Only a Paper Moon [ Band of Brothers ] 3

Chapter Ten

January 26, 1946
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hugging Bill Guarnere felt like returning home. She felt the sweet sense of security, the familiarity. But she also felt the melancholy of knowing there were moments Alice could never return to in that embrace. Even as tears stained her cheeks, Bill didn't say anything, and somehow that only made it harder.

When she'd seen Buck, it'd been hard to forget Bastogne. When she saw Bill, it became impossible. She could see the pain, feel his hand in hers as he was carted off, mangled limb covered in bloody bandages. She could see the way his face scrunched against the agony and fought the morphine's sweet release so she could selfishly have a few minutes to say goodbye.

Alice had thought a lot about what to say when she saw him again. She'd planned a quippy smartass remark, or a way to make him joke about hopping about on one limb. But in the moment, she had no words, nothing but a horrible mix of emotions she couldn't process beyond seeking a hug.

"You're gettin' my shirt wet," Bill said.

With half a laugh, half a sob, she let him go. He looked good. Clean-shaven, but a bit more serious than she remembered. Still, he looked like Bill Guarnere, and that was enough for her. "Scheisse!" Alice stammered, turning to where Babe and now Spina stood watching them. "Goddamnit! You two!" But seeing Spina made her let out another choked sob. "Spina."

She moved over to the former medic and gave him a hug as well. All of them together, it brought back so many memories. She couldn't process them. Tears became her only release, and she figured it wouldn't hurt. They'd seen her through worse than a few sobs.

"Good to see ya," Spina said. He returned her hug eagerly and then turned behind him. "Carol?"

Alice's eyes widened as a young girl, dark hair bouncing to her shoulders, peered from around the doorway. She looked about three, eyes brown and cheeks rosy. Her sobs subsided as she looked at the little miracle.

"Carol, this is Alice. She's a friend of daddy's," Spina said. He crouched down. "Remember I told you she helped daddy while he was gone?"

She nodded. Sticking a finger in her mouth, she looked Alice up and down. "She daddy's friend?"

"Yeah. Yeah, she's daddy's friend."

"Daddy I want ice cream," Carol said. She turned from Alice, moving a few feet into the room to tug on Spina's pant leg. "Mommy said ice cream."

Alice couldn't help but laugh. But Spina just shot them all a smirk and a shrug and picked his daughter up. "Ice cream it is."

As they disappeared into the kitchen, Alice turned back. Bill had sat back down and Babe was smirking in the same place he'd been standing. He watched her closely.

"You three," Alice started again. But she had to catch her breath. "You three are horrible, horrible people."

"Ah come on Sweetheart," Bill teased, "You survived a fuckin' war. I think you can handle a bit of a surprise."

Spina shouted from the other room. "Bill! Watch the language. Carol's a kid!"

Babe and Alice both broke out laughing. Bill on the other hand looked peeved. "Ralph, she lives in Philly. She ain't gonna have a pure mouth." When they got no response, he just snorted and looked back at them. "He better not turn into a quaker."

"Never seen you speechless, Alice," Babe teased.

And she was. Alice stood watching them, eyes as wide as Carol's had been when she'd seen them. But it was like seeing a ghost, looking at Bill there, healthy and seemingly happy. And Babe too. Babe who had been there through Germany, had seen the things they'd seen.