Disclaimer: all the usual apply.
Chapter 26
Amelia POV
General Patton and his tanks broke through the German lines on the 26th of December, a belated Christmas present some bitterly called it. She's been thankful though. Now men could be evacuated and they finally received some much needed supplies. But they still slept in foxholes, exposed to the elements and with the ever present threat of a German shelling hanging over their heads.
A part of her had hoped that they would be pulled off the line now that men could be moved in to replace them, but that small part was sorely disappointed when it became clear Easy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
She'd spent New Year's eve huddled in a foxhole with Babe and Gene, tucked under the former's arm as they shared a cigarette and a ration of brandy she'd stolen from an arrogant tank driver that had tried to chat her up by insisting they'd saved the surrounded paratroopers.
All things considered it had been a pretty good night.
"Hey Lip," she said as she approached the sergeant a few days later.
"Amelia, hey," he greeted her.
He was standing off to one side as Easy got ready to move out. They'd been tasked with clearing the woods near the town of Foy. She wasn't thrilled at the idea of walking through a German infested forest, but it was better than sitting in a foxhole all day waiting for the next bombing.
"We almost ready to move?" she asked him, quickly glancing over the men milling around.
"Yip, just 'bout. You stay with 2nd platoon today."
"Sure. Speaking of, where is 'ol Wild Bill?"
"Saw him talking to Bull over there," Lipton jerked his head in Bull's general direction.
"Let me go find him then, before he starts to worry and then I'll never hear the end of it."
Lipton smiled at her and shook his head. Everybody knew how Bill could react if he even suspected something was amiss with Amelia.
She lightly slapped his shoulder as she walked past him in the direction he'd shown her.
"Beautiful, just the pretty face I've been looking for," Bill greeted her with a cheeky smile.
"William Guarnere, just the man I'm looking for."
"Ha! You heard that fellas?" he said, slapping Bull on the back and giving Johnny a sly wink.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Em, you know where Babe is?" Johnny asked her nonchalantly, but she didn't miss the faint grins the three men shared.
"Not at this exact moment," she replied, eyeing them suspiciously. "He was talking to George and Joe last I saw."
Johnny nodded as if he knew exactly where that was while Bull and George smiled slyly.
"OK, what is going on here?" she asked them, hands firmly planted on her hips so they knew she meant business.
"Nothing, don't know what you're talking 'bout," Bill replied.
"Oh, please. I wasn't born yesterday. Spit it out, or I'll make you."
Bull gave a deep, rumbling chuckle, "You'll make us?"
She levelled him with a steely gaze, "Try me."
"Anybody ever tell you you're frightening when you want to be?" Bill asked and the other two nodded in affirmation.
She allowed a devilish smile to run across her lips. "You don't know the half of it. Now spill."
Holding up his hands in surrender Bill said, "Fine, jeez. What's going on with you and Babe?"
"I thought you were going to tell me what's going on with you lot, not ask me another question."
"The boys all got a bet going on about when he's gonna finally scrape together enough guts to make a move on you," Johnny answered.
She looked from the one man to the next, trying to judge if he was telling the truth or not. Considering how strange everyone'd been acting of late it would make sense. She'd just assumed they'd found out about the moment she and Babe had shared on Christmas eve, but clearly he'd kept that to himself.
"I see, a bet huh? And is it safe to assume sergeants are in on this bet?"
They nodded sheepishly.
"So is the bet about whether or not he's made a move, or when he makes a move?"
Johnny's eyebrow shot up and Bull smiled. Bill side-eyed her suspiciously, but answered anyway. "If and when. Whoever gets the closest date wins."
"I see."
"We're moving out!" Lipton's voice carried over to them.
Smiling innocently, she said, "Oh well, seems we have to be on our way then."
"Wait, you not gonna tell us if anything's happened?" Bill asked incredulously.
"Oh no, something's happened. I'm just not going to tell you what or when. Not until you all decide on what my cut is."
Bull laughed and Johnny smiled broadly as he shook his head affectionately.
