Last Time: Rebecca and Dick push down their issues as Easy Company gets pulled to the frontlines of Bastogne.

"We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it." - Robert Baden-Powell

Now: Easy Company begins the fight of their lives as they are attacked from all sides and by mother nature, herself.


Chapter 23 - Struggle

On arrival, 2d Battalion was deployed on the line south of Foy; it was one part of defending all of Bastogne. Easy was positioned in the woods that overlooked Foy and dug their foxholes in the frozen ground to form a Main Line of Resistance. Battalion HQ was set up behind the company to the south of the woods.

The Germans had cut the roads behind them, completely surrounding the 101st. They had been there two days and a heavy fog set in making it impossible to see past the MLR. The cold was bitter with a wind that couldn't be broken up even by the tall pine trees.

The 101st was constantly on the defense trying to keep their position from the Krauts and the Krauts were constantly trying to spot any weakness in their line by shelling them with Nebelwerfers. This new German weapon was a rocket launcher equipped with six barrels that launched 75-pound shells. The men called them Screaming Mimi's because of the ear piercing screech they let off before they hit. Those eerie screams were the only thing signifying their arrival.

As if being shelled constantly by the Krauts wasn't bad enough, the weather was a second enemy that seemed undefeatable. Fog and the snow made it impossible for air drops to resupply Easy. Every time they would call for an airdrop, the planes would miss the DZ and give the Germans all their supplies. The weather was bitter cold, plummeting to the negatives most of the time.

The men were cold and wet, from sitting in snow covered holes, making illnesses rampant; the lack thereof of medication couldn't be distributed by medics. Those who were sick had to grin and bear. Rebecca found herself unable to ration out any medicine for the sick and it broke her heart.

A culmination of all the above made a perfect formula for sleep deprivation. Everyone was too afraid to fall asleep at night or it was just too damn cold. The Germans took a liking to shelling at night. The lack of K-rations left everyone hungry. Tensions were high and morale was at an all-time low.

Bastogne was a nightmare of cold, hunger, exhaustion and fear that for many didn't seem to have an end in sight.

XXX

Roe and Rebecca walked through the soft snow, hands shoved deep in their pockets, trying desperately to warm their frozen appendages. Rebecca felt a little more warmth than Roe thanks to her wool gloves, but sadly, Roe was short his pair after a shelling last night blew them to all hell and creation. A cold gust of wind blew past the two, cutting right through their jackets, giving goosebumps another excuse to bubble on their skin.

The snow crunched under their boots as the two medics searched for more supplies. Despite the medkits, they scrounged two days earlier, and what they got back in Mourmelon, they were already short. Casualties were through the roof from the onslaught of shelling Easy took. There was hardly enough to patch a papercut.

Rebecca watched curiously as Roe stopped and bent down to examine something in the snow, pricking his finger on a thorn of a dead bush. He seethed at the sharp pain and squeezed his finger letting his warm blood pool up at the tip.

"Roe, what's up?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"Nothing, just thought I saw something."

Roe got up from his crouch and continued along with Rebecca, both chattering and shaking as they went.

The further the two got, the denser the fog became. They were getting lost. Lost was one thing you didn't want to be out here. The fog made it impossible to tell where they were wandering off to and it was very easy to walk into the enemy's line.

"Roe, where the hell are we?" Rebecca's hair stood up on the back of her neck.

"I don't know, 3rd Battalion should be right around here somewhere."

"Roe, we both know how thin the line is, and I think we're lost."

"Captain, I swear we'll be there soon." He begged, sincerity in his voice.

Rebecca felt her heartstrings tug a little bit. Roe was giving her that desperate puppy dog voice. She was powerless when he broke that one out.

"Okay, just a little further." She agreed.

The need for medical supplies was desperate after all.

They marched a few more feet. The wind began to pick up, cutting through Rebecca again, despite having a heavy wool trench coat on. She hiked her shoulders up far enough so the brim of the jacket was covering her nose. Rebecca buried her head way down letting the heat from her breath warm her insides. She followed Roe's footsteps, praying they would find 3d soon.

Roe's footsteps suddenly halted deceiving Rebecca into believing they had finally arrived. She was wrong.

"We there?" She asked, looking up.

Rebecca's breath hitched and a wave of panic washed over her. They had traveled much too far out. The ground was littered with dead German corpses frozen stiff. A ghastly bluish-gray color had set in on their faces from livor mortis and a thin sheet of frost covering them, making the corpses look like porcelain dolls. They were on the German's side of the line.

"We gotta get out of here, quietly," Rebecca whispered, putting emphasis on "quietly".

They slowly turned around and began walking back, breaking out into a sprint as they cleared a set of pine trees.

"Jesus, that was too close for comfort," Rebecca gasped, feeling the icy air pierce her lungs.

"Yeah, definitely. We should be getting back to our side," Roe said between chattering teeth.

At long last, they had wandered back to CP. Rebecca and Roe calmly staggered over, ready to find their foxhole, adrenaline finally wearing off.

A helmet came into view, breaking the fog that Rebecca recognized as Dick's. He was about to begin shaving when he noticed them come into view. But, Dick was pulled from their attention at the sound of a twig snap. Rebecca didn't know what it was but Dick stiffened.

Not good.

"Duck, duck, duck!" Dick whisper-yelled out to them.

Roe and Rebecca ducked down, hearts pounding, adrenaline kicking in again. Both were wondering what it was Dick saw. Rebecca squinted, vaguely making out a figure in the distance. It was too hard to tell. The fog was too thick.

Dick put down his shaving kit, face full of cream, grabbed his rifle and signaled for the two of them to come over to his foxhole. He aimed his rifle at the unknown figure. It must have been a German who wandered too far past their line.

In the foxhole, Rebecca vaguely saw the figure crouch down and remove his pants, ready to relieve himself. The guy probably didn't even know he was in enemy territory. However, Rebecca knew how easy it was to do from her own personal encounter. They were lucky they didn't end up like this German surely would.

"Kommen sie hier," Dick ordered calmly.

