January 13, 1945

Nothing moved in Foy. Past the edges of the trees, down the snow-covered field, the town the Germans occupied lay completely still. But Alice knew it wouldn't be for long.

About a hundred feet of treeline remained between where Alice stood with Dick, Nixon, and Sink, and the town itself. Around them, Easy Company moved about checking weapons and readying themselves physically and mentally. The Germans knew they were coming. They'd be ready. Easy had to be ready as well.

None of the officers spoke to each other. Alice stood against a tree behind and to the left of the other three staff officers. Arms across her chest, she could feel her left leg shaking from anxiety. So many things ran through her mind; Dike's potential for failure, her own inability to even breathe correctly, Lipton at command of Second Platoon, they all made her brain work overtime. To their left somewhere she knew Dog Company stood ready to assist if need be. On the other side of them, Item Company led the rest of Third Battalion to cause a distraction.

A good plan, really. If executed correctly, they'd take Foy no problem. But with Dike in command, Alice knew that was a big if. Not that she could do anything.

A thud pulled her attention away. Alice looked down. The rifle that had been leaning against her left leg now lay in the snow. She stared at it for a moment, unmoving. When she picked it up, dusting off the dirt and snow, the command of Easy to advance was given.

Alice pushed off from the tree. She stayed to the left of Dick, Sink, and Nixon. Her stress had tied her stomach up in knots and she had no desire to talk to anyone. Boots pounded against the ground. Her mouth dried. As Easy Company fled the trees, she moved up to the treeline at their rear.

To her left, Alice saw Ron Speirs watching the battle with all the intensity she knew him capable of. Which was to say, quite a bit. To her right, Dick stood rigid, gun in hand. Beyond him, Sink, and beyond Sink, Nixon.

The roar of Easy's machine gunners split the air. Suppressing fire, loud enough to give her a headache, echoed around them. Hopefully it would give the Germans in Foy a headache too. In the chaos of the dash to Foy, Alice saw at least three men go down. Then another. But Easy pushed on.

Until they stopped. Alice lost track of First Platoon, but Second and Third suddenly stopped in the middle of the field not fifty yards from the town itself. Alice watched in shock. They had no cover.

"What the-?" She whispered. "What the fuck are they doing?"

To her right, Alice heard Dick echoing similar words. Nixon had binoculars up, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. Her body tensed completely. They were all going to die. Foxhole fucking Norman was going to get Easy Company killed. She glanced to her left, to Dog Company. She saw Ron holding his gun closer. His men from Dog's Second Platoon looked on as shocked as her.

Dick's shouting tore her attention away from Dog. He held a radio and screamed orders into it, probably at the unfortunate George Luz who ended up with the CO more times than was fair. The battle drew her attention back. Mortars began to explode near the men who had somehow managed to move to pathetic excuses for cover.

Every moment that passed brought Easy one step closer to total annihilation. The memory of Sobel ending up with a 90% casualty rate snapped unbidden into her thoughts. She gritted her teeth and moved forward a bit. Dick did the same, dropping the radio.

Alice saw someone move from Dike's position behind some hay bales. First Platoon appeared again. But they were picked off one by one. She heard Dick breathe out a quiet, shocked 'Jesus Christ' at the sight. This was it. They were all going to die in Foy.

Something in Dick snapped at the same moment. He hurried forward, screaming for them to keep moving. Alice willed them to do the same. But before he could get too far, Sink ordered him back.

"You're the battalion commander! Now get back here!"

Alice would've slapped Sink if she'd been next to him. As much as she respected the man, his words further reinforced her opinion on not being able to handle the politics of the Army. But Dick had had enough. She watched him storm pass Sink while he still yelled at him.

"Speirs!"

Alice whipped her head left. As Dick ordered him over, he passed her. Alice held her breath.

"Get out there and relieve Dike, and take that patrol on in!"

Ron didn't even respond. He nodded and tore across the field towards Dike. She nearly smiled. She would have, had a mortar not exploded right where Ron had been running moments before. But as the dirt settled, Ron continued to run unscathed. Alice laughed, sinking into a crouch in exhaustion. Maybe they wouldn't die in Foy. Not all of them, at least.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Alice witnessed the capture of Foy. At one point she stole a glance at the other men. Dick and Sink had no emotion on their face, but compared to the absolute livid anguish that Dick had shown earlier, she welcomed it. Nixon, on the other hand, had a stupid smile as he watched Easy and Item come together to wrestle Foy from the enemy.

