Nili was quiet that night. Donny took careful notice, although she brought forth a tenderness in him she did not totally quell the instincts of his predator's mind. He picked up on her jerky movements, the monosyllables she answered in, the almost imperceptible tightening of her muscles when anyone, even himself, came into contact with her.

He sat next to and had his arm slung protectively over the back of her chair. She did not shy away from him completely, she had her shoulder angled into his chest as if she were backed into him to defend against an attack from behind. He could almost smell the fear radiating off of her.

This was not right. There was nothing she should be scared of. Something must have happened while they were on patrol.

"Don… Donny… Donowitz!" He was drawn out of his line of thought by Aldo calling to him from across the table where the Basterds were eating a hearty dinner cooked by the Madame and her girls.

"Yeah Aldo?"

"I was asking' you 'bout the road you checked out today. Whaddaya reckon?"

Donny was back to business, his mind temporarily straying from his little woman. "Well, the road's old. We staked it out and the only traffic that passed by was a farmer and his old cart horse. Wicki and I checked the ground, we couldn't place any vehicle tracks, that road looks like the best bet, Aldo."

The end of his thought was punctuated by a sardonic chuckle from the other side of the table. "A viable option, if the objective is rousing the suspicion of the locals. Think about it Sergeant, if there's no vehicle tracks then no vehicles cross that road, our truck will leave fresh tracks that will be traced back to this house and to the check point in Nadine. Really, man, it's the first lesson in espionage. It's a miracle you haven't gotten a bullet in your ape's skull yet."

Donny's eyes darkened as he seethed at the dapper officer across the table. "You shut your mouth, you son of a bitch." Donny said darkly feeling his hackles rise.

"Easy, you neanderthal, I was only pointing out the flaws in your plan"

"Well," Aldo grated out grinding his teeth in Hicox's direction "What do you suggest?"

Hicox allowed himself a victor's chuckle again "I suggest the road to the South. It's mainly used as a freight road, trucks moving by at all hours from the depths and ages of the tire tracks. We could easily pass as farmers bringing in produce or what have you. The Nazis stationed around here are lazy, mostly old men and boys with barely any chest hair they don't care enough for checkpoints. It should be a 'cake walk' as you Yanks would put it."

Aldo blew out a long stream of air and mulled over what Hicox imparted to him. Damned if he wasn't right. The man may be a piece of shit, but he was a damned good tactile solider.

"Fair enough, Hicox." Aldo said hiding the disdain in his voice well with an air of authority "We'll head out tomorrow on the South road; we'll take Marie's truck and pack you boys in the back with some feed bags. Wicki you'll drive since you actually speak the damn language, Hicox you speak a little French too don'tcha?"

The Brit nodded curtly

"Aaahright then, you'll ride with him."

The men quietly consented to the plan and then returned their thoughts to their food, all except for the Staff Sergeant. He watched instead as Nili pushed her food around her plate as opposed to actually eating it. He tried to comfort her by twirling a spiral curl around his finger at her back. She looked up at him briefly, giving an attempt at her usual smile, but it was only a ghost's attempt.

"You okay, baby?" He couldn't help himself from asking it aloud, her behaviors were only making him more concerned.

"Just fine." She said in a mild tone.

He gave her an appraising look, but decided it would have to wait until they were alone. He planted a firm kiss on her temple then tried to keep his attention on his food.

What the Sergeant didn't notice, even with his keen eye was the nervous glances his Commanding Officer kept sending towards the little nurse, and the hawk's eye the British man was appraising him with.

Hicox could still feel her beneath him, her taunt little body trembling with fear. Initially it had almost put him off. He hadn't wanted her to be afraid of him, he'd wanted her to give into him, to lust after him as he lusted after her. But feeling the nervous energy she radiated, the trembles and the gooseflesh that rose across her heated chest had give him another rush altogether, one he decided he preferred. It made him feel powerful, a sort of dangerous masculinity he was unaccustomed to.

He kept his eyes on his food, he didn't need to appraise her, not out in the open where the big ape might notice. The only hinderance was the Lieutenant's new distrust for him. He flicked his eyes over to the older man and watched him out of the corner of his eye.

