As part of the medical training medics were required to attend to the surrounding families in the area. Even though I already had many years of experience I was still required to attend as well. I was just getting back from seeing the McDoole family when I passed Winter's and Nixon's table in the mess hall.

"Lieutenant Steinhauser!" I heard my name being shouted. I glanced over to see Nixon waving me over.

"Yes, sir?" I asked him. They both looked up at me.

"We just wanted to check up on you," Winter's told me. "See how everything's going?"

Surprised, my eyebrows rose. "Oh everything is going well."

"Everyone treating you well?" Nixon asked me.

"Yes sir. I'm getting on well with some of the guys, mostly second platoon since that's who I'm bunkered with."

"Good," stated Winters. "How is the medical training going?"

"Oh real swell, nothing I can't handle and nothing I haven't already been through. It's good to have a refresher. I actually just got back from seeing one of my families."

"Good, real good." Silence.

I glanced over to see my usual table; currently consisting of Bill, Toye, Liebgott, Luz, Perconte, Malarky, Tab, Skip, and Muck; among a few others, all staring at us.

"Um, anything else, sir?" I asked them, anxious to join my friends.

I guess they could tell because Nixon then laughed, "That'll be all. Go join your friends."

I gave a slight chuckle, "Thank you sir. Have a good day." I nodded to both of them.

After I got my breakfast, I headed over to my friends. "What was that about?" Perco asked me.

"Oh they were just checking up on me. Seeing if you bozos were being nice and all." I smirked at them.

"Hey! We're perfect gentlemen!" Skip replied.

"Yeah, suuuure."

"So Lieb, how about that hair cut?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

Liebgott glanced up at me from his card game of Poker that he was playing with the guys. "Yeah, sure right after this game." He replied with his cigarette dangling from his mouth. It had been about a week since Sobel took away our passes for our invisible infractions. I still hadn't gotten my hair cut so I figured it was about time.

Nodding, I went back to my cop of Murder at the Vicarage.

Finally they were done with their round of poker. Lieb stood up and called me over to his bunk.

"Alright, how short do you want your hair?" He asked me.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I guess shoulder length. That way I can still put it back."

"Okay." He replied and set to work on cutting my hair.

Once he was finished he declared that he was "all done" and dusted my shoulders off. The guys started cat calling and George exclaimed that he "didn't think I could get any more better looking." All I could reply was to tell him to shut up. Cheeks red, I made my way to the bathroom to check my hair out.

Glancing in the mirror I didn't know what to think. For as long as I could remember my hair had been at least mid back length. Moving my head side to side, I decided that it didn't look half bad, plus hopefully it would get Sobel off of my back about it and give him once less thing to punish us for.

Coming back to second's barrack I thanked Liebgott and gave him his fifteen cents plus a five cent tip. Confused, he looked at me and asked why I had given him the five cents extra. I smirked at him and said that it was for being such a good barber and to not spend it all in once place. He just smiled and shook his head.

Now what to do? "So, who wants to teach me how to play poker again?" They all groaned.

Toccoa was mostly about making sure we were in prime physical condition and combat basics. Since I had learned the basics at Fort Devens I excelled there, the physical part was where I had to improve. For the first five months every day we did P.T.; the rest of the time we learned how to use all of our weapons. By the time training was done, each and every man would know their weapons inside and out. Even if you didn't plan on using it, you learned it. Then of course there were other basics you had to know; like hand signals, how to read maps and compasses, use phones and radios. You had to learn the area and different terrains too. We also got a crash course on German basics too. They wanted us prepared on everything. With a leader like Sobel, Easy Company soon developed its own reputation.

We then had to go through a series of obstacle courses, including a set up of trenches filled with pig guts, dug under barb wire. I'll never forget the first time we had to crawl through that set up.

November 26, 1942 A.K.A. Thanksgiving.

"Oh goodness gracious." Oh heck no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"Jesus, what the hell is this?" I heard Hoobler ask.

"That's pig guts, boy." Of course Bull would know, he did grow up on a farm.

Halfway through crawling under the barb-wired fences and pig guts, I ended up getting a big giant mouth full of the guts. Gagging, I spit them out faster than you'd believe. "I think I'm gonna spew!" I muttered to myself and anyone listening. The men all around that heard me got a kick out of that. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Oh if mother and Aunt Ellie could see me now. Mother would die of fright and embarrassment; Aunt Ellie would be proud.

A couple days later we were finishing up our morning P.T. when we made our way back to the barracks. Luz doing his impersonations of various people and we were all laughing when we entered the room.

"Holy mackerel!"

"What the hell happened?!"

"A tornado named Sobel happened." I exclaimed out loud to no one in particular.

Each footlocker had been ransacked. There were items strewn everywhere.; like a tornado had been through. Embarrassingly, my unmentionables where every, including my Kotex. Hurriedly I ran around the room collecting my things. Sobel is such a jerk.

"Look at this!" Perco told Bill and Toye, who both had just entered the room. "Bad enough he messed with our stuff, but throwing her lady stuff everywhere? Unbelievable." He said, shaking his head.

"Oh guys, it's alright. It's no secret that I'm a woman; women have to use these things." I tried to placate the men, who were getting each other riled up; even though I was unbelievably embarrassed. The men could tell; I'm sure my cheeks were as red as they felt.

"No it's not." Liebgott said.

"Lieb's right, Ava. Sobel is constantly putting you through the wringer more than anyone else." Bull said.

I sigh, "look guys, he only does it because he doesn't want people to think he's giving me special treatment because I'm a woman."

"We should say something to Sink, he'd let Sobel have it." Popeye said.

"No!" They all look at me. "If you say something to Sink, he'd have to talk to Sobel."

"That's the fuckin' point," replied Bill.

"Exactly! Then Sobel would blow a fuse and treat me even worse than how he already is. I don't need, nor want that. I can handle him. I'm a big girl."

"If you say so, Ava; we'll drop it" Toye said.

"Thank you." I said as I bend down to pick up some strewn letters near my bed.

"Here Tip, I think these belong to you."