The sun was setting, and the company was getting settled in, sleeping in real beds of the abandoned homes in that small village.

Doc Roe picked up the bloodied towels and brought them into the kitchen along with the basin filled with bloody water. He cleaned up what he could then washed his hands. He returned to his patient who was looking uncomfortable laying on the wooden surface. "The best thing for you now is to rest," he instructed.

Rosemary sat herself up and carefully dropped her legs off the side of the table then with Doc's assistance, tried to stand up. While getting her bearings, she looked to the men gathered in her kitchen, eating the food she generously donated. "There is a large bed in that room over there and the sofa over here is quite comfortable."

The men looked at each other then rushed to the room. Tab and Babe made it first and both jumped onto the mattress leaving Luz standing in the doorway. "I guess I'll sleep on the couch," Luz said reluctantly.

"I hear it's quite comfortable," Babe called out while he and Tab snickered.

"Hey, Luz, help me out here," Doc Roe said with his arm around Rosemary trying to help her hobble to her room. "Come on, let's get you settled."

The house was quiet while the soldiers enjoyed their slumber out of a foxhole. Doc sat awake in Rosemary's bedroom on the wooden chair in the corner. A single candle was lit as he watched his patient sleep.

Roe leaned his head back against the wall and crossed his arms while he attempted to force himself to sleep.

"Gene?" Rosemary's soft English voice called out from her bed.

Doc sat up straight as soon as he heard her. "You okay?"

"What are you doing sleeping in that chair? Please, come lie down. There is room here for two," she said as she scooched herself to the far side of the mattress.

He held up his hand in protest. "Naw, I couldn't. It wouldn't be right."

"Then I will get out." She worked her way off the bed. "Please, you deserve a restful sleep."

"I couldn't take your bed away from you." He shook his head.

A loud explosion burst in the street. Followed by a volley of mortar fire. Rosemary dropped to the floor and Doc pushed her alongside the bedframe and threw his arm over her head. She screamed and grabbed onto his jacket as the shelling echoed in her ears and felt as though they would be dead any moment.

When the bombardment ended the soldiers of Easy Company took stock of their situation. Luz stood in the doorway of Rosemary's room. "Okay?"

Doc looked to Rosemary who nodded her head with fear in her eyes. He turned to his buddy. "Yeah, we're good." He picked himself up and then helped her back onto the bed. "I should go see if anyone needs help. You stay with her." He pointed to Luz.

Roe rushed out into the street and spun around in a circle trying to asses the situation. "Is anyone hurt?" he yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth.

"We're fine over here," Lipton shouted back. "Go check that way!"

Doc rushed down the street to find a trooper stumbling out of the house on the corner. "Hey, you hurt?"

"My chest is burning," the trooper explained.

Doc Roe had him lie down and ripped open his shirt to find shrapnel in his chest. "Hey, I need some light!" Men rushed over with some candles and lanterns.

"Oh my god, am I going to die?" the trooper asked in a panic.

"No, it's just a flesh wound. Here, you'll need to wear this for tonight, I will check on it in the morning. Go get some rest." Roe looked up to the guys. "He's good, help him up." Doc collected his bag and headed back to Lipton.

"We all good?" Lipton asked.

"From what I can see," Roe responded. "Hey, Sergeant, what's with the mortar fire? The people in the village said it didn't happen all that much. And now twice in a few hours."

"Maybe they know we're here. But don't worry about that for now. Go get some sack time," he said then gave a pat on his shoulder.

Doc Roe returned to the house to see Luz asleep on the couch while seated upright with his head leaned back toward the wall and his mouth hung open. Luz woke when he heard the door close. "We good?"

"Everything's fine," Doc replied. "How is she?"

"Good," Luz replied half asleep.

"Go on. I got this."

"I won't argue with you." Luz slipped back under his blanket and stretched out on the sofa.

Roe entered the bedroom and looked down over his patient. He touched the bandage wrapped around her arm. He nodded to himself then removed his jacket, and after bundling it, tossed it onto the ground.

He unlaced his boots and placed them neatly against the wall.

