A/N - I'm back with a new chapter! Yay! Sorry for another long break, I don't know what's been up with me lately. This chapter lacks in action, but we need a break from all that sometimes. I hope you guys like it, and please R/R. :)

Disclaimer - Read the first chapters.

It was October now, we were somewhere near the Netherlands. We were occupied in a small town, I knew we wouldn't be here long, but we were safe at the moment, so we cherished it. We had had one bad thing happen here so far, Alley was hit a couple nights ago, so was Liebgott, but they'd both be okay so I wasn't dwelling on it. Alley was being sent back to England I'm sure, but Joe would stay. He was in hit in the neck with shrapnel, he wasn't making a big fuss out of it.

We all pushed the failed mission of Operation Market Garden out of our minds, we all just wanted to forget about it. We were down about it for a day, but we woke up the next morning and no one mentioned it. It was a bad memory, that was all. In a way, it was a blessing. I felt bad for thinking this and feeling this way, but I liked how angry the failed mission made me. It let me vent my anger about everything that's been going on in my life, and no one questioned me. They all thought I was angry that we failed, we were all angry, but they didn't know the truth. I had been so mad and I had nowhere to put my rage, but then Operation Market Garden happened and I could vent. I think it was out of my system now, at least a good amount of it.

"Ya hear 'bout Alley?" Bill asked me as I walked alongside him. We had been on patrol for an hour and were now trudging our way back to our men on the other side of the town.

I nodded, "Yeah... I was there when they brought him in. Doc said he'll be okay."

"That's good," Bill said, looking around. He seemed annoyed, but I wasn't going to press him.

We walked in silence for a minute, neither of us knowing what to say. Bill had been a little mad at me since I told him what had happened in the alley that night. He was mad because I wouldn't report the guy, but he knew I couldn't because then I'd be found out and sent home. Even if I wanted to report him I couldn't, I don't know his name. I know his face. I'll never forget his face.

"This is takin' too long," Bill said in annoyance, getting antsy now.

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, "What's taking too long?"

"This," Bill said, motioning out to in front of him, "I feel like we've been walkin' for an hour."

"I think we have," I said, shrugging, "Nothing we can do about it. We'll make it, don't worry."

Bill looked around for a moment, then he smiled. I never liked that smile on him, the smile he had when he was up to something, "Yeah, we'll make it a'right," He nodded then he snapped, "On that."

He pointed off towards a house on our left and I looked to where he was pointing. There was a motorcycle leaning against a fence, it was silver and quite shiny, it was a pretty thing, but I didn't like what Bill was telling me.

"What?" I said, looking up at him as I watched him throw his weapon over his shoulder and start walking towards the bike; I followed after him quickly, "Are you nuts?"

"Probably," Bill said, smiling as we walked up the path to some innocent Dutch person's home, "This will definitely get us back ta the men faster."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, giving him 'that' look, "Bill, we can't steal this guy's motorcycle. We could get in trouble."

Bill looked down at me as he rubbed his hands together. He gave me a weird look, "Since when do you care if we get in trouble or not. If I recall, you were quite the troublemaker yourself back home."

"Throwing rocks into Mrs. Sherbesky's window is different than stealing a motorcycle," I said, "One's stupid kid stuff, the other's... Theft."

"We're in the middle of a war and you're worried about gettin' in trouble for stealin' a crappy motorcycle?" Bill asked me, his brow furrowed now as he scoffed and shook his head, "What happened ta ya, Maddie? Ya used ta be fun."

I took offense to that, "I am fun! Stealing is just not my idea of fun."

"It's callin' ta ya, Maddie," Bill said, grabbing the handlebars of the bike, "It wants ya to get on. It wants ya ta take a ride. It wants ya ta go back ta the men in under an hour."

I rolled my eyes and looked at the bike. I've never been on a motorcycle before. My uncle had one, but he never let me go for a ride with him, he always told me I was too little. I sighed and slumped my shoulders, throwing my rifle over my shoulder and saying, "Fine, I'll ride with you."

Bill smiled and clapped his hands together in excitement, "Yes!"

I smiled at him, but there was annoyance in my eyes, "But I'm only breaking the law with you this once."

