...

Aldbourne welcomed them like a warm embrace and Mr and Mrs Barnes were delighted to see Winters and Nora again. Back in their old bedroom above the grocers, it almost felt like they had never left. Normandy felt so far away from their quant life in the countryside. They got washed up, had some dinner and then went to bed. In the morning, Winters issued his Company a seven-day furlough. In France, Winters had been promoted to Captain and was officially put in charge of Easy Company. Easy were thrilled about their furlough and Guarnere promised to raise a lot of Hell in London. Nora thought about going but Winters was staying behind, he needed to rest his wound. So, Nora decided to keep the Captain company. However, after only a few days of resting his wound, Winters was ready to see London.

Taking the bus into London, Winters and Nora put aside touring the historic city for the time being and decided to locate a cheap place to stay. On the third floor of a Red Cross hotel, the Officers opened the door into a room filled with bunk beds. Occupying the room, was an Army Airforce Officer, who they were forced to share with. His name was James Buckle, and his hair was so blonde, it was almost white…

…Lieutenant James Buckle proved to be a troubled man with a haunted conscience. In the dead of night, Nora awoke to the sounds of whimpering and moaning. Above her, Winters remained sleeping soundly and Nora envied him for a moment. Getting out of bed, she walked over to the bottom bunk across from her and placed a hand on Buckle's shoulder.

"Mr Buckle?" Nora called out to him quietly, "Are you okay, Mr Buckle?"

Startled and still half-asleep, James Buckle sat up quickly and faced Nora. It was dark inside the room, and he mistook Nora's Dutch accent for German. Grabbing the knife under his pillow, the Lieutenant pressed the knife up against Nora's throat and hissed, "Damn Kraut".

"No…". Nora uttered; voice barely audible. She was frightened, so frozen with fear that her voice hardly worked. "It's Nora…just Nora…".

"Damn Kraut…". He hissed again, with so much anger and hatred. "You killed him…you killed him…". Tears began rolling down James's cheeks.

"Please…". Nora begged, feeling her own eyes well up with tears. "Please…please, it's okay. It's just me, Mr Buckle…".

"You killed him!" Mr Buckle snapped, pressing the side of the knife firmly against Nora's skin.

The cold blade hadn't penetrated her skin yet. Nora had time to calm Buckle down. However, when Buckle raised his voice, Winters woke up…

"Nora?" Came his worried voice.

Nora whimpered when Buckle inched forward. "Sir…". She whispered, voice trembling. "Please tell Mr Buckle, I'm not German".

Quickly, Winters jumped off the top bunk and slowly moved toward Buckle and Nora. In the darkness, he could just make out the shiny knife, held up against Nora's throat. Winters held his hands up, showing Buckle that he wasn't a threat. "Lieutenant, lower your weapon". His voice was calm, despite the tense situation. "Do not harm, Lieutenant Clopper".

"Kraut!" Buckle snapped, "It's a Kraut!"

Nora tried her hardest to remain still, aware that even the slightest movement could cause the knife to pierce into her skin. "Mr Buckle…". Nora whispered, "Please".

Nora's quiet pleas caused Winters's stomach to boil with anger and this fierce need to keep her safe. He thought about his little sister, Ann, back home. Because to Winters, Nora was beginning to feel like family. For almost one year, Nora had been stuck to Winters's side, his shadow. And he hated the thought of Nora coming to harm. Thinking quickly and acting fast, Winters went for it and tackled Buckle to the ground. The knife just grazed at Nora's skin as Buckle was forcefully pushed onto the ground. Stradling Buckle, Winters took the knife out of the man's firm grasp and tossed it to the other side of the room…

Nora's legs gave out and she crumbled onto the ground. Breathing heavily, she heard Buckle's pants and whimpers, along with Winters's calming but assertive voice…

"You are safe, Lieutenant". Winters said, "No harm will come to you".

Buckle choked on a sob, "I'll never be safe!"

"You are now". Winters said to him firmly.

"He's dead!" Buckle sobbed.

"We've all lost someone, Lieutenant Buckle". Winters said, "We've all lost a friend".

"He was my brother". Buckle cried, "My own brother…".

Nora's bottom lip trembled as tears began rolling down her cheeks…

"He was only a kid!" Buckle said between sobs.

Winters grabbed Buckle's shoulder and said, "Then we'll do it for them, Lieutenant. But we cannot turn against each other. Lieutenant Clopper is on our side".

