Hey
Enjoy I own nothing but the girls, no disrespect intended.
German Field Hospital Somewhere in Belgium
"Captain Hendrick…Doc Hendrick…Can you come here for a second" A young nurse called out for Katie.
It was Christmas Eve and the German Hospital was over crowded, Katie did the best she could for the German soldier, but she never talked or got close with them, not as she had done with her American Patients, her friends.
Katie missed Winters, she would dream of him at night. She longed for him and she needed him more than her next breath.
Katie walked towards the young nurse; suddenly the German commander blocked her path.
"Ah Doctor Hendrick…Kommen Sie mit…Bitte" The Commander motioned for Katie to follow him
Katie followed him into his office, the commander closed the door, Katie swallowed she was afraid he heard how she helped Mia escape.
"Doctor one of your nurse has gone missing…Do you…how do you say, have a finger in the escape act" The commander sat down in his desk chair.
Katie swallowed hard "I don't know what you are talking about I didn't even know a nurse were missing" Katie bit her cheek. Mia must have made since the commander decided to interrogate Katie.
"Are you absolutely sure you don't know anything about this flucht…escape" The commander got on his feet.
The commander walked over to Katie. Being young and away from home, he couldn't help but being attracted to the young doctor, she was a beauty.
Katie looked at the commander he were a poster boy for the Nazi's he was tall slender and blond with blue eyes. Katie hated the commander, he never hurt her, but she knew he was playing her. He wanted something from her and she had a feeling it was her in his bed and that was why he had been so nice these past few weeks.
"I don't know anything" Katie looked the commander right in the eyes
"You know what I think you are lying" the commander walked over, lifted Katie's hair away from her neck, and kissed the spot right behind her ear.
Katie shuddered and the commander took it for lust not the fright it actually was, he grabbed her hand and kissed her. Katie tried to fight him off. When he pulled back, Katie spit him in the face.
That turned out to be a big mistake, the commander slapped her hard across the face, the door opened and a soldier stepped in, the commander stepped away from Katie. The commander looked at the young soldier
"WAS" his eyes never leaving Katie?
"Haupt sturmbahn fuhrer Schmidt" The young soldier stepped away and a German SS soldier stepped in the room.
The commander stepped up to the young soldier and whispered something in his ear and the young man grabbed Katie and pulled him along side of him. He stopped in front of a cell. Katie started to protest she knew no one made out of the cell a live.
…
Christmas Eve, somewhere in a cold forest in Belgium
Amy sat in a crowded foxhole with Malarkey, Muck, Penkala and Bain. Malarkey passed out Lucky stripes.
Amy was shaking like oak leaves and she missed Ron. It was Christmas Eve and she was supposed to be with the people she loved, not sitting a foxhole freezing her ass off.
It was quiet and the only sound was the some guys coughing, which had become as common as breathing.
Suddenly the Germans started to sing Silent night, the sound traveled over the snow. Amy closed her eyes and started to sing as well and the men in the foxhole became quiet. Amy opened her eyes and saw the men all staring at her.
"What" she asked
Malarkey shook his head "You should sing more often that was amazing, merry Christmas lieutenant"
Amy blushed "Merry Christmas boys"
….
December 26thsomewhere in a holding cell in Belgium
Katie was going insane; she knew all the signs from her psych classes. She was hallucinating and she was itching all over and she was sure she heard voices. Katie crept into the corner of the cell.
The door to the cell opened and a soothing voiced sounded, "Ok, its ok, it's over"
Katie looked at soldier standing in the door and sighed with relief, it was over, and by the look of his uniform, and he was a part of Patton's third army.
The Soldier picked up Katie, carried her up to the hospital ward, and put her on the bed. Katie passed out, the next time she woke up, she saw the German soldier were gone and replaced by Brits and Americans.
One of the young nurses stopped when she noticed Katie was awake "Oh Doctor…oh I can't believe it, you are awake" The nurse motioned for one of the doctors to come over and examine Katie
"Doctor Kent" Katie mumbled and let the other doctor look her over. Katie knew she was ok physically, she was just dehydrated and starved, but emotionally she was beat, she felt like she lost a part of herself somewhere the beating and the cell.
….
A frozen forest in Belgium, December 31st
"Glen Miller's plane has gone down somewhere over the channel" Roe brought back news from town.
"Wow…Can't believe we won't hear any new music from that guy again" Malarkey mumbled and returned to watch the line.
