June 1, 1945

"Goddamnit, Alley, you have got to be cheating."

Alice groaned as she threw her cards onto the small table they had commandeered for poker. As Moe Alley snickered, she shook her head. They'd set up shop at one of the picnic tables near the airfield. Not far away, a baseball diamond had been pulled together. She could hear some men from D Company going at it with the replacements from Easy. To her left, Alley grabbed the discarded cards from herself, Johnny, and Spina.

"No way," Alice snapped. She grabbed the cards from him. "I'm shuffling. And I'm dealing."

"Be my guest," he said, smirking at her around his cigarette.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Somehow Alley had managed to win five of the last ten rounds, and she'd had enough. Alice shuffled them in a bridge. To her right, Spina wrestled a cigarette from his pants pocket. Across, Johnny watched her.

"Deal the goddamn cards," he ordered. "Come on."

Alice scoffed. "Sorry. Right. Ante up."

As she and the boys put their starting ante into the center of the table, she passed them out. They decide nothing would be wild. Once everyone had five, Alice slammed the extra stack to her right and picked up her own. "Alley, first bet?"

He thumbed the cards. A long blow of smoke left his mouth. Then he glanced up at her, smirked, and threw three dollars into the pot. "Three bucks."

Johnny put three in to match him. "Can't decide if you're lyin' or just your regular level of smartass."

"That would be telling, wouldn't it," Alley said.

"Yeah, it would." Johnny scoffed. "Fine. Raise you two."

Spina snorted as he took the cigarette out of his mouth. When Johnny told him to bet, he scoffed. "Calm down. I'm thinkin' here."

"We know how that goes with men from Philly," Alice teased. To her joy, both Johnny and Alley cracked up.

"Hey, watch it. That's Philly you're talkin' about," Spina muttered. But he grabbed the money owed and added it to the pot. "Raise one."

"What's that? Six to me?" At their nods, Alice pulled six bills from her stash. "Fine. There's six. Alley how many cards?"

"Two."

She handed him two and took his discards. In the end, Johnny took two and Spina took three. She decided to just take one. Her hand consisted of one card short of a flush. Just one more heart. Alice flipped over the card.

Six of Diamonds. It took all her training not to groan in annoyance. Now all she had to her name was a pair of sixes. Alice glanced up. "Alley, your bet."

"Two bucks." He tossed them into the center. Taking the cigarette from his mouth, he dropped it to the ground and stomped it with his boot in the grass. "So, Lieutenant. Any more word on what the brass are doing for the one year?"

"Maybe," she teased.

Johnny scoffed. He raised the bet by four, causing the others to straighten up in a mix of annoyance and sudden interest. Johnny looked across at her as Spina matched his bet. "Care to share?"

"Fine. We got word from Colonel Sink; General Taylor is letting each company hold a raffle to send one man home." She shook her head. "I fold."

Alley laughed at her. "You got no luck today, Alice."

"Nah, she's got plenty 'a bad luck," Spina heckled.

In the end, Spina won the round. As he collected up his winnings, the rest of them just yawned and stretched. They'd been playing for nearly an hour. Just as Alice went to throw in the towel and call it a day, Johnny glanced past her and waved someone down. She turned. Liebgott, Bull, Ramirez, Malark, Perco, and Shifty strolled across the grass.

"She clean you out?" Lieb heckled. He stood behind her, hands in his pockets. "How bad did you beat them?"

Before she could respond, Alley laughed. "Nah, she lost. Quite a bit, if I was keeping count correctly." He stood from the table, collecting up his cards. Then he looked at the others. "How'd the hunt for venison go?"

"Struck out," Malark told them. Then he glanced at her as Alice yawned. "Don't you have a party or something tonight?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yeah, all the officers from the 506th are going. Taylor's in town."

"Fancy," Johnny said.

She laughed. "Yeah. Well I just hope Nix brings enough Vat 69 because I will need that to get through the bureaucracy of that many Brass in one place. I can barely stand the 2nd Battalion get-togethers, and I like most of our officers."

"Hey, isn't Tab going?" Perconte asked.

Alice smirked and nodded. "Yes. My one comfort."

"What, that he's goin' too?" Lieb asked.

She stood away from the table with another yawn. Nodding, Alice crossed her hands over her chest. "Yep. I'll get to watch him suffer."

Leaving them to their laughter, Alice started back from the airfield towards the resort. A woman from the town had been selling some things to the soldiers, trying to make a bit of money. Mostly it had been jewelery for them to send home to girls, or booze for their parties. But Alice had stopped by and picked up a hair curler and some makeup products.

When she got back to her bedroom, she set to work. She kept it simple, but with curls towards the neck. Enough to feel a bit more put together. She'd only been able to get lipstick, no foundation or powder. But the red shade from the Austrian girl would work well. She put it on and dabbed the excess off with a tissue.

