" Integrity is doing the right thing. Even when no one is watching."

- C. S. Lewis

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" I'm telling you boys, we're screwed." Bill muttered as Catherine crouched by his side that night.

" If you ask me, I'm glad Lieutenant Dike's never around." Penkala said.

" Hey you know what? We're doing alright. Even with Foxhole Norman." Malarkey said and Catherine snickered to herself.

" How alright you talk, Malark?" Catherine asked with a smirk as she crossed her arms tighter over her chest.

" Yeah, Don, we're doing alright. We're doing alright now. In case you ain't noticed there's a little town down the hill over there, right? And in that town are these guys, and these guys are called Germans. And these Germans got tanks." Bill said.

" I know," Malarkey said.

" Yeah." Bill said a little pissed. Everyone seemed pissed though with anything at this point.

" And our side's gonna wanna go into that town. You wanna take one guess at who they're gonna want to go knocking on the goddamn doors." Bill said, exaggerating with knocking his hand on a fake door.

" I know, Bill, alright, it's me you're talking to here." Malarkey said, looking up at Bill.

" Yeah, c'mon, Bill, not like it's Cobb or some replacement." muttered Catherine.

" Jesus Christ, we've gotta do all this was a CO, who's got his head so far up his fucking ass that lump in his throat is his goddamn nose." Bill spat. Penkala smirked a bit.

" Yeah, well, told Frances today some bullshit about her report, she can't get one order from his without saying something else on his mind." grumbled Catherine and Bill hmphed to himself.

" Hey, 1st Sergeant." Skip suddenly said and the group turned and saw it was Lip coming towards them and a smile lit up Catherine's face.

" Hey, boys. Hey, Catherine." he said as he approached.

" Hey, Sarge." Penkala said.

" Hey, Lip," Bill said as Lip stood next to where Catherine sat.

" Hey, Muck, what's the word?" Lip asked him.

" Oh, you know. Sitting around freezing our ass off. Singing Dike's praises." Skip said a bit sarcastically as Lip crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

" Oh, yeah." Lip said, " Lieutenant Dike." Catherine glanced at Skip and then bit her lip.

" Well, I'll tell you," Lip said as he took a seat next to Catherine and she glanced over at him.

" I wouldn't wanna be a replacement officer coming in here, getting thrown in with a group of guys and ladies, who've known each other for what? 2 years?" Lip said and Catherine bit her lip again.

" That have been in combat together since Normandy. You're supposed to just show up and lead them? How's a guy do that? How could anyone really hope to gain the respect of the toughest, most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO?" Lip said, looking at the group, " Huh?" She saw a smirk growing on Bill's face.

" So, if you ask me, a guy'd have to march off to Berlin and come back with Hitler's mustache or something." Lip said, and both Bill and Catherine started laughing from next to Lip.

" Anyway, listen," Lip said, as the group looked back up at him, " you guys, don't worry about Dike, alright?"

" Yeah." Malarkey said and the group nodded in agreement.

" We all do our jobs, everything'll be fine." Lip said nodding to them. Catherine nodded with a small, cold smile, as Lip gently patted her shoulder. She nodded. Then Lip stood and turned, throwing his weapon over his shoulder again.

" See you, Sarge." Skip called to him.

" Yeah, boy." Lip answered. Catherine smiled and then looked at the group.

" I'll start on rounds, Bill." Catherine said quietly, before looking at the group.

" Bye guys." she said, standing and putting her Thompson over her shoulder.

" Bye, Mack."

" See ya around, Mack." Catherine waved and retreated away, starting in on checking in on the men and women. Catherine checked in on Hazel and Shifty, who were working on putting some of the shrubs from the trees on top of the tarp to hide it. Hazel had a tiny smile on her face, from what was visible to Catherine and that's all that mattered. Her nose was a little red, and still bright against the back drop but so was Shifty's. They really were the most innocent of the group.

" Hey you two." Catherine said as she crouched by the edge of the foxhole watching as the two turned in their spots, innocent smiles on both of their faces.

" Catherine!" they cheered almost at the same time, before looking at each other and laughing. Catherine smiled softly.

" You two staying warm?" she asked.

" With our two tiny bodies together? Best we can." Shifty said wrapping an arm over Hazel's shoulder as Hazel laughed. Catherine laughed lightly.

" Have ya seen Dike yet today?" Hazel asked Catherine. Catherine rolled out her eyes.

" Seen as in, a 5 minute conversation before he supposedly had been 'called' away. He started telling me off too." Catherine grumbled. Shifty and Hazel glanced at each other before looking up at Catherine.

