"No, try it this way." Doc explained, sketching it out in front of me as we both were working out the different stitchings that we were going to have to use on the soldiers once the war as started. It was an early afternoon at Camp Toccoa, and we were going over some of the usual protocols. After almost telling Captain Sobel off when it came to his authority and my own, I now had a huge target on my back. But I had other things to worry about and think about: my new idea for the deaf soldiers. Since I thought about teaching them, or at least helping them, it has always plagued my mind and made me more excited and nervous to talk to Winters about it since he was recently promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

He showed me his drawing of the stitching that we were going to have to use on a server wound from a gunshot. I looked at it from my spot next to him, hunched over the table and seeing how the drawing looked and where the stitches were supposed to be. IT was nice to have Eugene Roe as a good friend in this kind of work. We were now good friends at this point, he even praised me for the decision I made about Toye though he was still a bit worried about how I handled myself with Sobel.

"Oh, I get it now." I said back to him, moving my hair from my eyes as I pointed to the drawing he made, "This have to go inward instead of the branching out manner that was good for the elementary stitching."

"Right." Roe agreed, moving up to stand from behind hunched over and cracked his back, rubbing his eyes and having me look over at him as well. Within the last couple of days, since he would come back from training with Sobel and the Easy Company.

"You need to sleep, Doc." I warned him gently as I took the sketchbook we both had, sitting on the counter in front of him and started to imitate the sketch he did with the stitching.

"If only I could, Sobel's been running us super hard with drills and runs. I swear I think I could collapse within a moment or two." He explained as I looked up at him, seeing the weariness in his eyes and how his own body language showed defeated. He maybe be training as a soldier, but he was more of a medic than a solider. That made me think that I would have to go through the same thing myself if I was going to receive the promotion.

"You're doing good with the training, you know that right?" I asked him as I placed the book on the table next to my legs and I watched him, seeing him nod his head.

"Thanks for the encouragement Red." He thanked, having me smirk at him for using the nickname on me. I never thought he would eve use that with me, but I knew the other boys would. Roe was different though: He was more serious with me and made me think of him as an older brother. He looked out for me when we were learning in class and practices.

"Since when do you call me Red?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, fixing the pin in my hair that held my bangs away from my face in order for me to work. The rest of my hair was down, getting long after being here for so long and not having a moment to trim it.

"Don't really remember." Doc replied in a shrug of his shoulders, having me see a small smile on his lips. He knew how to be light and playful around me at times, though most of the time he was beyond serious and had more of a logical mind.

"I prefer if you keep calling me Marley." I explained, having me see him look at me in confusion.

"Why is that?" He asked me, thinking that I offended him for using that nickname with me. I didn't mind him using a nickname with me, but it was the fact that we had a different relationship with each other compared with the rest of Easy Company. I liked having that special relationship with him, and I think he felt the same.

"I just like you using my name." I said in a shrug of my shoulders, having me see him look down at his feet and then have a grin on his face, "Besides, I think you can think of a better nickname for me."

"Whatever you say, gingembre." He commented back in his accent and grin, having me playfully smack him on the shoulder and hearing him snicker.

"Since when am I ginger?" I asked him, pointing to my head, "Like this is ginger."

"It looks like it from here!" He said, throwing up his hands in defense and having me stick my tongue out at him in playful banter. It was soon short lived when I saw Winter come in, having both Roe and myself stand back up completely and salute him as he walked over to stand in front of the both of us.

"At ease." He replied after a moment or two. We both then stood there with our hands behind our back and waited for him, "I'm here to give you some news about our upcoming trip to Fort Benning. Colonel Sink has asked me to tell you that he is willing to grant you the promotion to be a combat nurse alongside Roe here for Easy Company." I smiled at him though I tried to hard not have it look so huge and make me look ridiculous.

"Thank you for sir." I replied to him, my smile was no longer huge and down to a smirk. I even saw a small smirk on Roe's face from the side, showing that he too was happy to hear the news.

"And with that, you're going to start your training with me at Fort Benning since Colonel Sink is convinced that working with me and not with our Captain is more efficient for you. You'll still be training with the nurses there." Winters went on, having me nod my head once at him and still feel good about the news. But then I remembered something that I wanted to ask him.

"Permission to speak sir." I said aloud, having both Eugene and winters look at me with surprised looks. I felt a though I should have voiced what I was willing to do, it was now or never. He could shoot me down, but I had no clue until I voiced it to him.

"Granted." Winter said cautiously as I took in a deep breath.

"With your permission sir, I wish to help with the soldiers who are going deaf because of injuries on and off the field of battle." I explained, having me see him still watch me and shift from one foot to another, crossing his arms in front of me and looking more comfortable. So far so good.

"I'm listening." He said aloud, having me carefully take my hands from behind me back and fold them in front of me. I could seed Eugene next to me, silently telling me with his eyes that he was listening too. Both of them were interested in what I was cooking up.

