Hell Hath None

by bloodofbats

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, which is why a woman found her perfect fit in the group belonging to the tank named Fury. As she fights by the sides of her new friends, they face tough times, tragic deaths and the new kid, Norman. But war leaves scars, and only some are visible.

6. Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra

Hell Hath none 5 Fly me to the moon

Jack was not happy waking up. Somehow all the other members of her group had been up about an hour before her and managed to let her sleep. She was usually a light sleeper. The guys had gotten up and gotten something to eat. Collier insisted to let her sleep a bit longer before they roll out. When the time did come to wake her up, Grady volunteered.

Jack had fallen asleep on the side of the tank and her head was near her hatch. Grady Climbed up to her hatch, pulled it open and let it fall shut. The loud bang startled Jack awake and she fell off the side and into the mud. She would have a decent bruise on her side from that. Grady was shouting for her to get up and Gordo and Bible were shaking their heads and laughing quietly. Collier sighed through his nose at the antics. Grady jumped off the side next to her and spoke loudly. Jack stayed on the ground but threw a handful of mud at him, hitting him in the face.

Grady had decided to be as much of an ass as he could that day. He devoted his time to being loud and obnoxious. It was easy to see Jack was a bit hung over and Grady took it upon himself to try to piss her off. Or make her vomit. Jack felt like shit all day. The tanks were loud vehicles. The canons on the tanks were louder. And the bombs going off all day? Jack wanted nothing more than to sleep it off. She would not be drinking that much anymore.

Jack was happy that, despite Grady's best efforts, she was able to keep herself from vomiting all day. Collier was pleased as well. He did not want her to start losing all the progress she had made. At the end of the day, they sat and stood around the small fire they had going, eating dinner. No one was too excited about it.

"Wish you were able to make us a decent meal again." Boyd mentioned to Jack as he sat back on his crate. Jack laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, same here." She said quietly with a smile. A soldier with the mail came over and distributed the letters. They were from Norman. They all tore into their letters and read them over. Jack frowned. Boyd noticed and nudged her with his elbow, getting her attention.

"What's going on? How's your pop?" He asked. Jack shook her head and sighed through her nose.

"He's getting by. Still misses my mother though, and according to Norman, the doctor was scolding him to take care of his heart. I think his blood pressure is up again." She said absentmindedly and flipped the letter over to see her dad's writing. sHE scanned it and nodded. "Yeah, his blood pressure's up again." She paused and red the rest of her father's writing before scowling and swearing. "God Damnit!" This caught the guys' attention. "I leave for not even a year and everything's gone to shit. Mom kick's the bucket, Dad's blood pressure is up, Norman beat up half of his class, a storm hit and took out one of our barns. Damn tree fell over. I always told them that damn tree was gonna fall." She vented. Gordo was more interested in Norman beating up half of his class.

"What did Norman do?" Gordo asking, trying to hide laugh. Jack glared at him.

"Don't encourage him. Apparently some kids at school are giving him a hard time. Some of the parents back home think my sister came over here to join the Nazi's. Doesn't make any sense but what can you do?" She shrugged. The mothers back home did nothing but gossip and spread rumors.

"Boys will be boys." Collier stated. He would be sure to congratulate Norman on sticking up for himself. He smirked to himself when he caught Jack glaring at him. Jack was the only one who was displeased. They all sat in silence for a bit, reading and writing their letters, eating their shitty dinner. Jack began thinking about her home. She missed it. She missed her parents. She didn't have many friends, but those she did have, she missed. Jack wondered how they were doing. She had yet to get a letter from them.

The next day, they rolled into a town and took it. It was the same old thing, nothing special or out of the ordinary. It was the same with the next town, and the next town. A few weeks later, they rolled into a base camp, the gloom made it unwelcoming and the group felt their exhaustion hit. The five were lounging on the outside of the tank as it rolled in. They blocked out the smell of death and howls of pain from the medical tent. The tank pulled up to a spot and was stopped.

"I'm gonna go check in. You guys get this piece of shit fixed." Collier ordered as he climbed out and headed off to meet with whoever was in charge. The other four followed his orders and began working on the tank. Jack had to repair her hatch that had been blown off. A grenade landed on the outside of the tank and took out the bolts that kept the hatch attached to the tank. That was a terrifying experience for everyone in the tank.

They had been rolling through an open field towards German trenches. Jack had just closed her hatch and sat down when something nocked against her scope. Collier dropped down in a hurry.

"Jack! Down! Grenade!" He yelled. The moment he ordered for her to get down, she flattened herself down in her seat and the space next to her She curled in a ball and used her arms to cover her head. Gordo shrunk against the wall and covered his head. The blast shook the front of the tank and her hatch lurched off the hole and slid sideways. Dust and smoke from the explosion fell through the hole and Jack coughed. Little bits of metal fell through.

"Jack, Gordo, you guys good?" Collier called down. Jack coughed a bit before responding.

"Still alive." She joked. "I'm good, man!" Gordo called. Collier responded to a radio call asking if they were ok. Jack had to reach out of her hatch and pull the lid as much over her hole as she could. Fixing it shouldn't be too hard but she needed some parts. She also had to fix the scope on the hatch and her gun. Something got jammed in it and it won't rotate as well as it should. That was just what she had to deal with. Gordo's controls weren't working, probably some wiring issues, and Boyd and Grady had to do some outside repairs.

Jack was humming as she adjusted the hatch before she would reattach it. Once she got it lined up she dropped in through the main hatch and began looking around for some stuff in the tank. Gordo was sitting in his seat.

"What you hummin'?" Gordo asked.

"Parting Glass. Favorite song." She said. "Hey, where do we keep spare parts?" She asked. Gordo reached under his seat and pulled out a tool box.

