By ValerieRichards

Disclaimers: See chapter 1.

Author's note: I finished watching the movie for the first time Friday, March 23 and now I'm writing a story on it. I never thought it was possible! ; ) You probably know who the stranger is already, but if you don't, it'll be revealed at the end of this chapter.

Chapter 3: No Excuses

Daniel, Sean, Peter, and James saw him begin to move and automatically latched onto him.

"Where do you think you're going? Don't you know that you're in the middle of a war" Peter asked. The guy sighed in defeat and relaxed. They let go of him.

"What do you see in him that I don't" James asked his brothers. The man nervously bit his lip. The three brothers rolled their eyes.

"Um look at him closely. What do you see" Peter asked. James did that and gasped. He realized that this kid looked similar to him. The man shuffled his feet nervously.

"What's your name, your first name" James asked.

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry" he replied. James looked at him sternly. The man didn't cringe. The three older brothers watched in amusement. Then, a low rumble was heard and everyone looked up. The music that was playing before had stopped. Everyone got into their stations. The battle started and sticky bombs went off. Soldiers from both sides were dying.

"DUCK" Captain Miller shouted as two sticky bombs went off. The three older brothers and the guy weren't near the tank. Captain Miller dove on top of James. Then, the battle continued. James was reloading his gun when another tank turned its barrel towards him. Peter was fighting near it and turned to see the tank pointing towards his baby brother. His heart stopped for a moment.

"JAMES" he screamed as his legs propelled him towards his brother. James didn't hear him. Peter grabbed his brother's collar and yanked him away from the mound of dirt he was hiding behind. The blast erupted behind them and the flames and debris missed them by a minute. Peter threw James down and sat on top of him.

"Get off me" James yelled at him. Peter didn't budge. The man chuckled a bit because he paid attention to this part of the film from his history class. The part of the film had mentioned James' and one of his comrades. The only parts of the film he paid attention to was the part that mentioned Omaha beach and this last part with James.

"RYAN" Captain Miller yelled running over.

"GET OFF ME" James yelled louder. Peter still didn't budge. The other two brothers came over and smirked a bit.

"Are you okay" Captain Miller asked. Peter pointed his gun straight.

"Yeah, I'm fine too Captain, thanks" he said bluntly. They fought even harder. The soldiers retreated past the Alamo, besides Upham, and the Germans advanced. A Tiger tank went onto the bridge and Captain Miller went to go retrieve a dropped weapon.

"CAPTAIN! GET BACK HERE" they shouted. Captain Miller didn't come back. A bullet hit him in the upper right chest. Captain Miller fell into a sitting position and took out his pistol. He shot at the advancing Tiger tank. The tank blew up half way on the bridge. The Allie reinforcements came and the others gathered around the Captain. Upham killed the guy who hurt the Captain and the others retreated. Miller mumbled something and James leaned in closer to hear it.

"James…….earn it. Earn it" he mumbled again. Those were his final words before he died. The medical treatment stopped and they all stared solemnly at his body before turning to leave.

"Come on kid" Daniel said trying to lead James away, but James didn't budge. He stared at the body a little longer trying to hold back the tears. The five men left the scene.

"Okay, now can you tell us your name" Sean asked after they were out in the woods. The man smiled and nodded.

"Lenny Ryan" he said. The Ryan brothers knew who's son it was.

"And…..er…..what's James' elder son's name" Daniel asked awkwardly. Lenny laughed.

"My big, annoying brother? Lucius Ryan" he said. A portal opened.

"Well, I guess you have to go" James said. Lenny chuckled.

"Yeah, I would've liked to spend more time with my dad and see what he was like when he was younger, but he's going to kill me back in my time for ever doing it" he said. James laughed himself.

"It'll be different because I'll have my brothers and your uncles. I might even thank you" he said.

"Also, James is what you saw when you were here. W and A. Weird and annoying" Peter said. James punched him in the arm.

"LENNY! GET YOUR SORRY BUTT OVER HERE" a voice yelled. Lenny sighed.

"Well, that's my cue a.k.a. my annoying brother" he sighed.

"I HEARD THAT" the voice called back. Lenny growled.

"No duh Lucius! You were supposed to hear it" he yelled at him. Kenny climbed in the portal and waved until it closed all the way. The Ryan brothers waved back.


Done! Not done with the story yet! Please R&R!