[MillietheWarrior]

"Don't worry about it."

When Bill came back, he found both of them sitting side by side, exactly how he had left them. "Hey, Bill?" As he slid into the foxhole, he turned his head to glance at M.J. curious as to what she wanted to say.

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry about a thing. Neither of us plans on getting killed anytime soon." Confused, Bill offered the small woman a very puzzle looked. Smiling, she shook her head.

"Just don't worry about it."

-----

He could feel her gaze boring holes into his helmet.

"I'm sorry, lieutenant, but Colonel Sink has ordered me to keep you here. Your intelligence and knowledge of the enemy position is far too valuable to send you off on an attack. You'll just have to sit back and wait…" He sighed heavily. "Like the rest of us." The last sentence was uttered so quietly, that the diminutive lieutenant had to strain to catch it.

-----

(Continuation of Chapter 3)

[MillietheWarrior]

"Sir," her voice was crisp and clear as she stood, holding out her hands as she took a thoughtful step forward. "I must protest this ludicrous order. I provided the information, and I want to participate in the assault. I think I have a right to, sir." Her hands flew to her hips, balled up in small fists as she stared up at her new commander.

Winters shook his head, placing one hand against his temple. He could already feel the headache coming on. It seemed that every time he had been forced to deal with the fiery Special Ops officer, his head began throbbing. He liked to call them 'Intelligence Headaches.' Nixon, to say the least, found this all to be quite amusing.

[MillietheWarrior]

Speaking of Nixon…

The raven haired captain stood up, holding up his hands in defeat as he tried in vain to placate the riled up lieutenant. "Lieutenant Heartford, we would like nothing more than to send you in with the assault team, but our hands are tied. Colonel Sink is adamant about this. He won't have you participating in this operation. You're just too valuable."

[MillietheWarrior]

The petite woman growled, her slightly smudged face standing out as a stark contrast against the white of the Bois Jacques. She looked far more unhappy now than she had when they brought her in, and fruitlessly tried to force her to give up her information. Her dark eyes were narrowed into tiny slits, brown hair falling down in tiny rivulets around her heart-shaped face. "Fine then, sir," she ground out, spitting out the last word with more venom than a rattlesnake. "If that's what you want, then I will wait in my God damn foxhole for your assault team to come back. Thank you, sir." She snapped off an automatic salute, and without waiting to be dismissed, turned on her heel and marched off.

[MillietheWarrior]

Nixon shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Shifting slightly, he turned to glance at his friend. Richard did not look pleased, and in fact, he looked upset. "I know she wants to be there when we take Foy, but we just can't chance it. See, Nix, this is why the Paratroopers are all men. But you know, sometimes I wonder…If they'd made a battalion of female Paratroopers, don't you think the Krauts would be running scared by now?" He offered his buddy a sly grin, and shook his head.

Nixon couldn't help but laugh. "Yup, Dick, I think you're right. After all, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" He sighed and sat down on his improvised chair, sticking both of his hands back in his pockets.

Winters imitated him, and leaned back against the side of their tent. "You're absolutely right, Nix. Absolutely right."

[5]

[MillietheWarrior]

---

M.J. curled her arms around her torso.

The last shelling had brought terrible news, she reflected grimly. Skip Muck and Alex Penkala had both taken a direct hit. There wasn't much left of them after that. George had told her everything after she sought him out, and asked for an explanation. Donald Malarkey, a man whom she had little contact with in her short time among the men of Easy Company, was taking it pretty hard.

[MillietheWarrior]

There was nothing she could do for him, but offer a few words that were meant to comfort. He had nodded, grateful, it seemed, for her concern, and then she had lost his gaze, and his eyes slipped down to the cross he held tightly in his gloved hand. She knew it had belonged to one of his friends.

M.J. had excused herself after that, and opted to be alone for a while.

She walked through the trees, knowing full well how dangerous this was. But then, why should it matter? No, she certainly wasn't suicidal, nor was she stupid. She just felt as though she needed to get away for a while, to be on her own. Her feet crunched in the soft snow, and she huddled in on herself, preserving her warmth as she had so many days ago in Foy.