"Check in here. Should have something you can use." He said. She thanked him and headed back to her hatch. She sat there, looking through the box and humming. Grady and Boyd were working on the side of the tank, she wasn't sure what they were working on.

"C'mon, if you gonna hum it, might as well sing it." Grady hollered. Jack smiled before singing it quietly. Boyd objected loudly.

"No, no, no you gotta sing louder, kid!" He called up to her and Jack sang louder, smile on her face. After a while she sang other songs as they worked on the tank. Collier came by and shook his head at her singing. She sang loudly at him as he walked away and Boyd laughed. Eventually she began singing Frank Sanatra. There was one song she absolutely loved.

"Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars." She began. Boyd picked up the next part.

"In other words, hold my hand. In other words, baby kiss me." Jack smiled and the two sang the next part together.

"Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more. You are all I long for, all I worship and adore." Boyd and Jack sang it at each other and after those two lines, Boyd let her take over again.

"In other words, please be true." She sang. There was a commotion in the camp that was heading towards the group. It caught their attention and Jack kept singing but kept an eye on the loud group heading their way. "I other words, I love you. Fill my heart with song, let me sing for ever more. You are…all I long for…." She trailed off. Once the crowd got close, they could see a Nazi soldier being escorted through camp. He looked very familiar to Jack. "No fucking way." She said and hopped off the tank and rushed over to the crowd. Boyd was the first after her. Grady and Gordo watched from the tank.

Once she pushed through the crowd, she came face to face with the SS Soldier. Recognition flashed across both her face and the SS soldier's. He smirk cruelly as Boyd approached her from behind. The Nazi looked her dead in the face and spoke in German.

"Sie zu leicht zu erschrecken." He sneered. Without warning, Jack leapt at him screaming, hands stretched out to him, clawing at his face.

"DO I LOOK SCARED? HU? DO I FUCKING LOOK SCARED TO YOU?" She screamed as she attacked him. Boyd grabbed her around the middle and lifted her up off the ground. She kicked and struggled and screamed at the Nazi. Luckily for her, she didn't get a chance to get a scratch on him. If she had, she faced serious repercussions. Boyd had to carry her well away from the area before he felt he could let her go. She screamed and struggled the whole way.

"Calm the hell down." He grunted as he set her on her feet, grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "You gotta calm the fuck down. What the hell was that?" He asked her. She looked ready to spit fire. He could see the desire to murder clear in her eyes. "Was he one of the guys who took you? How did you know him?" Boyd asked.

"I'll fucking kill him." She spat. Boyd shook her and asked her again how she knew him. "Yeah! Yeah, he was one of the ones in charge. Fucking asshole." She kicked the dust and looked down for a few seconds before looking back at boyd and trying to move around him. "I'm gonna fucking rip his head off! That bastard!" She yelled and Boyd kept her where she was. "I'm not fucking scared of him or any fucking Nazi pigs! I'll fucking kill them! Why the fuck is he here? Why is he here?" She yelled as her voice began to crack. She was full on freaking out an Boyd was doing his best to keep her where she was. "Hwy? Why? Why is he here?" Jack's voice cracked weakly and she put a hand on her stomach. "Burning. Everyone's burining." She mumbled and bent over. "I can smell it, everyone's burning. They're gonna burn us. Everything burns."

"Woah, woah, woah, easy. Don't start throwing up again." Boyd said quietly as He put a hand on her back. "C'mon, try to breathe. Think of home. How did home smell?"

"Hey!" Collier's firm and sharp call made Boyd look to see him coming. Jack was still trying to breathe. "The hell's goin' on?" He asked loudly. Boyd approached him and grabbed his arm.

"Fucking idiot paraded an SS officer through the camp again. He was one of the ones that held Jack. She tried to get to him, he said something to her that tipped her over the edge." Boyd explained. Don looked at jack who was still bent over, trying not to vomit. Don sighed through his nose.

"Why the fuck do they keep bringing them through the bases?" He asked quietly and shook his head. "I'll get her." He said and approached Jack. Boyd nodded and walked back to the tank.

"Jack. You doin' ok?" He asked and put a hand on her back. She stood up straight and knocked his hand away.

"I'm not scared." She spit at him and held his gaze with a glare of her own. "I'm not fucking scared of those fucking cock suckers."

"No one said you were." He said as he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Just need to make sure you're not going to start throwing up again. No offense but it exactly fun to deal with that." He joked. Jack nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. I'm good." She said quietly and put her hadns on her hips. "Don? Can I ask a favor?" Jack asked. Don nodded. "Teach me German?" The request shocked Don a bit.

"How did you understand the Nazi if you don't already know it?" He asked, curious as to how she understood he man.

"The boy I told you about. Every day that officer would say that to me. One day I asked the boy what it meant." Jack explained. "Teach me German." She demanded. Don nodded. HE could do that. It would be nice to have someone else who can speak it for a change.

"All right. I will." Don said with a smile and put a gloved hand on her head. "But now you have to finish fixing the damn tank." He said and shoved her head slightly. She smiled and huffed childishly and walked over to the tank. Grady asked what had happened, much to Boyd's horror but Jack was able to explain with a smile on her face. You really couldn't keep her down long.

For the next few months, Collier and Jack spent most of their time speaking in German. Sometimes while in battle Don would only talk to her in German. This meant she either had to understand or guess. She picked up the language quickly. Sometimes she still struggled and Collier corrected her. He also had her talking to any German civilians they came across. The two made a game of talking to each other in German like it was their own secret language. Jack would bitch about Grady in German and he would never suspect it. It annoyed Gordo to no end. Jack thought it was funny. Don secretly enjoyed having that special connection to Jack. It was their thing. He was proud of her for picking it up so quickly. The first thing he taught her to do was swear and curse.

