A/N: So chapter 13 comes in a little late, but I'm back home now, so things should be back on schedule! We're getting down to it - and 13 is indeed an unlucky number for the Corporal.
It had taken another four hours to brace and cast up Bridget's leg, and by the time they had snuck into the hotel in Paris not five blocks from the theater, it was almost five o'clock in the morning. Hirschberg had gone ahead and gotten the room late the night before as planned, making a few trips with Bridget's car to move the Basterds' gear. He was deemed the runner for the mission - he was to fetch the makeup and things needed for Bridget's makeup and hair (with Ella as beautician) as well as her dress, and he was to chauffeur the men to their tuxedo fittings. There was a real chauffeur for that evening at least, but Hirschberg didn't hesitate in letting the men know how much he hated his job.
The room was luxurious because Bridget had supplied the funds. A king-size bed was in the bedroom and then there was a lounge, separated by double doors. Bridget immediately laid down on the couch and fell asleep, her leg propped up on a pillow.
"All right, four hours to sleep. Utivich and Hirschberg, you get the couch and chairs, you fight over 'em for yourselves. We get the bed," Aldo grumbled.
Ella, now dressed in her swing pants and khaki shirt, took her heels off as soon as they were inside and ushered Ace into the room. She'd had three hours of sleep in the last 36 hours, and after the day in Nadine, the tavern massacre, and a few hours with Donny, she was exhausted. She went into the bedroom and flopped down in the middle of the bed. If she knew Donny and Aldo, they would rather sleep on the floor than next to each other, so she put herself between them. The bed was big enough.
Donny was about to follow her in when Aldo mumbled something to him. Ella saw him nod, and sit down in a chair. She hadn't spoken to Aldo since he had given her the orders to stay behind, and she didn't know how this was going to go. She had never been madder at that man over the course of nearly six years.
Aldo came in and shut the double glass doors behind him. "El, I'm sorry."
She took a deep breath. As mad as she was, her reaction earlier was knee-jerk and a little selfish. "I know, Aldo."
"I just can't put dynamite on my girl. You saved my life, Ella. I can't give you the order to die."
She got up off the bed and went over to him. "I understand, Aldo. You're my brother. I won't make you do that." She wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight she was a little girl, her ultimate comfort was running to her father and blocking out the world with his strong arms around her, her face in his chest, feeling his ribs expand and contract as he breathed. The tears started to come again, and she sniffled.
"Aw, Ella, don't do that." Aldo kissed the top of her head. "We gotta get to sleep."
She nodded, slowly parting from him. There was still a lot to do - and sleep was the most important thing. The bed was so inviting. She took back her middle spot and groaned.
"It feels exquisite to lay down."
Aldo moved over to the end table after waving Donny inside, taking off his jacket and overshirt. "From what I heard earlier, you were doin' plenty of layin' down with the Sarge."
Her jaw dropped and she hit him with a pillow as hard as she could. "Aldo Raine, I am gonna -"
"Yeah, yeah. Go to sleep."
"Still gonna push you off this bed."
Four hours later, Ella felt Aldo roll off of the bed beside her. At least he had stopped snoring. She had only slept lightly, knowing the day that lay ahead of them was going to be a long one. She snuggled up to Donny a little more, hoping just a little that Aldo would let them sleep in a bit longer.
Of course, what he did was grab the blanket and yank it off of the bed. Donny's eyes flew open.
"What the hell, Lieutenant?"
"Wakey wakey," Aldo mumbled, just as sleepy. "Gotta go get our tuxes."
Aldo turned his back, and Donny gave Ella a quick kiss. She couldn't help but giggle.
"I better not be hearin' that."
"Too bad, Aldo Raine." Ella rolled onto her back, stretching. She hadn't slept on a bed in a long time. It was almost uncomfortable after getting used to a thin bedroll and the ground. Donny suddenly flipped on top of her, a devilish smile on his face as he nuzzled her nose and kissed her again.
"Sergeant!" Aldo barked, coming back from waking up the others. "Go get dressed, goddamnit!"
Ella laughed as Donny hopped up from the bed, winking at her.
"El, you're gonna start doing Bridget's hair and makeup. We gotta go get fitted. Give her that Co-whatchacallit. Make sure she can get up and moving."
"Yes, sir. Bridget?" Ella went into the lounge and knelt next to the couch. "Bridget, wake up. Time to get ready."
