June 12, 1945

With the morning sunlight on her skin, Alice stood on the landing where the steps turned down to the left, away from the hotel headquarters. The beauty of Austria spilled out before her eyes. The blue Zeller See stretched as far as she could see, flanked to either side by forested mountains. A few leafy trees grew tall from the ground just in front of her, their branches only about ten feet from her hands. Not for the first nor last time, Alice gave thanks that she had clean hair while the breeze ruffled it. Little victories. Clean hair had been something she'd come to appreciate as much as gold in the war.

She loved this. This peace, this purity. In the morning, standing out on the landing, Alice tried to forget about the war for the briefest of moments. Instead, Alice thought about maybe taking another warm bath with the rose and vanilla soap that someone had scrounged up. As she stood and watched the waves on the glacial lake, Alice forced away her worries over her friends. 

"Good morning."

Alice jumped as Nixon whispered it in her right ear. As he just laughed, she growled at him, turning away from the Austrian scenery to glare. He continued to snicker, leaning against the rails perpendicular to her. 

"Sorry, sorry." Though he apologized, his stupid grin never left his face. He tried to get himself under control. "Sorry."

"No, you're not," Alice pointed out. "You're not sorry!"

"Yeah you're right." He laughed. "I'm not."

She folded her arms over her chest and did her best to glare at him. But as he stood there against the dark railing, his brown dress uniform on minus the Ike jacket, she found she couldn't. Not when he laughed. She could never stay mad at him when he laughed. She'd come to value laughter far too much to spoil it.

"Fine you can stay," she said. It took all her willpower not to grin as she turned back to watching the sunlight on the lake. She could feel him watching her. Finally she turned back. "Would you just enjoy the scenery."

"What do you think I'm doing," he quipped back with a smirk. 

Immediately she blushed with a grin. She had come to expect that answer, but it never ceased to floor her. After that, Alice couldn't wipe the stupid smile off her face. Even when she turned away from him, the fact that he wouldn't give up just staring at her made her laugh.

"Alright, Lewis Nixon, if you're going to stare at me, let's play." Alice said. Leaning against the rail at the front to face him, she smiled. "Would you rather push Ron into the lake, or Harry?"

His smile dropped. Becoming very serious, he thought about the choices. "Dick's not an option?"

"Dick goes swimming every day," she pointed out.

He nodded. "Probably Harry. Ron would try to kill me." Her short laugh made him smile. But they both knew he was only half kidding. So he took a deep breath. "Right. Would you rather own a dog or cat?"

"I've answered this one before," she pointed out. "My answer is always the same! Both."

"Right, right," he said, pretending to have forgotten. Then he smirked. "Do I get to go again?"

Alice smiled and shook her head. She poked his arm. "No. My turn." When he nodded, she stepped a little closer. "Would you rather go swimming, or hiking?"

"Oh, god, no they both sound terrible," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I mean why would anyone want to go do that? There better be some really good company."

She snorted and shook her head. Alice looked back over the Austrian landscape. The sunlight lit the whole area now. It warmed her skin, and she couldn't help but just smile. Right then and there, she felt happy. 

"My turn. Would you rather go back to 1941 and never join the Resistance?" He didn't smile when she turned to look at him. He just stayed serious and finished his question. "Or leave everything as it is."

Alice didn't smile. But she looked at him closely, forgetting the countryside around her. That question had come up time and again during the war. Her answers had varied every time. She'd not really known her final answer. Now she did.

"Je ne regrette rien," she said, voice soft. 

"Final answer?"

"Oui, idiot."

He grinned. "Good."

They leaned into the kiss at the same time. He smelled of Vat 69. He always smelled of Vat 69. Her heart skipped a beat and her breathing almost stopped. Unbidden tears ran down her cheeks. When the salty tears reached her mouth, she broke it apart. She tried to catch her breath.

"Goddamnit. Why am I crying?," she choked. 

"Yeah it is pretty stupid-" He flinched away with a laugh when she went to hit him. With a snort, he shook his head. "Sure you regret nothing?"

"Don't tempt me." But before she had a chance to add anything else, he kissed her again, harder. Alice couldn't stop from smiling into the kiss. This time, she didn't move away.

"For Pete's sake, can you two get any less discreet?"

Alice pulled back when Dick scolded them. They found him and a grinning Harry Welsh exiting the headquarters a few stairs up on the landing. Dick wore the same thing he wore every morning for his swims. With a towel over his arms he shook his head. But Harry just laughed as he lit a cigarette. Alice at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish. Nixon just snickered and folded his arms.

"Ah, c'mon Dick, it only took them three years," Harry teased. "They're making up for lost time."

Dick shook his head. "Yeah, well, at least make sure the brass don't know about it."

"Anything for you, Dick," Nixon heckled him. 

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Dick picked his way through them. Alice watched him leave. As he retreated down the forest road, she sighed. Lighting his own cigarette, Nix had settled down on the ground against the brown wrought iron rails on the top of the landing. Harry joined him, facing the opposite direction a couple steps down. Scooting through them as carefully as she could, Alice sat on Nixon's side of the stairs. Silence fell between them for a while, a peaceful calm.