Over the months he spent teach Jack how to speak German, Don had noticed something. He had a problem. He enjoyed her company too much. He like her a lot. That wasn't good. It was bad enough she was as close to him as the rest of the group. Usually, it took months for the new comer to get that close. She managed it in what a month? A day? Had the war been over and they met back in America, he would definitely feel free to pursue her but they weren't in America. They were in Germany. What were the chances that both of them would be getting out of the war alive?

These thoughts plagued Don for about a month before Boyd finally said something. He could tell his friend was troubled by something. He had been more tense lately, his sleep was even more restless and he seemed to zone out at times. One night while they were at base camp, Fury had some down time with a few other units. Jack, Grady and Gordo had challenged a friend of Jack's team to a soccer game. Jack had found another friend from her first platoon. Boyd and Don remained next to the tank, enjoying down time in their own way. Don was enjoying it until Boyd brought up an unpleasant topic.

"You don't stop thinking about her do you?" Boyd stated bluntly. Don glared at Boyd who returned it with a knowing smile. "It's easy to see. She likes you too." He said looking back to his book.

"I know." Collier stated firmly. Boyd frowned at his book.

"Then what's the problem?" Boyd asked Don answered firmly with short curt answers.

"What problem?" Boyd sighed and closed his book.

"Don. You like her. Tell her." Boyd told him. "It's bothering you, I see it. Hell, I bet Grady can see it, too."

"I tell her. What next? Take her to the cinema? Buy her nice things? Long car rides, picnic at the beach? Perfect plan." Don mocked and shook his head. "Boyd you got a sense of humor. I'll give you that."

"Don, that's not the point. We may or may not make it through the war. Do you want your number to come up or her number to come up, and never get the chance to tell her? What I'm saying is, tell her before it's too late. Who knows, maybe we'll all get out of this. But do you really want to wait and take that chance?" Boyd asked. He did have a point. Don sat and thought about it. Boyd smiled, knowing his work was done. Boyd was quite pleased with himself and prayed to God those two would make it through this.

"Been a while since we've heard from Norman." Collier stated, switching subjects. They hadn't heard from the kid in so long. Usually they got a letter every month or two but it had been about four months since they've heard from him Boyd shrugged.

"Probably having post issues here or back home. Remember last year all mail was delayed for six months?" Boyd asked. Don nodded. Probably was just something to do with the damn army.

"Maybe they lost them." Don suggested. Boyd nodded.

"Heads up!" jack called and seconds later the soccer ball hit the stand that was boiling water and nocked it over. Boyd and Collier jumped to their feet to avoid the water and the ball. "Sorry!" Jack called. The two looked over as she ran towards them, an apologetic look taking over her face. They waved it off, assuring her it was fine. "Hey, you guys should help us out. It's three against five right now. Wanna make it even?" She asked hopefully. Boyd and Collier shared a look. Jack was not above begging but it would be a last resort. "Please? I made a bet with Daniel. Kinda need help." She explained.

"I'm in." Boyd said and looked to Collier. Don nodded and smiled as Jack took the ball back with a giant smile before turning and running back to the group.

"Guys! Got two more players!" She yelled and Grady and Gordo had never looked more relieved in their lives. It made Don wonder what they were betting on.

The two groups spent the next half hour playing and Fury won. Turns out Jack had used a night's worth of rations to gamble with. Daniel and his group reluctantly paid up. As Daniel's group walked away Jack turned to Don and Boyd.

"Let's go, three against two, I got Grady and Gordo. Let's go." She said excitedly and began the game before anyone could object. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. Both teams sucked against each other and they got covered in mud. At one point it had been Jack against Don. Jack couln't get past him and Don couldn't get the ball from her. So he cheated. He picked her up around the middle and hoiseted her off the ground she laughed and squealed in surprise and protested. Don kicked the ball to Boyd.

"Bible, take it!" He yelled.

"Don, you cheater! Put me down!" Jack ordered laughing as she wiggled and struggled to get free.

"No a chance, sweet heart." He laughed and spun her. She was over his shoulder and she grabbed onto the back of his coat to give herself some sense of support.

Boyd passed the ball back to him to get it away from gordo. Once Boyd was away from Gordo, Don passed it back. HE eventually put Jack down again who promptly fell into the mud, dizzy and disoriented. She lay there laughing until she couldn't breathe.

It had gotten dark around them and they grabbed their new set of rations and began heating them up. The group was laughing and breathless from running around. Their moods had been lifted significantly and Jack was reminded of the time they drank and danced. She realized she loved these guys, she felt at home with them. Each one of them had a special place in her heart. One of them had a slightly different space.

While most of them she felt as if they were her brothers, Don was different. Don was so much more than that. He was sturdy, safe. He understood her and she understood him. She loved him and she wasn't afraid of it. She knew there was a good chance they wouldn't make it out of Germany alive, and that was why she hung onto the feeling. If she was going to die, she was going to die with some light in her heart. And even though she wasn't sure he felt the same, she knew he cared about her to some extent. And she was fine if it was on the same level of the other guys. He cared, that's all she needed.

She thought back on when she returned from being a prisoner. She threw herself on him and gripped onto his jacket tightly. His arms around her, holding her close, the smell of his coat. It smelled of cigarettes, dirt, sweat, grease. It was his smell and it brought ease to her panicking mind. He was solid and firm and she held every moment of that embrace deep in her heart. The memory of being so close to him helped her sleep at night. Whenever she was scared, she thought of how near Don was and she knew she was safe. Some days she longed to embrace him again and some days she wanted to hold him close and comfort him, protect him from the horrors of the war. But she kept her distance.

