UPDATED 05/08/2022. I added more details to Madison's thoughts and extended a few scenes in this chapter.

I also dedicate this chapter to: @chelbel98 , aka my biggest fan. Thank you so much for the support---you're the best.

* * * * *

They were sent to Foy.

The journey there itself was, for the most part, fine. There were a few hits from the Germans, but there were no serious wounds or casualties among the regiment.

What must have been the most exciting thing early into their relocation, however, was when Hoobler finally, finally received his Luger. He had wanted one for so long. Madison could remember way back before D-Day (Jesus, that felt like an eternity ago!), when she and Hoobler met the British soldier who had picked one up during a campaign. Her friend had wanted one ever since. Personally, Madison didn't see what was so amazing about it, but she wasn't going to drag down the excitement of her friend.

While everyone else was digging foxholes, Hoobler was currently going to every single Easy member to share the tale of how he got his Luger. Madison had heard it at least three times already. She started to get irritated with him, especially since he wasn't helping her with the foxhole she was digging for them.

"Stupid men and their stupid guns. Stupid pride," Madison was muttering out her thoughts. Skip had just happened to walk past her as she said that. He stopped and started to chuckle.

"Well, hello there Ruthie! Having trouble?" Skip often called Madison by his sister's name as a joke. He had explained that, in a few ways, Madison reminded him of her. Madison didn't mind it, though. She liked Skip. Everyone did.

"No," Madison denied, not looking up at him. Before anything else could be said, however, there was a single gunshot. Madison looked up at him immediately. Both of their eyes were widened in wonder, as Skip hopped into her foxhole, getting into position. However, Madison couldn't move. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears and her heart thumping. Something was wrong, really wrong.

Just then, someone grabbed her, hauling her up. Madison's vision was blurry, and she had no idea who was shaking her and saying, "Hoob's shot himself!"

That was enough to make Madison dart off to the direction where they heard it. She found Donny lying on the ground, with men surrounding him.

"Move! Move! MOVE!" she was yelling, and the four men around him made room for her. "Jesus, Donny, what did you do?"

"I wasn't touching it or nothing, I swear!" Hoobler was crying out. He felt bad that this was happening. He felt bad and he felt hurt.

"Alright, where are you hit? Where is he hit?" Madison was asking rapidly, as dread was filling up inside of her. She wanted to kick it out, because she was going to let nothing happen to her friend. Nothing.

"In the leg," someone said.

"Left leg."

Madison didn't need them to answer her, though, as she noticed the dark reed seeping into the brown trousers. They were ripped open already, and Jesus, how did she not notice? It didn't matter. She dove right into the procedure. She tried her best to get into it, but she just couldn't see.

"I can't see a thing, we're gonna have to get him to the aid station," Madison breathed out, as she continued to work on him. She was trying so hard that she didn't notice Buck Compton saying her name, or any of them, until someone grabbed her shoulder.

"WHAT?" she had whipped her head at the one who grabbed her. It was Lipton. He had a sorrowful look on his face.

"Madison," he said softly. "Look."

No, the voice in her head said. She didn't comply. Slowly, she turned her head to see Hoobler, his eyes blank; lifeless. He wasn't breathing. She knew what had happened, but it wasn't registering with her. Not yet. She checked his pulse, there was none. There were no signs of life. She could feel the hot—oh how they were hot—tears welling up in her eyes. She accidentally blinked, and the tears began to stream down her face.

No...

"Madison?" she heard someone whisper, but she didn't respond. She just stared at Donny's face. He was dead. Gone. He was gone.

She could hear them say her name again, but she just couldn't...she couldn't...no. No. No!

"Maddie?"

Slowly, she turned her head to see Carwood Lipton and Shifty. One man was crouched down next to her, while the other was crouching down on the other side of Hoobler's lifeless body.

Madison opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't. Her throat felt as if it was cracked and dry. She broke down in tears instead, throwing herself into Lipton's body. Shifty moved and rubbed his hand from her backside. She was in the middle between the two of them.

