Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers, but I do love the HBO miniseries. Also, this is based purely on the miniseries, and not the lives of the actual men of Easy Company. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the men that fought so that we could live freely today.
Realizations
The next day, Sadie couldn't help but think about Nixon and every time she did, she would get butterflies in her stomach. She was working at the aid station in the morning that day, and then would be training with the men for the afternoon.
She walked in to find that Megan had beaten her there already, possibly for the first time ever.
"Good morning, Meg," Sadie greeted her friend with a cheerful smile.
"Morning," the blonde nurse smiled back, "what's got you so chipper this morning?"
"Oh nothing," Sadie tried to act normal, but inside she couldn't wait to see Nixon.
"I saw you leave with Lieutenant Nixon last night," Megan hinted. Sadie's response was to turn her back and look busy in hopes of hiding her blush. "You know he's married, right?"
"What?" Sadie whipped her head around, surprise evident on her face.
"Oh my goodness! You didn't know? You didn't…?" Megan trailed off, hinting at something inappropriate.
"No! Of course not! Who do you think I am?"
"Well you were pretty drunk."
"Nothing happened," Sadie said firmly. "He just didn't want me walking home alone, so he escorted me." She decided to leave out the important detail of Lewis kissing her, since he was married and all.
The two nurses went about their business. It wasn't overly exciting since not too many men were getting injured during training, but there were a couple soldiers there with minor scrapes and sprains and even one who was fighting bronchitis. They did their rounds and replenished the supplies.
Afternoon came around and Sadie prayed that she wouldn't see Nixon during their physical training. She was extremely pissed off that she let herself get caught up in something this stupid and even more angry at him for causing it. She didn't know what she would do if she saw him, but she knew it wasn't something she wanted the rest of Easy Company to witness. Luckily he wasn't around. He must have been with regiment going over intelligence they'd received. Sadie went home at the end of the day both physically and emotionally drained.
She was working at the aid station again the next morning. She was just going through her morning duties when she felt the presence of Lewis Nixon behind her.
"You shouldn't be here," she stated simply, a warning tone in her voice.
"Why not?" asked Nixon.
"You're a married man," she replied without even looking at him.
"I just wanna talk."
She turned to a different shelf, still not looking at the man. "Those weren't your intentions the other night."
There was a long pause while Nixon tried to think of something before he finally gave in and said, "Okay, you got me there."
Without looking at the intelligence officer, Sadie walked in back room and Nixon followed.
"You let me make such a fool of myself!" the nurse exploded.
"What?" Nixon replied, clearly confused and a little taken back at the sudden emotion she was showing.
"You were flirting with me and I flirted back! And you let me wear your coat! And you kissed me!"
"Whoa! Hold on, I distinctly remember you kissing me back. Can I just explain myself here?" he tried to defend himself. Sadie just crossed her arms and gave him permission with a sceptical look. "And you won't freak out?"
"Go on," Sadie sighed in defeat.
"Yes, I'm married," the dark-haired man began, "But I'm pretty sure she wants to divorce me-"
"You're still married, Lew!" exclaimed Sadie, throwing her hands in the air.
"Hey! I thought you were gonna let me talk here."
"Sorry," Sadie grumbled out of frustration.
"And," Nixon picked up where she cut him off, "I haven't heard from her in over two years."
"Yes, I'm sure you were completely faithful until last night," Sadie replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"I wasn't going to say that," Nixon responded with a hint of frustration.
Sadie stormed out of the room in a huff of her own frustration.
"I get it. I fucked up," Nixon accepted as he followed her.
"Thank you Lieutenant Obvious!" she continued with the sarcasm.
"You know what, I came here because I was glad I met you the other night, but if you're just gonna be like this then I'm not going to waste my time."
"Good! I have work to do anyway!" Sadie turned to go back to work as Nixon exited the aid station.
"Ugghhh," Sadie sighed in frustration as she threw down the towels she was folding and followed him out. "Lew, wait up! I'm sorry!"
Nixon turned around and waited for her to catch up, "You should be. You just about ripped my head off in there," he teased her to lighten the mood.