The next day, the tank had to roll out and retake a town. Not only was fury rolling out, but Daniel's group was too. Jack spent most of the travelling time on top of the tank when she wasn't driving. At one point she went over to Daniel's tank to catch up with him. Daniel could tell there was something between her and Don and he alluded to it ever so slightly. She picked up on it and smacked him. He laughed as she huffed and left to go back to the other tank.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Grady asked as she climbed past him to get back in the tank. She struck out her foot and kicked him in the face before crawling over to her hatch and dropping in.

"I'm fucking driving." She told Gordo. He let her take over. Gordo laughed at her disposition and asked what was going on. She started bitching about Daniel but never let slip what had actually pissed her off. Gordo just laughed until she shot him a dangerous glare. "I'll fucking shoot you." She threatened. The tone of her voice worried him a little an felt he better get out of the tank for a bit. When he got outside the guys could see the worry on his face.

"She's gonna kill someone." He explained. The guys laughed at him. "You think it's funny? Fine, plan your own funerals." He said.

"Yeha right." Grady scoffed and got up. He began walking over to Jack's hatch. He leaned over and was met with a hand gun pointing right up at him. He stopped, stood up and walked away. "She ain't fuckin' around." He said as he got back. Boyd and Don laughed to themselves. They knew better than to mess with her. She was still a woman, and in their experience, women were some of the most dangerous people on the planet. Hell hat no fury than a woman scorned.

When they finally got to the town everyone got in their positions and when it came to shooting, Jack gunned down everything in their path. When there was a large group of Nazi's running, she laughed manically while looking into her scope. Gordo had to stop and look at her. She had sufficiently freaked out all the men in her group with that laugh.

"Ghost, knock it off. You're freaking everyone out." Don called to her. She didn't flinch.

"Fucking grow a pair." She called back and continued to laugh to herself. When all was said and done, they climbed out and had to walk around and make sure no one was hiding. After a while, the area was secured and people just milled around. Daniel ran up to Jack and she smacked him again. HE just laughed.

"You can't stay mad at me forever can you?" He laughed. He was one of those people that had an infectious laugh and Jack fought a smile.

"I can try." She said and shoved him to the side. Daniel sighed contentedly.

"So how you like your new group?" He asked and she looked over her shoulder to the guys. A smile graced her face.

"Love 'em." She said turning back to Daniel. He smiled. "They even gave me a name. More than you guys. Ya'll just gave me a hard time." She joked.

"Oh, yeah?" What's your name?" He teased.

"Ghost." She stated. He looked at her confused and she laughed. "They are convinced and I can't get killed. Everytime they think I'm dead, I come back. Remember how I told you I got taken? They thought I was dead. First day with them and I almost get blown up saving Grady. Got to a town and they thought I got blown up again. They're convinced I'm not human." She joked. Daniel laughed.

"Man, I don't know if you have a shit ton of good luck or a bit of bad luck." He teased. She shoved him again.

"Don't be fucking rude." She scolded. Their moment of teasing was gone in an instant as bullets ripped through the air. Jack felt something pierce her side and the next thing she knew she was on the ground, looking up. Daniel was above her tapping her face.

"Jack? Jack, can you hear me?" He repeated worriedly. She tried to respond but only moved her jaw up and down, trying to speak. Don quickly came into view at the opposite side of Daniel, followed by Boyd who dropped to her side. Gordo and Grady were close behind them, they were calling to her, trying to get a response. She felt a pain in her side and maneuvered to see what had happened. There was a hole in her side and she was bleeding. It was a small gash in her side. sHe couldn't see it properly and saw the blood and tear in her shirt. She began to panic.

"Oh, shit. Oh my god. Oh shit." She began to panic. Her breathing became shallow and she let her skin get clammy and cold. She found it hard to breathe and she was panicking. "Oh my gosh, I'm gonna die, I got shot, I'm gonna die." She said over and over again.

"No. you're fine, you're gonna be ok." Don stated firmly dropping to his knees near her head. She wouldn't listen and insisted she was dying and that they were lying. Jack didn't even know she was crying until Don told her to stop crying.

"Jack, stop crying, you're ok. You're gonna be fine. It just grazed you." He lied. It did graze her but a centimeter more and it would have gone through her. She would be fine, but she didn't know that.

"She's going into shock, she doesn't understand what's happening as well as she should." Boyd explained without looking up from the wound. Jack didn't hear him but Don did. "You gotta get her calm."

"Jack. You got shot but it's just a graze, kid. You're ok, we got you." He tried to reassure her. They had to get her calm or else she really would die. "Gordo, go get that bottle of liquor from the tank." Gordo took off running. Grady went as well to get the first aid kits. Boyd applied pressure on the wound suddenly and she let out a scream more of shock rather than pain. It did hurt but she couldn't feel the full extent of it.

"I –I can't. I can't breathe. I can't breathe." She gasped out. She began reaching and scratching at the clothes around her neck. She saw her hands that had been covered in her own blood. She started screaming and collier grabbed her hands in one of his large hands and rested them on her shoulder on the opposite side of where the wound was so her arms were out of Bible's way. Daniel went and unbuttoned the top buttons around her neck. He and Don removed anything that could make her feel restricted. They took her gun so the strap wouldn't make her feel choked.

"Why am I bleeding? Oh my god, did I get shot?" She asked.

"Yeah. You're gonna be fine. It just grazed you. It's just a flesh wound." He stated.

"Am I gonna die?" She asked quietly and Daniel couldn't help but laugh a little.

"If you were dying, I'd be bent over you getting you to pray, not trying to patch you up." Boyd said as he put more pressure on it. She yelped at the pain.

"Why am I crying?" She asked. "Why am I on the ground, what happened?" She asked desperately. She was beginning to panic.

