December 25, 1944
The days passed slowly. The soldiers took turns in what they called "kraut hunting." That soon ended once Julian was hit and killed.
Every day it was much of the same. The Germans would fire artillery at them, exploding the trees and the ground around them. Easy held the line and their fire when they could. Their lack of resources was starting to severely deteriorate. But still, they held the line.
Colonel Sink had paid them a visit to wish them a Merry Christmas. He also read a letter from General McAuliffe. Apparently the Germans requested the Americans' surrender. The General replied only with "Nuts!" For some reason, this had the soldiers cracking up.
Strange Yankee humor, she thought, rolling her eyes.
That night Jaclyn sat with Malarkey and Toye in the closest foxhole near the line, a machine gun aimed and ready if needed. She stared at the ground, lost in thought.
"What do you think, Jackie?" asked Malarkey.
She was shaken from her reverie. "I'm sorry, Malark. What was that?"
They grinned at her before looking back across the field. "Nothing. Just making small talk," replied Malarkey.
"Anything on your mind, Jack?" asked Toye.
There was a great deal on her mind, but mainly her concern for Roe. The constant attacks, injuries and death were starting to weigh on him. She knew because she had known what that had felt like before. Suffocating.
She smiled weakly at them although they didn't take their eyes from their watch. "Nothing special." She stretched before standing. "I'm going to say hi to Doc. You two stay safe." They murmured their goodbyes.
Jaclyn walked until finding Roe in a small foxhole without a cover, alone. Even she wouldn't be able to fit in there with him. She crouched down next to him. "Hey handsome."
Roe dragged his eyes up to her. Dark circles lined around them. "Hey Jackie." The change in him over just a few days was alarming.
Before she could open her mouth again, the all too familiar whistle of an incoming shell appeared. "Take cover!" she heard. She dove in, tackling Roe. His eyes seem startled, but his lack of reaction perturbed her.
Jaclyn covered her head. When she noticed he didn't follow suit, she yanked his down as well in an attempt to cover them both. Then the shelling stopped as quickly as it had started. Silence.
Then a scream for a medic. It was Captain Winters' voice.
Jaclyn jumped from the foxhole to allow Roe to leave. To her surprise, he didn't move. He always moved. Yet he only stared into the snow.
"Doc, you've got to get up." He didn't reply.
"Eugene, you've got to get up now. The Captain needs you," she urged.
"OK," he replied. She tried pulling him from his place in the hole. "OK," he repeated, but fell back down into the dirt.
"OK get up, not OK lie down, Eugene!" she yelled. "Get up!"
Roe's eyes suddenly sharpened and he looked at her. "OK." He jumped up and ran towards the screams for a medic. Jaclyn followed him, unsure if he'd keep moving forward.
They arrived to the scene, Welsh on the ground screaming in pain. His leg bloodied and gouged. Winters was attempting to stop the bleeding while Nixon and Lipton looked on, their faces grave.
Roe stopped short at the scene, Jaclyn almost bumping into him. "Roe," called Winters, but he didn't move forward.
Jaclyn twisted Roe around to face her. "Eugene, I need you to get it together right now. We need you to help the Lieutenant. Only you can help him. Do you understand me?" The only other noise were the painful moans from Welsh.
His dull eyes stared back at her, but he nodded. "OK," he said again, before turning back towards the injury and doing what he did best. Welsh was bandaged and given morphine in no time.
Jaclyn watched as they carried Welsh to the jeep. Roe stood next to her, looking down at his bloodied hands. She heard Winters come beside them. "Eugene, go get yourself a hot meal," he said gently. The medic nodded and walked to the jeep.
They watched him go. "Jackie, go with him?" She met his eyes and nodded. They understood each other perfectly just then. She ran to the jeep and hopped in before it took off.
As they turned the corner to the town, they expected help. They expected a hospital and supplies. They expected a hot meal and a break. Instead, they only gained more destruction.
The krauts didn't just shell the front lines, but also the town and the civilians still living there. They bombed the hospital inside the church and the battalion headquarters. The town was in ruins. Fire seemed to breath everywhere.
As Jaclyn was trying to process all this and figure out what they would do with Welsh, Roe jumped from the jeep and ran towards the crumbling hospital. Shells continued to bomb around them.
"Eugene!" she screamed, but he didn't listen. Leaving the driver with instructions to find a safe spot for Welsh, she ran after him.
He didn't go far, only into the front doorway of the church. She caught up with him quickly. "Doc. Eugene. It's not safe in here. This place could fall down at any moment." She gazed wildly around at the beams and stone strewn about. "We need to go."
Roe didn't seem to hear her. She watched silently as he bent down to retrieve a blue piece of fabric from the rubble. It was a nurse's cap.
