A/N - I keep making you guys wait, I know. I'm sorry. Here's a decent chapter. I like some parts of it, and other parts I don't like so much. I hope you guys enjoy, and please R&R.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

December 13, 1944

Christmas time was usually my favorite time of year, and it was peaceful right now. We weren't fighting, we hadn't been in any big trouble in a while. We'd been relaxing for the past few days waiting for our next orders, it seemed like we'd been waiting forever. I was happy that we were getting a break, but after a while it's weird. There was a war going on and we were just sitting here waiting. It was frustrating not knowing where you were going and when.

To keep me busy during our break, I was given the task of mail duty. I was back and forth all the time handing out mail, and when I wasn't handing it out, I was sorting it. It was annoying, but it kept me busy at least and it was a little enjoyable watching the men get excited when they found out they got mail. It never failed to put a smile on my face. I had gotten a letter as well, but it wasn't as fun getting letters from home for me. The last letter I got was depressing. My mother had written to me and told me my father was depressed because of what happened to Mattie and now they were wanting me to come home. Of course I wrote back telling them I couldn't abandon the war and my men, but I hadn't heard back from them since. Until today. I found my letter hiding behind Tab's, it was a hefty letter, too. I swallowed thickly when I read my name across the front, frowning nervously. I should be excited, but I was always a little concerned with what my mother had to say. She was always hesitant about what I had done, she was never supposed to know in the first place. My dad was always proud of me, he was always supportive, my mother was protective though and she overheard me and my dad talking about it one day. I told her the truth and she took some convincing, but she finally caved when she realized that I'd find a way in no matter what. I was happy she let me go, and I knew deep down she was proud of me, but sometimes I was afraid she might tell somebody about me just to get me to come home.

I nervously but quickly tore open the envelope and pulled the three page letter out of it, unfolding it and beginning to read it right away.

My daughter, Matilda

We're doing well here, don't worry about us. We're getting a little better everyday, though we still hold worry in our hearts. Your grandfather asked about you the other day, he wondered how you were. I told him, of course, you were working with the Red Cross in England. I wish. He wanted to know if you'd be able to make it for Christmas, he hasn't seen you in such a long time after all. I told him you wouldn't be able to, as they're desperate for help overseas. He told me to tell you he misses you very much and he's sorry to hear about your brother. He cried when I told him. Can you believe it? Your grandfather actually crying? I couldn't believe it myself, the two never got along well anyway, but there was always love there, it was just buried deep down. I'm doing a little better everyday, but it will always hurt. Me and your father both miss you very much, and even though he won't admit it, I heard him crying last week. I never said anything to him, knowing he'd just deny it. You know your father, he's always been a hard shell to crack. He's stubborn, just like you. I'm sorry if this is ruining your day, I know this all sounds a bit depressing, but I just had to tell you. One last thing before I move on though. I don't want you to worry about me turning you in, I know how important this is to you, I'd never hurt you in such a way and I can't bare losing you. Anyway, let's move on.

Mr. James from next door is doing well, he asks about you all the time. He had a nice garden this summer, he had so many tomatoes he had no idea what to do with them, so we got a whole bunch as a gift over the season. The boy from down the street that used to ride his bike by the house has gotten so tall since you've left. He's almost as tall as your dad. and to think he used to be so small. Reminds me of you and your brothers and how fast you three grew. Time flies. Ms. Nancy finally sold her house, she left last week. She moved to Hershey with her kids, I feel bad for those three, I really do.

Anyway, how is Bill? I hope he's well, I miss his loud mouth in the kitchen pestering me. And to think I used to hate that. I hope he's watching over you and making sure you're alright, and those other two better be doing the same. Chuck and Ralph were their names? They sound like good guys, they seem to make you happy. And this Joe fellow? The way your talk about him reminds me of how you and your brothers used to bicker all the time. Maybe he's not that bad, just a new friend to get to know. And one last thing before I finish this. Who's this Eugene boy you keep mentioning? It sounds like you like him, I've never heard you talk about a boy this way before. Do I heard wedding bells? See? I can embarrass you even from abroad, it's a gift from God.

Anyway, that's about all I can think to say. I hope you're well and tell Bill and the boys I say hello and wish them well. I can't wait to see you again and me and everyone back here in Philly love you so much.

Best of luck and all the love in the world, Mom.

P.S. The Phillies looked horrible all season and the Eagles did, too. Sorry to put you down.