"Well I got some more news…Patton has liberated the 326th" The 3rd army had penetrated the German lines and had rolled into town, the circle was broken and Easy would finally be resupplied and the wounded would finally be evacuated.
Roe ran off, he needed to tell Winters. Roe knocked on the tent pole at the CP, Winters looked up at him "Doc…what can I do for you" Winters asked
"Well, sir, I just wanted to…the 326th was liberated by Patton
Winters starred at Roe "Is there any…is there any news about the…"
Roe knew Winters wanted to know if he had heard anything about Katie "No sir, Nothing"
Winters sighed "Ok, thank you for the news and Doc if you hear anything…"
"You will be the first to know" Roe turned and walked back to the foxhole he shared with Spina, he hoped the nice doctor was ok.
The tarp over the foxhole lifted and Mia slid into the foxhole "Is it me or is Dike the biggest moron on the face of the earth"
Roe and Spina looked at Mia. Mia never complained so Foxhole Norman must have screwed up "What…never mind…the 326th has been liberated" Roe told Mia
Mia just smiled and snuggled up in her blanket. She was[DH1] happy but she wondered what shape Katie would be in when she showed up.
Mia heard Amy run by the foxhole just as a barrage started. Amy was shouting at the men trying to get them to take cover, she pushed the men into the foxhole. A German plane swooped low and fired an antipersonnel bomb. Toye pushed Amy out of the way and in return, he took some shrapnel to the wrist.
"Oh god Toye, I am so sorry are you ok" Amy was crouched by Toye's side and she was almost crying.
"Damn it…don't worry about me Lt, just remember to tell Speirs how I saved your life" Toye joked
Spina came running and he patched Joe up. Malarkey and Luz was standing by the Jeep joking with Joe "You lucky SOB"
"Hey Malark I will be back" Joe said and the jeep took off.
Amy stood and looked after the jeep as it disappeared. She felt guilty she looked at the small crowd gathered around her.
Luz walked over and hugged Amy "Don't worry Lt, he will be back"
Amy nodded and sniffled "I know"
Amy looked up and noticed Speirs standing a few feet away, if looks could kill Luz would have been dead.
Speirs held his hand out and Amy walked over and put her hand in his. Speirs walked Amy back to her foxhole and jumped in and then grabbed Amy by the waist and lifted her into the frozen hole.
Speirs pulled Amy close "I thought I told you to stay away from Luz" he mumbled into her hair
Amy sniffled into Speirs chest and nodded. Speirs just held Amy tight and waited for her to calm down. He knew she felt guilty for getting Toye hurt even though she had nothing to do with it, But Amy was sensitive and he knew she just needed to feel like it was ok and that she was forgiven.
A few minutes later Amy felt a different presence in the foxhole, she looked up, Luz, Malarkey and Muck all was there. Speirs looked at Amy and then at Luz "Behave" and then he disappeared into the snow-covered forest.
Luz looked at the other soldiers in the foxhole "How does he always just show up and disappear without anyone noticing, he always know when you need him Lt"
Amy sighed, "I know, he is just…"
"Scary, we know" Muck joked.
"You know what," Malarkey asked
"No" Muck said and waited for his friend to continue
"It's new year's eve," Malarkey said
Amy looked at the men, in all the crazy they forgot a year ago, they all celebrated the New Year in England Warm, wild and all the food you could eat; now they sat in their foxholes talking quietly. Buck jumped in the foxhole and wished them all a happy New Year.
"Buck can we fire off some mortars rounds," Malarkey asked
"You got ammo?" Buck asked
"Yeah" Malarkey waited for the response from his friend
Buck looked at Amy "I don't know, what you say Amy?"
Amy looked at the men; they looked like boys waiting for permission to fire of firecrackers on 4 July.
"Oh go ahead" Amy smiled
The boys scurried out of the foxhole and fired of six rounds, just to let the German's know it was not over yet.
On January 2nd Easy was called upon to push the Germans back thru the Bulge. Easy were been sent to clear the Bois Jacques, Amy had third platoon moving out, they met little resistance, at one point, Buck stopped and ordered Malarkey to squad down, and he placed a map over on his back.
Amy, Buck and Lipton were discussing where they were, and which way to proceed.
"That means, we must be right here," Buck said and tapped Malarkey on the back of the head.