"I guess I was just being emotional 'cause I had a really great time with you too and then I found out you're married…" she trailed off, looking down at the ground.
"I had a great time too. And I don't take back that kiss…or my bad intentions."
Sadie looked up slightly at him and laughed lightly. Her green eyes quickly went wide and she covered her mouth, "I shouldn't be laughing, you're married! You can't say things like that!"
Nixon just chuckled and said, "Yeah, well, what can ya do?" as if marriage was no big deal.
"So friends?" Sadie asked.
"I guess, only because I know it would break Dick's heart if we weren't," Nixon teased.
"Whatever! You should feel privileged to be my friend," she swatted his chest. Sadie couldn't deny that she was attracted to the man that stood before her, but she would have to push the attraction aside and settle for friendship.
The two developed a strong bond over the next few weeks. They could often be found together in the company of Dick Winters. Fairly harmless flirting was exchanged on a regular basis, but they kept it perfectly professional in the presence of other soldiers. Sadie quickly learned that it was quite beneficial having Easy Company's Intelligence Officer as a close friend, as she usually learned information far before the other men.
At the end of May, Easy Company shipped out to Upottery, England. Everyone became restless, as it seemed like they would be leaving for battle soon. They were living out of tents and it seemed like the entire location was complete mud. Sadie had to admit that she couldn't wait to get out of there, it was so depressing.
A new lieutenant, Buck Compton, had transferred into their Company less than a week before their departure from Aldbourne and he was quickly welcomed into the tight-knit group. Sadie was no exception to liking Buck. He was easy to talk to and always respectful of her position as the only woman in Easy. Not mention, he was pretty easy on the eyes.
It wasn't long before the officers of Easy Company, Sadie included, were briefed about Operation Overlord.
"Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont," Nixon began his explanation of what their objective was. He had numerous diagrams and sand tables set up with many reconnaissance photos. They would be landing at "H-Hour on D-Day", according to Nixon. When that was, no one knew quite yet. The exact day was being left up to Eisenhower, but it was definitely soon.
"The Airborne's objective, gentleman, and lady, is to take the town of Carentan," Nixon used his best French accent once again, "thus linking Utah and Omaha into a single, continuous beach-head."
Sadie had to admit, Ike was a genius. This plan was so elaborate and encompassing that there was no way it couldn't work, unless the German's were expecting them, but it didn't seem like they were. Many lives were at risk, but it seemed like the only possibility if they wanted to push the Germans out of France. She studied the maps and sand tables just like the other officers. She and the other nurses would be dropped with their Companies in their specified DZs and then would carry on to the rendezvous. It was at this point that nurses would establish a temporary aid station. The intention was for it to be fairly central and all men should be aiming to pass through it eventually.
They all filed out after the briefing. Sadie leaned against the wall, waiting for Nixon. As luck would have it, he was last. She quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him to her.
"That French accent was kinda sexy," she said in her most seductive tone.
"You think so?" Nixon took a step closer to her, pinning her to the wall. His body and his mouth were mere inches from her.
"Your pronunciation of 'Carentan' could use a little work, but hey," she smiled widely as she slipped away from him.
"You fucking tease," he called after her as she ran off to the aid station no doubt. He had a huge grin on his face as he just shook his head and walked the other way. Sadie had enjoyed messing with him more and more as they became better friends. Not that either of them minded. It was a welcome distraction to take their minds off what was to come.
Sadie instantly began preparing for D-Day, making sure all medics in E Company had the proper supplies, as well as herself. It wasn't long before she was on the runway with the other men making sure they had all their supplies. She couldn't help but overhear Joe Toye complaining about all the things in his pack. As he started rhyming them off, Sadie mentally went through her own pack to make sure she had all the same items, K and D rations included. Instead of the various weapons, she had medical supplies: a couple things of plasma carefully wrapped so they wouldn't break, extra bandages and gauze, many more morphine surretts, and extra supplies for stitches among other things.
Sadie was still trying to figure out how to strap everything onto her body as Malarkey started complaining about the last minute leg pack they sprung on the men.
