Alice grinned down at the four passes she'd just received from Nixon. She'd left him and Harry to go on an inquisition to force Dick to go to Paris too, as he needed a break more than anyone. Confident in their ability to get Dick to take time off, she walked off with a smile. Things had fallen into place rather easily. With all the Commanding Officers, from Strayer to Sink all the way up to General Taylor, off in various areas of the world far from Mourmelon-le-Grand, Nixon had easily gotten her the four, along with passes for himself and for Dick.

With the slips of paper tucked safely in her breast pocket, Alice hurried to grab lunch before finding the men she needed. The food tasted horrible, like cardboard. But as he walked out of the mess hall, her heart nearly stopped.

"Bill!" Her grin widened as he turned to look her way. She noticed his limp immediately. But it didn't stop her from hurrying over and grabbing him in a hug. "You're back!"

With a laugh, he shook his head. "Hey sweetheart, guess ya' missed me?"

"It's been a lot more quiet without you around, that's for sure." She looked at him closer. "How are you already up and around? You got shot and broke your leg!"

Bill scoffed. "I ain't gonna sit in a fuckin hospital for the rest of the war. I told the doctors that and made my way 'ere."

"They just let you walk out?"

He smirked. "Nah. Some fuckin' lieutenant busted me to private for going AWOL, but nobody around these parts knows that, so keep your mouth shut, yeah?"

She snorted but nodded. "I'm not going to report you. But let's pretend you didn't tell me."

"Deal."

They started off towards Easy barracks. As they walked, Bill looked around, appraising the place. Alice stuck by his side. After a moment, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper.

"Hey, you've not heard of a joint called Lulu's, have ya? None of the boys talked about it?" He looked over at her as he limped along. "I been tryin' to find out about it."

Alice just grinned and shook her head. "Forget Lulu's. I've got something better."

"Better?" He let out a short laugh. "It better be good cause I heard whatever this Lulu's is is fucking fantastic."

"Trust me. It's better than anything you've got planned."

He watched her in suspicion as they approached Easy's barracks. A chorus of voices spilled even from their quarters. When the door opened, she grinned to see the men she wanted amongst the guys inside. George looked her way.

"No fuckin' way." George started laughing as he looked past her. "Hey, boys! Gonorrhea's back!"

Alice stood to the side, leaning against the wall, while the men welcomed Bill back amongst them. Within minutes the barracks had filled with stories and complaints of Foxhole Norman. She waited for them to settle down before picking her way through the men over to George. She leaned over and whispered for him to meet her outside.

George looked at her in confusion but didn't protest. Once he'd folded from the poker match, he shuffled out the door. Alice soon had told Joe Toye and Guarnere the same. Once they were all outside, she picked her way out as well.

"What's up?" George asked, pulling out a cigarette.

Trying to suppress her grin as much as she could, Alice reached into her pocket. With a flourish, she pulled out the papers. She handed one to each. "Pack your bags, boys. We're going to Paris."

"You fucking serious?" Bill stared from the paper to Alice. "Now?"

She smiled and nodded. "We're leaving after dinner. Nix got us train tickets, too."

"Holy shit," George muttered. Then he started laughing. "Let's go!"

"I told you boys I'd take you to Paris. It was only a matter of time," she added. "But I swear, if I catch any of you gloating to the others, I'll take your passes away." With a nod, she couldn't stop her smiling. "We'll take a Jeep into Reims, and from Reims, take the train to Paris."

As George and Bill hurried inside, Joe just shook his head. He waved the paper in the air. "If we'd known getting Bill back was what it took to get passes to Paris, we'd have broken him out earlier."

Alice laughed. "Go."

Joe Toye followed the other guys back into the barracks. Left on the grass outside, Alice just continued to smile at the closed door. Her heart raced. She wanted to sing. Paris stood within sight. She'd be going home.

The one stipulation to her being allowed on a 48 hour pass was that, once again, Alice could not show her affiliation with the army. So she wore the one piece of civilian clothing she'd brought with her: her blue shirred dress. Nixon had been into Reims with Harry the day before and offered to pick up shoes, so dressed to the nines in her finest civilian wear, she waited for the boys by the jeep depot. The sun had just dipped below the horizon. She shivered.

Finally they arrived. Alice told the private driving the jeep where to take them. Soon she climbed up into the front, leaving the others to fit as best they could.

