A/N:

Thank you drovingallday96 for another review! I'm so glad I'm able to keep Marie's psyche issues realistic enough - that is my goal! Thank you for the assurance with The Breaking Point, these chapters are challenging and it's nice to know I'm doing a somewhat decent job at least.

Thank you BobtheFrog for the review! It is so sad! I was looking over my piles of notes on each episode and Malarkey's book and I forgot Hoobler's death comes so early :( It hurt to write it out, I had no preparation at all. But I'm glad I'm able to produce some sort of emotional realism in these difficult chapters.

Thank you Tara6 for the story follow!

Happy Veterans Day!

Despite her reluctance, Malarkey led Marie over to the main quadrangle for food and to meet the new replacements. She hated meeting replacements; she wasn't fond of people she didn't know well and replacements were usually the ones who screw up. The probability of a replacement dying was higher than someone who came from Toccoa, so even attempting to get to know one was risky on one's own emotions. He held onto her wrist firmly, making sure that she wouldn't slip from his grasp and flee as they drew closer. He did it in a playful manner and joked with her every step of the way, but he could tell in her eyes that she was dreading it with all her being. Since she murdered that stranger she hadn't been herself, and she was taking Hoobler's death very hard – harder than he thought she would. She was a medic, he knew she was used to this and could shake war casualties, but her mentality wasn't very stable recently.

"We're going to miss all the chow if you don't hurry up." Malarkey teased, trying to hustle her along.

"I'm not hungry." She replied. That was another thing that was worrying Malarkey. She wasn't eating enough to get the nutrition she needed to function properly. Out on the frontlines a soldier's nutrition was already minimal, but Marie seemed to be purposely skipping meals while constantly stating that she wasn't hungry. Malarkey had noticed her BDU's were fitting loosely on her, but he didn't want to strike a sensitive nerve with her by bringing up her weight loss.

"You haven't eaten yet today." Malarkey pointed out, his voice as soft as he could make it.

Marie only blinked at him, not in the mood to debate. She had been so tired lately, and the absolute truth was he was growing actually scared for her health. Winters had noticed, he'd even heard rumors that Winters had talked to Sink about getting her off the line for a few days or weeks just to get her head cleared. Malarkey knew Marie would never stand for that, she could barely even take one day away from Easy Company without having a meltdown. He wanted to bring it up to her, suggest that she should take a break, but he wasn't sure how without upsetting her.

"What?" Marie questioned, tugging against him now.

Malarkey hadn't even realized he was staring at her with a concerned expression etched on his face. "Nothing…" He replied lamely, knowing she would most likely demand an explanation.

Marie opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by another familiar voice in the distance.

"There you are." The two glanced over their shoulders to see Emilia trudging through the snow to join them. "I've got some news to pass on to you. Though I'm technically not allowed."

"Oh please, you've been our 'inside man' since we met." Malarkey scoffed.

"An opportunity has come up to send one officer on a thirty day furlough. It was originally awarded to Nixon, but he gave it up and is now deciding who to give it to." Emilia explained. Marie and Malarkey already knew where this was going. Winters and Nixon wanted to get rid of Dike. "Before you get too excited, we can't choose Dike." Emilia added. The two listening groaned, hoping that was their one chance to rid the company of the horrible CO.

"What was the point of telling us then?" Marie asked, growing slightly irked that Emilia had even brought it up.

"They have the choice to get send another officer away." Emilia answered, arching a brow.

"Lieutenant Shames. Damn guy won't stop screaming about everything. Seriously, he can't give a freakin' order without giving himself laryngitis." Malarkey suggested instantly. Marie smirked at his comment, but she agreed, Shames was a pain on the ears.

"What about Peacock? The man can't track worth shit." Emilia also suggested. "He tries hard, but when it comes to leading he doesn't do very well. We can't afford double clueless out here." She added, also referring to Dike.

Marie nodded. "I agree, he's more of a risk than Shames."

Malarkey shrugged, though he didn't fully agree. "I guess so…"

"There's another option." Emilia interjected, biting her lip. There was one officer she didn't mention, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up in front of them. "Compton."

"Buck? Why?" Malarkey questioned, aghast that Emilia would even bring up his name in this conversation.

