Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't update in a few months. I've been having bad computer problems, so updating has been nearly impossible. Thank you for continuing to read this fic. Reviews are appreciated xoxo

Chapter 3: Parachutes

Fort Benning, Georgia

December 1942-February 1943:

In December the 506th said goodbye to Camp Toccoa, a home they had all come to loathe and love. Fort Benning was an advancement in their training, but entering the base felt like a step back rather than a step forward. The atmosphere was tense, and the soldiers already stationed at Benning had no fond words for Easy Company.

The only element kept the same was all the women sharing barracks again. Marie was thankful for at least one familiar thing as she attempted to settle down.

Barbara sat on her bed, putting her shoes on while Diana watched Florence put on a massive amount of make up (despite it being contraband). Diana marveled at her friend as she tried to convince her that there was no point, and that it was technically not allowed, but Florence didn't care. Marie and Emilia sat on their beds, attempting to write letters home. Marie promised she'd write their friend Jane, but she honestly didn't know what to tell her. It didn't seem right to write about their success while Jane was discharged.

"They didn't exactly roll out the welcome wagon for us, huh," Barbara said aloud as she started to tie her laces.

"Can we talk about something else, please? You guys are makin' me feel worse," Florence sighed, inspecting herself in a pocket mirror (another contraband item, there was no room for vanity in the paratroopers).

"Well, what do you want to talk about then," Diana asked, rolling her eyes at her friend's vainness.

"How about that newly appointed Lieutenant?" Florence suggested with a sly smile.

Diana and Florence giggled girlishly amongst themselves, as the other women went about their business with disinterest. Marie focused on the letter she was writing, blocking out the distraction.

"You're so lucky, Barb," Diana laughed, nudging her friend. "He's going to be in D Company. It's a shame that he's being sent to Europe early, though. You get less of a chance to get to know him."

Barb replied with a sound of lassitude, resonating at the back of her throat.

Marie was getting nowhere with her letter. She put it down, and watched ruefully as Emilia effortlessly wrote paragraphs upon paragraphs. Marie slid off her bed and announced that she was going to the mess hall. She hoped Malarkey and Muck could curb her boredom.

0000

The mess hall offered no relief to Marie. The 82nd Airborne paratroopers, who had been stationed at Benning before Easy Company, had filled the quarters with astringent glances and smug criticism. Marie could feel herself being heavily judged as she walked by; their arms crossed, their mouths turned downward in a disapproving sneers. The glares were so intense Marie almost felt violated. She was extremely thankful that Malarkey had spotted her, and signalled her over. She couldn't stand the intense scrutiny much longer. Marie squeezed in between Frank Perconte and George Luz, who were sitting across from Malarkey. Perconte, the short Italian with a scar across his eyebrow (that contrasted with his boyish looks) was talking loudly to Malarkey and whoever would listen. Luz, the Puerto-Rican from Rhode Island with thick black hair, and a sense of humor and wit that could make anyone collapse from laughter, smiled at Perconte's words.

Marie gave Malarkey a small smile, not wanting to verbally interrupt the conversation. Malarkey returned her smile, his eyes drifting back to Perconte. He nodded, letting the Italian know he was still listening. Marie sighed, sitting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her arms. She knew she wasn't going to enjoy being at Fort Benning; not just because of the rude paratroopers, but because of the five upcoming jumps they'd have to do. Marie was actually terribly afraid of heights; ironic, considering that she'd signed up to be in the Airborne.

"What's wrong?" Perconte asked, noticing her sudden uneasiness.

Marie was surprised he'd halted his passionate story to see her dread. She felt suddenly very self-conscious with all their eyes on her.

"Uh, nothing," she replied meekly, feeling a hot blush spread across her face.

"Well something is obviously wrong," Luz chimed in.

Marie's eyes were downcast, avoiding their eyes. Malarkey's curious expression made her sink back even further in her seat. She felt ridiculous and out of place, but confessing that she was afraid to jump out of planes would only give those against her more ammunition. Easy Company was still adjusting to her and Emilia, and now she was receiving looks of disdain from the paratroopers from Benning.

