Hey wonderful readers and reviewers, thanks so very much for your support and nice reviews! They make me so very happy! :-)))
Jayden (Hell yeah, Dick definitely needs to be the leader of Easy and I'll do my best to get him back there. ;-) Hehe, Lizzie and Dick are definitely getting friendly, even more so in this chapter...), beth-rodrigues.77 (Hehe, yeah, I know I'm evil, I admit it. :-) But then I also love to make Dick happy, in due time. *g* Yes, it's kind of Sink's fault, but he really meant well, he just misinterpreted things. And yeees, Lizzie is very worried, because she cares very much about our Dick. :-))) I'm so happy to hear you think it's hard not to get involved in the story, you're such a sweetheart! :-))) And yeah, I'll try to be nicer to Dick, I promise. *g*), AnimeGirl 144 (Hehe, very glad to hear you're interested in the men's reaction to Dick's transfer, because that's partially what this chapter is about. I hope you're happy with it! :-) So happy to hear you appreciate the slow build-up of Dick and Lizzie's relationship, because I was a bit worried a few chapters ago if it was going too slow. But then again, I totally agree that there are just OC stories that work out very nicely and there are others that maybe progress a bit too shallowly and too fast. Good that your school offers a WWII class! I knew I was very interested in all things concerning WWII when I was in high-school (at least kind of high-school, school system here is a bit different), then there was a time when I couldn't hear anything about it anymore, because it seemed like WWII was the only historical event that everyone talked about. And now I'm back to excited again. :-))) And yeees, you're definitely right, this chapter is very much filled with feels, hope you like it!), ChocAndSnow19 (So glad you're not mad at me, I surely would have missed your wonderful reviews! :-) Yeah, the silver lining is definitely coming closer... :-))) I also love to make Dick happy and we're slowly getting there. So happy to hear you loved the part where Dr. Coombs surprised Dick and Lizzie. :-)), ScarletLeon (Haha, I had to laugh so hard when you mentioned "Dizzie tension"! *lol* This is just great, it fits them so well. Then you'll be happy to hear that there's even more "Dizzie tension" in this chappie... *g* Besides, I'm so glad you decided not to hate me... :-) So happy you love Lizzie and her reactions and everything! Thanks for this great review, you really made me grin like a fool in front of my computer!) and coffee14 (Hey and welcome to the story! So happy to hear you like the story and you think my English skills aren't too bad. I know I can get even better and I'm also aware that I'm still making mistakes, but then I really do my best. So glad you enjoyed the story so far and I hope to hear from you again!).
Here's chapter twelve (already!) and I know it's a bit shorter than the last ones, but then I hope you'll like it all the same. Enjoy!
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The door was still closed. Nix looked up from where he sat on his bed for the fifth time in as many minutes, but there was no change and the report on his lap did not yet want to write itself. Sighing, he got up from the narrow mattress and walked through the small room (painted pink...) that had formerly belonged to Elaine to the other room at the end of the corridor. The door was closed firmly, like a bulwark, already for hours at an end. Nix decided to give it a last try and knocked.
"Dick?", he called softly. "Are you sure you don't want to eat anything? The Barnes have prepared some sandwiches, just in case you get hungry in the night."
The silence stretched and just before Nix decided to give up, he heard his friend's low voice through the door, "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."
"Okay, but if you want to eat something anyway, the sandwiches are on the table in the kitchen", Nix replied and when he got no answer, he slowly walked back to his room.
Mrs. Barnes had tried to get Dick downstairs, so had Nix and even Elaine was unsuccessful in luring his friend out of his room. Nix had no idea what he was doing in there for hours at an end, maybe staring at the wall and fantasizing about how to kill Shames and Sobel in the most painful ways. It had taken Nix quite some coaxing to get the story out of Dick on their way home from the meeting. His friend had told him about his transfer in two or three toneless sentences, while Nix had spent the rest of their way home swearing in the most colorful ways that he could think of. Not that this had helped Dick, his friend had just sat rigidly on his seat, paralyzed by the news of his transfer. If circumstances had been different, Nix would have looked forward to Dick joining him as staff officer in intelligence, but he knew exactly how much command of second platoon of Easy meant to his friend. Dick was born to be a leader and he loved to train the boys, which was why it almost broke Nix's heart to see command of Easy taken away from him.