Bill swung and arm around her shoulder. "Doll, remind me never to try and hustle you."
She looked up at him and winked. "Deal."
After that they spent the rest of the day trekking through the thousand or so yards between their position and Foy. In comparison to what she'd expected it was a pretty quiet stroll through the woods. They ran into a few Germans and a few men were hit, but overall nothing dramatic happened.
They stopped in the woods overlooking the town, not that she could see it with the fog and blanket of snow encircling them, but she knew it was there.
She sensed a strong presence right behind her and a smile made its way onto her lips. "Hey there soldier."
His hand pressed into her lower back for a split second as he moved to stand in-front of her and a seductive heat settled in the pit of her stomach.
Babe smiled down at her, their bodies inches apart but neither one daring to touch the other out in the open.
"How did you know it was me?"
"How do you know I was referring to you?" she teased him.
"Funny," he retorted with a smirk.
"Thank you."
He rolled his eyes and grinned down at her. "Don't worry about digging in. I'm already digging a hole with Bill for the three of us to share."
"But I like digging. Keeps me warm."
"I promise you can dig the next one then all by yourself."
"Awww…what a gentleman."
He peered over her head and nodded at someone behind her. "I gotta go. Bill doesn't enjoy digging. I'll come find you when we're done."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
As he walked past her, her fingertips brushed the back of his hand. This had become their little game. Stealing secret touches and glances. She was pretty sure all the men would be happy for them when they found out about them, especially whoever won the bet, but for now it was simpler to keep it private.
Taking a deep breath, she scanned the area for something to do and spotted Lipton and Shifty digging away at a foxhole.
Almost skipping over to them, she dropped her pack to the ground and hopped into the half-dug foxhole. "Need some help?"
Lipton eyed her like she'd gone mad. "You are far too excited about this."
"It keeps me warm. So, help?" she asked as she held out her shovel.
"The more the merrier," Shifty replied as he shot her a grateful smile.
They worked in companionable silence, the only sounds coming from their labored breathing and the shovels digging into the frozen ground.
"Hey guys," Hoobler said with a very cheery grin as he and Hashey crouched down on the edge of the foxhole.
She stopped digging and leaned against the side of the hole, taking a moment to admire their handy work.
"So, look what I got today," Hoobler beamed as he held out a beautiful German Lugar pistol.
Shifty gave a long whistle and Lipton nodded approvingly.
"Mind if I take a look?" she asked and he handed her the gun, almost unable to contain his excitement.
"So I assume there's a good story to go along with it?" she asked as she turned the gun around in her hands.
Hashey's smile broadened and Hoobler was practically bouncing up and down he was so excited to tell his story to someone new.
"So, during the patrol today. We run into this German officer on horseback. I tell the guy to halt, but of course he doesn't."
"Of course," she repeats.
"The guy turns to make a run for it and I take three shots. Last one hits him right in the head and down he goes, right out of the saddle, like a sack of potatoes."
She nodded in admiration and handed him back the gun.
"Outstanding accuracy on my part, if I do say so myself."
"Which you do," Lipton said in-between shovels.
"Which I do."
She smiled at the man's giddiness over finally getting the Luger he'd been talking about since before Normandy.
Admiring the gun, Hoobler said, "Hell Shifty, I think maybe I could've even given you and Em a run for your money, right?"
"No, no. I'm not a good shot. Now dad, he was an excellent shot. Excellent. I declare, he'd shoot the wings off a fly," Shifty said in his sweet Southern drawl she loved so much.
"And you Em, you're pretty darn amazing yourself," Shifty added.
She leaned forward to touch his arm. "Thanks sweetie, really appreciate that coming from you. And for the record, a day doesn't go by that I'm not grateful you're on our side."
Turning her attention to Hoobler she added, "That goes for you too Hoobs."
"Thanks Em."
She winked at him before continuing to shovel dirt out of the hole.
"You dug in yet?" Lipton asked Hoobler and Hashey, sounding more like a stern parent than a tough sergeant.
"Yeah-yeah," Hoobler grumbled, but he got to his feet none the less. "Just thought I'd take a walk, shoot the shit."