Jaclyn swallowed hard as she took in his deadened expression. She tugged on his arm. "Eugene," she said softly. "We need to get back to the line. It's not safe here. Please."
He nodded slightly, pocketing the cap. He turned and left the church without another word.
Back at Easy, Jaclyn followed Roe until he slowly crawled his way into a foxhole. Luckily, this one was big enough to accommodate her as well. She sat down next to him.
Silence stretched between them. She knew not to say anything. Being forced to talk before one's ready was almost more painful than living through the loss the first time.
It was close to an hour before he murmured to her, or maybe just to himself. "Her name was Renee."
Jaclyn looked at him, taking in his white face and hard eyes. She knew it wasn't anything, but she said it anyway. "I'm sorry, Eugene." God, I'm so sorry. I know. I know.
He nodded in an automatic response. Time passed away before she spoke again. "You cared for her."
Roe swallowed hard before nodding again. "I did. But I didn't tell her."
Jaclyn took one of his icy hands in hers. "She knew, Eugene. Girls always know."
Roe turned stiffly, looking her in the eye. "Do you know?" He searched her face. "Do you know about Luz?"
She bit the inside of her cheek, waiting a long time before answering. "I do," she whispered. Even when I pretend I don't.
Roe was persistent. "Do you care for him?"
Jaclyn took a deep breath and let it out very slowly, trying to slow her heart. She looked down at their interlocked fingers before meeting his eye again. "I do," she whispered again. Even when I swear I don't.
Roe turned towards her, grabbing her other hand. "You need to tell him, Jackie. He deserves to know."
She started to shake her head, but he stopped it with a hand. "Death doesn't discriminate. It could be you, or me, or Luz next. I should have told Renee how I felt, and now I will regret that always." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, before pulling back. His eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Don't regret this."
There were only a few more hours until daybreak, but Jaclyn hadn't rested a moment. Roe slept fitfully next to her. She tried to calm any nightmares that occurred by caressing his hair softly, but still he seemed arrested by bad memories. He didn't move when she stood up.
Silently, she made her way across the camp until arriving to his foxhole. She eased her way in before hesitating, unsure. Jump, she commanded herself.
Jaclyn lifted Luz's arm and burrowed underneath it, wrapping her body into his side and placing a hand on his chest.
He stirred when he felt her. "Hey Mack," he said sleepily, tightening his arm around her. "Where you been?" He moved to lean his cheek against the top of her head, but there was nothing to lean against. He opened his eyes, confused and still half asleep.
He found her looking at him. He blinked, trying to read her expression. Scared? No, the woman has no fear. Angry? I probably deserve it. Crazy? Most likely. "What's going on?"
Without a word, Jaclyn reached up and cupped his cheek against her bare palm. She leaned in, looking deep into his eyes, searching them. Satisfied, her eyes traveled to his lips.
Luz felt his heart stop a moment before she looked down at his lips and moved in to kiss him. Her mouth was cold, but feather soft against his. Her kiss was gentle, but strong. So very much like her, he thought, his brain unfogging a little.
She pulled back, and Luz couldn't tell if he was dreaming, it was over so quickly. She silently stared at him, as if daring him to speak first. You expect words? Fat chance.
He swallowed hard, attempting to dampen his parched throat. "Mack," he croaked. And she leaned in again.
This time, Jaclyn deepened the kiss, her hand drifting into the hair at the nape of his neck. She curved to the side and opened her mouth, coaxing his lips to do the same.
Jesus Christ in heaven, was his only thought before he mimicked her, his mouth opening to her demands. A shudder ran through him, but he lifted his previously useless arm and hugged her closer against him. Bring it, krauts. I'm a happy man.
Jaclyn broke away, attempting to catch her breath. Trying with all her might not to giggle at his dazed expression, she gave him a soft smile before lowering her head to his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle.
Luz's lips were burning. Hell, he was burning. He was pretty sure Bastogne was burning. When did Belgium get so fucking hot?
He knew he must have looked like an idiot when she pulled back to look at him, but he was never good at hiding his emotions. Luckily, she smiled at him before cuddling into his chest as if she didn't just wake him up and kiss his senseless.
He heard a soft sigh as she got comfortable against him. His body started to unfreeze. Finally he found he could speak. "Mack...the code word…" he said, stupidly. Code word? The fucking CODE WORD, Georgie? Jesus, you're useless.
"Shut up, Luz." She sighed again, but smiled, and closed her eyes.
He could feel a goofy grin take up most of his face before leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "Yes, ma'am."
The next day, General Patton had moved in to alleviate the pressure on Easy company by ripping through the surrounding German forces. He declared that he saved them and the rest of the 506th, also know as the Battered Bastards of Bastogne, but Easy knew differently. Not one of them would ever say that they needed saving.
They were paratroopers after all. They're supposed to be surrounded.