UPDATE 05/01/2022: I started to make minor edits and revisions as I catch up on writing the sequel to this story. To old readers, welcome back! To new readers, enjoy!

* * *

Easy Company were known for their Friday night marches.

While the other companies had the chance to go out into the town of Toccoa with their weekend passes, it seemed like Easy never did. Sobel had always revoked their passes and made them march when it was dark out with all their gear on. Their marches were always twelve miles and Sobel often ordered them to not drink from their canteens, amongst other things. It was awful.

Madison stood in line with Donny Hoobler and Johnny Martin. Like Madison and Donny, Johnny too came from Ohio. It seemed as if you came from the same home state, you became friends almost immediately. Martin was one of the men who were skeptical about Madison being out in the field saving them, but he seemed to tolerate her. When he was around while the boys played monkey in the middle with her, he would glare at them. Usually, they knocked it off. Johnny Martin usually wore a bitter expression. Madison thought it was because he missed his wife. No matter what, he was a tough nut to crack.

"I'm a say something," Madison heard Denver Randleman, or Bull, say.

"To who?" George Luz asked.

It was silent for a moment until Randleman spoke again, his Arkansas accent cutting in the air.

"Lieutenant Winters?"

"What is it?" Winters inquired as he shuffled up to the front, right in front of Hoobler, Klein, and Martin.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Bull Randleman requested.

"Permission granted."

"Sir, we got nine companies, sir," Bull Randleman began.

"We do," Winters verified.

Bull kept quiet for a moment before he asked, "Why come we're the only company marching every Friday night, twelve miles in full pack in the pitch dark?"

"Why do you think, Private Randleman?" Winters asked.

"Lieutenant Sobel hates us, sir," Bull answered.

Richard Winters was silent for a moment, falling in line with Madison's row, before he answered Bull. "Lieutenant Sobel does not hate Easy Company, Private Randleman. He just hates you."

That got everyone laughing. Then all the men started telling each other that Sobel hated them as well.

"Hey, Maddie?" Donny Hoobler poked at his young friend. "I think Sobel hates you the most."

"Really?" Madison turned to look at her friend, giving him a wide eyed and sarcastic stare. "I absolutely had no idea. Thanks, Donny."

* * *

"Lieutenant Winters, I want canteens out with the caps unscrewed," Sobel informed Winters. Easy had finished their march, and Madison could feel the blisters forming on her heels as the company stood at attention.

"Easy Company, canteens out and open," Winters commanded. Easy Company started to take out their canteens, preparing to empty them.

"On my command they will pour out their contents onto the ground," Sobel continued.

"On the CO's order you will empty your canteen," Winters informed Easy.

"Now, Lieutenant," Sobel commanded.

"Pour them," Winters barked. All of Easy Company started to empty their canteens. Madison listened to the water that they were forbidden to drink be dumped onto the soil beneath her, which quickly turned into mud.

"Who is this?" Madison heard Sobel yell out. She had to retain from flinching. "Christenson?"

Oh no, Madison thought. This won't end well for Christenson.

"Why is there no water in your canteen? You drank from your canteen, didn't you? Lieutenant Winters!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Was this man ordered to not drink from his canteen during the Friday night march?"

"He was, sir."

"Private Christenson, you have disobeyed a direct order. You will fill your canteen and repeat all twelve miles of the march immediately."

"Yes, sir."

"FALL OUT!"

Madison, judging what she could hear, listened as Pat Christenson turned on his heel so he could go back and redo the march. Although while he did disobey, Madison thought that repeating all twelve miles of the march was unnecessary.

Madison watched as Sobel led Winters away from Easy to quietly bite off his ear. After she witnessed the spectacle, Winters had ordered for them to go their barracks. Easy Company started walking back. Madison was somewhat limping due to the blisters on her feet, some formed and some not.

"I don't know how much longer I will be able to stand him," Madison grumbled as she went back to her own barrack.

"Well, we're all going to have to stand him throughout the entire war," Alex Penkala reminded her.

"Really? I had no idea. Thanks, Alex." Madison shot at him, sarcasm dripping into both her tone and expression. Alex only grinned down at her in response.