"Someone didn't clear a building. Germans began firing and a bullet grazed you. You hit the ground and I think you hit your head pretty hard." Daniel explained. She looked at him as if it was the first time she noticed he was there. He laughed. "Hey, kiddo." He said. Her eyes began going in and out of focus. Don pat her cheek to get her attention. sHe snapped her attention to him.

"Hey, now. Stay with us." He ordered gently. "Remember your first day with us? You saved Coon-ass? Got shrapnel in you? That was worse. This is nothing, you understand?" He asked. She nodded and her eyes began getting unfocused again. He patted her face. "Hey. Stay with me ok? You gotta stay awake." He ordered. She nodded and shivered slightly. Don shed his jacket quickly and put it on her but made sure to keep it away from the wound. He looked around them, looking for a nearby place to set her, get her off the cold ground. Then he noticed where she was laying. "We get to a town, and you end up lying in the mud." He teased. Fear flashed across her pale face and her eyes started tearing up.

"No iodine. Please no Iodine." She begged.

"SH. Sh. Sh. No iodine. I promise." Collier said and hd to pat her face again when she started dozing off. "Hey, hey. Fliegen sie mich zum Mond."

"Fliegen sie mich zum Mond." She repeated.

"Lassen Sie mich in den Sternen spielen." HE said and recognition lightened her eyes. She didn't repeat him but sang the translation.

"Let me play among the stars." She sang and continued to sing the rest. "Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and mars…" She continued singing. She would zone out at times but Collier got her back to singing. When she finished she was much calmer and was breathing normally. Or as normally as she could with the pain in her side.

"Hey, Jack?" Boyd asked.

"Yeah." She responded tiredly. Don had been running a hand over her hair at the top of her head. She was exhausted, hell they all were.

"Do you know what's going on? What country are you in?" He asked her.

"China. We're in fucking Germany." She snapped. He chuckled and Don smiled down at her. "I got shot. You guys keep saying I'm going to be ok, so I guess I'll be ok. Where's coon-ass and Gordo?" She asked, trying to look around. Don looked too. Grady was fighting with a medic and Gordo was pulling him away.

"Goddamnit." He muttered.

"Grady's pissing people off, hu?" She asked and Don confirmed her theory. She laughed a bit. "So, I'll be fine right?" She asked. Don looked at her, and nodded. She began laughing and looked at Daniel. "Told you I can't die." She said. Boyd let out a snort of laughter. Soon enough Don and Daniel were laughing as well. Gordo and Grady finally returned and Boyd set about dressing the wound.

"Damn, Jackie. Didn't know you were going to try to prove it." Daniel joked.

"Hey, how's our little ghost doin'" Grady asked as he sat on the ground. "Got your damn hat. You keep fucking losing it." He said and dropped it on her face. She frowned and Don let her use a hand to hold onto it. She tucked it under her chin and closed her eyes. She breathed heavily through her nose.

"I'm really fucking tired." She said quietly and Don continued stroking her hair. He still held one of her hands near her shoulder.

"You gotta stay awake for a bit. We don't wanna risk you not waking up." He explained. She hummed in response and opened her eyes.

"Bible, you almost done? The mud is soaking my clothes. It's fucking cold." She complained.

"I've been done. We just need to keep you still for a little while until we're sure you aren't going into shock." He explained. She sighed.

"I'm fine. I'm not going into shock." She argued and tried to sit up. Don and Daniel helped her sit.

"You were-" Bible started and she hit him with her hat before grabbing her side in pain.

"Does it look like I'm going into shock now?" She challenged and grabbed her side. "Ow. Ow, that hurts." She said quietly. Don helped her up off the ground. She waved off everyone trying to help her walk. Don and Boyd walked with her back to the tank. She made it a few yards limping until she sank to her knees, clutching her side. "How the hell was I walking and fighting after I got blown up?" She asked.

"Adrenaline. You've never been shot before but you've had close calls with grenades since you got to Germany." Boyd explained and he and Don helped her up. She continued to walk on her own. "You gotta stop with all these close calls."

"Tell that to the Nazi's." She grumbled. She looked to her left and saw Don smiling. He put and arm around her and pulled her in for a side hug. Her free arm wrapped around his torso. He quickly left a light kiss on the top of her head before slowly releasing her, a smile on his face.

"Iche Liebe dich" he told her. She scowled, not understanding what he said. Her German was pretty good, but there was still some things she had to learn.

"What did you say?" She asked. Don smiled even bigger and walked away. She tried to keep up and Boyd hung back laughing. He knew very little German but he knew what Collier said. "The fuck did you say, Don?" She yelled and beat him with her hat. He just sped up, knowing she couldn't keep up. She tripped and he caught her and laughed. He repeated the phrase and she scowled. "You better not be fucking insulting me, War- Daddy." She threatened. She pushed him away as Boyd came up next to them and began walking away.

"You told her in German. Doesn't count." He said, nudging Don. The two smiled.

"Nah, she'll figure it out." He said with a small smile. "I bet she already knows it, just doesn't realize it. She's smart." He said before cupping a hand next to his mouth and shouting to her. She had gotten good distance away. "Iche Liebe dich!" He yelled. She spun around, fuming mad and responded. She held up her middle finger before shouting back.

"Yeah?! Iche Liebe dich to you too, buddy!" She yelled. Boyd leaned forward laughing and Don laughed along before yelling back to her.

"hey! Where's your gun!" He called. She spun back around and threw her hands in the air and began yelling to herself as she made her way to the tank. They watched as she struggled to climb up. She still had Don's jacket. "I'm gonna go grab her gun. Help her in the tank, would ya?" Don said with a small smile. Boyd smiled and went to help her.