"You're a good shot Hoobler. Like Em said, just glad you're on our side," she heard Lipton say over her shoulder.
"Hey y'all?" Shifty said.
She and Lipton stopped digging and turned to look at him.
"Yeah?" Lipton prodded him to continue.
"Thanks for the help."
She smiled and Lipton said, "You got it Shifty. Besides, you heard Em. Keeps her warm."
Just as she got stuck back into the digging Buck and Don walked up to their foxhole. The blond lieutenant nodded to them in greeting, but asked Lipton to join him for a moment.
Lipton climbed out of the foxhole, but not before handing a disgruntled Don his shovel.
"It ain't that bad Don. Keeps you warm," she offered.
He shot her a dirty look which she returned with a sickly sweet smile and her pack of smokes.
"You sure do know the way to a man's heart," Don said, taking two smokes from her pack and handing one to Shifty.
"All it takes is a smoke with you lot. You're so easy."
"What can I say Em? We got our priorities straight," Don joked.
Catching the tail end of Buck and Lipton's conversation, she overheard Buck exclaim, "Goddamnit! Now where's Dike? Where the hell is he? Where does he ever go?"
Don nudged her in the ribs and chipped in, "I don't know, but I wish he'd stay the hell there."
She and Shifty grunted in agreement.
Without even looking their way Lipton scolded them "Shut up, boys."
"Shutting up sarge," she and Don said in perfect unison.
A single shot rang out and the blood froze in her veins. A split second later Buck and Lipton were next to her in the incomplete foxhole as all the soldiers franticly searched the white landscape for the source.
That hadn't been the sound of a rifle, and no matter how much she strained her eyes she couldn't see anything beyond the whiteness that surrounded them on all sides.
"OK! What the hell was that?" Buck asked when no follow-up shots could be heard.
"Patrol?" Don offered.
Always the voice of reason, Lipton answered, "No, we would've heard."
"One man, maybe a sniper," Buck offered an alternative answer.
She shook her head. "No, that wasn't a rifle."
From the corner of her eye she saw Shifty nod in agreement.
"What do you two see?" Buck asked them.
"Nobody out there," Shifty replied.
"Are you sure?" Buck asked, unwilling to break cover until he was sure it was safe.
"Yeah, there's no one there. It's not a sniper," she finished.
"Oh Jesus! It's Hoob! He's been shot!" Hashey's scream came out of the fog.
"Sniper?" Buck asked again.
There was a pause, a beat of silence that stretched on and on before Hashey's shocked reply came, "No, no, he, he shot himself!"
Without a word she bounded out of the foxhole, Lipton and Buck close on her heels. When she broke into a clearing she skidded to a stop, her muscles refusing to move an inch, refusing to take one step further and she felt the air move as Lipton and Buck bolted past her.
Hoobler was lying on his back, Perconte and Hashey trying to keep him calm while staunching the bright red blood running down his right leg. Soon Buck and Lipton were right there with them, doing what they could while screaming for Gene. It was the color of the blood that had stopped her; bright red. Bright red blood pouring from his leg, she knew the bullet had hit an artery, and out here that meant only one thing. As much as her brain screamed at her legs to move, to go closer, be there for her friend. She couldn't make herself do it. Couldn't force herself to hold another man as he died in her arms.
She watched as Gene tried frantically to save him while the men did their best to keep Hoobler calm and comfortable, their voices rising in panic, as if they could keep him alive with their words alone. The dread in her chest kept rising and rising as she held her breath. Waiting for the miracle she knew would never come.
Finally, Gene fell back onto his haunches and the men's voices and actions stilled. Without looking at Hoobler's face, because she didn't think she'd be able to keep it together if she did, she turned on her heel and walked back to the foxholes, blinking away the tears that stung her eyes.
