UPDATED 05/15/2022. Some scenes have been altered.

* * * * * *

Austria was beautiful.

Snow-capped mountains, grassy fields and valleys, beautiful lakes, it was just breathtaking. If you could only take one picture, it could not capture the beauty of the country.

While Austria was beautiful, the people were not. Austria was the true SS country, right next to Germany. You saw SS everywhere you went. They were either dead in the streets or they would be killed by Allied forces. They didn't surrender. They were defiant as hell. The citizens were as well. They did not want to give up their homes to the soldiers, but, as always, Major Winters laid down the law for them. He wanted the best for his soldiers and by God, you better give it to them.

Besides the issue with the civilians, Austria was pretty laid back, Madison thought. Easy Company's main job was occupational duty. There were always some bumps along the way, but it was mostly a smooth task.

Madison often found herself working in POW camps and DP sections. She was rarely put on patrols in Austria, which irritated her. She's been through hell and back, what would be so bad if a few of the SS wanted to pick a fight and she was there? She was a soldier, damn it. She may be a medic, but she knew how to defend herself and her comrades.

While Madison wasn't around the SS, she did take care of the POWs as requested. The POWs were mostly enlisted men of the German Army, and the soldiers varied in age and condition. One could be twenty-four and have a nasty infection, while the other could be forty-five and have his eyelids frozen off. None of her patients picked a fight with her, unless they were stubborn and insisted that they were fine. She just shoved them back down into their cot and ordered them around. It was pretty easy and, honestly, kind of fun. For once, she was in charge.

One of the things that disturbed Madison the most, however, were the children she encountered. While she was used to seeing children in the DP camps, there were quite a few in some of the POW sections she worked in. Now, Madison was aware that there were children fighting for Hitler, as some of her comrades saw those children in the battlefield. In fact, some of them had to kill those children because they were fighting for Hitler and would have died for him.

What a monster. That old Nazi fuck had people rounded up and slaughtered like animals, and he had the grand idea of forcing children to fight his battles? Everything about the man made Madison burn in anger, and she was so glad she trashed as many of his fascist books as she could at the Eagle's Nest. She even found herself not feeling sorry for looting the Eagle's Nest or the Nazi towns she was in. Hitler and the SS could, quite frankly, get fucked, and Madison hoped that they were all miserable in both life and death.

While seeing children as young as eight years old in those POW camps disturbed Madison, one patient she could clearly remember was of a boy about fourteen or fifteen years old. He was ill and had to get his leg amputated. Madison held the boy's hand, soothing him as the procedure happened.

A part of Madison wanted to scold the boy, telling him that he was too young to be in war, but she knew she was a hypocrite. Madison had recently turned eighteen, and she was about the boy's age when she signed up to be in the Nurse Corps before eventually agreeing to be part of the Airborne. She had spent her teenaged years in the military....was she any better?

Well, it wasn't like she could do anything now. Madison served her time and she didn't regret it, either, even after all the horrors that she's witnessed. She's helped so many people, and she would never regret that.

* * * * * *

Madison didn't even realize it was her birthday when it had passed. She had lost track of time. That usually happened when you were in the military; out in the field and saving lives. You didn't have time to think of yourself and trivial things.

On the day of her birthday, Madison was dropped off at the house she was boarding with a few of her friends. She had gotten off her shift working at one of the DP camps. Nothing interesting had happened (except for the DPs talking to her, which she always enjoyed) and no one had died, which made a pretty okay day in her book.

She waved goodbye to the driver, thanking him before he went on his way. When he was out of sight Madison looked around. It was a beautiful day. It usually was in Austria.

Sighing, Madison decided to go into her personal quarters. She assumed that her housemates were out, and that it was the perfect opportunity to take a nap. If she couldn't nap, she could at least rest up a little bit. Even if Easy Company's main job was currently occupational duty, Madison found herself weary. She figured that all the action and celebration of the war had caught up with her, not to mention all the energy to work in both POW and DP camps. It's fine to be lethargic. It happens, right?

