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Nelly arrived back with Easy Company on Christmas Day. It was snowing. Walking through the falling snow, she heard her boots crunch against the snowy ground and followed freshly printed footsteps back to Easy – back to her friends. Upon reaching the section just behind the mainline – a few yards behind outposts, where men had their foxholes – Nelly saw them sharing out their cigarettes, shaking hands and wishing each other a Merry Christmas. She remembered their last Christmas, in Aldbourne. The Sergeants had made everyone a big feast and Nelly made a speech. She couldn't help but notice, a lot of men were missing who were a part of that Christmas feast in Aldbourne.

Her welcome back into Easy was friendly and warm. Nothing was over the top – it was almost calming. Toye told her what she had missed, Buck clapped her shoulder and Malarkey hugged her tightly. Nelly felt good to be back with her friends. But there was a niggling sense of doubt because she had to leave the line for a few days. Nelly learned that not much had happened – a few patrols, some contact with the enemy. Shellings at night. The same old stuff. It was cold, the men were still miserable. But they tried hard to keep the morale up. Though, some were finding things hard. Skip and Alex was still the same – and they were so happy to see Nelly again. She got a big hug from both of them. Nelly and Alex's hug lasted a lot longer.

When the hug ended, the couple looked at each other – both smiling.

And then, Alex took Nelly by the hand and led her toward his foxhole. Getting inside, Alex closed the roof and sat across from Nelly. There was only a tiny gap between them. The hole was frosty and snowy. Alex flicked a bit of frost off his shoulders and then reached into his pocket – where he brought out a small, velvet box. Without saying a word, he opened it. Nelly's eyes widened at the sight of a ring inside the box. It was gold with a small white diamond in the centre.

Alex explained quietly, "It's not an engagement ring".

Confused, Nelly looked at him.

"It's a promise ring". He said, "A promise to love, cherish and care for you – forever".

Her eyes softened. She whispered, "For…me?"

Somewhat tearfully, Alex smiled. "For you".

Nelly smiled. "Oh…wow…cool".

Alex almost laughed. Taking the ring out of the box, he gently took Nelly's hand. And then slid the ring onto her middle finger. "Should've known it would fit like a glove…I've been holding your hand for almost two years…I like to think I know it pretty well now".

She admired the ring on her finger. "Pretty".

"Like you". Alex said softly. "You were never…not pretty to me, Nelly. You've always been my angel".

"Oh…". Nelly shyly smiled. Biting her bottom lip, she looked up at Alex. "You're my dream".

With a faint nod, Alex felt tears reach his eyes. "Goddammit…". He muttered thickly – once again, frustrated with himself for being so emotional.

Shaking her head, Nelly took his hand. "I think…love is…the best thing in the world…loving you is the best thing in the world, Alex".

With a sniff, Alex cleared his throat. And met her tender stare. "One day I'd – boy, I'd love to marry you, Nelly". He choked out a tiny and tearful laugh. "I see it in my head and…and it stops me from being miserable out here".

Letting go of his hand, Nelly scooted forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. With a tiny smile, she softly kissed the end of his nose and whispered, "I love you".

Exhaling shakily, Alex then whispered back, "I love you, Nelly".

Her fingers unfastened the straps under Alex's chin, and she took off his helmet – once his helmet fell to the ground, Nelly got rid of hers. And then she kissed him. She couldn't kiss him when their helmets were on. Alex's hands gently settled on his waist. It was a serious, deep and passionate kiss – almost reminding them of the stables in England.

"Guys". Skip called out from outside the foxhole. "Sorry – we need you for a patrol, Al".

The kiss ended with a small sigh – from both of them.

Alex smiled and kissed Nelly's forehead. "I'll see you soon, honey".

She placed his helmet atop his head. "Be…safe".

"Always am".

Nelly fastened the strap under his chin and smiled small. "There…all ready".

"Don't forget your helmet, Nelly". Alex reminded her.

"I won't".