"It's just an extra eighty pounds," said Luz simply. "Does anybody have any idea how this work?" he asked holding up the rope like a lost child. Sadie just giggled and continued packing away.
'Hey, Guarnere, you wanna share that ice cream?" Sadie tried to steal a bite from her friend.
"You had your chance," Wild Bill responded, protecting his treat.
"Come on," she begged, "just a bite."
Just then Vest handed out sheets of paper and Luz began reading them off in his best Colonel Sink impression and Sadie lost all interest in ice cream
"Tonight, is the night…" he began, and then continued in his voice. "Of nights. Today, as you read this, you are en route to the great adventure for which you've trained for over two years."
Seeing Luz get so serious got to Sadie and she suddenly got very anxious. She snatched the letter out of George's hands and read it for herself. Suddenly the mission had become real. They were really doing this. She or any of these men could die and she would never see them again. The tall brunette quickly tried to shake the feeling. She was a lieutenant; she had to be there for the men, even if she wasn't their superior officer as they so often reminded her.
She grabbed her medic pack and slung it over her shoulder and then strapped her pack on her back. She then tried to lighten the mood by hollering at George, "Hey Luz?"
"Yeah?" was his solemn response.
"Grease up my face for me?"
"I thought you'd never ask. It was always my dream to cover that pretty little face of yours in grease," he joked, and the men near them chuckled. He began to load the paint onto her face.
"Hey! Not too much!" Sadie exclaimed.
"Now Sadie, we gotta grease you up good," he explained, making a tough-looking face, "make you look like a real man."
"Easy Company!" Lieutenant Meehan called and then men started to gather.
Webster glanced at Sadie and then quickly did a double take. "Holy fuck, Sadie! I thought you were a guy!" the mild mannered scholar exclaimed. Sadie just laughed, showing off her teeth that now looked whiter than ever in comparison to the paint, and turned her attention to their CO.
"Easy Company! Listen up!" Lieutenant Meehan calmed the group of restless men. "Channel coast is socked with rain and fog. No jump tonight." There was a general rumble of frustration and discourse amongst the men. "The invasion has been post-poned. We're on a twenty-four hour stand-down."
Sadie sighed as the men began to disperse back to their barracks. She pulled off her helmet and began walking back to the aid station to clean up.
"Lookin' good, Foster," someone said from beside Sadie.
She looked up to see Lewis Nixon smirking at her. "Fuck off, Lew," she snapped back in a teasing tone; then the two went their separate ways.
Sadie wandered over to the aid station in hopes that doing some cleaning, reorganizing and general inventory might take her mind on the next night's events. Once she arrived, she relieved one of the other nurses so that she was the only one there. There were no patients today as all the men were ready to jump, even the ones that weren't completely healthy had begged to be dubbed fit for action. Sadie was once again alone with her thoughts. She quickly unloaded her pack and jacket, but remained in her usual OD's. It didn't take long for her to clean and such, as it had been fairly pristine before she'd left earlier that day. The tall brunette decided maybe she should try to sleep and went to lie down in one of the back rooms. After tossing and turning and still being unable to sleep, she found an old book lying around and attempted to read.
Sadie couldn't focus on a single word the book said. She couldn't stop thinking about their impending doom the next day. What the hell was she thinking jumping into Normandy with nothing but the most basic items? She didn't have the training that the men had; she had no idea what the fuck she was doing. And what would become of her friends? Would she see them again? Dick was a fine soldier, but surely even he could be killed given the wrong circumstances. What if she got over there and didn't know how to help a single injured soldier?
She'd finally had enough of the ludicrous thoughts running through her mind, so she decided to go for a walk to clear her head. It wasn't terribly late yet and most men were watching a movie in one of the tents.
"What are you doing out here so late?" the voice of Lewis Nixon interrupted her thoughts and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
After slowing her heart rate slightly, Sadie replied, "I organized the entire aid station, then I couldn't sleep. It all just became real, y'know?"
"It wasn't before? You did know we would eventually be going off to battle, didn't you?" Nixon tried to lighten the situation to calm Sadie.