XXXXXXX
She sat huddled in the corner of her foxhole, legs pulled up to her chin as she tried in vain to keep warm. She stared off into space, vaguely aware of Bill and Babe working on the covering for their foxhole. After Hoobler had died she'd headed straight for them, head bowed down so she could regain her composure in what went for privacy out here before she had to face them. Still, the moment she'd dropped into the hole they took one look at her and knew something was wrong. Without meeting their eyes, she mumbled, "Hoobs died."
"Fuck," Bill swore under his breath.
Babe reached out and pulled her down into a sitting position, squeezing her shoulder before continuing his work. No one said anything for a while after that.
Night started to fall when Buck walked over to their foxhole and sat down on the edge. Her eyes moved in his direction so she could study his face. He looked so much older, tired and unsettled somehow. She shuddered to think what she would find if she had to see her own reflection.
"You boys almost dug in?" Buck asked.
Bill nodded and Babe replied, "Just 'bout."
"Good," Buck said and his eyes fell on her. "I suppose you heard about Hoob."
Babe stopped what he was doing and quickly glanced down to her before replying, "Yeah, we heard."
"He shot himself. He had a goddamn Luger in his pants," Buck filled in the blanks she hadn't bothered with earlier.
"Jesus," Bill hissed.
"Dear God. And don't you three do something stupid like that, all right?" he warned them, the affection evident though in every word.
"We'll try not to, Buck," Babe replied with the faintest of smirks.
"I mean it. And you, Wild Bill," Buck said with a slap to Bill's shoulder, "I've invested too much goddamn time shaping you into something useful. You do something crazy and get yourself knocked out of this thing."
Bill chuckled, "I know, I know. You'll kill me."
"Even if you're dead, I'll still kill you."
Bill nudged her shoulder and she shot him a small smile.
"Don't even get me started on beautiful over here. Almost no point in telling her not to do something stupid. So just don't get killed doing it you hear?"
Bill and Babe both laughed, forcing her to shoot them each a glare before her lips betrayed her and turned up into a small smile of their own. "I'll do my best Buck. Special for you."
"Good. I'll see you guys later, all right? I'm gonna check on the other guys."
She nodded her goodbye, wanting to keep as still as possible so the freezing wind wouldn't find another gap in her clothing to cut through.
Babe turned to watch him leave and after a moment's hesitation he said, "Crazy Joe McCloskey."
"What?" Bill asked. She looked between the two of men, having absolutely no idea what they were talking about but happy for the momentary distraction from the ever present ache in her bones.
"This guy used to hang out in-front of Delancey's and just, you know, just stare at people," Babe clarified.
"Yeah I know who Crazy Joe McCloskey is. What the hell's that gotta do with anything, Babe?"
"Mmm…Buck kinda reminds me of him now."
"What?" Bill exclaimed.
"You know, ever since he got shot in Holland."
"Wait, wait, wait," Bill said as he moved so he was sitting directly next to Babe. "What are you saying, he's nuts? Because Crazy Joe McCloskey was fucking nuts, Babe. That's why they called him Crazy Joe."
Babe almost flinched at the words. "No, not…. I'm not saying he's nuts. I'm just saying…" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, or thinking better of it.
"What? What are you saying?" Bill pried, unwilling to let this go so easily.
"Forget it!" Babe tried again to shake off the conversation.
"What?!" Bill insisted, the agitation in his voice growing by the syllable.
Babe glanced back in Buck's direction as if he was weighing up his options. Finally, he turned to look Bill square in the eyes and said, "Oh, come on! You've seen him Bill. He's, well, he's all wound up like a spring!"
He was right. She'd noticed it on Buck's first night back all those weeks ago in France. It came and went, but his eyes always had that look about them. Like he was only one incident away from slipping away from them permanently.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's fine!" Bill tried to brush Babe's comment aside. "It wasn't getting shot that got to him, it was being in that hospital. I've been there, OK? Ain't pretty."
"Yeah," Babe relented, not sounding convinced in the least.
"Besides, you saw, once he was up and moving around he was his old self again. I'm telling you, Buck Compton's fine."
"If you say so."
"I do," Bill said and turned to look at her over his shoulder. "What do you think Em?"
