Chapter Text
October 22nd, 1944
Cela fait un mois que nous avons sauté aux Pays-Bas. Et pourtant, les choses semblaient sombres.
Nous perdons des hommes quotidiennement, à la fois morts et blessés. Heureusem*nt, les hommes blessés au début de cette campagne reviendront bientôt.
Note latérale : Dick a été promu commandant de bataillon. Moose l'a remplacé en tant que C.O. de la société Easy. Les hommes l'aiment bien, Moose est avec nous depuis Toccoa, mais Dick manque à tout le monde.
J'ai parlé à Beatrix plusieurs fois, elle va mieux. J'espère qu'elle traversera cette guerre avec le cœur intact, quelques infirmières ont été renvoyées parce qu'elles n'arrivaient pas à continuer après tout.
Ce soir, la Easy Company participera à l'opération Pegasus pour sauver les "Diables Rouges" au-dessus du Bas-Rhin. Espérons que cela se passera bien.
Shira looked up from her journal when Nix opened her door, standing in the door.
"It's time?" she asked. "Yes." Nix confirmed.
She stowed away her journal and grabbed her med bag and exited her room. She walked in step with Nix to the landing area, where Moose and Colonel Dobie stood.
"Colonel." she greeted with a salute.
"You must be Lieutenant Linder. The officers spoke highly of you and your expertise insisted you be sent with us." the Colonel said, offering her a nod. She nodded back. "Merci, Colonel."
The man looked surprised at her French and her accent. Four years since leaving France, and she hadn't lost it. "Well, let's get this party on, gentleman." the Colonel said.
Shira was in a boat with members of First Platoon, sitting in-between Harry and Moose. Getting across the river took until midnight, once they got the signal. As Moose gave instructions to Harry on their defense, she crouched behind him.
"So, Colonel, where are they?" Moose asked Dobie.
Dobie looked around before speaking. "Leicester."
"Square!" a voice replied.
The countersign given, Dobie gestured for the man to come forward. A man with a red beret dashed to them, crouching next to the other Brit. "Good to have you back sir." the man greeted, offering his hand.
"It's good to be back." Dobie agreed, shaking his comrade's hand. The man turned to Moose, who extended his hand. "Heyliger, 506th of the 101st Airborne."
"Never thought I'd be so glad to see a bloody Yank!" the man said cheerfully.
Shira swallowed a laugh at the look on Moose's face. "This is Lieutenant Shira Linder," Moose said, gesturing to her. She gave a small wave. "Best medic in the entirety of E company. She can keep whoever's the most injured stable on the way back."
"Good to meet you, Lieutenant." the man said. "Nobody's that injured, but we're glad to have a medical professional here."
She smiled. "Thank you, sir."
"Your show, Colonel." Moose said and the two Brits vanished into the forest.
Joe ran up to them. "Boats are all secure, sir."
"Bull!" Moose hissed. Bull joined them. "Brits are on their way, pass the word."
The two men ran back. Moose summoned Peaco*ck over. "You two, go with them on the first ride back. Keep the Brits in line and quiet so we don't get caught. "
Shira nodded at Moose. "We'll handle it." she said, Peaco*ck nodding.
Soon enough, Dobie returned with two more officers. The Red Devils then appeared shortly after from the trees. She smiled at the sight: the Red Devils were certainly good soldiers.
A few minutes later, she was on a boat with half a dozen British soldiers with a few Easy Company soldiers as well. The men who saw her gave the occasional shocked look.
One man started groaning, holding his leg. "What's wrong?" she hissed.
"My leg..." the man groaned and she got up, carefully moving to his side. One man handed her a flash light and she aimed it at his leg.
She grimaced at what she saw. A bloody, seeping bullet injury. "Hold this." she instructed to the soldier sitting next to the injured man who obeyed her command. "What's your name, soldier?" she asked as she pulled out her med kit.
"Sergeant Charles Jones, Lieutenant." the man, Charles, answered.
She dug out her tweezers and pulled out the bullet. A third soldier clamped his hand over Jones's mouth to muffle the pained noise. The brunette then injected some antibiotics into the wound and applied sulfa before bandaging the leg. "Stay off the leg." she ordered. "I'll take you to the aid station."
"Thank you ma'am." Jones wheezed, looking pale.
The boat landed and two soldiers jumped out and pulled it to shore. Shira helped Jones to his feet, putting one arm over her shoulders, while the Red Devil who had held the flashlight took the other side.
A jeep pulled up next to them and she grinned. She got Sergeant Jones onto the jeep, the other man joining her. The jeep drove them to the aid station, where the nurses took him. "That leg looks nasty." the nurse muttered.
"I gave him antibiotics but no morphine." Shira said.
The nurse nodded. "That's good. We'll take it from here, he's in good hands."
Shira nodded and gestured for the British soldier to follow her back to the farmhouse set up for the Red Devils. "Your his friend?" she asked.
He nodded. "Sergeant Daniel Andrews. We're in the same platoon."
She nodded. "Thank you for helping him out, Sergeant."
They made it back to the farmhouse, where she dropped him off. The man paused, took off his beret, and handed it to her. "As a sign of thanks, Lieutenant." Andrews insisted before vanishing into the building.
Shira smiled faintly, holding the beret in her hands as she returned to the landing area. Over the next hour, the Red Devils, along with some Dutch Resistance fighters and Russian soldiers, all made it back safely. None where as injured as Sergeant Jones, but she told Colonel Dobie what happened when the man noticed the beret in her hands.
They all returned to Nijmegen, where Moose, Nixon, and Dobie set off for the party arranged. She saw the light in Dick's office and headed up to him. He was looking through the window, smiling faintly.
"The men won't mind if you join them." she said and Dick spun around to face her.
The redhead shook his head. "No, Moose deserves this. They're his men now."
"They all miss you." she pushed. "And Moose might be C.O. but you're still the first combat leader we had. You got us through Normandy and through the first half of Operation Market-Garden."
Dick huffed. "And yet, the men keep dying."
"This is war." she said. "People die, but we keep going. We have a job, and we'll get it done."
her friend smiled faintly. "Thank's for the advice, Shira."
"Your welcome." she said and turned to leave before turning around. "And get some sleep, Doctor's orders."
Dick laughed and she smiled. "I mean." she warned before leaving.
Still, she went to sleep with a smile on her face. It felt good to do something, and to succeed in doing it.