When Madison shut the door behind her, she heard a loud crash coming from further in the house. It had scared the living daylight out of her, especially when Babe popped out of nowhere.

"Ah! Babe, what the hell?" she yelped, as she clutched her chest. That was another thing. Madison always knew she was kind of a scaredy cat, but she seemed to be more jumpy lately. It annoyed her but amused her friends to no end. They loved to scare her. It was one of their favorite activities to do to pass the time.

Babe said nothing. Instead, he grabbed her and shoved her into the living room, where some of their friends were socializing.

"The birthday girl is here!"

Birthday? Oh God, was today the—?

"Happy birthday, Maddie!" the men in the room cheered. She looked around the room. She saw Sisk, Shifty, Spina, Garcia, Hashey, O'Keefe, Perconte, Luz, Bull, and a few others. It was a bit crowded, but she liked seeing these guys, so she could suffice.

"Some of the guys are gonna come by later," Bull explained, seeing the puzzled look on her face.

"That's not what I was wondering, but thanks," Madison answered. "Today's the seventeenth? Wait, how did you—"

"You're our friend, how can we forget your birthday?" Luz grinned as he threw an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. "I can't believe our baby girl is eighteen today!"

O'Keefe's jaw dropped. So did Garcia's and Hashey's.

"Wait a minute. You're eighteen?!"

Madison offered a bashful smile. "Yeah..."

"But you're a Toccoa man! Or, uh, woman..." Garcia flushed.

Madison scratched the back of her head. The cat was pretty much out of the bag for those who didn't know her true age.

"I falsified my papers when I enlisted. Just don't let the others know, okay?"

"You hypocrite!" O'Keefe bursted out. He couldn't believe that he was the older soldier, and not Madison. Everyone started laughing at his outburst. Madison shrugged.

"What can I say? Also, where's Lieb? You know, the man turns thirty today. He deserves some of the spotlight, too."

"Eh. Who cares about that old man?" Spina joked. "We like you more."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Madison replied wryly. "So...what did you guys get me?"

Automatically, all the men turned away from her. Some whistled and they all dared not to look her in the eye. Tension in the room started to rise.

"Seriously? You didn't get anything for me...on my birthday..." she sounded disappointed and a little mad.

"We're broke and we didn't know what to get you!" Babe cried out. Madison started laughing.

"I'm only joking," she said. "Although, I see there's alcohol?"

"That's our girl!"

* * * * * *

"Heroic Army and Marine forces dead mark the grim battlefield of Okinawa, where one of the most bloody engagements of the war is being fought. Thousands of Yanks have been wounded—"

Madison found herself stuck in a crowded room watching a newsreel of what was going on in the Pacific Theater. Just because the US was done fighting in Europe, it didn't mean that they were done in Japan. Everyone knew that they would be sent to the pacific sometime, they just didn't know when.

Watching this newsreel gave Madison the chills. She had no doubt Matt was over there, fighting day in and day out. She found herself thinking about her brother lately, and not in a good way. She had a feeling something was terribly wrong, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Watching the men on screen fight to their literal death and using flamethrowers didn't soothe her worries, either. From her brother's letters and general propaganda...Madison knew that it was absolute hell over there.

Madison knew of the rumors that the Airborne will be redeployed to the pacific. While she believed that everyone in the room with her was capable of going over there...she knew it was a different world over there. They could be as prepared as they could get, but it wouldn't be enough, would it?

"The going is brutal, and our casualties are high, but Okinawa is the next big step towards victory over Japan. A victory that can only be won by work, war bonds, and heroic sacrifice."

The reel stopped and the lights turned on. The men filed out of the room, but Madison stayed in her seat, staring at the now blank screen. Zoning out and thinking, that was some of the things she did best as of late.

Madison felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped in her seat, gasping as she looked up to see who it was. It was Major Winters.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. "I was just...thinking."

"About the pacific, I presume?"

Madison nodded. "Yes, sir. I just...I have a bad feeling is all. It's not about Easy! At least, I hope," she backtracked. She stopped, shaking her head as to get back on her original train of thought. Her next sentence came out quieter. "It's about my brother. I just have the worst feeling that...something is wrong, and that newsreel didn't help out at all."

