Disclaimer: all the usual apply.
Chapter 17
Amelia POV
Laying on her back, the press of his body between her thighs consumed all her senses. The feel of his stubble scratching the sensitive skin of her neck as his rough lips traced a path along her jaw. The pressure of his large hand firmly gripping her ass as she linked her leg over his hip and the salty sweet taste of his skin on her lips.
She ran her nails over his shoulder and felt the hard muscles quiver under her touch. He crashed his lips into hers and kissed her as if he wanted to mark her as his own. She knew her lips would be bruised, but the urgency of his kiss drove the air from her lungs as a low moan escaped her.
"God," he swore against her mouth and a satisfied smile spread across her lips.
He became more urgent in his movements and she met the rhythm of his hips with her own, driven by the fire raging deep inside of her.
"I need you," she whispered against his ear and felt as his hold on her leg tightened and he growled into her ear.
He kissed the nape of her neck and nipped at her collar bone, demanding her full attention. She gladly obliged and intertwined the fingers of her one hand with his hair while she dug the nails of the other into his shoulder.
"Amelia, wake up." George's voice cut through the hazy heat of the dream and jolted her awake.
She felt disoriented as her brain took a painfully long time to come to terms with the fact that she was no longer pressed against his body in the embrace of the warm soft bed. Instead she was in some dark, cold barn surrounded by a few dozen men, all trying to sleep for an hour or two on the hard floor before they had to go back to the line.
"George, what the hell?" She didn't bother to whisper. She was far to annoyed at the intrusion.
"Sorry Em. You were moaning, I thought you were having a nightmare."
"George, quick question. Excuse my bluntness, but have you ever been with a woman?"
She heard a few snickers from the dark as those men that were awake listened in on their conversation.
"What? Yeah, of course."
He didn't sound like he was lying, and based on the stories she'd heard she was pretty sure he was telling the truth. All the more reason for him to have known better.
"Then tell me, did it sound like I was having a nightmare?"
There was a beat of silence as the penny dropped and then she heard people start to shuffle around as if trying to get closer to the conversation.
"Ummm….OK shit. Sorry Em. Wow."
"Well, I'm awake now. I'm going outside for a smoke before my patrol."
As she got up from the floor Tab's voice came from somewhere in the dark. "So, who was he?"
"What?"
"Oh, c'mon Em. We've been away from civilization for so long. You gotta give us something."
She heard some murmured agreements and said a silent prayer of thanks that the room was pitch black so the men couldn't see her blush or look over to where she knew he was sleeping.
"None of your business Tab."
"It was me, wasn't it?" he sounded so hopeful she almost said yes just to get him to shut-up.
"Put the guy out of his misery Em," Don shouted.
"Sorry boys, this one I'm keeping to myself. Oh, and George. I'm gonna get you back for waking me."
"Damnit," he swore.
She walked to the door, carefully picking a route between the prone bodies so she didn't accidently step on anyone.
Once outside she lit a cigarette and leaned back against the barn wall. Taking long drags she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Savoring the remnants of the dream as the smoke traveled through her.
She heard the door open and close and then someone came to stand next to her. She knew who it was without having to open her eyes. The way he moved gave him away, tentative and bold all at the same time.
"You were awake?" she asked, eyes still closed.
She heard the familiar clink of a lighter and the soft hiss of a cigarette taking light before he replied. "Woke up when George called your name."
Opening her eyes, she turned her head and found Babe staring up at the blanket of stars above them. The full moon cast a soft light and she used this to trace the line of his jaw with her eyes, following it to the curve of his lips.
He glanced down at her and she tore her eyes away from their path to meet his as they bore into her.
"So, who was it about? The dream."
She broke his gaze and looked out in-front of her into the dark. "I'll give you three guesses."
"OK." He took a long drag before asking, "Joe?"
She knew he would ask that first and lightly shaking her head she said, "No."
"Tab?"
"Guess again."
"Derek?"
She barked out a laugh and shook her head. "No, not Derek."
"Can I get a fourth guess?"
"No, only three."
