Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ６３ － Ｄｉｋｅ】

Chapter 63 - Dike

"Hey Princess, when you're done in there, Captain Winters is lookin' for you."

"Okay."

Margaret shut off the water, she was done anyway. The water was just nice so she'd stayed there longer than she should have. But getting out was good too, because it meant her mind had other things to focus on.

Like how scratchy the towels were.

She thought about that as she towelled herself dry, trying to not think about anything else, trying to not catch her own eye in her reflection.

Once she was pulling on her boots and sitting to tie them up, she called to Toye to let him know he didn't have to stand guard anymore. Her hair dripped into her eyes and down her face as she started tying her laces. He came in, and threw a towel at her head.

"Dry that. Your head'll freeze once y' step out if y'don't."

Grumbling, she did so anyway, only stopping when Toye was satisfied that her head wouldn't freeze. It was cold in Mourmelon-le-grande, France – a country she never thought she'd come back to. And it was December. But Margaret didn't believe for a second that her head might freeze.

Still, she humoured him.

Toye walked her to Battalion CP, at least that's what she assumed it was, given that Captain Winters was in charge of 2nd Battalion. And he left her at the door with a little wave, whilst she waited for Zielinski to "announce" her. It was stupid, she could knock herself and all Dick would have to do is look up and see that it was her.

But still the orderly insisted, and he knocked and said Sir, Private Watkins is here to see you. Margaret waited until Dick called her in, then she smiled at him, and Nixon and Welsh who were also in there.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

Zielinski shut the door behind her, and Margaret visibly relaxed.

When Dick didn't answer, Nixon chose to strike up a conversation.

"So, how're you enjoying your "R'n'R"?"

Rolling her eyes in a rather exaggerated fashion, she decided to play along.

"Careful, you roll those any harder and they'll get stuck."

God she hated small talk, but she did love Harry Welsh and his little jokes. He grinned at her as she remembered Lewis' question.

"Well I'm particularly enjoying the showers and the running around fetching people, thanks for that Dick. Hiding from Lieutenant Dike is also...interesting. Apparently story time is a thing now? That was a weird experience. I can finally make some more scarves..."

Then she trailed off as she counted how many she had to make – she needed one, so did Bill, the officers in the room didn't have one, Lipton went without, and Buck would need one. Seven. She didn't have enough to make seven. She could probably make 4 if she made the last two a few rows shorter. That meant she'd go without again, naturally.

Bill, Buck, Lipton and Harry could have them.

Nixon would just have to pout.

"Uh, yeah, Lewis you don't get a scarf."

"But I sourced you the wool on a super secret mission."

His whining made her pout at him, as she gave him a look of oh boo hoo and made Welsh laugh.

"But nothing, you're the intelligence officer, don't you live indoors?"

"She's got you there Lew."

Dick finally looked up, having finished whatever he was doing. It got him a few comments like welcome to the conversation and nice of you to finally join us. After a few minutes of quiet laughter, Dick got down to business.

"You can't hide from him forever, I am going to introduce you this week."

Margaret whined and rolled her eyes.

"I cannot be held responsible for whatever happens. I might kill him, he's that shit, I might just kill him and become the hero of Easy."

Lewis Nixon snorted, and tried very very hard to not smile. Dick, however, did not approve and did not smile. Instead he looked at her rather sternly.

"Don't look at me like that. You haven't seen him out in the field. We'd be better off with a fucking snail for a CO."

"Maybe don't shout that."

Margaret ran a stressed hand through her short hair, then the other. Both hands ended up lodged in her hair, almost pulling at it. But not quite. The prospect of having to actually make Dike aware of her existence made her feel queasy. He was a massive liability. He definitely wouldn't keep her a secret. And if in the event he was captured, he'd probably tell everyone who'd listen about her. The others, she knew she could trust. It was why Dick, Harry, Lewis and Buck knew why she was really there. Because even before she was consciously aware of knowing she could trust them, deep down she already knew she could just from seeing how they handled the men in Normandy. But Dike? He was a whole 'nother ball game. She'd made up her mind after the first firefight where they had him as CO. He was a liability.

In her line of work, he'd be taken out, and quickly.

The Officers watched her nervously pacing, patiently waiting for her to think through whatever it was she was thinking through.

A knock.

Everyone looked up to the door, even Maragret, and she stopped her pacing – frozen mid step. Hands remaining in her hair, she tapped her foot anxiously, having brought it down from where it had hung in the air mid step.

"Captain Winters, there's someone on our radio frequency asking for a Genesis?"

Margaret's heart leapt into her throat and her stomach fell through the floor.

What?

No.

But her orders were never going to come.

The fucking radios didn't work.

They'd hardly worked all through Holland, well the inter-regimental ones or what have you.

All eyes were on her, as she gaped at Dick Winters' orderly.

No fucking way.

_

Uh, yeah, so that just happened...