"Alice, get up!"

In her half-wakened state, Alice could not tell who had dared pound on her door. It echoed through from the tiny study, into her bedroom. With a groan, she refused to respond. The pounding came again. Biting her cheek, Alice pulled herself out of bed. Dressed only in her standard white tank top and dark shorts, she stumbled through her bedroom to the door. She flung it open to find Harry Welsh smoking a cigarette.

"Morning," he said. His smirk grew as she glared at him. "Come on, get your stuff. We're moving out."

Alice stood taller, letting go of the door. Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Three hundred thousand Germans surrendered. We're being deployed to the Alps, to Bavaria," he explained. "We move out in-" he checked his watch "-forty-five minutes."

"Shit," she said. Alice released a deep breath. "Right."

"Get your stuff. You, Speirs and I have a jeep waiting," Harry told her. Turning away from her room, he headed towards his own. 

She watched him for a moment before ducking away. A million thoughts raced through her head. If they were moving out, resistance in the area had to be crumbling. After weeks in Dormagen, they were moving again. She smiled to herself as she pulled on her uniform. Last of all went her helmet.

It didn't take long for her to throw the rest of her things into a pack. With her Karabiner from Bastogne in one hand and her bag in the other, Alice hurried out the door. Her boots hit the pavement with an unintentional finality. With a grin at the bright sun, she moved through the packed streets.

She found Harry talking to several of the men from Battalion HQ next to a jeep. As the sergeants wandered away, she moved to him. He nodded. "Put your stuff in. We're in the back."

Throwing her pack to the floor of the jeep, she yawned. As she stood back, the sound of a hammer and muttering German pulled her attention away. She realized that not far down the sidewalk, a man worked to board over a window. She scoffed, thinking how much trouble whoever the looter was would get in when he was caught.

"Wouldn't want to be the poor fellow who gets caught for that," Harry said, echoing her thoughts. "What do you think they stole?"

A commotion drew her and Harry's attention away before she could answer. The shouting ended before she could tell what happened. With a shake of her head, Alice turned back. "That was odd."

"Yeah."

Lipton came over a moment later. He nodded to them. "I'm the driver."

"Lucky us," Harry joked. Then he tapped him on the arm before pointing back towards the main loading area. "Any idea what the shouting was?"

Lip paused. "Nixon was upset over something. I don't know what exactly."

Her smile faltered instantly. What more could have possibly happened that Nixon had to deal with? She glanced at Harry on her right and he just shrugged. But all around them, trucks and jeeps started their engines. The few tanks roared to life. Alice hauled herself into the back, Harry at her side. Just as Lipton started their engine, Ron came over and hauled himself into the passenger seat.

Suddenly the voices of the enlisted rose up around them. "Gory, gory what a helluva way to die! Gory gory what a helluva way to die! Gory gory what a helluva way to die!" Everyone joined in, officers and enlisted alike. "He ain't gonna jump no more!"

Turning to Harry, she started up as well. "The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind. He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind."

The jeeps moved out. With the chorus of paratroopers serenading the German countryside, the caravan headed south. Alice couldn't help but smile as she joined them, and the other men in her jeep as well. Even Ron carried the tune between puffs of his cigarette. 

"He ain't gonna jump on more!"

They ended the song just as they passed the last of the big farms. With the song over, Alice leaned forward and tapped Ron on the shoulder. When he spun around, she gestured to the jeep caravan in front of them. "Do you know what set Nixon off this morning?"

He paused. After glancing briefly at Harry, who paid close attention, clearly as curious as her, he nodded. "He got a letter from his wife. She's divorcing him."

Even Lipton turned to them for a moment, taking his eyes off the road. Neither Harry nor Alice answered him. Ron watched Alice for a moment before turning to Harry, and then back to the road ahead.

Kathy wanted a divorce. Nixon was getting divorced. He was getting divorced. A divorce.