[MillietheWarrior]

She wondered how the attack was going now. When she left Winters, both he and Nix were preparing to head to the front lines. Although the attack wouldn't take place for another half hour, she knew that Richard had a lot on his mind. She knew he had no confidence in Lieutenant Dike, a man whom she found to be unpleasant, to say the least.

She had met him, of course, and gotten the impression that this entire fiasco was nothing but a hindrance to the man. He seemed to always want to be on the go, out of harm's way, and away form the men. Joe had told her that he was a flake, worthless, and not worth the effort of dealing with.

After her meeting with him, and a few choice words, M.J. couldn't agree more.

[MillietheWarrior]

So, Winters and Nixon were most likely standing near the MLR, shouting orders, preparing for the assault, and here she was, walking through the woods with no purpose but to observe. She studied the woods behind her for a moment, eyes searching for something she could not see, until the sounds of shouting and gunfire reached her ears.

She merely nodded, and continued on.

It did not take long before she began to feel a strange sense of déjà vu. As though she had been in this part of the Bois Jacques before. Blinking, she hugged her arms closer to her body, rubbing her hands together as she tried to conserve energy and heart.

[MillietheWarrior]

The young lieutenant swore she could hear something up ahead. Voices, footsteps. Something was out there, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She strained her eyes and ears, desperate to solve this oddly daunting mystery. Of course, she had slung her rifle over her shoulder, and lifted it to rest beneath her arm, aimed carefully at the direction of the disturbance.

Shifting silently, or as silently as one could whilst standing atop noisy snow, she positioned herself behind a tree, the best cover she could possibly even hope to find in a forest. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she thought that she could make out a shape off in the distance. What the hell…

[10]

[MillietheWarrior]

She flipped off the safety, and lifted her M-1 to eye-level, closing only one, narrowed eye to take aim. The shape was getting closer, and whether it be friend or foe, she wasn't taking any chances. As it moved within range, she lifted herself up, standing beside the tree she had taken cover behind.

"Halt."

Her cool, crisp warning rang heavily in the air, and the figure stopped, swiveling side to side as it tried to determine her location. "Drop your weapons, and I won't shoot you." Then, rethinking her language choice, she switched to German.

[MillietheWarrior]

"(Drop your weapons, or I will shoot. Now.)"

There was a distinct crunching sound, and the shape held up two burly arms, wrapped in a thick coat. Moving closer, studying her prisoner carefully, M.J. reached his side, and was startled to find that she had seen this man before. Eyes widening, she nearly dropped her rifle, as the man looked on, mouth agape.

"C-Christof?"

[MillietheWarrior]

---

M.J. walked beside the man, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"(You don't say? I'd have thought they'd have left Foy altogether. I suppose that commander was more persistent than I thought. I hope he wasn't killed.)" Her rifle was slung carelessly over her shoulder, while the man merely nodded.

"(Yes, the commander was perseverant. But I don't think he was killed. After all, many of the ground troops withdrew during the attack. I am almost sure he was with them. I'd bet my socks on it.)"

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. smiled. "(I'll take that bet. I could use another pair of socks. My feet are freezing.)" Christof could only laugh, his blue eyes dancing with mirth as she led him back to the CP. "(Uh, Christof, I'm going to have to blindfold you from here on out. I can't let you see the way there, all right?)" The young lieutenant offered him an apologetic smile, but the man waved it off.

"(No harm done. No harm, my sweet Mary. Anything for you.)" He winked boldly as the woman blushed, tying the thin strip of cloth around his eyes. He deep, hearty chuckling only added to her embarrassment, and she was glad he couldn't see. Her face was probably beet red.

[MillietheWarrior]

"(Oh, enough, you big fool. We'll be there in no time. Try to keep those 'Sweet Mary,' comments to a minimum. I have a reputation to uphold, ya know.)" She huffed, and patted him on the arm, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "(Those hands better stay there, too,)" she added as an afterthought, earning another round of laughter from the man behind her.

The tiny officer lead the two of them expertly back along the trail she had taken. She could see her own footsteps, and followed the sounds of the men as they echoed and bounced along the dense foliage of the Bois Jacques. It did not take them long, before the company CP came into sight.

[15]