It had been three days since the German Air raid. Elsie was thankful those days had been quiet. Within those three days, they were joined by new recruits. A handful of young men- more like boys in Elsie's opinion- who were eager to fight. They certainly didn't realise what they were in for. They sure liked showing off for the camera crew that had shown up though. She wanted to avoid the cameras as much as possible. Unfortunately, she couldn't avoid Colonel Sink who had come with them.
"Corporal Montgomery," He said. "I'd like a word."
"Yes sir." She said and followed him to some privacy. She saw Guarnere heading towards them but he was stopped by Lipton. They had a few words, she could tell Guarnere wasn't happy. There wasn't anything he could do anyway. She met his eyes and gave him a small smile. Then pointed in the direction of Toye, who had just hoped off a jeep. That should distract him- she thought.
Why didn't you tell me?" Colonel Sink asked, bringing her attention back to him.
"I couldn't."
"Why the hell not?" She could tell she was talking to Robert, not the Colonel. "You were attacked."
"I didn't want to get sent home."
"Elsie, you were attacked." He said. "Why on earth do you think I'd send you home because of it?"
"The only reason my uncles agreed to this was because they thought I was strong enough to fight, to protect myself from men like that." She said as she clenched her fists. "But I wasn't. I panicked and I couldn't fight him. Do you honestly think James or Tony would let me stay after this?"
"I can't keep this from them." He said softly. "You know that right?"
"I know." She said.
"You'd be safe at home, Elsie."
"What good is home when my family is out here fighting?" She fought back her tears, she wouldn't cry out here.
"Elsie, your uncles," Sink said. "They just don't want you to go through that again."
"I know." She said. "But these men have kept me safe, as safe as they can at war. They've been watching me like a hawk since it happened."
"I can see that." Sink looked at their audience. Half of easy company was watching them intently, including Winters and Nixon. "I still have to tell them Elsie."
"I know." Elsie looked at her feet, then back to Colonel Sink.
"They might not pull you, you know." He smiled softly.
"But they might." She said. "I'm honestly surprised you aren't."
"I want nothing more than to keep you safe," he said. "But I won't pull you. I know how much being here means to you, and I know how much trouble you'd likely get into if I did. Just promise to tell me if something else happens."
"I promise." Her smiled faded when she asked, "When will you tell them?"
"I don't know, Elsie."
"Can you tell me when you do? So I have time to say goodbye."
"You really care about these men don't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do." She said as her eyes scanned easy company. Her eyes stopped on Liebgott a moment before she looked back at Colonel Sink.
"Best get back to them then." He nodded with a smile.
"Thank you." She said. "Thank you for not taking me away from them yet."
"I hope I don't regret it."
She turned towards easy company but kept the smile from her face as she walked towards them. She didn't say anything as she approached them, just turned her eyes to the ground. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. She glanced back up at the men. None of them said anything, just looked at her sadly.
"Well, boys," She said before her smile slipped out. "Guess you're not getting rid of me so soon after all."
Guarnere engulfed her in a tight hug "I knew they wouldn't send ya home."
"Not yet at least." She said and the men cheered. She met Colonel Sinks eye and smiled. He smiled and nodded back before turning his attention to Winters. "Colonel Sink isn't pulling me, but my uncles still might."
"Should've sent you home." Liebgott grumbled.
"What did you just say?" Guarnere got in Liebgott's face.
"I said, he should have sent her home." Liebgott spat. Why was he so angry?
"That's what I thought." Guarnere growled as he shoved Liebgott's shoulder. The altercation grabbed the attention of Colonel Sink and Winters. Luckily the cameramen were busy with some of the replacements and hadn't noticed anything.
"That's enough!" Elsie said squishing herself between them. "Why is it always you two?"
"Sorry, Princess." Guarnere mumbled. She looked at Liebgott who just gave her a hard stare.
"Joe?" She said it so quietly she didn't know if anyone heard her. He turned and walked away. She called after him. "JOE!"
"Let him cool down." Lipton put his hand on his shoulder.
"What the hell's his problem?" Guarnere spat.
"He just wants her to be safe." Buck said. "I agree with him."
"Jesus, not you to," Guarnere said. "Buck, she can handle being out here better than any of us."
"I know she can." Buck said. "I Just don't want her to get hurt."
