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It was a clear night – the first clear night since the 23rd of December. Nelly sat on the edge of her foxhole, with Babe sleeping below her, and she looked up toward the stars and a moon that cast a warm, soft and dreamy glow down upon the snow and sleeping men. They were back in their position on the line, looking over Foy again but not much activity had gone on. Nelly didn't have any orders to send out patrols – she just had a man on outpost, and she'd switch the men around every two hours. They didn't have enough men for two on OP duty now – that was a depressing thought. Easy Company was shrinking dramatically.

Nelly should have been sleeping but like the moon, she watched over her friends instead. It was hard to sleep anyway. And if she did manage to sleep, it was only for an hour – sometimes only ten or twenty minutes; it all depended on the night they were having. They were having a quiet night. But Nelly still chose not to sleep. She couldn't sleep, even if she wanted to. Her mind kept her awake.

Dike was back – not that it mattered, they rarely saw the man. He had been back for a few days and Dike spent most of his time inside his foxhole.

"Bricks?"

Nelly looked down into the foxhole and saw Babe staring up at the sky. "Yeah?"

He huffed. "When the hell did the moon come out?"

"An hour ago, or something".

Nelly almost forgot someone was sobbing in the foxhole behind them. The men called the crying man "Sad Sack" because he looked like a comic strip character and his helmet was always falling off his head. Climbing out of his foxhole, Babe sat down next to Nelly and looked over his shoulder.

"Is he still crying?"

"Yeah". Nelly said quietly.

"Jesus". Babe sighed and faced the front again. "We're on day – "

"eight". She said, "Day eight of…Sad Sack crying".

"Lip with him?"

"Yeah". Nelly scratched behind her ear.

Babe asked, "Is he 'gonna leave the line?"

"No, it's…". Nelly's voice softened, "It's just tears, Babe".

"I guess". He mumbled, "But I ain't about to cry like Sad Sack".

Nelly sighed, "Poor Sad Sack".

Babe frowned a little. "I know".

"What's his real name?"

"I have no idea".

Lightly, Nelly told him, "At least it's not…Lindsey".

Babe almost cracked a smile while asking, "What's the fucking deal with that?"

"Some man in Battalion HQ is called Lindsey".

"Shut up…". Babe sounded as though he didn't believe her.

"Oh, I'm serious". Nelly mumbled. "I heard it…out of Ronnie's mouth".

There was a small pause. Then Babe said, "Maybe it's his last name".

Staring blankly ahead, Nelly gave her head a shake. "I am…silly".

Babe snorted. "You was in shock".

"I wasn't…in shock…I was more than surprised".

"So, shocked". Babe turned and smiled at her – amusement shining in his eyes.

Looking back at him, Nelly shook her head. "Surprised".

With a small huff, Babe pulled his stare away from Nelly. And asked, "What's Crossgates like?"

"Small". Nelly replied quietly. "Mostly…farmers and miners".

"South Philly is huge". Babe quietly stressed.

"Do you…miss it?"

"I don't think about it". Babe shrugged.

With a small frown, Nelly stared ahead of her and said, "What if…it is Lindsey?"

Babe rolled his eyes and a tiny grin. "Who?"

"Sad Sack". Nelly said, "What if…Lindsey is his name?"

He joked, "Then we'll call him, Miss Sad Sack".

Nelly added, "Sad Sackess".

Babe huffed out a tiny laugh. "Like God and Goddess?"

"Prince or Princess". Nelly looked up to the side of Babe's face and felt her lips twitch at the sight of his smile. It was nice to see a smile again and hear a small laugh. It felt normal. But of course, it didn't stay normal for long. Smiles vanished too quickly, and laughter ended suddenly.

Sad Sack was still crying, and Lipton continued to console him.

It was like Sad Sack was crying for everyone. Because no one else shed a tear. Tears froze in the woods and turned to ice. And sobbing wasted precious energy but so was holding it all back and keeping it locked up inside. Men who weren't leaders were free to let their guard down and cry if they needed. Nelly saw Jackson shed a few tears once. And Sheehy, after they lost Leonard.

The amusement and smile left Babe's face when he told Nelly, "It sucked".

Confused by the sudden confession, Nelly looked at him. "What?"

With a sigh, Babe gestured in front of him. "Losing Julian".

Nodding faintly, a frown met Nelly's face. "Yeah". She whispered.

"I couldn't get to him". Babe said quietly, "I'll never forget the look on his…". His words trailed off and flew into the cold air. Babe's eyes lowered to his lap. "It's like he…he fucking knew that he was 'gonna…and we couldn't do nothing about it, 'ya know?"

She nodded again. "Yeah".

Babe let out a long sigh. "Anyway…can't sit and think about it, huh? I'll end up getting killed".

Nelly's eyes scanned their quiet and almost peaceful surroundings. With a shake of her head, she faced Babe again. "We're…safe, Babe". She said, "You can…think about him".

Babe thumbed over his shoulder, "And end up like him?"

Nelly placed her hand on his arm. "Look at me".

And he did. Babe looked right into her dark eyes.

"You think…I'd let that happen?" Nelly said – voice mildly firm. "If you cry…I'll be here…and I'll be there to stop it too".

"Shit, Bricks…". Babe gave his head a shake. "The fellas would – "

"wouldn't care". Nelly cut him off. Letting go of his arm, Nelly slid inside the foxhole.

After a few moments, Babe slid in and sat next to her.

"You're tall…lie down". She instructed softly.

Clearing his throat – and thinking she was crazy – Babe slouched down until his head met her right shoulder. And he suddenly felt his stomach pool with warmth, when Nelly wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "What now?" Babe asked.