Bill scoffed as he got on the bike, grabbing the handlebars and looking down at it as if it were precious to him, "If you're sayin' this is the only time you've ever broken the law, you're lyin' ta yourself."

I rolled my eyes once more as Bill patted the seat behind him, "Hop on, I'm drivin'."

"I figured as much," I said, climbing on behind him. I peered around him as he pulled his knife out of it's holster and began wiggling it around in the key slot, "Have you ever driven a motorcycle before?"

"Nope," Bill said, stabbing at the key slot, trying to force the knife in, which he eventually did and he turned it, starting the bike; he smiled, "But there's a first time for everythin'."

He leaned forward a little and revved the bike quickly, showing off a little, and then, without a warning to me, the bike moved forward quickly, causing me to lurch forward and wrap my arms around his middle so I wouldn't go flying off. He quickly drove off the path onto the thin gravel road, he had a huge grin on his face. Of course this would make his day. I wasn't really liking the bike too much, I didn't have control, I was clinging to Bill, a man who had never driven one before, in hopes that he wouldn't crash the damn thing and kill us both.

"Isn't this great?!" He called over his shoulder to me, his grin bigger than before.

"Yep!" I lied, forcing a smile as I held onto him for dear life, "This is... Fantastic!"

I heard Bill laugh and I wanted to smack him. Why did I agree to this? Things only proceeded to get worse. Bill decided it'd be great fun if we went off the road through a field. It's fun and a shortcut in one, what could go wrong? All I thought was that maybe he'd hit a dip in the field and we'd be launched off the bike, or we'd hit a rock, or something like that. This is coming from the same girl who was launched into a wall last week.

But I was right about things going horribly wrong. They did, and they went wrong fast. I heard a bang, it was quiet, but it was there, then I heard Bill grunt in pain, then Bill and me were rolling through the field, the bike was thrown away from us and somebody yelled 'sniper!'

I felt pain in my left shoulder, but it was an aching pain like I landed on it wrong, and I knew I had because the one who had been hit was Bill. My eyes widened when I saw him lying on the ground, cradling his leg, blood seeping through his fingers and a pained expression on his face. I was brought fully back to reality when I heard gunshots going off a few yards from where we lay and I looked up and saw some of the men running around frantically, searching for the source of the gunshot. They found it quickly when the sniper fired again and a bullet hit the ground not far from where Bill was laying. I crawled over to him quickly, covering his body with mine as I held my helmet to my head; Bill had lost his when we crashed.

The sniper was taken out quickly and I looked up and saw several men running over to us, one of them wearing a medic's patch on their arm.

"Maddie, are you alright?" It was Ralph, he seemed frantic.

"I'm fine, it's Bill," I said, uncovering Bill and sitting up, "It's in the leg."

Ralph nodded and dropped to his knees quickly, looking down at Bill's leg and that's when Bill finally spoke up, "Jesus Christ, never imagined gettin' hit would hurt this fuckin' bad!"

Ralph placed one hand on Bill's leg and the other on his side, then he looked up at me, "Help me roll him, I got ta see if there's an exit wound."

I nodded and quickly followed his orders and we rolled him onto his side, Bill cursing the entire time, "Be easy, would ya?!"

"Sorry Bill," Ralph said, then he nodded curtly, "Alright, this'll be easy then."

"Did it go out the back of my leg?" Bill asked, his brow furrowed irritably as he tried looking up at Ralph.

"Nope," Ralph said, trying to hide a smile it seemed, "It went out through your ass."

Bill grumbled, "What is it with this company and gettin' shot in the ass?"

I would've laughed, but this was Bill. It was different with Bill, Bill was my best friend. Nothing could happen to him. I'd be a wreck if something ever happened to him.

"Just hold him like this for me," Ralph told me, reaching into his bag now and grabbing some bandages out. I kept my hands on Bill's side, holding him steady for Ralph.

"I told you stealing that bike was a bad idea," I said, trying to lighten the mood, mostly for myself.

Bill flashed me a smile through his pain, "It was fun though, wasn't it?"

"Until you got shot in the ass," I said, glaring at him playfully.

"I didn't get shot in the ass, I got shot in the leg," Bill defended.

Again, I would've laughed.