Carwood Lipton then entered the mess hall. Lipton, gentle but stern when he had to be. The West Virginia with a slightly premature receding hairline carried a stack of letters and packages. His small, brown eyes spotted them sitting from across the mess hall. He went over to join them, giving the obnoxious paratroopers a thin, forced smile as he slid past them with haste.

"Hey, Lip. What'cha got there," Luz asked..

"Mail." Lipton answered, putting the letters down and sorting through them. Marie gave him a small smile. She liked Lipton, he was kind and had a slightly resigned nature about him.

"Malark," Lipton read, handing Malarkey a letter. "George. Hmm, I think I misplaced yours, Frank," Lipton said, furrowing his brow as he looked through the letters and packages.

"Of course you did," Perconte grunted.

"Ah, I got one for you too, Ms. Docherty," Lip said, picking up a package. He slid it over to her.

Marie stared down at the package in surprise. She didn't expect to receive a package, a letter possibly, but not this. She read that it was from Anne, her little sister. The ends of her lips curled into a smile, unable to resist the warmth it brought her to read Anne's name. She opened the package, feeling shy again because the men were all staring at her. The wrapping revealed her lovingly used copy of Jane Eyre. Being able to physically grasp something familiar made her feel slightly at ease.

"Make sure Sobel doesn't see that, he'll confiscated it," Lipton warned her.

"I'll be careful," Marie answered.

Marie heard the sound of ripping paper and glanced up to see Malarkey opening his letter. He unfolded the letter and began to read, a smile spreading on his face as he immersed himself in the words.

"Hey, is that from that girl of yours," Luz asked, grinning slyly.

"Yeah, it's from Bernice," Malarkey told him, still smiling.

Marie felt her heart rate quicken as she heard Malarkey talk about his girlfriend. She felt a sudden surge of jealousy and it frightened her. She quickly dismissed these strange feelings and opened her book and buried herself in it. The conversation the men were having revolved around women, whether it be wives, girlfriends, women they wished were girlfriends, the discussion continued on. Marie felt out of place listening to them talk about women. She stood up, catching their attention once again, and held her book tightly against her chest.

"I'm going to explore the base for a bit," she announced quietly.

"Oh, is everything okay?" Malarkey asked, studying her slightly embarrassed expression.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"If you run into Skip, can you give this to him," Lipton asked, holding out another letter.

Marie nodded and took it quickly from his hands, then turned to scurry out of the mess hall. It suddenly felt far too cramped and crowded for her tastes. As she was blindly making her way toward the exit, she ran right into another soldier. The force caused both of them to stumble backward. Marie's face went scarlet in mortification as she caught her bearings. She looked up to see David Webster, the Fox Company soldier who volunteered for the paratroopers as he was studying at Harvard.

"I'm so sorry," Marie stammered.

"That's quite alright," Webster replied. His sharp blue eyes drifted down to her book, and lit up as he read the title. "You're a fan of the Brontë sisters?"

Marie was taken aback from his question. No one outside of Easy Company had ever spoken to her. The members of Easy Company hardly even spoke to her. He smiled expectantly, waiting for her to answer. His overwhelming blue eyes and perfect square jaw caught her off guard for a moment as she struggled to form coherent sentences.

Before Marie could respond Emilia entered the mess hall. Catcalls and whistles immediately followed as Emilia made her way in. Men always seemed to whoop their approval of her whenever she was around. However, Emilia ignored it with grace as if she couldn't hear them shouting at her.

"Marie they need you in the infirmary," Emilia reported as she approached Marie. Emilia's dark eyes shifted back and forth between Marie and Webster. The smallest hint of a smile tugged at Emilia's lips.

"Excuse me," Marie muttered, relieved to have escaped the mess hall at last.

As the two women walked together Emilia let out a chuckle. Marie turned to her in question.

"Well, well, well." Emilia laughed, raising an eyebrow at her shorter friend.

"What?" Marie questioned defensively.

"You and that handsome soldier," Emilia smiled cunningly.

Marie blushed again, much to her annoyance. "It was nothing, I ran into him, almost knocking the two of us flat on our backs."

Emilia laughed again. "You poor thing!"

"Oh, Em, it was awful. I can't seem to stop embarrassing myself wherever I go."

Emilia caught Marie by the shoulder as they finally made it to the infirmary.

"Don't fret, darling, you'll come into your own," Emilia encouraged the medic softly.