"He's...he's...I c-I couldn't save him," Madison was able to get it. "And I-I called him stupid and—"

Shifty was making shushing noises, trying to calm her down as Lipton spoke. "It's okay, Maddie. It's alright. He's not mad at you. It's okay."

But it wasn't okay. One of her friends, one of her good friends, was dead. Deceased. Gone.

* * * * *

Lipton had to report Hoobler's death to Winters and Nixon.

"He was wearing so many clothes that we couldn't tell how bad he was bleeding. Klein came by, but it was too late. She was throwing herself into him with all that she could do before he passed."

There was a heaviness that hung in the air. Lipton was having a tough time getting the image of Hoobler laying on the ground, Madison in shock and in tears, out of his mind.

"The bullet had cut through the artery in his main leg, sir."

"Ah, hell, Lip. It wouldn't have made a difference if you had known. Cut that main artery in the leg and that's...that's it." Nixon was the first one to speak. He knew that Klein was a smart young woman, but he knew that Hoobler was one of the first friends she had made when they were at Toccoa, too. It was a dreadful thing, to see a friend like that go and not being able to do a thing about it. He knew that Klein often took loss hard when it was under her hand. She blamed herself for the death of the men that she can't save.

Lipton nodded. "I should go back to make sure the men are settled in. I'm going to check in with Klein, too." Before he left the tent, Winters spoke up.

"Where's Dike?" his teeth clattered. You could tell he was freezing. Hell, everyone was.

"You want to see him sir?" Lipton asked.

"No, I just would have expected to get this kind of news from him."

Lipton nodded. "I was there, sir. Figured it might as well come from me." He left them then and sought out to do his tasks.

* * * * *

"I'm telling you boys, we are so fucking screwed," Bill ranted away to Madison, Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala. The days seemed to be even colder, Madison thought to herself as she shivered into her coat , which was not warm at all. (They still haven't received their proper winter gear.) If you ever wondered why you would find her snuggled up into someone's side, it was because she was fucking freezing her tits off, alright? (Those were Bill's words, not her's.)

"If you ask me, I'm glad Lieutenant Dike is never around," Alex piped up, and Madison had to agree. Dike was not good at anything. He was supposed to lead the company, but he was never around! It annoyed her to no end. God, she hated people like that. It felt like when she was forced to do group projects back when she was in school, in a way. In this case, it would be that everyone was doing the work, except that one person who does nothing. Although it's worse if it's only one person doing the work and no one else does, but still. It sucks.

"Hey, you know what? We're doing alright. Even with Foxhole Norman." Malarkey shrugged.

This set Bill off.

"Yeah, Don. We're doing alright right now. In case you haven't noticed, there's a little town down the hill over there, right? And in that town there's these guys, and these guys are called Germans. And these Germans got tanks." Bill's southern Philly accent seemed to grow stronger the more he ranted, and a little smirk tugged on one side of Madison's lips. It was amusing to her, especially since his annoyance wasn't targeted at her.

Malarkey sighed. "I know, Bill."

"Yeah," Bill agreed. "And our side wants to go into that town. You wanna take one guess at who they're going to want to go knocking on their goddamn doors?"

"I know, Bill!" Malarkey was exasperated. "Alright? It's me you're talking to here."

"Jesus Christ," Bill continued. "We gotta do all this, with a CO, whose got his head so far up his fucking ass that the lump in his throat is his goddamn nose."

Penkala let out a silent huff of laughter and while Madison did think that the last portion of Bill's complaining was amusing, she wanted him to shut up already.

"Hey, First Sergeant!" Skip greeted Lipton, with the others joining in.

Finally, Madison thought. Bill will stop talking.

"Hey, Muck. What's the word?"

"Oh, you know, freezing our ass off." He glanced towards Bill before looking back to Lipton. "Singing Dike's praises."

"Yeah. Lieutenant Dike," Lipton murmured to himself, before sitting next to Bill. He was getting ready to say something, Madison could tell.

"Well, I'll tell ya. I wouldn't want to be a replacement officer coming in here," Lipton began. "To get thrown in with a group of guys who've known each other for what? Two years? To have been in combat together since Normandy, and then to just show up here and lead them? How's he going to do that? How could anyone really hope to gain respect from the toughest, most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO?"

