[MillietheWarrior]

Christof's eyes darkened for a moment, and he looked a bit sad to hear her say that. But he smiled anyway, and nodded.

"Very well then, lieutenant, if that is what you want. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope we meet again someday soon." Boots clicking together, he saluted the young woman, who, in turn, smiled and did the same. Their eyes met, hopefully not for the last time.

"Good luck, M.J."

-----

M.J. rubbed her hands together as she stared at the two officers.

"Are you sure that was a wise choice, lieutenant? Won't your company need you?" Nixon glanced up at the young officer, warming his hands by the tiny, near-invisible fire that he and Winter's had started. M.J. shook her head, shivering a bit in the cold.

"No, no. K Company is practically non-existent. Well, at least the part I belong to. The Special Ops Battalion is basically a self-operating battalion, meaning that it operates independently of the rest of the company. In fact, we had little to no contact with the rest of the men during basic training. Special Ops works alone. It assigns it's soldiers, or what we like to call, 'field operators,' to different and separately independent missions. I have even less contact with my battalion than I do with the Germans on the other side of the forest."

-----


(Continuation of Chapter 4)

[MillietheWarrior]

She shrugged and wrapped her arms around her torso. Nixon lifted his eyebrows, but said nothing more.

"Christof is my captain, but he's also a good friend of mine. It's why he acquiesced with my request to stay with Easy. He knows I wouldn't make such a choice lightly. I'm not that type of person." She leaned in, when Winters looked up, narrowing her eyes. "Listen. I would love to return to my company, but the moment I did, I'd get my ass booted back over to the German lines. No way in hell am I going to let that happen. Christof, however, won't be going back. He has strict orders after this to stay in London, where he's been ordered to write up a report on everything he saw, did and uncovered, and deliver it directly to Ike. What we do out here, it's not taken lightly. We put our asses on the line for that information."

[MillietheWarrior]

Richard shifted slightly to get a better look at M.J. "Yes, lieutenant, but have you forgotten? The men out here put their asses on the line as well, and they don't get to go home to be revered by Ike. They get measly rations, no winter clothing, and hell in a foxhole. You're no different, and you're not something special."

M.J. couldn't help but laugh. She allowed the laughter to overrun her common sense, and was soon holding her sides as tears nearly streamed down her cheeks. Richard and Lewis looked confused, and, suffice to say, a bit worried for her sanity. Wiping the tears from her cheek, she smiled.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Ah, thanks, captain. I sure needed that. Not that I was laughing at you. You are right, but I never said anything about me being special, now did I? I'm just one small part of the whole goddamn war. And I'm proud to be that small part." Shaking her head, she saluted the two officers, who, in turn, quickly return it lest she spout off something profound, and marched off.

Nixon turned to Winters, looking quite perplexed. "What the hell is wrong with her?" he questioned slowly. Richard shook his head, looking just as confused as his friend.

[MillietheWarrior]

"I don't know, Nix. Maybe Toye scrambled her brains when he brought her in off the line...She'd have to be crazy to want to stay out here..."

Christof had been spot on when he'd spoken of Noville and Rachamps. In the next couple of weeks, Easy took both towns.

Easy Company went into their newest campaign with 121 men and officers and 24 replacements. They cam out with only 63. They had lost Herron, Sowosko, Kenneth and Harold Webb, Mellet, Alex Penkala, Skip Muck, Buck Compton, and Norman Dike.

[5]

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. however, was forbidden from joining in on any assault, much to her displeasure. In fact, she was sent to the company CP, to stay with Colonel Sink, where it was safe.

Needless to say, she wasn't happy about it at all. Sink had a mighty hard time controlling his wayward new intelligence officer, and her outbursts were starting to wear on everyone's nerves.

When the company finally made it into Hagenau, everyone in the CP was glad to be rid of the fiery young lieutenant. And she made every effort to stay as far away from all of them as possible.

[MillietheWarrior]

When she was finally released from 'protective custody,' as many liked to call it, she had a hell of a time getting back to easy. On the way there, she met up with a man named Webster, who, in fact, had literally run into her.

