Easy Company returned to Aldbourne with fourteen additional soldiers in tow; including the two women of war. Piper spent her time getting to know the men of the company, easily settling into the group. Lia spent her time with her own thoughts and scaring the men.
Lia sat outside of the mess hall with Piper and Laurier. The trio enjoyed the fire free horizon; a town deaf of gunfire. For three years, Vitale hadn't been free of the onslaught of war. They had never been pulled out of France.
"When do you think we'll finally get to get out of this shit?" Laurier asked, leaning back to look at Lia. "Discharge papers and all."
"I don't think Vitale is leaving until the war is over with. Guess they hate us that much they don't even want to see us anymore." The lighthearted joke from Lia made Piper smile. "Aldbourne is as good as it gets for us."
The three soldiers grew quiet. It was unnervingly true that Vitale Company was never getting pulled off the front lines until the German surrender. Their squad was too successful at their job. Seeing as now they were placed within Easy Company who was also good at what they do, they didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel of a ship ride back home.
Noise arose from inside the mess hall, and Piper stood. She smiled at Lia, nodding at the building.
The two women entered the building, followed by their Vitale companion Laurier. Piper immediately took off to sit with the men she had grown close to, pulling Laureir along with her. Lia held back, settling in next to Lipton. He smiled at her, to which she returned a small nod.
"The night was filled with dark and cold, when Sargeant Talbert," Smokey started. "The story's told, pulled on his poncho and headed out."
Lia filtered the story out. Their laughter hit her hard. She wanted to be with them; to be like them, but she didn't know how. She didn't know how to filter out the things she saw, the things she did.
A life filled with darkness was not what she asked for. A life of loneliness. Of self-isolation. Incapable of being truly happy. She was forever destined for the cold, but she so desperately wanted to have the fates change. To let her smile like the men in the room.
A tap on her back had her spinning around, Lipton doing the same next to her.
Nixon leaned down, speaking low so only the two of them could hear. "We're pulling out of Aldbourne, heading back into France."
Lia glanced back at the soldiers, at the wide smiles on their faces, and her heart sank. They were so content, so happy to be away from the lines. She focused her attention back on Nixon.
"Lipton, let them know that we will not be returning back to England. Training and weekend passes are canceled, wills, all that lovely shit."
Lipton nodded, turning back to face the room. Lia followed suit. She could see the same feeling blossoming on Lipton's face. He didn't want to have to tell these men, to break their spirits.
"Bearer of bad news, huh?" Lia spoke low, a solemn smile on her face.
Lipton huffed out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess that's me."
Once Smokey had finished the story Lipton stood, giving the men the same information Lia and him had just attained. The mood in the room had immediately shifted, the soldiers glancing around at each other. This time, their smiles were now vacant.
------
Days went by without a trip to Membury, halting the soldiers in place at Aldbourne. The spirit of the men slowly lifted with each day passing, knowing it was one more day they weren't fighting for their lives.
Lia sat in the pub with a large group of the men. She placed herself in a far corner of the room, silently watching the the soldiers around her. Piper stood playing darts with a few of her new friends.
Captain Bailey walked in, spotting Lia immediately and crossed the room to her table. He threw himself down beside her. Lia hadn't seen much her captain in the past weeks they've been with Easy. They were so spread out now, and not held tightly together as they had been in Vitale.
It hurt not being able to be so close to the men she had fought with for years, but understood that they were doing some good in teaching the different companies useful tactics and strategies.
"How are you holding up, Lia?" He asked softly, tapping his glass against hers.
Lia gave him a tight smile, taking a sip of her drink. "Doing good. You?"
He nodded his head in agreement with her own words, leaning back into the seat. "You're taking care of yourself, correct?"
Lia gave him a sidelong glance. To which he only held up his hands in defense, a playful smile on his lips. "You know I'll find out if you aren't."
She huffed out a breath. "It's not like Roe let's me go a day without a once over. To your orders, I found out."
Bailey bit down on his lip in an attempt to hide his smile. The captain did indeed order Eugene Roe to keep tabs on his lieutenant. He was happy to hear the medic was holding true to his orders.
Winters and Nixon entered the room, talking lightly with each other as they walked their way through the room. Bailey's eyes caught onto the men, and stood from the table.
"Keep doing what you're doing, Creed. These men respect you, more than you know." He patted her on the back before leaving.
Lia watched him stalk over to Winters and Nixon, wondering what could have prompted him say those words. She appreciated it nonetheless, although she wasn't sure if they truly respected her. Scared of her were a far better choice of words.
She noticed a table off to her left where the men around it were constantly looking over at her, trying to hide their gazes. Moments later, Luz stood from the table, slowly making his way over to her. He pulled out a chair and dropped himself down into it.
Lia slowly looked up, staring at him expectantly.
Luz smiled, leaning back into his seat. "Lieutenant." He greeted.
"Luz."
"Ma'am, I was wondering if I could have a dance."
Lia turned her head to the side. She shifted her gaze back to the table he had come from, seeing the men trying to sneak glances at the table. A dare. She smirked.
"Luz, you can take your sorry ass back to where you came from before I shove my rifle so far up it I can brush your teeth with it."
His smile dropped and Lia leaned across the table. "And you can tell your friends that was the shittiest dare I have ever heard of."
She knew they feared her, feared the stories around her. A small part of her wished they hadn't. A tiny itch at the back of her head screamed at her to talk to the men more, to open up. She was trying, but at the same time, continued to shut herself off from them. Luz stood from the table with a small laugh.
"You got some balls to go through with it, Luz. Just don't tell them I said that. It'll ruin my reputation." She said with a small wink.
Speirs sat down at the table shortly after Luz had returned to his friends. "Threatening the men now, are we?"
