The next few months' past by in a similar fashion. They would run Currahee first thing in the morning, have PT or the obstacle course after that, classes or more PT in the afternoon and a Friday night march. They had begun doing Currahee and the march in full gear much to their displeasure. The men of easy company had grown accustom to having Elsie there, although they still didn't like the idea of having a broad in the army. They, however, finally acknowledged she would make it through training. She'd endured as much as every man and did it exceptionally well, despite being the smallest person there. However, they still expected her to freeze up when they got to war. She knew what they thought. But it was just a matter of time before they realized they were wrong about that too. Nevertheless, she hated feeling like she was on the outside. Even though she became friends with the men, they didn't trust her to have their backs at war, and as much as she hated to admit it, that bothered her. She'd spent the last five months with them, had gotten to know them as people not just soldiers.

She had written to both Tony and James several times to let them know how everything was going. They didn't believe her when she told them how well she was getting along with them men, despite her efforts to convince them. Their responses were similar, saying they'd be there in a heartbeat and shoot anyone who messed with her.

They had just finished their Friday night march and the few men with weekend passes left for town. Elsie was not one of them. Her pass had been revoked again, not that it bothered her too much. The few weekend passes she had had she didn't use. She was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed smoking a cigarette. She was waiting for the men without weekend passes to return from the showers. She was in dire need of one after the day's events. Liebgott and Tipper came in first.

"You should of joined us princess," Liebgott said with his stupid smirk, she snorted her response. She had gotten used to the flirting. Liebgott, Guarnere, Tipper, Luz, Toye and Talbert were particularly bad for it.

Toye and Guarnere came in next shortly followed by Alley and Talbert.

"What is this, the buddy system?" She laughed. They gave her weird looks. "You all came in pairs. Never mind. Are the showers clear?"

"Yeah all clear when we left." Alley assured. She grabbed change of clothes and headed for her destination.

She enjoyed the few minutes of peace and quiet. She wished she could stay under the flow of warm water longer, but she knew better. Just last week Grant had walked in on her, which he profusely apologised had just gotten dressed when she heard the voices. Two men from fox company had walked in, she recognized one of them immediately. He was the one from her first week who'd asked her who'd she slept with to get in. His name was Harting. She had seen him around a few times but never while she was alone.

"I was just thinking about you." Harting smirked. She rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. He grabbed her arm as she walked passed. "C'mon, why don't you show us why you're really hear."

She pulled her arm away and hurried out the door. She considered herself lucky. With in the five months of her being there she hadn't had too much trouble with the men. It was nothing compared to what she had originally expected. She did not, however, drop her guard, especially with the other companies. The men in easy, for the most part, made her feel she returned to her barracks, the men were playing poker.

"Gonna play tonight princess?" Tipper asked.

"No." She smiled at his feigned hurt. She grabbed a book and laid in bed.


They were in the plane for their fifth and final jump. When they landed, they would be certified army tapped her shoulder.

"Five okay!" He shouted.

"Four okay!" She shouted and tapped Hoobler's shoulder.

Soon she was floating through the air. God what a rush she felt. When her feet hit the ground, she detangled herself from her chute. Tipper came up behind her with a huge grin on his face.

"We made it princess."Her smile was genuine, and her eyes were filled with excitement. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him. He returned the hug lifting her feet off the ground. He kept one arm around her as they walked to the meeting area.

That night, after the ceremony, there was a congratulatory party for those who made it. Guarnere was chugging back his beer while everyone around him chanted "five thousand, six thousand, seven thousand, eight thousand." He finished his drink and held his jumpwings in his mouth. Everyone at the table cheered.

"Boys," she said after the cheering died down. "You're forgetting one very important factor in getting our Jumpwings."

"Oh yeah?" Guarnere asked. She was wedge in between him and Bull. "What's that?"

"I got my jumpwings." She emphasized the word I. "Pay up."

The men groaned but handed her smokes or money, depending on what they placed as a bet. She took it smugly.

"Ya know, that's one bet I'm glad I lost."Liebgott was smirking at her again.

"Yeah, we've grown rather fond of you princess." Guarnere added. Bull agreed and patted her on the shoulder. She flinched slightly and hoped no one noticed. She met Tippers questioning eyes across the table. She smiled at him like nothing happened.