If only Nix could do something to help his friend. But if the transfer order came right from Sink, there was not much they could do, beside praying for a sudden accident that involved a certain CO and lieutenant from Easy company. It would all have been much easier if Dick had been a drinker, at least Nix could have suggested to get fully and godlessly smashed this evening. He had done so a few months ago when Harry had been heartsick because of his girlfriend breaking up with him. But since this option was out of question for Dick and his friend had literally shut him out, Nix was at an end of his wits. If only Dick would talk to him...
A sudden idea came to Nix's mind. Well, just because his friend refused to talk to him did not mean that he would refuse to talk to someone else that was close to him. Some female company could never hurt to soothe the anguish of a troubled mind. The more he thought about it, the better he liked the idea of bringing Lizzie into the play. She would be worried senseless anyway at this point, since Dick had failed to show up at the hospital, so Nix might as well visit her in person and maybe give her a nudge in the right direction. There was no way he could just let his friend mope around all day, especially since nothing was definitely lost yet. But since Dick was much too stubborn to pay attention to the wisdom Nix dealt out on a daily base, his friend might at least listen to someone else.
Getting up from the bed again, Nix grabbed the car keys and went downstairs, where he met Mrs. Barnes.
"Will he eat something now?", the elderly woman asked him with concern written all over her kind face.
"No, I'm afraid he still refuses to be reasonable", Nix answered forthrightly, pulling on his shoes. "I'm going to see if I find someone that will be able knock some sense in that hard head of his."
Mrs. Barnes gave a small smile and a nod.
In less than fifteen minutes Nix reached the hospital. The sun had set already. With a big brown envelope under his arm he walked the short distance to the entrance in a misty darkness that swallowed every sound. Warmth welcomed him when he stepped into the hospital and began his search for Lizzie. He finally found her feeding a young private, who had broken both his arms. He kept himself in the background and waited for her to finish.
"Lieutenant Weiss", he formally addressed her when she turned around. "Could I have a short word with you?"
"Lieutenant Nixon", she replied with surprise in her voice, looking at him out of big brown eyes that instantly started to shine with worry. "Of course, I'll be with you in a moment."
She hurriedly packed together the dishes and disappeared for a short moment, only to come back to Nix in about the blink of an eye. She motioned with her head for the far end of the ward where no patients were anywhere in hearing range and he followed her silently.
"This is about Dick, isn't it?", she immediately started to fire questions at him. "Is he alright? Why didn't he show up? He promised me to come back. God, just tell me he's fine!"
"Calm down, Florence, and don't forget to breathe", Nix tried to soothe her in a gentle voice that belied his teasing words. "He's fine... well, at least his wound isn't any worse than it has been before and he isn't sick. He's at our billet and resting... or at least he's not running around or something."
Lizzie stared at him out of wide eyes and he could practically see her mind trying to make sense of his rather cryptic answer.
"More trouble on the way for him?", she asked softly, searching his face for an answer. She was quick in putting two and two together, that much was obvious.
"Yeah, it's a bit rough going at the moment in our company", he answered and tried to send her a reassuring smile.
"Let me guess, you won't be able tell me what this is all about", she replied, sounding both frustrated and tired.
"Nope, I'm sorry", Nix answered, then placed the big brown envelope he carried on the nightstand. "It's really such a shame that I was so scatterbrained to forget my envelope with classified reports and documents here at the hospital. It would be very nice of the medical team to come across this envelope and bring it back to me as quickly as they can. Luckily enough, I remembered to put the address of the billet I share with Dick on the back of the envelope." He flashed a grin at her openmouthed stare. "Have a nice evening, Lizzie."
He did not wait for an answer, but started walking towards the exit, then stopped and turned around, "Just in case you get curious, don't bother opening the envelope. In there is just last week's newspaper."
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"Do you think it'll go away on its own, doc?", Malarkey asked Gene and critically looked at his bare foot. A tiny corn decorated Malarkey's left foot, on the top of his smallest toe. "Could you sign me off sick? I'm sure I won't be able to run ten miles tomorrow."
"You're a sissy, Malark!", Guarnere butted in from the bed next to him and threw his sweaty undershirt at Malarkey's face, but the soldier was able to duck in time. "You'll get a full dose of Shames tomorrow just like the rest of us, no chickening out."
