Summary: Livia McMillan is a nurse, who has been taking care of the E company men in Aldbourne and she doesn't leave them when they jump to France. She knows that her life might change – or end – in one split second, but she has no regrets what it comes to her decisions.

Disclaimer: I don't own BoB, but you knew that. Only Livia and some random persons are mine.

Chapter 1 The Proposition

"Jesus Christ, Livia. That hurts!" A Easy company sergeant Frank Perconte gasped when a blonde about 5'9 tall nurse gave him a vaccination.

"Don't be a child, sergeant. There where you are going soon you might be hurting much more. " Livia McMillan grinned cleaning the area on his arm where she'd given the shot.

"Yeah, and that's why you should handle me more gently." Perconte replied.

"Oh yeah?" She smiled to the sergeant, who she had learned to like during the months the American parachute company Easy had been on her station place Aldbourne in England. She was kind of 'their nurse' and usually she took care of any health problems which the soldiers in Easy had.

"Yes. Now give me a kiss of peace." Perconte smiled widely.

Instead of giving him kiss, she smacked him lightly to the head.

"There is your kiss." Then she turned to the other men, who were waiting to get the tetanus vaccination. Livia saw that everyone were grinning widely. "So, who's next."

"Livia, you are merciless." Perconte sighed and tried to look sad, not succeeing on that too well though.

"That's why we all love her." George Luz put his arm around Livia's shoulders. "I guess it's my turn."

"Good. Sit down and show your arm." She had to turn and take a new needle fast, because she didn't want to burst to laughter though all the men on the line were still grinning.

When Livia was ready with the vaccinations, she went out side and lighted the cigarette which she had managed to beseech from George Luz. She took a heavy breath of nicotine and leaned on the building wall. Then she saw two lieutnants from D company passing few feets from her and she almost chocked on the cigarette. The reason was the other of the lieutnants, Ronald Speirs. Livia knew him only by name because he wasn't in Easy, but for her opinion he was the most handsome man she had seen, and she had seen a lot of handsome soldiers during the years of the war. The two soldiers didn't see the beautiful blonde when she watched at them from the shadows of the building. Livia hadn't seen him many times and hadn't spoken to him at once, she just settled on admiring him from the distance.

"You really should talk to him before D company is shipped to mainland, Liv."

She turned towards the voice and saw her best friend Matilda grinning to her. She was also a nurse and she knew that Livia had some kind of crush on Speirs.

"Geez Matilda, you scared the hell out of me." Livia sighed.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings." The beautiful brunette smiled to her. "But I guess you were too busy with staring the lieutnant."

"Ha-ha. You're so funny." Livia said dryly.

"I know." Matilda got serious again. "But I meant it. You should talk to him."

"Not gonna happen. He would only laugh to me…" She started but she was interrupted.

"Who would laugh to you?" Livia recognized the voice and watched to the redhaired lieutnant of Easy who had appeared around the corner.

"No one, lieutnant Winters."

"Who would dare to laugh to her?" Richard Winters turned to Matilda. "Tell me, so I could beat some sense on this man."

Livia noticed that Matilda was very close of telling him, but she shaked her head rather violently.

"No one. We are just having a girl talk." Matilda replied for Livia's relief.

"Ah." Winters smiled a little. "I'm sorry to interrupt your girl talk moment, but Sobel wants to talk to you, Livia."

"What does he want now?" She sighed. She didn't like captain Sobel, but the truth was that no one did. That man was a pain in the ass.

"Don't ask me. He just wanted me to find you. But I have a slight suspicion that it has something to do with the bakings he found yesterday from your bag."

Livia sighed again. Of course it had something to do with that. She had visited her parents few days ago and her mother had given her a lot of buns which she had made, and for some reason Sobel had gone mad when he found them from Livia's bag. Not that he had any business going through her bag anyway.

"I guess I have to go and listen what he has to say."

"Don't be too worried, Livia." Winters said. "Sobel's a moron. And First Lieutnant Meehan is there too. He won't let Sobel say anything bad to you."

Livia just nodded and headed to the headquaters. When she was by Sobel's office door, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. When she heard the permission to enter, she opened the door and stepped to the room. She saw First Lieutnant Thomas Meehan nodding to her a slightly amused expression on his face. When she turned to look to captain Sobel, he didn't seem too amused. He cleared his throat before he started to speak.

"So, miss McMillan. I wanted to talk you about the bakings I found from your bag."

Livia sighed silently, seemed like Winters had been right.

"You should know that it's forbidden to bring anything like that here. Even for you nurses." Sobel kept a pause and Livia got the feeling that he wanted her to say something.

"I know. But my mother wanted to give them to me for snack and I didn't want to say no to her." She stammered.

"You should have explained her that you can't take them." Sobel raised his eye brows.

