A/N:
Thank you MASHlover23 for the review! Haha, when Muck and Malarkey put their heads together anything is possible. I'm glad you're still looking forward to what happens between Marie and Malark (and Emilia and Tab). Thank you again for your support :)
Thank you kEs-2717 for the review! At least they were able to take a step forward in the right direction, we'll see where Marie and Malarkey go from here. When I started this story, I actually wasn't going to have Marie or Malarkey be interested in each other. I was going to keep it strictly platonic, which is the reason I added Malarkey's real-life girlfriend to the story (plus she's quite prominent in the book, and I wanted this story to be as realistic as possible). But I received reviews from readers that wanted Malark and Marie to be together, so I gradually started it from there :) (I mean no disrespect to the real Bernice)
Thank you BobtheFrog for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Yes, writing about Muck being so happy made me sadder realizing what's coming. I'm glad you like Tab and Emilia as a couple too!
Updating early! Oh man, here we go! This chapter has combinations from both the TV series and Malarkey's book (with dialogue from both of course). I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Also: just a head's up, there's some strong language in this chapter due to dialogue from the episode.
Foy, Belgium
January 2nd, 1945
In the early morning Easy Company had packed up and relocated just above the town of Foy. Luckily for them Foy was very close to Bastogne, so the walk wasn't as strenuous as it could've been. Now the company was up in Jack's Woods, overlooking the small town of Foy on a snowy hill. A siege of the town was inevitable, everyone knew it was coming, but in the meantime everyone attempted to keep their minds off of the future barrage. The snow was piling up high, so men spent a lot of their time shoveling it somewhere else. Just walking the Foy-Bizory road, Marie knew that this time something was going to be different. She couldn't place a finger on it, but the sinking feeling she got when they settled in disturbed her deeply.
Marie blew her breath into her hands. She'd given her mittens to Penkala, whom was starting to show signs of frostbite by his bluing fingertips. She desperately wanted them back, but she knew Penk needed them the most at this moment. She started to pace around, keeping her body and muscles warm, even though the dropping temperature fought against her. As she walked through the snowy haze, she came across a huddle of familiar faces. Lipton, Buck, Muck, Guarnere and Malarkey were all bunched together, staring at something on Malarkey's back. A map of Foy was pressed to his back as Lip and Buck pointed and drew on the map, discussing strategy no doubt. Marie took a few tentative steps forward, hoping to listen in on what Easy Company's next move was.
"Which means you get right there." Buck said to Lip, jabbing the paper.
"Hey! Take it easy!" Malarkey whined.
"Stop crying, Malark, or I'll nail it to your head." Buck joked with a smile.
"Sure, it's made of wood." Guarnere teased as Malarkey shot him a look.
Lip took the map and folded it up; he had the look set on his face when something was about to happen. Marie felt her nerves tickle with anxiety, knowing they were about to be given an order to move out or something of the nature. Lipton noticed the medic standing in the center of the heavy snowfall, her eyes telling him what he already knew. Marie looked over at Malarkey, whom was wearing the cap that she'd given him as a Christmas present. Marie's cheeks instantly blushed, forcing her to glance away from him before it became too noticeable.
Great, we're back to this. She thought, annoyed.
"Guarnere, move 'em out, let's go." Lipton ordered, walking past Marie. She turned, her eyes following his figure as he soon vanished within the haze.
"2nd platoon, let's go!" Guarnere barked. Everyone stood up and started to rush as Marie did the same. She exchanged a questioning glance at Guarnere who only shrugged. The squad leader led his platoon through a 1000-yard hike just as sporadic German artillery starting flying. The sound of this artillery was different, it made strange and eerie whirling noises that made Marie's blood curdle.
"Screaming meemies!" Malarkey announced as the platoon hustled toward the next tree line. The Germans had overshot their projectiles, only causing noise but not causalities. Soon Easy Company stopped and it was decided they'd dig their foxholes in the current position. Marie didn't really know the difference between this area and where they were before, but when it came to the Army, it was better not to question their logic. Marie figured the German artillery was just meant to move the Americans along, but she didn't like the idea of being controlled or moved by the enemy.
