"Are you out of your goddamn mind?"
Dick spun around and came face to face with a furious Valerie, eyes blazing and hands placed firmly on her hips.
"Val what..."
"Could'a been picked off runnin' across open ground like that," she continued, her voice shaking, "the hell were you thinking doing somethin' so reckless and stupid? Where the hell would we be left if you'd gone and gotten yourself shot huh?"
"Valerie listen to me..."
"I can't believe you of all people would do something so goddamn stupid and..."
"Now hang on just a darn minute..."
"Am I interrupting something?"
Two heads turned to face Nix, who stood watching the pair with an amused tilt to his lips.
"Not at all..."
"Yes actually," Valerie cut in harshly, "I'm in the middle of tellin' Dick how goddamn stupid he was to..."
"Now hang on," Dick balked, "it might have been a bit reckless but it certainly was not stupid."
"Oh I'd beg to differ," she quipped with a scoff, crossing her arms over her chest, "It was actually incredibly stupid."
"It was a standard bayonet charge Valerie, I'd hardly call it stupid," he replied defiantly, his jaw clenching.
"Clearly you've been watching too many re-runs of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' because you're stuck in the past with your goddamn bayonet charge. We don't do those anymore because they're too goddamn dangerous, or did you conveniently forget that bit?"
"Well I damn well had to do it Valerie," he snapped, "or we'd still be stuck on that cursed island."
"You didn't have to charge out on your own like fuckin' John Wayne though did ya?" She exclaimed
"As entertaining as this little tiff is," Nix cut in, stepping between the two of them with a chuckle, "I need to sweep Dick away to HQ to get him settled in to his new office."
"New...new office?" Valerie questioned sharply, her gaze flickering between the two of them.
"I'm sure if you'd given the man the chance he would have told you all about his promotion to batallion," Nix laughed, clapping Dick on the shoulder fondly.
Valerie felt like she'd been punched in the gut when she met Dick's eyes and saw the truth of Nix's words in them. It was true; Dick was really leaving Easy for a nice cushy desk job up at batallion. She took a step back, her throat feeling like it was squeezing closed. Her mind felt like it had been caught up in a twister, so many emotions jumbling around in her head in such a short space of time. As the seconds ticked by and the two men watched her with wary eyes, she settled on the one emotion she felt most comfortable with in that moment.
"Well I'm glad your glory run in the field had the desired result," she hissed icily, her eyes narrowing and glaring daggers at Dick, "now if you don't mind some of us have to look after our men." With that she turned on her heel and marched away from the pair. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails would surely cut through the skin on her palms, but she didn't care. At least the sting was a mild distraction from everything else going through her mind.
"Valerie wait, hang on a minute," Dick called as he jogged in front of her and cut her off, "you seriously think I did that maneuver just to get a promotion?"
"I dunno Dick," she snarled, "that's certainly what it looks like to me."
"How can you honestly think that?" He asked quietly, a vulnerable crack in his voice, "after everything we've been through how can you think I would ever do that?"
"I don't know Dick," Valerie snapped back, refusing to acknowledge the hurt in his eyes, "wouldn't be the first time you did something questionable to look good to the brass."
He faltered, a dark and wounded shadow overcoming his face. "Dammit Valerie I thought we'd moved past this," he pleaded.
"Whatever," she grumbled, "Don't you have somewhere more important to be? I know I certainly do."
Without a backwards glance she stormed off, leaving a dumbstruck Dick in her wake. As she got further and further away from him she felt the walls begin to crack and her eyes stung with hot, angry tears. She swiped furiously at one as it spilled down her cheek before taking a deep breath and pulling herself together. There was no time for pointless tears in the middle of occupied Holland, and it wasn't even worth it anyway. She had a job to do and that's all that mattered.
~~~~~
"Hey Val, how ya doin'?"
Valerie looked up at the sound of her name and couldn't supress her grin when she saw George and Lieb coming towards her.
"Hey boys, nice to see ya," she laughed, pulling them both in for a hug.
"Jeez sweetheart didn't realise we'd reached the huggin' stage," Lieb teased, but he hugged her back tightly all the same.
"Well it's either that or a punch in the arm," she warned, "so choose wisely."
"Don't listen to him," George butted in, throwing an arm over her shoulder, "its good to see ya."
"You see me all the time George, we're in the same company," she teased, shaking her head at him.
"I know but we never see you," he persisted, "you're always so busy being bossy or off with the other officers. Clearly you've decided we're no longer important enough for you."
"Aw quit your whining Luz," she mocked, elbowing him in the side, "you know you'll never be replaced in my heart."
"I should hope not," he sniffled dramatically, but his cheeky grin gave him away, "now why don't you make it up to me and come help me beat Don in a game of craps?"
"How could I turn down such an offer," she chuckled, stepping out from under his arm and linking her arm with his.
"You two are fuckin' ridiculous you know that?" Lieb scoffed as he lit his cigarette.