Nelly shrugged a shoulder. "Whatever…you want".

"This is fucking weird, Bricks". Babe admitted, "I ain't ever been held by a broad since I was a kid – and it was my mom, by the way".

"Well…I never got a hug until I joined Easy".

"Really?" Babe's voice was tinged with sadness.

"It was nice…I like hugs". Nelly's voice sounded light.

"What about your mom?"

Nelly shook her head. "I can't remember".

Babe sighed and said, "Look – I ain't 'gonna cry, Bricks".

"Fine". But she didn't let him go. "I'll sing?"

Mildly surprised, Babe nodded. "Sure".

Clearing her throat, Nelly sang the only song she knew by heart – "Reaching for the moon".

"The moon and you. Appear to be.

So near and yet so far from me.

And here am I…on a night in June.

Reaching for the moon and you…".

Smiling small, Babe's head rested on Nelly's shoulder.

"I wonder if we'll ever meet.

My song of love…is incomplete.

I'm just the words…searching for a tune…

Reaching for the moon…and you…".

Babe hummed and said, "Shit, I didn't know you could sing".

Nelly frowned. "I can sing?"

"Well, not great but…you sound good out here".

Boot kicking away a piece of ice inside their foxhole, Nelly nodded. "Okay…like…like Billie Holiday?"

Babe joked, "Don't literally reach for the moon, Bricks. Billie is an icon".

"Maybe…I need to warm up first…like those singers".

"Are you kidding?"

Lips twitching, Nelly nodded. "Yeah".

Head tilting back, Nelly stared up at the starry sky. It was so beautiful – it almost looked like a painting. Lost in space, she thought about Toye and wondered how he was doing. Whenever she thought of her Sergeant, Nelly's chest hurt because technically, Toye wasn't her Sergeant now – Nelly took his place.

"Babe?" She whispered.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I'm…doing okay?"

Babe gave a small nod. "Yeah, you are". He added, "I'd fucking tell 'ya if you weren't".

"Yeah…". Nelly said quietly, "I guess you would".

...

Snow clouds covered the sky in the morning and 2nd Battalion was ordered to lead an attack through the forest – orders were, to clear out the woods west of Foy. Ten or so minutes before the attack, Nelly rounded up her squad and noticed only five faces were staring back at her.

Lesniewski, Ed Joint, Babe, Sheehy and Jackson.

"Plan is…simple". Nelly tried to ignore the fact that her squad was tiny now. "Set up covering fire and move under it – just like last time". She said, "Babe and Ed will man their machine gun, we move under it. When we reach the forty-yard mark, they'll come up and join us. And we'll repeat those steps until we reach our objective".

Lipton was standing a few feet behind Nelly, listening in and making sure her orders were correct – her orders were correct. He gave a nod of approval to himself and waited until the briefing was done. Nelly asked if anyone had any questions – no one did – so, she dismissed her squad. Arms crossed over his chest, Lipton stood next to the girl and gave her a smile.

"Good job, buddy".

She looked up at him. "I used to be…scared of talking…in front of people".

"I remember". Lipton's smile softened. "Now look at you, huh? You're doing great".

Nelly bobbed her head and then asked, "How is…Sad Sack?"

Lipton sighed and said, "Well, he stopped crying".

Nelly frowned slightly. "Poor Sad Sack…".

"He'll be alright, Nelly". Lipton assured her. When Lipton first heard the sobbing, he thought it was Nelly and he was surprised to find Sad Sack crying in his foxhole. "I'll keep an eye on him".

"We could have him". Nelly offered. "I only have…five men".

"I'll let him know". He said, "I don't think he gets along with the fellas in his squad".

"What's his…real name?"

Lipton looked amused when telling her, "Al Vittore".

Nodding slowly, Nelly's frown softened. "That…suites him, Lip". She said, "I'll need to…tell Babe his real name".

"You do that, bud". Lipton gently clapped her shoulder.

With a nod, Nelly turned and headed toward her squad. "Babe!"

Lipton watched her with a smile and a quiet chuckle.

Winters walked up to Lipton and stood next to him. "Lip". He greeted while rubbing his hands together.

Eyes leaving Nelly, Lipton looked at the Captain. "Sir".

"Don't suppose you've seen Lieutenant Dike around, have you?"

"He should be here in a moment, sir". Lipton said, "I saw him about a half hour ago".

Winters gave the Sergeant a single nod. "Good".

"No way?!" They both heard Babe exclaim. "You're shitting me, Bricks!"

Both Winters and Lipton turned to face the two friends.

And they were both pleasantly surprised to find a small smile on Nelly's face, "Al Vittore!" She said to Babe.

"He sounds like a damn vampire!" Babe sounded very excited. And he put on his best Italian or Romanian accent, "Al Vittore!"

"Jesus, I'm coming!" Al Vittore yelled, "Quit yelling on me, would 'ya!" And in true Sad Sack fashion, he pushed his helmet away from his eyes.

Babe and Nelly both looked at each other and sniggered.

Smiling, Winters faced Lipton. "She's doing fine, Lip".

Lipton agreed with a smile of his own. "She is, sir".

The snigger didn't last for long. Nelly let out a tiny sigh and shouldered her rifle. Rubbing the back of her neck, she turned away from Babe and looked over the rest of her squad, who were having their last cigarette and checking their equipment. And as her eyes moved from her men, Nelly saw Alex and Skip. The two of them noticed Nelly, smiled and gave her a wave.

Nelly decided to walk over to them but as she started to move, Lipton called out, "Let's go! We're moving out!"

Coming to a stop, Nelly's eyes looked toward Alex.

He mouthed, "I love you".

Smiling small, Nelly turned around and headed back to her squad.