"Nothings going to happen to her." Guarnere said.
"Jesus, Bill, she's not indestructible." Malarkey chimed in. Great half of easy company wanted her to go home. Elsie stepped away unnoticed as the men around her piped in with their thoughts on whether she should have gone home or not. She was met a little ways away by Nixon.
"What's that all about?" he nodded to the group she just left.
"Oh turns out there's a few men who wanted me to get sent home."
"Want me to go set things straight?"
"No." She smiled lightly. "but thanks."
"For the record, I don't want you to go home."
"Thanks."
"But I understand why some of them men would."
"I know." She sighed. "They want me to be safe. But I want all of them to be safe. And that's not likely to happen any time soon."
"No, I don't think it will." They were quiet for a moment.
"I have no one to go home to, Nix." She said sadly. "Robert's here. My uncles are god knows where. These men, this company, is my family. I can't just leave."
"We're lucky to have you."
She was sitting in a fox hole when Liebgott jumped in. She bit her lip but didn't take her eyes off him. He sat next to her but didn't say anything, just looked her in the eyes. Then she felt his lips on hers. There was so much need in that kiss, she didn't want it to end. But it did. Liebgott pulled away.
"I'm not sorry for wanting you to go home Elsie." He held her gaze. "It scares the hell out of me that you're here."
"It scares the hell out of me that you're here to," she said. "I couldn't live with myself if I left and something happened to you. Knowing that if I were here, I might have been able to do something."
"I know." He pulled her into his chest and they stayed quiet.
They were heading back to their spot overlooking Foy, Perconte, Christenson and a new recruit -Webb-were holding the line tied to D company. As they walked past, most of Easy company chuckled or warned the men about taking smokes from Speirs. She rolled her eyes.
"Don't listen to them guys." She squatted down next to their fox hole. "He's not that bad."
"Who?" Webb asked. "Who's not that bad?"
"Spiers." Christenson said. "Lieutenant Spiers. Elsie here thinks all the stories about Spiers are probably bullshit. Aint that right princess?"
"Do you really think otherwise?"
"What stories?" Webb asked.
"Well supposedly Spiers shot one of his men for being drunk." Perconte answered.
"You're kidding?" Webb said. "That's unbelievable."
"Yeah, there's another one about him give cigarettes to twenty POW's before killing them." Christenson added.
"He shot twenty POW's?" Webb asked amazed.
"Do you guys seriously believe all this?" Elsie laughed.
"Yeah, but I heard it was more like thirty." Perconte said.
"Christenson?" Speirs had snuck up on them. The three men in the fox hole looked terrified. Elsie bit her lip to hide her smile.
"I got the name right, didn't I?" Spiers asked crunching down next to Elsie. "Christenson?"
"Yes sir," he replied.
What are you men doing out here?" Spiers asked.
"We're watching the line sir." Christenson said.
"Keep up the good work." Spiers said. "And well you're at it you might want to reinforce your cover."
"Oh, well actually sir, Lieutenant Dike said not to bother," Perconte said. "That we're only going to be here one day."
"Lieutenant Dike said that huh? Then forget what I said." Spiers said. "Montgomery, I assume you're not out here watching the line?"
"No sir. Just heading back to my platoon now." She answered. "Just making sure these boys are okay."
"Carry on." Spiers said as he got up to leave. "Oh, would anyone care for a smoke?"
Christenson, Perconte and Webb looked horrified. Elsie stood up and took a smoke. "Thank you, sir."
All four men looked astonished. Spiers recovered first. He smirked and nodded but didn't say another word before he disappeared into the woods.
"I'll see you guys later." Elsie said to the three in the fox hole, who just stared at her. She laughed and walked towards her platoon.
She was in her fox hole alone, what the barrage hit. She curled into a ball and put her hands over her head. James, Tony, London- she repeated in her head. Those were the thing that made her happy. Then it stopped. She sat there for a moment before peaking her head up.
"Stay in your foxhole!" Lipton yelled in the distance. It was quiet, and then she heard someone cry out in pain.
"Toye." She said to no one. She leapt out of her foxhole and ran in the direction of his cries. And then she saw him. Guarnere was dragging him to safety. She was mortified at the sight of Toye. His leg was completely gone. She took a step forward to help Guarnere when the second barrage hit. She ducked for cover instinctively, but when she looked up she saw Guarnere still dragging Toye to safety and she got up to help. Guarnere was shouting at her to get to a foxhole, to leave them. She just about reached them when the mortar hit. She was thrown back forcefully hitting a tree. Then it was black.