" About what?" Shifty asked her.

" The reports I have to do, stuff like that," Catherine said shaking her head, " Bill's been calling it bullshit since 1944." Hazel and Shifty laughed as Catherine smirked softly shaking her head.

" Sounds like." Hazel said and Catherine smiled.

" I leave you two to it then, I have to check on Lizzie. She's not feeling too great even with that penicillin." Catherine said.

" Aw." Hazel said, frowning. Catherine sighed, rubbing her eyes.

" Yeah, I've just been checking in on her, making sure she's okay." Catherine said and the two sharpshooters smiled fondly.

" I hope she's okay," Shifty said with a small smile.

" She'll be fine, I'm just hoping that whenever she can rest she can, Gene's been telling her to." Catherine said and their smiles softened, " I'll see you two later."

" Bye Mack!"

" See ya Cath!" When Catherine found Lizzie, she was curled up in George's side, in a foxhole with Skip and Penkala. Her face was flushed with fever, and she was attempting to rest against him for warmth, as her medic brassard was the only thing she saw along with the grey snow covered helmet when she approached them. When Catherine crouched down slowly by the side of the foxhole they all turned to her, except Lizzie. She was definitely asleep.

" Hey, Sarge." Skip called to her with a smile.

" Sarge, we just saw ya." Penkala said.

" Hey, Mack." George said with a bright smile.

" Hey, she doing ok?" Catherine asked softly, as all eyes looked to Lizzie, curled up trying to stay warm.

" She passed out not too long ago, sounds like she's got this nasty cough." George told her. Catherine sighed.

" Keep her warm," Catherine said and George nodded.

" What about you, Sarge, you gotta stay warm too." Skip told her.

" Yeah, yeah, just making my rounds." she said.

" Yeah, well, Buck already did that. Sounds like a crazy man though." Skip told her and Catherine raised a brow.

" You realize he seems so serious now with everything?" Penkala asked her.

" Other day, I'm walking, comes up scares the shit out of me. Called it 'preparing me for anything'," George told her and Catherine raised a brow, confused.

" Ever since he's come back, he's been a little off, but I guess I didn't know like that." she said.

" Yeah, he's just real serious, nothing really pending." Skip said, " We all thought it was weird when he told us to do nothing stupid." Catherine smirked.

" We jumped out of perfectly good airplanes." Penkala said.

" Who could be stupider." George said earning some laughs.

" Right, well, stay warm, keep her warm more importantly. I'll see you all around." Catherine said and smiled at the group before leaving. Catherine continued through the foxholes. Tab met her half way through and told her just to report to Lip and tell him everyone was getting settled.

" You sure, Tab?" Catherine asked him.

" Yeah, it's getting colder at night anyway, I'll check the rest of the men." he told her and squeezed her shoulder before turning and crouching down by a foxhole. Catherine sighed and turned and started towards Lip.

As she approached, she saw him with the Luger in his hands and Lieutenant Dike next to him, above him by his foxhole. Catherine hadn't seen Dike all day. What made this so different? Why did he just show unannounced and then leave again? Catherine waited until Dike left to approach Lip.

" Hey, Lip." Catherine said as Lip looked up at her approaching figure.

" Hey, Mack, what's up?" he asked her as he placed the Luger by his side and looked up at her from his foxhole. She could see the pain in his eyes that he so desperately was trying to hide. She felt bad; he always seemingly had to cover for Dike. She hated that he had to do that.

" The men are all getting settled now, most of them are almost done fortifying their foxholes." she said to him and Lip nodded.

" Thank you," he told her and she smiled. She then bit her lip.

" Um, Lip?" she asked him, as she shivered and crouched by the edge of his foxhole. He looked at her questioningly.

" Dike? Is he just...?"

" It's the first time I saw him all day." Lip told her, " Remember what I said, don't worry about him, I can do that. Worry about the men and women. I trust you." Catherine nodded, biting her lip again.

" Right, I'll see you tomorrow." she said with a small smile.

" See ya, Mack." he said as she stood and walked away towards her foxhole.

The next morning, was bland and boring it seemed. Catherine had opened her eyes, and looked up and saw light peeking through the shrubs her and Peacock had put on top of their foxhole. She slowly got up and Peacock got moving too.

" Aw, fuck." Catherine said as she put her helmet on her head.

" What?" Peacock asked her.

" I gotta go to Battalion CP. Remember that report?" she asked him.

" Yeah, what about it?" Peacock asked her as he put his own helmet on his head.

" Well, I finished it late last night, that's why I woke you up at 0030. And so I have to convince Winters that it's his now to give to Division, even though Dike's up there everyday." Catherine said.