Marie averted her eyes, "I hope you're right."

0000

Marie left the infirmary after a long day of rudimentary review. She rubbed her eyes in fatigue as she made her way back. The first day had been surprisingly lax considering, but she knew that Sobel was lurking somewhere in the shadows to pounce on his company. The five jumps were coming up and there was no chance he would slack on the preparation. As Marie entered the mess hall Sobel suddenly burst into the mess hall. He marched in with his chest swelled, and shoulders back in total arrogance. He had anger clearly etched all over his face. Marie felt herself tense up instantly at his presence, afraid of his dark, blazing eyes to land on her. Everyone stopped talking and laughing all at once, and stood up in attention. Sobel eyed each and every one of them. His eyes fell on Marie, but she wasn't allowed to look him in the eyes, even as her skin crawled from discomfort.

"Easy Company! We start tomorrow at 0500 hours!" Sobel declared.

"Yes, sir!" Every member of East company shouted in unison.

Sobel left the mess hall and everyone exhaled. Marie did the same; she hadn't even noticed she was holding her breath when he had entered.

The following weeks brought stress beyond comprehension. Marie felt herself begin to grow more and more anxious as the first jump quickly approached, knowing the day will grow inevitably closer because of time's relativity. Sobel was drilling everyone extra hard to the point of mental deterioration; few of the men were having breakdowns, which only made Sobel become even stricter.

After one of the days of training Marie went and sat down outside to rest a bit. It was nearing Christmas, the bitter cold cut through her skin like a blade. Malarkey sat silently beside her, neither talking for a long while in contemplation.

"We're almost to the fourth step," He announced, licking his lips from the cold air.

Marie didn't respond, she only listened vaguely in exhaustion.

"One: physical fitness. I think it's fair to say that Easy Company has over-achieved on that." Malarkey stated. Marie nodded and gave him a "no kidding" look. "Two: practice jumps, like jumping from the parachute towers and landing techniques," He continued.

Marie sighed; she hated jumping from the tower. Learning to land correctly wasn't as easy as it seemed. Once you hit the ground you have to allow all the weight in your legs to give way so your bones won't break. Instinct was to catch your falling with your hands which could be disastrous.

"Three: Learning to pack chutes and unpack them. And of course learning how to use them," Malarkey went on. "And finally, step four: the five required jumps," Malarkey concluded. "That's all it takes, then it'll all be official."

"Step four sounds like the hardest step," Marie muttered, hugging her knees. She felt queasy thinking about jumping from the planes. The last week at Fort Benning in February, would be when they all had to jump. Once you do that, you earn your wings.

"They do that on purpose. They want to weed out those who aren't cut for it. We've already lost a dozen guys who couldn't do it," Malarkey told her.

"I know," Marie murmured.

"The jumps will prove who has the balls to go through with it," Malarkey said.

Marie gave him a look when he used the term "balls".

"Oh, I mean- ugh, you know," he tried to correct himself. She only laughed and smacked him playfully on the arm.

"I know, it's all good." Marie snickered.

0000

Everyone was gathered around for the pep speech that was being given before the first jump. Marie sat next to Emilia, feeling her heart pound rapidly in her chest. She was so nervous as she gave her full attention to the unknown sergeant giving the speech. Everyone huddled outside under a giant awning, sitting on the ground.

"So, do we feel we're ready to be Army paratroopers?" The sergeant shouted, addressing the crowd.

"Yes, Sergeant!" Everyone replied in unison. Marie's throat was too dry to yell as loud as everyone else. She felt drowned out by the jittery energy that was filling the room.

"This'll be the first of five exits from a C-47 aircraft scheduled for today. Upon successful completion of your fifth and final jump, you'll be certified Army paratroopers. There'll be a lot of men and women dropping from the sky today. Hopefully under deployed canopies. Jumping from 1000 feet AGL in sticks of twelve jumpers per aircraft. All you have to do is remember what you were taught, and I guarantee you gravity will do the rest." The Sergeant explained.

1000 feet… Marie's stomach flopped.

Emilia noticed her friend's distress and gripped her hand in comfort. Marie's palms were so sweaty that she tried to pull back from Emilia's hand, but Emilia clenched it tighter, making Marie's already pale hand become white.