"Well Bill," Ralph started, wrapping the bandage around Bill's leg, "The bullet wound will heal quickly."

"Well that's good," Bill said, smiling a little as he looked down at Ralph bandaging his bloody leg.

"But," Ralph continued.

"Uh oh, that's never good," Bill said, casting me a nervous glance.

"I think you broke your leg," Ralph said, tightening the bandage around his wound.

"You 'think' I broke my leg?" Bill asked.

Ralph nodded, "You'll need to see a real doctor to be sure, but it feels like it."

"How do you know what it feels like? All I feel is the bullet, I don't feel nothin' else," Bill said.

"The pain from being shot is just distractin' you from the pain of breakin' your leg," Ralph said, tying off the bandage and patting Bill on the other leg that was also covered in his blood, "You'll be fine."

"I guess I'm leavin' this hellhole then," Bill said, then he looked up at me, "I'll see ya soon, okay?"

I nodded, grabbing his hand and squeezing it gently, "I'll be here."

Bill smiled at me and winked, "I know ya will."

Ralph then stood and looked back at the several soldiers who were with him, "Alright guys, you can move him."

Two of the men moved past Ralph and reached down, gently grabbing Bill and lifting him up. Bill groaned in pain and glared at the men helping him, "Easy, will ya? Did ya not just see me get shot?"

I smiled as they carried him towards the town, another soldier with them providing cover just in case. Ralph looked at me and wiped off his bloody hands on his jacket, "We should probably get out of the open."

I nodded and followed Ralph back towards the town and out of the field, leaving the bike there. I never wanted to see it again. We walked back into town and parted ways with Bill and the other men, Ralph kept casting glances at me as he walked alongside me and I smiled a small smile as we continued down the road, "I'm fine, Ralph, just a little banged up."

"I know," Ralph said, but he still seemed solemn.

I sighed in irritation, getting tired of everybody acting like this around me, "What is it?"

Ralph looked at me for a minute as we stopped walking, then he looked down at his boots. I don't like it when Ralph is like this, he's always joking around and lightening the mood, now he was... Too serious, "You've been... Off recently. Is everythin' okay?"

I slumped my shoulders, "My brother went MIA, what'd you expect."

Ralph shook his head, "No, I mean... You seem different. You're a lot... Angrier... Than before."

I was about to snap at him about this, getting tired of being told how I feel, but that would only prove his point. I was angry. I was really angry. Bill and me weren't getting along too well right now, I barely spoke to Ralph, Gene even seemed more nervous around me than usual, and I yelled at Chuck. I don't yell.

I released a tense breath, unclenching my fists, "I'm fine. I'm just... Going through some stuff right now... I'll be fine."

"You keep sayin' that, but I'm not quite sure how true it is," Ralph said, then he held up his hands in defense before I snapped at him, "This isn't about your ability to fight. I think you're great out there on the line, you're one of the best in this company, I'm just worried 'bout ya, is all. You've become isolated, and I don't like that."

I sighed again and remained silent for a moment. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell him what happened, but Ralph had a big mouth and couldn't keep a secret to save his damn life. I couldn't tell him. But I had to say something, something to ease his worries.

I sighed again before I started, my voice even, "I want to tell you Ralph, I really do, but I can't. Our CO's can't find out about it, if they do, I'll... I'll get shipped back home. I'll get in trouble."

"You'll get in trouble? What'd ya do?" Ralph asked, his brow furrowed curiously.

"I didn't do anything, it's what someone else did," I said, then I shook my head, "And before you go around the company threatening everybody, trying to find out what happened, I just want to tell you that no one in the company is responsible."

"Maddie, what happened?" Ralph asked me now, his features softer than I've ever seen them. He looked worried beyond belief.

I sighed and looked down at my feet, clenching my fists at my sides, but this time in nervousness instead of anger, "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Ralph asked.

"Because... No offense, Ralph, but you don't keep secrets very well," I said, looking up at him now.

"Well, this seems important. I can tell you really don't want this gettin' out, I won't tell nobody," Ralph promised, grabbing my arm gently in his hand, "Come on, Maddie... Tell me."