"You don't have a painful foot injury", Malarkey grumbled in return and looked again at Gene with a pitiful gaze.
"Forget it, Malarkey", Gene finally answered, suppressing a smile. He had never heard so many excuses to get away from duty as in the last four weeks. The boys were really trying to outdo themselves with their creativity in coming up with new ways of shirking their training. "I can give you a band-aid, that's all."
While Malarkey pulled a face, Luz joined their conversation by imitating an English lady in a high-pitched voice, "Oh dear, it seems I've tweaked my earlobe while hunting, I'll have to take the coach tomorrow since I cannot ride."
The sniggers of the rest of the boys filled the barracks. Gene was glad to see them cheerful once again, they had not had much to smile about lately. Just as he was about to suggest they get some sleep, because they had a strenuous day tomorrow, the door to their room opened and Lipton walked in.
"Hey sarge", Perconte greeted him with a grin. "You come back late. Don't tell me you found a willing English girl, too."
"No, I'm afraid the reasons I get back only now aren't so pleasant", Lipton answered somberly, letting himself flop down on his bed heavily. This immediately dampened the formerly good mood of the men and Gene knew that he had to prepare himself for some more bad news. Again. What was it this time?
"What happened, Lip?", Guarnere asked with a frown and sat up straight on his bed.
"If I tell you now, you probably won't get much sleep tonight", Lipton answered slowly and ran a hand over his face, "so it would probably be better to tell you tomorrow."
Shouts of protest hailed down on Lipton while Luz pointed out meaningfully, "Sarge, do you really think we'll sleep better if all of us speculate about what could be so bad as for you to try and spare us from this news for a few more hours? Just spit it out."
Lipton sighed and nodded tiredly.
"Yeah, ok", he gave in. "I try to make this as painless as possible: Winters won't come back. We're stuck with Shames."
Gene stared at Lipton openmouthed, telling himself that he would snap out of this nightmare at any second now and awake in his bed back home. An eerie silence had spread in the barracks.
"This fucking can't be true!", Guarnere finally ground out and got up from his bed. Everyone else was still too shocked to say anything.
"It's true, I just talked to Sobel", Lipton answered and for the first time Gene thought to hear something like hopelessness in his voice. "Winters was transferred to staff and Shames wanted to stay with Easy instead of going back to Dog. Some new Westpointer will take over his position there."
"This fucking hypocrite!", Guarnere suddenly snarled, aiming a kick at some poor guy's backpack that was randomly standing in his way.
"Who? Sobel?", Lipton asked with some confusion.
"Winters!", Guarnere answered angrily. "He fucking tells us to hold on, that he'd be back in no time, mighty savior of Easy, blabla... Bullshit! Someone just has to wave a staff commission in front of his nose and he jumps it like a bitch in heat. I fucking can't believe it!"
"Calm down, Bill", Lipton told him sternly. "You don't know what happened, he might not have had much choice."
"I'll tell you exactly what happened", Guarnere replied with blazing eyes. "He abandoned us for a better position and a step higher up on the career ladder, that's what happened. We're fools for having believed that Easy actually mattered to him."
"Winters doesn't care for a career", Gene found himself suddenly piping up in his former lieutenant's defense. "I won't believe he just left us out of free will."
"Yeah?", Luz asked scathingly, obviously taking Guarnere's side. "How do you know that? He told you when you went on a picnic together? He took you to the opera?"
"Shut your mouth, Luz", Gene snarled, anger rising in him. "You fucking can't know..."
"That's enough, boys!", Lipton interrupted sharply. By now everyone had got out of bed, the dorm was practically buzzing with the pent up emotions of the forty-two men of second platoon. "There is no point in fighting against each other now or Shames will already have won. We're Easy company and we're brothers in this, I won't have any aggression in here. We need to stand even closer together than we have before, alright?"
"I need a beer", Guarnere muttered, throwing on his coat. "You can have your little peace chitchat here, Lip, but I'm not in the mood for this."
"Bill", Lipton tried to hold the other sergeant back. "If they see you out of the barracks and drinking alcohol, they'll bust you back to private. Stay, please."
"They can fucking bust me back to private all they want", Guarnere replied roughly on his way out. "It would be a fucking relief to be discharged from this company right now."