" Oh, boy, good luck with that," Peacock said as the two crawled out into the cold morning.

" Yeah, we'll see what happens." she said with a smile before turning and heading towards CP. She found Winters shaving, the man was always keeping clean, mostly for the men, partly for himself. he wanted to show them that even in war, you needed to groom yourself a bit.

" Hey, Dick." Catherine called as she entered the CP. Winters looked at her with shaving cream on his face, razor on his cheek.

" What?" he asked her.

" Remember that report you told me to give to Dike?" she asked him.

" Yeah, what about?"

" He told me to give it to you." Catherine said. Winters sighed to himself, and went back to shaving.

" He's up at Division everyday, I don't see why he can't just take it." Winters muttered and Catherine chuckled a bit.

" Morning," a voice said and both Winters and Catherine looked over to see it was Nixon.

" Lew, eviction notice?" Winters asked him, and Catherine spotted the note in his hand.

" Not quite," Nixon said as he entered the tiny CP, " but I think I got something that will help you with your leadership problem."

" Oh, Dike's being transferred?" Winters asked him and Catherine had to chuckle.

" No, I can't help you with that, but Division has decided to pluck one officer from each Regiment that served in the heroic defense of Bastogne. Send him or her back to the states on a 30-day furlough. Get him out banging the drum for the war bond drive, that kind of thing." Nixon said, opening the paper and holding it out to Winters. Winters took the paper as he began wiping off his face and began looking at it.

" It turns out I've been plucked." Nixon said and Catherine's eyes widened, as she looked up at him.

" You serious?" she asked him, and Nixon nodded with a smirk.

" Hey, that's fantastic, Lew, good for you." Winters said as Nixon smiled.

" Thank you," Nixon said brightly. Catherine raised a brow.

" How in the world does your leaving help me?" Winters asked him.

" Yeah, the fuck we supposed to do now?" Catherine muttered, pulling a cigarette from her pocket.

" It doesn't, I'm not going." Nixon said as Catherine's eyes widened further.

" I've already seen the states, I grew up there. That's why I came to Europe. Just wish they'd tole me there was a war on." Nixon said and Catherine chuckled, lighting up her cigarette.

" Anyway, the point is, this thing's wasted on me. But I'm sure we can find an officer somewhere in this Battalion who could use a long trip home." Nixon said and Catherine raised a brow. She knew who he was talking about.

News broke that Peacock was heading out on the 30 day furlough. Catherine was a little upset, sure Peacock wasn't the brightest or most brilliant on the field, but she considered him her friend; they'd been sharing a foxhole since the beginning of them reaching Bastogne anyway.

" Congratulations, Lieutenant Peacock." Bull told him, " I can't think of anybody who deserves this more."

" Thanks," Peacock said, shaking his hand.

" I'm really glad that you're going home." George said, patting the Lieutenant on the shoulder as Hazel looked up at him with a small smile.

" Good luck, sir." Hazel said with a small smile and Peacock smiled at her.

" Best news I've heard in weeks." Christenson said as agreement rung about, " Hell of a guy, hell of a guy."

" Thanks, guys, I mean. It really means a lot, you know?" Peacock said.

" Oh, get out of here." Bull said, patting his shoulder, as the group let out laughs.

" Three cheers for Lieutenant Peacock, group." someone called.

" Hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!" the group called. The group dispersed with chuckles and Hazel gave the man one last tight hug, before following after Christenson a smile on her face. She was sad to see him go, even though he'd be back in a month. He had always respected the women of the company, and even if he was a bit lost in the field, she knew that many of the men were happy he'd be gone. Many didn't like him because he could barely lead, she figured that's why they seemed as happy as they did. It made her laugh a bit. Catherine watched them go and walked up to Peacock.

" Well," she said and Peacock looked at her, smiling, " I guess I'll see you in about 30 days times."

" Yeah, you will." he said. Catherine pulled him in for a hug, and gently patted his back.

" I'll see you, Tom." she said waving to him, as she smiled and headed for the CP. That's when the cameras came around. Lizzie avoided cameras like the plague, keeping her head down, arms crossed, eyes averted from anything that flashed bright. She walked right into someone because of it. She looked up and her eyes widened when she realized it as Joe Toye, back from the aid station. He had a wrap around his arm, and a small smile on his face.

" Hey, Lizzie." he said as she looked up at him shivering.

" Joe." she said, with a small, tired smile on her face.

" How're you feeling?" he asked her, as he wrapped his good arm over her shoulder.