A ghostly smile slowly appeared on Madison's face. She couldn't help but think of Hoobler. She knew her eyes were rimmed red, and she was still upset. "Even if they cry?"

"Especially if they cry," Lipton agreed, knowing Madison was well, but not fully over the shock of her friend's death. "Or if they come back from Berlin, with Hitler's mustache or something."

Bill let out a fake, sarcastic laugh as the others quietly joined in as well. Lipton gave the smallest of smiles, until he sobered up again.

"Listen. You guys don't worry about Dike, alright?"

The group of five quickly sobered up too. Malarkey nodded, letting out a "yeah."

"We all do our jobs, and everything will be fine."

But will it? Madison wondered, as she watched Lipton pat Bill on his knee, before getting up and leaving the group.

* * * * *

The men were fretting over her and quite frankly, Madison was getting annoyed with it. She appreciated how they worried for her, but they were babying her, too.

Madison really couldn't say anything, however. She found it hard to talk. She supposed that she was still in shock. The men would rotate to keep her company and her fellow medics wanted her to take a time out. Roe said she wore her heart on her sleeve, and she supposed he was right. She just doesn't know if it was a good or bad thing.

Luz, out of all people, was with her. Don't get Madison wrong, George was a good guy. He was just...annoying. He reminded her of her dad. Sometimes that was a good thing, because she missed him but it was also a bad thing, because she missed him.

Madison found herself thinking more of her family lately, especially during the holiday season. While correspondence has been slow as of late, Madison did know a few things. She knew her mother was still working at the hospital and helping her siblings with the victory garden (it was hard to believe that Mikey was nine, geez.) ...was that woman busy or what? Her father, her Papa or Pops, of course was still going strong with his construction business that he was a part of. Morgan was now a working woman! She was still in school, but apparently she landed a job at the Dayton Daily News? Madison was so proud of her.

And, of course, Matt was in the Pacific, island hopping. Madison thought that being in the Pacific must be harder than Europe. It seemed they were always in a different place whenever she wrote or received a letter from Matt. They also had to deal with the boiling heat, which didn't sound so bad when you were freezing yourself off in what had to be negative Fahrenheit degrees.

Luz cracked jokes and smiles with Madison, but Madison wasn't feeling very responsive. Eventually, Luz settled down, and the two paratroopers sat in silence, shivering into each other and observing their surroundings.

"You know, you're not too bad when you're quiet," Madison stated. She was sure she sounded hoarse, but Luz made no comment.

"It's not too bad being quiet," Luz retorted. And that was all that was said, as both soldiers got lost in their thoughts.

* * * * *

The men noticed that Madison had started smoking. She remembered asking Liebgott if she could bum a cigarette from him. At first, he thought he was joking, until she took his pack, took the one cigarette she requested and lit it, putting it into her mouth.

"When in the hell did you start smoking?" he had asked.

"When I was in the hospital," Madison responded calmly.

That encounter Madison and Bull had in Holland really shook her up, and her friends could tell. No one really pressed on it, though. As far as she knew, it was only Bull that knew the details of how she obtained her wounds. She knew the man wouldn't say anything that wasn't his own, and she was thankful for that. She really wasn't ready to talk about it. Not now, not ever.

Her mind briefly flashed to Fred. She wondered how he was doing. She wrote to him but had yet to hear from him. She hoped he was okay. It was nice seeing him, despite the circumstances.

"Hey, Maddie!"

Madison, who was walking and smoking at this point (she was trying everything to keep warm and moving), stopped and looked down to her side. It was Babe that had called for her. He seemed to be in the process of digging his foxhole with Bill.

"Hey, Babe. What can I do for you?"

Babe hesitated for a moment, and Madison knew it was going to be difficult.

"Say, Maddie...have you noticed anything about Buck lately?"

Madison thought about it. She took a puff of her cigarette before answering. She knew that Buck wasn't the same man he used to be. After Holland, he changed. Then again, so had she, so who was she to judge?

"Well, I suppose I have a little. He seems more...stiff. Like, I remember he was more joyful, but overtime, he's faded," she answered, before muttering the last part, "I know I have."