Marie gripped her shovel with her frigid hands and tried to dig a foxhole, but with the snow falling in such large quantities, it was impossible to reach the right amount of depth. She groaned, gritting her teeth as she dug faster to beat the snowfall. She was so focused on the fruitless task to realize Buck had come to check on her.
"Doing okay?" He asked.
She turned to see him standing before her, his lips barely pulled into a smile. His eyes were red-rimmed and his skin seemed even paler than what was normal for him. Marie had noticed a change in him a few weeks before they shipped out, but he was acting even more strangely.
"Yeah." Marie replied with a brisk nod as she stabbed the shovel end into the snow.
"You need some help?"
Marie shook her head. "I've got it."
Buck scoffed. "It's going to take you forever doing it by yourself."
"Then grab a shovel and help me, Lieutenant." She countered.
Buck chuckled. "I wish I could, but I've got to check on the guys."
"Oh, sure." Marie responded with joking sarcasm.
"Why don't you take a break." Buck suggested. "I've got to talk to Lip about the next move anyway, you deserve to hear what you're getting yourself into."
Marie threw the shovel on the ground and followed him, happy for the break, although she was frustrated that she hadn't accomplished her task of digging a comfortable foxhole. She followed Buck to find Lipton standing next to Shifty and Malarkey whom were crouched in a foxhole. Malarkey passed Shifty a pack of smokes, which he took with trembling hands but was grateful for the gift. Shifty was also trying to dig his foxhole deeper, but wasn't getting anywhere.
"Hey, Lip?" Buck questioned as he and Marie neared the small group.
"Yes?"
"You got a sec?"
"Yes, sir." Lip answered. He handed his shovel down to Malarkey. "Give him a hand." He told him, gesturing to Shifty.
Malarkey took the shovel and got to work as Lipton and Buck moved a few steps over to discuss something privately. Marie sighed and hopped down in the foxhole with the boys, wishing she had brought her shovel along with her. She kept her ears open to Lip and Buck's conversation, knowing Buck had brought her along to eavesdrop purposely.
"I should've brought my shovel, sorry." Marie said to the two working soldiers.
"Nah, it's fine." Shifty answered.
"I wasn't getting anywhere with my foxhole." She said with a shrug.
"Feel free to stay in ours." Malarkey welcomed. Marie gave him a surprised look, the blush already spreading on her face. He averted his gaze, now feeling awkward. Marie turned her attention back to Lipton and Buck's conversation, but only caught on two hearing about two of their own being wounded.
"Where's Dike? Where the hell is he? Where the hell does he ever go?" Buck suddenly burst in agitation.
"I don't know, but I wish he'd stay the hell there." Malarkey commented, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth.
"You got that right." Marie agreed, crossing her arms, feeling aggravated just at the thought of the useless CO.
"It'd be nice if he took Lieutenant Shames with him, too." Shifty added.
"Shut up, guys." Lipton ordered lightheartedly.
"Shutting up, Sarge." Malarkey deadpanned.
Suddenly a loud gunshot rang out, causing everyone to drop down. Malarkey and Shifty both gripped their guns, on alert for any potential Germans lurking in their territory. Lipton and Buck both hunched beside their foxhole, while Marie fully ducked, peeking her head up as the attempted to spot anything in the distance as she remained in a crouched position.
"Patrol?" Malarkey asked no one in particular.
"No, we woulda heard." Lipton answered, his eyes rapidly scanning the woods.
"One man, maybe a sniper." Buck pondered aloud.
"That was no rifle." Shifty assured the group, his voice full of confidence. When it came to guns, Shifty was definitely the person to consult.
"What do you see, Shift?" Lipton asked.
Shifty looked through the scope of his gun. "Nobody out there."
"Are you sure?" Buck pressed.
"Uh-huh."
"Aw Jesus, it's Hoob, he's shot!" Another solider screamed through the haze, running up to their foxhole. Marie hopped out of the foxhole, but Buck pulled her back down out of precaution.
"Sniper?" Buck asked the soldier.
"No, no, he shot himself!" The solider answered, terror on his face.
