Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers, but I do love the HBO miniseries. Also, this is based purely on the miniseries, and not the lives of the actual men of Easy Company. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the men that fought so that we could live freely today.

Chapter 7: Long Trip Alone

Sadie briskly walked back to the house her and Dick were sharing for the night. As a woman in a foreign country, she didn't care to be stopped by any of the locals as she wandered the streets alone.

On her way to her own room she popped her head into Dick's study and said, "'Night, Dick."

"Good night," he responded, hardly looking up from the papers in front of him. Sadie continued to lurk in the doorway until he looked up, "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, it's about Lew," she began, stepping into the room more.

"That's not really any of my business," Winters replied, feeling a little uncomfortable. As a favour to both Sadie and Nixon, he'd chosen to ignore the relationship the two had developed.

"Just listen. I owe you some sort of explanation," Sadie refused to let him brush it off. It wasn't something she necessarily wanted to discuss with her friend and commanding officer, but it needed to be said. "You're my friend and I don't want you thinking I'm some terrible person."

"I don't think that," Dick replied genuinely.

"I just feel like you've gotten the wrong impression about me," Sadie elaborated further. "I'm not the kind of girl that develops relations with married men, or any men for that matter. I don't know how this happened."

"Just be careful, Sadie," concern evident in Dick's voice.

"I just wanted you know that I appreciate you not saying anything to Colonel Sink," Sadie said gratefully. "As far as anyone needs to know, Lew and I are nothing but fellow officers and friends."

"It might be too late for that. Half the company already knows you're Nixon's girl," Dick informed the young nurse.

"What?" Sadie asked, eyes wide in shock and alarm.

"Yeah, and I understand they're pretty jealous of him. I think a few of the men were hoping to catch your eye first," Easy's CO smirked at her, finding amusement in her predicament.

"Oh," Sadie's mind was running a mile a minute trying to pinpoint the exact moment that the men could have noticed what was going on between her and Nixon. She'd have to give Lew a good talking to about personal space.

"It's fine, Sadie, really. Just don't let it keep you from doing your job. Lives are at risk here," Winters directed.

"Don't worry, Dick, it's nothing serious," Sadie pointed out, making it clear that her and Nixon weren't in any sort of committed, romantic relationship. "And thanks," she said again as she bid him goodnight. Feeling much better after speaking with Dick, Sadie immediately went to bed and had a restful sleep knowing that she probably wouldn't be fortunate enough to sleep in a bed again any time soon.

The next morning, Easy Company, along with the rest of 101st, continued along the road to Arnhem. They were lucky enough to travel with the British Guards Armoured Division so that many of the men were able to conserve energy by riding along on the Cromwell tanks.

Sadie rode at the back of Easy Company with Winters, Welsh and couple of the other officers. She was enjoying the sunshine as the men around her joked and laughed. It had been a peaceful morning thus far, and Sadie was beginning to think Operation Market-Garden was an excellent strategic idea on Montgomery's part. Maybe Berlin was possible by Christmas.

They were riding by a woman who had clearly been marked by the Dutch as conspirator. Her head was shaved and her clothes torn. She held her baby tightly and sadly gazed at the men as they drove by. Sadie couldn't help but pity the woman and grabbed for her blanket out of her pack.

"Keep it," Welsh said, as he placed his hand on Sadie's arm before she could jump off the moving tank to give the woman her blanket.

"She's got a baby, Harry," Sadie pointed out sadly.

"You might need it," Harry fired back, although he clearly pitied the woman as well.

"I'll find another one," and with that Sadie hopped off the British tank.

"Alright, but it's not gonna be mine!" Harry hollered after her. Sadie just chuckled, knowing full well that if she needed a blanket, Harry would be one of the first to offer his to her.

Sadie walked over to the woman and passed her the wool blanket and saw that one of the men had already given her a K ration. The woman looked up at her gratefully, wordlessly thanking her. The young nurse gave her a reassuring smile in return, and jogged back to the tank that her friends were on.

It wasn't much further down the road when a shot rang out and the men up front started yelling. It was then that Sadie saw a German tank whiz by.

"Come on, Sadie, get down!" Winters had to practically drag the nurse off the tank and into the ditch.

Sadie heard more shots being further down the road and she crouched in the ditch on the side of the road. Her adrenaline was pumping and she could only hear her heart beat as Dick ordered Buck, Welsh and the other officers up front to their platoons.

"What's going on?" Nixon was suddenly at their sides, questioning Dick. He'd just made his way up from Battalion HQ, which had been traveling behind them.