The figure looked at their direction not moving, knowing he had literally been caught with his pants down.

"Kommen sie hier, schnell!" Winters ordered sternly, his rifle pressed firmly to his cheek, "Schnell!"

The German began pulling up his pants and walking over to them, one hand up in surrender, the other holding his pants. He approached them nice and easy. Rebecca hoped he wouldn't try to pull any funny business and get himself shot. From what she could see, he was a young kid, no need for him to die unnecessarily.

"Roe, go fetch some guys from Battalion HQ."

Roe complied, scurrying off.

Rebecca looked at the young man, a little sympathy crept its way into her heart. He looked like a teenager, a baby. His eyes met hers, clearly panicked. Rebecca didn't think he recognized her as a woman at first. When he did, his eyes widened with realization and morphed into begging orbs like Rebecca was his mama and him her child who had just been caught doing something bad. It was like he was begging her not to do punish him. Rebecca looked down into the snow unable to stand another minute of looking into the boy's eyes. She knew she shouldn't, but she almost felt bad for the kid. He should be in school, not fighting a war.

Soon enough, two fellas from HQ arrived and accompanied Winters, their rifles drawn in case the prisoner tried to pull something. Rebecca doubted it though, he was far too scared to pull something stupid like that.

Dick began searching the fear-stricken German. After looking through all his outside pockets, Dick reached in and pulled out a little book with a picture of his family confirming Rebecca's suspicion. He wasn't even old enough to have a sweetheart.

Dick continued to search the young boy's pockets until he came across a package wrapped with twine. He quickly examined it.

"Docs, bandage." He announced, tossing the package to Roe, not breaking his icy stare he had fixated on the German.

Roe took the small package, stuffing it into his medbag.

"Take him back to regiment," Dick ordered sternly, tugging on the kid's jacket, fixing it.

The MP's walked away, guiding the prisoner at gunpoint to the jeep, and loading him in. As is this wasn't enough action for one morning, another one pulled up right behind, dropping off Col. Sink and General Mcauliffe.

As the jeep slid to a stop in the snow, both jumped out warmly dressed in their winter clothes.

"As you all know, General Mcauliffe, acting division commander."

General Mcauliffe was an intimidatingly stern man, with an equally stern face to match. He was General Taylor's replacement for time being while Taylor lived it up back home in D.C., doing much of nothing. Taylor wasn't too fond of getting shot at, apparently. But this didn't mean Mcauliffe was any better than Taylor. Mcauliffe might be in Bastogne, but he was too far away from the line to get a good picture as to what was actually going on.

Roe and Rebecca looked at each other, unimpressed by his stiff posture and stern face. Mcauliffe looked as healthy as a horse, probably all warm and cozy back at regiment, enjoying hot food and showers. His winter clothes were downright offensive meanwhile, Easy Company and the rest of the 101st were freezing to death, undersupplied, and surrounded.

"Give it to me straight," Mcauliffe commanded.

Col. Strayer stepped forward, appearing from the fog, a tired rasp in his voice.

"We've been taking ground in one position, General, losing it in another. And now, it looks like a standoff. We're digging in in the edge of the forest." He looked at Dick, asking him to continue.

"We're under sporadic artillery fire, General. We're taking a lot of hits and have no aid station," Dick continued, "We've run out of food, have no winter clothes, and we have little or no ammo. The lines spread so thin, the enemy wanders into out C.P. to use our slit trenches, sir"

"We just can't cover the line," Winters finished.

"Good morning, Captain Nixon," Col. Sink greeted the very bewildered Nix, as he popped out of his tarp-covered foxhole, "You got anything to add for Gen. Mcauliffe?"

"General," He began, getting himself together and climbing out of his foxhole, "Ah, yes sir. General, I took a walk on a line about 0300 last night. Couldn't find the 501st on our right flank. I tied in with a squad from our 2nd platoon. But, sir, we have some considerable gaps in our perimeter."

"I don't have enough people, sir. We're spread too damn thin," Strayer broke in.

"Hold the line, Colonel, close the gaps," Mcauliffe ordered.

What did he think we were doing already? No thanks to you, either. Rebecca fumed.

"This goddamn fog won't lift any time soon, so you can forget about air cover. Your first battalion just pulled out of Foy, Krauts on their tail. Tanks, artillery, got no backup. There's a lot of shit heading this way."

The General and the Colonel got back into the jeep, the engine starting, heading back to battalion.

Great, more shit coming here, and we're practically fighting with sticks and rocks.

Roe and Rebecca followed Dick back into his foxhole.

"Docs," Winters shivered.

"Can we scrounge a bandage from your aid kit, sir?" Roe asked.

"How are you guys fixed?"

They both sighed.

"We have no plasma, couple of bandages. Practically no morphine," Rebecca trembled, taking the bandage from Dick's aid kit, "We even tried to find 3d Battalion, but we lost our way," Rebecca admitted, recalling the dead bodies in the snow.

Dick continued to shave. "If you can't get over to 3rd, hook up with Doc Ryan, he'll fix you up with what he has to spare."

"Thanks, Cap'n," Roe rasped out.

"Hey, Roe? Why don't you go ahead, I'll make my way round the foxholes, have the guys cough up what they have."

"Yes, Cap'n."

"Eugene," Dick began, rubbing the shaving cream on his face, "Get everything you can, you're gonna need it."

Roe nodded and walked off, shoving his frigid hands into his pockets. Rebecca waited until he was far off and out of earshot before she slid into Dick's foxhole.

"You know," Rebecca shivered, "A lot of the guys aren't shaving anymore, the hair keeps them warm."

Dick took out his razor and began making careful strips along his face. "It would be improper of the Battalion XO."

Rebecca joked. "Have you seen Nix?"

"Nix is improper." He chuckled.

Rebecca let out a slight chuckle followed by a shiver. Dick finished shaving and began wiping the remnants of the cream off his face. Rebecca looked up and noticed a strip of shaving creams on his jaw he missed.

"Here, you missed some." Rebecca pointed out, grabbing the towel.