With that he pushed open the door and left. Luz looked to Toye, Liebgott and three other privates standing right beside him, giving them a nod, then the small group walked out after Guarnere. So this was how everything fell apart, Gene thought to himself. He saw Lipton watching the door falling shut, looking crestfallen, and he truly felt with the sergeant.
"Lip", Grant called out softly to the other sergeant and placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "They'll calm down on their own and will be back in no time."
"Yeah, sure", Lipton replied, forcing himself to give Grant a tight smile.
Suddenly Bull walked up to the two sergeant with a thoughtful expression on his face, then his gaze found Gene's.
"I think Doc's right", he said unhurriedly. "Winters wouldn't just turn his back on us like that, that's not like him." He paused, then he looked to Grant. "Chuck, you've been there this morning in the room outside court with me. Winters's been acting strange when he came out, surely not like someone who's just got what he wished for."
"Yeah... true", Grant slowly replied, blinking rapidly while trying to remember more precisely. "He looked pretty downcast and he'd been talking to Sink, so he must have heard about his transfer right then and there... And if Winters isn't happy about being on staff, then maybe someone else is behind everything."
"Sobel", Gene muttered softly and the others all nodded in unison. Yes, this was the most logical explanation for what had transpired. Sobel had felt threatened by Winters since they had started field maneuvers and Winters had shown himself more capable of staying calm and rational than Sobel, who was prone to lose his head quite quickly. Getting rid of Winters had probably been what Sobel had wanted to do for a long time.
"So everything is definitely settled already?", Grant asked Lipton.
"Yeah", Lipton replied with a sigh. "Sobel said it's all pretty instant. Winters will be working in battalion intelligence as soon as he's cleared for duty."
"What if Shames fails another solo-maneuver?", Gene asked slowly, looking hesitantly at the other men around him.
"Yeah, what about that?", Perconte took up the question and looked expectantly at Lipton.
"I don't think Sobel will abandon him all that quickly", Lipton replied. "But I don't know what'll happen if Shames fails two or three more maneuvers."
A thoughtful silence followed and Gene noticed the hesitant, but hopeful glances the men gave each other. These were dangerous thoughts that could get them into a lot of trouble. They were at war, military law could have them shot for purposely disobeying a superior, since it would not take much to interpret their actions as mutiny. They would need to tread very carefully.
"We got to talk to Winters", Grant suggested. "Maybe he knows more than we do."
"We have no more business with him", Gene pointed out with a frown, feeling the need to caution them from doing something rash. "It could be dangerous to be seen with him now."
"Yeah", Lipton replied slowly. "But Chuck's right, we need to see Winters. But then we can't just walk up to his billet and knock, this would raise suspicions. Since he's still on sick leave he'll stay in the house most of the time."
"He goes to the hospital for check-ups", Grant suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.
"That's it, Chuck", Lipton answered, a smile starting to shine through. "We'll see that we can talk to him next time he goes to the hospital."
Murmurs of consent were to be heard from the men and Gene had the hopeful feeling that maybe not everything was lost yet.
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Dick read his own handwritten notice that was lying on his desk, then suddenly shook his head and tore it apart, throwing the shreds in the trash. How could his resignation help anyone in this situation? Yeah, just giving up was tempting, since he felt no desire at all to stay on the base and maybe come across his former Easy men training with someone else two or three times a week. However, handing in his resignation was a childish and selfish move. There was a war going on and he had to help in whatever way he could and in whatever position his superiors thought adequate.
Sighing, he got up from the chair to stand before his bed. It was getting really late and he should try to catch some sleep, but he knew that his mind was still too preoccupied to let him find some rest. Usually he would just get his worries out of his system by running ten or fifteen miles, but he knew this was a bad idea with his newly patched up side. So he was confined to this small room at the Barnes, resorting to walking back and forth in front of his bed. Should he try and contact the Easy men? What could he do to help? Maybe he should try and talk to Shames. Scratch that, Dick thought, this would not lead anywhere, beside a bleeding nose for Shames. Damn it, he could not think of one single idea how to go on from here.
A soft rap on the door woke him from his thoughts and he frowned. Hell, could not Nix just leave him alone for a few hours?
"Lew, I'm not hungry and I won't come down", he called out, starting to get annoyed with his friend's constant badgering.