I looked him in the eyes for a minute. I could trust Ralph, I know I could. Deep down, I know he'd never tell a soul. He knew what was important and what could stay hidden. But on the surface there was still doubt. He wouldn't leave this be, though. He's been having these sort of confrontations with me for a while now. He's bound to find out sometime.

"Okay, fine. But you can't tell anybody, this is between me, you, Ralph, and Liebgott," I said, giving him that look.

He furrowed his brow at my words, "Joe knew before me?"

"He was there when it happened," I said, looking around, making sure nobody would hear us, "Okay, you promise not to tell anybody?"

Ralph nodded, biting his bottom lip nervously, "Yeah, I promise, just tell me what happened."

"Okay," I nodded, looking around once more, very cautious about this, "Okay... Remember the night I told you about my brother? The night in the bar?" Ralph nodded, so I continued, "Well, I went on a walk, remember? And I cried for a while, and apparently so much that I ended up in an alley and I have to recollection of how I got there..." I sighed, preparing myself for this next part. I don't know why, but I was always scared of talking about this part, I didn't even like thinking about it, "Well, when I was in the alley this guy from another company showed up."

"Shit," Ralph said, slumping his shoulders as he held up his hand, "Is this goin' where I think it's goin'?"

I looked up at him nervously, my hands clasped at my chest, "Yes."

"Who is it?" Ralph asked, anger covering his features now, "I'll kick his ass, don't doubt it."

"I know you would," I said, putting a hand on his chest to calm him down, "I don't know who it is, all I remember is his face. I didn't recognize him, he's from another company."

"We gotta do somethin' 'bout this, Maddie, we can't just let him walk free," Ralph told me, his face still contorted in anger.

"Ralph, you promised you wouldn't say anything," I said, regret hanging in the air.

Ralph looked down at me and saw the anxiety written on my face. He slumped his shoulders and sighed, his face losing the angry expression and being replaced with grief, but I knew he was still angry on the inside.

"I know, I did," Ralph said, nodding his head curtly, "I won't tell anybody, I promised. But you got ta do somethin'."

"Like what?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders and throwing my arms out to my sides, "I can't tell our CO's, they'll report me and I'll be kicked out of the Army, and I'm not leaving you guys. I refuse to do that."

"I don't know, Maddie, I just... You're always angry, and people are noticing," Ralph said quietly to me.

I furrowed my brow in annoyance now and clenched my fists by my sides again, "Why is it a problem that I'm angry? Liebgott's always angry and nobody gets on his case about it."

"That's because he's always been like that, that's his personality," Ralph told me, "You're not an angry person. Your entire personality has changed, you used to be sarcastic and kind, now you're... Bitter."

"I know," I said, looking down at my feet, avoiding his eyes, "But it's only been two weeks, and it's not just what happened in the alley, I'm mad about a lot of things. It's gunna take some time for me to learn how to deal with it all."

Ralph nodded, "I know... I guess we're not all innocent. We're all a little pissed off at the moment. It sucks retreating."

I nodded, "Agreed."

Ralph looked down at his hands as he picked at his fingernails, my eyes remained on my boots. I felt awkward now. Ralph spoke up again though, killing the tension, "I know it may be uncomfortable sometimes, but talkin' does help... That's what you're always tellin' us."

I smirked a little at that, "I'm really bad at taking my own advice, huh?"

"A little bit," Ralph smiled back at me, then he gestured his head for me to follow him, "Come on, I'll walk back with ya."

And so I followed Ralph, thinking about my own advice on the way.
0-0-0-0-0
Even though everybody was telling me I was angry, I really was getting better. I was moving on, even if it was slowly. I had bigger things to worry about right now anyway, like the war. And Bill. I hope he's okay. He was taken off the line earlier and he'll go back to England for sure if he's broken his leg like Ralph said. Bill was fine, I knew, he was good at taking care of himself, but he'll go crazy in a hospital. He hates being around people he doesn't know, he likes company. Bill and me were never apart when we were kids, he came over to my house every morning before school so we could walk there together, and then I'd walk him home and then after supper we'd meet back up again and play baseball in the street or poker on the corner. It was now I realized I was anxious, because I had taken my cards out of my pocket and started shuffling them.