"Sorry, miss," he apologized profusely, holding out a hand to a disgruntled, and now very muddy, lieutenant. M.J. growled, before pushing herself up on two hands. She ignored his offer of assistance, and helped herself of the ground, brushing off what dirt and grime she could.

[MillietheWarrior]

"It's not 'miss,' private. It's lieutenant." David Webster looked quite confused. A woman was a lieutenant? Scratching his head, he wondered what the war was coming to while M.J. eyed him and his uniform critically.

"Airborne, huh?" she spoke suddenly. Webster jumped, and nodded.

"Er, yes, sir. I mean ma'am...I mean...Uh, Lieutenant." M.J. looked amused, and offered him a half-smile.

[MillietheWarrior]

"No worries, private. You can come with me. I'm on my way to find the 101st right about now, and I could use a little help getting back. I'm not so keen on directions, I'll have you know."

Webster looked surprised, before nodding. He picked up his bag, and slung it over his shoulder, offering to carry M.J.'s bag as well. She shook her head, and hoisted it onto her back. Webster looked a bit put out. He had no idea how to handle this woman, who claimed to be a lieutenant looking for the 101st Airborne. She was...Well, he wasn't used to what she was. He was used to nurses, all smiles and crisp, clean uniforms. Happy wives and homemakers, always glad to see a new face. Not scruffy, solider girls, who looked more like men than women caked in dirt and grime. She was a real mystery.

[MillietheWarrior]

It did not take the two long to find the convoy Easy had been traveling with. The platoons had been put onto three separate trucks. As M.J. and Webster jogged a bit to catch the first one in sight, M.J. frowned at just how empty the truck really was. There should be way more people with them. Johnny Martin stood up, nodding at M.J. in recognition, before turning steely eyes onto one Private David Webster.

"Hey, guys," he called happily, walking behind the truck. M.J. kept a steady pace alongside him, shaking her head quietly. She would say nothing. Martin looked displeased, and motioned ahead of them.

[5]

[MillietheWarrior]

"Why don't you go join Second Platoon, Webster? They lost more guys than we did."

M.J. agreed, though she did not voice her opinion out loud. Webster looked a bit disappointed, but nodded and continued on his way, M.J right beside him. They tagged along behind the next truck, Webster looking far more hopeful than before.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Hey, guys," he repeated, earning a few disgruntled looks from the men. "Where is everyone?" M.J. shook her head, and bypassed the private, getting an unspoken hand up by Jackson. Webster glanced at the lieutenant as she sat down beside the young private.

"Jackson, right?" Webster asked. "Can you give me a hand up, Jackson?" Eugene Jackson offered him a hand reluctantly, pulling him up onto the truck with little effort. Webster sat down next to M.J. as she glanced up at Malarkey. He looked beat, and pretty down. She didn't blame him.

[MillietheWarrior]

He had suffered the most...

"Where are the other sergeants?" Webster voiced, seeming to channel M.J.'s thoughts. She too had been wondering where Bill and Joe were.

Malarkey looked over at them, before his eyes strayed to M.J. and locked onto her brown ones. "They caught a bit of shrapnel in the arm. They'll be fine. They're in an aid station here in town. Don't worry." he half-smiled, before returning to the dead-straight stare he had been so intent on perfecting only moments ago.

[MillietheWarrior]

"All right," M.J. breathed. She glanced at Webster, catching only the tail end of another private's remark. He had said they were making Malarkey a lieutenant? Battlefield commission? What the hell? Shaking her head, she caught Donald's eye, and he frowned, mouthing the words 'Not me. Lipton.'

M.J. seemed to take it in stride, leaning against the back of the truck as she tried to get more comfortable. Boy, the things theses guys would say. She just couldn't believe it.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Hey there, Lip."

M.J. strode into the new CP, offering a half salute to Lipton as he lay stretched out on a couch. "What's got ya so down? You look worse than a fish outta water." She eyed him critically, before moving closer, peering into his face with unmasked concern. Lipton scooted back, uncomfortable with the close proximity of this pretty girl.

[15]