The actress groaned. Ella reached for the table behind her and grabbed the pill bottle Aldo had set out. Inside were a bunch of pills and a hastily scribbled note from the veterinarian - 1 every 4 hours - and asked Omar for a glass of water. "One second, Bridget. I've got some -" she looked back at the bottle - "Codeine for you. It'll help with your leg."
"Scheiße," she moaned. "Warum ist es so früh?" (Why is it so early?)
"Ich bin auch müde. Wir müssen bereit für die Premiere," Ella answered. (I'm tired too. We must get ready for the premiere.)
"You speak German?" The woman sounded incredulous.
"Yes, and French, and English. Now take this. You might not be so grumpy."
"We're going, El," Donny said, standing next to her. "Aldo said we're coming back after the fitting so you can do hair and whatever."
"Yeah, I'll at least make you look like gentlemen," she teased. "Hurry back." The four men left the hotel room, and then it was just Bridget and Ella.
"I'm sorry," Bridget mumbled.
"Don't worry. I understand. Let's order up some breakfast and we'll get started. Hirschberg should be back with your dress soon. Drink that water. If I've learned anything over the past three years, it's to stay hydrated." After ordering two plates of eggs and bacon, Ella went to her pack and got out her own makeup and a dress she hadn't worn yet. She'd actually been a little scared to wear this one because it was so…red. But if it was going to be her last time seeing Donny, then she was going to wear it.
"Are you and the Sergeant an item?" Bridget asked, setting down the now-empty glass.
"You could say that," Ella said with a small smile. "But technically he's still my commanding officer. They haven't had to make rules about that yet." Ella paused. "Bridget, I'm sorry about last night. I was angry about things not going according to plan, and then I figured out that Aldo and Donny were going to take their place. Sometimes I let my temper get away from me."
"It's all right. Losing your men must be hard, I cannot imagine."
"It is." Ella couldn't keep the sorrow out of her voice. "I knew they were supposed to use the bombs today, but I wasn't quite ready."
Just then, Hirschberg came back and knocked on the door with Bridget's dress. Ella let him in with the sparkling thing on the hanger taller than he was.
"You know I hate this, right?" he grumbled.
"Yes, Private, I do. Now please head back to where the Lieutenant and Donny are to pick them up when their fitting is done."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, sir. I'll be right back with the gentlemen," he said, and bowed.
"Oh, shut up, Hirschberg, and go get them. I have to make everyone pretty, remember?"
He laughed at her. "Good luck with that." And he headed back out the door. Ella slammed it after him and brought Bridget her dress. "Would you like to change now? I can help if you want. You'll probably need it."
"Ja, bitte." Bridget stood gingerly on the cast. "I can sit still until it is time to go." Ella laid the dress on the couch and helped Bridget out of her skirt and silky shirt. It may have been a little odd, since they had known each other less than twenty-four hours, but they were both women.
"Forgive me if this seems rude, but you are the Wölfin, are you not?"
"I don't mind. Yes, that's me. I suppose I earned that one."
"And that is your kleiner Wolf?" Bridget asked, nodding towards Ace.
"Yeah, Ace is my little wolf," Ella said, smiling. "Wow, this is quite the dress."
"I agree. I must impress the Nazis."
Ella helped her step into the dress, and she slowly shimmied it on. There was no zipper, but by the time Ella had helped Bridget get the straps over her shoulders, it was quarter to eleven. The food had arrived and they ate after Ella put curlers in Bridget's hair. then it was Ella's turn to get dressed and ready.
In front of the dazzlingly clean mirror, Ella paused. Her hair was still in messy curls from the day before and dark circles surrounded her eyes from lack of sleep. For a moment she almost threw the dress on the ground and went back to bed, but the thought of Donny and Aldo dressing up in those tuxes made her strip down to her underthings and slip into the red fabric.
"Can't have them outdoing me, now, can I?" she murmured. The makeup was becoming familiar, and after taking a towel and hot water to her face, she reapplied it once more. She pulled back her hair and tied it in a half-ponytail to keep it somewhat tidy. the dress had wide straps that fell just on the curve of Ella's shoulders and wrapped around to become the bodice, dropping low in the front and creating a 'v' on her back. The smooth fabric fell just past her knees and clung to her like a second skin, and with her fresh-from-boot-camp hourglass figure, Ella could have gone to the premiere in Bridget's place if she was blonde. She had never felt more like a movie star. There would be no PPK pistol on her leg tonight - all she could do was wait. And she could already imagine that it would drive her nuts.