Once they'd clearly taken the city, Dick had Dog Company move in to help with clean up. Alice continued to stand where she was, watching with a smile as the Americans moved into the town they'd been staring at for a month. With a nod to no one but herself, Alice followed Dog.

She moved across the field towards the town as quickly as she could, rifle in her hands. To the left of the entrance of town, at least fifty German prisoners sat on the ground, hands on their heads. Alice forced herself to keep walking. She found Dick Winters and Colonel Sink talking to Norman Dike. She restrained herself from spitting in his direction.

The sight of Perconte being helped by Bull with a piggyback ride made her stop and grin. She shook her head. "Where'd you get hit, Perco?"

"Shot me in the ass, Alice," he shouted back.

She laughed at him. "Good. Keep up the tradition." As Bull passed her, she gave him a pat on the arm and a smile before heckling Perconte. "Have fun in the hospital. I'm sure you'll impress them with your sparkling teeth."

"Shut up! You wish you had teeth like me."

With another laugh, Alice shook her head and continued on into town. The buildings lay mostly cracked and broken, bricks tumbled out into the street or gone completely. Smoke rose from a few. As she walked into the main square, two dozen more German men were herded past her. A few glanced her way in shock.

She found Johnny, Lip, Malarkey, and Talbert standing together near a half wall. They chatted quietly, none of them looking particularly pleased. With a frown, she made her way over.

"I saw Perconte got hit," she commented. When she moved to stand with them, Alice folded her arms across her chest as best she could with her rifle. "Casualties?"

"A lot of the replacements," Johnny told her. "Webb included."

Alice felt her shoulders sag. But as she turned from Johnny to the battlefield, a deep anger settled in her body. "Dick better relieve him, or I'm going to murder Dike."

None of them responded. She bet they'd have liked her to act on the threat. But before she turned back, movement and laughter in the main area grabbed her attention. "Shit."

"What?" Talbert tried to see what had caught her eye.

Alice sighed. "Reporters. That's my cue."

The men in question strolled into the town of Foy grinning from ear to ear. One of them carried a camera tripod and the other two had various paraphernalia for said camera. With a sigh, she nodded to the sergeants and moved away further into town.

Laughter, song, and tears spilled out from various places around her. As she walked through the broken town, littered the dead bodies both German and American, Alice found her jovial mood quickly disintegrating. Blood pooled in between the cobbles. The war had not been kind to Foy.

The rifle in her right hand weighed heavier by the minute. The rush of adrenaline that had kept her standing at the treeline now created a crash of exhaustion as it left her. She needed food. Her body swayed briefly. Alice hadn't eaten much in the past day or so. That morning, when Spina had brought her the second dose of Penicillin, he'd torn into her about it.

Suddenly a shot rang out. A single bullet, definitely fired from a rifle. Alice instinctively moved to cover by an overhanging door. Screams filled the air, shouts for a medic. Another shot, and another scream. Alice tried to calm down. The shot came from nearby. Then came two more.

She saw him. Upper window in a building to her left. Alice readied her gun. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. She looked down the scope.

He had blue eyes.

Alice stopped breathing. She couldn't tear herself away from his face in her rifle's sights. The soldier couldn't have been any older than her. Blood splattered across his cheek from a small cut. Dirt darkened his face.

Another shot rang out. It jerked her attention away. She saw someone slump to the ground. The terrible realization that she'd cost him his life hit her like a jeep. At the same moment, Lipton went dashing from cover. Someone else took the shot. The sniper crumpled.

Cheers went up as Lipton slid down the side of a building in exhaustion. Shifty Powers, grinning from ear to ear, stepped into the street. He waved back as Lipton sent him a gesture of thanks. While medics tended to the fallen men, Alice felt herself slipping. She leaned against a wall for support. She swayed.

"You look like shit."

Alice forced her eyes open from where she'd slid down the wall. Ron Speirs walked over to her, Lipton with him. The fact that she didn't bite back a retort seemed to make them both concerned though. It only took a few seconds for Lipton to go for Doc Roe.

"Can you breathe?" Ron asked immediately.