Buck released Marie, judging that it was safe to let her climb out of the foxhole now. She raced through down the path, following the yelling from other soldiers and whom she assumed was Hoobler. She finally stumbled upon Hoobler lying down on the snow, struggling as Perconte bent down beside him. The others followed Marie close behind and took in the scene. Blood was pooling around Hoobler, but she couldn't tell from her current distance where it was coming from.
"Medic!" Perconte cried.
Marie quickly knelt down beside Hoobler, whom was whimpering in horror, while he clenched his teeth from the pain that was possessing his body. Buck was at Hoobler and Perconte's side in seconds, setting Hoobler's head up on his lap to keep him out of the snow.
"What happened?" Buck demanded as he gently coddled the petrified soldier.
"My fucking leg!" Hoobler bellowed. Everyone started to crowd Hoobler, which made Marie feel even more on edge. The questions started to flood in, the group asking what happened, how he shot himself; it was too much and it was making Marie's concentration waver and her stress level rise. "Just went off, just went off!" Hoobler repeated, plainly growing overwhelmed by the pressure. He was scared enough, he didn't need everyone badgering him for explanations.
"Back off! You're crowding him!" Marie suddenly snapped. Her venomous tone took everyone aback, silencing their advances almost instantly. "Give me some space so I can work on him for God sakes!" Marie turned her attention back to Hoobler, now seeing that there was a bullet hole in his pants that was bleeding, but Marie couldn't tell how badly with all the layers he was wearing. Perconte held up the gun that he accidently shot himself with, showing everyone. It was a Browning 45 mm pistol, he'd been fooling with it and it just went off, that was Marie's guess anyway. Blood started to heavily gush from his right leg at a dangerous rate. Marie started to rip open his pants, but the material was too hard to pull apart quick enough.
"Hurts like a sonofa bitch!" Hoobler exclaimed.
Marie mumbled an apology, pulling out her bandages as Roe ran over and joined her. The two of them tied the bandages around the top of the wound to apply pressure to stint the bleeding, though the effort was starting to seem worthless. Malarkey, Perconte, Shifty, and Buck were now holding Hoobler, trying to distract him from the pain of his injury and from the fear of death as he bled out before their eyes. Buck took off his overcoat and laid it across the top of Hoobler to keep him as warm as possible. Roe struggled to tear through the pants even further, as Marie checked for an exit wound under his thigh. There was none much to her extreme dismay. Marie connected the dots with the anatomy of the leg and where the bullet had hit, along with the fact that the bullet was still wedged somewhere in his upper thigh. Her conclusion hit her as if she'd run full speed into a brick wall.
The bullet had severed his femoral artery.
Tears welled him Marie's eyes as she gazed down at Hoobler's young, cherub face, contorted in agony as his large eyes stared up at Buck, seeking any sort of desperate comfort. It was too late for him; there was nothing her or Roe could do to save him. He was going to bleed out and die right here. Marie dropped her hands to her sides as Roe continued to fumble with his BDU pants.
"Can't see a thing, gotta get him back to an aide station." Roe muttered hurriedly to himself. Marie placed a trembling hand on the medic's shoulder, signaling him to stop. Roe paused, looking over at her in question. The teary expression on his face also made him pull back his bloodied hands, realizing the extent of damage.
"Why are you two stopping? Patch him up!" Buck demanded desperately. Marie could only stare at him, tears now streaming down her face as her mouth failed to form words.
Perconte grabbed her by her lapels, harshly whipping her attention over to him. "What the hell are you sitting around for? Help him, goddammit!"
Marie's lip trembled, but she managed to finally speak. "His main artery has been cut. There's nothing we can do." Her voice came out in almost a whisper. The hopeless look in Perconte's eyes broke her heart, he slowly let go of her, staring down at Hoobler in disbelief.
Hoobler had fallen silent during all the commotion. His eyelids had closed as his jaw wordlessly hung open. Buck shook him to try to wake him up, but he was still unresponsive. Marie pressed her fingers to his wrist, feeling for a pulse, but his heart wasn't beating any longer. She shook her head, signifying that he'd passed away. The men gazed down at him in numb shock for what felt like eternity before moving an inch. Marie wiped her eyes with her sleeve, sniffling as she packed up her unused supplies. She stood up, trying to create distance from herself and Hoobler, which had become the physical symbol of sadness she always tried to avoid.