She moved in close to Dick and wiped the strip off his jawline. Dick took in a sharp breath, feeling Rebecca's warm breath on him. She looked up at him and turned a deep crimson, realizing how close they were. It dawned on Rebecca the last time they were that close, and her stomach did somersaults.

"There," Rebecca cleared her throat backing away, nervously, "There, you go."

"Who are you diggin' in with tonight?" Dick queried, trying to lighten the mood.

"I think Buck, tonight."

"You haven't been to HQ yet. Why don't you dig here tonight?"

"Wouldn't you like that?" She joked.

Dick's face turned red. "Listen, I'll see you later, okay?"

Rebecca left Dick's foxhole, slipping her gloves back on.

Dammit. This was killing her. Now more than ever, all she wanted to was spend the night with Dick. But she couldn't, they promised each other they would forget about what happened in Paris. What once might have just been a friendly gesture, like sleeping in the same foxhole, was now something completely different.

Rebecca trudged back to Roe and Spina's foxhole, finding Dike chewing them out. Dike: always making a mountain out of a molehill.

"What's this? Two medics in one hole?" He started.

"Yes, sir," Spina answered.

"Well, what's gonna happen to us if you take a hit, huh?"

Rebecca approached Dike, annoyed. "Lieutenant, I have everything under control."

Dike looked back at Rebecca shrinking under her eye. "Yes, ma'am."

Out of the corner of Rebecca's eye, Lipton approached Dike, exchanging a bemused look with her. Rebecca let out a little sliver of a smile, trying to keep serious.

"Sir," Lip greeted Dike.

"1st Sergeant, where's my foxhole?"

"It's back here, sir." He pointed to the general direction. "Maybe, uh, maybe you missed it, huh? I'll walk you back sir. You're a bit close to the line?"

"Goddammit," Dike swore, for no reason.

As Lipton lead Dike away, Roe, Spina, and Rebecca broke out into snickers.

"Roe, c' mon, let's go find some more morphine," Rebecca chuckled.

Roe and Rebecca paced over to a few of Easy's foxholes and found Guarnere walking around.

"Sergeant Guarnere," Roe began, catching up with the Italian, "Did you, uh, did you keep your morphine from Holland?"

"No," He confessed. "Hey, Docs, I gotta talk to you."

"How's the leg?" Rebecca asked.

"The hell with the leg, I'm pissing needles!"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. I wonder why that is?

"Later," Roe argued.

The two jogged over to Smokey and Skip's foxhole. Smokey was looking blankly ahead, giving the line the thousand-yard stare, while Skip was trying his damnedest to dig his foxhole deeper.

"You seen 'em?" Roe asked as the two crouched down.

"No, but they're out there. Depend on it," Smokey prophesied.

"Cup of joe, Docs?"

"Gordon, I need scissors. You got scissors, sharp scissors?"

"Scissors?" Smokey smiled. "Well, let's see, I'll have to check the sewing room. Might be upstairs in the study. That skinny old drawer in the middle of the desk."

Rebecca snorted at Smokey's incurable sarcasm.

"Alright, what about an extra syrette in your aid kit, huh?"

"Hide you morphine guys-!"

An explosion out of nowhere took everyone by surprise. Rebecca, Roe, Smokey, and Muck all hit the deck, knocking over the hot coffee.

"Muck, you alright?" Malarkey yelled overhead.

"I'm good!"

"Muck, Malarkey, take cover!" Roe yelled as he and Rebecca began running over to Skip's foxhole.

"Hey, docs, morphine!" Skip yelled, tossing the syrette over to Rebecca, "Here, take it!"

Rebecca caught the tiny syrette and put it in her medbag.

"Where's Penkala?" Roe asked, frantically.

"Christ knows!" Malarak blurted out in frustration.

"MEDIC!"

The call pierced through the air. Roe and Rebecca dashed over, taking cover here and there as artillery exploded all around them.

"DOC!" Someone called out again.

"You guys hit?" Roe hollered, sliding into Babe's foxhole with Rebecca.

"Hey, docs, how you doing?" Babe greeted, obviously okay.

"Hey, are crazy?" Julian shouted as Roe rolled over on him.

"What are you watching them for? What the goddamn line!" Babe ordered.

Julian, one of the newest and probably the youngest, grabbed his rifle and aimed it at the line.

'You got a syrette?" Rebecca pressed Julian.

"No, Cap'n." He spoke with his rifle pressed against his cheek, watching the line.

"MEDIC!" The same voice bellowed again.

Roe and Rebecca climbed out of the foxhole and sprinted over to the call. An explosion would go off near them, forcing them to duck and cover, further delaying their progress to answer the call.

"DOC!"

"Penkala!" Roe identified as the injured when they both arrived at the hole.

"It's the artery, I can feel it!" Penk screamed out, as the two medics got in his hole.

"Penkala, let go!" Roe yelled at him.

Penkala was in a panic, clutching onto his hand, only making Roe and Rebecca's job harder.

"It's the goddam artery!" He insisted.

"Penkala, loosen your fingers, goddamnit, loosen them now!" Roe shouted.

"I'll bleed to death." Penkala moaned.

"Relax your arm, Penk, come on!" Rebecca persuaded.

"It's not the artery!" Roe announced, assuring the worried Penk.

"I ain't going back, Docs." He argued.

"What?" They buzzed in unison.

"I ain't going nowhere, not in this shit!"

"You don't wanna go out in this shit and you're yelling 'medic'?" Roe hollered.

"I don't need to go back to no aid station!"

Rebecca began pouring sulfa on Penk's arm, letting Roe wrap it.

"Well, you're in luck, Penkala," Roe seethed, a bomb sounding overhead, "We don't get no aid station."

The world around became quiet, the barrage was over for now.

"Bull, you okay?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Bull announced, looking out to the MLR.

"Penkala, scissors, I need scissors you got scissor?"

Poor Eugene had been asking around all damn day for a pair of scissors. He had lost them in Holland, probably due to all the ruckus bray before Easy moved out.

"The hell I need scissors for?" Penkala grimaced, looking at Gene.