Flicking her cigarette butt to the ground she asked, "Why didn't you guess your own name?"
"Didn't want to know the answer."
She walked past him and stopped at the door to the barn. Glancing back, she said, "Pity, you may have been pleasantly surprised."
His eyes widened slightly and she saw the self-satisfied smile pull at his lips.
She gave him a lopsided smirk before stepping back inside the barn, the memory of the dream still clinging to her skin.
XXXXXXX
They'd been in Holland for a few weeks and every day they were there she missed Normandy more and more. They had gone from a light assault outfit to being involved in static warfare that reminded her of the stories she'd heard about the First World War.
In early October they'd been taken by truck over the bridge at Nijmegen to a place called The Island and ordered to cover a stretch of the line which was far too long for the amount of men they had. This meant everyone was stretched thin at all times and the Germans were able to slip in and out of their lines with relative ease.
She would easily go days without seeing any of her friends as she was ordered to find a position near a particularly vulnerable part of their line and lie in wait for any German soldiers trying to sneak through. Winters had made sure that she was never alone and every other night the man she was with would be replaced so that he could get some much needed sleep for a couple of hours. Of course she had been ordered to do the same on a few occasions, but she always just pretended that she never received the order and the men didn't tell on her. It was only when all her rations were gone and she had no water left that she would sneak away from her position to restock and catch a few hours of sleep in some small old barn Easy had claimed as their own.
All the men were tired and their nerves were stretched thin. This wasn't the kind of warfare they had been trained for and there was the constant threat of an artillery bombardment from the German side of the line, since it seemed they had all the ammunition in the world. To be honest, being alone in a dark field with just one man for company worked well for her under these conditions.
She'd been away from the men for the better part of four days when Don came looking for her and Muck with orders from Winters. They were lying flat on their bellies at the top of a high dike which overlooked a ferry crossing the Germans were using to transport men and artillery. It had been drizzling for the better part of the day and besides laying in a little pool of mud all her clothes were soaked through to the bone.
She heard someone approach and felt as Muck turned to look over his shoulder with his gun at the ready. They didn't expect anyone just yet; he was only supposed to be relieved the following evening.
"Don," Muck said in greeting once the redhead was close enough for him to make out who is was.
"Hey guys," Don said as he fell down on his stomach next to her.
"Hey Don. To what do we owe the pleasure?" she asked, but her eyes remained firmly fixed on the area in-front of her.
"Can't a guy just come visit his friends?"
"Don, it's cold and raining. We're laying outside in the mud trying to spot Germans hundreds of yards away all the while hoping their artillery doesn't find us and blow us into a hundred little pieces. So to answer your question. A guy can just visit his friends but it seems pretty unlikely given the circumstances."
Muck grunted next to her.
"Jeez beautiful, you've been away from us for too long, where's your sense of humor?" She could hear from the tone of his voice he was teasing her and her lip twitched ever so slightly into the start of a smile.
"Fair enough. So, what's up?"
"Winters wants to see you and Muck back at the barn. He sent me to fetch you guys."
She looked away from her scope and found Don staring at her intently. Even in the dark she could see the dark circles underneath his eyes and the way his mouth was set in a determined line.
"Is everything OK?" she asked.
"As OK as they can be. He just ordered me to order you to come back to the barn."
She considered refusing the order and asking Don to tell Winters he'd been unable to find them, but she knew her stock was running low and the mere thought of having a roof over her head and seeing some of the men made up her mind.
"OK, let's go."
They collected their things and crawled away from their position to the relative safety of the other side of the dike. The walk back to the small barn took them about an hour and when they reached it Muck pushed open the door and she followed him inside.
Bill spotted her from his seated position on the floor near the door and she saw him grimace. "Shit Em, you decided to roll round in the mud or something?"
She narrowed her eyes at him and he got up and walked towards her, offering her a mug of lukewarm bitter tea as a peace offering. She accepted it and wrapped her hands around the warm tin, trying to draw out as much heat as possible.
"We got some stew on the go. I'll fetch you some," Bill said as he eyed her suspiciously.