"I think we're all going a bit crazy out here. Who am I to judge another man's level of crazy? I'm pretty sure everyone here thinks I'm off my rocker. Probably right," she finished with a shrug.
Bill gave a cackle of a laugh and Babe rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but you've always been crazy," Babe said as he draped an arm around her and pulled her in close.
She playfully nudged him in the ribs. "Thanks, love you too."
Bill was about to make a comment when she shot him a warning look. Now was not the time or place for him to say anything about her casual use of the word 'love' around Babe Heffron.
He snapped his jaw shut, but a smirk still planted itself firmly on his lips.
XXXXXXX
Amelia POV
"Hey fellas, look who I found?" she heard Bill call and turned to look over her shoulder.
She was standing off to one side of the chow line, eating her ration for the day while talking to Gene and Babe.
Her face morphed into a lopsided smile when she found the man Bill had been referring to. Toye had been hit on New Year's Eve and been at the aid station for three days.
Keeping up the Easy tradition of going AWOL, she smiled to herself.
"Hey Em," Toye greeted her when he caught her eye.
"Hey darling. Good to have you back."
He smiled sweetly at her for a moment before Muck distracted him with some conversation he was having with a new replacement.
"Lot of you guys been injured?" she heard the replacement ask. She shook her head; the poor kid didn't know what he'd just let himself in for.
Johnny shot the poor guy a disapproving look, "It's called wounded, peanut. Injured's when you fall out of a tree or something."
She felt Gene lightly nudge her shoulder. She stole a glance in his direction to find a ghost of a smile on his lips. She rolled her eyes, but that only broadened his smile and caused Babe to grin like an idiot.
She turned back to her earlier source of entertainment. Relieved to see that Muck had now taken it upon himself to give the replacement a guided tour of all of their wounds.
"Don't worry. There's enough crap flying around here, you're bound to get dinged sometime," Muck said as he showed the guy around the group of men.
"Almost every single one of these guy's been hit at least once. Except for Alley here," Muck said as he stopped next to Alley, "He's a two-timer. He landed on broken glass in Normandy and got peppered by a potato-masher in Holland."
The kid's eyes widened in shock and admiration and she shook her head at Muck's antics, but the grin never slipped from her lips.
He continued his little tour, walking past Bull saying, "Now Bull, he got a piece of exploding tank in Holland," before he stopped next to Luz, "And George Luz here has never been hit. You're one lucky bastard."
"Takes on to know one, Skip," Luz retorted, shooting a wink in her direction.
With his usual dramatic flair Muck said, "Consider us blessed."
"Now Liebgott," Muck pointed to Joe where he was sitting on a log next to Popeye, "That skinny little guy, he got pinged in the neck in Holland."
Joe gave the poor replacement an evil little smirk and she swore she saw the kid flinch.
"And right next to him," Muck just kept going, "that other skinny little guy, that's Popeye. He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy"
"And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland," Don chipped in.
Buck turned around and waved his butt in the air so the replacement could get a good look at it.
She giggled, the unfamiliar feeling ratteling inside her chest.
"Yeah, kind of an Easy Company tradition, getting shot in the ass," Penkala added for good measure.
"Yip. Now of course princess over there," Muck pointed in her direction and she felt all eyes turn to her.
"Fuck," she mumbled under her breath.
"Now she's never been shot in the ass. Which to be honest, we're all a little disappointed by."
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the smile from betraying her.
Muck took this as encouragement on her part and continued, "Now, she got hit by a piece of shrapnel in Holland and grazed by a bullet right here in these merry woods. But she also nearly got strangled in Normandy and shot in Holland. Quite frankly, the woman's a magnet for trouble."
"That's why you love me," she retorted, blowing a kiss in Muck's direction for good measure.
"Sure do princess. Life would be so boring without you."
She caught Gene's eye and sensed his disapproval. She smiled ever so sweetly and blew him a kiss as well. He rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched into the start of a smile despite himself.
"Hey, even 1st Sergeant Lipton over there," Muck exclaimed, still going strong. "He got a couple pieces of a tank shell in Carentan. One chunk in his face. Another chunk almost took out his nuts."