I'd been sitting by myself for about two hours now in the barn, the barn where Alley was dragged to after he was shot at the crossroads. We had gone out there after it happened, we were up all night. The mission was successful, we took out two company's, but we lost Dukeman. I guess for the amount of German's we were pitted against, losing one man wasn't bad, but he was still a man, and he was still killed.

As this war went on the more I realized I wanted to go home, but at the same time I didn't. I feel like when I went home I'd be different. I'm not the same free spirited girl I was when I joined the Army. I was ambitious when I joined, I was excited and light hearted, now I was bitter and hardened. I didn't like that I had changed. I didn't like how everyone seemed to be changing. But I wanted to stay, I wanted to win this thing for the guys back home. They deserved that. I was just trying to figure out what it was Hitler dragged everyone over here for.

"Tauscher," I heard a familiar voice, causing me to snap my head up. I saw George, Babe, and Chuck walking over to me and I sighed. Here we go again, "What the hell happened?"

"Nothing," I said, putting my cards together and setting them on the table in front of me, "Me and Bill went on a joy ride and there was a sniper. Bill will be fine, and so will I."

"I heard he was hit in the leg," Chuck said, coming to sit in the chair across from me, "Ralph told me he broke it. That true?"

I shrugged, "Maybe. Ralph wasn't one-hundred percent certain."

"You weren't hit?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No, just landed on my arm funny, but it'll be fine."

"Good," Chuck said, then he smacked me upside the helmet, "Quit doing stupid shit."

"It wasn't my idea! If you're going to yell at anybody for being an idiot it should be Bill!" I said in defense of myself, "I tried talking him out of it, but frankly I was afraid he would've left me in the middle of the road so he could take the bike for a spin."

"Sounds like Bill," Babe said, sitting down next to me and leaning back in his chair comfortably as George sat down on the other side of me, filling up the last available chair.

"Well, we're glad you're both alright," George said as he got comfortable, "I thought Chuck was going to combust he was so worried."

I smirked a little and looked over at Chuck, "Sounds like him."

George smiled at that, then he looked down at the cards on the table, "Here, let's play a few rounds."

I shrugged and nodded, "Okay," Better than sitting in her moping all day, I guess.

I picked up the cards and shuffled them up real good before I started passing them out, then we went into a game of poker. We had no money to bet, so we threw in cigarettes mostly, which wouldn't be a prize for me, I didn't smoke. But I won and got about five packs. They all bitched at me, knowing I didn't smoke. Well, if they didn't want to lose their cigarettes they shouldn't have put them in the pile. I smiled smugly when I collected the goods, which seemed to annoy them more.

"You don't even smoke," George said, sort of glaring at me as he crossed his arms. He looked like a ticked off five year old.

"I guess I'll just be giving these to somebody more deserving then," I said, finding pockets to put the cigarettes in.

"I'm more deservin', give 'em ta me," Babe said from across the table, reaching forward, but I smacked his hand away.

"Hands off, Babe," I said, sending him a teasing glare.

They watched as I put the remaining pack in my breast pocket as I then started collecting the cards. They all gave me displeased looks, and I just smiled, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

"There are no excuses here, missy," George said, "You're taking the cigarettes in spite."

"Maybe," I said, smiling, "Maybe I'll send them to Bill while he's in the hospital. He'd like that. Maybe I'll write him a letter detailing how I got them."

"By cheating?" George asked.

"No," I began putting the cards back in their box, "By kicking your asses."

"Oh, now you're just gloating," George said.

It was amusing sitting here with these guys, having my mind distracted for a little while. It was almost as if the whole war wasn't going on right now. It'd be nice to stay in contact with these guys when we go back home. It'd be fun to just hang out with them in the safety of our homes. If we all did go home.

"Well guys, it's been fun," I said, standing, "But I'm gunna go hit the hay."

"Yeah, whatever," George said, still seeming disgruntled.

"You want somebody to go with you?" Chuck asked, looking up at me as I walked around the table.

I shook my head, "No, I've just got to go up the road. I'll be fine by myself."

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Chuck said, reaching for his pack of cigarettes in his breast pocket, but not finding any.

I smiled at that and turned to go, "See ya."