I smiled at the last bit and wiped at my wet eyes. Alright, that wasn't so bad. She seemed to be trying to be positive, for my dad and for everyone. My mother was always a strong woman, you just had to bring it out of her. I felt my eyes get wet when she started talking about my grandfather, me and him were always close. And he cried? I'd never seen him cry, not once in my life. And my dad. He cried too. I'd seen him cry once, and that was when his grandmother died, and that's been years ago. Even when she was talking about the neighbors it got me teary eyed. I never realized I'd missed home so much until she started talking about just the little things, like Mr. James' garden. And when she mentioned Joe. That reminds her of me and my brothers arguing? Me and Joe? I had to think about it for a minute, but I still couldn't believe it. After he helped me out that night, I thought maybe he was decent, but he'd just reverted back to being an ass like he was when I first met him back in Georgia. And last but not least, Eugene. I'm pretty sure my whole face turned red when she was talking about him. Me and Eugene were close, but we weren't that close... Were we? No, we weren't that close.

I looked at the words written on the page again, not really even reading them. Except for the last line. Best of luck and all the love in the world, Mom. I love that, I don't why, I just do. I smiled sweetly and folded the letter and the envelope, pushing both of them into my breast pocket. I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the roof of the tent I was in. My day was a little brighter now, mail time for me was exciting again.

"Knock, knock. Anybody home?" I heard a familiar Philly accent say and my eyes widened immediately, a big smile pushing it's way quickly to my face.

I sat up and turned to look and saw Bill Guarnere standing at the entrance of the tent, "Bill!"

I stood and ran over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and I felt his body shake with a laugh as he returned the hug, "Easy, easy. My leg's still a little tender."

I pulled back and looked up at his face, my hands still on his shoulders, "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be back yet."

He just smiled at me and shrugged, "You know me, I can't be away from you for too long. You might start causin' trouble."

I rolled my eyes, but the smile remained, "Well, we missed you around here. It's weird without you around. Not as..."

"Cheerful?" Bill asked with a smile.

"Loud," I said with a smirk as I just gave him a look, the look I always gave him.

Bill chuckled and shook his head before he looked around the tent, "So... You got your own little place here, heh?"

I shook my head as he limped around me, looking around, "Well, technically I share it with Joe Toye, but he's always out pestering everyone else, so he's never here... I'm not even quite sure he sleeps here to be honest."

"Sounds like Joe," Bill smiled, looking around, "So... Whatcha been up to lately? How is everybody?"

I smiled and shrugged, "I'm fine, everybody's fine. They're a bit jumpy when you're not here to whip them into shape."

"Well, I bet they'll be glad ta see me back, huh?" Bill smiled proudly as he continued looking around my tent, "So what do you guys do ta entertain yourselves 'round here?"

I shrugged, "Not much. We read mail, bullshit, play cards sometimes... There's a movie playing tonight, want to go?"

"What's playin'?" He asked, turning back around to face me.

I shrugged, "I don't know, George invited me and I just said I'd go. I've got nothing better to do anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bill said, shrugging his shoulders loosely, "Sure, I'll go. This movie better be good, though."

"They're never good," I said, "George has seen it like ten times though, so..."

Bill rolled his eyes before he switched the subject, "Ya hear from your parents?"

I nodded, "Yeah, my mom wrote me a letter. She wanted to let me know to tell you hi and that she misses you around the house."

Bill smiled, "I miss her, too."

"Well, she is your second mom," I smiled teasingly and Bill nodded.

"Ya got that right," Bill said as he sat down at the small table I was previously at. He looked up at me, "Come on, we got some time ta kill, let's play some cards."

I nodded curtly and pulled the chair out across from him, sitting down and pulling my cards out of my pocket, "Alright."

And then we started.
0-0-0-0-0
"Look at me, I'm John Wayne," George Luz said as he sat in front of me and Bill. I looked at Bill and rolled my eyes as George continued. I saw Toye and Lipton turn around to face him, looks of annoyance on their faces.

"I'm trying to watch this," Lipton said to him.

"I've seen this movie thirteen times, okay?" George said in defense, making me hold back a chuckle.

"Well, I haven't, so shut up," Toye said in annoyance.

"Watch the movie, it's fine," George said, motioning towards the screen.

Then I heard Malarkey call out for Skip as he ran over, everybody shushing him as he pushed past me and Bill and sat in the seat next to mine. He started muttering about something I wasn't paying enough attention to; I was trying to watch the movie I'd never seen. I didn't really like it that much, it was kind of boring thus far.

I never liked these types of movies anyway. George's commentary was much more entertaining.

"And... To say thank you..." I looked over to see what Malarkey was doing and saw the large wad of cash in his hand, making my eyes go wide, "A tip!"