Divorced? She didn't know what to do, to think, to say. Alice glanced left. Harry looked at her, expression unreadable. For the first time since Bastogne, all sorts of contradictory thoughts swirled through her mind. Hope, excitement, relief morphed into disgust at herself, annoyance for her own thoughts. Alice hated the fact that her gut reaction to Nixon's life getting turned upside down was joy. 

Alice didn't speak at all for the rest of that day's drive. At dusk they reached a town along their route south with buildings of apartments. The men were exhausted. Patience wore thin. As they began to unload from the trucks, Alice watched in disgust as the officers had the men clear families out with no warning.

Through the commotion, Alice stayed outside. She stood in the street where a light rain drizzled in the dark around them. Screams of displaced women, the cries of children filled the air. In small groups, the Germans tumbled into the streets with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Anger filled her body, an intense warmth and tingling spreading from her chest all through her skin.

Soon enough, the whole 2nd Battalion had disappeared indoors. Alice still didn't move from her spot beneath a streetlamp, the misting rain hazy all around her in dark. With her soaked through jacket starting to make her uncomfortable, Alice chewed at her cheek. Her anger made her stubborn. Anger at the officers for their treatment of the civilians, anger at Nixon for making her angry at herself, anger at the rain, just anger.

"Alice, why are you still out here?"

She looked up from where she stood against the lamp, arms across her chest, to see Dick walking towards her. He still had his helmet on, she guessed to protect against the rain. The glare she sent him stopped him in his tracks for a moment. "What do you want, Dick?"

"Harry said he hadn't seen you since we got rooms," he said. Crossing his arms over his chest, he moved into the light of the streetlamp. He looked down at her, closer. "I don't take pleasure in kicking the civilians out-"

"Keep the explanations to yourself, Dick. If you didn't want to do it you wouldn't have," she snapped.

Dick paused. He turned from her to the building across the streets. Then he looked back. "You're right. We're at war, Alice. We do what it takes."

She huffed. "You sound like Ron."

Dick tried to suppress a small laugh. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. They stood side by side staring at the building across from them. 

"How's Nix?" Alice's voice dropped low, almost afraid to voice the question. She didn't know what answer she'd want, really, other than he was ok.

With a sigh, he shook his head. "You heard what happened?"

"The letter?" When he nodded, she nodded back. "Yeah. How's he taking the news?"

"I don't think he really knows how to take it," Dick admitted. He turned to her. It took a moment, but when she looked up and over, he shot her a tiny smile. "He's conflicted. His family isn't going to take the news well. That's got him more than a little upset."

"Yeah, yeah I know," said Alice.

Dick took a deep breath. "He loves you though."

Hearing the words spoken aloud startled her. A jolt like electricity shot through her and she stood taller. Alice broke eye contact. For a moment, she couldn't breathe and certainly couldn't respond.

"You did know that, right?" he finally asked.

Alice held her arms closer across her chest. She still didn't have words. But with a deep breath, she turned and looked at him. "I- yeah. Yeah I guess I did." Her throat constricted as emotion overwhelmed her. "Yeah." She paused. "I... I love him too."

Dick broke into a rare, genuine smile. He shook his head. At the admission, though, Alice felt herself hyperventilating. Those three words meant so much, they held a weight that other words didn't. A finality, too.

"Come on. Go to bed. We need to leave early," Dick finally said. "Unless you plan to stand here in the rain all night?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "No. I guess I don't."

Together they hurried across the street and up into the dark, looming apartment. Half a dozen enlisted men wandered about the bottom floor. Dick told her the officers had taken apartments on the third floor. 

"You and Harry have that one," Dick told her. He pointed to a door on the left side of the hall to the left of the stairwell. "We're moving out at 0700."

"Right." Alice watched as he continued down the hall. "Dick."

"Yeah?" 

"Take care of him."

Dick smirked. He nodded. "I've been doing that longer than you've been around," he reminded her with a small laugh.

She started grinning too. "Right. Sorry."

Harry had taken a bedroom on the left, so she went right. Her exhausted body ached for the bed. Her jump boots went to the wall. After shedding her soaked jacket, pants, and button down shirt, Alice paused in her room. She rolled her shoulders, eyes closed, trying to stretch her neck.

