With weekend passes canceled, the boys of Easy Company spent the next day playing cards or exercising. They didn't see much of Alice; she spent her time roaming the woods around Camp Toccoa and climbing up Currahee at a leisurely pace. She'd gotten up early, before daybreak, and wandered off into the forests.

As much as she'd laughed about the Georgia mountain being a far cry from her Alpine home, the quiet trembling of the forest leaves made her smile. She settled down on the low pillar they always tagged at the top of the run and chewed on some trail nuts she'd bought at the PX.

The thing she found she missed most in Toccoa was the lack of close contact. She and Robert had grown up with hugs and kisses from their family and friends, and she'd often sleep next to him for comfort on cold nights in the mountains. Not only did she not have someone to hug for comfort in her time of loss, but the permanent ache knowing her family was gone forever settled in her body. She felt cold. Now all she had was her mission.

She had no country. She had no brothers. She had no family. She had no home. All Alice had in America to remind her of Europe were her languages.

Footsteps pounded the ground down the hill. The birds had stopped chirping. Alice reached into her pocket and felt the knife she had been issued. Around the corner came a handful of Easy Company men and she relaxed.

"Hey look! It's Alice." George panted as he rushed up the ditch to the stone.

Behind him, Christenson, Webster, and Perconte all smiled to varying degrees. She forced a smile and waved as they clambered up. All of them paused, heaving at the stone.

"You are running Currahee on a weekend?"

"We're not gonna let Sobel take next week's passes." He looked at her. "We're supposed to hit it," said George between breaths. "You're sitting on the stone." Then his smile grew. "As your friend, I suggest a kiss instead."

Alice saw Webster roll his eyes, while the other two just shook their heads with a smile. George did not give up. Perhaps playing along wouldn't be such a terrible idea.

"All right. You four got up here and found me. But, there are rules. No turning heads. And one cigarette per kiss. I don't have my own pack yet."

"Deal." Then he grimaced. "I don't have my smokes on me though."

"I know where you keep them."

She gave him a cheek kiss, gently pressing her left cheek to his and making a kissing sound with her lips. They all laughed as he pretended to be shot. Perconte and Christenson both promised her cigarettes at the bottom. Webster declined, saying he didn't have any cigarettes to trade. He shuffled awkwardly before heading back down the mountain.

Alice chuckled to herself. She continued to sit at the stone, relishing the quiet for as long as she could. A gentle breeze had picked up and the sun began to sink in the sky. The leaves rustled on their branches. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The slow plodding of feet up the ditch made her open them a while later.

"Luz said you were handing out kisses for whoever got to the top."

Alice rolled her eyes at Nixon's statement. "You climbed all the way up here for one?"

With a laugh, he shook his head and sat down beside her on the ground. Wiggling his fingers he showed her the ring. "I'm married."

"I was handing out small cheek kisses in exchange for cigarettes," she explained.

They both paused before cracking up. The deal sounded more ridiculous when she said it out loud. As she covered her face in shame through the laughs, he collected himself.

"Dick said he hadn't seen you all day. He gets worried. Like a mother hen." He turned back to her. "God, he's exasperating. No flaws."

She rolled her eyes with another laugh. "And yet you two are clearly good friends."

The flask he sipped sloshed as he put it down. He hummed in agreement. "Went through training together. Then had to deal with that bastard Sobel. Oh, and I hide my drinks in his footlocker. I have to keep him around."

"That makes sense," she joked.

Nixon snickered. He took another drink of his flask. "It's getting dark."

"I would've come down soon," she argued.

"Yeah, well, like I said. Dick's a mother hen." He offered her the flask but she declined. "He would've climbed up here but Sobel's on his ass about something." Then he turned to her. He studied her face. "Some of the men were talking about you too."

"What were they talking about?"

Nixon shrugged. "They wanted to know where you went. I swear Guarnere and Martin almost fought Liebgott. But I saw him walking away from them like a kicked puppy, which I didn't even think was possible."

She scoffed. The image of Liebgott looking anything but either smug, amused, or angry didn't even cross her mind.

"Of course, he still looked pissed," Nixon added. After a pause and a drink, he breathed deeply. "You tell them about the letter?"

"Yes."

Nixon cursed as he smacked his skin. "For Christ's sake. Too many bugs."

Alice smiled and stood. "You're not wrong. Come on."

They both scrambled down the ditch carefully. Currahee in the dark was meaningfully harder than during the day. Alice let a few German curses slip as she had to steady herself on a tree. Once they reached the gravel and dirt road, they relaxed.

"Has the Army heard anything from the Underground?"

Nixon shook his head. "Not that I've found. But I'm not in Intelligence yet. There aren't any positions." She hummed, and he shrugged. "I told Dick, about your letter. He wanted to know why you tried to kill me."

With a grimace, she looked over at his face. The bruises had started to fade but his nose still looked a little swollen. "Not my best moment."

He didn't answer. Nixon only chuckled and felt the welt on his jaw. "In your defense, I didn't know the contents of the letter until I'd pissed you off."

They walked in silence. The noise of Nixon sipping from his flask became almost drowned out by the roar of the thousands of crickets around them. It only took them another ten minutes to reach the bottom. The silence didn't feel uncomfortable. By the time they walked between the barracks, most of the men seemed to either be chatting outside around tables, or indoors.

"I'm gonna let Dick know you're not eaten by a bear," said Nixon. Then he paused. "Want my advice?"