Aldo had ruined his moment that day. The feeling of domination he had felt with her pinned underneath him had been almost exquisite. It was a feeling he wanted to draw out for as long as he possibly could and the ignorant cur had barged in. Didn't he understand the rush he was getting? It was like replacing a fine scotch with lukewarm water the way he quelled the feeling. He would have to be careful around him now, tread on eggshells so as not to arouse his already heightened suspicions. But he would have her again, he most certainly would.

Her appetite was gone the second he sat at the table. She watched as he sat with the ease of a well versed predator. His lanky frame draped over the chair in the appearance of the laziest ease, yet she knew in the span of half a breath he could be up and towering over her. Donny's large frame at her back felt like her only protection from his glances. HIs presence should have comforted her, but she was finding that it wasn't doing as much for her sense of security as it should. She knew he sensed the nervousness in her, and she knew he would be asking questions. She wondered if she would be able to hold her facade once they were alone. She was unsure if she could hold off the tears and blurting out the days events and Hicox's untoward advances.

They finished dinner without incident and Nili busied herself helping Adele and Marie clean the plates and silverware. She couldn't help but be a little amazed at the efficiency with which Marie ran the house. The Basterds were able to exist within the walls at the same time as the clients without ever being seen or heard. They moved like ghosts at Marie's beck and call, keeping to their rooms and away form the receiving parlor. The kitchen where they spent the majority of their waking hours was set far back in the old house, Nili guessed it was built to serve in much the same way, to keep the staff hidden away from the house owners.

Nili had even become accustomed to seeing the dirtiest workings of the whore house, she would see girls emerge from their rooms at the end of the night in various states of undress, she would see the Basterds emerge red faced and sated after them. She now knew the women only as women, other human beings who'd had to resort to their profession not out of lack of moral but out of necessity, and she could find herself almost respecting the brave girls who faced the harshest of judgements with a devil may care type of assurance.

As she helped Adele Donny sat in at the kitchen table watching her. He cleaned his pistol quietly and a cigarette dangled form his mouth. His mind was wandering form his task though. He was still puzzling over Nili's agitation. He knew Hicox had to be involved, his gut was screaming it, and in his line of work the gut instinct was prized.

She was deeply immersed in conversation with Adele, tittering on in French when he looked up. She wouldn't notice if he left the room for a moment. He set down his gun quietly and made sure the door made little sound as he closed it behind him. He padded through the house, Hicox was not in the parlor with a few of the other men, nor was he in the study with Aldo. He must have been upstairs, by himself, isolated; just the way Donny wanted him. He made his way upstairs as soundlessly as his big form would allow. Ashe reached the top he spied his prey. Perfect.

Hicox was swaggering his way down the hall, whistling a jaunty tune to himself. His own melody covered the sound of his attackers advance and before he knew what had hit him his face was buried up against the wall and his arms were twisted painfully behind his back.

"What did you do to her?"

A chuckled reverberated from against the wall. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."

Donny slammed his face a little harder into the wall "What the fuck are you getting at?"

"Fuck would be the operative word, ape."

Donny felt a wave of rage seethe through him "What do you mean you limp dicked Limey?"

"I mean," He said with an air of superiority "That your nurse is a tight little fuck. Eager too."

Donny rammed his knee between Hicox's legs and reveled in the gust of wind that flew from his chest.

Hicox took a moment to recover but kept on as he had "I found her in that little garden…" He wheezed out "She came right to me, and I bent her over out in the open. She wanted it, and she loved it. She said she wanted to loved by a man, not an ignorant monster."

Donny was overpowered by rage. He knew he was a heartbeat away from fucking killing this bastard. His rational mind told him there was absolutely no truth to this what so ever, but there was no room for rationality to stand in the face of the anger he felt bubbling up inside of him.

He bashed Hicox's skull into the wall once more before throwing him to the ground and flying towards his room.

There was no way she would have fucked him. No way. She was his and his alone. She was going to be his wife. He was going to have kids with her. They were going to make it through this war and go home to Boston and live happily ever after. There was no way she would throw that out.

But the poison found it's way into his thoughts. What if she did? He knew he wasn't good enough for her. She was so smart and well spoken. She could speak French and he could barely speak proper English. What if she was sick of him? What if she had been seduced by Hicox's pretty flowery words. What if she realized just how much he didn't deserve her.

He flew down the stairs and out the front door slamming the old wood behind him. He felt the jingle of a few francs in his pocket and he knew enough to say "Whiskey" and "more" in French, and for tonight, that was all he needed. He wouldn't be back tonight.