"And ladies and gentlemen, rest assured, any refusals in the aircraft or at the door, and I guarantee you, you will be out of the Airborne," the Sergeant added. Everyone fell silent. Marie swallowed her fear and tried to sum up courage. Emilia gave Marie's hand another hard squeeze.

There was no turning back now, it was too late to quit.

The aircraft was so loud Marie could barely hear the jumpmaster when he yelled out the orders. She sat along the steel bench of the C-47, feeling an indescribable combination of euphoria and paranoia. The jumpmaster gave the order to stand up and hook up.

"Check equipment!" He shouted. Marie could faintly hear him. She double-checked everything that she was carrying, and everything the person was carrying who was standing in front of her. Sound off had already started; she could hear the men yelling their numbers as they reached their way up. Marie was the sixth one in line.

"Seven okay!" She heard the man behind her yell; he patted her back so she could carry on with the sound off.

"Six okay!" She yelled as loud as she could manage. She tapped the guy ahead of her but he didn't shout his number. He suddenly panicked and slumped up against the support bar of the aircraft, shivering as if he was cold.. Everyone behind him had to unhook and step around him. After everyone was hooked up again, the sound off continued. Marie saw the light turn green at the door of the aircraft, signaling the all clear for the first jumper. She felt herself break out into a cold sweat. It was time, it was really happening.

"Go, go!" The jumpmaster shouted. He motioned the first jumper out, and it continued down the line. She was so close now. Her stomach churned and she felt like she was going to puke. She swallowed the bile that came up in her throat and continued to walk closer to the exit. Her feet dragged like anchors.

It was finally her turn as she inched her way to the open door, revealing perfect clear sky. She felt herself freeze up but she forced her joints into submission so she wouldn't hesitate when the red light turned green. It flashed green and the jumpmaster practically screamed for her to go. She swallowed deeply, shut her eyes tightly, and then took a flying, desperate leap out of the aircraft.

She realized that she screamed a little as she jumped, but the feeling of free falling didn't last as long as she thought it would. The cover chute was attached to the static line, so it would open on its own after a few seconds of plummeting to the Earth. She remembered what Malarkey had told her to count to four, the canopy would hopefully open. She opened her eyes. It was difficult with the wind gusting on her face, but she managed to see how far up she was and her feet flailing around as the green and brown patch of Fort Benning leveled into view.

After counting to four she felt herself suddenly being hitched upward; a feeling that reminded her of an elevator coming to a complete stop. The canopy had fully opened, as it was supposed to. She looked up and watched as it swayed with the wind peacefully, completely opposite from her fast and potentially deadly plummet to Earth that was happening just a moment ago. She glanced around and to her relief everyone was coming down at the same rate. Marie suddenly started laughing uncontrollably from both nerves and joy. Everything had gone smoothly, she'd done it! She made her first jump. The feeling of floating down actually was more exhilarating than she thought it was going to be. The view of the horizon was stunning and she felt free from the crushing gravity of the world as she glided with the wind. Landing would be another issue, but in the meantime she enjoyed the safe journey down to the ground.

As she neared the ground she prepared herself for the landing. She saw a few of the men struggle with their parachutes; some even landed hard, flopping around and getting tangled by their chutes. They were being pulled along on the ground, wrestling to get it all packed as the wind continued to be caught within the open chute. She gulped, hoping she wouldn't have that problem. She landed with her heels stretched out, feeling a little sharp pain travel up from her ankles and calves, but she remembered to roll off them so it wouldn't hurt (or in the worst case scenario, break any bones). She fell softly to the ground, letting her body fall lightly into the grass to prevent her ankles from absorbing the whole impact. She managed to get a hold of her chute, and roll and pack it without a problem. She looked up at the sky, amazed by the view of dozens of men floating down to the Earth.

She was so happy to see that Emilia, Muck, and Malarkey had all succeeded in their jumps. She found them in the field, and ran to them, her arms open wide for a congratulatory hug. The adrenaline from the jump had made her feel giddy; she felt like she could accomplish anything in her current mood. After all, not many people had successfully jumped out of a plane a thousand feet in the air. But the happy feeling would soon fade when all of them had to attend a dishonorable ceremony a few days later. For everyone who couldn't face the jump, the Army forced him or her to be part of a public "drumming out," as Malarkey called it.