"Depends on what it is."

He snorted and shook his head. "Well here it is. Talk to them. Some of them probably don't respect you, but sure as hell none of them know you. Break the ice. They have no idea what to do with your presence here."

"This is not exactly easy for me either."

"No kidding." Nixon shrugged. "Get alcohol. That always helps."

While he walked away towards the Officers' barracks, she stood quietly, alone. The breeze ruffled her hair. She caught sight of a few groups of men, but didn't recognize any of them. With a sigh, one arm holding her other across her chest, she went to her own barracks. The palpable absence of her family hung around her.

She opened the door quietly. Beyond it she could hear laughter. When she stepped inside, she forced a smile on her face. Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala sat around on two bunks playing cards. Closer to the center of the room, George Luz was doing a spot on impression of Sobel much to the amusement of Liebgott, Christenson, Perconte. Even Bull and Johnny, standing to the side, looked somewhat amused.

"And you, Private Bullshit!" Luz shouted over to Malarkey. "Your pass is revoked!"

"For what?"

"For whatever bullshit reason I can come up with!"

The whole room cracked up. As she stood near the door with her arms crossed, even Alice couldn't suppress a smile. When she laughed, they all turned to her.

"See boys, told you she would come back. She missed us." George grinned. Then he paused "You did miss us, right?"

Alice couldn't stop herself and smiled. "Yes, George. What would I do without you?" Walking further inside, she picked her way carefully to her cot. She put her boots at the side of her bed and shifted on top. "Apparently the Lieutenants were concerned I had been eaten by a bear. I told them it would be more likely that I'd get attacked by Easy Company looking for free kisses." She glared good naturedly at him. "Of course, they already knew about it... George. Which reminds me. Three of you owe me cigarettes."

He ran a hand through his wet hair. Then he flashed her a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Sorry about that." With a quick dig into his footlocker, George took out two cigarettes and his lighter. He tossed them over.

Christenson and Perconte passed her one cigarette each as well and she thanked them. With a smirk, she put one in her mouth and used George's lighter to start it. The room went back to steady activity, with Liebgott telling a story about his sister Mary back home and the poker game continuing. Alice listened as she puffed at her cigarette.

The crowd dispersed around eleven. She and her bunk mates settled down to sleep. Only when Alice woke in a cold sweat did she realize she'd drifted off. Her heart pounded in her chest as she sat up. She grabbed her face.

The dream had been so real. A crack, and then the blood spilled from the hole the size of a dime in Marc's fair face. His dark hair had lain in a pool of it, staining the edges an even darker brown. Then there'd been the shrieking sound of her shrill scream as Robert restrained her, and the blood on her own hands as he tore her away from the scene. Only then, the memory turned to imagination.

Another crack shot through the air. A bullet pierced Robert's skull. Red blood sprayed her face as he fell to the ground. His golden hair turned red in the blood. It gushed from the wound, cascading onto the grey cobblestone roads of what looked to be Paris.

Now awake, tears filled her eyes. She closed them, trying to will the pain away. But she couldn't stop the sobs. Alice grabbed her mouth to try to stifle them long enough to get out the door. Without even her boots, she slipped out silently, and sat on the single step outside where she could finally grieve in peace.

She hadn't even been there to comfort him as he died. She hadn't been there for either. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and her body heaved with sobs as she tried to stay quiet. Alice stayed there for several minutes.

When Liebgott came walking back to the barracks, she didn't even notice him. Her head was in her hands. She tried to regain control of her breathing.

"You okay?"

She glanced up in surprise. Wiping her tears away, she stood abruptly and nodded. "Yes."

He gave her a tiny smile. They both saw right through her lie. In resignation, she sat back down. Liebgott joined her.

"My sister Elizabeth gets so mad at me," he said. "She always tells me off for sticking my nose in people's business. And for pissing people off. She says I get too angry."

Alice huffed in agreement. "My brother Marc told Robert and I the same. Especially Robert."

A brief moment of silence followed. Only the sounds of Alice trying to regain her composure made any noise. Finally, Liebgott continued.

"Look. I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Being a fucking asshole." He ran a hand through his hair. Then he cracked a small smile. "Some of the guys seem to think I was anyways."

Alice found herself chuckling. With a gentle shake of her head, she looked up at the stars. Another wave of grief washed over her. Her heart pounded. She put her face in her hands again and the tears returned.

Her body tensed at the sudden warmth on her side. She realized Liebgott was giving her a hug. All control she'd been able to maintain crumbled, and she felt the pain of the loss of her family. Her fear for Bernadette and her parents crashed down on her. Anger, at herself and the war and absolutely everyone fueled her.

As she regained some semblance of control, Liebgott let go of her. After apologizing profusely, she wiped her face. Liebgott just winked at her.

"So, do I count as a friend now? Luz was talking about these incredible kisses you give-"

"Oh for the love of God." She couldn't stop herself from laughing though. "He just does not have any sense of when to shut his mouth."

Liebgott stood and offered her a hand up. She took it. Before she could think too hard, she stood on her toes and did a cheek kiss.

"Not much of a kiss."

Her laugh made him smile. But she just shook her head. "That's what I told George. But he would not listen."

They went inside quietly. As they split in the middle, he whispered to her. "Gute Nacht."

She spun to look at him and grinned. At the German, her heavy heart lifted ever so slightly. "Gute Nacht, mein Freund."