"Dick, it's me", a slightly husky, feminine voice was heard through the door, taking him by surprise.
"Lizzie!", he exclaimed and slowly approached the closed door. "What are you doing here?"
"Nixon forgot some reports in the hospital, so I thought I would bring them back to him since they looked very important", she explained in a rushed voice. Dick frowned at that. Despite what everyone thought of Nix and his bad habits, it was very unlike his friend to just misplace his reports. "I thought since I'm here, I'd check on you. You didn't return to the hospital."
"Look, I'm very busy right now", he tried to explain. He fervently hoped she would somehow understand and forgive his lie, because it was no easy thing to just send her away. After all, he had longed for her company in the last few days more than once.
"Can't you just open the door for a minute?", she asked, annoyance creeping into her voice. "It's kind of strange talking to the door."
He sighed softly to himself, then opened the door. Lizzie snapped up her head at that and looked a bit surprised that he had complied that easily. She was still wearing her blue dress and her nurse cap, she probably came directly from the hospital. Her brown eyes studied him intently and a slight frown came to rest on her brow.
"I'm fine, Lizzie", he told her and forced a small smile on his lips to try and make it more convincing. The long look she gave him told him everything he needed to know about his acting skills.
"Yeah, you're positively radiating joy, happiness and good mood", she replied ironically, taking a step closer to him. She gave him a questioning look and motioned with her head for his room. Sighing again, Dick gave in and let her in his room, closing the door behind her. She gave his room a quick glance, then her look came to rest on the empty desk and the paper shreds in the trash.
"So, what are you working on?", she asked with raised eyebrows that told him she had not bought his excuse of being busy.
"Well, it's...", he tried to explain, then suddenly decided to be honest. "I'm not really working on something, but I have many things on my mind that I need to think about."
"A problem shared is a problem halved", she suggested with a tentative smile that gently showed her dimples. Dick loved that smile and how she looked at him under her thick dark lashes. Her hair was messy as always, but that was what he loved that about her just as much as everything else. Her eyes showed a soft brown color, that reminded him of the rich, dark earth back home.
"I can't tell you", he told her quietly, watching her mouth being pursed into a thin line and her eyes turning from a soft brown into a dark grey.
"I'm not saying you have to tell me all the details or betray your superiors", she answered impatiently. "But have you noticed that you never tell me anything about yourself?"
"It's not my own decision, Lizzie", he tried to explain. Why was she so adamant about this? "And I told you things about myself, like... like my sister's wedding."
"I came across her letter and you were pretty much forced to tell me", she reminded him with a frown. "I don't know anything about you. I don't know what you were doing before you went to the army, I don't know what are your goals in life, I don't even know if you have a girlfriend back at home!"
"I'd have told you if I did", he replied slowly, watching her intently.
"But how could I know that?", she asked, starting to pace. "You're nice and happy and wonderful one day, the other day you look like you might shoot someone and refuse to talk to me and I have no idea what's going on! I don't get you, Dick, and that's because you don't let anyone get close to you."
"Lizzie, I've let you get closer than you think", he told her fervently and watched her walking up and down in front of him. She had her arms crossed and gave him a frustrated look out of narrowed eyes.
"Yeah?", she asked, coming to a halt right in front of him. Her face was very close to his and he could see every single lash on her eyelids. He had been wrong, he realized with wonder, her eyes were not just brown but held all kind of colors: yellow, blue, green... "I fucking told you about my brother, about my father, I practically cried my heart out in front of you and you can't even tell me what's going on! You just hide in your room, doing what? Hoping the problems will go away on their own? I was fucking worried about you, you get that? You promised me to be back, but you didn't and you didn't let me know!"
"I'm sorry about that", he told her quietly. He could see her eyes – still so very close to his – narrow even more at that.
"I think I was right", she replied in a dangerously low voice. "You don't care, Dick. You don't care about others. About me."
"That's not true!", he denied almost desperately, for the first time raising his voice. There were many things one could accuse him of, but he cared about her with every fiber of his body.
"I don't believe you", she answered in a whisper, her mouth trembling slightly and her chest heaving under her strained breathing. She lifted her eyes, her wild gaze colliding with his.
It was too much, Dick could not take it anymore. Before he knew what happened, his mouth crashed down on hers, catching her soft lips in a deep kiss.
-tbc-