Malarkey protested "Hey take it easy"
"Quit whining, or I will nail it to your head," Buck said
Guarnere snickered "You should, it's made of wood"
Amy and Lipton was walking next to each other "Man I glad to be out of my foxhole, at least I keep warm walking" Lipton said
Amy looked at him "I don't know Lip, I don't like it, it's only a thousand yard attack, and we already had casualties, I don't like it"
Easy reached the MLR and dug in. Darkness was setting in; defensive positions were set for the night. A German soldier came roaring through the woods on horseback, like something out of legend of sleepy hollow, he scared the hell out of everybody there. He encountered a patrol and did a one eighty turn and headed back. Hoobler pumped three rounds in the soldiers back, the soldier fell of the horse and Hoobler finally got his luger.
The company dug in as best they could, Amy was swearing and cursing. Lipton finally decided to help her and shifty dig in.
"Hey Lip thanks for the help" Shifty was grateful for the help, Amy had been always been petite, but after weeks in the forest, she was now weak and she looked pale and sick. Speirs checked in on her occasionally, but there was nothing anybody could do, without rations and water Amy would not get better.
Buck moved from foxhole to foxhole to check on the on the men asking if they were ok and telling them to keep moving. When he reached Lipton and Amy, he motioned for them to follow him
Where is Dike?" Buck asked
Amy shrugged "He is around"
"Can you be a little more specific there?" Buck asked her
"Not really Buck" Amy told him
"God damn it, I didn't see him coming thru the woods, and I haven't seen him all day. I have figure how we ended up" Buck said
"Two wounded" Lipton told him
"Who?" Buck asked Lipton
"Browns and Stevens" Lipton said
"Damit, Where is Dike? Where the hell does he ever go?" Buck was pissed off, and damn near his breaking point, a missing CO was a big problem
Malarkey and Shifty was digging a foxhole next to Dana and Lipton's, the two of them retorted, "I don't know, but I wish he stay the hell there, and it would be nice if he took lieutenant Shames with him"
Lipton knew talk like that could lower morale turned, and he told the two men to shut up.
A gun went off nearby and a soldier screamed. Hoobler had been fiddling with his luger in his pocket and accidently shot himself. He was squirming in the snow, the blood gushing from the main artery in the right thigh.
"Help me, help me, oh god help me," He cried
Mia came running thru the forest and skidded to a halt when she saw what she had to deal with "Ok, we need to get him to the aid station" Mia was working frantically, but she knew Hoobler was a going to die and he did at the aid station alone in the night.
Lipton, Mia and Amy walked back to CP to report the incident, Lipton were telling Winter, Nixon and Lane how they couldn't find the artery underneath the layers of clothes Hoobler had been wearing
Nixon looked at Lipton, "Oh hell Lip, you cut that main artery in the leg and that's… that's it"
Lip looked at Amy and the rest of the officers" I am going to head back, too make sure the boys are alright" Lip turned and disappeared out into the falling snow.
Winters looked at Amy "Where is Dike?"
Amy shrugged, yeah where the company commander was that was the big question "I don't know, why you want to talk to him"?
"No, I just expected to hear this kind of news from him" Winters gave Amy a stern look
"Well, if I see him, I will send him your way" Amy said
Peacock, Shames, Buck, Lipton, Welsh and Amy was gathered around Dike, he was trying to hand out orders, but everything that came out of his mouth made absolutely no sense.
Buck asked him what formation to use while dug in, and he got some crazy answer about how Dike would clarify that with him at a later time.
Amy shook her head; Dike wasn't a bad leader because he made bad decisions. He was a bad leader, because he made no decisions at all.
Dana and Lipton took a walk, to make sure the men were secure for the night. They found Liebgott, Bill, Malarkey, Skip and Talbert in a foxhole.
Lipton walked up to them "Hey boys, what's you doing"
Skip looked at Lipton and Amy "Nothing, just sitting here singing Dike's praises"
Lipton and Amy sat down on the side of the foxhole, Lipton looked at the men "Yeah well, I would hate to be a replacement officer coming in here, getting thrown in with a group of guys, who have known each other for what two years? Who have been in combat together since Normandy, is he just supposed to show up and lead them? How does a guy do that, how could anyone really earn the respect of the toughest, most dedicated, professional sons of bitches in the ETO? So if you ask me a guy would have to march of to Berlin and come back with Hitler's mustache or something"
Lipton got serious again "Anyway, you all do your jobs and we will be fine" Lipton got up and so did Dana
Amy put her arm around Lipton's shoulder "How do you do it?" she asked him
"How do I do what?" Lipton asked
"All ways know what to say" Amy answered him
"I don't know, I just say what I think they need to hear, I don't always believe it, but we need to protect the integrity of the company" Lipton stared into the horizon
Mia walked up to Lipton and grabbed him "I am going to steal this one away for the night"
Amy nodded "Ok, goodnight" She looked after the couple she sighed and decided to seek out Speirs
…
Winters Charlotte and Nixon were gathered at the CP, they were also discussing Dike.