Lipton let out a heavy sigh, breaking the silence. "I'll go to OP and tell them."
Marie couldn't bear to watch the reactions of Winters, Nixon, and Emilia as Lipton told them the news about Hoobler. The shock and grief on their faces was so pure and unfiltered that it made Marie choke up all over again. She watched Emilia try to hide her emotions, keeping a reserved face and posture as long as she could, but Hoobler was in 1st platoon with her. She knew him better than anyone. Marie peeled her eyes away from the scene, feeling nauseous. She hobbled over to a snow bank and sat down, trying to keep her composure. She saw Muck walking by, his mouth pulled into a tight, thin line as his brows furrowed in serious concentration. Muck was also in 1st platoon, so Hoob's death must of hit him hard as well. Marie forced herself to stand up so she could speak with Muck about it.
"Hey." Marie called to him, hugging herself.
"Listen, I'd rather not talk about it." Muck curtly replied, already knowing what she was going to say. He walked past her and plopped down on the snow bank. "I've done my grieving, I just don't want to think about it."
Marie bit her lip and nodded meekly. She sat down beside him, not knowing what to say now. She understood where Muck was coming from, but she felt a topic change would be inappropriate; it just didn't feel right to feel any emotion that wasn't sadness.
"Dammit, how are they gonna tell his parents?" Muck piped up. "They're gonna get a telegram home saying that his pistol accidentally misfired in his pocket - Christ." He brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose.
"I hope for their sakes that they spare the details." Marie answered in a hollow voice.
Muck sighed, growing flustered with himself for bringing it up again. "What the hell am I doing talking about this right after I said I wouldn't? I'd much rather talk about what happened two days ago."
Marie gave him a puzzled look, trying to remember what was so significant about two days ago. Her brain had become foggy in Belgium. New Year's Eve… the kiss… her eyes widened and a hot blush spread across her face.
"Yeah, I was wondering too." Her words came out sharp and accusing, though she wasn't really sure why she felt so irritated by it all.
"Needed to help indicate it somehow." Muck responded with a casual shrug. "You two are getting nowhere."
"Don't you think that should be between the two of us without any outside meddling?"
Muck smirked. "You're happy it happened, aren't you? Quit complaining."
Marie's blush turned a shade darker. "I-"
"Let's face it, you're weird when it comes to affection. Your mom has that to blame I think. She warped your mind when it comes to the topic of love." He continued, pointing to his temple. "Malarkey isn't sure how to approach you without scaring you off, while you are completely indifferent about it or come on too strong." He paused a moment, seeing that he hit the nail on the head by the look on her face. "You two just need a push in the right direction."
"There you two are!" A voice called. Marie and Muck looked up to see Guarnere, Malarkey and Penkala making their way toward them. Their smiles were pulled a little too tight to be naturally genuine; Marie knew they too were trying to keep the subject of Hoobler's death as quiet as possible for morale. The three other soldiers settled around the snow bank. Malarkey sat beside Marie, making the heat remain on her face considered what her and Muck were just talking about.
"I'm tellin' ya guys, we're screwed." Guarnere suddenly interjected. Marie and Muck gave the squad leader a confused look.
"We were talking about Dike." Malarkey leaned in and whispered to her.
"If you ask me, I'm glad Lieutenant Dike is never around." Penkala scowled.
"Hey, you know what? We're doin' all right, even with Foxhole Norman." Malarkey pointed out, trying to keep things positive as usual.
Marie thought about Dike and his constant long walks, disappearances, lack of decisions and constant bored yawning. Thinking about it did make Easy Company's future appear bleak.
"Yeah, Don, we're doin' all right, we're doin' all right now. 'Case you ain't noticed, there's a little town down the hill over there, right? And in the town are these guys, and these guys are called Germans, and these Germans got tanks-" Guarnere replied crossly.
"I know…" Malarkey interrupted irritably. He knew the odds as well as everybody else, but the reminders didn't make anyone feel any better.
"Yeah… and our side is gonna wanna go into that town. Take one guess who they want, then they're going to go knockin' on the goddamn door." Guarnere added.
Malarkey sighed in frustration. "I know, Bill." He clipped.