She half smiled at him and he went over to where the men were dishing out food, extra plate in hand.
She knew the men hated the idea of her out on the line, almost alone, for long stretches of time. Every time she came back to check in they would all keep a close eye on her to make sure she was still OK while trying to avoid her shortened temper. She appreciated their concern, but being alone in the mud was part of her job and a part she was really good at.
She stood in the doorway watching Bill and the handful of men move about. She'd quickly scanned the room for Babe when she'd arrived but he wasn't anywhere to be found. She was slightly disappointed, she hadn't seen him in over a week, however she figured he was still alive because Bill would have told her if that wasn't the case.
A strong hand on her shoulder made her turn and she found Winters looking down at her. His eyebrows were knitted together and his piercing blue eyes looked her over expertly for any signs of injury.
"Amelia, are you OK?"
"Oh, yes sir. I was just lost in thought."
He nodded and relaxed a fraction. "Come sit."
He walked towards a small table which was set up to one side of the barn and sat down on an empty chair. She took the open seat next to his and looked over at Luz who was fiddling with his radio. She took of her helmet and, undoing her hair from its messy bun, she said, "Hey handsome."
"Hey beautiful. How you? Haven't seen you in a few days."
"Oh, never been better."
"Yeah, I hear ya. I heard over the radio reports of an American shooter annoying the Germans on our eastern line. You?"
"I like to think the Germans find me annoying, so I'll take it."
"Yeah, you can be quite annoying," he said and she saw the flash of a smirk.
"Shut up Luz."
He grinned like a fool and she rolled her eyes.
"Here you go." Bill handed her what looked like a plate of food.
"Thanks Bill. What would I do without you?"
"Starve."
She started to eat and was content to sit back and just float on the edges of the men's conversations. Too tired and cold to contribute anything beyond a snarky remark here and there.
"Amelia?" Winters said from beside her.
"M'hm," she replied.
"You're gonna spend the night here. You can move out again tomorrow night. That's an order."
She turned her head to look at Winters and mumbled her agreement through a mouthful of food. Now that she was under the roof of the barn with hot food in her belly she had no intention of going back out into the cold drizzle any sooner than she had to.
Slurping the last bits of her stew in the most unladylike fashion she put the plate aside and lit two smokes; handing one to George who shot her a crooked smile in thanks.
Suddenly a massive German Shepard came bounding up to her and ran into her chair nearly sending her tumbling to the ground.
"Whoa, hey there you," she said through giggles and a drag.
"Shit Em, sorry," Tab apologized as he walked over to them holding a massive stick.
"No worries Tab. He's adorable."
She was scratching the dog's head and he rewarded her affection with an excited bark which made a few men jump and scowl.
"Yeah buddy, I'd be excited too if a pretty girl scratched my head," George joked, the lit cigarette hanging from his lips.
"I'll scratch your head if you want me to Luz."
"Nah, I don't wanna make any of the other boys jealous." He winked at her and soon they were vying for the attention of the dog as Luz started to play with him.
Tab sat down to join their little group and said, "New guys giving the replacements the what-for and why-is. I swear one of them has never shaved."
"They're kids," she chipped in over her shoulder.
"This is a hell of a dog Tab," George said as he played with the animal.
"There you go," Tab said, throwing the stick he'd been carrying across the room and the dog bounded after it.
"What'd you call it, Tab?" Winters asked.
"Trigger."
She smiled and George nodded his approval. "That's good, I like that. Trigger."
"Got anything on this?" Tab asked, pointing to Luz's radio.
"It's all quiet," Luz replied.
As if the universe was waiting for that exact moment the doors of the barn suddenly flew open with a loud bang.
She reached for her side-arm but when she saw Alley being carried in by two of their own men she dropped her hand and rushed over to them.
"Get him on the table," she ordered the men and they placed him down on a large table in the middle of the room.
She cradled his face with her one hand and smoothed his hair over with the other, trying her best to keep him calm until Gene could get there. He was bleeding from dozens of wounds that she guessed were inflicted by a grenade hit from the amount of shrapnel and damage she could see.
