42.

~ "Arthur." Cobb whispered. "You know they plan to kill us."

"We don't know that." Arthur said. It was night and most of the men were sleeping. Only Arthur and Cobb were awake. Watching the snow fall. Cobb had developed a fever. He was sweating out the infection that was now ravishing his leg.
"Yes we do. We've seen evidence of what they plan to do all over Europe." Cobb whispered so the men wouldn't hear. "We have to get out."
"We are an immobile unit right now." Arthur said logically. "We have too many wounded to move and no transport and no idea where we are."

"Arthur." Cobb said sternly as the Major looked grimly at the guards. "We know what they will do. You remember what the POWs in Paris told us. If they find out your Jewish..."

Cobb didn't have to finish. Didn't have to say it. Arthur's blood had turned cold at the memory. The rescued American POWs in Paris had told them they were striped naked by the Nazis so they could see which of them was circumcised. Those who were, were immediately executed.

"What do you think they want with us?" Cobb asked.

"Prisoner exchange." Arthur said. "They think if they give us back, they'll be granted immunity."

"Won't work if we die here." Cobb laughed.

Arthur had to agree. It was the third day with no food and in the horrible cold that went to his bones.

~ "This is where it happened." Eames said pointing to the downed tank and the bodies left frozen in the snow.
"Were missing about a couple of dozen, sir." A Sargent told them taking a head count of the dead.

"Must have been taken prisoner." The colonel said. "They dug a trap and opened fire on them."

"The Lt. Colonel was wounded and the Major ordered a surrender." Eames said.
"Trying to save the rest of the men." Colonel Burch said with a nod. "The Nazis are cornered animals right now. They will do anything now to survive."

"Do you think their still alive?" Eames asked hopefully.

"Yes, I do. The Major is smart. He will look after the men." The gruff officer said honestly. "They just have to stay alive."

~ Ariadne received a letter from Arthur more than a week after her nightmare. She smiled at the idea of him holding her while she slept. She had written him that she was moving out. Not blaming his mother or Linda, but saying she wanted to be closer to the city.

She received the telegram from the war office an hour later.

~ Lydia had come home from her woman's group that evening to see her daughter-in-law sitting in the parlor. The neatly framed photo of Arthur, resplendent in his uniform, in her hands.

"Arthur's missing in action." She said coldly. "And I'm pregnant."

"I knew it!" Lydia was nearly hysterics.

Beth was calm and collected in the front parlor as her mother raged. Ariadne sat Arthur's picture back on the fire place. She wished she had known him back then. When she was walking out of France, he was still so innocent to war. They both were.

"I knew he had gotten you in trouble and that was why he married you! I'm willing to bet that's not even his child." Lydia fumed.
"It's his baby, Mother." Beth said calmly. "My brother, your son, asked us to take care of his wife and his unborn child until he is home. Doesn't matter how long they knew each other or if the baby was conceived out of wedlock or not."

"It most certainly does matter. Think of the scandal!" Lydia almost shouted.
"Mother. Arthur is missing in action. Don't you want to worry about that right now?" Beth said trying to appeal to her mother's softer side.
"I can't worry about that because I've got to deal with this horrific indiscretion living in my home." Lydia shouted. Waving a hand at Ariadne.

"I won't be living in your home anymore." Ariadne said softly. "I've gotten an apartment and a job. I can look after myself. I've done it before."

"Arthur will be furious when he finds out his wife had to leave this house." Beth said in a cold voice to her mother.

"If the child his his, and Arthur doesn't make it home, I will have to take custody." Lydia said finally.

"What?" Beth said wrinkling her nose.
"This girl is obviously not our sort. She trapped my son into marrying her. If Arthur doesn't make it home, I need to take care of his child. I can provide a better life for the baby then her." Lydia said rationally to Beth said if Ariadne wasn't even in the room.

"Mother, stop acting crazy. You can't take a baby away from his mother." Beth said rationally.
"She will be free to go on her way in life. Free to re-marry and not have to worry about any... obligation." Lydia said.
"Mother!" Beth almost shouted. "I hope my brother comes home safe and sound. So he can know exactly how you have regarded his wife and ignored his wishes. This talk of stealing Ariadne's baby. You should be ashamed."

Both women seemed to forget the pretty nurse as she went upstairs to pack. Their shouting reaching her through out the house.

Down a secluded hall, were the boyhood bedrooms of Arthur and his dead brothers. Beth had made a point of say they were off limits to everyone. The lady of the house keeping them as a shrine to her sons.

She found Arthur's room by the baseball name plate on the door and silently stole inside.

Arthur's old bedroom was clean and well organized. She looked over his clothes and even the toys he had played with. Her future husband liking metal army men and toy tanks. A solider even before there was a war. She stole the warm looking blanket off his bed and returned to her appointed guest room.

It was cold outside and the blanket felt good and comforting. She wrapped herself tightly under the blanket from Arthur's room.

"See, little one?" She whispered to the small life growing inside her. "Your father is keeping us warm."

~ The conditions in the barracks were unbearable. The cold and starvation had crippled them so quickly. Arthur had at least twenty sick men he had to look after and no medic. Only Cobb's injury was serious, but they all needed medical help. From what he recalled of the POW camps he helped to liberate, medical attention was not high on the list of priorities.

There were no place for the men use the bathroom. Only a trench their captures made them dig. Arthur was glad it was so cold outside. Hopefully the freezing temperatures would halt any kind of outbreak from poor sanitation.

The men were huddled together in one small barrack for warmth as the major counted their guards at less then a dozen. He let the guards think he didn't understand them when they talked about finding American officers to exchange the prisoners for immunity and safe passage out of Germany.

The major strained to listen as their captures talked about some Army Colonel finding them.

"Arthur?" Cobb said looking pale and very sick.

"What is it?" Arthur huffed keeping an eye on their guards.

"Do you ever think about Ariadne? About your baby?" Cobb asked with a sickly cough.

"What do you think?" Arthur said bitterly.

His thoughts were plagued with images of him being killed in this snow covered limbo. Of his child being born with no father. Of his precious bride, a young widow. He was glad she was at home with his mother and Beth. They would take care of her.

"I think about Mal all the time." Cobb said. His fever loosening his composure. "She haunts me. I see her like she is some kind of evil ghost. She talks to me. I see her... and I can't remember my children's faces."

Cobb had to get out of this place. He would die soon if they were not released. His gun shot wound was infected and he was delirious from the fever and lack of food.

Arthur turned away from the sickly looking Colonel. He watched the guards until night fell. His wounded were still not able to brave an unknown forest even if they could break out. They were all weak from hunger and would not be able to survive the cold unprotected.

'We have to get on the trucks.' Arthur thought. But he never saw any trucks. They had to be there. No way did their captures not have quick transport out.

Arthur looked enviously at the snug warm guard house where there was surely food and warmth.

As night fell on the fourth day with no food, Arthur tried not to think about how hungry he was.