Lipton shook his head, his usual shy smile playing at his lips as he made the perfect picture of an indulgent parent, watching their kids play.
"How are those nuts, sarge?" Bill asked.
Lipton looked her way briefly, she just shrugged, they were way past all the niceties by now.
"Doing fine Bill. Nice of you to ask," Lipton replied shyly, avoiding her eyes.
She laughed and turned back to Babe and Gene to continue their conversation. Bill swaggered over to them with George hot on his heels. Both men looking far too pleased with themselves for her liking.
"What did you two do?" she asked them as they joined their little group.
"What? Us?" George exclaimed, trying his best to look offended and only looking guiltier.
"Please, I know that look. What happened or what did you win?"
Gene was listening intently, a ghost of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips while Babe openly looked between them, eager to see who would crack first.
Bill chuckled and slapped George hard on the back, nearly sending the other man tumbling forward. "Can't slip anything past her Luz. May as well come clean."
Luz shot him an annoyed look, but his frown quickly morphed into a smile. He held out a pack of smokes to her.
She tentatively took it, eyeing him skeptically. "Who did you kill for this? You know I can't be complaisant in a murder."
"Haha, funny. Nah, this is your cut of the winnings."
"What winnings?" Babe and Gene asked.
"The winnings on the bet the guys had going over when you would man up and make a move," Bill shot in Babe's direction.
"Hold your horses. I haven't told you anything," she retorted.
"Nah, you didn't, but Babe here let it slip last night," Bill said, lighting his own smoke with a triumphant grin.
She turned her head slowly to look at Babe, quirking her head to one side. His cheeks flushed and he avoided her gaze, rather choosing to scowl at Bill and George. Gene now chuckled out loud, enjoying the scene of his friends' discomfort far too much.
"Really? Did he know?" she asked, trying her very best to sound angry.
Bill shrugged, "Don't get your panties in a twist Em. The guy didn't kiss and tell," he cackled at his own joke. She continued to stare at him flatly until he continued. "We were talking 'bout home and he said this Christmas wasn't that bad."
George snorted at the ridiculous comment, "Not that bad? Can you believe that? We're stuck out here in this shit-hole and he says it ain't that bad. So we put two and two together. The only reason he would say that, is if the two of you finally kissed."
"So, you two assumed we kissed over Christmas because Eddy said it wasn't so bad?" she clarified.
They bobbed their heads up and down, goofy grins all over their faces.
"Don't you think that's a bit of a stretch?"
"No," all four men blurted out in unison.
"OK, calm down boys. All I'm saying is this bet was settled on an assumption, not confirmation."
"So you didn't kiss?" George asked, his confident grin faltering for a second.
With a wicked smile of her own she said, "Oh no, he kissed me alright. The best kiss I've ever had. All I'm saying is you boys should fact check before handing out packs of smokes."
The four men stared at her with mouths hanging open for a split second before Bill broke into a deep, rumbling laugh that the others followed.
"Men. Jones," Dike greeted them as he joined their group.
The laughter immediately died down, no one sure what he'd heard. A relationship between two soldiers would be frowned upon on the best of days, and they didn't trust Dike to turn a blind eye.
"Everyone doing well?" he asked.
"Yes sir," they answered, shooting each other confused looks.
"Good-good," he mumbled, his eyes looking at someone or something behind them.
"Well, make sure everyone's dug in," he said as he turned to leave.
"Yes, sir," their little group said.
From the corner of her eye she saw Babe and Bill relax when Dike stopped and turned back sharply to look directly as her. "Oh, Sergeant Jones, before I forget. Colonel Sink informed me of your decision. Glad you decided to stay."
Her heart faltered. With ice in her voice she replied, "Yes, sir."
She watched Dike walk away from them, resolutely avoiding eye contact with the men standing around her.
When Dike vanished into the forest she turned sharply on her heal and made to leave, "Well, best dig in."
"Hold up," Bill said, stopping her dead.
She cautiously met his gaze, "Yes?"