"You got your aid kit?" Rebecca asked, impatiently.

Penkala reached into his pocket and pulled out his kit, handing it Rebecca.

"You don't need this, not yet, we do."

Roe and Rebecca dragged themselves out of Penk's and Bull's foxhole, running back to their own before more shelling started.

They collapsed inside, meeting Spina.

"Who got hit?" Spina asked.

"Penkala," Gene answered.

"Alright, here, this is what I want you to do," Rebecca started, handing Penkala's medkit over to Spina, "I want you to find 3rd battalion, alright? You know what we need, bandages, plasma. Beg if you have to. And get Roe some scissors, please. And get yourself something hot, huh? Go."

Spina climbed out of the foxhole, leaving breathless Rebecca and Roe. Roe took his helmet off, rubbing his head, trying to gather himself.

XXX

Two hours later, Gene and Rebecca met Babe, Spina, and company to get some grub. The group was all gathered around eating, laughing, and joking about Spina's and Babe's encounter with a German on their way to 3d Battalion. Hinkle would now be a running joke for the time being.

Roe and Rebecca sat down on wooden crates to keep the snow from getting their pants wet and waited for Domingus to pass out whatever was being identified as food tonight. Joe Domingus did what he could to provide hot and semi-edible food to Easy with the limited supplies he had. The taste didn't matter much, food was food, but by the time it arrived to them all, it was ice cold.

Joe walked by serving Roe and Rebecca first. She speared the fritter with her fork, biting into the cold stick. It tasted even worse cold.

"Yo, these smell like my armpit!" Malark joked, mouth half full of food.

"At least your armpit's warm!" Skip jested, examining the cold fritter.

"Do you want syrup with that?" Domingus mocked, pointing his ladle at Malark.

"Hey, Joe, be honest, what's in these things anyway, huh?" Malark inquired.

"Nothing you wouldn't eat, Malarkey." He retaliated back to Don.

Domingus by some miracle managed to find shortening and cornmeal to make corn fritters, serving them with white navy beans.

Rebecca took a spoonful of beans, grimacing at the frozen taste. To make matters worse, the beans were like dynamite to the men's colon, resulting in the worst smelling gas and some interesting slit trench performances.

Rebecca wasn't an exception to this either. The only difference was, while the men could let one rip in front of each other, she had to hold it in until she was out of earshot to flatulate; it was "indecent" for a lady to do such things while in the presence of others. The men might die of shock if she pinched one out in front of them.

"I won't eat malarkey!" Skip interjected, evoking more laughs from the group.

Hinkle reared his head back into the conversation, providing some much-needed laughs from the small group of men.

"Anyone seen Lt. Dike?" Lieutenant Peacock asked, approaching the group.

"Try battalion CP, sir," said Malarkey, a smirk upon his face.

"Try Paris," Skip whispered.

"Try Hinkle," Malarkey snickered.

"Hinkle, sweetie, I'm home!" Doc Ryan imitated Dike, pretending Babe was Hinkle, hugging him.

"Hey, Eugene, Cap'n, Lieutenant Dike's got a full aid kit, try him," Babe suggested, gesturing, a fork full of fritter.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's not using his!" Malarkey jested.

"Maybe Hinkle's got a syrette for you guys," Julian jibed.

Roe cracked a smile in between his cigarette and Rebecca nearly choked on her beans from laughter.

"Eat your strudel!" Skip mocked.

"Hey, Hinkle-Vinkle, eat the armpit, huh?"

Rebecca smiled and laughed, genuinely for the first time in days, cupping her hands around her ration tins every fading heat. She scraped the bottom, spooning the last few bites of beans into her mouth. Her smile quickly faded, the food was never hot enough.

She finished her meal and decided it was a good time to part the wisecrackers for the night. "I'm digging in for the night. See ya guys later."

"Good night, Captain," Everyone rang out, waving her off and quickly going back to their Hinkle jokes.

Rebecca lumbered over to Buck's foxhole, hands deep in her pockets, shivering. The sun behind the clouds was slowly setting making way for even colder weather. She needed to find her foxhole buddy. Who better than Buck? His large size made Buck perfect to dig in with.

Rebecca couldn't feel her toes anymore and her face was numb. She decided now a perfect time to find some warmth.

XXX

Buck was sitting in his foxhole, a wool blanket covering him, providing barely enough cover for his enormous body when he saw Rebecca approach him.

"Hey, Becca." He crowed.

The woman climbed into his foxhole, taking her helmet off and adjusting her beanie. "Mind if I sleep with you tonight?"

Buck moved over, offering the blanket to Rebecca, which he happily accepted. "Not at all. It's not every night a beautiful dame asks a fella to sleep with him."

"Shut up, Buck," Rebecca mumbled, scooting closer to him.

She buried her face in his chest, letting his body heat embrace her. He was like a furnace. What was it about guys that they gave off such heat?

The sudden onset of heat made her break out into chills.

"I'm freezing my ass off." She complained.

Buck looked down at the shivering nurse. "What? I thought you were from New England. Luz said you have some of the worst winters around."

"Yeah, they do. The only difference is, nobody made me sleep out in it."

"Just try to sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be busy for you," Buck said, putting his arm around the quivering woman.

"Don't I know it." She whispered, slowly falling asleep.

XXX

Rebecca woke up with a startle as Buck bounded out of the foxhole. Her mouth and nose were dry from breathing in the cold, dry air. Rebecca looked around, it was snowing again. Her body broke out in shivers again, Her personal furnace gone.

Where the hell did he go?

Rebecca hopped out of the foxhole, dusting the layer of snow off her and walked over to a group of figures. It was Buck, Guarnere, and Roe. Buck had left Rebecca like a bat out of hell when he heard Liebgott and Alley singing. She decided to find another foxhole buddy, someone who wouldn't disturb her again.

A yawn overcame Rebecca, reminding her how exhausted she was. She snuffed up her runny nose, though it continued to run. She wiped her nose on her hand and looked down. Blood. The damn dry air gave her a bloody nose.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to quell the bleeding, put her head down, and walked over to Roe's foxhole, the blood leaving a trail in the snow.