Lipton came running to her side and he took Alley's hand in his own as he checked over his wounds.
"Alley darling, you're gonna be OK," she spoke calmly, ignoring the tacky blood staining her hands.
"Where am I? What happened?" Alley mumbled, dazed and confused.
"You're with us. You're safe. We got you." Her eyes were firmly fixed on Alley's and she never let go of his face, but she heard Winters ask the men that had brought him in where the attack had happened.
"Crossroads, where the road crosses the dike." She recognized the voice and for the briefest of moments she looked away from Alley to Joe.
She saw him take out a bandage and frowned when her eyes caught the blood oozing from his neck. She wanted to walk over there and look him over, but if he could walk he was probably fine and for now Alley needed her more.
She turned her attention back to Alley as Winters ordered one of the men to fetch Harry.
"Lipton, assemble me a squad," Winters instructed and Lipton immediately ordered 1st squad to grab their weapons and ammo.
Everyone jumped into action around her but she remained fixed to her position. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gene come running in and stop on the opposite side of the table.
"Moore, take the boots off and elevate the leg. Liebgott use the sulfa. Let's get this done quickly," Gene ordered the men and they all obeyed without a moment's hesitation.
"Amelia, you're coming with us," Winters said over her shoulder.
With one glance at Gene, who gave her a firm nod, she let go of Alley and grabbed her kit as she followed the men out into the dark.
Seconds later she felt someone push in next to her and glancing to her left she found Joe looking down at her.
Even in the dark she could see the white bandage he'd tied to his neck start to discolor from the blood still coming from the wound. "Doc needs to look at that Joe."
"What'dya always say? I'm fine."
"Ha-ha, funny. When this is done I'm going to make you get that looked at, even if I have to drag you to Doc myself."
"Fine. Just stay close to me out there. Please."
She nodded. She still didn't like the look of his neck wound or the angry look in his eyes so she would have stayed close to him in any case.
Their small group stalked through the night, all the while keeping the dike to their left, as they made their way to the crossroads where Alley had been hit.
A burst of MG fire ahead at the top of the dike made then all drop down instantaneously. Peering through the tall grass she could see the tracer rounds from the German MG flying in the direction of their Regimental headquarters, but that was almost three miles away. What the hell are the Krauts shooting at?
She saw Winters start to climb up the side of the dike and soon thereafter the order was passed down to hold their position and wait. She followed him with her eyes until he disappeared over the lip of the dike.
Swallowing hard she felt her hands tingle as the adrenaline and nerves combined into a potent cocktail. It was the strangest feeling she thought, being both terrified and totally calm at the same time, and for a split second a crazy smile crossed her lips at the absurdity of it all.
Winters' head popped up over the lip of the dike and she saw him give the signal for them to join him. She waited for Tab to rely the order before getting up and running in a low crouch up the steep incline of the dike.
Crossing the lip, she skidded down the few feet to the dirt road which ran along the top of the dike. All the men froze and looked in the direction of the Germans, gauging whether or not they'd been detected. Satisfied that the enemy was still unaware of their presence they pushed themselves up and sprinted across the road as if they shared one mind. They skidded down the far embankment and fell into a ditch running along the foot of the dike.
She found herself wedged between Tab and Joe and heard Winters whisper in a voice that carried to all the men, "This is our fallback position here," he pointed to a ditch that ran perpendicular to the one they were crouched in. "Mortars deploy here."
He gave a small nod. "Go."
They ran along the ditch in the dark, hunched over and she fixed her eyes on Tab's back as he ran in-front of her. As they neared the German position Winters stopped and everyone crouched low waiting for his orders. He crawled up the embankment and she could hear the sound of MG fire as the Germans continued to shoot at their unknown target.
Tab tapped her shoulder and she climbed out of the ditch and up the embankment to where Winters was waiting for them. A few of their party crossed the road to pin themselves against the far wall of the dike while the others fell down onto their stomachs and took aim at the unsuspecting enemy soldiers. She counted the enemy party. She could see at least eight men, all wearing the signature long German gray coats, talking and laughing as their comrades fired into the distance. Completely oblivious to the death staring at them in the dark.