They remained in the town for two days before heading back to the base. The entire time they were at the town, Don would say that phrase every so often and she would get so mad at him. Boyd laughed at the two of them in his own time and noticed Don had changed towards her. He usually treated her like everyone else or like a friend. Now, he pulled her into side hugs more often, teased her more often (she would throw it right back) hung around her and got closer into her personal space. She didn't seem to mind. They were almost always talking in German and she would always walk off in a huff when he said that one phrase. She still didn't know what it meant. Grady and Gordo caught on to what was happening and plotted with Boyd. They knew what the two felt for each other and needed to get them to understand that and acknowledge it. Luckily, Christmas was just two weeks away. They had been given Christmas Eve off that year and the three men were going to use it appropriately.

Unfortunately, the next two weeks were going to be hell for Jack. When they got back to base camp, they set to repairing the tank. Don went off to talk to people in charge and a few old friends. He returned to the four sitting around a small fire, getting dinner ready. Spirits were up, Christmas was coming. That meant Christmas Carols, a chance at decent food, and alcohol. To Boyd, Grady and Gordo it meant they had to find mistletoe and fast. Don passed out the mail. They had finally gotten letters from Norman. They were old, from a few months ago, and some of the letters looked a bit scorched.

Don handed her two letters. One was from Norman and one was from the military. She looked at it curiously and stood. She had been sitting for two long and needed to stretch her legs. She tucked Norman's letter into her pocket and began opening the letter from the army. She was walking away from the tank and not paying attention to where she was going, she was just ambling along.

She began to read it aloud but stopped. She hadn't gotten far from her group and Boyd noticed she stopped walking. He nudged Collier when her legs began to shake slightly. Don pulled out of his conversation with Gordo and sat up straight, watching Jack. He jumped to his feet when she sank to her knees. By the time he reached her, she curled in on herself, head resting on the ground and arms wrapped around her stomach, trying to comfort herself. She was sobbing hard and had the letter clutched tightly in her hand. Don knelt next to her and rubbed her back as she sobbed. He gently took the letter from her hand. He pulled her up a bit and pulled her towards him. She just went limp and curled up on her side. Don had sat next to her in the mud. One leg was on the ground and rested under the other leg that propped up. He rested his hand with the letter on the knee that was up off the ground. When Jack turned to lie fully on the ground in a ball, her head rested on his thigh, near his knee and her hand covered her face. Her legs were tucked as close as she could get them to her chest and she sobbed.

Boyd, Grady and Gordo stood behind Don as he read the letter quickly, waiting for some information. Don shook his head and sighed through his nose before swearing.

"Shit. Son of a bitch." He said and passed it Boyd. Boyd saw one line in the letter as it was passed to him and knew to back away.

"Guys, let's give her some space." He said as he tried to usher them away. Gordo moved back to the tank but Grady put up a bit more of a fight.

"The fuck is goin' on?" He yelled. Boyd pushed him away from the two, promising to explain when they got back to the tank and out of earshot. They left the two sitting in the mud. Don was stroking her head again and let her sob. He didn't say anything for a while and just let her cry. Except for the occasional sob she was silent as tears cascaded down her covered face.

When Boyd and Grady and Gordo returned to the tank, they stood in a circle and Boyd leaned against the tank before reading the letter.

"Dear Jack Edwards, First we would like to thank you for your service in the United States Army. Second, I regret to inform you that on September 23 of this year, 1944, your father, Randall Edwards (56), and your nephew, Norman Rogers (9), burned to death in a house fire. The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation. It is believed to be arson. Again, we are deeply sorry for your loss." Boyd finished and rubbed a gloved hand over his face. He could feel his eyes burning and something pulled at his heart. Grady had s few tears escape and her rubbed at his eyes furiously. Gordo had to sit down and he buried his face in his hands. He wasn't crying but he was damn near close. They had all held the little boy close to their hearts. They never got to meet him, but their letters had become highlights of their days, reminded them what they were fighting for and gave them a little joy. Now the world seemed even darker.

Don sat and stroked her hair as Jack cried. They sat in silence for a while before Jack spoke quietly.

"I can't. I can't take this." She sobbed quietly. "I can't take this anymore." She admitted. Don realized she had hit her breaking point. The pressure of getting shot at everyday wears down everyone and sometimes, people just break. "Oh, God, Norman. He was so young, he didn't even understand what was going on in the world. He didn't deserve to die."

"He's in a better place now." Don assured her. "He's safe now. Nothing can touch him. Not fire, not a monster, not even Hitler himself can touch that boy." Don told her quietly. She continued to cry but moved her hands down to reveal her eyes. She stared straight at his jacket as she spoke.

"I was gonna raise him. He was gonna be my kid. Once I got home from here, I was gonna sign all the papers and adopt him. He was the only thing that kept me going. He's the whole reason I'm here." She spoke quietly and Don continued to stroke her hair. "What am I going to do, now? I don't even have a place to go home to?" She asked as she covered her face again. Don sighed quietly. She had a point and he felt for her. He hated seeing her so torn up.

"I'm sure you could come home with us. Visit us all before you head out to find a place to call home. Although I don't think Mrs. Boyd would be too pleased to learn he was working with another woman for so long in the army." He teased and she choked out a laugh. Her hands left her face and rested on his leg. She had stopped sobbing but tears still fell down her face. They had been there for a good half hour. She moved a hand and rested it on her side, where the bullet had ripped through.

"He would have thought the bullet wound was so cool. He thought it was awesome when I got blown up and set on fire." She choked out another laugh. "He loved Captain America. It'd be nice if Captain America was real. Maybe then it'll feel like we were winning." She said quietly and tried to stop crying. Don let her cry and kept stroking her head. His hand and shifted so his hand ran from the part in her hair near her face and ran along her hairline and behind her ear. He stopped and rested and ungloved hand on her cheek and his thumb wiped away a few tears. She looked up to him and rested he hand on top of his.