"Hey, Gene, mind if I sleep with you tonight?" She drawled, congested.

"What's the matter with your nose?" He asked curiously

"Damn dry air, gave me a bloody nose."

Roe opened his bag and pulled out a piece of toilet paper. "Here."

"Thanks." She said, sitting down in his foxhole and blocking her nose with the paper.

"I think it stopped," Rebecca concluded pulling the napkin out of her nose.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Cap'n?"

"You too, Roe."

Roe pulled Rebecca in closer to himself and fell asleep just as the snow began hitting the ground.

XXX

Rebecca jolted awake at the sound of a mortar explosion and the cry for a medic. The shelling had started again. Roe and Rebecca sprinted over to Perconte's and Skinny's foxhole.

"Medic!" Perconte yelled.

Both docs hopped into their foxhole and saw Skinny, his leg being used as a pincushion for splinters that had broken away from a tree.

"Perconte, you getting a jeep?" Roe asked.

Perconte nodded and began cranking up the radio.

Roe pulled out a pair of scissors he snagged from Perconte just last night and began cutting Skinny's trousers.

"Look what they did to my leg!" Skinny cried.

"Easy CP, Easy CP, this is Perconte. Sisk has been hit, I need a jeep. I say again, I need a jeep, now!"

Roe finished opening Skinny's pants and showed the leg to Rebecca. Huge chunks of wood from a pine tree almost looked like bone. Rebecca plucked out a few splinters letting Roe get sulfa in. Skinny bit down on his lip, trying his best to take the pain.

"Okay, Sisk, it ain't that bad, ain't that bad," Roe reassured Skinny, as he poured the sulfa on his leg.

"Ain't that bad?" Skinny whined, examining the bloody mess that was his leg.

The explosions continued, two and three at a time. Roe pulled out a bandage, handing it over to Rebecca, letting her tie it.

"AAAARGH!" Skinny moaned through his teeth as Rebecca became pressing down the bandage.

Roe reached into his bag, pulling out his dwindling supply of morphine, ready to give him a syrette for the pain.

"No, Doc, save the morphine, I can make it," Skinny stopped Roe, "I can make it, save it, okay?"

"Alright let's get him out of here," Rebecca ordered.

Perconte dragged Skinny out of the foxhole and carried him with Roe to where the jeep should've been. Rebecca was at their heels, looking around for the damn vehicle that seemed to be nowhere in sight.

"Where's the goddamn jeep?" Roe snapped.

"I don't know, but I hear it," Perconte reassured.

The two increased their pace to meet the jeep, but slipped on the snow, bending Skinny's leg; he yelled out in pain, throwing his head back to the sky.

"AAAH, Jesus Christ!" He bellowed.

"Aw, Skinny, you got blood all over my trousers," Perconte complained, looking down at his bloody pants.

"I'm real sorry, Frank." Skinny sarcastically apologized through his teeth.

Finally, the jeep pulled up, Roe and Perconte picked Skinny up again and with a boost from Rebecca, loaded him on the hood.

"Tell Spina we went in for plasma!" Rebecca ordered.

Quickly, the jeep sped off, heading for town.

They entered the ravaged town of Bastogne. Everywhere Rebecca looked, there was some pile of rubble or something on fire from the Krauts constant barrage of artillery. A once beautiful town was almost completely decimated by war. Military personnel walked in out and of buildings, the town becoming a makeshift Army center. Meanwhile, citizens wandered around listlessly, trying to figure out what they should do now.

The jeep driver yelled over the engine at Roe and Rebecca to be heard. "All the tanks, artillery, are pulled back to here. We've got no back-up beyond Bastogne, this is it." He continued. "The Krauts captured the 326th medical and they took everybody. Doctors, medics, the whole shebang. We got nothin'."

He pulled up to a cathedral, dawned with a red cross on the entrance. The large building seemed suitable for triaging and housing the wounded.

"They're giving the boys hooch for the pain." The jeep driver yelled at Roe and Rebecca again.

The jeep stopped at the entrance of the cathedral. Roe and Rebecca got out and helped to get Skinny in a stretcher.

"He took a mortar hit, watch the leg," Roe reported to the stretcher bearers.

"Yeah, watch the leg," Skinny agreed.

The outside to the cathedral was lined with the dead bodies the medics couldn't save. Evacuations were at a standstill, so the bodies piled up. It was a grisly sight, guys piled up on top of one another like a mass grave.

Roe and Rebecca followed the stretcher inside.

"Move it!" the stretcher bearer yelled at the mass of people loitering around the church's entrance.

"Coming through!" Roe and Rebecca yelled.

They were taken down to the basement, probably where the sacristy was, that now served as a makeshift aid station. Rebecca walked down the marble stairs and was flabbergasted by the staggering amounts of wounded.

"Oh, no, no, no, here, put him here!" A female voice called.

It was the first one in a long time Rebecca had heard. The woman approached Skinny's stretcher taking a quick glance. Her fair skin, light blue eyes, and feminine touches were a welcome change from all the masculine faces of E Company. The young nurse had her blonde hair tied up in a blue kerchief, out of her face and ready to work. And by the looks of it, it clearly wore on her, but Rebecca could tell, away from all this, she was a gentle soul.

"Is he bad?" She asked, in a thick French accent.

"No, lower leg wound, no morphine," Roe answered.

She examined the wound on Skinny and moved on, grabbing a pile of dirty bandages.

"Nurse, have you any-."

"Wait, please."

Rebecca shrugged at Roe. She understood the strain of triaging. A million things on your mind and only two hands to do it with.

They both watched the woman as she moved into another room where a black girl was sopping up blood from a soldier's abdomen. The nurse took the pile of dirty dressings and dropped them into a pot of boiling water. That was one way to do it.

Roe walked over to a surgeon working on a man. "What's going on here? Why aren't these men evacuated?" Roe asked.

"We can't evacuate, we're cut off," The surgeon replied, "This is as far as it goes." He said, using his stethoscope to check the wounded man's heart sounds.