Winters came up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Third on the right," before he moved on to give Joe his assigned target.
She adjusted her sights and took aim at the man's head. The night was so quiet that her own breathing sounded like a marching band playing in her ears. For a heartbeat it was as if time stood still as everyone waited for the order which would break the strained peace. The sound of Winters firing his shot set of a chain reaction as their entire assault team fired their own in quick succession. She saw her target drop to the ground and quickly switched her aim to the man standing beside him.
"Fall back," Winters ordered and they all slid down the embankment and into the ditch. She heard the loud thud of a mortar round hitting home and was dimly aware of what was left of the German outpost taking a direct hit.
As they ran along the ditch to the relative safety of their fallback position she had to crouch low as bullets whizzed past her head. She could see the tracer rounds flying past her like deadly fireflies and that that meant the other, unseen bullets were just as close.
The man in-front of her veered to the right and she followed him. They fell down and opened fire onto the Germans who were now raining bullets down on them.
"Suppressive fire, suppressive fire!" Winters yelled as he ran behind their line shouting encouragement.
"Harry, tell Peacock to bring the balance of 1st Platoon! And another machine gun squad!" she heard Winters yell into the radio as she finished another clip.
The noise of the fight and her own adrenaline fueled tunnel vision drowned out whatever else Winters was saying until she heard the soft thud of a bullet hitting home right behind her.
"Fuck, Dukeman's down," George yelled.
She crawled over to Dukeman and turned him onto his back. "It's OK Dukeman, you'll be…" she trailed off when she saw his lifeless eyes staring up at her, "Shit."
She turned away from him and continued firing in the direction of the Germans, hoping with every bullet that she hit the man that had killed one of their own.
Slowly the shooting died down and when Winters gave the order to cease fire she looked at the dozen spent clips laying around her.
She turned onto her back and blinked a few times to try and clear her vision and bring herself back to her own body. Looking to her right she found George holding out his canteen to her and suddenly she was aware of how scratchy and dry her throat felt. She took the offered canteen and gave him a small smile in thanks.
"Em," the raspy voice of Joe made her turn to her other side, "here." He held out a lit cigarette. She took a long drag and passed it back to him. They finished the smoke like that, passing it between themselves in silence.
She was to keyed up to fall asleep and she knew it would be light soon anyway so she, Joe and George spent the short while to sunrise sharing a whispered conversation in order to take their minds off of the enemy they knew waited for them just out of sight.
When dawn broke and the balance of 1st Platoon joined them everyone shifted around in anticipation. Winters had crawled forward a few feet and Tab joined him after a few moments had passed.
"What do you think they're saying?" George asked her.
"The Germans are behind a solid embankment with easy access to the dike. We're in a ditch. We can't safely retreat now that it's light. Which leaves only one choice," she said nonchalantly.
"You know the area," Joe said.
"I studied the maps so I could move around in the dark. There's a ferry crossing close by. I was going to scout it tomorrow night."
"Ferry crossing huh? So there could be a lot of Krauts waiting for us," George said.
She shrugged. For all they knew the entire German army could be waiting for them on the other side of the embankment, but they had no other option but to attack them first. At least none that she could see.
Winters and Tab crawled into the ditch next to her and by the way their mouths were set she knew she was right.
She passed her canteen to Tab who accepted it without looking away from Winters as he issued his orders. "Talbert, you'll take ten men along the dike. Peacock, you'll take ten men along the left flank. I'll take ten up the middle so follow me. Questions?"
No one said anything.
"Go."
She watched the men move down the line to pass on the order when Winters called her name.
"Amelia, I want you with me. Once we get to the ridge find a position and stay there. I want you taking out anything that moves. You are not to follow us down the embankment if we need to engage with the Germans."
She nodded and swallowed hard. The thought of the men engaging the Germans in close quarter combat in the muddy field made her stomach contract painfully.