"I'm so sorry for this." She said quietly and tried to sit up. "I should have kept it together." She said quietly and fresh tears made their way down her face. Don just watched her with sympathy. She rubbed at her face harshly. "Damnit!" She cursed herself as the tears began to flow again. Don sighed gently and wrapped an arm behind her back and pulling her into him. And she wrapped her hands around his torso and gripped tightly onto the back of his jacket. His hand ran through her hair. He noticed it had gotten longer. It was just long enough for her to put in a short ponytail.

Jack buried her head in his chest and he held her close. It was late at night and not many people were out. Anyone how did see them knew about Jack anyway. Don sat with her and stroked her hair and let her cry. After everything she had been through, she deserved it and she needed it. Don began to hum. He started with Parting glass. She had mentioned it was her favorite and she had sung it often enough that he could remember all of it. After that song he hummed Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra. He actually sang that one, quietly, so no one else would hear. She smiled into his chest when she stopped crying She fell asleep to him humming and stroking her hair.

When Don noticed she was asleep, he picked her up and carried her over to the tank. Grady helped put her on the tank and Grady pulled a thick blanket out of the tank and covered her with it. Don noticed the red around the man's eyes. The men sat around the fire, mostly silent.

"Do you think she'll be ok after this?" Boyd asked.

"Yeah." Don answered curtly. Boyd looked at him, not completely convinced, and pulled out a cigarette. It hung in his mouth and he tossed the pack to Don who took one as well. "She'll be fine." Don assured, not completely believing it himself. She was strong, yes, but everyone had their limit. They weren't sure if she would ever be even close to the way she used to be. They had hope she would be ok and able to function, but they weren't sure.

They had seen it happen before. Men get letters of deaths or a wife wanting a divorce and they just lose it. They don't last the week. Some are able to move past it, but most lose hope. Some shoot themselves; others let the Germans do it for them. Don swore to himself he wouldn't let Jack do that to herself.

The next week Don kept her close to the tank. Whenever they had to get out and scope, he was with her. HE wanted to make sure she wouldn't try anything and after about a week she caught on. She confronted him. She marched right up to him.

"I'm not gonna kill myself." She stated firmly with her hands on her hips. IT took him off guard for a second. "I'm sad, yes. I'm devastated. Sure he was the reason I'm here, but I'm ok. Just because he's dead doesn't mean I am." She stated firmly. Don smiled slightly at her.

"What are you here for then?" He asked quietly. She smiled and looked at the guys near the tank. She smiled. She hadn't smiled like that all week.

"Someone's gotta keep you assholes alive." She joked. Don laughed, relieved. She would be ok. A little worse for wear but Jack would be ok. He set a hand on her head and she smiled.

"Iche liebe dich." HE said quietly. She scowled and swatted at his hand, knocking it off her head.

"Oh, fuck you." She grumbled. He chuckled.

"You still haven't figured it out?" He teased. He had held back on teasing the past week. Jack was glad he was back to teasing her. She had missed it. Yes, she was still very upset Norman had passed, she was still trying to heal from that, but she had an important duty. She had to keep the only family she had left alive. The members of Fury were her family now and she would keep them alive.

The day before Christmas Eve, the group was returning to base from taking another nearby town. They were tired and ready for a well-deserved break. They rolled the tank in and parked it. Boyd set about making a fire for food and coffee. War Daddy went off to the officer's area and Jack and Gordo started talking. Grady was helping Boyd get a fire going.

"Wish we had some beer or some hard stuff, help getting the holiday going." Jack admitted. Gordo laughed at her.

"You go hard, man. Can't even hold it good." Gordo laughed. She scoffed.

"I can hold my liquor fine. Go hard or go home." She said as she shoved him. sHe looked around and saw wreaths and hand made attempts at decorations. "We need to do something about our tank."

"The fuck are you talkin' about?" Grady asked. Jack looked at the tank. There had to be some way to decorate it. An idea popped into her head so fast it almost made her jump. She ripped her gun off her and tossed it to Gordo.

"Hold this, I gotta plan!" She yelled and took off running.

"War Daddy's gonna beat yo' ass!" Gordo called. She kept running. She bumbped into Collier on her way and didn't stop to explain. He came over to the group and asked what was going on. They shrugged. They had no clue either. Don sighed through his nose at the sight of her gun. Gordo shrugged.

Jack ran around base until she found what she was looking for. She returned to Fury and dropped the huge tarp on the ground.

"Don't touch it." She said as she climbed into the tank until she found a small hatchet. She took off again and this time went outside the base. She approached the tree line and started hacking small branches off the evergreen trees. While she was out there it started to snow. She stopped and looked up. No matter where she was, she loved snow. Jack grabbed her branches and headed back. She rejoined the group and dropped the branches. Jack grabbed the large tarp by the corners and approached the tank with a smile. sHe looked back to the men expectantly.

"You gonna help?" She asked. They shared looks and Boyd and Grady stepped over. She began directing them. Grady stood on one side of the cannon and Boyd stood on the other side. She climbed up and Grady handed her part of the tarp. She pulled it up and over the canon and tossed it over to Boyd. The two men caught on to what she was doing and spread it out. She climbed down after grabbing some things from inside the tank. Jack grabbed some long pieces of metal and a small hammer. She hammered the pieces of metal on the corners of the tarp like stakes. Don and Gordo stood together watching what was going on. The tarp was large enough to be able to fit all five of them in. Jack had grabbed string as well and began making a wreath out of some of the branches.