Eventually, Nixon broke the silence. He turned to Harry. "So, has Luz given you the ten bucks yet?" 

Harry started cracking up. "You know about that, do you?"

"George tells me everything, Harry," Alice quipped.

"He slipped it to me after the ball game," Harry admitted. "Guarnere's going to have a field day getting the rest in the mail."

Alice chuckled. She lay her head back, letting it settle between two of the bars in the railing. "Speaking of mail, I heard from Smokey."

"No shit!" Harry said. "How's he doing?"

"A lot better. He said they were planning to discharge him soon." Taking out her pack of Lucky Strikes, Alice wrestled one free. Nixon lit it. "He's got basically full movement back."

Nixon let out a breath. "That's good. You tell Doc?"

"Yeah, I did." She smiled. "Gene was pretty happy. In a Gene sort of way."

As both of them laughed at her comment, she moved from sitting against the rail to laying back against the concrete. She slipped off her Ike jacket, balled it up, and tried to use it as a pillow. After a minute of silence between the three of them, she asked Nixon if she could borrow his sunglasses. He said dramatically and passed them over. The combination of the warm sun on her body and the coolness of the sunglasses over her eyes had her asleep before too long.

The guys only noticed she'd drifted off after Nixon went to ask her a question about George's gambling. When they got no response, he started chuckling. Harry joined him.

"She's asleep?" he asked.

Nixon snickered. "Yep. Either that, or she finally decided we were bad company and is pretending."

"I swear," Harry joked, "she can sleep anywhere. It's a gift."

But Nixon just snorted. "Yeah, well, I don't think she's been sleeping well. She's been more tired than usual."

"What d'you mean?" Harry turned from her to Nix. "Do you know why?"

He shook his head, smiling fading. "I haven't asked her."

"You know, the other day we were processing a group of the Germans," he told him. "I thought I'd have to hold her back again. She was so angry she was shaking."

Nixon frowned. "Yeah. I know."

They fell quiet again. Between puffs of a cigarette, Harry looked out over the Austrian countryside, at the peaceful bliss. They stayed like that for a while. A few people came and went, picking their ways over and around the three officers. Dick came back too before disappearing into the resort to change.

"So, you think Ron will stay?" Nixon asked. They'd started making predictions about the men they figured had enough points to leave. With Shifty on his way out the next day, it had started coming to the forefront. "I bet he will."

Harry snorted. "Oh yeah, he'll stay. Never thought I'd admit it out loud, but he'll be good for Easy. They'll need him when they jump."

Nixon agreed. "Yeah, they will. What about you?"

After another sigh, Harry nodded. "Yep. I've made up my mind, Nix. I've got the points. I'm going back to Kitty."

Nixon snickered at him. Any mention of Kitty was an opportunity to push his drinking buddy's buttons. "Harry, do you really think Kitty hasn't run off with some 4F by now?" 

"Son of a bitch," Harry said. But he started chuckling too, shaking his head. "That's not even funny."

As Nixon stuck his cigarette back in his mouth, trying desperately to keep his insatiable laugh quiet so as not to wake Alice, heavy footfalls from inside came closer. They both glanced towards the door. Dick had a tiny smirk, shaking his head.

"Harry, ignore him," Dick said. He stepped over Alice and around the two men to stand a bit lower than Harry. As he looked out over the lake, he unbuttoned his uniform jacket. Then he turned back to them.

"How am I supposed to tell her I had the chance to come home to her, finally, but decided not to so I could jump on Tokyo."

Nixon smirked. "Alright. So don't tell her!" After Harry laughed again, he continued, "Besides, she's waited for you for three years, right? We'll be to Tokyo and back in two years, three tops."

"It'll probably be over before you even get there," argued Harry. He looked between Nixon and Dick, shaking his head. "The reality is, you're gonna sit here in Austria for six months waiting to go, and I'm gonna be back in Wilkes-Barre, making babies."

Dick glanced at Nixon. "You didn't tell him?"

"No, I couldn't get him to shut up," Nixon drawled. He took a large breath of smoke, trying to suppress his smirk.

Harry's smile faltered a little. He looked from Dick to Nixon. "What? Tell me what?"

"Guts and glory here applied for a transfer."

No more smile, Harry whipped his head around to face Dick on his other side. "What?"

"The 13th Airborne are heading out to the Pacific right away," Dick explained. He leaned on the railing. When Harry made no response other than intense confused silence, he tried to explain. "If I'm going, I wanna get it over with."

Still silence. Harry watched Dick for a moment longer before twisting towards Nixon. The other man just shrugged. With a shake of his head, Harry said, "You're in on this too?"

"I can't let him go by himself! He doesn't know where it is," Nixon joked.

But Harry didn't laugh at first. He just looked from Nixon to Alice sleeping beyond him. Then he turned back to Dick. "You're leaving the men?"

Dick looked at him for a moment. With a small shake of his head, he just took a breath. "They don't need me anymore."