"Jesus," Rebecca breathed.

The French nurse returned to Skinny's side, gave him a glass of whiskey and stroked his head while the black woman began tending to his wound.

"I'm in heaven, Docs," Skinny bubbled, a buzzed smile forming on his lips.

Rebecca chuckled and Roe smiled slightly but was a little preoccupied with what he needed so he could get back to the line.

"Nurse," Roe began again.

"This way." She motioned for them to follow her.

They followed her through the crowd of wounded, trying not to get in anyone's way. The number of critical patients covered almost every inch of the marble floor, only leaving little pathways to maneuver through.

"We need morphine, bandages, whatever you've got."

"Okay, I can give you a little, but not a lot." She confessed.

"There you go," She said handing Roe a box, "You can have this, do you want that?" The nurse asked, showing Roe some unknown item.

"Oui, you got plasma?"

Rebecca watched her diligence. It was astonishing she could move so fast despite how long she clearly worked.

"A little, are you a surgeon?"

"No, we don't got no surgeon."

"What about you?" She asked Rebecca.

"No, I'm a field nurse."

She looked at Rebecca, giving a nod realizing Rebecca knew the struggle and chaos of being a nurse, not to mention the disparagement.

"What's this?" Roe asked examining the material, the nurse put in the box.

"Er, from the bed."

"What, sheets?" Roe asked surprised.

"Yes, for bandages."

"Voa."

"Merci."

"Comment vous appelez vous?" Roe asked in French.

"My name is Renee."

"I'm Gene, Eugene Roe."

Rebecca walked closely behind, watching the interaction between the two.

"What about your friend?"

"I'm Rebecca Clark."

"Where are you people from?"

"Louisiana, half Cajun," Roe said.

"Rhode Island."

"Et toi, d'ou viens tu?"

"Bastogne," Renee chuckled.

They smiled at each other and parted ways. Roe and Rebecca climbed the stairs and ran back to the jeep.

"Can you get us back to the line?" Roe asked the jeep driver.

"Sure." He said taking the box of supplies.

Roe bent down to the ground and picked up a pair of boots. "Who are those for?" Rebecca asked.

"Joe Toye."

Rebecca got in the jeep and sat down, holding the box the driver handed her. She saw Renee run out of the church looking for them.

"Eugene!" She yelled, throwing something at him, "Chocolat, pour vous."

She smiled sincerely at Roe. Rebecca leaned back in the jeep watching Gene, smugly. She swore she could see the faintest smile under his helmet.

Roe climbed in and frowned at Rebecca. "What?"

"Nothing." She smiled.

The jeep revved start and the Docs were off again back to the line.

XXX

The jeep skidded on the snow, speeding back to the line. Father Maloney had gathered a group of men, giving a service. The jeep parked, Rebecca hopped out with the box in hand and cursed. She had another one of his services again.

"Fight well for your God and your country. God bless you all, and stay safe." Father Maloney stressed.

The men around him got and grabbed the weapons they had. The small group of Easy Company men could mean one thing: a patrol.

Shit. Rebecca swore. They were looking for Krauts and someone was bound to get hurt.

"That's it, guys, nothing more to worry about," Muck began, "We're gonna die now, we're gonna die in a state of grace."

A few men chuckled at Muck's dark joke, but Rebecca didn't find it funny at all, not after what she'd seen in Bastogne.

Roe and Rebecca found Spina in the disbanding crowd, ready to give out what they had found. Spina approached them, looking very displeased.

"Battalion wants a reconnaissance patrol. Kraut hunting."

Spina clearly didn't want any part of it.

"Alright, I'll go, take these," Roe began, handing the box to him and the boots, "Give the boots to Joe Toye, tell him they're a nine."

"Roe, you'll be okay on your own for a bit? I just wanted to speak with Father Maloney."

"Yeah, Cap'n of course."

Roe scurried away, trying to catch up with the patrol. Rebecca knew it was doubtful they would need him anyway since it was a combat patrol.

"Spina, why don't you go back to the foxhole, rest a little bit?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Rebecca watched Spina walk away and made her way over to Father Maloney. She had hoped he could spare a minute just to do a small blessing for her. Rebecca walked over to the jeep where he was putting away his the Eucharist and folding up the cloth that covered the hood of the jeep.

"Father Maloney," Rebecca began.

The gentle-faced priest looked up from what he was doing and smiled. Rebecca had infinite respect for the priest. He, like medics, ran out into the fray of combat to comfort the dying soldiers. She had heard what Father Maloney had done in Carentan, and as far as she was concerned, he deserved a Distinguished Service Cross every time he went out into a firefight.

"What can I do for you, Rebecca?"

Rebecca felt nervous for some reason, maybe because she hadn't been to church in over two years, but she suddenly shrunk under Father Maloney's gaze. Guilt overcame her.

"Well, Father, I was hoping for a blessing. I just missed the one you did with the other fellas."

He smiled taking his stole and putting it back on. "Of course."

Rebecca got down on one knee, taking her helmet off, blessed herself, and bowed her head. Father Maloney closed his eyes and put his hands over Rebecca's bowed head.

"Heavenly Father, watch over this young healer and give her Your strength. Grant her courage as she faces the enemy to help the wounded. We ask this in Your name. Amen."

Rebecca blessed herself again and got up. "Thank you, Father."

"Have no fear, Rebecca, you are doing God's work, and he will not abandon you." Father Maloney put a hand on her shoulder and nodded before he began packing his things again.

She smiled wholeheartedly at Father Maloney, putting her helmet back on and headed out to find Roe.

Rebecca walked a few, feeling significantly better now that she had talked to Father Maloney. She found Roe leaned up against a tree on his toes, staring fiercely at the direction the squad had moved to.

"Hey, Roe what's going on-."

Her question was quickly answered by the sound of a firefight in the distance.

"Sounds like they made contact," Roe murmured, still staring far ahead.

Rebecca sat down next to him, not caring that the snow was melting and wetting her trousers. She wanted to be by Roe's side in case something happened. Rebecca yearned for everyone to return safely.