"The hell are you doin'" Don asked as he approached her. She looked up at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm decorating. The hell are you doing?" She challenged. He pointed to the two bottles of hard liquor he had set on a crate and she smiled "Merry fucking Christmas." She laughed. She got up and moved to put the wreath over the top of the canon. She couldn't reach. She tried tossing it but she missed. She turned to the guys. "Anyone wanna help?" She challenged. They guys shared a look and a few smiles.

Before long, Jack was sitting on Colliers shoulders as he walked towards the tank. She finally got the wreath on and Don tipped her back. Grady caught her and set her down. Boyd laughed at the whole situation and laughed harder when Don knocked her back off his shoulders. She yelped in shock. She glared at Don playfully as one of the bottles were passed around. Grady had walked off and came back with another tarp. He and Gordo spread it over the ground. They were gonna sleep in the tent while they had the chance. Night was falling quickly and the group drank and ate and celebrated. A few other units who were on leave for the next few days came over and started their own fires and brought bottles of alcohol that were passed around to everyone. Someone actually had phonograph and used it. They had music, liquor and fire. It was a good evening. Some of the guys thought it would be funny to dance with each other. Don took the opportunity to dance with Jack. Once they got dancing they told her the phrase again and she got frustrated and tried to slap him. He wouldn't let go of her hands and laughed at her. She hit her head on his chest and she felt it rumble with laughter. She began laughing too. She rested her hands on his chest and Don let his hands wander down to rest on her hips. They danced like that until someone decided to turn the music off. Some still had to go to battle the next day and would need some sleep. Jack started to pull away but Collier held her waist firmly and kissed her on the cheek. Jack froze for a second before smiling.

"You gonna escort a lady back to her place?" She asked. Jack may have been drinking a bit too much. She was still very aware of what was going on, but had a bit of liquid courage in her system. She had enough to flirt with her Sergeant. Don chuckled before answering.

"What lady?" He teased. Jack let her jaw drop and let out an indignant sound and smiled. She swatted at him and snorted through her nose. She was absolutely adorable. "C'mon, let's get back." He ushered her to the large tent they put up. They all headed in. Each had their own blanket and used kept their jackets and shoes on as well.

Don rested on the far side near the edge of the tarp with his hands behind his head. Next to him was Jack, then Grady, Bible and Gordo. Don was on his back and Jack practically face planted, resting on her stomach and using her arms as pillows. Grady was on his back, Bible was on his side facing Gordo. Gordo was on his back. This was not how they woke up.

First, Jack rolled onto her side and pressed her back to his side. Grady rolled onto his side as Jack brought her knees up and pressed them into his back. They remained like that until Boyd rolled onto his back and an arm smacked Grady, making him roll over onto his back and onto her legs. She groaned and twisted in her sleep, rolling over to face Don and free her legs She swung both of them over top of his and one of his arms reached over and rested around her as he rolled to face her. Sometime in the night she rolled back over and kicked Grady and Don kept and arm around her. Gordo rolled over and kicked Boyd.

They all shifted and kicked in their sleep. They even rolled closer to each other for warmth. When they woke up they were a mess. Gordo and Boyd had somehow managed to rest horizontal in the tent next to each other. They were back to back. Gordo's feet were to the tarp and Boyd's feet were on Grady's chest. Gordo was using one of Grady's shins for his head. Grady was spread out. Don was back to his original position. He was on his back and his legs were crossed at the ankles. The only thing that was different were his arms. One was resting around Jack's middle and the other rested on his stomach behind her head. Jack was using his stomach as a pillow and her legs were next to Boyd's on top of Grady. It was pretty funny. They all woke up around the same time but didn't other getting up immediately. They were surprisingly comfortable.

Don kept his eyes closed but ran his hand through Jack's hair. He found himself doing that a lot and enjoying it. Jack hummed and woke to feeling Collier's stomach rising and sinking. She rubbed her face on his chest and she felt his chest rumble in amusement. She smiled. Waking up that morning, she realized it was the best morning she had since she arrived in Germany. She didn't want to get up and move. She'd be fine if she could stay there all day. She loved waking up with her head on Collier's chest and having his hand running through her hair. The morning was ruined by Grady.

"The fuck am I? Some fucking foot rest?" He grunted and began shoving everyone off him. Boyd groaned and kicked him.

"C'mon man. Shut up." Gordo grunted. Jack groaned and brought her knees up closer to her chest and pulled the blanket tighter around her.

"Fuck you guys. I'm hungry." He grunted as he made his way outside. Don sighed through his nose. Jack's stomach growled and Don laughed quietly.

"Might as well." Boyd said as he sat up. "At least we got the day off." He said. Everyone made their way out of the tent and they started up the fire again. It was a lazy morning and the group was actually able to let their exhaustion hit them. They would lounge around that day. It had snowed a few inches so they decided to sit in the tent for the day, only leaving if they absolutely had to. Someone with a camera came by at one point and took their picture. It was one of those cameras that printed immediately, a polaroid. He gave the picture to Jack and took another picture and kept that one. She had to trade a few cigarettes for it, but the trade was worth it. She smiled at it and would hang it on her wall in the tank later. They all felt silly sitting in their little tent but no one wanted to step outside. When Jack looked outside, she saw a few others doing the same. sHE smiled to herself, proud of herself.

They played cards, talked, slept, drank, ate, and sang some carols. It was a good Christmas Eve and Jack felt at home and safe. She didn't want the day to end. But all good things come to an end. It was just what she needed. She needed some good in her life to remind her why she was fighting. And her group was good.

Sorry it took so long, hope you guys enjoyed it. One more chapter and then norman comes in. Next chapter may be short but not crazy short. Please review it makes my day. Any plot suggestions, let me know. Love you guys.