Livia glanced to Meehan, who seemed to be more and more amused about this fuss over a stupid bakings. Even she might have bursted to laughter if she hadn't been watching on Sobel's serious face.

"I know I should have…"

"I wanted to give you a more serious penalty than just taking the buns from you, but First Lieutnant Meehan disagreed with me on that." Winters had been right when he said that Sobel's moron too, Livia thought when she turned to look at Meehan again. He was biting his lower lip and Livia guessed that he was very hard trying not to laugh.

"Yes. I disagreed with captain." Meehan spoke finally. "I thought that taking the buns from you were enough. Specially now when things will change."

Meehan got more serious and Livia got a little worried. She didn't say anything but Meehan noticed the question in her green eyes.

"Yes, things are about to change. Easy will be jumping to France in a week if the weather is favourable."

It came as a shock to Livia. Of course she knew that Easy would be sent to mainland some day, but she didn't expect it to be so soon. She just stared to Sobel and Meehan.

"I will be the leader of the company." Meehan said then to Livia's surprise. "Captain Sobel is reassigned on other duties."

It came as a relief to Livia. She liked Thomas Meehan and she also knew that he was a good leader and a good man. She felt a little better when she knew that Easy had a good leader.

She noticed that Sobel's face got darker and guessed that he wasn't pleased about this 'reassignment'.

"Miss McMillan, don't speak about this to anyone yet. No one in Easy company does know this yet. We'll tell it tonight." Sobel said and Livia thought that she heard a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Of course I won't. If this was all…"

"Yes, it was all." Sobel interrupted her again. "Consider yourself warned miss McMillan."

"Yes, Sir." Livia said and turned to go to the door. When she opened the door she almost barged to the other of the two men, who were standing behind it. She looked up and saw Ronald Speirs' brown eyes watching down to her. She just stared at him and for her horror she felt her face blushing a little.

"Ah, Speirs and Heyliger. Come in." She heard Meehan's voice. "See you, miss McMillan."

She just nodded and when she was leaving the office, she heard a male voice say.

"Was that her?" She just wasn't sure which one it was, Speirs or Heyliger.

"Yes. It was." She heard Meehan say when he closed the door.

That exchange of words puzzled Livia a little and made her wonder what was going on. When she was in Sobel's office she had the feeling that he and Meehan were hiding something from her, but she thought that it was some war secret, which they couldn't tell her. Now she began to think that it was something to do with her. But she got rid of that thought fast, because it wasn't possible that it really concerned her.

When Livia got back to the room where nurses were sleeping, everyone jumped on her asking what Sobel had wanted. She just smiled first guessing that Matilda had told everyone about her call to Sobel's office. Then she told them what he and Meehan had said, leaving out the fact that Easy company would leave them very soon.

The two next days were busy because Livia had to make sure that every soldier in Easy was in condition to leave to France. She learned that it wasn't so much a surprise for the guys when they heard that they would leave the English soil soon. Also the fact that Meehan would be their leader made everyone happy.

Four days before Easy was supposed to leave Aldbourne, Livia got a call to the headquarters again, but this time it was Colonel Sink, who asked her to his office. She was confused and also a little afraid because she didn't know why she was asked to his office. She was afraid that it was something to do with other of her brothers or both of them. Both of them were in the front, Paul was in Northern Africa and Colin somewhere in France.

When Livia was going towards Sink's office she ran to Lewis Nixon who was going there too. He put his arm to her shoulders and said with comforting tone.

"Don't worry, Livia. I'm sure that you won't get bad news."

"I hope that you're right." She gave out a heavy sigh.

When they were at colonel Sink's door, Livia took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She prayed on her mind that she wasn't there because Sink wanted to tell her that Paul or Colin had died. Livia saw Nixon giving her a couraging smile and when she entered the office Nixon behind her, she noticed that there wasn't only Colonel Sink, also Meehan and Winters were there and they were watching at her with a serious expression in their faces. Also Sink watched her closely and she started to feel uncomfortable. Livia just stood there in silence. Finally Meehan was first to speak.

"Miss McMillan, I want you to know that you have all the rights to say no to the proposition which Colonel Sink will give you. You won't get any consequences if you decline."

Livia nodded and looked amazed at all the three men. Nixon tensed next to her and Livia guessed that he had no idea what was going on.

"You know that we have sent some nurses over to France with couple of companies." Sink started and she nodded again. Livia knew that some more experienced nurses from Aldbourne had been sent to France.

"Because you have been taking care of Easy's men from the very beginning we thought that you could jump to France with them."

There was total silence in the room when Sink, Meehan and Winters all watched at the blonde nurse. She also felt Nixon's eyes on her face. She couldn't say anything, she was so surprised and deeply stirred. Why they succested something like this to her? Well, she knew well the guys in Easy, but still…

"Bloody hell." The gasp from Nixon finally broke the silence.