"So are you ready for this" Lane asked Amy and Katie.
It was December 1, 1942, second battalion was getting ready to march from Toccoa to Atlanta.
Three grueling days were a head of them and Amy was definitely not looking forward to the march.
The battalion moved out and marched towards Atlanta, at that Tuesday morning the first forward march sounded, the weather was unfavorable, across the though side road of the north Georgia mountains, the company set out in thick fog, they could only see a hundred yards a head and it lasted all morning. At noon, a slow drizzled started, and when they stopped for a midday meal, it got shitty cold.
That afternoon it started to pour down, mud was everywhere and it was freezing cold.
The first day they marched forty miles, they settled down for the night around Gainesville.
Katie went around to the men in the battalion making sure everybody was ok. She treated the guys she could treat on the spot.
The girls had gotten permission to bunk together and they were pitching their tent, next to second platoon,
Nixon had decided to stay with Welsh and Winters and the six officers were sharing a meal.
The boys from Easy were teasing the three girls, the girls usually ate with them in the mess, the men were them, and they knew when they were upstaged.
All of them was tired, walking forty miles was tough, but walking forty miles in full gear was even tougher, Katie had been busy when they stopped, looking after the men, who had blisters and were exhausted, the battalion had marched with pride singing while they marched.
The rumor of the march had spread and throughout the country and everywhere they were greeted by people in the small towns they passed through, they had even been offered rides, which they of course turned down.
One by one the officers retreated to the tents. Amy was tossing and turning, it was too damn cold she couldn't sleep; she was just too damn cold. She got out of the tent and walked down a couple of tents, she knew Speirs was in a tent just down the line, he shared it with a fellow lieutenant from Dog and it was big enough for the three of them.
Amy hoped he was still awake so she could ask if she could use him for body heat.
She was cold and desperate and with the heat that had been generated by the hug back at the camp, Amy was sure Speirs would keep her warm.
When she reached Speirs tent, she noticed he had already turned in for the night. Amy pulled her blankets closer around her and slipped in the tent, she snuggled into Speirs, she knew it was probably wrong, and violated all kinds of military regulation, but she didn't care.
Speirs woke up when he felt some one snuggle up to him, he barely opened his eyes, and saw Amy snuggled up to him; he pulled her closer and closed his eyes.
Lane woke up she was cold and she noticed the space next to her was empty, that explained why she was freezing.
She tried to pull her blanket closer around her, but it didn't help, she sighed and knew there was only one way she would get warm, she needed body heat and she would use Nixon to get what she needed.
She tripped over to the officer's tent, and got in, she laid down next to Nixon, snug under his blankets, and turned her back to him, she felt him put an arm around her waist and pull her closer in his sleep, Lane smiled and snuggled closer to him.
Winters woke up, he couldn't turn and he saw why, Captain Easterday was snuggled up to Nixon, not leaving enough room for all of them.
Winters got out of the tent and slipped into the girls. He noticed Katie was shaking in her sleep, he put his blankets over her and climbed under them, Katie turned towards him sighed and put her head on his chest and let out a content moan.
When Amy woke up the next morning she was still snuggled up to Speirs, she decided to head back before anyone noticed she was missing and before, Speirs woke up.
Amy slipped out from the tent, before she could slip all the way out a hand grabbed her wrist, Speirs with his eyes still closed, before he let her go he said "You can share my bed anytime lieutenant Hunt"
Amy blushed and hurried back to her own tent, when she opened the flap, she noticed Winters holding Katie, Amy couldn't help but snicker, Winters opened his eyes and looked at Amy "I won't ask where you been, if you keep this quiet" he said
"Deal, but where is Lane" Amy asked
"Next door" Winters said
Amy went to the next tent and tapped on the flap, Welsh pulled it back and looked at Amy "What can I do for you" He asked
"Could you wake Captain Easterday for me, please?" Amy said
A couple of minutes later Lane came out, Nixon was still fast asleep.
"Come on love, we need to get up" Amy said.
As the whole battalion woke up, they packed up and headed out, the march was particularly hard that day it was not only raining it was also hail, some men did not make it, but a least they fell head first, as Colonel Sink later said.
The company set up camp around Buford, the night came and went, the girls was sleeping next to the same men as the day before.
The next day they marched into the Oglethorpe campus at 4.30 in the afternoon, the Georgia power company had busses take the Company to the local country club, to get a hot showers.
That night Katie, Lane and Amy strolled down the streets of Atlanta, when they ran into Luz, Liebgott, Guarnere, and Talbert, the men asked the girls to join them, and they all went out for Dinner.
By the time Dinner ended Lane and Amy was so tired they could hardly stand, they decided to head back to camp, so did Katie.
As soon as they returned they got ready for bed, but all of them was reluctant to climb in, the three of them without realizing it, was waiting on their guys.
Finally they decided to head to bed they were so tired that they did not even noticed the cold, that night.
Amy woke up and looked around her, she was not in her own tent, she could feel someone was holding on to her, she turned around to see Speirs holding on to her.
Amy turned around and studied him, she loved he rugged look, he was a handsome man, no doubt, he was just hard to figure out, during the day he pretty much ignored her, but yet he had cared enough to carry her to his tent so he could sleep next to her.