I walked out onto the road and looked around. It had fallen dark. It was quite pretty where we were. The stars were bright in the sky, it was actually quite peaceful right now. I still had the worry for Bill lingering over me, but it was started to disperse. I know he'd be okay. He was going to a hospital off the line. He'd be fine. He was Bill, he was always fine.

I started down the road towards the barn where I was staying with over a dozen other men. George stayed in that barn too, but I guess he didn't want to talk to me right now since I 'cheated' and beat him at cards. He couldn't even smoke away the pain. I smiled to myself as I went towards the barn. I wonder how Bill's doing right now? He seemed to be in quite a bit of pain when he was taken away. I guess a bullet in the ass and a broken leg would do that to you. He's the third man in this company to get shot in the ass. What is it with men getting shot in the ass in this company? It was like a tradition or something.

It would be weird around without Bill for a while. It'd take a while for a broken leg to heal, depending on the severity. Bill was our motivation. He told everybody how it was. He kept us in line, but he also kept us positive. He wanted us to be happy, even though we were in the middle of a war. He wanted desperately for all of us to be happy.

I want to go home.

As I neared the barn I saw a figure standing outside the doors, smoking a cigarette, seeming a little glum. I furrowed my brow as I got closer, trying to make out the figure. My vision was a little blurry when I saw things from far away. I wore glasses back home, but only sometimes. I hated the way they looked on me. As I got nearer I saw the man smoking was Gene. I forced a smile when I saw him and I approached him, "Hey Gene."

He looked up from where his eyes were on the ground and looked over at me, then he forced a small smile, "Oh... Hey Matilda."

I had given up telling him to stop calling me by my full name at this point, he wasn't going to listen.

"You alright?" I asked, noticing he seemed down.

He kept the fake smile on his face and nodded, looking away from me now, "I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes and frowned now, "Is this going to be our thing?"

He looked up at me again, but the smile was gone and now he looked confused.

I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning all my weight onto one leg, "You know? Both of us telling each other we need to talk about what's bothering us, but not taking our own advice?"

Gene looked away again, flicking some ash off his cigarette. I could see the sadness in his eyes, then he sighed and muttered, "My sister's gettin' married tomorrow."

I frowned deeper now, my features softening, "Oh."

He wanted to be there.

I took a few careful steps toward him, trying to think of something to say, but I had nothing. I was never good at comforting people. Luckily he spoke instead, "She's my oldest sister. The first one of us kids to get married. His name's John. Her fiancé..." He threw the cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out before he went on, "He's a nice guy, I've heard. I wouldn't know, I've never met him."

I furrowed my brow sadly, reaching out my arm and resting a hand on his arm, "She knows you couldn't be there, Gene."

He nodded, "I know... I still feel like shit, though."

He doesn't cuss often. It's weird hearing those kinds of words come out of his mouth, his voice was so calming. I looked down at my feet, not knowing what to say to make him feel better. I kept my hand on his arm and squeezed it gently, trying my best to comfort him.

He shook his head a moment later, looking down at me sort of sadly, "I'm fine. There are more important things to worry about... I'm fine."

He was about to step away, but I tightened my grip on his arm, pulling him back towards me, and he got a little closer than I had meant for him to, but I ignored that for the time being, "Gene... You're allowed to be sad... She's your sister and you're missing her wedding... Just because there's a war going on doesn't mean you just have to forget about everything going on back home. I think about home everyday. I think about my parents and how they're doing. I'm sad sometimes too, we're allowed to feel bad sometimes."

He looked at me for a moment, I couldn't tell what emotion he was displaying. He was hard to read. He always had a look of calm on his face, so it was hard to know what was going on inside his head. He was good at hiding his pain. He looked into my eyes, as if he were trying to read me as well. It was easy to get lost in his eyes, they drew you in, they were warm and welcoming.

"I heard about Bill," Gene said suddenly, which surprised me a little bit, "He'll be okay."

He was trying to comfort me. So this was how he was? He was one of these guys? Diverts his own problems and focuses on others. It was a nice quality to put others before yourself, it showed you were compassionate and caring, but you had to look after yourself sometimes too. That was something Gene didn't seem to be very good at.

"I know," I said, never breaking eye contact with him, "Your sister will be happy when you get back home and get to meet her husband. She understands you can't be there. She just wants you back safely."

