Part 4

Hey guys, so next chapter, hope you guys like it. This fanfiction will be different from the first one, because it is about her getting back into a civilian life and moving on from the way; also, because of that, the chapters will be shorter. Yeah, I think that's everything. A huge, huge, huge thank you to everyone who has read this story and commented; it really does mean a lot- and I know I say that a lot, but it's true. Alright, that's enough yapping from me; thanks and I hope you enjoy.

"I know you don't believe it, but I said it and I still mean it. When you heard what I told you. When you get worried, I'll be your soldier-" Soldier by Gavin DeGraw

The night before the wedding, Easy Company assembled to celebrate. Griest and Roe decided to have a bachelor night together as the majority of their friends were mutual. Most of the company attended except Sobel, who everyone regarded with anger, frustration, and grudging respect and gratitude- if it weren't for him, many more of Easy would have been buried in some nameless grave- Sink, who was busy, and Talbert, whom everyone had lost contact with after the war. They rented out the local hall and filled it as the men talked, drank, and danced the night away. It was the first time most of Easy had seen each other since the war.

"Great to see you both again," Guarnere began as he shook both of their hands. After the war, Bill married his longtime girlfriend and worked odd jobs. He had recovered and completed his rehabilitation, and now wore an artificial leg; although, he hated it and ditched it whenever he had the chance. He was happy and the same old Guarnere, something Griest was happy to see. Guarnere had always been a pillar of strength and courage for her.

"Good to see you too, Bill," Griest muttered as Guarnere looked out to the dance hall where the men were dancing with their wives and girlfriends. Guarnere flashed her a wink and hobbled over to his wife before taking her hand and pulling her onto the dance floor. Griest grinned as she walked over to a table covered in various foods from meat and cheese, to dessert and vegetables. Not surprisingly, most of the meat and desserts were lacking.

Griest turned her back to the table and watched her friends and family. Since returning to Roe, a huge part of her had returned; she felt as if she had woken up after a horrible four year dream, but it wasn't the same. Here, being surrounded by Easy Company, that was enough. She relished in the sounds of their laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the bubbles of alcohol that buzzed in the back of her throat and warmed her cheeks. The men weren't screaming, dying, crying, or praying... Her vision blurred into Carentan, of the men as tank rounds exploded beside her, ripping a man's arm clean from his shoulder. No, the laughter suited her just fine.

"Hey, Chucky, who's the hot girl over there?" Griest tore her gaze away from her nightmares and looked at Malarkey and Nixon. She followed their gazes as a smirk danced on her coloured lips.

"That's Grace; I went to school with her for a year. You guys back off," she warned in a gruff tone, "she's not used to sex driven military men, especially not paratroopers!"

The men began laughing as they raised their glasses to the sky. Malarkey wandered off with Lipton, but Nixon remained frozen as he continued to watch Grace with a strange look on his face. His eyes were glassy as they followed Grace's figure. His mouth was open in a mystified awe as his cheeks turned red.

"Grace, you said?" He repeated gently, as if talking to a baby. Griest nodded as her eyebrows drew together while her snarl turned into a grin. Roe joined them and wrapped his arms around her as Griest kissed the back of his hand.

"Uh huh, she's really nice. You should go talk to her; she looks kind of lonely." Nixon snapped his head up as he stared at Griest with wide eyes. The female paratrooper nodded. "Malarkey looks like he's about to bug her; why don't you scare him and everyone else away?"

Nixon looked back to Grace where Malarkey and a few others were circling her like vultures. He nodded shyly then joined Grace. Roe and Griest watched carefully as Nixon gently shook her hand and spoke in a soft, gentle tone. Grace smiled and nodded before following Nixon to the open dance floor.

"Ahh, come on, Chucky, you let Nixon take her?" Toye complained as he and the other men shook their heads and cursed at Nix.

"I didn't let them do anything," she corrected, "that was all up to Grace; she made her decision." Griest looked back to the pair. Nixon was holding Grace tightly and securely as her hand rested gently on his shoulder. They were both smiling and laughing as their eyes light up like the night sky.

Griest smiled remembering the pain, desolation, and horror on Nix's face at Landsberg. She swallowed hard as the memory left her shaking and cold, gripping Roe's arm even tighter. She was happier with the smile and look of content of the captain's face.

"Ah, Chucky," Luz hooted as he stepped beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as he flashed Roe a wink. A half-empty beer bottle was in his hands as he swayed on his feet with red, buzzed eyes. He kissed her cheek as Griest scrunched up her nose as his alcohol smelling breath assaulted her. Roe chuckled. "I have missed you soooo much, girl! You know, I always wanted my wifey to meet you, but never could get to New York. So, 'ere we are."

"It's good to see you too, George. How much have you had to drink?"

He giggled as a burp escaped him, "Oops. I lost count. Why, you have more?" He looked at Roe as he released Griest and attached himself to Roe.

"And you!" Luz hiccupped. Roe tensed as the sergeant pulled him in close, causing Griest to chuckle. "You, sly dog! We always knew you and Chuck would get hitched, but after hearing nothing for so long, we were thinking it wouldn't happen. Now, now, I know- you paying attention, Doc? Good. I know you're our medic and all that, but that's my little sister right there, so you treat-" hiccup, "treat her right, or you and I will have a loooong chat."

"Okay, Luz," Lipton called as he stepped up and peeled the drunk sergeant off. "Let's getting you seated."

"But, Loo, I'm talking to-to-to... Chucky and Doc."