Amy was puzzled; she started to move so she could leave. Speirs still sleepy just held on to her tighter, "Don't move, just for once stay, so I can say good morning to you" Amy turned around and looked at Speirs, "well good morning" She said
Speirs kissed her on top of her head "Good morning to you too, now get out of here before you get caught," He said
Lane woke up snuggled up to Nixon and with very little room around her; she realized that there was four people in the tent instead of three and two of them did not belong there.
She was not complaining, but Sink might if he found out, Lane woke Nixon and Winters by throwing dirty socks at them and telling them to get the hell out of there.
Katie woke up confused wondering what all the commotion was all about, she noticed Lane smiling at her "What" Katie asked
The other Captain smiled at her "Sleep nice next to Dick" Lane smirked
"Shut it" Easterday, when is the truck getting here and where is Hunt" Katie asked
"The trucks are here in about an hour, Amy is with Speirs that's where she has disappeared to the past night" Lane said
"Well I be darned" Katie said.
Amy came strolling back, but suddenly she heard "Easy company front and center", Amy grabbed her gear in a hurry and hauled butt to the place where Sobel was waiting.
Sobel just starred at the men "Easy move out" Sobel said and pointed to the truck there was waiting to drive the company to Fort Benning.
Lane and Katie got a ride from a major from regiment, when they arrived at the camp, Katie walked towards the hospital, to see if all her supplies had been dropped off, it looked like all the boxes was there, and Katie sighed and started to sort through the stuff and putting it away.
Twenty minutes later Roe and the medics from dog and fox walked in and in no time the place was clean and ready to receive patients. The doctor who had run the place before Katie, had been transferred out and Katie could see that he had been a slop.
Katie met the nurses they were surprised she was a woman, but had no problem with it.
Lane and Nixon was to report to Sink, so that's where they were heading, after the got all their gear stashed away, Lane, Katie and Amy was sharing a tent and Nixon was bunking with Welsh and Winters.
Sobel had his own tent and guys were glad they didn't had to share with him.
When they arrived, Nixon knocked on the door and from his office Sink called "enter"
Nixon and Lane walked in and immediately stood at attention.
"At ease" Sink said
Nixon and Lane was puzzled why were they there, had someone squealed, about where the girls had spent the night during the march.
Nixon would bet his commission, that none of the officers would want it to be common knowledge, where they spend their nights during the march.
"Lieutenant Nixon, captain Easterday, since you are the second battalion intelligence officers, your jump training will be an accelerated affair. You will need to be prepared for jumping into enemy territory, before the rest of the battalion" Sink said and looked at Nixon and Lane.
Lane swallowed and Nixon gave her a side glance "Yes sir" They replied
"Good you will start your jump training tomorrow morning with a jump instructor, report to the hanger at 6 am , now get" Sink said
Nixon and Lane saluted the colonel and walked out, when they came out side they looked at each other and smiled.
This was what they had been waiting for, they were going to get their jump wings.
While Katie was at the hospital and Lane was at regiment, Amy found herself strolling around the camp looking for Speirs, when she found him she smiled at him and started to walk over towards him, but stopped when she the look in his eyes.
He just glared at her, again the warm and caring look was gone and he just nodded at her and kept walking.
Amy felt the blood rush from her face, so this was how it was going to be, he was going to run hot and cold, well forget that, she had better things to do with her time.
Amy walked back to Easy company and walked straight into the arms of Floyd Talbert, she hugged him, and sobbed a little, Talbert held her at arm's length and looked at her "What did Sparky do?" he asked her.
Amy just leaned into Talbert, "He was just being himself and ignoring me, why the hell are men so complicated" Amy asked and looked up at Talbert.
"We aren't complicated, talk about complicated why are you so hung up on him" Talbert asked her.
"Don't know, I just am, well I better get my head on straight, Can't wait for tomorrow, are you guys ready?" Amy asked him.
Amy was the leader of third platoon, it had Perconte, Popeye Wynn, Mike Ranney, Shifty Powers, Ramirez, Tipper, Talbert, skinny Sisk, Lipton and others.
Amy who was just barely a head of the guys, like the rest of the officers, sometimes the material they thaught, was material they had been instructed in the day before.
The Platoon leaders was doing their first jump, just before the company, they started a half day earlier, so Amy was to be given instructed about how to pack a Shute and jump training in the morning, she then had to instruct the men in the afternoon, this made her a little nervous, but the jump instructors at Fort Benning were excellent and were more than willing to help or so she heard.
Amy held on tight to Talbert while they walked over to the mess, she was hoping the other girls would be there, so she could get some female perspective on her problems.
She had no such luck, all the nurses, medics and the doctor were busy at the hospital and while they were eating, they could hear, Nixon and Lane chasing each other around the camp, they were laughing and enjoying the little time in freedom they had left.
Lane had suggested they play a game they had invented, when they were kids, it was a form of hide and go seek, it consisted of two parts, once you were found, you had ten seconds, to run and if the person who found didn't catch you before you found a new place to hide, well that person had to count again and start over, they had driven their moms to the edge of sanity, at dinner parties playing this game.
Lane's mom was usually disappointed with Lane, because she was unable to sit still like a proper young lady and Nixon knew he just disappointed his parent's period.
Nixon caught Lane and they tumbled to the ground, Lane ended up on her back, with Nixon on top of her.
They were face to face and suddenly they went silent, Nixon closed in on Lane and kissed her, Lane kissed him back, neither off them realized they had ended up just in front of the officers barrack and Sobel was looking down at them.