"Seems we've come across that German opposition you were talking about," Dick said lightly.

There was a cry for a medic and Sadie instinctually stood up slightly, intending to dash off to help.

"What are you doing?" Nixon asked with an accusing tone, tugging on her arm to force her to crouch back down at his side.

"Going to help. They need a medic," Sadie stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh no, I don't think so," Nixon still held onto her arm.

"It's my job," Sadie started to argue.

"Dick, back me up here," Nixon looked to his friend for help.

Dick looked at Sadie and said, "Nix is right, Sink's orders were for you to stay at the back of the Company."

"They need my help!" Sadie exclaimed, becoming outraged. Someone was dying and they were going to keep her back here just because she was a woman and Sink told them too?

"There are other medics. You can help the men that are brought back here, but there's no reason for you to be running along the front lines," Dick said with a tone of finality.

"Fine," Sadie sighed and yanked her arm out of Lew's grasp.

Once the fighting had moved a little further into the town, Winters and Nixon moved to stand behind one of the tanks. Using binoculars, they looked at the progress they were making and decided on a strategy.

In the meantime, Sadie helped Doc Roe work on Lieutenant Brewer and the medic that had been the first two men hit. She'd managed to stop the bleeding of the lieutenant's carotid artery, but he'd lost a lot of blood. The medic had also lost quite a bit of blood, having been hit in the leg. Although both men wouldn't be fighting any time soon, it seemed that both would most likely make it once they got back to England to recover.

The cries of "medic!" came more often and Doc Roe was forced to leave Sadie on her own. She was fine to finish off bandaging the medic's leg, now that Lieutenant Brewer was resting safely. Every time a grenade or something else exploded Sadie couldn't help but wince, feeling like they were coming right for her.

It wasn't long before many of the men of Easy Company were running back towards her. It seemed that they were retreating from the city, much to Dick's dislike. Sadie stood and paced back and forth anxiously, checking the men that ran by her to make sure that no one was in need of immediate medical attention. She made a mental note of a couple of the paratroopers that would need bandages and stitches once things had calmed down a bit.

The calls for a medic became more persistent still as the men continued to retreat back to safety. Private Hashey ran by saying that Buck had been hit and Malarkey had asked for a medic. Sadie immediately took off.

"Sadie!" Nixon yelled after her, looking to Winters once again to aid him.

"They need me," she looked at Winters with pleading eyes.

"Go," he sighed and Sadie sprinted towards the town. Nixon just looked at him in disbelief and sighed, knowing that no one could stop Sadie Foster once she set her mind to something, especially when her friends needed her.

"Sadie!" Malarkey greeted her as she stumbled upon him waiting for a medic with Buck and Skip Muck. He was clearly surprised to see the nurse on the front lines.

"Hey there, Malark," she returned his greeting, out of breath.

"Sadie? What are you doing here?" Buck was in a bit of daze from being wounded.

"Heard ya got hit in the ass and I had to see it for myself," Sadie smiled down at the lieutenant, pulling bandages out of her side bag.

"Malarkey, get her out of here," Buck ordered the red-haired man.

"What?" Malarkey questioned.

"Just go. Leave me here for the Germans," Buck tried to bat her hands away from him as Sadie helped him.

"It's gone right through. Side to side, both cheeks," Sadie reported, swatting back at Buck's hands. She applied pressure to the wound as the men continued to argue.

"What? Are you nuts? We'll carry you," Malarkey told Buck.

"Are you kidding me? I weigh more than both you guys combined," Buck referred to Malarkey and Skip.

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm here," Sadie smirked at Buck, still keeping pressure on his wound.

"Come on," Malarkey nudged Muck and both men took off, back into the town.

Sadie had no idea what they had planned, but she continued to work on Buck's behind. She asked him some questions to make sure he stayed conscious and the men were back before she knew. They brought an unhinged door and Guarnere with them. She helped the men shift their lieutenant onto the wooden door and they moved as quickly as they could back towards where the men were jumping into trucks to retreat. Sadie helped the other men to load Buck up onto the truck and then proceeded to climb up and kneel beside him, keeping pressure on his wounds.

Winters walked by yelling at all the men to get moving so that they could get out of there. Sadie and the CO simply looked at each other and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Nix!" Sadie heard Winters yell out and whipped her head around, seeing the intelligence officer laying on the ground. Sadie turned back to Buck, panic written all over her face.

"Go," Malarkey placed his hand over hers, understanding her concern. Sadie simply nodded at him in thanks and jumped off the back of the truck.

"Are you alright?" Sadie asked Nixon as she fell to her knees beside him after Winters had helped him up.