"With soldiers going deaf on the battlefield, they are more prone to death because they cannot communicate or hear anything around them, including airborne attacks and grenade alerts close to them." I explained some more, keeping my enthusiasm about the subject on a lower tone and more professional, "If we don't help with the soldiers who don't have a way of communication with their officers and fellow soldiers, then we can lose more lives than we can ever imagine."

"What did you have in mind?" He asked me, still intrigued about the conversation.

"I can teach them Sign Language." I could hear a pin drop in the room as I waited for Winters to say something, anything. But he looked a bit shocked from what I was saying to him, to get permission for me to teach Easy Company how to use Sign Language in order to protect ourselves against any kind of danger or other hurdles in front of us in the future.

"Sign Language." He repeated, trying to make sure he got it right.

"Yes sir." I answered.

"To whom?" He asked, with a hint of interest in his voice.

"To Easy Company sir." I replied, having me think to himself before I went on with my reasoning, "There are more soldiers who are going deaf, and there are multiple reasonings behind it, sir. There can be severe injuries both internally and externally with the ear. And a secondary reason can be the amount of noise damage that can inflict deafness on a soldier that cannot be healed or fixed."

"And you think can teach our company how to use Sign Language can help prevent any deaths that could happen to us?" He asked me, looking a bit unconvinced about the whole thought.

"Both death and any other injuries sir, it can be another source of communication for us to use against the enemy so they won't know what we are doing or saying." I went on, trying to let this idea on the road. He thought to himself before I saw him shift again with his feet. I looked over to Eugene to see what he was doing and or thinking. He too was thinking about it to himself, using the same look that he would always use when he would either make a decision or contemplate something. I was used to this face by now, but the look of Winters was new to me. I hoped that I had a good enough case about it, if not gave him good enough reasons to have the boys learn Sign Language.

"I'll think about it and talk to Sobel about your thoughts." He replied, having me feel a small smile on my face, "Although I like the thought and the idea, it's not up to me. But I'll get back to you." I nodded my head at him, both Eugene and I saluting him before he walked out of the cabin, having me again feel a sense of personal victory. At least he liked the thought of it, having me really wonder if he was going to go through with the whole idea. I now had another hurdle with the whole situation: Sobel. If he already had a thing against me since I did not inform him directly about the sick Toye.

"Way to go there, gingembre." Doc said to me finally, having me smile and look over at him. Things were looking up for the better.


That night though took a bitter turn for me with the whole idea I had for the boys. I was eating with Easy Company, our normal conversations of what we did before the war came up and it was a normal night for the men. Though most of them are rather tired and irritated with the constant drilling of Captain Sobel, I was glad they were in a bit of better spirits. It was when Luz was in the middle of a interpretation of a old movie star that he admired when I saw a Captain Sobel walk over to our table, the look of intimidation in his eyes and his walk was stern and rigid.

"Nurse La Noux." He said aloud, having me immediately drop my fork and get up from my spot at the table between Malarky and Bull. All of the men were watching with wide eyes as I saluted Sobel.

"At ease." he relied on, his voice was more authoritative compared to Winters, and I placed my hands behind my back and waited for him to say something. But he saw the rest of the men watching me, the both of us, to see what was going to happen. The men quickly went back to eating, leaving me along with the infamous Captain and whatever he had in store for me.

"I was informed on your idea for teaching the Easy Company Sign Language for the war." He explained to me, looking down at me as if I was one of his new prey for him to feast on and to kill. But I had to compose myself, showing that I could take anything that he would throw at me.

"I'm denying the request." He replied back to me. Within that moment I heard a fork drop behind me, no one talking to eating at all at the table, and having my should feel like it was about to crushed by a ton of bricks, " It'll take up too much time from training and learning the combat skills in order to succeed in this war, not to mention a waste of time." I kept myself under control, though I wished I could have argued with him and tell him off. But I already did that once, somewhat. This time there was no escape from it, since I felt as though what I wanted to do was ripped away from me. I was in the army, and luxuries were taken from me as soon as I signed the papers.

"Yes sir." I replied to him in my soldier voice, then seeing him eye me now more like a lion about to pounce on a gazelle. I didn't like that look, it made me feel so vulnerable in front of him and since I was already shut down, I didn't want anything else to do with him.

"And I think it would be best for the both of us that if anyone is qualified to teach Easy Company anything, it is not from a female." As soon as he said that, I felt as though I wanted to make a fist behind my back and then punch him square in the jaw. I was just insulted, being called unqualifiedly to teach men because I was a woman. Something inside of my dropped to my feet, having me feel as though he did slap me on the face and made me feel less of a person and more of an object then.

"Carry on with your dinner." He replied, turning his back on me as I was about to salute him. He walked away, showing off his own personal victory with the way he walked down the rows of soldiers. Once he was out of the mess hall, I took a breath out of my lungs and tried so hard to contain what I was feeling on the inside: shame and anger.

"Son of a Bitch." I heard behind me, having me look within seconds and see all of the boys looking at me, all of them look so sad as if they were the ones who were insulted. They heard the whole thing, and I could see in their eyes the rising on anger that was coming over them since they saw the whole thing. Bull was trying so hard in his spot, Toye was fuming and having me see red in his face and steam coming from his ears. Malarky was at a lost of words, and Webster looked a bit stunned from what he saw and heard. Doc, who was sitting next to me, placed a reassuring hand on my wrist near my own hand, giving me eyes of sadness and a bit of hatred too. He was the only one who knew about the idea and what I wanted to do, and this was killing him as much as it was killing me.