He then moved down to the floor and adjusted the jacket under his head. With his fingers interlaced over his abdomen, he stared at the ceiling until he finally allowed his eyes to close with exhaustion.

His eyes opened sometime later when something caught his attention. He remained still as he tried to listen for it again. He then looked toward the bed as he realized it was Rosemary crying.

Doc Roe picked himself up from the floor and moved his hand toward her but wouldn't touch; it hovered over her. "It's okay," he said quietly.

Rosemary turned to look up at the Doc with her eyes flooded with tears. "This will never end," she uttered.

"Come on, that's not true." He allowed himself to sit by her feet.

"You don't understand. We have been in this for years. They want to take over the whole world. We aren't safe." She broke down crying.

Doc Roe slid himself closer to her and hesitantly placed his hand on her shoulder. "Should I get something for you? Some water?"

She shot a look back up to him. "Please don't leave."

He nodded his head. "Okay, I'll stay." He picked up the pillow and laid it against the headboard and put himself in a reclining position, on top of the bedspread.

With her back to him, he noticed that she stopped crying and was drifting back to sleep. He crossed his arms for warmth and passed out.

"Up and at 'em!" Lipton busted into the house forcing Luz to sit upright with his hair sticking up. Lipton went back out as quickly as he entered.

Luz slipped on his boots, and without lacing them up, he dragged himself to Rosemary's room where the door was left ajar. He stared into the room with a goofy grin on his face and then moved to the other bedroom. He opened the door to see Babe and Tab getting their gear together.

Babe made an effort to greet him, but Luz put his finger over his lips then motioned for them to follow. Seeing Luz's smirk, they followed with piqued interest. The trio crept to the next room where Luz pushed the door open. They stood in the doorway watching as Rosemary laid on Doc's chest and his arms were around her, both sleeping peacefully.

"Gene," Babe said in a soft tone. "Hey, Eugene," he repeated in a sing-song way.

Roe let out a soft moan as his head tilted toward the boys.

"Gene, it's time to wake up," Babe called out again.

"Yeah," Roe said with his eyes still closed.

"Hey, Doc, did you have a good night sleep?" Talbert asked.

Doc Roe opened his eyes to see his buddies standing in the doorway grinning. "Hey." He furrowed his eyebrows with a questioning look.

"Well, we'll let you get to it," Luz said as he grabbed onto the knob and closed the door.

Roe let out a yawn as he tried to move his arm then noticed Rosemary asleep wrapped around him. His eyes popped open with the realization. He then closed them in embarrassment thinking of the guys staring at him.

With his arm still around her, he used the tips of his fingers to rub along her back. He moved them up and down in a soothing motion. "Rosemary," he said in a voice just above a whisper.

"Hmmm?" she moaned.

"I need to get going."

She opened her eyes and blinked a few times at him as if still dreaming. She bolted upright when she noticed how she was laying on him. "I… um—"

"We're moving out," Roe said as he stepped out of bed. He picked up his jacket from the floor then grabbed his boots. "Thanks for… everything." He nodded then rushed to grab his things.

The troopers grouped in the middle of the street where Speirs stood in front of a jeep. "Listen up, Easy company!" Speirs called out. "The road we are supposed to take is blocked. The engineers are working on getting it open for us. However, that means we are not heading out any time soon. Looks like we will be in this town for another day."

The men shot each other looks of tapered excitement at the prospect of sleeping indoors for another night. They enjoyed the village and felt that it was a much-needed break for all of them. The villagers welcomed them, and shared their homes, food, and alcohol, all of which were very much appreciated.

"However," Speirs started up again. "We will venture out of town and do a perimeter sweep of the area. We need to know what's out there. Squad leaders, take command," he ordered.

Babe and Talbert said a kind goodbye to their host as they started down the street. Luz said a quick "see you later." Roe pulled his medical bag over his shoulder then put on his helmet. He stopped when he saw Rosemary and gave her a subtle smile and a nod then hurried to join his squad.

The villagers watched in huddled groups as the troopers gathered their helmets and weapons and headed out of town. Rosemary gathered the few people around her to share an idea with them.