Winters gave her a solemn nod and whispered the final order to the waiting men, "Fix bayonets."
"Amelia," Joe touched her shoulder and she turned her head to face him. "If this goes South, get out. The Krauts can't capture you." The fear of what the Germans may do to her if they ever captured her alive made his voice sound thicker than usual.
She reached out and squeezed his arm.
He clenched his jaw and set his mouth into a thin line.
"Go on the red smoke," she heard Winters say from behind her.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to steel herself. The air was thick with anticipation and dread as everyone waited for the inventible. She scanned all their faces and said a quick prayer for each one.
Winters threw the smoke grenade into the field and immediately popped up and started to run towards the German line. Most of the men made to move after their commander but Peacock ordered them to wait for the red smoke.
Winters was growing smaller and smaller by the second as he dashed across the field while they all stayed in the ditch waiting for the signal.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," she mumbled under her breath as the anxiety ate away at her.
When the red smoke filled the air at last she jumped out of the ditch and ran across the field as if her life depended on it. The sound of boots hitting damp earth was drowned out by the blood rushing in her ears and her heart pounding against her chest.
She saw Winters crest the embankment and she was sure she saw him fire. It felt like a nightmare where no matter how fast you run you can never get to where you want to be. Everything was deafeningly loud and eerily quiet at the same time.
Finally cresting the low embankment, she dropped hard onto her stomach and fired her first shot before she'd even had time to zone in on one target.
She didn't look around, but only moved her rifle from one target to the next, pulling her trigger and doing her job with cool efficiency. Her brain vaguely registered that the Germans were moving too slowly and she couldn't understand why. It was as if everything they did was happening in slow motion while everything Easy did happened in fast forward.
PING.
Another round was finished and then another and another, and yet the Germans kept coming.
"It's a whole other company!" she heard someone yell and for the first time she looked away from the killing field towards the dike were more men were streaming towards them like grey ants.
She watched in detached horror as the fleeing Germans were mowed down by the Easy men and for a moment she felt sorry for them.
She blinked and pushed the sudden rush of emotions down, pouring all her energy into each shot.
The area where the Germans were running erupted in smoke and flying debris as artillery fire poured down on them. She felt Winters grab her jacket and pull her after him and Luz as they made their way up to the road and then down into the ditch on the opposite side.
"I need you and Boyle to spot the fall of those rounds!" Winters shouted in her ear.
She nodded and clambered out of the ditch and onto the open road.
Suddenly the air around her moved and she felt the oxygen being driven from her lungs as if someone had punched her in the chest. She fell to the ground and curled into a tight ball as the ground around her jumped up as enemy artillery hit all around them. A searing pain shot through her calf and she would have screamed if she had any air left.
Just as suddenly as it had started the firing stopped and she felt two strong hands pick her up as if she weighed nothing and carry her to the relative safety of the ditch.
"Amelia, Amelia look at me. Are you hit?" Winter was hunched over her, trying to check her for injuries while simultaneously shielding her from the artillery barrage that had started up again.
She nodded and gasped for air as her world stopped spinning. "My leg," she hissed through gritted teeth.
Reaching to her right calf she flinched when her fingers came back red with her own blood.
"Lay on your stomach," he ordered.
She did as she was told and felt him tear open the pant leg from her knee to the top of her jump boots.
"How bad is it?"
"Not too bad, looks like a ricochet. Doc will need to check and clear you."
She let out a sigh of relief which quickly changed to a hiss of pain when he poured sulfur powder over the wound and tied a bandage over the area.
"OK," he patted her back and she turned back around.
Looking past him she saw Boyle being tended to by two men. He followed her gaze. "He's alive."
"I have to check on the men. Can you move?" he asked her, already half-way out the ditch.
"I'm fine Dick. Go."
He ran away from her to go check on the other men and she crawled to the top of the ditch searching for a target. When she found none her eyes drifted to the field below her, taking in the full horror of what they'd done.
The entire area was spotted with the grey figures of dead and dying Germans, she could hear the moaning and screaming and the taste of bile rise in the back of her throat before she could stop it.
