George let his legs dangle off the side of his bunk. The cigarette he'd lit before the big fight now almost burned too low. No one in Easy Company had said anything for a while. The silence without Guarnere or Alice over the past few minutes spoke volumes instead.

"What the hell happened down here?" Alex Penkala looked around as he squeezed between the rows of bunks. He climbed up into the one just above Joe Toye. "Gonorrhea looked like he'd been chewed up and spit back out! And Alice looked about ready to shoot him."

No one responded at first. Shuffling bodies in the suspended cots and the occasional flick of a lighter made the only sounds in the otherwise fairly quiet area of Easy.

George took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Where is she now?"

"I don't know. Doc sent me and Shifty away before I could see her do any more damage." 

He chewed on the inside of his lip. With another few breaths of the last bit of the cigarette, he just looked down the row of bunks. Up one row and to his right, Lieb lay with his arms over his forehead. He seemed to be fascinated by the cloth bunk above him. Other men rested or played cards with each other.

Scooting out of his bunk, George clambered down the levels until he hit the ground. He stamped out his cigarette. Bodies filled every inch of the boat, so that George couldn't even begin to imagine a place to just go think. 

"You gonna go find her?" Joe Toye moved next to him as he stood in the small walking space. His own cigarette newly lit, smoke blew from his mouth as he spoke. 

George hesitated. "I don't know." Taking a few more moments to look around, he sighed. "I'm gonna go find Lip, first."

Together he and Joe picked their way through the belly of the ship. They passed through Dog Company's first and second platoons, and Baker's third. It had only been about six hours and already the mass of male bodies had begun to smell. 

Before too long, they came upon more men of Easy Company. Popeye, Hoobler, Blithe, and Mampre chatted together, and down the line, they found the man they were looking for. O'Hara, Grant, Ranney, and Harris sat on two cots and played cards between them, but below, Lipton lay reading a book.

"Evening, boys," George called, in his best Colonel Sink impression. 

Everyone turned to him and Joe. Various choruses of hellos and a few well intentioned insults were shot their way. Leaving Joe chatting with the men playing cards, George leaned in to Lipton's bunk.

"Hey, Lip, got a minute?" he asked.

Lip closed his book. He sat up and eyed him curiously. "Yeah, boy. What's up?"

"Not here."

Lip immediately frowned. He put his book to the side and shot up. George led the way for Lip and Joe until they reached some stairs going up onto the deck. Wind had picked up, and the waves moved a bit choppy across the horizon. As they moved, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey, do you guys know what's up with Alice?" Talbert, looking much better than the deep green he had been glowing earlier, moved towards them as they ascended outside. He frowned. "She absolutely tore into Guarnere about him being anti jew or somethin'."

Lip turned from Talbert to George and Joe. The former sighed, pulling out a new cigarette, and gestured for them all to follow. There weren't nearly as many men above the deck as below, and it didn't take too long to locate a small corner to chat in. As they leaned against the walls of the rooms above deck, George shuffled in place. 

"What happened?" Lipton finally prompted.

"Alice punched Guarnere," said George.

Talbert interjected. "Doc said she broke his nose."

"Fucking hell," Joe said with a deep breath.

Lipton didn't let his expression change. He stood there and glanced, silent, between them. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he turned to George. "Start at the beginning."

And so George and Joe laid out the events leading to the punch. The fight didn't seem to surprise Lipton in the least. He even rolled his eyes ever so slightly. But when George quoted Guarnere's extremely pointed Jewish insult that he'd thrown Lieb's way, his frown deepened.

"She'd already told him to stop?" Lip asked.

"Yeah but it's fuckin Gonorrhea. Of course he didn't listen," Joe said with a growl.

"And that's when she punched him?" 

George nodded. "Yeah. Hard."

"She broke his fucking nose," Joe muttered. "Then she dragged his sorry ass up to see Doc."

Talbert nodded. "That's where we were."

"We?" Lip asked.

"Me, Martin, Shifty, and Penk. Doc gave us sea sickness pills." He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "She walked up, dragging Guarnere behind her. Sits him down, and when Gene started fixing his nose, she started yelling at him."

"What'd she say?" Joe asked.

"A lot about his big mouth. She said she'd bring him up on charges of insubordination to Colonel Sink if he used slurs in front of her again. At that point I thought she'd punch him again. I've never seen her so angry!" Talbert shook his head again. He gestured down the deck where they stood on the starboard side up towards the aft. "She wouldn't even use his name. Called him Sergeant."

"Jesus Christ," muttered George.

Very few people in Easy were addressed by their rank by Alice. She'd use proper titles for the Lieutenants when around the enlisted. With Talbert, the two of them used their respective ranks as a joke. But really, that was it. 

