" True friends are burning stars, they shine brightest on those darkest nights."

- Atticus

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Lizzie couldn't even describe what the feeling was, watching these explosions go off in front of her. It was like huge shells dropping on them and exploding just above the tree tops, to send shrapnel and wood down on top of them.

" Lizzie!" a voice suddenly yelled and Lizzie froze, her head snapping to the sound. The cry was guttural and raw.

" Doc!" the voice yelled again as Lizzie turned, searching for the source of the yelling again.

" Medic!" there it was, the call she was listening for. Lizzie pushed up from the ground, running through the exploding shards, straining for the sound again. An explosion nearly went off on her, as she sprinted faster forward, a hand pressed to her helmet as she gave one final push off her leg and jumped into the foxhole where the yelling was coming from. Lizzie fell in a heap into the foxhole, her back cramming up in the corner, as she struggled to sit up and push her helmet from her eyes.

" Doc please!" the replacement in front of her cried, as blood seeped from evident wounds in his arm. The other replacement in the foxhole was quivering, his hands bloodied with his friend's blood.

" Hey, hey, look at me. It's ok." Lizzie said quickly, reaching forward as the explosions continued off around them. The replacement let out a sob again, as his replacement buddy came up to his side.

" Hey, you heard her, it's ok. You're ok." he said and Lizzie felt a small smile on her face as she reached into her bag for a bandage.

" You didn't puncture any main artery, but I'm gonna wrap you up, so then a jeep can be called." Lizzie said. He nodded, wiping the tears from his cheeks with his good arm. Lizzie gently cut open the fabric of the cloth where the wound was with her scissors which sat in her front pocket, before assessing the internal wound, where there was no main artery.

" I have to pull out the shrapnel, ok, honey?" Lizzie said softly and the replacement nodded, sniffling. Lizzie gently grabbed the piece of shrapnel and pulled it out, as the replacement gritted his teeth. She pulled out the other two before flinging them to the side and to the ground. She reached into her bag and pulled out the sulfa packet that sat near the top of the messy bag. She ripped open the bag with her teeth and began pouring it on to clot the wound the best she could. She then threw the packet down before pulling out a bandage and wrapping it up the best she could, quickly tying it off.

" I need you to get to the CP, call for a jeep, ok?" Lizzie said as the friend of the injured replacement nodded. Lizzie looked up and out of the foxhole, the explosions were dying off, until there seemed to be none left. The replacement jumped out of the hole as Lizzie turned to the replacement.

" I was briefed last night, you'll be taken to Bastogne where they'll take good care of you there, ok?" Lizzie said softly and the replacement nodded.

" Let's get you up." Lizzie said as the replacement stood and Lizzie helped him out of the foxhole. As the two were walking through the snow, Lizzie couldn't help but look at the mess the explosions left behind. She saw Lip hurriedly moving through the ranks, calling out to people.

" Hey, Lip!" Lizzie called. Lip turned at the sound of his name and came running over.

" Hey, you ok?" Lip said as he noticed the injured soldier.

" A jeep's been called." Lizzie said quickly, " What the hell were those?"

" I don't know, must've been some kind of detonating explosion that the Germans were able to send over to our side." Lip said, " If I find out though, I'll tell ya."

" Ok," Lizzie said, before looking at the replacement, " let's get you to the jeep."

" Hey, Doc?" the replacement asked her as she looked towards him, " Did you have to run through all that?"

" You were calling for me," Lizzie said with a small smile, " if the call comes, I'd run through anything." The replacement smiled at her, gratefully.

" Thanks for running through all that." he said. Lizzie smiled softly.

" I always would." Lizzie said, and smiled at him. She helped him up onto the jeep that had arrived. As a medic, it was her duty to save the people of her company, her family, her brothers in arms.

She would run through hell for them, if it meant that they were safe on the other side.

Catherine was already moving up to the CP after jumping out of the foxhole she had fell into on her rounds she was making, while not so secretly looking for DIke. To say Catherine was overwhelmed looking for Dike in this ice block was understatement. Her job allowed her to be with the company and with Battalion, but if Dike didn't even know that, then how was she supposed to work with him. She would find a way though, she always did. But then explosions rocketed off above her and well, plans changed. Her trek to the CP took longer than she had wanted, as she stopped by foxholes to make sure the men were ok.