"TEN HUT!" Someone yelled. The noise instantly stopped as everyone stood at attention. Major Strayer and Colonel Sink stood at the front of the room.

"Well at ease paratroopers." Sink said, His eyes scanned the room until he found her. Elsie looked so small standing next to all the men. She hadn't seemed to have any problems, but he knew she wouldn't tell him if she did. His reports to James said as looked over the room again before continuing.

"Good evening Easy Company." He boomed.

"Evening sir." Roared the crowd.

"Now parachute infantry is a brand-new concept in American military history. And so is having a female in combat." He smiled at Elsie. "By god the 506 is going to forge these brand-new concepts into victory!"

The room cheered. A couple of the guys around Elsie patted her on the back.

"I want you to know that I'm damn proud of each and everyone of you. Now you deserve this party." Grant handed him a beer. "Thank you, Sargent Grant. So, I want you to have fun! And remember our motto- CURRAHEE!"

"CURRAHEE!" The room shouted raising their glasses. The party continued as Sink made his way around the room, stopping to talk to each table.

"Hope you're enjoying the party." Sink said coming up to Elsie's table.

"Yes sir." They all said at once.

"It's nice to see you've made friends." He said to Elsie. "You know your godfather didn't believe me when I told him that."

Elsie laughed at the comment. The rest of the table was silently watching the interaction between her and the Colonel. She was talking to Robert now, not Colonel Sink.

"He didn't believe me either." She smiled, then remembered he was her Colonel and added "Sir."

"Him and Tony would be proud of you."

"Thank you, sir."She replied before he walked to the next table.

"That was weird," Guarnere said.

"Yeah, something you're not telling us princess?" Bull asked.

"There's a lot of things I haven't told you." She smiled drinking the last of her jumped up to refill her glass.

"You do that a lot ya know." Liebgott said as she reached the bar. She hadn't even noticed he followed her.

"Do what?"

"Leave before the conversation's finished."

"That's usually an indicator that I'm done with said conversation." Her comment made him smile.

"You're a stubborn girl you know that?"

"I might have heard that once or twice," She smiled.

"So, what sort of things haven't you told us?" He was smirking his annoying smirk took a sip of her new beer and looked around.

"Like I'm going to tell you." She was still smiling.

"You will, one day." He said before heading back to their table with a new drink.


Easy company had been at Camp Mackall for three and a half months. It was nearing the end of June and Captain Sobel had once again screwed up a routine maneuver. It was a favourite topic amongst the men. They were worried that once they got into combat Sobel would get them killed. Elsie felt the same way. She wanted to tell Robert, but knew she'd be talking to Colonel Sink and not her godfather's best friend. To undermine the chain of command by questioning Sobel's ability would be a sure way to get kicked out of the army.

She was boarded with the same men she shared barracks with in Taccoa. She was sitting on Tippers bed with her legs crossed smoking a cigarette. She was waiting for time to pass so she could go take a shower.

"He can't even read a god damn map." Tipper fumed. He had his head resting on her leg as he puffed his cigarette. "It's not that hard."

"He's a CO for fuck sakes." Liebgott was just as angry that Sobel had gotten them 'killed' during there training exercise earlier that day.

"I'm going to take a shower." She said not wanting to listen to them complain about their CO any longer. She agreed with them but knew there was nothing they could do.

"Want some company?" Guarnere asked cheekily from his bed. He had his back resting against the wall with a smoke hanging from his mouth.

"I'm quite all right Bill."

It was calming under the warm water. She new she shouldn't linger any longer but she was so relaxed she didn't want to move. She should have listened to her gut. Gordon walked in just as she turned the faucet off. They spotted each other at the same time and he turned away as quickly as she grabbed her towel.

"Sorry." He said.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" She half shouted. "It's almost curfew."

"Sobel sent me on a late-night run and I thought I could squeeze in a shower before lights out." He spoke quickly. She hastily got dressed and walked past him.

"All yours private."

"I really didn't mean to," He stammered. "I didn't know you were in here."

"It's okay Gordon." She assured him. He seemed more embarrassed than she felt.