She brought her drink up to her lips. "Have to keep them on their toes."
Speirs let out a small laugh, glancing about the room. The silence that surrounded the pair comforted Lia. She was slowly becoming to like his presence. It was one she now didn't mind; almost soothing. He came around often these days in Aldborne, sharing a smoke or drink with her, and it was often done so without any words. But neither of them minded and instead accepted the feeling of being alone together.
------
"That has got to be the most frightening thing." Toye spoke from beside Piper. She threw her dart before turning to face Toye. She followed his line of sight, landing on Speirs and Lia sitting in a corner of the pub. The two spoke lowly, a smile appearing on the young girls face every so often.
"The two scariest people in the entire airborne, and they're fucking friends." Toye threw his arms up in the air dramatically.
"Hell, if I were to see her being friends with anyone here, it would be Speirs." Randleman spoke from behind Toye and Piper. "They're both some terrifying officers, that's for sure."
Piper liked the fact that they were calling Speirs a friend. It gave her a spark of hope that Lia was finally coming around, and that was something she never believed she would see again.
"Truthfully, I don't even see how you two are friends." Toye spoke, turning to face Piper. "Polar opposites."
"Think of us as sisters instead." Piper smiled up at the two men. They truly were sisters. Maybe not by blood, but Piper was the only family that Lia had left.
------
Lia headed out of the small pub, giving Piper a small wave from across the room. Her younger friend looked like she was enjoying herself sharing a drink with the men and dancing wildly. Lia made sure to stop by Luz on the way out and request that Piper made it home safely tonight.
She found herself walking aimlessly down the streets of the small town, admiring the unbroken buildings. The windows and doors still placed where they should be and streets free of crumbling stone. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in a town untouched by the horrors of war.
Her feet tripped her up below her, causing her to stumble slightly. She knew she had a bit too much to drink, but didn't care all the same. Lia needed it, desperately.
A small field overlooked the small England town. The lieutenant dropped herself down into the grass at the top of it, staring up at the unblinking stars.
Thoughts consumed her; her mind swam in an ocean of pain. She wondered where she would be right now had the Germans not come for her. Would she be at home in Tennessee with a family that still breathed? Would she be married already?
All she did know was that she would be at peace, a mind without torture and a body without scars.
Lia ran a hand over her arm, covered by the sleeve of her uniform. Scars lay riddled into her skin under these fabrics. Scars she could never out run. They would forever be engraved onto her skin; a visible reminder of hell.
She stared back up at the stars, knowing her family was up there somewhere. She could only hope they weren't watching her; that they didn't see the girl she had become. The girl who had been broken. The girl who killed easily, without a thought behind it. She wasn't the ten year old brunette who religiously wore pigtails anymore. A part of her wished she were up there beyond the stars with them; at peace.
Tears pricked in her eyes and her vision grew blurry. The stars began melding together against the inky black sky.
"Lieutenant?" A voice called out from behind her.
Speirs.
Lia wiped her eyes as unnoticeably as she could, trying to cover her tears. She glanced up seeing Lieutenant Speirs standing off to her side looking down at her. She gave him a small smile before returning her line of sight to the sky.
"Piper's worried about you." He said softly. How long had she been out here?
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. The lieutenant had been out here for hours, staring a the stars, and had not realized.
Speirs slowly crouched down beside her, trying to get a good look at the lieutenant and make sure she was okay. "Come on, it's late. I'll walk you back." He outstretched his hand to her.
Lia turned her head, staring at his hand. She looked back up, meeting his eyes. Speirs nodded once, pushing his hand closer. She slowly placed hers into his, and he pulled her upright. Lia lost her balance slightly, causing Speirs to grip onto her hand tighter. His opposite hand coming to rest against her arm to steady her.
The young lieutenant brought her gaze up to his. His own eyes held only concern for the girl, allowing his lips to pull up into a small smile.
"Everything okay, Creed?" The way he spoke nearly sent Lia into a fit of tears and tumbling back down into the grass. He made her want to open up, to spill every single secret she held for so many years. To finally break.
But she only gave him a tight nod, dropping his hand in the process and immediately missing the warmth that left with it.
She was getting too close.
But is that such a bad thing?
-------
Lieutenant Speirs saw her try to hide the pain behind her eyes. He saw her struggle, no matter how well she pretended she wasn't. The cold front she put up was a barrier to the things going on behind it.
Speirs knew he was drawing himself close to the girl, but he couldn't help it. Every chance he could get he would seek her out amongst the sea of soldiers just to be by her side. He stopped fighting the need to be next to her long ago.
He only wished he could do something to take her pain away.
-------
Lia walked through the doors of her shared room with Piper after bidding Speirs goodnight and a thank you for walking her home. The alcohol still brewing in her body made her want to throw her arms around his body and break down in a hug, but she held herself back.
The younger soldier sat on her bed, tapping her foot anxiously against the floor. Her head snapped up as Lia walked in through the doors, and was instantly crossing the room.
"I thought you had run off on me. You're usually the one home before me." She joked. The smile fell off her face when Lia just stood in place, unmoving. Her mind was crushing her inside, the barrier threatening to break and allow that ocean to flood the room. "Lia?"
Piper took a step closer, placing her hand on her friends arm softly. Lia slowly looked up, the tears rushing to build back up into her eyes. Her throat began to restrict. Piper didn't know what to do. She had never seen the older lieutenant cry in the many years that she had known her. She had never once cried in their time spent in Germany.
A sob broke loose from Lia's throat before she could stop it, and Pipers arms immediately encircled her. The young blonde pulled Lia into a tight embrace.
Lia's legs buckled, pulling the two of them slowly to the floor.
For a better part of the night, Piper just held her friend as she sobbed in her arms. The two of them never speaking a word.