A/n: Hello everyone! It's good to see some new followers! Sorry it's a little late - yesterday was my 21st birthday, so...yeah. In other news, here's chapter 4! Obviously I don't own any of this, you guys know that.

The shooting range was difficult. Ella could not take a stall and target without getting sworn at and shoved by other soldiers, some below her rank, a few above. She had tied her hair back and made sure her uniform was tidy - less for the men to poke fun at. There had been talk of trying to disguise her as male, but in the end, it would have been revealed anyways. So she kept her head high. The only reason she was not attacked was because she was an officer, even an enlisted one - that, and Aldo made it known that any man who tried anything would lose his balls. Rumors were going around the base that Aldo the Apache was batshit crazy, and Ella did nothing to refute them.

After two magazines with each weapon, Ella holstered her handgun and shouldered her rifle. The metal was still warm and felt right at home on her hip and back. If Andrew Demski could see his daughter now, Ella knew that he would holler with joy. That thought always made her smile, even when she was called 'the Lieutenant's Whore' in passing.

Donowitz was waiting for her outside the barracks when she arrived a few minutes after eleven. "Sorry, Sergeant. Hard time getting a spot down at the range."

He nodded, probably knowing what kind of hard time it was. "I bet." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly for a moment. "Might sound, y'know, weird, but there's a park a few blocks off the base if you wanna talk where it's quiet. Since we'll be in such a close group and all, as officers..."

"Don't worry, Sergeant." Ella held back a giggle. "Aldo told us to get to know each other. I think the park is a good idea. Since we're technically Secret Service," she said, waving her hands theatrically. Donowitz smiled, relieved. "Though I will have to change. I shouldn't be seen in public with my uniform. The General was clear about that." Word would travel fast that the Americans had a woman soldier, and not in the fear-inducing way that was intended by this guerrilla group.

"I'll wait," Donowitz said, and Ella double-timed it into the barracks to her bunk, taking out a plain grass-green dress with short sleeves, belted at the waist, and a black crocheted shawl to fend off the chill. Her boots were tossed aside for a pair of small-heeled shoes, plain black and shiny. She didn't have many civilian clothes at the moment, but what she did have was versatile and fashionable.

They made their way to the park and found a bench to sit on. They easily had a little more than an hour before dinner mess to talk.

"So, Sergeant -"

"Aw, call me Donny. The Lieutenant said no formality."

"Call me Ella, then. So, Donny, are you from New England?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you say that?" He paused for her laugh. "Boston, to be exact. You?"

"Southern Kentucky. Until I was fifteen, anyway. Then all over."

"Can I ask how a pretty girl got sucked into this mess?"

"If we have a while," Ella replied. She could feel her cheeks reddening. "And only if I can ask how you got here too."

"Fair enough."

"Well," she began, "it was just me and my papa in Bell county. He ran a saddle shop, and after my mama died of fever, I ran the house and helped keep the animals. He came home drunk one night after winning a poker game, talking about the Nazis killing the Poles and wanting to fight them himself. Bourbon, and all that. Well, two German men he had just beaten at poker came by and stabbed him at our dinner table."

Donny's eyebrows shot up.

"Wait for the good part. I packed up my things, got my mare ready, and followed those men home from the tavern, one each night. Buried my papa's hatchet in their skulls."

Donny blinked a few times. "Wow, girlie."

Ella shrugged. "I couldn't leave without doing it. It was almost like the war I kept hearing about, the Germans sneaking up on the Polish in their own home and murdering them. My papa was Polish, and my mama was English and Cherokee. I figured that, since I'm able to, I could come...y'know, avenge him. Him and everyone else that had become a victim."

Donny nodded. "I'm Jewish. It's goddamn personal, this war."

"That's why I'm here. Those German bastards can't get away with this."

"Did you come because of Aldo?"

"I came with Aldo, yeah." For a moment she paused, considering telling Donny about how they met. She decided to exclude a few details. "We met in Tennessee, while I was running away. He was enlisted back onto the military when we had been bumming around for about four years. He told them that we were coming together, or not at all." She chuckled at the memory.

"And they took you?"

"After a lot of hesitation, yes. Thus, you see me here today," she finished grandly. "What about you, Donny Donowitz from Boston?" Ella said, trying her best to mimic his accent. She had told him things she seldom told anyone, and it was because Aldo expected them to trust each other with their lives. Donny knew it, too.

"Well, it's not as exciting as your story. Born and raised in Boston. I watched baseball all my life. I suppose i would have gone out for the Red Sox if not for the opportunity to come kill Nazis. You could probably tell I'm Jewish, and i intend to kill every Nazi i can before goin' home, whether on my feet or in a box." Donny leaned back against the bench, satisfied.

"Stories don't need to be exciting. We're here now, and we got one goal."

"You got it, girl."

"Also, I listened to the Brooklyn Dodgers when they were on the radio. I didn't learn many of the rules, though. Can you teach me while we're on the road?"

"Yeah I can fuckin teach you!" Donny exclaimed. It was easy to see that baseball was Donny's passion - as Ella would see later on the raids. "First of all, you gotta get away from those Dodgers. They ain't no good. Aside from my Red Sox, those Detroit Tigers are a team to watch out for next -"

"Donny," Ella interrupted, laughing. "I meant on the road. Like, when we have the time."

"Oh. Right." He shrugged. "I don't really have anything else about me. I swear a lot, I guess."

"I don't care. I do too." She paused to let a woman walk by with a pram, cooing to her baby. "How do you feel about this whole thing?"

"What, the mission?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad the General picked me to be a part of it, I know that much. Did he say anything about you going undercover?"

"Yes. I was fitted for dresses yesterday." She sighed. "Not my usual fanfare, but I'm glad, too."

"Can I ask you somethin', Ella?"

"Sure."

"How often do you get to be a lady? I mean, a normal girl?"

Ella sat up straight, crossing her legs tighter and placing her hands in her lap. She looked demurely at Donny and fluttered her eyelashes. "I can become a lady whenever I'd like, Mister Donowitz," she said, sounding like the ideal little southern belle. "Thing is, Donny, I wasn't made for that. My mama wasn't either, and neither was her mama before her. I think I'm meant to be here. So I guess you could say this is my normal." She unraveled her perfect posture and leaned against the back of the bench.

Donny looked at her for a moment, almost curious. Then the same nonchalant, almost egotistical look was back. "These Nazis got another damned thing comin'." He looked up at the sky, watching the gloomy English clouds roll in. "Think we could beat the Lieutenant back to the mess hall? I'm fuckin' hungry."

A/N: There it is. A lot more of Ella's history in this one as well. Thanks for reading! -Alex