The Way Back

- 18 -

Lia sat in her foxhole, head pressed against the hard dirt and staring across to the German lines. She glanced up at the sound of snow and sticks crunching beneath boots. Speirs came to a stop above her before sliding down into the open spot beside the brunette. 

"Creed." He greeted.

Lia smiled slightly at him, thankful for the warmth of his presence next to her albeit his body still half a foot away. "Merry Christmas, Speirs."

He returned the smile. "Merry Christmas. How many does this make for you on enemy grounds?"

Lia looked back across to the tree line, hearing the Germans pick up in the tune. She knew he thought that she'd only been here for a couple more years than him, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

"Eleven." She whispered. 

Lia couldn't miss the way Speirs' head snapped to face her, or the utter confusion displayed on his face. She fought the urge to spill her story then and there; why she had spent so many holidays on German soil. Still, she couldn't bring herself to explain anything to him so she kept quiet. Speirs, no matter how confused, knew that she wouldn't build on that so he didn't pry.

Christmas day. Days like this, when you're supposed to be surrounded by family hit Lia hard.

She missed her family dearly. After eleven years, Christmas was still the worst. Lia could still remember her mothers decorations, the cookies they used to bake every year, decorating the Christmas tree with the thousands of ornaments her mother owned. Things she would never get to do with her family again.

Speirs noticed the sudden change in Lia's demeanor and yet didn't have the words to help her. Not a single word in the world could change the way she was feeling. Instead, he shifted closer until his right arm was pressed against hers. He reached his left arm over, placing his hand gently against her cheek and slowly dragged her head down to his shoulder.  

He felt her tense at the contact, wanting to pull back up against his hand. "Get some rest, Creed. Please."

Lia stopped for a moment, her head just barely above Speirs' shoulder. That same feeling of home dug straight into her heart and stuck there. It radiated off of him in every sense. She let out a small breath, allowing herself to fully press her head down into his shoulder. Breathing didn't feel so hard around him.

Nothing in this world could take her pain away completely or make her whole again, but maybe this soldier could help make the journey just a little bit easier.

The peace was short lived. 

The artillery strike had both lieutenants shooting straight up. Speirs instinctively placed his hand onto Lia's knee as they both scanned the German line. The strike came so fast and out of the blue, catching the American's off guard.  Lia grabbed her helmet quickly, shoving it back on top of her head. The shouts for a medic rang out, and she knew the voice. Winters. 

She made a move to climb out of the foxhole, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"Are you fucking crazy?" Speirs yelled over the still persistent barrage.

Lia turned slightly, smiling at the brown eyed lieutenant below her. "Yes."

Her feet pounded into the snow, following the voice calling for a medic and slid down beside the Captain. Thankfully he was unscathed. Harry Welsh, on the other hand, was not. Even Lia took a brief moment to stare in horror at the mangled leg Welsh now adorned. 

"Shit, where's Roe?" She yelled, ducking down from a mortar blast close by. None of the men surrounding the injured lieutenant had any clue where the medic was and shook their heads. Lia put a hand on Welsh's face, forcing him to look at her. "You're gonna be just fine."