"He's heavily battle fatigued. Haven't you seen him lately? He's showing signs of shell shock." Emilia tried to explain delicately, knowing how close Malarkey and Buck were and how this was a touchy subject with him.

"No way! He's just plain old tired like the rest of us!"

"She's right." Marie agreed, her voice low. Malarkey spun over to look at her in disbelief. "He hasn't been right, Don. Babe even told me that he's 'wound up like a spring'. He's not handling things well." She added, seeing Malarkey's expression.

"He's not crazy." Malarkey said defensively.

"We're not saying he's crazy." Emilia sighed. "We're just worried about his well-being. It's happening to a lot of guys out here."

Malarkey huffed. "C'mon, all the food is going to be gone." He mumbled to Marie as he started to walk away, avoiding this topic at all costs. Marie watched his hunched over shoulders as he departed, knowing he was in denial. She shrugged at Emilia, then started to follow him as she felt Emilia's hand rest on her own shoulder.

"Hang on, we just got a delivery." Emilia announced, pulling something out of her pack. She pulled out a small cardboard box and handed it to Marie. She pulled open the flaps of the box, seeing that they were Kotex sanitary napkins. "I really had to fight battalion to get more of these, typical men right?" She joked.

"I really needed these." Marie breathed, unimaginably relieved to have the feminine hygiene products in her possession. She'd been using the same pad for three days straight; it was far too full and started to smell foul. Marie looked up from the pads and at Emilia in question. She knew she was giving to these out of some kind of context.

Emilia smiled, seeing the gratefulness clear on her face, and knowing that she had more to add. "Oh, I've got some more news. Hundreds of women have enlisted in the military and are in the process of joining the front lines. Some are actually being sent there now as we speak. A few of them are paratroopers, too. I think we're going to get some more female company in the next few weeks if all goes as planned."

Marie stared uncertainly at Emilia, not knowing how to react to the news. Part of her was excited that more women were joining the front, it would definitely make Emilia and herself feel a little less alone out here. But the other part felt afraid and guilty, knowing her and Emilia were one of the contributing factors of inspiration for these women; she didn't want them to blindly face the same hell as they were.

"Hun!" Malarkey hollered. Marie turned to notice him waiting down the path, his hands shoved impatiently in his pockets.

Emilia gestured for her to go, giving her hand a little shake. "Go on ahead. Don't keep the man waiting."

"Thank you." Marie said, nodding down toward the Kotex napkins. She placed them in her pack, trying to stuff the bulky box down as far as it would go. She ran off to join Malarkey, giving Emilia one last smile over her shoulder before vanishing in the snow.

The main quadrangle was busier than usual. The lines for food were always long, but crews of cameramen were scurrying around, pestering Easy Company for interviews. The purpose of the interviews was to boost morale back home, but it was only making everyone feel gloomier than ever with these dim and jovial men running amuck. The main question they seemed to be asking is 'how it feels to be rescued by Patton'. The cameramen were merely given scowls and dismissive answers before being shoved aside. Marie watched the cameramen go down the line, before one of them stopped before a solider with his arm in a sling. Marie blinked a few times in surprise, realizing Joe Toye was back.

"Joe's back already?" Marie asked Malarkey, whom was in line in front of her.

"Yeah, he went AWOL to join us again." Malarkey replied with a prideful smirk.

Much to Marie's annoyance, one of the cameramen came up to her. The man had large rimmed glasses, slicked back brown hair, and an overly bright smile that made Marie want to give him a right hook directly on the eye. She made herself appear as unapproachable as possible, but the man didn't seem to be getting the hint.

"Wow, so you must be one of the women that first enlisted to the paratroopers! You've absolutely wowed the folks back home!" He exclaimed. He held up his camera and started rolling footage of her. Marie kept her face fixed in an irritated glare as she gazed into the lens of the camera. "The real question the audience back home wants to hear is: how is it like being a woman on the front? Did you do this to prove you're not the weaker sex? Are you escaping an ex-boyfriend or marriage proposal? Or are you having an identity crisis?"

Marie scoffed, shaking her head at his ridiculous questions. She crossed her arms, turning away from the camera. Why wasn't she getting the basic Patton question? That would've been better than these strange, personal questions that were going to be used as some hokey tabloid scoop. It wasn't a hard concept to understand. There are women fighting on the front in other countries, like Russia. Why can't America adapt the same mindset without needing an explanation?