"You know what Dike's problem is don't you? He is just one of those arrogant rich jerks from Yale" Winters teased Nixon and Lane.
Lane looked at Winters "oh god, another one of those"
Lane was sitting on Nixon's lap, she was freezing, and she wasn't looking forward to walk the line in three hours.
Winters continued, "Division isn't going to let me replace him, just because I got a bad feeling about him, even if they would, who would I put in his place? Shames, he have seen to many war movies, he thinks he has to yell all the time"
Winters looked around the CP, he knew he would get his answer in due time. His wife would tell him, even though he didn't agree with her on this.
Winters continued "Peacock? God bless him, no one tries harder, but he is not fit to take the men into combat, I sure as hell isn't going to make him company CO, when I don't want him as a platoon leader"
"How about Compton" Nixon asked him
"Buck is the only real choice, but I want Easy to have at least one experienced platoon leader, not that it matter anyway, because I can't get rid of Dike"
Nixon looked at Winters "well we all know who you like to have around Easy, problem it isn't your job anymore"
Lane nodded in agreement, Nixon and Winters looked at each other, and they knew Lane was right, but Dike was a favor to someone at division and he was sent to Easy to get some combat experience under his belt before moving on.
The truth was, Buck had changed since he got back from the hospital, and he was more serious. Lane was walking the line, the men were reinforcing their foxholes and Buck was talking to his men, telling them not to do anything stupid.
Amy was sitting, talking to Luz and Skip, when Buck showed up, and gave them don't do anything-stupid speech.
Skip looked at them after they left "Don't do anything stupid; who the hell is he talking to? A bunch of morons who volunteer to jump out of a perfectly good air plane, don't do anything stupid, can you get anymore stupid than that?"
Skip continued to tell a story about how he once swam across the Niagara River, and how Faye, his girl gave him hell, when he mentioned Faye, Luz, Amy sang out "The sweet Faye Tanner"
Lane walked on, she found Lipton sitting in a foxhole and Dike was standing on the edge, it seemed like they were talking, when Dike suddenly turned and walked away.
"What was that about?" Lane asked Lipton.
"He wanted to know where I was from" Lipton said
The group went silent; they all tried not to think about home, it was too hard…
…
The next morning Nixon and Lane was sleeping in a foxhole, when a jeep stopped and a runner yelled for Captain Easterday and Captain Nixon.
Nixon woke up and shushed the runner, so he wouldn't wake up Lane, she was sick, but refused to go to the aid station.
Nixon grabbed the piece of paper the runner was handing him and dismissed him. Nixon read the paper and knew he had solution to one of Dick's leadership problems.
Nixon walked around the CP and found Dick drinking coffee, he poured himself a cup and said "good morning" and held up the piece of paper
Winters looked at Lew "Eviction notice?" he asked him
Lew laughed a little "Not quite, but I think, I got something that will help you, with your leadership problem"
Winters smiled "Dike is being transferred?"
"No, I can't help you with that, but division has decided, to pluck one officer from each regiment, who have served in the heroic defense of Bastogne and send them back to the states on a thirty day furlough. Get them out banging the drum for the war bond drive, that sort of thing, turn out I been plucked" Nixon handed Dick the order
"That's great, good for you, but how in the world does you leaving help me?" Dick asked him
"Well I am not going, I already seen the states, I grew up there that's why I came to Europe. I just wish they told me there was a war going on. The point is this thing is wasted on me, but I am sure we can find an officer somewhere in this battalion who can use a long trip home" Nixon and Winters just nodded at each other.
"If you even consider sending one of my girls home, I will kill you both in your sleep" Lane breezed past the two officers, in the end Peacock was the one they send home, and the men was glad to see him go.
….
Sink, Nixon, Winters, and Lane was in CP "If the Camera comes by here remember to smile for the folks back home"
"Why" Nixon asked Sink
"Hell if I know" Sink said
Lane was coughing bad "Maybe you should stay away from the camera" Sink told her.
"Ok, Captain Nixon what do we have waiting for us in Foy" Sink asked him
Nixon started to explain, what he and Lane had spotted in Foy, when Winters excused himself, he had seen two soldiers get of a jeep and one of them was the love of his life.
[DH1]