"I know but you look like you could use some water..." Lipton continued as he led Luz away, flashing the pair a wink. Griest mouthed a thank you as her cheeks burned and her eyes watered. She had missed the war; not the killing or the fighting, but the comradeship and her boys. Seeing them every day and joking with them. She almost wanted to go back in time to the day she first laid eyes on the company. She had thought they looked snotty and presumptuous, which they were, but they were so much more than that. She shivered; what kind of person was she if she was wishing for the war?

"You alright?" Roe muttered gently, his warm voice vibrating through the air. She took in a small breath and nodded.

"Hey, can you handle everyone in here? I wanna talk to Winters." Roe nodded as she quickly kissed his hand and wandered off to find her leader. After the Incident- that's all it ever was in her mind, she never thought about it too hard or too long; it was just the Incident, nothing more and nothing less- she had hated physical contact. But, after seeing Roe, all she ever wanted to do was hold him or feel him against her. She guessed after all those years of holding her affections back, she was making up for lost time.

She found Winters sitting down with Lipton, Welsh, and Speirs. Unlike most of Easy, Speirs had remained in the military after the war, so he still wore his uniform. Other than the few extra lines on his face, he looked exactly the same.

"Hey, Winters, could I talk to you outside?" Her voice trembled slightly. It was unusual for her to make such requests, it made her nervous. Winters nodded and followed her, after the other congratulated her and told her the wedding was a long time coming.

"Is everything okay, Chucky?" Winters asked as Griest leaned against a railing, breathing in the humid air. The sun had set long ago as the moon rose high into the sky like a chariot. Stars littered the sky as if someone had thrown them to create a perfect, unorganized mess. It calmed her. She thought of her mother and looked down at her runners, chewing on her lip.

"Sir, I have no father, and I never did. I don't know what he looks like, what his name is, or if he knows who I am. I guess my point is, I never knew what a father was supposed to be, until I met you. You looked out for me, for us all, and. God, I'm not doing this very well," she chuckled nervously as she kicked at the dirt.

Winters smiled down at her and placed a hand on her shoulder after a moment's hesitation. To his surprise, she never jumped back or punched him in the face, but looked up at him with an open expression. Winters spoke gently, "It's okay, Chucky."

"I was wondering if you could walk me down the aisle? You don't have to if you don't want to, or it's too awkward or something, I just thought-"

"Henri," she stopped her rambling and looked up at him as he cracked a smile. "I would be honoured to."

"It's not just an archaic symbol flying in the wind. There are real stories, real sacrifices, and real families still living in the red, white, and blue"- Taya Kyle

Roe was a simple man with simple needs. He enjoyed life but never pushed for the extremes; he was happy with where he was. If you told a six year old Roe he would fight in Europe, jump out of airplanes, treat and save people in the harshest environments known to man, survive World War 2, and then marry his fellow paratrooper, he would have stared at you and asked what a paratrooper was. He never expected this from his life, but then again, he never looked forward too much.

His stomach was twisting in his gut as he stared at his polished shoes, trying to regain control of his heart. He could run through a war zone without batting an eye, but his own wedding? He was sweating buckets. He hoped it wouldn't soak through his suit.

"You regretting this already?" He smiled as he looked up at his soon-to-be wife. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that fell to the ground, hiding her feet and pale legs. The bodice was decorated with some lace that kissed the tops of her collar bones. Griest had never wanted anything too flashy; to be perfectly honest, she would have been happiest wearing her grade A uniform, but...

Her hair was brushed to the right side of her face and pulled back into various curls. The rest of her hair was secured in a thick bun at the base of her neck. It gave her an elegant yet empowered look; like she could kick your ass and look good while doing it. Her makeup was carefully placed by Guarnere's wife, in a way that emphasized her green orbs and long eyelashes.

"Wow," Roe breathed as he glanced down at his own black suit as he tugged at his cuffs. He glanced at the lock of black hair that was dangling between his eyes and swiped at it, causing Griest to laugh. Roe looked back at her and licked his lips, "Isn't it bad luck to see the bride?"

"Maybe." She shrugged as she stepped beside him and leaned against the stone railing. "But I've never been one for superstition, that's Perco's department. You all good?"

"Of course, you?"

"Yeah," she breathed deeply as Roe swiped at his hair once again. "Jeez, Eugene, it looks fine. Don't worry about it."

"Not as good as you, I bet. Might have to remind those boys you're mine."

"Believe me, after today they'll never forget. Hey, Roe, check this out," she hiked up her dress to show off her ratty, brown combat boots. Roe laughed. "What? They're more comfortable than the shoes my aunt wanted me to wear, and this is more me." She paused. "Are you nervous?"

He nodded. "But not because I'm having second thoughts, Henri. I want this, I'm just worried..."

"About what?"

"What if I'm not good enough for you or-" Griest kissed him and stepped back.

"Roe, if you're not good enough for me, then, God, I really am dying alone. You're the best guy I know. I mean, we've both been through some bad shit and seen the Devil himself. You've been with me through all that, so I think we can get through anything, right?"

"Yeah." He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek once again.

"Excuse me, Chucky, we're all waiting for you." They both looked back at Winters, who was surrounded by Griest's 'bridesmaids': Luz, Lipton, Guarnere, and Bull. Beside them were Roe's own groomsmen: Babe, Speirs, Malarkey, and Buck. They had made Skip and Penkala honorary members of their bridal parties, a fact that made Malarkey bawl.

"Go," Roe uttered gently. Griest smiled and followed after the guys as they razzed her and complained about the breaking of traditions. Roe smiled as he exhaled deeply. She was right; they had always been there for another during the war, and this would be no different; except, after today, he would never have to let her go again.

And he never did.

"People that spend time in a foxhole- they're never going to find that relationship anywhere else again... Everything else pales next to that. When you think about the Second World War vets- more than even the Vietnam vets- there's a brotherhood"- Sylvester Stallone