Huffing out a small laugh, Punchy nodded. And then sighed. "Nope – it's too early in the game to start crying".

Nelly smiled. "Sorry".

Punchy jokingly warned her, "I'll get my revenge".

But suddenly, a loud swooping above broke Nelly out of her thoughts. She looked up – it was planes. Searchlights blinked on ahead and scanned the night. Then British ack-ack bursts speckled the sky. Stuka dive bombers, each capable of carrying a four-thousand-pound bomb, came screaming out of the darkness, releasing their loads of high explosives. From the tree, Nelly watched huge orange and red explosions rend the night. After the Stukas had finished came heavier sounds of two-engine Heinkels. More anti-aircraft fire arced skyward to meet those bombers as their bomb bay doors swung open and they released their payloads on the helpless city of Eindhoven.

Winters was soon standing next to Nelly. And slightly fearful but the spectacle, Nelly inched toward the Captain's side. He placed his hand on her shoulder. It was something they didn't want to watch but their eyes couldn't look away. Nelly thought about all those people they had only just liberated. They were so joyous and thankful. Now, their city was burning.

"Come on". Winters said to her softly, "Get some sleep, kiddo".

Turning her body, Nelly looked up at the Captain. Her eyes were heavy, sad and exhausted. And he frowned down at the expression on her face. "The world...doesn't stop".

"What do you mean, trooper?"

"Punchy's dead...". Nelly whispered, "And the world won't stop".

Nodding slowly, Winters's frown saddened slightly. He had only just heard the news about Punchy as well – Nixon told him. "He would've been proud of you today". He said quietly, "Just as proud as me. Cobb told me what you did".

Nelly's face almost crumbled when she earnestly told him, "I'm so sorry, sir".

"Hey...". Winters knelt in front of her. "I understand the hatred you feel, Nelly. And I get that sometimes our actions and feelings are uncontrollable". He set his hand on her shoulder and said to her softly, "And you'll always find forgiveness in me, trooper".

Eyes closing, Nelly took in a deep, tearful and shaky breath.

Winters squeezed her shoulder. "It's okay, kiddo...".

She was apologising for punching that woman and disappointing her Captain. And he forgave her – as any parent would. Eyes opening, Nelly stared at Winters. "We did our best, right?"

They knew Operation Market Garden was failing.

Winters nodded. "We did more than our best, Nelly".

A very small smile reached Nelly's lips. "You're...our light, sir".

Feeling a tiny lump in his throat, Winters swallowed.

"You...guided us back to the road and...and now we're okay, sir".

Quietly, he said, "Most of you".

Frowning softly, Nelly set her hand on Winters's shoulder. "There's never any doubt with you, sir. It was hell...but...we'd do it all again if you asked us".

Bobbing his head, Winters blinked the sting from his eyes. Smiling small, he said, "Let's get you back to your foxhole, kiddo. You need to sleep".

...

She didn't sleep at night, but Nelly did sleep in the morning, hugging into Alex with Skip on her other side. Her face was buried under his ribs, her legs laid across Skip's lap. She had crawled into their foxhole as the sun started to rise. After a few minutes upon arriving, she fell asleep. Skip lit a cigarette, handed it to Alex and then lit one for himself. The two young men hardly said a word and if they did, they whispered – neither of them wanted to wake Nelly.

"Any news on Bull?" Alex whispered to Skip.

He shook his head. "Still MIA".

"Where do you think – "

"Boys". A voice greeted.

Alex and Skip both turned to the voice.

Speirs was crouched by their foxhole.

"Sir". Alex greeted back quietly.

Speirs sent Nelly a nod. "How's she doing?"

"She's doing fine, sir". Alex told him. "She's just tired is all".

"Do you 'wanna talk to her, sir?" Skip asked.

Speirs shook his head. "No, let her sleep". He said quietly, "I'll come by later".

"We're not moving out?" Alex frowned.

"Not yet". Speirs replied. "I found your Sergeant". He added, "I took a squad and a jeep, we went out looking for him".

Alex and Skip both smiled.

"He was hiding out in a barn". Speirs said, "Your docs patching him up".

"We're glad he's okay, sir". Alex said.

And Skip added lightly, "Thanks for bringing the Bull home, sir".

Speirs made a small hum of amusement and nodded. "No problem". He gave another nod to his cousin, "You take care of my cousin now".

"Always do, sir". Skip assured him.

"Always will". Alex added.

Speirs cast the smallest of glares toward Alex. "Oh, I'm sure".

When the Lieutenant walked off, Skip grinned and faced Alex. "He knows".

"How?" Alex's eyes widened slightly.

"He just does".

"Am I dead?"

Skip snorted. "Just don't hurt her – I'm sure you'll be fine, Al". He added, "You're lucky Winters doesn't know".

Alex sighed. "Christ...they'd both chase me with a rifle if they found out about our night in the barn at Membury...".

Eyes wide with interest, Skip urged, "Tell me".

"No, Skip". Alex said firmly.

"I think I've got an idea...". A sly grin met his face. But then he reminded himself that Nelly was as good as his sister. The grin left his face. "You used a condom, right?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Shut up!" He whispered fiercely.

"Alex, I swear to God – "

"yes!" He hissed, "We used one".

"Alright, good". A smile played on Skip's lips. And he gushed, "My babies are growing up!"

"Shh!" Alex hushed him. "You'll wake Nelly".

Skip's smile turned sheepish. "Sorry".

With a shake of his head, Alex looked down at Nelly – he couldn't see her face, it was still buried under his rib. But his hand was on her back and Alex could feel her breathe peacefully, deeply and evenly. "Hey, Skip?"

"Yeah?"

Alex smiled softly at Nelly. "How long did you wait until you asked Faye to marry you?"

"Until we were out of our teenage years". Skip almost sounded firm. "You love her, I get that. Al. But you're both still young. She's eighteen, you're nineteen. Wait until you can legally drink at your own wedding, huh?"

Huffing gently, Alex nodded. "When you put it like that...it makes sense".

Skip clapped his shoulder. "You're a good guy, Al".

"I learned all this relationship stuff from you, man".

"Ah – come on...". Skip waved the compliment off with a grin. "You've always been a decent person, Al". He said, "And that's the key to a healthy and strong relationship. Just don't be a dick and you, my friend, are excellent at not being a bastard".

Alex quietly chuckled. "Thanks, Skip".

Grinning, Skip sent him a friendly wink. "Anytime, buddy". Jokingly, he added, "Except Tuesdays".

"Why a Tuesday?"

"Gandalf needs to give his brain a break from being so wise, my friend".

Alex chuckled again. "Sure, sure...Gandy".