He was quiet then. He seemed to be deeply hurt that he couldn't be at his sister's wedding. They must be as close as me and my brothers were. Were. Not are. I sighed internally. Gene now seemed to realize my hand was still on his arm, gripping it gently and when he looked down at it I realized how close we had become. How long have we been standing this close? I could feel his breath on my face. I could smell him. He smelled like cigarette smoke and, for some reason, chocolate. I liked it.

I shook myself out of my mind and released his arm, taking a step back to cease this tension. What just happened? He seemed a bit shy now, he avoided my eyes and I cleared my throat, rocking back and forth on my heels. That was weird, but I felt comfortable when we were close. Like that's where I was meant to be.

Gene sighed then, looking down at his feet. I looked up at him, trying to see his face. There seemed to be something else eating at him, but he was nervous to share it. I leaned over a little bit, trying to catch a glimpse of his face, "What are you thinking?"

He was quiet for a moment, shaking his head once more before he muttered quietly, "It's my birthday today."

I smiled a little and relaxed my shoulders, "Well... Happy birthday... How old are you?"

"Twenty-two," He responded, looking up at me again.

I smiled, "I'll be twenty-two next month... A couple of young people like us she be back home celebrating at a bar somewhere... Hey, there's gotta be beer around her somewhere. Let's go have a drink and celebrate your birthday!"

Gene smiled a little at my sudden enthusiasm. I looked up at him, a look of pure seriousness on my face, "I'm serious. We need a drink. Just one, just a little something to remind us of home," I held a hand up before I turned to the barn doors, "Wait here."

He didn't say anything as I made my way inside the barn. Everybody was still up, playing cards, talking, trying to pass the time. We haven't had to go out and fight off any German's for a few days, well, at least I didn't. Apparently Winters and Nixon have noticed I've been kind of out of it lately and they made me sit out when they went out a couple days ago after Alley was hit. I'm glad they made me sit out, it gave me a few days to really sit back and take everything in. Things were becoming better, just slowly.

"Hey Tauscher, where the hell you been?" Hoobler asked as he sat at a table playing cards with Webster, Martin, and Liebgott.

"Out," I said, "It's been a day."

"Yeah, I heard about Bill," Hoobler said, looking up at me briefly, "Don't worry, he'll be alright. He's Bill."

"I know," I said, looking around, "We got any beer in here?"

"Maybe," Hoobler said, "Check upstairs."

I nodded and walked past them, going to the ladder that led upstairs. I climbed up and saw Hashey, Garcia, and Skinny lying around, talking and drinking beer. I smiled as I climbed all the way up and looked around, "We do have beer. Can I have a couple?"

Skinny shrugged, "Sure. It's over there."

I smiled and walked around the three and found the beer behind some hay. I grabbed two and went. They were warm, but it was beer, I wasn't complaining. I wasn't a drinker, but I needed one right now. And so did Gene. I held up a beer at Skinny and said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Skinny said as I went down the ladder.

I made my way back towards the doors, but I was stopped before I made it there, "Two? Who's with you?"

I turned around to face Hoobler as they continued playing cards, "Gene," I replied.

The entire table minus Liebgott chorused a bunch of 'oohs!' I rolled my eyes and gave them a look as I held the two beers in my hands, "What?"

"You and Doc," Hoobler said, not looking up at me, focusing his eyes on his cards, "Going on a date."

I narrowed my eyes at him, my shoulders stiff now, "It's not a date, we're just drinking a couple of beers together."

"Sounds like a date to me," Martin chipped in, avoiding my eyes as well.

I'd smack all four of them if I could. Liebgott wasn't getting in on the teasing, but I saw a small smile gracing his lips. The jackass, "Bite me."

Martin and Hoobler laughed at that, and Webster chuckled as I turned quickly away from them and went out the door. I stepped back outside, both beers in my hands and a look of annoyance on my face, "Are you okay?" I heard Gene asked when I stepped out.

I stepped over to him, shaking my head, "Hoobler's about to get a foot in the ass."

Gene smirked at that as I handed him a beer. I quickly opened mine and took a large swig, throwing the cap down somewhere on the ground. I felt Gene's eyes on me as I drank, then he asked, "Rough day?"