They were on deck of the Samaria watching the statue of liberty shrink into the distance. Elsie was tucked under Liebgott's arm, wedged between him and Tipper. The mood was woeful as men said goodbye to the united states. Men slowly started making their way to the bunkers, but Elsie stayed up top of the ship a while longer. She'd never seen the ocean before and it fascinated her. Plus, the cool air felt nice on her face. She wanted to let her hair down just to feel it blowing in the wind. She constantly had it pulled back and was starting to miss how free it felt to just let it hang and Tipper stayed with her. They were both watching her, but she didn't notice. She was busy watching the waves splash against the giant ship. Despite the fact they were heading for war, she was happy. Things were moving forward and she felt comfortable amongst the men- aside from Sobel.

They had a new lieutenant- Lieutenant Welsh- whom she instantly liked. He seemed like a kind and genuine man and didn't question her being had told everyone that if they needed anything he was there. She had a feeling it was mostly directed at her, but he made a point to not single her out, which instantly gained him her respect.

Elsie, Liebgott and Tipper finally made their way to their bunks. They pushed past the crowds of men to get to the spot where easy company was cots were hung from the roof in rows of two and stacked five high. Talbert had graciously saved the cot beside his for her, but since they were against the wall, she had to crawl over his to get to hers. He smiled innocently at her as she did so.

It was a few days into the trip across the Atlantic and tempers were starting to flare. Elsie understood though, spending all that time on a crowded ship made her feel like a caged animal. She lost her temper when two of her closest friends got in a fight. She didn't hear what started it, but she leapt down from her bed to break it up.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" She squeezed her way into the crowd gathered around them. Everyone froze when she yelled. She never yelled. "Seriously. How stupid can you be? We are on a congested ship on our way to god knows where to fight a war, and your fighting each other?"

Liebgott and Gaurnere both looked bemused at her sudden outburst but mumbled their form of apologies.

"wow princess, didn't think you had it in you," Talbert laughed. She raised a brow questioningly. "We just never seen you get mad before."

"for good reasons." She stated. "It can get ugly real fast."

"I believe it." Toye said. Elsie was still fuming so she took a walk up on deck to calm down. Talbert joined her, saying he needed some fresh air.

When they returned, Elsie was in a much better mood. She was sitting on Talbert's bunk with her feet dangling off the side smoking a cigarette. Talbert was beside her doing the same thing. Someone had brought up Gordon walking in on her in the shower.

"I'm a little jealous," Tipper laughed. "Who else has seen you naked princess?"

"I have." Grant admitted smiling. "And you should be Jealous."

His wink made her blush, but she laughed along with the men.

"Damn, let me know when you take your next shower." Liebgott teased.

A group of dog company men stopped in front of their bunks. Easy company automatically went into defense mode.

"So, this is where they're keeping the skirt." One of the guys said. Elsie's head snapped up.

"And you'll keep moving if you know what's good for ya." Guarnere warned. The easy company men near by were all sitting up and ready for a fight.

"I got this." She smiled sweetly. She flicked her cigarette to the ground and jumped of Talbert's cot. The man who spoke just laughed.

"I don't doubt it." A second man laughed. Her smile broadened. "You don't want to mess with this one Sizemore."

"You know him princess?" Gaurnere asked from his cot.

"Kind of." She replied.

"Kind of? You stole my damn motorcycle."

"Aw c'mon Becker, you're not still salty about that, are you?" she laughed.

"A little, yeah." He joked. "I heard there was a broad in the army, I'm not one bit surprised it's you."

"You think she tough cause she stole your motorcycle?" Sizemore asked doubtfully.

"If you knew her uncles you'd understand." He explained. "Both of them are military men to the bone. They've been training her since she was fifteen."

It was a bit of an exaggeration, but Becker probably didn't think so. Most people in their home town were afraid to cross James or Tony. It was no wonder he though the same for her.

"So, you're saying she's off limits?" Sizemore asked. He was brash, she'd give him that.A few easy men stood up at the comment, but Becker put him self between her and his buddy.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm sayin."

"Alright, jeez, I'm just kidding around Beck." Sizemore grinned. "Later doll face."