She took out her canteen and washed out her mouth before taking a proper drink. Replacing it she pushed herself up-right and gingerly placed some weight on her right leg to test it. The pain shot up her leg and into her brain like a lightning strike, but she pushed through and placed more and more pressure on the leg until she was standing almost normally. She took deep, purposeful breaths through her nose and waited for her brain to adjust to the pain before she tried to move.
Finally feeling like she wouldn't pass out from the pain she limped out of the ditch and over the road. Looking down the dike she saw Joe taking potshots at those Germans still moving and she considered going down there to stop him. In the end however she decided to stay where she was. The Germans would have killed all of them if the tables were turned. At least that's what she told herself.
Satisfied that there was nothing for her to do right now she sat down on the edge of the road, lit a cigarette, took her helmet off and waited for further orders.
She was finished with her second smoke when she saw Winters tap Joe on the shoulder. She couldn't hear their conversation, but from the unimpressed look on Joe's face she guessed Winters had ordered him to stop shooting the already dead Germans and take the very much alive ones back to HQ as prisoners.
Johnny and Tab were guarding a group of about eight men and she watched as Joe walked towards them. They were about to move them out when one of the prisoners looked up to where she was sitting. Even from her spot she could see his eyes widen in surprise as he nudged the man next to him and mumbled something she was too far away to hear. Seconds later all eight men had turned to look at her, the fear of what the American soldiers might do to them all but forgotten at the sight of a woman amongst them.
She held their stares, to stubborn to look away or try to blend into the crowd of soldiers milling about. Johnny followed their stares and when he saw what they were gawking at he barked, "Hey Kraut boys, you keep looking at her and you're gonna regret it."
They may not have understood the words but they sure as hell understood the threat in his tone and the way all three of her friends moved to stand between her and the German prisoners, weapons suddenly half-raised. The Germans all averted their eyes away from her and Joe finally ordered them to get up and move out.
He marched them up the hill and asked one of the other men to watch them as he jogged over to her. Crouching down next to her his eyes flicked to the white bandage tied around her leg which stood in stark contrast to her grubby olive uniform.
His eyebrows knitted together and she saw him take a deep breath before he spoke. "What happened?"
"I was caught out in the open when the Germans hit us. It's not that bad. I'll have Gene check it out, but it should be fine."
"You should go to the aid station."
"So should you." She raised her eyebrow and dared him to argue with her.
"If Doc says you have to go, then you go," he somewhat conceded.
"Deal. Promise me you'll get this checked out when you get to HQ?" she asked as she tentatively touched the blood soaked bandage tied to his neck.
"Promise," he replied with a crooked smile.
He straightened up and was about to turn away when he suddenly stopped and looked down at her. "The next time you need to go out, I'll come with you."
She shrugged, "OK. I'll keep you posted."
He nodded and walked back to the prisoners waiting to be escorted back the HQ.
"Amelia?"
She turned her head at the sound of her name and smiled up at Nixon. "Oh, hey Nix."
"Looks like you were busy?" He flicked his eyes to her leg.
"Just another day at the office," she answered with a smirk.
"Yeah, you seen Winters?"
"He's down there." She pointed down the embankment to where she could see Winters crouched down, staring at the field of dead men.
Nixon followed her hand and his jaw clenched when he found Winters.
"Go. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
He nodded without looking at her and she followed his path with her eyes as he made his way to his friend. Somehow she felt like she was intruding on a private moment watching the two best friends talk, so she picked up her things and pushed herself up so she could hobble back to where the men were passing around food and coffee.
She spotted Don, George and Muck sitting by the side of the road and limped over to join them. When George saw her approach he sprung up and lifted her arm over his shoulder while taking her gently around the waist, taking most of her weight onto him.
"Thanks George," she said, grateful for the reprieve from the strain walking placed on her leg.
"No worries beautiful. I'd carry you but I don't want to earn a smack."
He gently helped her down into a sitting position next to Don who promptly offered her a choice of coffee or a smoke. She gladly accepted the coffee and savored the taste of the warm liquid running down her throat.