I looked at him and nodded, "Little bit. But enough about me, it's your birthday. Let's celebrate," I raised my beer and smiled at him, "You're a good man, Eugene Roe. Happy twenty-second and here's to many more."

His face got a little pink at that, but he opened his bottle and raised it before we both took a swig. The beer wasn't bad, I wasn't gonna lie. He smiled shyly and looked over at me, "Thanks."

"No problem," I replied back to him, looking up at the beautiful sky, "So... What's your sister like?"

Gene looked down at the bottle in his hand, reading the label before he replied, "She's nice. Tough... She was the one that got me out of trouble back when we were kids, made sure my mother didn't find out about what kind of hell I'd been raisin'."

"You? Raising hell? I can't see that," I smirked and snickered, and he smiled back and nodded.

"I was a pain in the ass when I was a kid," Gene told me, looking across the field, "I used to get in a lot of trouble."

"We got something in common, then," I replied, shaking my head, "I was a bit shy in elementary school, but I grew out of that quickly... I got picked on some, because I'm short obviously. I was probably in fifth or sixth grade when I decided if I became the bully they'd leave me alone, it worked pretty well for a while. I liked to cause trouble. I used to tease the boys I had crushes on, I'd shoot spit balls at them when we were in class and laugh about it. I used to fight a lot, I rarely lost surprisingly... I didn't have a lot of friends though, I hung out with my brothers mostly, or at least my younger one. My older brother eventually 'got too old' to hang out with 'little kids', so it was just me and Mattie for a while. Then I met Bill and I kind of grew out of my bully phase after a while. Me and Bill did everything together... We still do..." I trailed off, looking across the field now too, then I broke out of my little childhood flashback trance and turned to look up at Gene, "How about you? Tell me a story."

"Um, okay..." Gene thought for a minute as I took a sip from my drink. Okay, the taste got worse as time went on, "Well... As I said, I was a troublemaker. My parents used to get annoyed with me, I'd always come home with a black eye or just all bruised up. I didn't really pick fights, but if somebody was sayin' somethin' I didn't like I wasn't afraid to get involved... I used to tease my sisters too. I liked putting bugs under their pillows and stuff like that... One time I changed their shampoo with honey, it took them a month to get all that out... My parents started fighting a lot when my dad lost his job, so I started hangin' around my grandmother a lot. She taught me a lot. She was a very religious person, and I guess I am to a certain extent. It's good to have faith though... You know what I mean?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not super religious myself, but I've always believed in God and all that..." Gene nodded and looked down at his drink for a moment before he took another sip. I smiled at him then, "Gene... You're a man of many mysteries."

He gave me a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"

I smiled wider then, "Never in a million years would I have guessed you to be a little brat. Not knowing you now anyway."

He smiled and shrugged, "We all have a past, I just grew up."

"You became a better man than me," I said in return, "I never grew out of my pain in the ass stage."

I wasn't looking at him, but I knew he was smiling at me, "That much is true."

I gaped, but smiled, turning to look at him, "Excuse me?"

He chuckled at my reaction, "You get the same reactions Luz gets. People roll their eyes, shake their heads... Some of 'em laugh... It all just proves you're a pain in the ass."

"Well," I said, still smiling as I gazed up at him, "When I told you to get things off your chest, I didn't mean literally everything."

Gene laughed again and I smiled. There we go, he's smiling again. I smirked and turned away from him, looking back out at the countryside, sipping on my beer. We both enjoyed the silence for a minute as Eugene's laughter died down. The wind was blowing gently, there was a slight chill in the air. Things were okay, if only for just a moment.

"Oh yeah," I said, looking up at him again, "You like Lucky Strikes?"

Gene shrugged and nodded, "Yeah, they're alright."

I dug into my pockets and pulled out the cigarettes I won earlier, handing all five packs to him, "Here. Happy Birthday."

He smiled as he took them, then he looked at me, "Thanks, Matilda."

I smiled, "No problem."

Then it was quiet for a minute as Eugene put his birthday present into his pockets, then he spoke again, "I mean it," He said, making me give him a curious look, "Thanks."

I smiled, knowing exactly what he meant, "Just doing my job."

He smiled when I used his little catchphrase, then we both looked back across the countryside, enjoying the view for once.