"Shut up, you're just jealous," Valerie smirked, "now are you gonna offer me a smoke or do I have to do everything myself around here?"
He shook his head at her but pulled one out all the same, lighting it up for her before the three of them made their way towards the barn that was serving as one of Easy's shelter for the night.
"Well look what the cat dragged in," Don called as the trio entered the barn, "if it isn't Lady Landry herself."
"Better shut the hell up Malarkey or I won't be so inclined to go easy on ya when the dice comes out."
"Fighting talk Val," he grinned cheekily as she settled onto the wooden pallet beside him, "now put your money where you mouth is and let's get down to business."
Ten rounds of craps later and Don looked like he was about to explode.
"You two are definitely cheating," he grumbled as he passed over another five cigarettes to George.
"You can't cheat the dice Don," Valerie teased, "don't blame us cause you're crap at craps."
"Aha good one Val," George laughed, reaching across the makeshift table and giving her a fist bump.
"Oh sure, laugh it up at my expense," Don grumbled, throwing a doleful glare at the offending dice before pilfering a cigarette from the pile in front of George.
"Say Val," Don started a few moments later, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them, "since you're always with the officers nowadays you surely must know already who's replacing Winters as CO?"
"Don't know a thing about it," she replied, keeping her tone even.
"Sure is shit that we're losin' him," George chimed in, "can't imagine too many other CO's running headfirst onto an open field on their own."
"Well maybe its a good thing then," she huffed, taking a long drag from her cigarette, "cause pulling a stunt like that just to get a promotion is stupidly irresponsible."
"Aw hell Val you don't honestly think he did the bayonet charge for a promotion do you?" Don asked incredulously, "Winters ain't like that."
"Well all I see is he's gotten a cushy little desk job at batallion and left us in the shitter," she grumbled, "but who cares right? Long as he gets to put his feet up in a nice warm office at HQ."
"C'mon Val, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" George asked, his brows furrowing.
"No," she sighed, standing up and crushing her cigarette under her boot roughly, "I don't. Now it's been fun guys but I got a few things to follow up on. I'll see you soon I promise." With that she walked out of the barn, taking in a long deep breath of the cool evening air as she did.
"Hey Val wait," George called as he ran to catch up with her, "is everything okay? You just seem a little off."
And wasn't that the million dollar question. Was she okay with the fact that Dick had up and left them, left...her? She knew that she should be okay, knew that she should be happy that he was getting the recognition he so clearly deserved. But all of that had been swallowed by the overwhelming and inexplicable hurt she felt a the thought of him moving on from Easy and forgetting all about them.
"I'm alright George," she sighed wearily, "I'm just tired and stressed, just like everyone else."
"Seems like more than just the usual stress to me," he persisted, "you're clearly upset so just talk to me Val, tell me what's up."
"It's nothing George," she reiterated, shaking her head, "honest."
"Is this about Winters moving to batallion?" He asked gently, "because I know you two had gotten close lately and -"
"Why would it be about that?" She snapped, crossing her arms tightly across her chest, "I couldn't give a damn what he does."
"Seems I've hit a nerve which means my guess is probably a bit too close to home." George chuckled. "You're allowed to miss him you know, hell we're all sure as shit gonna miss him."
"I don't miss him," she insisted sharply, "I told you I couldn't care less what he does or where he goes. He's proved yet again he's a glory huntin' risk taker who only does it to look good to the brass."
"You're fooling nobody but yourself there Val," George told her knowingly, "cause you and I both know he's not like that. He's a good man Val, one of the best of 'em even, and a blind idiot could see that you care about him. But if pretending to be mad at him helps you sleep at night then who am I to stop you. All I'll say is you should talk to him and clear the air because life's too short out here for pointless fights you don't even wanna be havin'."
Valerie felt a lump forming in her throat and had to look away from him, unable to respond. He was right of course, she was being ridiculous and falling into her usual trap of ignoring her feelings and reverting to anger to protect herself. It was easier to just be mad at him than to dwell on how scared she'd been when she'd heard about the bayonet charge, or how confused she'd felt when she'd learned he was moving to batallion.
"I can see the little cogs whirring in your brain Val," George interjected with a laugh, pulling her out of her reverie, "but you know I'm right. I always am."
"Debatable," she scoffed, but she couldn't resist the small smile that rose on her lips.
"You know you can come to me anytime yeah?" He said, pulling her in for a tight hug, "I know you've got Doc but if you ever need to talk about anything then I'm here."
"Careful George," she teased, squeezing him back tightly before pulling back to look at him, "you're startin' to sound sentimental."
"Aw hell Val get lost," he laughed, shaking his head fondly, "but don't be a stranger 'ya hear? I'll be seeing ya."
"I'll see y'around George," she replied softly, turning away from him to head to her bunk, "and...thanks by the way."
"Anytime Val," he called after her, giving her a cheeky salute before heading back into the barn. Valerie glanced up at the moon and sighed as she trudged back to her quarters, her shoulders sagging wearily under the weight of her worries.