All the companies lined up together to watch all the men who didn't succeed. The atmosphere around them had grown heavy with secondhand embarrassment, Marie could hardly bring herself to watch the entire ceremony. She saw the man that had panicked before her on the plane up on the stage. She reluctantly watched the men get their patches stripped from their uniforms as a sorrowful sounding drum pounded at a continuous and ominous beat. Marie felt sick to her stomach from the public humiliation as she watched the men's belongings being dumped next to them from their barracks.

"I hate this…" Marie whispered to her friends.

"At least they're not totally out of the Army. They're just infantrymen now." Emilia told her. Emilia's face looked tense, Marie knew that she disliked this as much as she did.

"Not the proudest moment in the US military." Malarkey agreed, looking disgusted. "You know they're doing this to make us afraid to chicken out at the other four jumps."

It wasn't morally right, but using pride to keep everyone jumping was very smart. She knew one thing, there was no way that she was going to cower at the jumps now, she wouldn't give Sobel the satisfaction of watching her getting her patches stripped. The first jump had did a lot for her, she was no longer afraid of the other jumps; she was actually ecstatic to get her wings.

0000

Marie completed the next two jumps later that week with no problems. There were only two more to go until they could earn their wings. Malarkey had come to her the morning of the third jump looking awfully sick. He had a bad case of laryngitis. Marie's heart went out to him, she feared he'd be too sick to complete the jump, but he assured her that he would be fine. He could barely speak, he had to communicate to her by writing on a scrap piece of paper. She knew he wouldn't be able to do the sound off. She wished him luck by embracing him and they parted ways. He completed his jump regardless.

After the fifth jump was a proud day. The fifth jump for Marie had her smiling and giggling all the way toward the ground. She found out that Emilia, Muck and Malarkey had made this jump, too. They all grinned at each other, laughing, hugging, and dancing for joy. Wings Day was definitely the happiest day since arriving at Fort Benning. The celebration party that night was full of life and plenty of drinking. The best part was that Sobel wasn't present. Marie wasn't a party person, per se, but she did find herself enjoying this one. Just watching how proud the men were made her feel almost blissful. Diana, Barbara, Emilia, and Florence were all dancing with fellow newly appointed paratroopers. Marie couldn't dance to save her life, so she sat on the sidelines and watched, clapping and cheering them along.

"Marie! Here!" Malarkey called over to her. Luz and Toye were with him at a bar, drinking to their hearts content. Marie went over to join them as Luz poured her a drink in a glass, Marie didn't know what kind it was but she didn't ask. Malarkey handed it to her and she sipped from the glass. It burned down her throat, all the way down to her stomach. The bitterness made her face contort with disgust. It was the worst thing she ever tasted in her life.

The three men laughed at her as she quickly slid the vile drink back to Malarkey. Sticking out her tongue in a meaningless effort to get the taste out of her mouth.

"What the hell was that?" Marie coughed.

"Not a fan of liquor I take it?" Toye asked her with a laugh.

Marie shook her head but she couldn't help laughing at herself either. Malarkey drank the rest from her glass in nearly one shot, making her stick out her tongue again in disgust as he downed it.

"ATTENTION!" Sobel's voice suddenly boomed over the party atmosphere. Strayer and Sink were with him. Everyone instantly snapped into attention.

"Well at ease paratroopers," Sink told them. Everyone relaxed, Sink looked pleased so it made everyone feel better. "Good evening, Easy Company."

"Evening, sir!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Now parachute infantry is a brand new concept in American military history, and by God the 506th is gonna forge that brand new concept into victory." He continued.

Everyone hooted in agreement, Marie herself smiled at Sink's words.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm damn proud of each and every one of ya. Now you deserve this party." Sink beamed. Grant brought Sink a drink, he thanked him kindly then continued on. "I want you to have fun and remember our motto: Currahee!"

"Currahee!" Everyone cheered.

The party would last late into the night. Marie left early to go and read Jane Eyre in her barracks where there was peace and quiet. Their next stop would be Camp Mackall in North Carolina. Marie drifted off to sleep while reading her book, dreaming of what everyone's future had in store for them.

Fun fact: David Webster was a part of Fox Company until after D-Day