"MEDIC!" She heard someone cry out, as she came to.
She couldn't open her eyes. Her whole body ached. She didn't want to move, but then she remember what happened. Guarnere, Toye. She managed to force her eyes open. She tried to pull herself up but her body hurt so much she didn't get very far. She tried again. She lifted her head enough to see her boys in a tangled mess on the ground. Her heart started racing, she had to get to them. They had to be alive.
"BILL," She shouted. "JOE!"
Nothing. She didn't notice the tears trickling down her cheeks. She tried to get up again when she saw Roe running in. He came to her first.
"No, get them." She nodded at Guarnere and Toye. "Please, tell me they're alive."
"They're alive." He said as he separated them. She heard them both groan. She took a deep breath in. Thank god they're alive. She tried to push herself up again.
"Stay there Elsie, don't move." Roe said, but she ignored him.
"Princess?" Bill said.
"I'm here Bill." She managed to pull herself up enough to crawl over to him. His leg was barely there. She couldn't look at it. She met his eyes and was flooded with relief.
"Thank god you're okay." He said. Roe helped him sit up against a tree and went to work on Toye, at Guarnere's request. Elsie leaned up against him on his good side. She studied her own legs, checked that she was still in one piece. Her uniform was ripped to shreds, and blood soaked several spots, but she had her legs. She looked at Guarnere and Toye. How was that fair? She heard Toye moan again.
"Joe?" She said.
"Hiya princess." He tried to smile. "How ya doing?"
"I'm okay Joe." She croaked out. She was shaking and felt bile rising in her throat. Guarnere took her hand. She laid her head on his shoulder and took a few deep breaths.
Lipton and Luz came through the clearing. Luz looked absolutely mortified. Lipton stayed calm and scanned the area.
"Luz, Get Buck out of here. Then call for a jeep." Lipton said. Buck? Elsie hadn't even seen him. Her head scanned the surrounding area and fell on her Lieutenant. He was on his knees staring horrified at the three of them. The sparkle that once lived in his eyes was completely gone. He looked so hollow. Was he hit? Elise questioned. Luz gently took Buck buy the arm and helped him up. She watched them walk away to a log in the distance and sit down. What happened to him? She wondered. Malarky showed up next and knelt next to Toye who was now sitting up.
"You got a smoke?" Toye asked, and Malarkey delivered.
"Hey, what about us?" Elsie said. Malarkey came over and handed them each a smoke. He scanned her cautiously. "I'm okay. Go back and help Doc."
She didn't know if she was okay. Her body hurt all over, but she knew her boys were worse, and she wanted to make sure they were taken care of first.
"Bill you're going first." Roe said.
"What ever you say doc, what ever you say." Bill said. A few medics came into view.
"Over here." Doc shouted at them then pointed at Guarnere. "Take this man. Elsie, can you get up?"
She tired as a couple men moved Guarnere to the stretcher. Her knees buckled under her. Lipton and one of the soldiers helped her up.
"Hey Lip, they got ole Guarnere this time." Bill said. "How ya doing Princess?"
"Better than you Bill." She tried to smile. Pain radiated through her body as two soldiers carried her after Bill.
"Hey, Joe, I told ya I'd beat ya back to the States." Bill joked. At least he hasn't lost his sense of humour.
She didn't know why she was so lucky. She was sitting next to Guarnere's bed and had her head resting on his arm. She didn't understand why two of her closest friends laid in beds next to each other with missing limbs and all she had were a couple of broken ribs a half a dozen cuts across her stomach and chest. It wasn't fair. She should be going home with them. She felt a hand brush her hair and looked up to see Guarnere staring at her. Her eyes were red from all the silent crying she'd been doing since they got to the aid station.
"You're going to be okay Princess." He smiled softly.
"I don't know if I can do this with out you Bill." Another tear ran down her cheek.
"Yes," He said as he wiped her tear away. "You can."
"I don't know if I want to."
"You are the strongest person I know Elsie." His hand rested on her cheek. "It's okay to be scared, but you need to get back out there and kick some Kruat ass."