Climbing out of the foxhole, Nelly watched Alex walk off with Skip. Eyes then staring down at the ring on her middle finger, a small smile reached her lips. Growing up, Nelly never considered falling in love with a boy. After watching her father destroy everything, she didn't think love was possible – not for her, anyway. But Alex changed that – he changed everything. He was her first, her last – her only.

"Hey, Bricks".

Eyes leaving the ring, Nelly looked up. "Hello, Babe".

Smiling, Babe clapped her arm gently. "We missed 'ya 'round here".

She smiled small up at him and said, "I…missed you all…a lot, Babe".

Letting go of her arm, Babe's hands went into his pockets. "Well, you didn't miss much. Same old shit, different day". He added, "Oh – I got you a coat during that drop".

"You did?"

Babe nodded. "Yeah. Figured you'd need one, 'ya know…when you got back".

Nelly smiled small again. "Oh…thank you".

Babe shrugged, casually. "Heh – it's fine. 'Ya would've done the same for me".

With a tiny nod, Nelly's hands went in her pockets – mirroring Babe. And she soon remembered the patrol – the patrol where Babe lost his good friend, Julian. Lips rubbing together, she wondered if it was okay to bring it up – to ask how Babe was doing. To start with, she asked, "Your cough…is it gone now?"

"Yeah, it's gone". Babe confirmed. "Thank Christ, huh?"

"Yeah". Nelly agreed. And then said, "You know…when Punchy died, I – "

"no". Babe cut her off quietly, with a shake of his head.

"No – okay…that's okay". Nelly said softly.

Clearing his throat, Babe's eyes looked off to the side. "I ain't mad…I just…".

"I get it". She mumbled. "I do…I really do".

Babe nodded. "I thought you would".

She knew the pain of talking more than anyone else. "Words are…hard, Babe".

A sad smile reached his lips. Babe looked at her. "Yeah. You were right about that".

"You know…if you find the words to say…you can always tell me them, Babe".

Babe's eyes softened at her compassion. "I will". He said to her quietly. And he added, "Same goes for you, Bricks".

Smiling small, Nelly nodded. "By the way…". She said.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas".

Babe smiled. "Merry Christmas, Bricks".

Moving away from Babe, Nelly travelled along the line and peered into each foxhole – she was trying to find Jackson and Hughes. And she did eventually find them, both huddled in their hole in the ground. Crouched by their foxhole, Nelly sent them a tiny smile.

"Hello".

Hughes and Jackson both smiled between chattering teeth.

"You're back – and talking". Jackson sounded pleased.

"Where's Papa?" Nelly asked.

"OP with Sheehy". Jackson replied. And asked, "Patrol tonight?"

"I don't know". Nelly said, "Maybe not…tonight…for me".

Hughes looked at Nelly – his eyes serious and slightly sad. "It can only get better now, right?"

From experience, the truth sometimes hurt more than a little white lie – that lying was often kind in the face of misery. Hughes was only one year older than Nelly, like Alex. The three of them were some of the youngest in Easy Company. But at that moment, when Hughes asked Nelly that question, he looked like a young boy – frightened and sad – a boy who missed home and his mother.

With a tiny smile, Nelly nodded. "Things can…only get better, Ritchie".

Hughes's eyes lightened and he smiled.

But how wrong she was.

...

The Germans bombed Bastogne that night. The rumble of detonations rolled across the land and flames from the ruined town lit the distant sky. It was a heart-stopping moment. The enemy now had a hold of Bastogne – where all their wounded friends were currently stranded. A lot of men prayed that night. But the Germans didn't forget about Easy Company. The enemy in Foy continued their nightly bombardment tradition and struck American lines. Nelly had to take a hold of herself – she was nowhere near her foxhole at the time. The earth trembled, shook and groaned – it was hard for Nelly to remain balanced. And when she dropped to her knees, Nelly heard someone call out her name.

"Murray!"

It was Leonard. And he was trying to make his way over to Nelly.

He was going to help her.

"Hold on!" Leonard yelled, "I'm coming!"