"What was that?" Bill asked. Madison looked at him, her eyes widening just the littlest bit.

"Ah, nothing," she answered. "But...I can't blame him. War is drag. It changes all of us, whether we admit it or not." Madison started to get uncomfortable. She gulped. "I'll see you guys later."

"See ya," Babe waved off. "If you need a place to stay, you're welcome to join us."

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * * * *

Peacock was being sent home.

Nothing bad happened to him. He didn't get killed or anything like that. Apparently, the story is that one officer is being picked from each regiment that was in Bastogne during battle, and they were being sent home for a month for war bonds.

Peacock may not have been the most effective leader, sure, but he was a good man. So, of course, Madison took part in congratulating him.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Peacock. I hope you enjoy your time off from here," Madison shook his hand. Peacock's smile was growing wider by the second.

"Thank you, medic. Your work is valued and much appreciated. You are one of the most hard-working women I've ever met," Peacock said. Madison wasn't sure if his compliment was genuine or a backhanded insult, but she continued to smile. She wouldn't pick a fight. At least not today.

* * * * *

There were cameras and film reels out on the front lines. This was for the folks who were back in the states, someone had explained. Apparently, they needed to know what it was like on the front lines. At least, what it was like when there weren't any gunshots, blood, or death.

Madison, Skip, and Penkala seemed to be goofy when they were all near, so they were filmed some. Someone snapped a photo of Roe and Madison napping, leaning against each other. There was another photo one where Madison, Bill, and Spina were all half-holding Babe, and another where Liebgott carried her on his back. (She had wanted to see what it was like to be his height. She's done that with Bull and a couple of the other men too.) The man with the film reel, Madison can't remember his name, was interviewing Madison at one point, when Luz decided to scare her from behind. If you have never heard Madison scream when she was spooked, it usually sounded high pitched, and somewhat like a dog when they screeched. Luz said it was like a fox screeching. Madison hit Luz repeatedly after that incident.

Toye, who had once again been wounded, returned to the frontlines around the time the cameras were around. He had been at the aid station for less than a week. That was the thing about Easy Company: no one stayed where they needed to be, they always came crawling back.

Madison was in line for food when she felt him pat her shoulder. It made her flinch.

"How's our little girl?" Toye grinned.

"I'm a grown woman, thank you," Madison retorted. It wasn't a lie: she was fully grown and would turn eighteen in May, although she felt so much older than that.

"You're not," Bill, Skip, Penkala, and Johnny Martin all echoed at once.

"I hate all of you," Madison said, having a feeling that they were hinted at something else.

"Where did you get hit?" a replacement asked. Madison couldn't remember his name at the moment.

Toye stared at him. "Who's that?"

"Ah, that's Webb. A replacement," Skip answered.

"Really?" Toye wondered, the sarcasm seeping into his gruff voice. "I thought it was some guy I've known for two years and I forgot his face."

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

"A lot of you guys get injured?" Webb asked. Martin scoffed from behind him.

"It's called wounded, peanut. Injured is when you fall out of a tree or something," Martin explained. Madison snorted.

"Don't worry, there's enough crap around here that you're bound to get dinged sometime," Skip told Webb. "Almost every single one of these guys has been hit at least once. Except Alley: he's a two timer. He landed on broken glass in Normandy, and got peppered with a potato masher in Holland."

Skip took the replacement to various people, explaining how they got hit: Bull and the exploding tank in Holland (along with Madison), George who has yet to get hit, Liebgott and his neck in Holland, as well as both Popeye and Buck with their shot-in-the-ass in Normandy and Holland. There were a lot of Holland-related wounds, apparently. Madison didn't realize how rough Market Garden was until then, and once more when she explained her time in the service years later.

"It's kind of an Easy Company tradition to get shot in the ass," Penkala explained, as Skip and Webb joined him, Malarkey, and Madison.

"Even First Sergeant Lipton over there!" Skip pointed him out. Lipton looked up and met his eyes. "He got a couple pieces of a tank in Carentan. One chunk in the face," he paused. "The other chunk almost took out his nuts but