"I think you have had too much time to think, but that's going to change. We're going to start training again soon. That will take your mind off of things," Winters said. Madison couldn't help but think he was right about that.

"Go on, get out of here," Winters motioned his head towards the door. "Everyone's probably waiting for you."

Madison nodded, getting up out of her seat. "Thank you, Major."

Madison began to leave the room, but Winters called out to her.

"Madison?"

Madison stopped in the doorway, turning to face Winters. He had never called Madison by her first name. While he would use her most common nickname (Maddie, and occasionally Mighty Mouse), he mainly addressed her by her surname.

"I'm sure your brother is fine."

Madison nodded.

"Thank you, Major Winters."

* * * * *

The point system. Everyone's friend and enemy.

The point system. How Madison couldn't help but loathe it. Basically, every time you got hit or did something heroic, you got points for it. If you had enough points, then you could be discharged and sent home. 85 points was the minimum requirement. The problem was that the majority of the soldiers, Normandy veterans included, did not have enough points; Madison included. She had about 74 points, last time she heard. Poor Malarkey, though. He had the least amount.

"Did you hear? There's going to be a drawing. Whoever gets picked gets to be discharged," Perconte shared one day as they were all playing cards.

"When are they gonna do it?" Liebgott asked, as he shuffled through his cards.

"Anniversary of D-Day," Perconte answered, setting down a card. "How many points do you have?"

"Not enough," Liebgott answered.

"Me too," Perconte agreed. "Luz, how about you buddy?"

It felt like everyone in the company was there that day. Everyone was sharing their numbers, and most of them weren't too good.

"How the hell do you have 81 points?" Liebgott shot at Webster.

"Crossroads," Madison said automatically. "Remember? His ass was off the line for about four months."

"Oh, yeah," Liebgott remembered. "Okay, how about you, Maddie? How much do you got?"

Madison thought about it. "70...maybe 74 points? I don't remember."

Babe whistled. "Damn, you're pretty close to going home."

"Yeah, and so is everyone else," Madison pointed out. "So many of us are close to 85 points—Webster the most—but it's still not enough. I'm fine with it, though. I mean, hey, I might see Matt when we get sent to the pacific. That won't be so bad."

"It's bullshit. You should go home."

"It would be nice to go home, but my place is here with you guys," Madison shrugged off the concern. "You know who should get to go home? Shifty."

Everyone agreed with that. It was no doubt that Shifty was the best shot in the company, saving their asses so many times. A lot of the members in Easy had started to notice that their friendly sniper was having trouble concentrating lately. He had gone hunting with some of the other men earlier that day, and he had missed his shot. Never took it, apparently. That wasn't like Shifty, as he never missed a shot.

"He only has 75 points," Malarkey pointed out. Madison furrowed her eyebrows.

Son of a bitch, the young woman thought, how does he only have 75 points? Madison swore that the entire point system was rigged.

"He deserves to go home," Madison sighed, as she placed down a card. "I wish we could do something about it."

Everyone murmured agreements. Meanwhile, a lightbulb went off in Webster's head.

"We can do something about it."

* * * * * *

"General Taylor is aware that many veterans—including Normandy veterans—still do not have the 85 points required to be discharged. On this, the anniversary of D-Day, he has authorized a lottery to send one man home from each company, effective immediately," Speirs addressed to the members of Easy Company. They all watched in anticipation as Harry Welsh reached into the helmet to pick the name. The only name.

"For Easy Company, the winner is—" Speirs unfolded the piece of paper. Madison felt her anxiety rise. She was terrified that somehow all their names were thrown back in and Shifty's name wouldn't have been called. Thankfully, her irrational fear did not come true.

"Serial number 1-3-0-6-6-2-6-6. Sergeant Darrell C. Powers!"

Everyone started to cheer immediately. Webster's idea was that everyone should take their name out of the drawing so that Shifty could go home. Madison sighed in relief. She couldn't be happier for her friend. He truly deserved to go home after saving Easy Company so many times.