" Dick!" Catherine called as she approached the CP and saw the red-headed Lieutenant standing outside looking up at the sky. He turned to look at her before looking up at the sky again.

" You got a clue what those were?" Catherine asked, her vision moving up to the sky again.

" Supposedly, it's German shells, they shot them over to us and they detonate in the trees." Winters said, rubbing his hands together. Catherine bit her lip. That was an easy way to kill the other enemy.

" Is that what I tell the men if they ask?" Catherine asked.

" Yeah," Winters said, " just until we have more information."

" I also have another question, sir, I, uh, I can't find Dike." Catherine asked him as he finally met her eyes, his vision finally drawn away from the sight of the sky and the explosion of the trees above.

" Oh, Dike." Nixon said appearing from the CP a tiny cup of coffee in his cup he held.

" We were being shelled and you made coffee?" Catherine asked him.

" It takes a second to heat it up." Nixon said and Catherine smirked.

" Dike's up at Regiment." Winters said and Catherine met his eyes.

" He needed the experience right, Dike?" Nixon said, a slight sarcastic tone in his voice as he said that. Winters looked annoyed, more than usual.

" Well, if he shows up tell him 2nd Lieutenant McCown is looking for him, alright?" Catherine asked them.

" Don't worry, we'll send him you're way. He'll be sure to get put in his place." Nixon said with a smirk. Catherine smirked, and then tipped her helmet, before turning and heading off again back through the woods, praying that maybe Dike would step out from behind a tree or something.

That wasn't to be true though.

So Catherine continued through the forest in search of Lip, whom she found, with the rest of the Lieutenants.

" He's nowhere." Catherine said as she stood next to Lip and looked at the group. Lip sighed.

" What do we do then? What are we supposed to tell the men, especially with those shellings?" Peacock asked the group.

" The truth?" Buck offered, " That the Germans are shooting shells over to us, and that they'll be taking cover when they hear it."

" I'm on board." Shames said.

" You think Dike wants us telling them that?" Peacock asked.

" You think he cares? He's up at Regiment right now, doing God-Know's-What." Catherine said, " We're probably going to be shelled as long as we are here, we'll tell them that."

" And remain calm, ok?" Lip said, " That was already a bit terrifying and it's cold enough, so just let them know, an advisement."

" Right," a few agreements came, before they broke off again. Catherine felt a heavy weight in her heart. Dike should be there, telling them what to tell the men as their CO, but instead he's at Regiment, keeping warm, away from the line and not leading his company.

Hazel and Shifty had been in the OP when the shellings had started, and they had crouched down in the lowest point of the OP to stay protected as best they could. But now it was eerily calm and quiet, and all they saw was falling snow. So all they could assume was to act like things were normal and that it was the Germans' way of attacking the Americans without leaving their slightly warm foxholes. Hazel sat for a bit with her gun aimed forward, so she could get a closer look with her scope. Shifty sat beside her, his gentle doe eyes trained on the sight in front of him, simply inspecting it all, as if he were reading a really good book.

" You ever remember a time this cold, Shifty?" Hazel asked him as Shifty didn't pull his gaze from where he faced the frontline.

" No, I can't, my dad used to say that when it got real cold like this though, that the summers would be really hot." Shifty said with a smile her way. Hazel felt her heart warm; she hoped what Shifty said was true. A hot summer would be blissful, where ever they would be.

" I hope." Hazel said, " I'm starting to forget what warmth actually feels like."

" Me too," Shifty said through a shiver as he crossed his arms and leaned up against the OP with her.

" What do you think your mom is doing right now?" he asked her, looking towards her. Hazel shrugged.

" What day is it?" she asked.

" Sunday?" he said, questioning even that.

" Well, I suppose she would've just gotten home from Church." Hazel said with a smile, " And since it's God's day, she would've then taken to sitting out on the porch and reading the Bible; we always did that together even when I was younger. And then she'd make a feast, a big one, filled with all of our favorite Polish foods and of course some new dishes she'd picked up of American food, stuff she put a twist on. I'd make mashed potatoes, with a lot of butter."

" That sounds so good." Shifty said as his eyes looked towards the German frontlines again.

" That's what my mom always says," Hazel said reminiscing those Sundays, " and after we ate, we would sometimes build a fire, in winter especially, and sit around on the couches and listen to the radio and talk or read and just enjoy being home and warm. Or in the summer, we'd sit outside, and watch the sunset over the mountains. It was beautiful."

