Bitter Pill to Swallow

Chapter 13

"We need to know what's in there. Ask for volunteers."

"I hate asking for volunteers," moaned Harry, shaking his head. Nixon turned to Valerie with a look of disbelief, and she had to look away and bite her lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing.

"Well then pick them," Nixon deadpanned, and Valerie snorted at the look on Harry's face. He eventually got a group together, and Valerie watched as Bilthe led them through the high grass.

"Harry," Nixon started, a smirk on his lips, "what are you doing with that reserve chute? You been hauling that around all this time?"

"Oh," Harry grinned, getting that dopey look on his face he got whenever he talked about his beloved, "I'm gonna send it to Kitty when we get back to England so she can make a wedding dress out of it."

"Gee Harry I never would have guessed it," laughed Nixon, shaking his head at him.

"What, that I'm so sentimental?" Chuckled Harry, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Nah Harry," replied Nixon derisively, "that you think we're gonna make it back to England."

"Don't mind him, I think it's romantic Harry," Valerie chimed in, smacking Nixon on the arm. Nixon raised an eyebrow sceptically and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh please Nix," she scoffed, "you wouldn't know romance if it slapped you in the face." Harry laughed at that, and Nixon gave her a look of disbelief.

"I'll have you know that I can be very romantic if I want to be," he insisted, and Valerie shared an amused look with Harry.

"Sure Nix," she chuckled, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Say Val," he smirked, "is this your shrewd way of getting me to ask you out?" Harry laughed as she glared darkly at Nixon, who was also highly amused at riling her up.

"In your dreams Nixon. In. Your. Dreams."

Their conversation abruptly ended as a shot rang out. "Covering fire," Harry shouted, waving for the patrol to fall back. As they ran back and dropped a wounded Blithe by her feet, she kneeled down beside Johnny and helped him staunch the blood flow. He was deathly pale and staring up at her with blank, haunting eyes. She stood up as Gene raced in and got to work, walking over to Harry and Nixon, who had been joined by Dick.

"We're moving off the line," Dick said, "they're sending us to a field camp north of Utah beach before shipping us back to England."

"Now?" Nixon asked in annoyance, and Valerie couldn't help but feel the same. This patrol had been a complete waste of time since they were being moved off, and Blithe had been seriously wounded for nothing. She rested a hand on Harry's arm gently when she noticed him trying to light a cigarette with a shaking hand.

"He'll be OK," she assured him, squeezing his bicep comfortingly. Harry nodded absently, but when he couldn't light the cigarette he threw it on the ground. She sighed despondently and followed him as he marched off through the grass after Dick and Nixon.

~~~~

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Harry's shoulder, smoking her cigarette tiredly. He'd been quiet since they'd gotten back into Caranten, and when she'd spotted him sitting alone against the wall she sat down beside him. Neither of them said anything, because after everything what could they even say? They'd been on the MLR for two weeks, and they'd suffered for it.

Valerie thought of her own platoon, and the good men she'd lost. Popeye got hit on D-Day, Tab got stabbed by his own comrade and Smokey, who'd gone to the field hospital to get a boil lanced, had ended up being shipped off to a hospital when the medics spotted the wounds in his leg and shoulder. She hadn't had any time to think about it before, but now that they were off the line all she could think about was how many more good men would get wounded or worse before this was all over. She wasn't stupid, she knew they'd be jumping in somewhere else in the future, and she wondered if that future objective could possibly be worse than this one.