Out in the distance Rebecca caught sight of Lieutenant Peacock briskly jogging away from the fire. Rebecca's brow furrowed.

What the hell was he doing back here?

Roe and Rebecca quickly sprung up.

"What's happening, sir?" Roe asked.

"We're pulling back, we made contact. I gotta get to the C.P." Peacock exclaimed as he walked by them, out of breath.

Roe and Rebecca looked at him in shock, then at each other. Peacock was supposed to be leading the men, and he was leaving them to fend for themselves. No orders, no nothing to help them.

"Lieutenant!" Rebecca screamed out to Peacock, "You get back out there. You get back out there, now!" She yelled after him, anger and desperation fuming from every word.

He turned around and looked at her blankly. Peacock had already made up his mind.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I have to get back C.P."

Peacock continued to walk away, much to Rebecca's exasperation. She was shaking with anger. He was abandoning his men.

"Lieutenant Peacock, that's an order!" She yelled out to him.

It was too late, he was too far away now to hear anything. It probably wouldn't have made a difference anyway, what authority in battle did she have besides medical? Rebecca buried her face in her hands in frustration. Distant voices of Easy Company men echoed through the forest becoming louder. The sounds of bullets pierced the air.

"Move!" Someone called out.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Where the hell are we?"

Confusion took over the whole patrol. The operation had been a total quagmire.

"Straight ahead, straight ahead!" Bull's distinct southern drawl called out, trying to lead the men to safety.

Rebecca and Roe looked hopelessly out to the retreating, only feeling useful when they both saw someone go down. They sprung up, ready to work. As the shots from the German's got closer, Easy began setting up, preparing to fire back.

Roe and Rebecca got the replacements side, ripping open his clothes and exposing the gushing wound. Rebecca placed a hand on the gaping hole in the man's side, letting Roe get out the bandage. Luz was by their side, phoning CP for a jeep.

"Okay, I got you a jeep, docs," Luz announced, breathless.

Rebecca rolled the replacement on his side so Roe could tie the bandage. She looked over her shoulder and saw Nix approaching them.

"Martin!" Nixon yelled out. "Martin!"

Johnny Martin ran to the cover of a tree and looked for Nix. "Sir!"

"What's going on?" He bellowed.

"They got Julian!" Martin yelled back.

"He's still alive!" Babe yelled in protest.

Fuck, Rebecca thought. How are we going to get to him?

"We don't know that!"

"We gotta go get him, sir!" Babe spoke out in denial.

"Did you hit an O.P. or their line?" Nix and asked.

"Their line, sir!" Martin yelled.

"We've gotta go back, sir, get Julian out of there!" Babe yelled again.

"No, fall back!" Nixon ordered.

Rebecca glanced down at the wounded man. The blood stained the white snow, leaving a pool of the crimson liquid. He was bleeding out, they needed to evacuate him fast.

"We lost Lt. Peacock!" Someone yelled.

Rebecca's blood boiled. She swore if she saw Peacock, she would strangle him for leaving his men. Dike too while she was at it. Easy's leaders were for shit.

"No, he's back at CP!" Nixon confirmed.

Rebecca turned to Nix, red hot anger flowing through her. "Nixon, if I find that son of a bitch I'll punch his lights out. You keep him away from me, do you hear me?!" She spat out.

Nixon looked at her with saucers eyes. She didn't care how improper it sounded, Rebecca was positively irate. Roe placed a shoulder on her, trying to calm Rebecca down and get her to focus. The replacement was bleeding right through the bandage, they had to move.

Nixon jerked himself from his shock and began calling out orders. "Come on, Martin, fall back!"

"Come on docs, we gotta fall back!" Luz reasoned.

Roe took out a syrette and jammed it into the neck of the replacement.

"Roe, Rebecca, we've gotta move now, docs, come on, let's go!" Luz yelled, getting up and falling back himself.

Rebecca grabbed the kid's legs and Roe grabbed him under the shoulders, towing him away to the jeep.

"Move!" Martin screamed out. "Let's go!"

A few more shots were fired on Easy's side before everyone ran like hell away from the German's fire. Roe and Rebecca loaded the replacement onto the jeep, what became of him, Roe and Rebecca didn't know.

XXX

Easy made it back to camp, a new depression hung like a dark cloud over them. Dick had heard of the disastrous patrol and the pitiable morale left in its wake. He needed to see his company, or his former company, rather. They were gathered around drinking coffee, trying to recuperate. Dick found Johnny Martin to get the rest of the report.

"We couldn't get to him, Captain. We tried, Babe tried, we couldn't get to him."

Dick looked around, trying to piece together what went wrong that landed one young replacement dead.

Maybe if I had been there.

He shook the thought from his mind. There was no way that was possible, Easy wasn't his anymore, it wasn't his job to lead the men. Although, he would take back his previous job as Company CO over pushing papers any day.

Dick approached his fractured company, sitting down. "Hey, people, let me sit in here with you guys."

He sat with them, for a few and glanced over at Roe. Dick noticed how distant the medic was becoming as the days dragged on. He was running on fumes. Dick looked around once more and noticed Rebecca wasn't there.

Strange. She had been on the patrol, why wasn't she with them? He had to know Rebecca was okay.

Dick sat with the men for a few, when Martin told him Nix needed him back at the CP. He slowly got up looking around at his former company. His heart ached for them. If only he was still their CO.

Dick walked through the ever increasing snow, hands jammed into his pockets, trying to keep warm. He arrived. Nix waiting for him, ready to talk. He had a small pot of coffee brewing taking sips from his own tin.

"Hey, what's up?" Dick asked, sitting on an empty crate, leaning up against the wall of the CP.

"Yeah, you hear about what happened with Becca?" Nix asked placing his K-ration tin down on the ground.

"No, what?" Dick pushed, his stomach flipping.

"I had never seen her so angry before. Peacock left the patrol to come here and she was so angry, she yelled at me in front of all the guys that she would punch his lights out if she saw him again."