"Well, yeah. I guess I've just been so preoccupied with everything. Between the aid station and training I don't really have the energy to think."
"Everything's gonna be fine," the First Lieutenant tried to reassure her.
Sadie stopped in her tracks, a look of worry on her face, "But what if it's not?"
He walked back to her and responded, "Look, you're jumping with Dick, right?"
"Yeah."
"He'll take care of you. He'll get you to the rendezvous and you'll know what to do. You're a good nurse, Sadie, don't underestimate yourself."
"Come on," Sadie grabbed Nixon's hand and led him out of the open. Once they were more concealed between the tents she kissed him.
"What are you-?" Nixon tried to pull away.
"Just shut up before I change my mind," Sadie breathed heavily. Nixon obliged and ran his fingers over her braided hair to grip the back of her head and deepen their kiss. She could once again taste the whiskey on his breath as their tongues fought for dominance. Both of his hands slipped down to her narrow waist and around her back as he pulled her body flush against his. Sadie stood up on her tip-toes to be at level height with him. Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck as her right hand gripped the front of his shirt to keep her knees from buckling. Her teeth nipped at Nixon's lower lip at they both broke apart.
"Is there somepla-?" Nixon asked, breathing heavily.
"Follow me," Sadie let go of him to lead him back to the aid station. She was walking so quickly, he was having trouble keeping up.
Once they made it to the aid station, Sadie quickly confirmed that there was no one there before she let Lewis touch her. She then grabbed his hand and led him to the back. She let go of his hand to go into a storage room briefly and returned with a condom in hand. She then carried on to the back room she'd been trying to sleep in earlier. Thank goodness this aid station managed to have real beds instead of the standard cots they had in the field. Sadie then kissed him again and threw the hat he was wearing on the ground somewhere. She immediately tried to get his coat off but was struggling with the buttons.
"I love it when a woman takes charge," Nixon chuckled against her lips.
"Shut up and help me. This thing is fuckin' impossible," Sadie said out of frustration.
"What a mouth you've got. I think you've been hanging out with Liebgott too much," Nixon chuckle.
Sadie just stopped and stared at him blankly, "Really? You wanna talk about Liebgott right now?"
In response, Nixon stepped back and easily undid the buttons, sliding the jacket off.
"Happy?" he asked.
"Now I am," she smiled at him. "At first I was slightly concerned," she laughed, her green eyes sparkling as he leaned in to recapture her now swollen lips. Nixon worked the first few button of her shirt open and moved down to kiss her neck. Sadie simply sighed in response as she ran her fingers through his hair. He moved back up to her lips as he untucked her open shirt. Sadie frantically tried to work at his buttons, needing to feel his skin against hers.
"Fuck it," he said and pulled the button-up over his head. Throwing it to the side, he pulled Sadie against him. Despite his undershirt, they both relished the new, more intimate contact.
Sadie backed up to the bed and sat down when the back of her knees hit it. She quickly tried to undo the laces to her boots, but that was no easy feat. Nixon also took this time to try to get his boots off as well. Once they were both boot-less, he pounced on her, forcing her to lay down with him on top. Kissing and licking his way down her neck, Nixon bit down lightly on her exposed collarbone, forcing her to gasp and her hips to buck.
That was all Lew needed. He had to have her now. He sat back on his knees and undid her belt, slowly pulling down the zipper as he watched her watch him. Their eyes met as he started to slide her pants down her hips. He slowly pulled them off each leg, making sure to touch her skin as it became exposed. Once the pants were gone, he ran his hand up her soft, muscled thighs and settled himself between them as he leaned in for another kiss.
Sadie could feel his arousal pressing against her and she involuntarily bucked her hips once again. She undid his belt and slipped his pants down exposing his excitement. Lew couldn't control himself anymore. He quickly put the condom on and whipped off her panties. He positioned himself near her entrance and could feel that she was ready.
"You've done this before, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, but it's been a while," Sadie confirmed.
"Just relax," he tried to calm her.