"Yeah, yeah," Nixon replied distractedly as he pulled her down and out of range of the German bullets that had nearly killed him.

"Captain! We've got four dead, eleven injured," First Sergeant Lipton reported to Winters, kneeling beside Sadie.

"Let me see," Sadie ignored Lipton and Winters' conversation. She cradled Nixon's head in her hands with a worried expression on her face and pushed his dark hair off his forehead. "Didn't even break the skin, lucky bastard."

"Come on, let's go," Nixon used one hand to put his peppered helmet back on, while he placed his other hand on Sadie's waist to nudge her back towards the trucks.

The two got up and ran with Nixon's hand still protectively on Sadie's lower back. Winters and Lipton soon followed and the group jumped on the back of a truck and rode it to safety, all a bit shaken from the opposition they'd just encountered. The Germans were not simply old men and inexperienced young boys like they'd expected. It was going to be more difficult to get to Arnhem than anticipated.

That evening, Sadie walked around to all the men and checked on them as they dug in for the night. She attended to those that needed medical aid and handed out food to some of the rest. She played her part of the only woman in the company, trying to make the men smile to raise their spirits. They'd all had a long, rough day; some had even lost friends like Van Klinken. She kept conversation light and let them know she was happy they were all together. Somewhere along the way she heard that Bull was missing and prayed to God that he was alright. She didn't think the men could bare it if another Toccoa man was lost and she knew she'd be upset as well.

She had one last thing to do before she dug in for the night and that was to check on Nixon. She hadn't seen much of him since they left Nuenen and she wanted to make sure his head was okay.

She found the intelligence officer with Winters and it seemed that they were going to dig in for the night as well.

"Mind if I borrow him for a couple minutes, Dick? Just wanna make sure his head's okay," Sadie requested.

"Be my guest," Winters replied, ever the gentleman.

"Don't I get a say in this?" asked Nixon jokingly.

"No," teased Sadie right back as she grabbed his hand and led him off.

The two found a secluded area and Sadie sat him down on the back bumper of a jeep so she could examine him better. The nurse pushed back his hair to get a better look at the wound, even though it was dark out.

"Oh, you actually wanted to check my head," Nixon chuckled, looking up at her.

"Yes, so don't get any ideas," Sadie scorned him. "Does it hurt?"

"Only when you – Ow! – poke at it like that," Nixon shied away from her prodding hands.

"Sorry," she apologized genuinely. "Do you want me to bandage it up?"

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"What if I kiss it better?" Sadie asked, a suggestive glint in her eye as she smirked down at the attractive man sitting before her.

"Well, I don't know, you could try…" Nixon flirted back.

Sadie slowly leaned in and gave him a sensual kiss on the forehead. Unable to keep his hands off her any longer, Nixon grabbed Sadie around the waist and pulled her into his lap. She simply giggled in response before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Sadie wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, being sure to stay clear of the burn on his forehead. Nixon managed to hold the young woman tightly as he ran his hands up and down her body. This kiss ended much too soon for the both of them, but neither wanted a soldier to accidentally stumble upon them.

"Better?" Sadie grinned at him, not bothering to move from her place on his lap.

"Much better," he returned her smile and pulled her in closer.

"I suppose we should dig in for the night," Sadie stated after a couple moments, staring off into the darkness.

"Yep," Nixon acknowledged, not raising his head from its spot on her shoulder.

Neither officer made any move to get up for a few minutes. They were simply content to sit there, wrapped in the other's arms. It had been a trying day for both of them and neither wanted to think about what their next move would be as a battalion. Eventually the two made their way back to the general group of men and were able to catch a few hours of restless sleep.

The next morning, Sadie was happy to hear that Bull had managed to find his way back to Easy Company. He'd run into his men on the way back and they were all able to hitch a ride back in the jeep.

"Hey Bull, glad to see you made it back," Sadie smiled at the giant man once his platoon had said their hellos and dispersed a bit.

"Thank you ma'am, glad to be back," Bull drawled in response.

"How's about I take a look at that shoulder?" Sadie suggested.

"If it's not too much trouble," responded Bull, never wanting to inconvenience anyone.

"It's never too much trouble for you," Sadie patted him on his good arm and led him over where she could get a better look at him. Upon examination Sadie could tell that he'd been hit by some shrapnel, but he'd done a good job to get it out, making her job easier. In no time at all he was bandaged up and ready to ship out with the rest of Easy Company. Sadie hopped into a truck with some of the men and rode with them as they retreated to Uden. She knew that Dick wouldn't be happy about the retreat, but it was better than losing more men.