"Come on, give us something! No one can understand why you're doing this!" The man badgered. "You could've stayed home, married and had children, or worked in a factory to support the Allied war effort."

"You want to know what it's like being on the front?" Marie snapped, turning back to the camera, her hands balled up into fists at her side. "Look at me, does this give you the answer?" She pointed at her black eye. "It fucking sucks being out here! But I'm a medic, so it's my job to keep these men alive and that's reason enough for enduring this hell. Now leave me alone."

The man looked shocked that she swore, but he didn't stop filming. She was ready to flip him the bird until she felt Malarkey gently place his hand on her forearm to prevent her from doing so. Not that it mattered, because of her language they couldn't use the film in any form of publication now, anyway.

"She said to leave her alone, give her some space, okay?" Malarkey said to the cameraman.

"Oh, are you her boyfriend? Forbidden war romances are very popular back home!" The man answered giddily. Marie could practically see the cameraman salivating at the thought of collecting this juicy piece of gossip to share to the world. Malarkey worked his jaw in irritation, looking away from the camera as he shoved his hands back in his overcoat pockets. Marie hugged herself, staring down at her boots in embarrassment. Malarkey gave the cameraman a dangerous look, holding that stare until the ignorant reporter backed off. Marie's cheeks felt like they were on fire, both in anger and from blushing.

"Vultures." He spat as the man ran off to bother someone else. Marie just prayed that Emilia wouldn't encounter these agitating cameramen. She didn't want her to suffer the same onslaught of stupid questions.

Finally Marie and Malarkey were served food. They found a snow bank to sit on, surrounded by the rest of Easy Company. Marie stirred her food, staring down at the bean stew as the smell wafted up to her nose, but as usual the aroma was a turn off. She glanced up from the tin, noticing Muck walking one of the replacements around. She didn't really know him, she only remembered that everyone called him Web. He had such a young, innocent face; he didn't look like he belonged out here. He looked like he should still be in high school.

"A lot of you guys get injured?" She heard Web ask Muck, looking around.

"It's called 'wounded', peanut. Injured is when is when you fall out of a tree or somethin'." Martin grunted, still standing in line as he overheard the young replacement.

"Don't worry, there's enough crap lying around here, you're bound to get dinged sometime. Almost every single one of these guys has been hit at least once." Muck replied, his voice cheery in a joking manner. Muck pointed to Alley. "Except Alley, he is a two-timer. He landed on broken glass in Normandy, and got peppered by a potato masher in Holland." Muck led the replacement around, pointing and listing wounds of Easy Company members. "And Bull, he got a piece of exploding tank in Holland." Bull didn't look amused by Muck's reminder.

"And George Luz here has never been hit. You're one lucky bastard." Muck chuckled as he led Web over to Luz.

"Takes one to know one, Skip." Luz countered.

"Meh, consider us blessed." He said with a grin and a shrug before he continued to lead Web. "Now Liebgott, that skinny little guy? He got pinged to the neck in Holland." Liebgott gave him a small smile while he sat. "And right next to him, that other skinny little guy, that's Popeye. He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy." Popeye gave him the same look, silently calling Muck a 'smart ass' with his expression.

"And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland." Malarkey jeered, raising his voice loud enough so Buck could hear him, whom was standing by a tree talking to Martin who just left the chow line and Perconte. Buck turned around, pointing to his butt as the company laughed.

"And this battered little angel is Marie." Muck continued on, stopping in front of Marie. She gazed up at his smirking face, raising her eyebrows at him. "She got shrapnel to the forehead in Carentan, got skimmed by a bullet in Holland, and fought off a kraut single-handedly in Bastogne." Marie shook her head, unable to stop the smirk that had spread on her face. Muck was gracious enough to leave out the details of the German, though the reminder made her smirk quickly fade. Web stared at her in awe, amazed by Muck's glorified telling of her wounds. She shifted uncomfortably in place, not liking the attention. There was nothing glorious about her encounter with the German, knowing Muck failed to mention he fact that he wasn't even a soldier.