"I want to stay with you and Joe." She blinked back more tears. "I don't want to leave you."
"Elsie, you fought so hard to get to where you are." He rubbed his thumb along her cheek. "Do you really want to throw that away for a couple of schmucks?"
"You're not a schmuck Bill Guarnere. You're so much more than that." She leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't the same as when she kissed Liebgott. The heat and passion weren't there. But it felt right, in that moment. "I love you, you know that right?"
Yeah," He smiled. "I know. But I also know you're not in love with me."
"Bill," She started, but he cut her off.
"You have to go back." He said. "You love him, you'd regret it if you didn't."
"He doesn't want me to go back." She knew exactly who he was talking about. She looked at the ground until Guarnere spoke again.
"He does, more than he knows."
She managed a smile. "I'm going to miss you Bill Guarnere."
"I'm gonna miss you to Princess." He smiled and removed his hand from her cheek. "Although I'm glad I'm gonna miss Liebgott's gloating when he wins that bet."
He winked when she let out a laugh. "We are not still on about that bet."
"Sure we are, I just know who's going to win it now." He chuckled. Her smile faded and she looked at the ground again. She didn't want to hurt Guarnere, but she felt guilty about not telling him. "What is it Princess?"
"Keep a secret for me Bill?" She asked biting her lip.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"The bet was won a long time ago." She couldn't meet his eyes.
"It was Joe?"
"yeah." She finally met his eyes and he laughed. She smacked him in the arm. "It isn't funny!"
"Princess, you've protested a million times that you don't love him," He was still smiling. "You've just proven you do."
"What, girls can't have a little fun to?" She huffed.
"Course they can." He winked and laughed when a little blush crept across her cheeks. "But you wouldn't risk getting caught if it was just for a little fun. Whether you want to admit it to your self or not, you're in love with him."
"Bill," she said but he cut her off again.
"Elsie, you told me your self once that you couldn't." He said with a note of seriousness. "You said it was the wrong time wrong place. If you got caught, you'd be out and you couldn't risk that for anything."
"That's true." She sighed. "But that doesn't mean I love him. We just got caught up in the moment after having a few drinks."
"I don't think so Princess." He smiled softly. "You can deny it all you want, but the cold hard truth is you're in love with Joseph Liebgott."
"I knew it." Toye said with a smirk. He had been asleep, or so Elsie thought. Elsie whipped her head around.
"How long have you been awake?" She asked with wide eyes. Toye and Guarnere both chuckled.
"About the time you locked lips with Bill." He winked. Oh god he heard everything. Her cheeks were bright red. "I know I'm not the right Joe, but do I get a kiss too?"
"Joe Toye!" She smacked his arm. She was still mortified that he heard everything. But she smiled softly at her friend. She really was going to miss him and all his teasing. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. "You better not speak a word of what you heard to anyone."
"Promise." He smiled.
"I'm going to miss you, Joe Toye."
"You too Princess."
"Hey guys." Malarkey said coming up to their beds.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Elsie said jumping to her feet. She winced at the pain in her ribs.
"I'm fine." He said pulling her into a loose hug. She leaned her head on his chest.
"Good." She sighed.
"We got some mail." He looked sad. "I thought reading Buck's to him would cheer him up, you know?"
"It's going to take a while, but he'll be back to his old self again. He just needs to get away from the line." Elsie said. She didn't know if that was true. Buck wouldn't even look at her. She was afraid she'd never see that sparkle in her Lieutenant's eyes again.
"I'm heading back to the line now." Malarky said pulling her from her thoughts. "Just wanted to see how you guys were doing."
"Just peachy Malark." Guarnere said with a small smile.
"I'm coming back with you." She said.
"I don't know if that's a good idea Princess." He said hesitantly. "You were hit pretty hard."
"I'm fine." She said. She looked at Guarnere who nodded and smiled. He was afraid she might have lost herself, but the look in her eye said she was back, and she wasn't going to give up yet. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and whispered. "Thank you."
"Goodbye Joe." She said kissing him on the cheek as well. "You keep an eye on him, can't have him getting into too much trouble without me."
"Anything you say Princess." Toye smiled and squeezed her hand. "Be careful out there."
She smiled softly and left with Malarkey before the tears in her eyes betrayed her. She might never see them again.