Head turning to face Leonard, Nelly watched the man stumble toward her. And then, just as he was eight or so feet away, a shell landed right on top of him. A big white and orange flash of light blinded Nelly for a moment, as the shell exploded. Nelly ducked her head to avoid the hot shrapnel. Snow, mud, branches and stone spewed up from the earth and fell all around her. And then there came this big, black, cloud of smoke. Nelly closed her eyes, to stop the smoke from irritating them. She could feel her body shake from the cold, fear and shock. Drawing in a deep breath, Nelly opened her eyes and raised her head. She sat up on her knees, and her eyes looked toward the spot where Leonard was last seen. There was nothing left – no blood, no flesh. Just a dark mark in the snow where the shell had hit but that mark would be covered by freshly fallen snow soon.

Hands soon went under her arms, and they picked her up. Soon, they sent Nelly onto her feet and took a hold of her hand. It was Toye. When he started running, Nelly started running. And he led her across the trembling earth, through smoke and flashes of white. Pushing Nelly into a foxhole, Toye followed in after her. He sat next to Nelly and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into his side, cheek pressed below his chest and her arm around his waist. They held onto each other.

Nelly could feel a tearful lump form in her throat when she thought about Leonard. They didn't get along, but she had been with Leonard since America. It was still sad that he was gone. And it was also confusing because he had tried to help Nelly – despite their differences, Leonard tried to help. Eyes closing, Nelly turned her head and buried her face into Toye's jacket. Tears burned hot under her eyelids. Lips pursed together tightly, Nelly swallowed down the lump in her throat – she just got back, and she couldn't show any weakness.

The shelling came to a sudden stop. It was brief but intense. Toye stared down at Nelly. She wasn't shaking, trembling or kicking out like she usually would. "You okay, kid?"

Nelly pulled back from Toye and said, "Yeah".

With a nod, Toye gave her back a rub. "I have to tell Buck about Leo".

She said quietly, "Yeah".

"Look at me".

Nelly turned around and stared up at her Sergeant.

Toye smiled – a somewhat sad smile. "There once was this ex-coal miner. And he was a fucking idiot until four shitheads taught him lessons, he didn't know needed to be learned".

"Oh, Joe…". Nelly pressed her hand against Toye's cold cheek. "You were never…a fucking idiot".

Toye's smile softened. "No?"

Nelly shook her head. "You're…my family". She said, "There's…no Easy Company without you".

Touched by her words, Toye set his hand on her shoulder. He said, "Listen. I know it's too soon and we just lost him but…I need you, to step up as Corporal".

And she nodded. "Okay, Joe".

A smile met Toye's lips. "That's our girl – you one brave sonofabitch".

Nelly's eyes softened. "Guts".

"Yeah". Toye agreed. "You've got guts, kid".

"I get that…because of you".

"No, kid". Toye said, "You've always been brave".

Feeling her eyes sting at the compliment, Nelly rubbed them. Clearing her throat – in an attempt to get rid of sentimental feelings – she then slung her rifle across her shoulder and followed Toye out of the foxhole. Compliments and praises from the men were stuff her parents should have told Nelly growing up – things like, "I'm so proud of you", "you're so brave", and "you're smart". But she didn't hear any of that as a kid. And now, she heard those praises almost every day. But the one thing – three simple words, her parents should have said but didn't, Nelly heard quite a lot from her friends, Alex and Speirs – "I love you". Her father never said that, and it hardly took up his time to just tell his daughter those three words. Even if he didn't mean it, maybe it would have still mattered to Nelly.

Why didn't he say it?

Was she really that awful to be around?

What was so wrong with her, that her own father didn't love her?

Nelly blinked a few times – she couldn't think about that in the woods. She just lost Leonard. If she thought about her father, Nelly would only be adding extra grief on her shoulders. Rubbing her lips together, her pace quickened to walk next to Toye.

"I'll go with you…to tell them…about Leo".

"Thanks, kid". Toye expressed quietly.

"Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm proud of you".

Smiling small, Toye's eyes remained focused ahead of him. He could always rely on Nelly to make him feel a little lighter than before. And he hoped he did the same for her.