"Don't look at me like that," she warned. Alex's grin only became wider.

"I'm serious. Stop it!" Madison was getting agitated at this point.

"My oh my, you sure are grumpy tonight," George said in an almost sing-song voice. Madison had to fight the urge to not punch him in the crotch at that moment. Luz and Penkala both.

When Christenson returned from his march, Madison made sure that his feet and knees were in good condition before she snuck out to get him more water. She wasn't about to let him drop dead from dehydration, no matter how physically fit the man was.

* * *

Madison absolutely hated training with Sobel. Especially when he watched her like a hawk. While she did have a little difficulty pretending to jump out of an airplane with a full gear pack on (and she swears that hers was rigged.), it didn't help with Sobel always getting onto her because of it.

At least Madison wasn't suffering like Walter Gordon—or Smokey, that man was always trying to get his hands on some tobacco—was. Yes, Sobel was always getting onto her, but he was much worse with Gordon when it came to the jumping. It seemed like no matter what he did, he never did it right.

Some of the Easy Company members—Floyd Talbert, Darrell "Shifty" Powers, Wayne "Skinny" Sisk, and Madison—all watched as Sobel interacted with Smokey Gordon.

"Why are you here, Private Gordon?" Sobel asked Walter Gordon.

"I want to be in the Airborne, sir," Gordon replied.

"I don't believe you. Why are you here, Private Gordon?" Sobel asked again.

"I want to be in the Airborne, sir!" Gordon replied again, this time louder.

"You have fifty minutes to get to the top and back and I will be watching you," Sobel threatened.

Madison's bright blue eyes widened and she scowled in agitation. "That son of a bitch is making him run Currahee alone!" she voiced to the men who stood with her. Talbert shook his head.

"What are you waiting for?" Sobel asked Gordon.

Madison's eyes softened as she watched Gordon begin jogging up Currahee. He looked back before kept going.

"It looks like he's going to cry," Madison whispered. "We should do something."

Shifty nodded his head in agreement. "We should go with him."

"But how?" Skinny voiced out what all four of them were thinking.

The four soldiers pondered for a moment before a light bulb went off in Madison's head.

"What?" Talbert asked as the three men turned their heads to her as she let out an audible gasp.

"I have an idea," Madison told the men. "I'll distract Sobel and you guys can go."

Talbert, Shifty, and Skinny gave her a look. "How?"

"Don't worry about that. Go as soon as you can," she advised the men before she began walking to Sobel.

"Uh, Lieutenant Sobel? Sir?" Madison called out as she came closer to Easy's CO.

"Goddamn it," Sobel muttered under his breath. He turned to face Madison. "What do you want, Private Klein?"

Hey, he's starting to call me "Private" now, Madison quickly thought to herself. Usually, he never did that. Maybe he was just in a different world today.

"Private Klein?" Sobel asked again, a little louder this time. Madison shook her head as if she was shaking her thoughts out. She had to put on an act.

"Um, sir, I have an issue," she began. "It's, uh...it's...well..."

"Spit it out, Klein," Sobel barked at her.

"Okay. Well, it's...a girl problem, you know?" Madison began. She started to play with the hem of her shirt, pretending to be bashful. "It's that thing that happens to a woman every month, and uh...I need something to help me out. The camp here isn't exactly the best for those types of supplies, you know?"

Madison watched as Sobel's face paled. It seems like talking about your time of the month to a man was taboo. They always got uncomfortable talking about it and to be honest, Madison was having a little fun tormenting Sobel about it.

Madison hid a smile as she made the CO uneasy, but also because she could see Floyd, Shifty, and Skinny running to catch up with Smokey. Later on, Sobel would punish her and revoke her weekend pass for what she did, but it was worth it.

* * *

Madison was small for someone her age, she'll admit that. The tinier that you were, the harder it was to do some things. She could hop in and out of those little rope squares just fine, thank you very much. (She did jump rope quite often with her sister and friends, so that helped her out real good.) She could crawl through almost anything, too, seeing as she was a small person. (Although sometimes, Madison became claustrophobic. When that occurred, she would think of the times that she and Morgan would go down by the river in downtown Dayton. Her mother would tell her to imagine that she was in an open space and to try to calm down. It usually worked. Not always, though.)