They had been in Holland a total of ten days before the men received any mail. Once they'd gotten their letters and opened them, spirits were raised. It seemed that any small reminder of the world away from war could easily brighten soldiers' moods. It made things a lot easier on the men when rumours began to circulate that they would be moving out soon, this time into an isolated area of Holland.

"Have you seen Lew?" Sadie interrupted Buck and Welsh's conversation briefly, looking for the intelligence officer.

"Just saw him over there," Buck answered and pointed in a general direction towards a building. Sadie didn't know if that was CP or just a miscellaneous building, they all looked the damn same to her! Same with the men. There were so many of them wandering about, all wearing the same thing, that it made it difficult to distinguish one person from the next.

"Thanks," Sadie said distractedly as she clapped him on the shoulder, and ran off in the direction Buck had gestured to.

"Lew. Lew!" Sadie called to him, when she found him talking to an officer she didn't know.

"Yeah?" he asked, confused as to why she sounded so urgent.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked. "Privately," she gestured towards a more isolated area.

"Sure thing. Talk to you later, Major," Nixon excused himself and followed her as she practically jogged away from him. She led him into an empty barn and turned around, concern written all over her face. "What's going on, Sadie? You're scaring me."

"I'm leaving."

"We're all leaving. Orders are to ship out tomorrow," Nixon physically relaxed, thinking the tall brunette was making a big deal out of nothing.

"No, I'm really leaving. I've been reassigned," tears began to fill Sadie's eyes. "I'm going back to England."

"What? Why?"

"Market-Garden is over. There's no need for nurses to be here. We're all headed back to Aldbourne to train new nurses for the field," Sadie explained.

"What about setting up an aid station wherever we're stationed next?" Nixon tried to rationalize her staying.

"Sink decided it's too dangerous. Besides there's no need, field medics can handle it," she explained further.

"When do you leave?" he asked, realizing that his moments with her were numbered.

"The nurses are shipping out in fifteen minutes," Sadie let out a small sob and tears began to run down her face. "Oh God, I promised myself I wouldn't do this," she tried to wipe her tears and cover her face in embarrassment. She had made herself a promise some time ago that she wouldn't get emotional if and when she had to say goodbye to Nixon and the rest of Easy Company, but it seemed that she wouldn't be able to keep that promise.

"Shh, come here," Nixon tried to calm the crying woman in front of him. He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair as she sniffled into the side of his neck and clung to his jacket. He tried to take it all in and memorize everything about the young woman in his arms, from her scent to the feel of her silky hair and the way she fit against his body. Neither knew if they would ever see each other again and Nixon wanted to be able to recall everything about her on the cold nights he undoubtedly had ahead of himself.

"I guess this is it," Sadie stepped back from him, much calmer then she'd been a couple of minutes before.

"Yeah," Nixon replied dumbly, this new information was still sinking in. "Does Dick know?"

"Yeah, I spoke to him right before I found you. And I talked to a couple of the guys so that they can spread the word around and no one thinks I got lost or left behind somewhere," Sadie tried to lighten the mood a bit.

"We wouldn't want that," Nixon chuckled. "They're gonna miss you, you know," he continued to avoid how he really felt about her departure.

"Yeah," Sadie replied thoughtfully, knowing she would miss them just as much, if not more.

"I'm gonna miss you," Nixon suddenly got serious. Sadie's eyes darted to meet his intense gaze.

"I'll miss you too," the curly haired brunette whispered and her green eyes threatened to tear up again.

Nixon pulled her in for another hug and kissed her on the forehead as they both pulled away from each other.

"Can I write to you?" the Intelligence Officer asked.

"I'd like that," answered Sadie, unsure of what this meant for their relationship. She'd thought since she was leaving that they would simply break all ties from each other.

"Now, I expect some responses if I'm going to take time out of my busy schedule to write to you," Nixon joked, causing Sadie to break out in a watery smile.

"I'll see what I can do," she teased back.

"Take care of yourself Sadie."

"You too, Lew. Please stay safe," she requested once again.

"I always do."

With that Sadie hugged him one last time and went to find the other nurses that had gathered to leave Holland and return to England. She silently stared out of the back of the moving truck until no American paratroopers were visible on the horizon.

She was going to miss Lewis Nixon and the other men more than she would have ever predicted when she got assigned to Easy Company over a year ago.

A/N: I just want to say thank you to everyone for sticking with this. I know I'm really slow at writing, but it's not something I plan on giving up on! Thanks again and please review! The reviews definitely inspire me to write!