"Is she still with Doc?" Lipton looked between them in concern.

"No. She left."

Lipton sighed. He looked around at them and then down the ship. "We need to tell Lieutenant Winters."

The other three started objecting immediately, with varying degrees of vulgarity. Lip didn't stop them. Finally he held up his hand. "The brass will find out eventually. She's a higher rank than he is, and she was provoked. There shouldn't be much consequence."

"Lip it's Alice. If Sobel has any dirt on her, he'll try to make Sink drop her," protested George.

"Yeah you gotta be kidding me," Joe said. "It's Guarnere's fault, anyway."

Talbert didn't add anything right away. He looked back towards the aft of the Samaria where he figured Guarnere still sat sulking. With a frown he turned back. Despite objecting initially, he agreed. "Lip's right. If someone who saw it spreads rumors, or if Guarnere can't keep that big mouth shut, the consequences will be worse than if we tell Winters first."

"We should at least talk to her first," George protested. "Or talk to Guarnere, make him apologize. She could cool down and this'll all blow over."

Lipton and Talbert exchanged glances. The odds of both Guarnere and Alice cooling down enough to have it forgotten quickly seemed unlikely. George watched the two sergeants, hoping they would let him at least try to get his two friends on speaking terms quick enough.

"Fine. But if Winters, or Nixon, or Welsh ask about it, we tell the truth. The whole truth," Lip ordered. "We're not lying to protect either of them, boys."

George begrudgingly agreed, followed by Joe and Tab. He turned. "Right. Tab, where'd you say Guarnere was?"

"Back of the ship."

George nodded. He stuck his cigarette back in his mouth and moved away with a purpose. It didn't surprise him at all when Joe fell into step on his left. A chill wind gusted into their faces, and they along with the other men up top shied away. Carefully, George led the way through the small crowds until they found Guarnere positively brooding.

They found him sitting on a crate against the side of the ship. Behind him the grey blue waves tossed in the wind. He held an ice pack against his face. Blood stained his hands from where he'd tried to stave off the flow from his nose. Dark eyes narrowed as they approached.

"Face hurt, Guarnere?" Joe asked, seething. 

"Shut up!" he snapped back.

George rolled his eyes in exasperation. Crossing his arms, he spoke, cigarette bobbing. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Guarnere sneered at him. But as both men met his gaze with fury, he looked away. Joe Toye snorted and responded for him. "He wasn't. Clearly."

"I said shut up!"

"Take your own fucking advice next time, Guarnere," Joe said.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, George shook his head. He pointed at Guarnere. "Listen. You need to apologize to Alice."

"She's the one who fucking punched me! Fuckin' dumb broad knows I can't hit her back."

"Jesus! Cool the fuckin' mouth, Guarnere!" George snapped, patience gone. "That's what got you punched in the first place!"

"You crossed a line, Bill."

Guarnere sneered, but he looked up at Joe. He held his gaze for a moment, and then George's. Neither let up. They returned his stare unflinchingly. Biting his lip, Guarnere scoffed. But he knew they were right.

"I didn't know she'd take it so damn hard," he muttered. 

"That's 'cause you didn't think!" George shifted his weight. Taking the finished cigarette from his mouth, he tossed it overboard. "Every single time she's been upset by something in the year we've known her, it was because of her Jewish heritage. And then you pull that fucking stunt?"

"You deserved the broken nose," Joe added.

Guarnere glared at him. Removing the ice wrapped in a towel, he shook his head. "I didn't mean to piss her off, ok? So quit crucifyin' me!"

"You need to talk to her," George said. He glared down at Guarnere as the man sneered again. "Drop the shit talking, Guarnere."

"Why're you here? She too scared to say it herself," he snapped. 

This time, it was George's turn to snap. He gestured behind himself. "I'm here 'cause I fuckin care about her, Gonorrhea. I thought you did too! Clearly not, though, if that's how you're gonna talk, you jackass."

Joe added a few additional, pointed insults. After a moment of starting them down, Guarnere turned away. He didn't respond. Placing the ice back over his nose, Guarnere forced himself to breathe.

"She'd probably break my face if I looked for her now," he said after a long pause. "I didn't mean to fucking hurt her."

"You gonna say sorry if we go find her?' George asked.

Guarnere hesitated but nodded. "It's one way not to get punched again."

"By her," said Joe with a growl.

Guarnere let out a single laugh. With a nod, he stood from the crate and took a deep breath. After a quick nod to George, he followed both of them to go find Alice. They didn't know where exactly she'd gone, but Guarnere had seen her walk to the opposite end of the boat. So that's where they started.