It was that goddamn wall everyone had to climb over. It was alright the first few tries, since many men couldn't do it themselves. As time went on though, she got tired of the men helping her get up and over the wall. She wanted to do it on her own.

And she did.

One day they were doing the obstacle course. She was succeeding well enough. As she got closer to the wall, she heard Winters starting to shout, "Let's go, Klein! You can make it over the wall! Let's move it!"

Adrenaline pumping through her veins and the blood rushing and pounding into her ears, she could barely hear Winters. Once she crawled out of one of wooden square like tunnels, the chutes, she made a run for the wall. She didn't stop running and once she got close enough she threw herself to the wall and grabbed on, rapidly starting to climb to the stop. She could hear someone clapping.

Yes! I did it! Madison cheered to herself, as she pulled herself up. She couldn't wait to write to her family about her newest accomplishment.

The victory did not last long for her, however. She did make it over the wall, don't be mistaken. As she threw one leg over the wall and carefully started to climb down, she had slipped and fell right off, flat onto her back. Her head and back hit the ground hard and the wind was knocked out of her. That didn't stop the fifteen year old from completing the obstacle course by herself, though.

Madison got up and continued to run. In the end she had ran into Joe Toye and the force of her slamming into him made her bounce back. She would have plummeted to the ground but she was in luck that Joe Toye was in a good mood today and had caught her.

"Going somewhere, kid?" Joe Toye asked her. Toye was one tough man and usually, he yelled at anybody who messed with him. He would go off on the slightest thing. That man could never cool off. He somewhat reminded Madison of Johnny Martin. Madison couldn't help but feel intimidated by him.

Madison pushed all her thoughts to the side as she gave him a wide, bright smile. She felt giddy. "I did it all by myself."

Joe—who was usually the one that helped her over the wall, now that she thought about it—gave her a look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I did everything by myself! Including climbing over the wall."

"Well, congratulations," Toye offered. "Now don't run into me like that again."

"Sure thing, Toye."

* * *

Lectures with Sobel were the most boring part of the training.

Madison could handle lectures. She didn't mind all the classes that she, Roe, and Spina had to take. She always loved to learn something new.

Sobel, however, made it a nightmare. It seemed like he dragged on for hours. He did it on purpose, half of Easy betted.

For some reason, Sobel or the instructor Madison would have that day always called on her to answer. It seemed like they were always trying to call her out and catch her not paying but the joke was on him because Madison always paid attention. That's why she did extremely well in the courses she took back home.

Suck on that.

* * *

"Easy Company has the finest performance record in the entire second battalion," Colonel Sink informed Sobel as he pinned the captain bars onto the collar of Sobel's neck. "And I believe it's thanks to you. Congratulations, Captain Sobel."

"Thank you, sir," Sobel acknowledged, who was standing at attention.

Sink nodded to what he was seeing out of the window. "Ain't that Lieutenant Winters leading Easy Company in PT?"

Sobel looked back to see what Colonel Sink was talking about. "Yes, sir," he confirmed.

Sink nodded. "He's a damn good man." Everyone could agree with that. "I was planning on giving a set of these to him today," Sink explained to Sobel as he looked back. "Why don't you do it? He'd be proud getting them from you." He placed the bars into Sobel's hands.

* * *

Sobel was busy digging into everyone's personal belongings. He had gone into Easy's lodgings with Winters, Nixon, and a few other men, forcing them to watch as he dumped everyone's belongings onto their beds. He had already looked at Madison's earlier. He declared that she had "too many unnecessary undergarments". Lewis Nixon had to stop himself from smiling at Sobel's complaints about Madison while Richard Winters felt embarrassed for her. Sobel had gone through all of her things and inspected hers the most. He was hard on the young woman who was exceeding everyone's expectations.

At one of the beds in a different lodging area, Sobel found a pin up magazine. He held it up for the others to see.

"Pornography. Contraband."

The next bed he looked at had a tie. He held that up too. "Non-regulation clothing. Contraband."