"I'm sorry about that, Red." Webster said to me in a sincere tone, having me see the hurt in his eyes. I shook my head at him, not being able to say anything and unfolded my hands from my back to find some feelings back in them. But it was Joe, who was fuming beyond belief that looked like he was about to split the table in half from his hands, both of them were making fists.

"Don't worry about it Webster." I said back to him in almost a shaky tone, still reeling from it. Within seconds, I saw Joe shoot up from his spot on the bench at the table.

"To hell with that!" He growled, having me see his face inflamed with fury and anger. I felt as though he was about to have a meltdown right there. It surprised me that he was so moved about it, since I was the one that got insulted to because of my gender. Why would he be effected by it? Bull immediately grabbed his sleeve, holding him roughly and having me see red in Joe's face.

"He's one cocky Son of A—" He was cut off by Bull pulling him down back on the bench.

"Don't start, Liebgott or you'll get in trouble." Bull said to him in a low tone, having me see a couple of other soldiers from the other tables look over in my direction to see what was going on. Even Bethany and the other nurses were looking over at me direction. Apparently she saw the whole conversation between Sobel and I, and she looked at me with a shrug of her shoulders, silently asking me if he agreed to the idea of me teaching Sign. I shook my head, mouthing "no go" to her. She looked rather sad, then talking to the other girls at the table and seeing them all too disappointed. They were rallying for me as well as the boys from Easy Company.

"What was that all about, Red?" Luz asked me with worried eyes, having me look down at him and slowly sit back down on the bench, placing my hands on the bench but no longer hungry to touch my food.

"I was going to request to teach you guys Sign Language." I explained to him in a more calming tone, having me see all of them watching no longer with hatred for Sobel but now with intrigue with the whole subject of it all.

"She had a good idea." Doc added, having some of the men look at him as the others stayed looking at me. Joe was still fuming, clutching his fork and knife like he was about to kill. But his eyes were on me, having me see the hate there and not like it one bit. I wished that I would reach across the table and grab his hands to calm him down, but that in itself was beyond protocol.

"If one of us goes deaf on the battlefield, then we can use Sign Language as a way to talk to each other instead of not knowing what to do." I explained some more, "And we can use Sign as a way to talk to each other without anyone else knowing what we were doing." But as I finished, I still felt like I wanted to cry and hide in another room from the sheer embarrassment that happened to me. I sighed, looking down at the plate in front of me and wishing that I could eat.

"Damn." I heard in front of me, having me look up to see Malarky looking at me with brilliance.

"Damn? Good damn or bad damn?" Luz asked in a rush to Malarky, who was now smiling at me so big that it looked like it would attract all the men in the mess hall.

"That is a brilliant idea, Red." he said to me, having me look at him in disbelief.

"You think so?" I asked sheepishly, though I saw other men nodding their heads at the table.

"Of course, we can totally use that out in the field. I don't get why he doesn't want to do that." He explained, leaning back on his spot and looking rather happy about it. I felt a bit better, though not the whole way through.

"Because he's a der Scheißkerl." Joe mumbled with venom in his voice, having me feel the hatred from my own spot at the other side of the table.

"Hey, quit cursing in German." Doc said back to him in retaliation as Malarky tapped me on the arm to get my attention once more back on him instead of a made Joe Liebgott.

"You gotta teach us." He said, having me look at him in shock and confusion. He wanted me to teach him. Even after he saw me practically being insulted for not being good enough to teach by a Captain.

"You want me to teach you Sign Language?" I asked him, trying to make sure I had it right for him. He nodded his head, then having me see Bull and Toye nod their heads in agreement. They still wanted to learn from me, which made me see them in a whole new light.

"You know if I do this and if I get caught, I could get kicked out of the army for sure and get in loads of trouble for going behind the Captain's back." I warned him, but I saw some of them shrugging. It was as if this was nothing to them. They did not mind getting in trouble at the expense of Sobel yelling at them, they must have had enough with him and his antics.

"Screw Sobel." Toye said in a proclamation, having me hear the agreement from the other men as they smiled and nodded her heads. I suddenly felt a sense of pride and love coming from them. They were willing to put their necks on the line to help me out, that and each other. If I had any doubt about this group of men, it all went out the window from that moment. I looked over at Joe, who looked cooler than furious moments before, but he was still annoyed with how Sobel was treating me. He nodded his head at me, since he wasn't saying anything about it, but he too was on board with the whole thing going on. I felt a small smile back on my face, since they were making me feel better about from the amount of support they were showing me.

"Okay, how about this. I'll teach you when we get to Fort Benning and on the way to England." I explained to them, seeing each of them look at other as I waited for their approval. My eyes were back at Joe, who was tapping his fork on his tin plate before he spoke up for the whole company that all had the same answer as him.

"Deal."