Harry watched him a moment longer before turning back to Nixon. He shook his head a bit. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. He looked from Nixon, to Alice, and back. "You're leaving Alice? To go jump on Tokyo?"

Any humor that had surrounded the discussion was gone. Nixon took a deep inhale of his cigarette. Then he shook his head. "She told me to go. I didn't even ask."

Harry didn't know what to say. Turning from Nixon, he looked into the forest beyond the resort. Then he glanced at Dick, and then back to Nixon. "Three years later and she still manages to do things I don't expect."

Nixon snorted. With a snicker, he also shook his head. "Yeah. I got used to that in Toccoa."

Dick laughed under his breath. Silence filled only with the chirping of birds in the nearby trees surrounded them. All three of them stood or sat in thought, about what had and would happen to them over the next few months. 

"What happens when she gets discharged and you're in Tokyo, Nix?" Harry finally asked. He turned to him, still with a small frown. 

He sighed. "I don't know. But she said she'd marry me if I get back."

Dick let out a half laugh, half cough at the news. Harry, though, just stared at him. "Wait. You proposed?"

"Sort of," he admitted. "She caught me off guard, telling me to jump. I figured I should ask her before we transfer."

Harry laughed. With a shake of his head, he turned to Dick who was also incredulous. Harry twisted around again. "You're made for each other. You're both insane. You don't even have a ring, Lewis!"

"Hey! I told her I'd get one," Nixon protested, laughing. Then he shook his head. "It's just a ring anyways. I gave someone a ring already, once. By itself it means nothing."

"Is Lewis Nixon being philosophical?" Dick joked in a deadpan.

"Shut up."

Snickering, Harry looked over at her sleeping. She still hadn't moved. The three chatted for a while longer enjoying the warmth of the sun and the mountain breeze. When lunch time came around, they woke her up. They still had some work to do that day. Mostly paperwork, Dick had been doing his best to figure out spots he could fill with men who had done more than their fair share during the war so they would be out of danger of jumping.

Alice spent quite a bit of time after getting work done wandering around by the lake. She joined George, Grant, Johnny, and Bull hiking. They wanted to try to get a deer for dinner. She refused to carry a rifle, but went along anyway. A side arm worked well enough for her those days.

By the time they'd gotten back to town, deer, in hand, it was past normal dinner time. She left them to their venison. Instead she found some leftovers from whatever the cooks had thrown together for the officers. The whole time, though, she felt distracted. Nixon had told her about Harry's decision, and that they'd explained the transfer to him.

Around 2100 hours, she sought Harry out. Alice knocked on his door. 2100 hours was too early for any of them to be sleeping recently, so she didn't worry about waking him. At least, she didn't worry too much.

When he opened the door, he looked at her with a smirk. "Nix doesn't bunk with me anymore, Alice."

She rolled her eyes. With a small scoff, she leaned against the door frame. But then her humor evaporated when she remembered why she'd needed him. "I have a question."

He shrugged. Opening the door further for her, he let her in. "What's up."

"Is that one of Nix's bottles?" Alice stopped in her tracks as she saw the telltale green Vat 69 bottle on his dresser, in front of the mirror. She shook her head with a small smile. "How'd you get one?"

"That's your question?" But then he laughed. "I stole it."

Alice shook her head. Turning back into the room, she leaned against the dresser. She folded her arms. "You don't have to say yes to this. Please, don't feel like you need to."

Harry stopped laughing. "Okay. What's the question?"

She bit her cheek. For a moment she just paused. But when Harry took a sip of the glass of Vat-69 he'd been nursing, she sighed. "Nix said you're going home."

"Yeah, I've got the points. Don't see a reason not to," he added. With a shake of his head, he let out a small laugh. "Those two are crazy."

Alice shot him a sad smile. "Unfortunately one of them is my Crazy." She paused again. "Harry, I'm going to get discharged when Easy jumps at the latest. And I don't have anywhere to go." She sighed. "I could go back to Aldbourne. I'm sure Millie would be happy to have me. But, uh. I'm not sure I can stay there. And I definitely can't go to Paris."

"Our house is your house," Harry jumped in, cutting her off.

She glanced up at him. "Don't say that if you don't want-"

"First, Kitty would throw me out if I didn't offer." He started snickering as he took a drink. "When you get discharged, we'll head back to Wilkes-Barre until that crazy fiance of yours is back."

"We?" 

He shrugged. "I never said I was going home right now. I just don't want to jump again. I'll ask for my discharge when you get yours."

"But Kitty-"

He laughed again. "Trust me. Kitty would insist."

She broke out into a grin. Alice wasted no time in grabbing him in a huge as she tried to suppress her tears. "Thank you."

"That crazy jerk from Yale'll come back," he told her. When she pulled out of the hug, he nodded. Then he started smiling. "Kitty'll love having you until then."

Alice laughed and shook her head. She dabbed at the few tears that had escaped. After thanking him again, she left him to finish his drink. It felt like a load had been lifted off her chest and shoulders. Feeling a little less alone, Alice went to bed.