Sobel dropped the tie and stalked up to the men. "How is it that Private..." he took a large stack of letters that William Evans was holding in his hands. "Private Tipper, has spare time for correspondence?" He took one of the letters and began to inspect it.

"Captain," Winters began. "Are personal letters considered to be contraband?"

Sobel took a sniff at one of Tipper's letters. Whoever sent it to him and sprayed perfume on it.

"These men aren't paratroopers yet, Lieutenant, they have no personal property."

Lewis Nixon fought the urge to correct that Klein wasn't a man, but he decided that it was not the time to fool around.

"What's this?" Sobel asked, holding up a can of peaches. "Anybody?"

"Uh...it's a can of peaches, sir." Nixon stated.

Sobel regarded him. "Lieutenant Nixon thinks that this is a can of peaches. That is incorrect, Lieutenant. Your weekend pass is cancelled." Sobel turned his attention back to all the men in the room. "This is United States Army property, which was taken without authorization from my mess facility. And I will not tolerate thievery in my unit," he tossed the canned peaches to Evans. "Whose foot locker is this?"

"Private Parkes, sir," Winters answered.

Sobel stared at him. "Get rid of him," he walked towards the men. "All weekend passes are canceled, all officers included," he checked out Nixon for a moment before he said, "Carry on."

Nixon saluted Sobel. Sobel saluted Nixon right back. All of the officers dismissed themselves but Sobel called for Winters.

"Lieutenant Winters," Sobel said as he walked out of the barracks. Winters turned to follow him.

"Colonel Sink has seen it fit to promote you," Sobel explained to Winters once they were outside.

"As First Lieutenant, you'll serve as my executive officer. Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir," Winters said as he stood straight. Sobel pinned the bars onto the collar of Winters' shirt.

"And as a test for your organization skills, I am designating you mess hall for serve for fourteen days." Of course, there was always a catch with Sobel. "Report to the mess kitchen at zero-five-fifteen hours. Breakfast will be served at zero-six hundred." By the end of his orders, Sobel had finished pinning the bars onto Winters.

"Yes sir," Winters said. Together, Winters and Sobel continued walking.

"Oh, and Dick? There's rain forecast tomorrow, so the company will have a light afternoon of lecture classroom instruction," Sobel paused, turning to face Winters. "I think a special meal before their afternoon off will be a welcome change of pace, would you agree?"

"Yes, sir," Winters had no choice but to agree.

Sobel nodded, thinking of what he could feed Easy Company on.

"I like spaghetti."

* * *

It was lunchtime the following day of Captain Sobel's evil plan. Last night when everyone went back into their barracks they all received a nasty surprise. One was that all of their stuff had been violated and picked at, especially Madison's.

George Luz picked up one of her bras that were for some reason lying on his bunk and many of the other soldiers' bunks. George whistled. "For someone so little, you have a big size."

Madison swore that she has never turned so red in her life up until now. Her things have been messed with and scattered everywhere! Some of the men (like Liebgott and Malarkey) helped her in retrieving her things while others wouldn't dare touch a thing. Madison found that funny. Many men loved women but they wouldn't dare touch a thing of theirs that they found frightening. How were they going to be when they became married and possibly have daughters of their own?

The second reason that everyone had been shocked so violently was that they found out from Perconte that Sobel had been promoted to Sobel.

"God damn it," Joe Liebgott had cursed.

"Well, there's really nothing we can do about it," Madison had told him. She didn't like it either, especially after must have been everyone that had seen her stuff (and now knew her bra size, thanks to George. It wasn't any of their business!) thanks to him (it had to be Sobel, that man knew no limits), but they couldn't do anything about it. They had to endure his harsh training, which was easier said than done.

Now it was time for them to eat lunch. Today, it was spaghetti. Madison looked down at her tray. The noodles were thin and the sauce was thick. It was a strong scent that made Madison feel like she was going to vomit. With the spaghetti they had a slice of bread and that was it. Oh, and a glass of water. Never forget the glass of water.

Madison had an idea that the food the army would give them would be terrible, but this was the worst food she had ever been served her in her life. She was still going to eat it, though. Lord knows that she needed it.

"This stuff is orange. Spaghetti ain't supposed to be orange," a man that sat across Frank