"Way to go, Shifty!" Madison cheered.

"That's how it's done!" Luz called out.

Shifty blushed at all of the attention he was getting. Madison thought it was too cute.

Everyone's cheers soon settled down, however, when Speirs began to speak once more.

"Sergeant Grant will see to it that second platoon takes over at the crossroads checkpoint, beginning tonight at 2200 hours. General Taylor has also announced that the 101st Airborne Division will definitely be redeployed to the pacific. So, beginning tomorrow at 0600 hours, we will begin training to go to war."

Madison couldn't help as her eyes fluttered and as she groaned internally.

Training. The pacific.

At least Shifty won't have to go.

* * * * * *

Later that day, Shifty and Madison were alone, having a heart to heart of sorts.

"I'm going to miss you, Shifty. You're quite honestly one of the sweetest and best men here," Madison told him as they walked along the bank of the lake.

Shifty blushed, as he always did. He was very humble and bashful. "I'm going to miss you too, Maddie. You've been a great friend."

Madison smiled. "I know you will. It's not going to be the same without you. Who else am I going to talk to when I feel like pulling my hair out?" she joked.

"Doc," Shifty replied simply. It was quiet between the two friends before Shifty suddenly halted. Madison noticed immediately and turned around. She looked at him in concern.

"Shifty? Are you alright?"

Shifty looked uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he shut it. It took him a moment, before he was finally able to tell her what was wrong.

"I-I'm going back home to Virginia," he started. "When I go home, it isn't going to be the same. I-I know my family will be asking about all this and I don't...I just don't know how to explain all this. All that I've seen, all that I've done...I just don't know."

Madison's gaze fell to the sand. He was right. When he would go home, it would be different. It would be different for each and every soldier. They would all ease back into civilian life in their own way. Madison hadn't thought much on how she would turn out if she went back home, and she decided she would hold that problem off until the moment she stepped on American soil, got discharged, and was on a train back to Dayton.

Madison looked back up to Shifty, who was trembling like a leaf. She was glad he was going home, she could start seeing the effects of the war on him. It wasn't a secret that some of her friends were already affected by the war. Hell, she was affected by the war.

"You don't have to tell them anything that you don't want to," Madison eventually said, as she stared out into the lake. "While I think it might be good to tell them, you don't have to. At least, the full story. I'm sure they would be able to piece the puzzle together, right? But it doesn't matter. You don't owe an explanation to anyone. You do what you think is best, okay?"

Shifty nodded. "You're right. Thank you, Maddie. You always seem to know what to say."

Madison let out a small huff of laughter as she turned back to him. "Thank you, Shifty. I really don't. Just do me a favor, and write okay? I want to hear what it's like in the states."

On June 8th, Shifty had hopped into a truck that would take him to his ride home. The men crowded around to say goodbye and when it was Madison's turn, she gave him one of the biggest hugs she had ever given.

"Stay safe, okay?" she whispered in his ear.

"Don't you worry about me, I'll be fine," Shifty said, pulling away from her.

"I'll write to you," Madison promised. Shifty grinned.

"I know you will," he said, before saying one final goodbye to the group. He hopped on his truck and just like that, he was gone. At least, he was gone for a few hours.

It was well into the afternoon, almost early evening when they yelled for the medics. Madison had a bad feeling, and it was proven correct when they shoved her into an ambulance. Apparently, there was a drunk corporal whose jeep had slammed into the truck head on that Shifty was in.

"Oh my God, is he alright?" Madison asked. The man shrugged.

"We don't know, Miss."

Madison reached where Shifty was. He looked pretty banged up. Madison wanted to scream as she assessed her friend. Shifty had a concussion, a broken pelvis, and a broken arm. Madison couldn't help but cringe. Of course, he had to be hurt, just as he was heading home! What kind of luck was this? It was like he was a Klein with this type of luck.

"Jesus, Shift. This is the thanks you get, huh?" Madison wondered. "Well, I guess you really won your way out of the war."

Shifty chuckled, then stopped suddenly.

"It hurts to laugh."

Madison offered him a sympathetic look.

"I know. I'm