" Terrible, but I should be asking you that." she said to him and he laughed.

" Smile!" the two froze and saw the camera in their face. Joe tensed up. Lizzie looked down, the flash going off just as her face looked down.

" I'll see you around, Lizzie, I'll take care of this." he said and Lizzie slowly stepped back and watched as Joe started in on the camera men. She smiled weakly before turning and walking away.

Catherine stood with Bill at the food line, holding her tin and laughing at something he said, but then something caught her eye. She looked over to her left a bit and saw Joe Toye walking towards them and she felt her eyes widen and her cheeks warm up at the sight.

" Look who it is!" she called as Bill turned and the two saw Joe coming towards them with a smirk on his face. Catherine smirked at him as he approached.

" Hey, Joe." Bill said, as the two shook hands.

" Hey, Bill." Joe said with a smile on his face.

" Good to see you, Pal." Bill told him.

" You, too." Joe answered as Bill looked at him.

" What the hell you doing back here?" Bill asked him with a smile on his face.

" I had to make sure you were on top of things."

" I'm on top of things. Tied me own boots once last week." Bill said and Catherine smirked, as Joe laughed, " All by me-self."

" Yeah, right." she muttered as Bill snickered.

" Hey, fellas, look who I found." Bill called, putting a hand on Joe's shoulder to lead him toward the center of the line where familiar faces were.

" Hey, Joe Toye, back for more!" Skip called out as Joe smiled.

" How are you, Joe?" Penkala asked shaking his hand.

" Yeah, doing pretty good." Joe answered as the 3 of them moved in the line, " Escaped from the aid station." Catherine smirked to herself.

" Where'd you get hit?" a voice asked and the group looked over to see it was Webb, one of the young, plucky replacements.

" What's that?" Joe asked, pointing his tin towards the guy.

" Ah, it's Webb," Skip said, " Replacement."

" Really," Joe muttered, " thought it was some guy I've known for two years and I forgot his face." Skip chuckled at his comment as Catherine smirked again.

" Joe got hit in the arm. New Year's Eve gift from the Luftwaffe." Penkala explained.

" A lot of your guys been injured?" the replacement asked and Catherine laughed out loud, earning a weird look from the replacement.

" It's called wounded, Peanut." Johnny said to him, " Injured's when you fall out of a tree or something."

" Yeah, like your leg twisting out of its socket." Catherine told him, as his eyes widened and she nodded, " Oh yeah, that was me, age 6." Webb nodded to her slightly scared. Bill chuckled.

" Don't worry there's enough crap flying around here, you're bound to get dined sometime. Almost every single one of these guys and ladies has been hit at least once." Skip told him as they walked forward.

" Except for Alley, he's a two-timer." Skip said, pointing at the man leaned up and eating against a tree, " He landed on broken glass in Normandy, and got peppered by a potato masher in Holland."

" You'll find out, son." Alley called to him.

" Now, Bull, he got a piece of exploding tank in Holland." Skip pointed out," And George Luz here...has never been hit. You're one lucky bastard."

" Takes one to know one, Skip." George answered to him.

" Ah, consider us blessed." Skip said, as Webb looked at him.

" And, Hazel over there, Tiny, if you will," Skip said pointing towards where Hazel sat next to Liebgott eating her fill, " sick all through Holland, with shrapnel in her wrist." Webb's eyes widened as Hazel smiled.

" Now, Liebgott, the skinny little guy, he got pinked in the neck in Holland." Skip said as LIebgott smirked, " And right next to him that other skinny little guy, that's Popeye. He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy."

" And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland." Malarkey said as Buck pointed to his butt, and a few laughs rang out.

" Yeah, kind of an Easy Company tradition, getting shot in the ass." Penkala said.

" Well then you have Catherine," Malarkey said pointing to where the woman now stood with Chuck, " Dropped into Normandy and landed so hard it shattered her entire should blade, second she got back into combat she shot the head of half the Germans we encountered." Catherine nodded with a smirk to Webb, who's eyes widened.

" You got some pretty tough women in the company," Webb said.

" Of course," Penkala said, patting his shoulder, " the best around."

" Hey even 1st Sergeant Lipton over there," Skip said pointing to the man beside Bill," he got a couple of pieces of tank shell burst at Carentan. One chunk in the face. Another chunk almost took out his nuts." Webb laughed.

" How are those nuts, Sarge?" Bill asked Lip.

" Doing fine, Bill." Lip said, a bit embarrassed, " Nice of you to ask."

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hi! just wanted to say thank you so much for voting, reading and commenting on this story, i've loved writing it more than you can imagine!! :)