" That reminds me of home," Shifty said, " I live in a little place of Chincho, Virginia, out in the mountains, you know the Appalachian mountains. They got the most beautiful sunsets, reminds me of when my dad and I would go out and hunt under nightfall together."

" Sounds like you and your dad are close," Hazel said with a smile, thinking of her own father, whom she could barely remember what his face today looked like.

" Dad's the best shot I'll ever know, of course besides you, Hazel," Shifty said smiling at her, and Hazel smiled at him, " taught me all his tricks, how to scope one out, crouch down, watch the creature come into view. Then he taught me how to use all parts of the creature. He always used all the parts, no matter what we killed." Hazel smiled.

" I hated when my dad would kill a deer and not use all the parts." Hazel said.

" Yeah, I hate when I see that, so dad and I would just find ways for all the parts. My ma would find ways too, every part was always useful." he said, and Hazel had to smile.

" It'll be nice, when this is all over and we can see those sunsets again, with no war." she said, her smile dropping a bit at the thought.

" Yeah," Shifty said looking to her, " hopefully that's soon." The two sat for a while in OP, eyes trained on what was in front of them, talking quietly together every so often under the cloudy afternoon. They switched OP duty with Smokey and More after a little while longer and then were able to head back and grab some much needed dinner, which was lukewarm beans that were fairly tasteless, but it was food.

And it was calories.

Camp Athene had been adamant on calories and making sure that even if it was the most disgusting food, you ate your fill, you never knew when you'd get that again. Hazel stood idly, nibbling on her food, trying to savor each fairly cold bite, shivering as she pulled the frozen fork up to her mouth. She had never felt colder as she ate her fill.

She saw Lizzie slowly wander back in for food, but something that sent her eye brows raised up was the coughing that Lizzie had done about twice by the time Hazel had seen her. Her nose was red and runny, and she was coughing and her eyes were sunken in. Hazel quickly made her way over to Lizzie, her worry riled up.

" Lizzie!" Hazel called softly and Lizzie looked up from her frozen crossed arms stance to see the young sniper coming towards her.

" Hazel," Lizzie said, her voice sounding clogged and stuffed up, " hey."

" Are you ok?" Hazel asked her, placing a hand on her arm. Lizzie offered a smile, that seemed forced, like it were hiding something.

" Yeah, my throat's just a bit scratchy, but it's fine." Lizzie promised. Hazel had to trust Lizzie's instincts. Virtually everyone out here had stuffed noses from the cold and sore throats. Hazel figured that's all it was.

" Are you sure?" Hazel asked softly. Lizzie nodded.

" Yeah, I'm fine, I promise." Lizzie said with a nod. Hazel watched as Lizzie then turned and let out a nasty sounding cough, as she hacked a few more times to clear her throat, before turning back and looking at Hazel.

" I'm fine, I promise." Lizzie said with a nod and Hazel watched her with soft eyes, " I have to grab some food and then head back out. I'll see ya." Hazel watched as Lizzie stepped around her then and went to the food line, concealing yet another wet sounding cough. Hazel worriedly bit her lip and watched Lizzie accept her food and then go and sit alone, eating her food quietly. Hazel's heart felt sad, seeing the girl sit alone, eating her food, looking ill and like the last thing she wanted to do was eat food.

Hazel knew Lizzie wasn't ok; she was usually accompanied by that of Tab or George or sometimes Malarkey, Skip and Penkala or even Babe or Gene or Joe Toye. She usually was never alone. Now, she was sitting there, looking miserable. But Hazel had to trust her like she always did, she had said she was fine.

That night in the foxholes, Hazel sat, looking up at the sky, which was a dark black with evident clouds, so you couldn't see the stars that wanted to peak through. Shifty was asleep beside her, but she couldn't seem to find the sleep she begged desperately for, so she remained awake, watching the empty black sky roll by without a hint of a single star. Hazel reached instead into her collar and pulled the Star of David out and stared at it, with sad eyes. She gently pressed the metal to her lips, kissing it softly as she shut her eyes, praying softly to herself to peace and for protection.

" My Lord above, please let us carry forth into safety and protection and a peaceful future for all. Guide us with your strength to greater and better things and let us become safe once again. Amen." Hazel whispered softly. She let the chain drop down again and then settled back, her heart sad.