With another whimper, Buckle collapsed into sobs, shoulders shaking. Winters got off the man and turned to face Nora. Moving toward the girl, he crouched in front of her and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder. Staring up at him and breathing heavily, tears still flowed freely down her cheeks. Nora choked out a tiny cry and then buried herself into Winters. Arms going around the man's neck, her face pressed against his shoulder. Fully sitting on the floor now, Winters's arms wrapped themselves around Nora, holding her tightly and securely.

"It's okay, Nora". Winters spoke softly, gently. "It's over now".

Nora coughed out a tiny sob and nodded into the Captain's shoulder. She closed her eyes and breathed in Winters's familiar scent of the soap Mrs Barnes used to clean their clothes. Her hands clasped together, holding the back of Winters's neck tightly. And then, she was in the air. Winters scooped Nora up into his arms and left the bedroom, leaving Buckle still sobbing on the floor…

…Winters carried Nora down three flights of stairs and into the reception room, where he set her down on a comfy armchair. Winters went to the desk, ringing a bell to grab the attention of the receptionist. Mopping up the rest of her tears, Nora watched the Captain. With the arrival of the receptionist, Winters asked for a new room. After explaining the circumstances, a new room was granted – free of charge. Before they ventured into their new room, Winters led Nora into a bathroom, to give the small graze across her neck a clean.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"No, sir". Nora replied voice barely a whisper. She was sitting on the counter next to the sink, with her head tilted up toward the ceiling while Winters cleaned off the small amount of blood. Nora felt another tear roll down her cheek, she sniffed wetly.

"It's 'gonna be okay, kiddo". Winters assured her.

"I feel…". Nora's voice sounded brittle, tearful. "I feel bad for Mr Buckle, sir".

"Yeah". Winters said with a soft frown. "But don't worry, okay? His buddies will look after him. Let's just focus on you for now, Nora". He didn't confess his lack of sympathy for Buckle because James Buckle had tried to hurt or perhaps even kill Nora.

Lowering her head from the ceiling, Nora faced Winters. "Sir…Captain Winters, thank you". She said, with the utmost gratitude. "You saved me".

"No, it's fine, Nora". Winters said, "I'm just glad you're okay".

"No…". She whispered, "Not just then…you saved me always".

Winters met her stare and saw the serious look across her face. A sad smile reached his lips, and he set his hand on Nora's shoulder. "You're a remarkable girl, Nora Clopper. And I'm so thankful that Major Strayer made you my shadow".

…

After spending a full day in London being tourists, Winters and Nora got the bus back home to Aldbourne. There was much to sort out before the furlough came to an end, Winters had a lot of men to promote, and he had new recruits coming in. Training would soon begin when the short furlough ended. Squad leaders had to train the new recruits up to Easy's standards. Winters had to plan a lot of training exercises, to get everyone back into top physical condition. Men who had been wounded in France were beginning to turn up. Lipton, Talbert, Smokey, were some of the few. Jackson showed up as well and the first person he wanted to see, was Nora…

"Oh, thank God!" He smiled, "You made it out of there alive".

Nora looked Jackson up and down, she hadn't expected his visit to the Barnes's front door. It was morning, and Nora was still chewing on a piece of buttered toast. "Hi, Jackson".

Jackson huffed out a faint laugh. "You need a napkin, Nora". He said, "You've got crumbs all over your face".

She said, "We eat quickly in the morning. Captain Winters has a lot to do today".

"Yeah, I'll bet". Jackson said, "Time to meet the new guys, huh?"

"Wait there, please". Nora told Jackson.

"Yeah, sure I'll…". The door was soon closed in his face. Jackson snorted out a laugh.

After announcing her departure, Nora shoved on her boots and left the Barnes's flat. It was a sunny morning, not a cloud in the sky. Nora didn't need her jumper, despite Mrs Barnes warning her to put it on, at least for the morning chill. They enjoyed the sunny morning and walked at a slow pace toward the enlisted barracks. When arriving back in Aldbourne, the enlisted found they had been moved into stable blocks instead of Nissan huts. The Sergeant's, however, were allowed to move into vacant houses, providing they followed the same rules.

"How was the hospital?" Nora asked Jackson, breaking the silence.

"God…". He sighed, "It was awful. I'm glad to be out of there, Nora".

"So…no pretty nurses?"

Jackson smiled at the comment and said, "Plenty of pretty nurses, Nora. But I'd rather share a barrack with men than deal with another hospital".

"Oh, wow". Nora's eyebrow raised. "Very bad then. I hope to never get wounded".

"Yeah, you really don't". Jackson changed the topic of conversation. "Well, 1st Platoon aren't happy with their new Platoon Leader".