When she was finally slipping her feet into the alligator-skin heels, the door to the hotel room opened and men's voices filled the space again. After one more look in the mirror - more of an attempt to calm her heart than to check her appearance - Ella left the bathroom. After all of Bridget's and her preparations, it was 2:15PM.
A low whistle met her first. Suddenly her nerves were gone, because her men were back. As stupid as they could be sometimes.
"Shut up, Hirschberg, or I'll have you doing pushups until I feel like ordering supper. If I were Donny, he'd have you doing them for the rest of your life."
"Yes'm," he replied, snapping off a salute.
The double doors opened behind them. "Speak of the devil," Ella said as Aldo and Donny came out from the bedroom. Donny stood slackjawed for a moment while Aldo just asked, "Who, me?"
"Naw, him." Ella sauntered over to Donny and kissed his cheek. "You boys get your tuxes?"
"Yeah. Mine's the white jacket. Hirschberg tell you that you're on beautician duty?"
"Yes, Aldo. I'll try my best. But we'll have dinner first. Sort out what y'all want and I'll order. The bellboy from breakfast knows my as Bridget's personal assistant."
"Y'all," Donny teased, regaining his voice. "You're beautiful, doll."
Ella blushed, her cheeks matching her dress for a moment. "Thanks, Sarge."
In three hours, Ella got everyone fed, helped the men into the tuxedos and straightened them out, combed and parted their hair, put makeup over the scar on Aldo's neck, dosed Bridget with more Codeine, took Ace outside twice, and stashed all of the equipment. It was this busy work that helped her stay calm with the impending doom of the two men she loved the more looming over her shoulder. Hirschberg and Utivich, both of whom would be waiting with her in the hotel room during the mission, watched her buzz everywhere with fascination. But before long, it was time for Aldo, Donny, and Omar to leave with Bridget
"Okay, guys, say your names one more time," she sighed. Throughout the afternoon, she had been trying to coach them in their Italian. She was very close to giving up.
"En-so Gor-La-Me," Aldo enunciated.
Ella put her face in her hands. "Hopeless. Don't hit the consonants so hard. Donny?"
"AnTOnio MargarEY-ti."
"Relax a little more. Don't push the words as much. Omar?"
"Dominic Decocco."
"That was actually really close to perfect. Listen to this guy."
Ella stood and adjusted Donny's white bow tie one more time while the others went through the game plan. Really, she was just stalling, trying to think of ways to keep them from going anywhere. He looked extremely handsome in his tux, with a white carnation just above his pocket kerchief and a pair of white gloves ready in his hand. It was a little different from the Donny that Ella had fallen in love with, but from the amount of curses coming from his mouth, it was still him inside that tuxedo.
"Lookin' good, Sarge," she murmured.
There wasn't much Donyn could say. Instead, he reached up and undid the small gold clasp at the nape of his neck. The small gold pendant was the one he'd received from his grandfather at his Bar Mitzvah and had his hebrew name in tiny vertical black letters. He stepped behind Ella and fumbled the clasp closed again.
"Somethin' to remember me by. Y'know."
Ella faced him, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I don't really know what love feels like, Donny, but I think this is it," she intoned low enough so the other men couldn't hear.
"Good." He pulled her up to kiss him. She softly took his clean-shaven face in her hands, her thumb tracing along his jawline.
"Sergeant, it's time to head out," Aldo said gently. They couldn't be late, but he knew he had to let his girl say goodbye.
Ella strode over to Aldo once she had let go of Donny and threw her arms around him like she had that morning, careful not to get makeup on his white jacket but hugging him with everything she had.
"I love you, brother," she mumbled into his chest.
"Love you too, El. You'll always be my girl."
With that, Ella stepped back and looked at the party. Bridget's eyes were wet, maybe because of the heartfelt goodbyes. Hirschberg was looking anywhere but at her. No matter what, though, Ella was their Corporal, and they were her soldiers.
"Good luck, men," she said, standing at attention and bringing her hand to her temple in a salute. Aldo held back a smile and the two men returned the salute. Before it became any more painful, the Lieutenant opened the door and left. Donny glanced back at Ella once, and then they were gone.
She couldn't hold it back anymore. She put her face in her hands and let out a sob. Utivich put his arm around her, a little bit of a stretch since in her heels, she was an inch taller than him. He steered her to a lounge chair and sat her down, and that's where she stayed.
Until the door was kicked in.
A/N: I hope you guys like the cliff you're sitting on! See you in a few days!