He slid in slowly and they both sighed. There had been weeks of foreplay leading up to this and now they were finally going to be satisfied. Nixon kept the pace slow at first until Sadie adjusted. She was so tight, he knew he wouldn't last long. Once he felt she was ready, he thrust a little harder and pulled her left leg up over his hip. This made her back arch and he knew he'd hit the right spot. Their speed increased as they met each other thrust for thrust. It wasn't many more thrusts before their kisses became open-mouthed gasps and soon Sadie quietly moaned, "Lew" as she saw stars, bringing Nixon over the edge as well.
Lewis collapsed on top of her and tried to hold his weight up. There wasn't room on the single bed for him to simply roll off of her, so he pulled out and got up to dispose of the condom. Sadie adjusted so that he could fit back on the bed better. Nixon slipped back into the bed and Sadie rest on his chest as he pulled the sheet over both of them.
"We're pretty good at that, don't cha think?" Sadie played with his chest hair that was peaking out over his undershirt. In their rush Nixon was still wearing an undershirt and Sadie was still in her bra with an open button-up shirt.
"We're pretty good, but I think we could get better with practice," Nixon smiled down at nurse with a mischievous grin on his face.
"Nu-uh," Sadie replied, sitting up with some of her hair falling in her face. "This isn't happening again. You're married. Ugh, I can't believe I did this," she said, running her hands down her face.
"Would you relax?" Nixon pulled her back down his chest and kissed her head. Sadie snuggled into him and Nixon began playing with her hair that had fallen out of her braid.
Sadie was slowly drifting off to sleep when she suddenly shot up. "We need to go."
"It's late. No one's gonna know where we are or what we're doing," Nixon tried to calm her.
"They're gonna be wondering where I am at the nurses' quarters. There's only three of us there so it's pretty obvious when someone's missing. And I'm pretty sure someone has to be missing you somewhere."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nixon slowly sat up and Sadie quickly untangled herself from the sheet and got out of the bed.
The young nurse quickly pulled her hair back into a low chignon, hoping no one would notice the change in hairstyle. She then dressed quickly, feeling slightly self-conscious around the handsome man in the same room.
Once they were dressed they walked to the front room of the aid station. Before stepping outside Sadie quickly asked, "Do I look okay?"
"You mean do you look like you just had sex?" Nixon stated plainly.
"Lew!"
"You look beautiful," he complimented her with a smile. Her gaze softened and her eyes sparkled.
"Thank you," she replied before adjusting his tie and giving him a last kiss on the lips. They broke apart and walked out the door of the aid station together.
As they both walked their separate ways Nixon hollered, "Hey Sadie!" Sadie turned around with a confused look on her face. "If I don't see you tomorrow, I'll see you in France, okay?" he asked, as a last effort to calm her and boost her confidence about their mission.
"Promise?" she asked hopefully.
"Promise," Nixon gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned before going to off to bed.
The next evening, Winters supervised his platoon as they finished their last minute preparations before they boarded the plane. They were all strapping each other into their various bags and making sure straps were tight.
"Take care, Dick," Nixon came out of nowhere and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You too," Winters responded.
"And Dick?" Nixon had one last request. "Look out for her, okay?" he asked as he watched Sadie.
"Sure…" Winters answered, suspecting there was something more to the request.
Air sickness pills were passes out to everyone and Winters wished them luck and promised he'd meet them at the assembly area. Before she knew it, Sadie was being helped from both sides into the plane. She gave Shifty a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes as she sat next to him. She was sitting closer to the back of the plane, meaning that she would be one of the last ones to jump, so that when they landed she would hopefully be as close to Dick as possible. Once everyone was in a seated, the plane started to move. No one said anything, no one even looked at each other. They simply sat their in silence, engulfed in their own thoughts. Sadie was feeling a little drowsy, probably from the air sickness pills, and decided to distract herself by focusing on her breathing. In a matter of hours they would be in France.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I really hope people are enjoying it so far! I'm working full-time over the holidays so it's a little harder than I thought to get some decent writing done…but hopefully I can get more up when I have a few days off. Please review to let me know your thoughts! Thanks again!