"What? Why?" Nora asked.

Jackson cracked an amused smile, "He's such a party pooper, Nora, honestly. He goes by the book, you know?"

"Ah…". Nora gave a nod, understanding him now. "Very strict man then".

"Extremely". Jackson confirmed. "Plus, he's so set on proving himself to Winters, you know? He'd do anything to get good recognition".

They were rounding the corner from the street the Barnes's had their grocers on when a voice called Nora's name. Jackson and Nora both turned around and saw Winters holding up a jumper, a green, woolly jumper – more specifically, Nora's jumper. After casting Jackson a tiny smile, she told him to wait before jogging over to Winters…

"Sir…". Nora sighed, "I feel fine, honestly".

"Put it on". Winters said, "Mrs Barnes is worried you'll catch a cold".

Nora frowned, "It's July, sir".

"I don't care if it's August, Nora Clopper". Winters insisted, "Put it on, we don't want to worry Mrs Barnes".

"Yeah, fine – okay, sir". When the jumper was handed to her, Nora pulled it over her head.

Winters looked amused. "I didn't think this would cause such a fuss, Nora. After all, it is only a jumper".

Nora pointed out, "Jackson isn't wearing one, sir".

The amusement remained on Winters's face when he said, "If Jackson jumped off a bridge, would you jump?"

"Not a bridge, sir…just a plane". Nora smiled and chuckled.

Winters chuckled before giving her shoulder a gentle nudge. "Go on then, I'll see you later".

"So long, sir".

Nora didn't carry trauma from the incident with James Buckle, only a tiny scratch was marked by her throat. However, the situation brought Winters and Nora closer together. Winters realised just how much she meant to him. And Nora finally accepted, that Winters cared about her. It was a strong relationship they had created, a friendship that felt like family…

"Nice jumper". Jackson smirked.

"Shut up". Nora said but with a smile.

The new enlisted recruits arrived later on in the morning. Some of the veterans took to the new recruits, while others strayed away from them. Joe Toye welcomed a man named Edward "Babe" Heffron into his squad with open arms because Babe was from South Philadelphia, and only lived just around the corner from Bill Guarnere. However, neither had met before – not until Babe showed up in Aldbourne. Because Babe was accepted by Guarnere, he didn't have a hard time fitting in, whereas plenty of the other replacements couldn't find their spot in Easy. Some came from other Companies, like David Webster and Clancy Lyall. Nora was surprised to find out that Clancy was only a few months older than her – he joined the 506th back when he was sixteen. Webster was placed in Hoobler's squad in 1st Platoon…

"It's so cool to meet you". Webster shook Nora's hand with a grin.

"Yeah, same". Nora had no idea who David Webster was, she was only being polite. "So cool to meet you also".

"You've heard of me?" Webster sounded surprised, perhaps even a little flattered.

Nora smiled in silence for a moment, while Hoobler snorted out a quiet laugh. Eventually, her smile dwindled, and Nora admitted, "No, sorry".

But Webster continued to smile, he wasn't offended. "I have heard the Dutch are very polite and accommodating".

"Too accommodating". Nora stressed, "Our country got invaded and occupied, so…".

Hoobler barked out a laugh, "You're cracking me up this morning, pal".

The stables were a big improvement from the Nissan huts, the men had more privacy and space in their new accommodation…

"By the way…". Hoobler said, "Heard it's your birthday soon".

"You did?" Nora asked, "From who?"

"Doesn't matter". Hoobler said, "Point is, we're having a birthday weekend in London".

"Oh, we really don't have to". Nora didn't sound convinced on the idea of having a wild night in the city of London. "Why don't we just do something here?"

"Here?" Hoobler stressed, "In this sleepy village? Fuck no, Nora. We're 'gonna hit the city lights and have some fun".

"Well, let's just light a few candles here and pretend it's London".

Hoobler huffed out a laugh and shook his head, "No – that's a terrible idea".

"Okay, I'll ask Captain Winters". Nora felt confident Winters would tell her no. But then again, it was going to be her eighteenth, she would be at the legal age to drink and hit the clubs. Nora had a feeling Winters would agree to let her go…

"You only turn eighteen once". Webster commented.

Hoobler smiled at Webster, glad he agreed with him. "That's right and you should have the best time ever…in a club…in London".

Even if Nora refused to go, she was pretty sure her friends would kidnap her and force her to go to London. "Fine". Nora relented, "Have it your way".

"Great". Hoobler's grin widened. "Next pass we get, it's London".