He handed some money to Skip, who already had quite a few dollars in his hand and then Perconte started begging for a tip, which Don smoothly ignored.

"Jesus, where the hell did you get all that?" I asked in complete and utter surprise.

Don smiled at me and replied with, "Craps, my dear Tauscher."

"You must be really good," I said as he stuffed the remainder of his winnings in his pocket.

"You bet your ass I am," He replied as George started mocking the actors on screen again.

"Got a penny?" George said in his usual mocking voice. He said it several times and when the woman on screen said the line he giggled like a little girl as Lipton glared back at him.

I snickered quietly and held my face in my hand, trying to hide my smile and Bill just rolled his eyes at the company jokester. George looked back at me and smiled, "At least somebody finds me entertaining. Tough crowd today, eh Mads?"

Before I could even reply the door slammed open and the lights came on, making me jerk and lift my head, looking around to see what was going on. As several higher ups walked into the 'theater,' the men grumbled in annoyance that their movie was cut short.

"Be quiet!" One of the men yelled as he made his way towards the stage then he turned around, "I said quiet!"

We all got quiet as he started explaining to us that a section of the SS had broken through a forest and were advancing on Allied troops. We were all disgruntled by this. We knew what was coming. What he was going to say.

"All officers will report to their respective HQ's. All passes are cancelled," He said and that's when the uproar began. The man promptly left the stage as the men continued to complain, but it didn't take long for everybody to start getting up and leaving the theater. I sighed and looked down at my hands in my lap almost sadly. Well, we were safe and happy for a few days.

"You alright, Maddie?" Bill asked as he still sat next to me.

I nodded and looked over at him, nodding a little in assurance, "Yeah... I'm fine."

Bill smiled a tight lipped smile and put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "We'll be alright... We always are."

I nodded, "Yeah... I'm sure you're right."

Bill squeezed my shoulder in reassurance before he patted me on the back and stood, starting out the room with the rest of the men. I only sat there for a moment longer before I stood and followed his lead.
0-0-0-0-0
God dammit it was cold. I was sat huddled in the back of a truck with about twenty other guys. We tried fitting as many men into one truck as possible, and by God we accomplished it. I was squished between Malarkey, who was sitting up on the bench beside Bill, and Joe. Me and Joe sat on the floor, trying to keep warm as the cool wind hit our backs. I was rubbing my hands together to generate warmth as Joe held his jacket together at the neck. He wasn't wearing a hat, so the tips of his ears were bright pink.

Everybody in the truck was complaining about what we were going to do without proper gear and ammo, and frankly I was worried too, but right now I was too focused on keeping my hands warm. A violent shiver ran through my body, causing me to shake. Joe's shoulder pushed against mine and I felt him lean a little closer, as if trying to share his body heat with me and in turn receive some of mine. I didn't complain, we may not get along but we were still brothers in combat and we had to look out for one another. I'll never forget what he did for me.

"Hey kid, what's your name again?" Bill suddenly asked the new replacement.

"Suerth," He replied, looking away from Popeye lighting a cigarette and turning to look at Bill, "Suerth Jr."

"You got any ammo, Junior?" Babe asked as he stayed huddled in the corner, his arms crossed to contain his body heat.

"Just what I'm carrying," He replied in a friendly way. He seemed like a nice kid, but he also seemed a bit innocent. That'd change.

"What about socks, Junior? You got extra socks?" Somebody else asked him.

"Just a pair," Suerth replied.

"You need four minimum," Skip suddenly spoke up, holding up a finger, "Feet, hands, neck, balls, extra socks warms them all," We all jumped in to end that one, "Yay, we all remember that one!"

As Skip kept on about socks, Bill started asking for cigarettes. Nobody had any it seemed, so he asked the new guy, "Hey Junior, you got any cigarettes?"

"I don't-" But he was cut off by Joe.

"How about a hat? You gotta hat?" Then I added, "Gloves? You got any of those?"

"What about a coat? You gotta coat?" Joe asked, his hands gripping the hems of his jacket tightly, his hands red with cold.

"Shut up with the coat, Liebgott, no one's got one," Somebody piped up from the back as we all continued to pester the new kid.

Garcia then asked him for some cigarettes and Junior smiled nervously, "Yeah, I got some smokes."

"Hey! Now you're talkin'!" Skip cried as everybody reached out their hand for a cigarette, besides me of course.

The men continued to mutter for a few minutes as we continued on down the rumbling road. I kept my arms crossed over my chest tightly, trying to keep the warmth from leaving my body. Why did it have to be so cold? I was so tired too, it was late. Nobody should be up this late.