"What did he mean by deciding to stay?" Bill grumbled, his voice low and overly controlled.
Taking a deep breath, she weighed up her options as she looked from one man to the other. She could either deny the whole thing, pretend she didn't know what he was talking about, or come clean.
She decided to try and lie. "I don't know. You know Dike. The man doesn't know whether he's coming or going. Probably has me confused with someone else."
"You're the only woman here, even Dike ain't that oblivious," Babe retorted and the other three closed ranks around her.
Fuck, so much for that, she thought.
"There's no point in me telling you. It'll only upset you and there's nothing anybody can do to change anything."
"Try us," Babe said, his voice simmering.
She looked from her one friend to the next, all four men had the same determined expression and clenched fists. She wasn't going anywhere.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Yeah-yeah, quit stalling," Bill hurried her along.
She shot him a dirty look which he brushed off with a roll of his eyes.
"When I joined the military there was a clause in my agreement that after one year's active duty I could get an honorable discharge, if I wanted. If not, then I would remain with the army and fall under the normal discharge regulations."
"When was your year?" Gene asked, his dark eyes hooded from the deep frown that carved a line into his forehead.
She dropped her eyes to the ground, bracing herself for the coming storm. Hesitantly she looked up to meet their eyes. "Christmas. Christmas was one year."
It was so quiet she could hear the snow fall, all four pairs of eyes stared at her in astonishment which quickly turned to disbelief and then anger.
"You're still here," Babe said, still unwilling to accept the obvious conclusion.
"That's because I decided to stay."
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air for affect.
"We all decided that jumping out of planes to fight behind enemy lines sounded like a peachy idea, what do you think?" she retorted.
"Don't Amelia. Don't try and be a smart-ass now. Not with this," he said, his voice more serious and level than she'd ever heard it before.
She snapped her jaw shut and swallowed the comeback she had on the tip of her tongue.
"You could be on your way home Em. Fuck, you'd be safe," George said.
Her mouth opened to reply when Babe held up his hand to stop her. "Don't say that you don't have a home. You could've gone to Philly. Our families," he gestured to Bill, "would have taken care of you. They already love you."
Gene stepped forward and gently touched her shoulder, "You could still change your mind. Sink likes you, he'll pull some strings."
She smiled fondly at her friend. "Gene, even if he could, I'd make the same choice."
His eyes fell to the ground and his hand dropped from her shoulder.
Bill rubbed his hand over his face. "Fuck, you know if Derek was here he would've ordered you to leave."
Her eyes shot to his, and she leveled him with her gaze. "Do not bring him into this. He never knew about the arrangement, and it wouldn't have changed a damn thing if he did. I would have stayed for him just like he would've stayed for me."
Bill held her gaze, but deep behind the anger she saw some regret.
"You should have taken it. You should have left this fucking place. This war," Babe's voice finally forced her to look away from Bill.
"Easy's here. My family is here. The only way I'm going anywhere is with all of you or in a box. You all need to accept that. I have."
Babe flinched at her words like she'd slapped him across the face. His eyes dropped away from hers, hurt and anger marring his handsome features. She felt a pang of guilt, but there was no point in skirting around the facts.
No one else said anything after that.
"I don't want to hurt anyone, but I've made my decision. I'm staying with Easy one way or another," and with that she turned and left.
She heard footsteps following her but didn't turn around to see who it was. All her fight was gone now, she just wanted to be left alone.
"Beautiful wait will ya. Jeez," George swore close to her.
She didn't stop, but did slow down considerably.
He fell in beside her but she didn't look over to him. She felt a strong hand slip around hers. "We just want you to be safe Amelia. Derek would have wanted you safe too."
"Derek's dead Luz. He doesn't get a say anymore," the words sounded cold and hard even to her.
His hold on her tightened and she didn't try to pull away.
XXXXXXX
Hope everyone had a wonderful week and a great Saturday (so far). These Bastogne chapters are such a emotional rollercoaster! I know I say it every week, but I mean it every week...thank you for everyone's continued support!