"Hey, even 1st Sergeant Lipton over there, he got a couple pieces of a 88m shell burst in Carentan. One chunk in the face, another chunk almost took out his nuts." Muck commented, pointing to Lipton, whom was eating and leaning against a tree trunk beside Guarnere. He chuckled, while Lipton just grinned and continued eating. Malarkey and the guys were standing in a group now, while Marie still sat on the snow bank. She gazed down at her food as her stomach rumbled in a dull ache. Her gut was so empty she would probably get sick if she ate anything.

"How are those nuts, Sarge?" Guarnere asked.

"Doing fine, Bill. Nice of you to ask." Lip answered, stirring his food in the tin.

Muck concluded his wounded tour, grinning at Web who seemed overwhelmed by the amount of information he was given. Marie decided to eat, taking in small spoonful's as she observed the scene. Web kept glancing at her curiously, though she pretended not to notice and pay attention to her food. That was another thing that replacements did that bugged her, whenever they met her or Emilia they always acted like they've never seen a woman in their life before.

"Isn't there another girl that's a part of Easy Company?" Web asked.

"Emilia Valdez." Muck answered.

"Oh, Emilia. Damn, most gorgeous woman you've ever laid eyes on." Luz commented from a few feet away. Most of the men nodded in agreement, making Marie only smirk and give her head a shake. Too bad she wasn't here, she'd be loving this.

"But she's taken. Floyd Talbert is with her, so keep your hands to yourself." Muck warned. Web glanced over at Marie again. Muck noticed this and leaned close to Web. "That's… territory you don't want to cross." Muck mumbled, giving the replacement a cautionary warning as he gave a quick side-glance toward Malarkey.

Marie stood up, unable to stomach the stale white bread that had been included with the meal. She walked up to the group, holding it out for anyone who wanted to claim it. She mostly wanted to get far away from this conversation; she was already uneasy stepping into the quadrangle, now the cameramen and replacements made her want to leave even more.

"You need the carbs." Lipton called from his place, seeing Marie trying to give her bread away.

"I don't like it." She retorted.

Lipton shrugged. "I don't either, but you need to carb up with these dropping temperatures. We're most likely going to be moving out soon."

Marie reluctantly bit a piece off of the stale bread, knowing arguing with Lipton was just like arguing with a parent: he was always going to end up right. She forced herself to swallow it down, looking miserable as she did so. Muck couldn't help but laugh at her pitiful expression.

"Christ, you think we were force feeding you plain vinegar." Muck chuckled.

Marie put the rest of the bread in her tin, unable to eat anymore. Her stomach had grown so accustomed to small amount of food that she couldn't stomach normal portions.

"Okay, I've gotta go." She said, excusing herself.

"Last time you said that you went missing for almost two days." Malarkey answered.

Marie sighed. "I won't be far, don't worry. I'm not making that mistake again." She gave him the tin and left before he could protest after her. She just wanted to sit in her foxhole and take a nap, if she was able to. The fatigue was starting to build heavily behind her eyes, she could barely keep her eyelids open the past few hours.

"Docherty." A terse voice barked.

Marie turned curiously to see who was calling for her. Her stomach dropped when she recognized Dike coming through the snowy haze. She forced herself not to grind her teeth and slouch in disappointment in his presence.

What the hell does he want? She grumpily thought to herself.

"Yes, sir?" She said aloud.

"I wanted to address some rumors I've been hearing about you." Dike mentioned, getting right to the point. Marie could already tell by his tone that this wasn't going to be a pleasant discussion.

"Sir?"

"Are you having fornications with Sergeant Malarkey? You understand that is fraternizing and is against the Army's policy."

Marie's mouth went agape, stunned by his outright rudeness. She furrowed her brows in indignation. "Of course not!" She denied, dropping all formalities. Even if he was her superior, it really was none of his business whether she had a relationship with Malarkey or not. Dike narrowed his eyes at her, and she openly glared back, her face burning with fury. He was just looking for excuses and false claims to get her dishonorably discharged.

"Are you telling the truth?" He pressed.

"Yes, sir." Marie clipped through gritted teeth.

"You better be, I'll definitely be asking around." With that Dike left her alone, lifting his chin like he always did, blatantly showing his superiority complex. Marie angrily turned on her heel, fuming as she stomped away to find her foxhole.