Marie listened to Guarnere and Malarkey go back and forth, making her feel even more sullen than before. Muck placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, seeing that he dreaded this conversation as much as she did.
"All right." Guarnere said, his voice sounding conclusive.
Malarkey pointed to himself. "It's me you're talkin' to here."
"Jesus Christ. We gotta do all this with a CO that's got his head so far up his fuckin' ass that the lump in his throat is his goddamn nose." Guarnere added.
"Hey, First Sergeant!" Muck welcomed with emphasis, cuing for Guarnere to shut his mouth before he got them all into trouble.
"Hey, boys, and Marie. Hey, Muck, what's the word?" Lipton asked, standing over the group huddled together.
"Oh, you know: sit around and freeze our asses off. Singing Dike's praises." Muck chimed sarcastically.
Lipton crossed his arms. "Yeah, Lieutenant Dike." He sat down, joining the group. Everyone's eyes were glued on him. "Well, I'll tell ya, I wouldn't want to be a replacement officer coming in here. Get thrown in with a group of guys who've known each other for what? Two years? We've been in combat together since Normandy, he's supposed to just show up and lead them? I mean – how does a guy do that? How can anyone really hope to gain the respect of the toughest, most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO? Huh?" Lipton continued on, eyeing every single one of them. No one answered. "So if you ask me, a guy'd have to march off to Berlin and come back with Hitler's mustache or somethin'."
Everyone smirked at this, enjoying how the lecture had turned lighthearted. Guarnere chuckled, especially liking the comment about Hitler's mustache.
Lip joined him. "Anyway, listen: you guys don't worry about Dike. All right?"
Malarkey gave Lip a slight nod. "Yeah."
"We all do our jobs, everything will be fine." Lipton concluded. He tapped Guarnere as he stood up, leaving the group.
"See ya, Sarge." Muck called after him.
"Yeah, boy." Lipton replied.
As much as Marie hated to admit it to herself, Lipton had a point about Dike. She still couldn't stand the man, but it would be hard making the adjustment to CO when he didn't know anybody. The group started to disperse back into the haze, having their fill of socializing after Lip laid the law down. Marie remained sitting, the empty feeling growing in her chest again. Hoobler's death just added to the trauma and heartbreak; Marie wasn't sure how much more she could take before being pushed too far.
"You all right?" A voice asked beside her. She turned to see Malarkey hadn't moved from his spot.
Marie wanted to nod but she only managed a shrug. Truth was she wasn't fine, she hadn't been fine since she'd encountered the German. She smiled sadly, but her lip quivering gave away how she really felt. He sighed, his arm slinking around her as he pulled her close.
"It's hard not to have fatalistic thoughts while being stuck out here." He said.
Marie was silent, her body buzzing from his closeness.
"We're all just living on borrowed time."
Marie winced at his words. There was something eerily prophetic about them. Marie pulled herself away from him, her eyes narrowing on him. She didn't like his words; she hated it when he spoke like this. When Malarkey was showing signs of stress and melancholy, that meant what Easy Company was facing was serious. Marie didn't want them to have anymore hardships, she just wanted Easy Company to be relieved already.
"I'm sorry, I know those aren't the words you want to hear." He apologized.
"I just can't take it…" Her voice came out so quietly that he almost couldn't hear it. "I can't take anymore bad news or depression…"
"Hey, we've got some replacements coming in." Malarkey suddenly changed the subject, seeing how badly Marie was struggling. "We should go introduce ourselves." He stood up and held out his hand. She didn't take his hand, she only stared at his outstretched arm in contemplation. He withdrew his hand, furrowing his brow at her mute figure.
"I don't want to see anyone new." She finally answered.
"Okay, we'll do that later then. I'm sure we'll get to meet them when chow is served."
"What's the point if they're just going to end up like Hoobler."
Malarkey crouched down in front of her so he could be at eyelevel with her. He placed his hands gently on her knees, trying to get her to look him in the eye. He reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair that had come undone from under her helmet. His fingertips brushed her skin, making the tingling feeling return. Marie took his hand and held it in hers, taking in its warmth as a small form of comfort.
Malarkey smiled at her as he stared down at her pale hand holding his. "Come on, let's go."