"Hey watch your leg, fucking hell," Joe snapped.

But Guarnere just scoffed. "Your leg? I'm the one who got shot!"

She rolled her eyes in the dark, facing forward. But a small smile graced her features. Nothing they could do would make her any less excited about the trip. Before long, they raced off towards Reims.

Quite a few officers of the Airborne had come to Reims. Marlene Deitrich had come to Reims to entertain the troops, a show absolutely no one wanted to miss. But they had a date with a train, not a music hall. And so as they were dropped off at the station, Alice took a moment to just breathe. Around her, she heard conversations in french, something she'd not experienced even during the Normandy invasion. This was the free France, the real France.

But even seeing Reims up close didn't prepare her heart for the impact of Paris.

When the train pulled into the station that had been newly restored by the Allies, she forgot all about George and Joe and Bill. As soon as she'd grabbed her suitcase, she hurried out the door. Before her, reddish-brown bricks steps led up into the night. A dozen servicemen pushed past her as she stood rooted to the spot.

Alice tried not to think. Putting one foot in front of the other, she hurried up the steps. When her feet hit the sidewalk, her breathing stopped.

White-tan stone buildings reared up behind her and to the side. Lamp posts lined the streets. Men and women roamed up and down the sidewalks, chatting in dialects she'd only dreamed of since 1942. This was Paris. This was home.

Tears filled her eyes. A strange amalgamation of nostalgia, excitement, and solemn sadness knotted up her stomach. She forced herself to breathe. She felt, rather than saw, her traveling companions catch up.

"Welcome to Paris," Alice choked out.

The men with her didn't say anything. All of them knew how bittersweet, how overwhelming, standing on the street in view of the River Seine, felt for her. She didn't move for another minute. Alice stood transfixed, her mind and body and heart all fighting for control in that moment. But finally she wiped away a single tear and nodded.

"Right, uh. We've got rooms in a hotel not far from here." Alice shook herself. "Come on."

They started off down the sidewalk along the cobbled street. They took it slow. Bill insisted his leg didn't hurt, that he could keep up, but even he couldn't keep the pain entirely off his face. Alice didn't mind though. The slow pace allowed her time to think.

The little things made her the most emotional. For one, not a single woman or man that she passed wore a hastily sewn Star of David. No more red arm bands around black Nazi uniforms, either. The swastikas had been replaced by flags of the Allies. The flag of France flew the highest and the proudest. Music, French music, floated out of bar windows. And, above all, people smiled.

Alice nearly cried after speaking to the hotel workers in French. It made her happier than she could describe that the language came back instantly. Unlike the Dutch, which had faded, nothing could take away her mother tongue. No amount of time away could do that.

She could hear the others chatting together as they got into the elevator to their rooms. When it reached the floor, she handed Joe a key. "George, you've lucked out. We've got one room, you two have the other." Coming to stand the door for Joe and Bill, she nodded. "I'll come get you two in the morning."

"Right." Joe nodded. "Come on."

When they'd ducked inside, she turned to George. With a smile, she pointed down the hall. They stopped before a door at the other end. She turned the key.

When they stepped inside, they found two small beds, a couple of chairs, and a bathroom off the main area. Wooden floors were covered by a couple of rugs. On the far end, a balcony opened onto the streets of Paris. Alice went there first. She dropped her bag and slipped off her shoes by her bed. Opening the door to the balcony, Alice stepped out.

A cold breeze hit her in the face, Alice pulled off her beret and let it mess with her hair. She closed her eyes. In the distance, a police siren went off. Closer, she heard laughter and voices at street level. Her bare feet began to freeze, though, and soon she had to step back inside.

"Feels good, eh?" George asked her through his newly lit cigarette. He watched her with a smile. "Guess you're finally home."

She let out a quiet laugh, emotion constricting her throat. "Almost four years. Four years."

"But you're here."

"Yeah. Yeah I am."

Author's Note:

Well I'm a crying mess after this chapter. For many reasons, not least of all getting to write Alice's return to Paris.

We're about 5-7 chapters from the end of this fic, if I had to guess. Then we'll start Humanity of the Broken.

Did I make anyone else cry? No? Just me? Ok haha. But hot damn did I tear up. Alice is a part of me now haha.