Dick let out a sigh of frustration. Rebecca wasn't quick to anger, Peacock must have really pissed her off. She always kept a level head, even when in some situations it was so easy to yell.

"I couldn't find after the patrol,"

"Let's hope she didn't run into Peacock," Nix muttered, pouring Dick a tin of coffee.

Dick took the hot liquid and thought. Now even the officers openly voiced their concerns about Easy's leadership. What now?

XXX

Rebecca ordered Roe to go get some chow and cool his heels. She walked further back away from the men and sat on a log shaking with anger and sadness. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring everything. Rebecca allowed for a few tears to fall, letting a small bit of anger and pain release itself from her. She thought of Julian. She felt absolute guilt for not being there, she could have saved him or died trying. Julian was just a kid. Rebecca blamed herself and she blamed Peacock. He was a coward. She quickly got up, wiping her eyes and made her way over to CP, needing to be with Dick. Even though what they were going through was complicated, she still trusted him and confided in him. They were still close.

Rebecca made it the small tarp-covered CP where she saw Dick sitting down on a wooden crate, talking to Nix. She entered, feeling both eyes on her. Nix got up and patted her shoulder, having told Dick the whole thing. Rebecca sat down next to Dick, shame, guilt, and sadness washing over her.

"Nix told me about what happened," Dick began, "What you said."

Rebecca felt shameful for what she said in her fit of anger, but she would never admit it. She meant every word too.

"I don't care if it was indecent, immoral, or unethical for a higher ranking officer to speak that way in front of subordinates. He left his men to die." She spat, tears pricking at her eyes, again.

Dick sighed, taking a hand and placing it on Rebecca's shoulder. "I know. I sat with the guys for a few. The patrol is hanging over everyone's heads."

Rebecca looked up at Dick, surprised. "So, what, are you going to reprimand me?" She simmered.

"No, no, God, no," Dick chuckled, pulling Rebecca into a hug, "I understand your frustration."

The hug came as a bit of a shock to Rebecca, but she welcomed it. She needed a hug right now.

"Can I dig in with you tonight?" Rebecca squeaked, burying her head in Dick's neck.

"Of course, Becca, of course."

XXX

Night came with a new vengeance of cold. Dick and Rebecca wrapped themselves up as best they could and dug in. Sleep was trying to find both captains despite the cold.

"My father's been on these new meds for his liver, you know. Gave up alcohol, the whole shebang," Rebecca began.

Dick looked at Rebecca. "That's great news, Becca. I'm glad to hear it. Has it been working?"

"Not sure yet. I haven't gotten any mail from him in a bit, but he seems really positive that it will."

Rebecca had hoped that's why she hadn't received any word. Blame the mail. She thought. Rebecca had no clue if the medicine he was taking was going to work or if his liver was too far gone to be helped. But she pushed down those thoughts as she tried to fall asleep.

"I'm sure everything is fine," Dick declared, draping an arm around the woman.

"I hope so," Rebecca mumbled closing her eyes.

XXX

Rebecca woke up the next morning, a new layer of snow covering her. She broke out in chills immediately. Rebecca looked by her side and noticed Dick had already gotten up; at least he knew better than to wake her too. She took the blanket, shook the snow off it and walked over to CP where she found Dick and Nix drinking coffee.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Nix greeted.

Rebecca cracked a small smile and tossed the blanket to Dick.

"Thanks for keeping me warm," Rebecca yawned, sitting down and taking the coffee Nix offered.

Nix smiled at her, wiggling his eyebrows. Rebecca knew Nix didn't know what happened in Paris, but he was always like this. It was almost like he was rooting for the two to get together.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and flicked Nix on the back of the head and took a sip of the hot liquid. Whatever it was, wasn't coffee, but it was hot. It trickled down her throat, warming her insides.

"Hey, Becca," Dick began, "Look outside."

She got up looking outside at the sky. Not a cloudy fog-ridden sky she expected, but a blue open sky littered with clouds. Rebecca broke into a big shit eating smile. The fog had lifted and C-47's roared over. They were dropping supplies.

"It's a supply drop!" Rebecca exclaimed at Nix and Dick.

They both smiled at her, glad to see her excitement again. Rebecca wasted no time in finding Roe and collecting what was dropped to them. It was small, mostly everything went to Bastogne.

When Rebecca found Roe, he was smiling too. Morale seemed to spike at the thought of food, ammo, and medical supplies.

XXX

Roe got a whole squad to go into town to get what they needed. Everyone hopped out of the jeep and Rebecca began ordering everyone to get what they could.

"Take what you can, it doesn't matter what it is, take it." She ordered, handing empty boxes to them all.

The squad dispersed and left Rebecca. She looked around and cursed. The pile of dead bodies had grown. Hopefully now with a resupply, it wouldn't grow any bigger.

Rebecca gathered what she thought was enough, mostly aid kits and rations, and dumped it into the back of the jeep. With nothing to do, she walked over to the church and into the basement to help out.

The amount of wounded grew exponentially. Rebecca walked around a bit, weaving through wounded to find Roe. She found Roe in a wide open room with Renee. Both were grieving over the dead body of a trooper they couldn't save. By the looks of it, neither of them could find the artery, and he bled to death. None saw her so Rebecca took it as a good time to leave them. Roe needed Renee like Rebecca needed Dick. He had become increasingly reclusive and quiet as the days dragged on in Bastogne. He needed someone to confide in, Rebecca didn't care it wasn't her Roe chose.

Rebecca slowly left and grabbed a box of supplies in a sanctuary they used for storage. She picked up the box and left.

The squad she and Roe had arrived in were loaded up in the jeep, ready to go.

"Where's Roe?" Lip asked.

"He'll be back, he's uh, helping down in the church with the wounded," Rebecca excused.

Lip didn't think twice. The jeep started up, taking them back to the front.


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this extra long chapter! It's exciting to be almost halfway through this story, I can't even believe it! Things are going to get crazier for Rebecca and Easy as I'm sure many of you can imagine. Thank you guys so much for all the support and for sticking this ride out with me. It really means the world to me! :3