I felt the truck start to turn, jerking me a little and causing me to wake up a little. I heard people outside yelling to 'keep it moving.' We started past some other already parked trucks before we turned and parked on the side of the narrow road. Everybody grabbed their stuff: helmets, weapons, all that, then the door popped down and we all jumped out onto the road.

"Alright guys, fifteen minutes. Smoke 'em if you got 'em," Buck said as he hopped out behind us.

Most of the guys were either lighting cigarettes or using the bathroom. I had to pee, but I couldn't go here in front of all these guys. So I held it until we got somewhere more secluded. I didn't have to go that bad anyway. I rubbed my hands together as I looked around the road, trying not to let my eyes land on any of the men pissing on the side of the road. So instead I looked down at my feet.

Some of the guys lit some fires, so I walked over to one of them. I could get warm, if only for a few minutes. I stopped in front of the fire and held my hands out in front of me. Wish I had some damn gloves. I rubbed them together and blew on them, hoping to give them as much warmth as possible.

"You doin' alright, Matilda?" I heard next to me. I knew exactly who it was, I didn't even have to look up.

"I'm fine, Gene," I said, shaking my head and releasing a breath, the air cloudy in front of me, "Just fucking cold."

He chuckled lightly and held his hands out in front of him as well, "I haven't seen you around much lately."

I shrugged and replied with, "Mail duty's a real bitch. I've been running around getting supplies, too. Captain Winters really wanted me to stay busy, I guess."

"Yeah, me and Spina have been busy gatherin' medical supplies," He said, sniffling a little, "I guess Captain Winters wanted everyone to stay busy."

I smiled a little and shook my head, "Gathering supplies sure was a hell of a lot better than this. And it's only going to get worse."

Gene was quiet for a moment, then he said in his soft voice, "We'll be fine, Matilda."

I smiled a small smile and looked up at him, "I know."

He smiled back at me and my heart fluttered at the sight. His nose was cherry red, as were his hands, and he shivered slightly. He was putting on a brave face though, like he always did when we were about to go out into combat. He held this company together just as much as Bill did.

I suddenly heard the mutterings of other men behind me and what seemed like footsteps in unison. I furrowed my brow, as did Gene as we both turned around to see what was going on. What we saw shocked us.

"What the hell...?" I said as I watched dozens and dozens of men, some wounded and some shell shocked, walk past us, looks of defeat and complete shock on their faces.

They looked horrible. Some had bandages over their heads, some over their shoulders and arms. Others had their arms in slings, and some had limps. One guy was being helped along by his comrade. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They were all retreating.

"Hey, hey," I said, grabbing one of the guys by his arm as he hobbled along, "What the hell's going on here? Where're you guys going?"

"It's bad, kid. It's really, really bad," He said in a monotone voice, shaking his head, "The German's surrounded us, a lot of us didn't make it out. We're what's left."

"That's where we're going," I said, pointing to the forest they were coming out of.

"Good luck," He said, "You're gunna need it."

I stood there for a moment in surprise. What the hell happened back there? This scared me a little. I was always a bit frightened going into battle, but never like this. Would we end up like this? Dead or horribly wounded and shell-shocked? I saw men all around trying to take anything they could off these guys. Ammo, supplies, warm clothing.

"Come on, give me your ammo," I said, grabbing at his bag.

"Okay," He said quietly, giving me what he had.

I took what he handed me and stuffed it in my bag then I spotted somebody behind this man. I pointed and said, "Gene. Medic, over there."

Gene nodded and promptly stepped over to the medic and started asking for supplies. I continued to get stuff off of this guy, including a bandage in his aid kit. Sadly, he didn't have any gloves. After I finished getting his stuff I moved on. I got some good stuff, but it wouldn't last us too long. And I didn't find gloves. Some didn't have any and some just refused to give up their warm clothes.

We were told to move out after a few minutes, so we took what we got and got a move on. I walked alongside Gene, but both of us remained silent. Now wasn't a time for talking, right now we were all nervous, but we held a brave face. We had to, it's what we were trained to do.

We went into Bastogne with no ammo, very little medical supplies, and no winter clothing. If we weren't shot or blown up out here, then we'd most definitely freeze to death. I stuffed my hands under my armpits and went along down the road. I hope I find some gloves soon, I'm not gunna last this whole thing without some gloves. Hopefully this wouldn't last too long.

We did pretty well for ourselves so far in this war. We'd barely had any casualties within the company, just some wounded. Our worst day of course was Operation Market Garden, but we'd all succeeded with pushing that out of our minds. We were tough, we'd make it through.

We weren't prepared for what was to come.