The party was supposed to start at 1800 hours. As that time rapidly approached, Alice shifted on her boots and then lastly, her Ike jacket. The dark brown material suited her. Alice actually quite liked it. Giving herself a quick once-over in the mirror, she nodded.

Alice left her room behind. She took the stairs carefully, not in any real rush. Two of the officers from Baker company strolled down the steps in front of her. When she finally reached the ground floor, Alice found it busy with party-goers. Several privates, probably replacements from HQ who had drawn short straws, meandered about in their dress uniforms with trays of booze and hors d'oeuvres. She spotted Lieutenant Stokes, the S-2 from 1st Battalion. He stood chatting with Bakers' Lieutenant Simms. They stood near the walkway to the dining room of the resort.

"Lieutenant Klein, you look nice," Stokes said, noticing her. He nodded.

"Lieutenants," she returned. With a small, forced smile, she nodded their way. Stokes was nice enough. She worked with him frequently. Smart, capable, a bit too much of a talker, though. Simms she didn't know very well at all. "Either of you seen Major Winters, or Lieutenant Welsh?"

"I saw Major Winters with Major Hester, out the back," Stokes told her. "You seen Nixon recently? He owes me some Vat 69."

She shook her head. "No. But I'm sure he'll be around here somewhere."

Leaving them to continue their chat, Alice moved back through the halls into the garden areas. Most days they were relatively empty. When the officers had free time, many of them would go down to the lake or the sports fields. In the almost-month they'd been in Austria, two baseball fields, two tennis courts, and several boxing rings had been established. Many of the enlisted who saw themselves as potentially going professional in sports someday had formed teams for each Battalion. The officers enjoyed betting over their own men.

She accepted a glass of champagne from a private. Taking a few sips, Alice mostly kept to herself. She could hear Strayer and Sink somewhere in the outdoor area. No doubt they'd introduce her to General Taylor and his staff at some point. She'd prefer to do it with Dick present, though. Hopefully she'd have at least one friend to face the man in charge of her Division, whom she'd never actually met.

"Oh thank god, someone I like."

Alice turned when she heard Talbert behind her. He stood dressed to the nines, also holding champagne. His glass was over half empty though. Alice smiled. "Getting bored?"

He sighed. "We've still got how many hours of this?"

"Too many," she said.

He instantly agreed. Moving over to join him against the railing of the garden which looked out over the lake, the Zeller See, she took another drink. The Hotel Zell really did offer an incredible view. It never got old.

"Have you seen Lip?" Tab asked her. He leaned up against the railing, facing inwards towards the grounds. When she shook his head, he turned to her. "You know that lottery-raffle thing, for D-Day?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Talbert paused. He glanced around. Then he turned back to her with a small sigh. "Did you know Shifty's fifteen points short of discharge?"

Alice felt her eyes widen. "Fifteen?"

"Yeah. Fifteen." He took a drink. After the brief pause, he turned to her again. "Some of us had an idea. I think it'll work, if you can get Speirs to agree."

"I'm listening, Tab," she said.

"We want to rig the lottery so Shifty goes home."

Alice turned from where she'd been looking over the lake. Her gaze met Talbert's. He watched her carefully. A moment later, and then she broke into a smile. "Ron'll be fine with it, if the whole Company gets behind the idea. How many people are in favor?"

"Well, Johnny and Malark brought it up to me this afternoon," he told her. "I know they'd already talked to most of the Toccoa guys. A few took some convincing, but they're behind it. As for the Replacements, well, I don't think they're stupid enough to object to a Normandy vet going home."

Alice snorted. "Yeah. That'd be a death wish."

"And everybody loves Shifty, so."

"He's the best of us," she agreed. Alice took a drink of her champagne. Letting the bubbles tickle her throat, she gave it some thought. "Right. I'll talk to Ron, we'll figure out the logistics. You need to talk to the rest of the boys. Everyone needs to agree to this."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll get it done."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Around them, men ranging from First Sergeants to Majors meandered about. Most of the officers gathered were Lieutenants. Alice felt like she was drowning in a sea of officers when they finally caught sight of friendly faces.

Talbert straightened up next to her as Ron, Lip, and Dick strolled over. The first two carried champagne glasses. Alice realized she needed a new one.

"Sirs," Talbert said.

"Tab," Dick replied, nodding. Then he turned to Alice. "Colonel Sink wants to introduce you to General Taylor."

She sighed, her shoulders sagging. But Alice nodded. She turned to Talbert. "Wish me luck."

With his short laugh, Alice just followed Dick and Ron. She swapped her empty glass for a full one on the way. Soon enough, Colonel Sink's distinctive drawl, and the rasp of Colonel Strayer sounded ahead. It didn't take long for her to see them. She straightened up.