"Yeah," she forced out. Alice tried to blink her eyes open. "Kind of."

As he inspected her up and down, Lipton and Gene hurried over. The medic immediately grabbed her hand, pushing her sleeve up to get access to her wrist. He shook his head. "Her pulse is fast an' I can already tell she's burning up. Probably dehydrated. Spina told me she hadn't been eating."

She shuddered. "I'm not dead. I can hear you."

"You may not be dead, but sometimes I wonder if you're deaf." he snapped. "You're supposed to be takin' it easy. That includes drinking water and eating."

"There's a few houses we cleared for overnight," Ron told him. "We can move her there."

Gene nodded. "Come on, Alice."

"I can walk," she assured him. "Just can't run."

With Lipton's help, she stood off the ground. After a brief wobble, she followed Ron, flanked by Lipton on her left and Gene on her right. The latter gave her support. The houses that still stood enough to be used as a CP weren't far, and soon enough she'd been deposited on a couch. Alice passed out before she could accept coffee that Lipton offered to get her.

When she woke up she could hear Ron chatting with what sounded like Dick. As she clawed her way to consciousness, Alice wondered at the fluffiness she felt around her body. When she opened her eyes, she realized she had a quilt over her.

"Is this an actual blanket?" she muttered.

"Jesus Christ, Alice. Are you tryin' to get yourself killed?" Ron snapped.

Alice just rolled her eyes. But apparently Dick wasn't about to let it drop either. "Alice, you're going to follow Easy Company at the rear until we get pulled off the line or moved somewhere where we aren't attacking towns, is that clear?"

She bit her lip but nodded. "I swear I will murder Dike if he's a problem, though, even from the rear."

Dick huffed and flashed Ron a tiny smirk. He looked back at her. "Dike won't be a problem any more. Speirs is taking over Easy."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, and my first command is that you sit your ass out so you don't die in the middle of a battle from pneumonia," Ron insisted.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm not actually a part of Easy anymore. And we're the same rank."

Dick scoffed. "In this instance, I agree with Speirs completely, and you and I are not the same rank. Doc Roe said he hopes the fever breaks soon, and when it does, you'll be getting better. But until the Penicillin kicks in, you're not touching a gun."

"Fine by me," she muttered.

Dick nodded. "Good. Then drink your water. Doc said he'd be by with food for you before the enlisted all go to bed." He nodded to her and to Ron before heading off to find the busy Lewis Nixon. They had to plan their next move.

"Thank God you're taking over Easy," Alice said a moment later. "They've been through enough. They need someone who's good at his job."

Ron nodded. "Well, your men can hold their own. The Toccoa men, at least." He moved further into the room and lit a cigarette. Soon enough he'd sat down across from her and continued on. "I've always been mildly impressed by your NCOs. And your medic, Doc Roe?" At her nod, he continued on, "He clearly knows what he's doing. The officers may be shit, but they're not."

"Trust me, I know. And you're lucky you've got Lipton as your First Sergeant." Alice smiled. "I swear, Ron, he's the only reason Easy's still in one peace."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. For nearly half an hour, Alice told him all about how great of a leader Carwood Lipton was, and had been, since Toccoa. His ability to balance the morale of the men and yet keep himself at a professional distance had always impressed her. Alice told him all about Bastogne, and how when Dike would wander off and the platoon leaders wouldn't know how to interact with the enlisted, it was Lipton who'd kept everyone together.

"Honestly, Ron, he's the best thing in this whole damn company."

Ron's cigarette had long since died. He'd listened intently, never interrupting her. Finally he nodded. "Good. Because Winters put him in for a battlefield commission. We lost your Lieutenant Foley today to the hospital with a bullet wound. It'd be good to see Sergeant Lipton get the nod in his place."

Alice grin grew with each passing word. But Ron didn't say anything else, just glanced at his watch. "I need to go see Sink. You should sleep."

"I won't argue with you," she said. Alice laid her head back against the pillow of the couch. "But if you see Nix, tell him I'd appreciate some Vat 69."

Ron scoffed and shook his head. Alice watched him go. A yawn overtook her, and suddenly she remembered how tired she felt. With the quilt providing a deep warmth, Alice snuggled into the couch as best she could and tried to sleep. Things were already looking better. No more Dike, no more foxholes, no more Foy.