"Does Doc know yet?" George asked her as he pointed to her leg with his cigarette.
"No. He's got more important things to worry about."
The German shelling had wounded around twenty of their men from her rough estimate, most far worse off than she was. She really didn't want anyone making a fuss over her when there were men who needed attention far more than she did.
"He's gonna find out soon enough," Don said as he handed her something which may or may not be stew.
She sniffed it suspiciously and her stomach growled. She shot him a sideways glance and said, "Not if no one tells him," before popping a heaped spoonful of the food into her mouth.
"He kinda has a way of finding these things out you know," George chipped in.
She was about to respond when she heard a familiar Cajun accent which made her inwardly cringe, "Find out what?"
All the men smiled, looking rather pleased with themselves and she rolled her eyes at their obvious glee at being proven right.
"That Em got pinged in the leg," Don offered the answer.
She glared at him as Gene walked around to kneel down in-front of her. Without waiting for her consent he placed her leg in his lap, ripped open her leg pant even further and started to un-do the bandage Winters had strapped over her wound.
"Christ Doc, usually a guy has to at least buy a lady dinner first," George chirped him.
Gene's cheeks started to turn red and he shot Luz a dirty look, before he quickly returned his full attention to her injury.
They all smiled at his reaction she rolled her eyes at George's teasing.
"Ain't that bad," Gene mumbled under his breath.
"So no aid station?" she asked hopefully. If there was one place she never wanted to go to, it was an aid station.
"You need stiches."
"Can't you do it?"
He looked up at her with a little frown creasing his forehead.
"Pretty please Gene." She pouted and gave him her best damsel in distress impression.
"C'mon Doc. How can you say no to that? Shit, I wanna give her the damn stitches." George said.
Gene huffed and for a moment she thought he was going to insist she go to the horrible aid station with all the other wounded and dying men. But then he shook his head lightly and said, "Fine, you win. Go to the barn and I'll come find you there later."
"Thank you Gene," she beamed at him.
"M'hm. You three make sure she keeps it clean and bandaged until I can get to her," he said to the men sitting around her who all nodded like children being told what to do by the principle.
"And you," he turned his dark eyes back to her, "stay off it as much as possible until then. Oh, and next time the Krauts start shelling you, don't stand out in the open."
Her lips turned into a small smile and she mock saluted him. "Yes sir."
He rolled his eyes, but she saw the start of a smile tug at his mouth.
As Gene left to tend to the other men George nudged her and she looked his way. "Only you can twist Doc's arm like that. Next time I need to get out of getting a shot in the ass I'm getting you to talk to him."
"George darling, somehow I think if I tell him he won't have to see your skinny little ass naked, he won't need much convincing."
"Ouch, that was cold." George clutched his heart as if she'd wounded him while Don and Muck laughed.
"You know I love you handsome." She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug which he returned empathically, making it nearly impossible for her to breathe.
"I love you too beautiful," he said, still holding onto her.
Finally letting her go George grabbed her rifle as he jumped to his feet and Don stood in-front of her expectantly.
"What?" she asked, not sure what he was waiting for.
"Climb up," he said, turning around.
"You are not piggy-backing me all the way back Don."
"You heard Doc," Muck said from where he was standing next to Don.
She looked to George for help but he just shrugged.
She let out a deep sigh and finally gave in. Her leg hurt like hell and their destination was far enough away that the thought of walking there made her flinch.
"Fine."
She stood up and with Don's help climbed onto his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he grabbed onto her thighs. "Not a word Don."
"I didn't say anything," he said in a slightly high pitched offended tone.
"You were going to."
She felt him laugh through his chest and saw George and Muck smirk.
"What can I say Em. We all wanted to have your legs wrapped around us. Just not like this. But I'll take it."
She playfully smacked the side of his helmet but a smile still spread across her lips despite herself.
Men, can't live with them. Can't live without them.
XXXXXXX
The week was a bit hectic so this chapter took longer than usual to wrap up. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far :)