Ron walked next to her, sipping at his own champagne in silence. As Dick moved a bit ahead to introduce her first, she tried not to grimace. She could see him, General Taylor, standing tall just shy of Dick. He had dark hair, though it had started to grey. Beside him stood a lieutenant colonel.

"Sirs," Dick said, interrupting them.

As they stopped chatting and turned his way, Sink grinned and nodded. The circle widened to let Alice and Ron both in. Alice found herself between Ron and Dick, with Strayer to Ron's other side beside the General.

"General Taylor, Colonel Kohls, these are Captain Ronald Speirs, CO of Easy Company," Sink said, "and First Lieutenant Alice Klein, liaison attached to 2nd Battalion."

She saluted at the same time as Ron. General Taylor returned it before extending a hand to Ron, and then to her. She shook it. His grip was firm, practiced.

"Pleasure to finally put a face to the name, Lieutenant," he said, pulling back. "When I took over, Lee told me about you, and I almost didn't believe it. Bob's been bringing me up to speed on your good work."

"Thank you, sir. I've been glad to help," she said.

"Now that your war's over, you ready to go back to civilian life?" Taylor asked. He swiped a new champagne glass as a soldier moved by. Then he turned to her. "Get back into dresses again?"

Alice paused. The grip on her champagne tightened, her knuckles turning white. She could feel Dick and Ron both watching her carefully. But the line of questions from the General hit dangerously close to her fear that she'd be sent away. Alice didn't have an answer.

"Sir, Lieutenant Klein has been invaluable in assisting with the ongoing process of the German surrender," Dick jumped in. "We'd hate to lose her."

Alice glanced up at Dick. Then she turned back to the General. "As long as my presence here is helping with the surrender, I'm happy to stay," she added.

"What do you plan to do after the war, Lieutenant?" Colonel Kohls asked.

Alice paused. "I'm not quite sure. Most of the Germany I knew is gone now. I've considered finishing my schooling in Paris, but I'm not sure I want to move back there."

"Yeah, we heard about your family. Nasty bit of business," General Taylor told her. "Those camps were terrible. Unbelievable really."

Her throat ran dry. Beside her, both Ron and Dick stiffened. The pounding of her heart made her fear her chest would be ripped apart. For a moment, she couldn't breathe. The gaunt faces of the incarcerated men filled her memory. The stench, too, a stench she knew she'd never forget. Screams from the nightmares that had become frequent yet again, of Bernadette grasping for her hand to be pulled to safety, echoed silent in her ears.

"Yes, sir," she finally sputtered.

As conversation turned towards Ron and Easy Company, she felt colder. Alice had no real explanation for it, but at the first moment possible, she excused herself on the excuse of needing a glass of water. She could only imagine Dick watching as she walked away, but she had to get out of there. Alice needed space.

For the rest of the night, she did her best to avoid absolutely everyone. She'd seen Nixon come in not long after she'd fled the General. But her emotions kept her from finding him. She knew he'd have to socialize anyways. As a Lieutenant, it was easier to just fade into the crowd even as a woman. The higher up the ranks you were, the more noticeable one became.

At 2100 hours, she left the party. Alice figured she'd stayed long enough. The drinks and desserts had been passed out. She'd spotted Foley getting particularly drunk. With a sigh, Alice walked from the dark gardens through to the lounge. The echo of the rowdy officers dulled the further away she went.

"Alice!"

Nix. Alice turned around from the base of the stairs, taking a deep breath. She forced a small smile when he walked over. The dress uniform looked good on him, but the flask in his hand is what really made her smile. A bit of normalcy in the insanity of the end of the war.

"I don't know if you saw him," Nix started, "but Sobel showed up a bit ago. I know that's not why you're leaving," he added, his smile dropping, "but I thought it was funny. Wish I could run too."

Alice let out a small, sad laugh. "At least you don't have to salute him anymore."

"Oh god, I don't know if I could handle saluting that sonofabitch again." He smiled again. But the longer he looked at her, the less he smiled. Finally he let his voice drop. Even though he didn't see anymore, he figured caution was due. "Try to sleep."

"Yeah," she agreed. Her entire resolve deflated though, thinking about the nightmares she'd been having. General Taylor certainly hadn't helped matters. But she forced a smile for his sake. "Don't get too drunk trying to block out the Brass."

"If you're still up when I finally get out of this insanity, I'll be happy to let you know how many times Sobel acts like a bastard."

She grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

As Nixon nodded to her one more time, she turned away. Alice took each step with care. Each one took her further and further from the ruckus. She tried to time her breathing to her footfalls. By the time she got to the fourth floor, her body had calmed some. She only hoped sleep would help even more.