Before I start off this chapter, I just wanted to let you all know how dear this chapter is to me. Not only was it historically challenging to write (especially for the medics pov) but it was really emotionally challenging. This is one of my favorite episodes of the series and I apologize in advance if the German sucks. I did my best to translate on my own! I really hope you enjoy this chapter, and fyi, there's only going to be about two more chapters. Thank you so, so, so much!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the original characters.

We happy, we few, we band of brothers.


April 1945

"What is this?" Eugene whisper asked when he got close to her. He could see dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

Evie's lower lip shook and fresh tears threatened to fall. "A concentration camp." Her soft reply filled the silent air.

Looking around, he could see the people being contained behind the barbed wires. They were skin and bones, pale faces, with their clothes hanging off their body. The Company had heard rumors about these sorts of camps, a part Hitler's so called "final solution", but none of them could believe what was before their very eyes. Eugene looked back to Evie whose face was now blank. "Are you alright?" he gently pulled her to the side so they could speak in a somewhat private manner, "Talk to me, Evelyn. Please."

When Evie heard him say her full name she snapped back to reality. "I'm fine," she nodded, her voice sounding soft and scared, "I'm fine," she repeated.

"Don't cry right now. We can't show emotion when we get in there." Eugene looked to the gate and watched for a moment as one of the privates cut off the lock. "Remember to separate emotion from work. Everything will be okay in the end." He gently took her hands in his and looked at them. "Your hands are healing hands. They're gonna heal these people in here."

She looked down at her hands in his and nodded slowly. There was blood caked under the fingernails from men they couldn't save, men she couldn't heal quickly enough. Evie didn't believe him because she knew the horrors of the war. Men had died at her very hands, and Evie didn't want to be accountable for another person lost, even if it wasn't her fault.

"Evie?" The softness of Eugene's voice shook her from her thoughts. "It's time to go in." He gestured to the gate and let go of her hands. "It'll be okay." Eugene whispered to Evie and began to head inside the camp.

Evie watched Eugene follow the others inside and tightened her braid. She knew what would happen if she didn't go inside; more people would die and she would be at fault. She decided to put her conflicting thoughts aside and headed towards the entrance. When she first entered the camp, the smell of death hit her like a tidal wave. It smelled of rotting corpses and mold. The people who had once stared at her through the fence were now grasping her arms and hugging her tightly. Kisses were being placed all over her head and face, these people were thanking her. Walking down the main path, she spotted Eugene off to the side already helping the malnourished. Evie finally made it to a break in the crowd where Winters and Nixon were listening to Joe Liebgott speak German with one of the prisoners.

Winters looked to Liebgott and sighed frustratedly, "Can you ask him ask him what kind of camp this is? Um, why are they here?"

Liebgott nodded and immediately translated what Winters had asked of him. He listened carefully to what the man was saying and then translated it to English for Winters and Nixon. "He says it's a work camp for Unerwunschte. I'm not sure what the word means, sir. Unwanted, disliked maybe?"

The voices around them had gone quiet as the man spoke to Liebgott again. When Liebgott understood what the man was saying, his mouth dropped and eyes wanted. "They're... They're Jewish."

When the words escaped Joe's mouth, Evie gasped quietly and placed a hand over her mouth. She came to realize just how sick the German military was. Looking from Liebgott to the Jewish man who was talking with him, she saw tears fall down both Liebgott's face and the other mans. Before more tears could fall down her face, she turned away and walked over to where Eugene was located. A small smile crossed her face as she watched him help the people. Walking over next to him, she took mental notes on what he was doing for each person. Eugene was checking their mouths, their foreheads for a fever, and their chests for any damage. Briefly making eye contact with Eugene, Evie looked to the line of people and quickly started another. She copied what he was doing and gave them any extra water that they needed.


After hours of checking out people, Eugene and Evie were finally relieved and were free to go back to spotted Evie walking back to camp on the long dirt road. "Evie!" He called out to her, but she didn't respond! "Evie!" He yelled again, this time jogging to her side. "Hey, Evie." Eugene placed a gentle hand on her to get her to stop walking.

She finally raised her head and acknowledged Eugene's presence, "Hm?" Evie asked, biting her lower lip.

"You alright?" Eugene asked her, removing his helmet. They were stopped in the middle of the road, and the sun was beginning to set.

Evie nodded and folded her arms, her expression blank. "I'm fine. I've told you this already. What do you want, Eugene?"

Raising a brow, Eugene pursed his lips, not believing her statement. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed pretty shaken up back there."

"Eugene!" She raised her arms in a motion for him to stop talking. "If I say I'm fine, then I'm fine, dammit!" Evie pulled the band that held her braid together out of her hair as tears began to build up. "I said..." She put the band around her wrist before continuing, "I want to go home, Eugene." Her voice cracked at the last word and the hot tears poured down her face.

Eugene dropped his helmet to the ground and ran a hand through his hair. He had never seen her this upset before, having figured she'd rather keep things behind her bright smile. He quickly wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, "Hey, it's okay, Evie." He murmured into her hair as she silently cried. "We'll be home in no time, I promise."

As she cried into Eugene's chest, her knees began to go weak and she slowly fell to the ground, bringing Eugene with her. "I can't do this anymore, Eugene. I just can't." She whispered, the tears coming to a slow stop. "There's blood on my hands that I can't get off. There's people I couldn't save. And I'm just supposed to go home and act like nothing happened!" Evie pulled away from Eugene and wiped the remaining tears away.

He gently held her head in his hands, slowly nodding his head. "Evelyn, you remember that prayer I said back in Bastogne? Back in that shit of a foxhole we were in?"

Evie nodded and closed her eyes. "Oh Lord, grant that I may never seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, or to be loved as to love with all my heart." She whispered, remembering the prayer he had once recited. "I remember."

"When you get home, I can promise you that you won't need to ask anyone to console or understand or love you because they will, unconditionally. That I can promise." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and began to stand back up.

Nodding again, she stopped back up as well. "What if I don't go back? Back home I mean."

"What do you mean?" Eugene looked at her curiously.

She took a deep breath before speaking and widened her eyes. "What if I went home with you?"

Eugene picked up his helmet and put it back on. "You'd wanna come back home to Louisiana? With me?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to walk again. "Well, I suppose that'd be okay."

"Maybe I could deal with it better. Learning how to handle it. Not bursting into tears like that again." Evie chuckled softly, walking beside him.

"I think that'd be mighty fine, Miss Evie Desseau. So long as you don't mind the south." He leaned over and placed a quick peck on her cheek.

Blushing slightly, Evie folded her arms across her chest and looked to him. "I love you, Eugene. With all my heart."

"I love you, too." Eugene said, his voice soft and heavy with a Cajun accent. "With all my heart."