She tried to imagine the little white flower, the Edelweiss that Joe had told her was the symbol of a true soldier, sitting upon the German soldiers' collars on the opposite side of them. Her mind automatically went to Joe after that, and she bit back her chapped lip gently.

Paris had been on her mind for a few days after their early-Christmas visit. She hoped someday soon when this was all over they'd get that again that freedom, maybe she'd even get that freedom with Joe again. She sighed to herself, before gently resting her head on Shifty's shoulder and curling up into a tiny ball, finally resting and putting herself into a fitful sleep.

On the 2nd morning of their arrival in Bastogne, it had snowed heavily in the night, so much so, that there was at least a foot outside. The day was uneventful to say the least, as people switched OP duty, stayed in their foxholes, medics came asking for supplies, aching to get their tired, cold hands on a spit of supplies, and Battalion stressing to find out where Lieutenant Dike had gone next. Hazel thought that Battalion shouldn't always have to worry about Dike's whereabouts, he was a CO, who had commanding duties of a company of men and women, but it seemed that they were the least of his worries as most of the times, they were left without a CO.

Hazel noticed though that Catherine managed to fill in enough for Dike's incompetence as a trustworthy leader, making the tough decisions through the day, making sure men understood orders, that the first few patrols that were sent out, returned but were understanding of the simple orders provided. But it seemed all the Lieutenants as well as Lip and the NCOs were doing the same, what they could at least, to fill in for Dike. Hazel was sat in her foxhole when Gene popped up beside her with his bright, red nose.

" Hey, Gene!" Hazel said as she looked up and saw the man crouched by her foxhole side.

" Hey, cherie, you got any morphine? Bandages?" he asked her quietly, his accent thicker than normal. Stress, worry, concern; they laced his voice and the accent.

" Yeah, I think." Hazel said, as she shifted and pulled out a thing of tightly clasped bandages.

" Here ya go." Hazel said passing up the bandages to Gene with a small smile. A smile went a long way.

" Thank you," Gene said as he turned to place them into his satchel," you staying warm enough?"

" Warm as I can." Hazel said.

" We don't call you Tiny for nothing." Gene said and Hazel giggled. Gene offered a small smile before standing.

" Hey, is, uh, is Lizzie ok?" Hazel asked stopping the man in his tracts. Gene turned and glanced at her over his shoulder.

" For now, she's not feeling too great though." Gene said and Hazel's heart missed a beat. Being sick across the world sucked. In Aldbourne, even with Grace and Harry who made her feel like their daughter, she still felt like not being home made her feel worst.

She couldn't describe the feeling, but it was a horrible thing to feel.

" Do you have any penicillin?" Hazel asked him. Gene frowned.

" We haven't been resupplied, it's why we're scrounging." he said, " If I did, she'd been the first to get it." Hazel nodded.

" You stay warm, Gene." Hazel said. Gene smiled softly and nodded before trekking back into the afternoon fog. Hazel prayed for Lizzie's health, especially now. Catherine, on her way as usual for the daily briefing for the Lieutenants, was admittedly late but for the first time in months; she had been helping some replacements with their foxhole covers and was making sure it was fortified well enough.

" Lieutenant McCown!" Lieutenant Dike called as she approached him, and Catherine raised a brow as Buck sent a smirk her way.

" Shit." she muttered as she approached them.

" Lieutenant," she said as she had approached and saluted.

" Where were you, McCown?" he asked her.

" Uh, looking for you, sir." she said and grimaced at the slightly sarcastic tone she adorned.

" Right, well, join us over here." he said as he led her towards the group of Lieutenants who stood in a huddled group as the snow came down. Catherine approached, anger written prominently on her features. Dike began speaking, words that seemed to not make sense flowed from his mouth, as Catherine glanced towards the other Lieutenants. So now here she was, a seething bomb, thinking back on it all.

Where had Dike gone?

Catherine left the mini briefing, muttering incoherent words over and over.

How were they supposed to lead a charge within a few days, when their CO wasn't even here half the time?

What type of intelligence did it take to become a CO?

Clearly not much.

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hello all! today is a big update - 5 chapters because why not LOL! i really enjoyed adding in my own bits to the beginning of this episode, so thank you so much for reading and commenting and voting, it always means so much!! <3