On the bed, a small, brown teddy bear sat on top of the sheets against the pillow. Alice's heart constricted at the sight. Her frown returned. Gently picking it up, she laid it on the small dresser in the room. After a quick goodnight to Harry, she climbed into bed.

It took mere minutes to drift off.

When she woke up to a knock, it felt like only mere minutes had passed since she'd fallen asleep. 

Any other time, Alice would've been tempted to ignore it. But as she turned in the bed and flipped on a lamp to check her watch, it concerned her to be hearing knocking at about 0300. Alice ignored her boots in favor of walking barefoot across the wood floors to the apartment door. Harry still slept, or at least hadn't gotten up. 

Flipping on a single lamp in the common room, she undid the lock. Alice wished it could've surprised her to find Nixon at the door, flask in his hand. He looked worn, absolutely exhausted. They watched each other for a moment. She realized he was soaking wet and she straightened up.

"Hey, Nix."

"Hey." He pushed away from the doorframe. To Alice's surprise, and concern, he wobbled when he did so. She had never in her life seen him intoxicated enough to mess with his balance. "Ran out." Nixon shook his empty flask. "Got any?"

"You know I don't." Alice looked at him closer. His hair was plastered to his skin. With a soaked coat and pants, he dripped on the wood floor. "Nix you're soaking wet."

He snorted. "Yeah. It's raining pretty damn hard."

"Yeah." Alice couldn't help but just study him. His expression looked so pained. They stood so close it made her skin tingle. She fought the urge to think about being closer to him. He still smelled like Vat 69 and a fresh cigarette despite his wet clothes. She frowned. "Come on Nix, we should get you back to your room."

"You're kicking me out?" He moved back a bit, back out into the main hallway. The frown he shot her made Alice pause.

"Nixon, you're drunk. Way more drunk than usual." Alice hesitated. "I'm trying to get you back into bed before you catch a cold."

Nixon laughed. It sent a chill down her spine. He didn't sound amused, he sounded sad, anguished. Hearing that level of borderline despair come from what should've been a joyful noise almost scared her. His rich brown eyes bored into her. Suddenly she felt her pulse rapidly increasing. Heat flushed to her face. For a brief moment, she felt selfish relief that his wife was out of the way at last. They both leaned a bit closer.

Alice drew back. She shook her head. The thought about his wife shook her. With an unsteady deep breath, she folded her arms over her chest. This was Nixon, and even if Dick had confirmed that he had feelings for her, he had a right to grieve before she messed with his emotions any further.

"You won't kiss me?" He sounded more sad than she'd anticipated. She'd been expecting a witty, sarcastic come back, not a frown. "Alice-"

Alice cursed under her breath. God, she wanted to kiss him. She'd wanted to kiss him for years. 

But the smell of Vat 69 reminded her he was in no state to be making that commitment. And his emotions were haywire, too. To kiss him then would've been unfair.

"God, Nix," she hesitated. They'd reached the door to his apartment he shared with Dick. Her breath caught as she looked at him again. "When you're sober, and when you've thought this through. Then we'll talk. I promise."

He looked about ready to protest, but Alice dodged it by knocking on their door. It didn't take long before Dick opened it, looking some combination of amused, unsurprised, and sad. Alice looked at Nixon and pointed into his apartment. "Go to bed. You're going to have a helluva hang over tomorrow," she added.

"What a helluva way to die," he muttered.

Once he'd disappeared back into the apartment, Alice spared Dick a single glance. He nodded at her. She nodded at him. Wasting no more time, Alice dragged herself back down the hall and opened her door. As soon as she'd stepped inside, her body all but gave out. Tears ran down her cheeks as Alice tried to suppress her emotions. She slid down the door. Alice hugged her knees to her chest. She wanted to make him feel better, to take away his pain. But she didn't know how. She couldn't. And that, that hurt more than denying him a kiss.