The minute Miller woke up, he could tell something was wrong. Elizabeth was gone. He jumped up and went to wake the squad for an explanation. He froze. Miller did a quick head count and came up three men short. Reiben… Jackson… Mellish. Gone. The dog wasn't there, either.

Trying not to panic, Miller jogged outside the barn's front entrance. Empty. He flew into the barn and out the back entrance. He found Mellish leaning against the side of the barn, smoking lazily, finishing up his guard duty. He turned and found the remaining Rangers sleeping, their backs against the barn. Jackson and Reiben were leaning into Elizabeth, on either side of her, Rebel lying across the laps of all three. Looking at the three of them, a wave of realization overcame Captain Miller.

Reiben and Jackson were protecting Elizabeth. The whole squad was. But Miller became aware that they weren't just doing it for Elizabeth. They were doing it for themselves, too. Because every Ranger in the squad believed that if they could save a thirteen-year-old girl, maybe they could live with what they had done. Maybe, just maybe, the number of men they killed could be replaced with a different number. The number of people they saved. One. One life could change everything.

Miller suddenly remembered something his wife had said to him shortly before he left for the war. She had been cooking and talking to him from the stove, while he sat at the table, thinking about the army. He was so preoccupied he wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, he would just nod occasionally. Suddenly, she was right next to him.

"John?" she had said. "John, did you hear me?"

He had looked up at her, confused.

"I said there's one thing I always want you to remember. No matter where you are. It's something my mother always told me." At this point, he could tell she was close to tears, but she kept going. "I want you to remember, that to the world you may be one person…" she stared him right in the eye for a moment. "But to one person you may be the world."

Miller stared at Elizabeth, Reiben, and Jackson. That's what Elizabeth meant to the squad. She was their entire world, because if she got home safe, their lives would matter. They would know that, without them, she would be dead.

Elizabeth was their last chance for redemption.

Miller looked at the group one last time. Then he walked back into the barn, gently tapping Jackson's helmet with his fist as he walked by.

For one glorious moment when Jackson woke up, he thought he had fallen asleep in his field in his farm in Tennessee. Then he remembered.

Jackson turned his head and found himself leaning on Elizabeth, Reiben on the other side of her. Elizabeth and Reiben were still asleep. Jackson looked down and saw Rebel, still sleeping in their laps. Jackson stroked Rebel's head, waking him up. Upon waking, Rebel looked around, slowly sat up, stretched, then walked up to Reiben. Jackson gently shook Elizabeth up, pointing to Rebel. Both watched as the dog stared at Reiben intently for a few moments. Then Rebel began furiously licking Reiben's face. Reiben's eyes scrunched up and he moved his head back as he started waking up. He opened his eyes and his expression became one of pure terror.

"AAHH!!" he shouted, before hopping to his feet.

"I've been violated!" he shouted, as he walked back into the barn to get his gear, dramatically wiping at his face. Elizabeth, Jackson, and Mellish followed him, laughing as they got their own gear.

In a matter of minutes, the squad was walking down a well-worn path, pondering the long journey ahead of them.

"Hey, Captain?"

"Yes, Reiben?" Miller knew who it was without turning around.

"You said we'd be out here a few weeks, right?"

"One or two. Why?"

"Just checking," Reiben said absentmindedly, as he scanned the trees beside them. He hoped it didn't show, but he was dreading the end of this mission. Sure, he wanted Elizabeth to be safe, but he didn't know how he could say goodbye to her.

About an hour of pointless chatter went by before they came upon a large field, occupied by a number of battle-worn allied forces. Wade glanced at a group of wounded soldiers on the ground, then looked to the Captain for permission.

"See what you can do, Wade. Take Elizabeth with you," Miller said.

"Captain! Hey, Captain!" an unwounded soldier called Captain Miller.

"Soldier, you want to fill me in?" Miller asked him.

"Yeah, Lieutenant DeWindt," the soldier answered. "99th Troop Carrier Squadron carrying in 300th and 307th Glider Infantry. Are you Captain Miller?"

"Yes, I am," Miller answered slowly. The rest of the squad listened in.

"I'm supposed to give you a message," DeWindt said. "You're looking for a girl, aren't you?"

"We were looking for a girl," Miller answered suspiciously. What was going on?

"Well, apparently there was word from Intelligence that the girl's dead. I'm supposed to tell you about a new mission."

"What?" Miller asked, bewildered. The squad stared, unsure what would happen to their current mission.

"Yeah, some private from the 101st lost three brothers, so they're sending him home. They think he's in Neuville, and they want you to go find him," DeWindt relayed the message to Miller. Miller just stared at the Lieutenant, unable to find a way out of his new mission.

"The name's Ryan, Private… James Francis Ryan, I think," DeWindt didn't understand Miller's silence.

"I can't take that mission," Miller said simply. DeWindt stared at him, stunned.

"But, Captain-"

"The girl's not dead," Miller said calmly. "She's right over there." He pointed. DeWindt stared at Elizabeth, who was wiping blood off her hands, a disgusted look on her face.

"I don't-how can-… look, I'm just the messenger. That's what I'm supposed to tell you, that the mission's off," DeWindt said, shrugging it off as not-his-problem.

"What am I supposed to do with the girl?" Miller asked angrily.

"It doesn't matter, she's dead," DeWindt said, staring at Elizabeth.

"I already told you, she's not dead-"

"She's as good as dead. The army thinks she's dead, her parents probably heard already, I bet it'll be in all the newspapers back home: An American kid killed in France," DeWindt explained.

"Her parents are dead," Miller said quietly.

"So no one cares if she's dead or not. Treat as if she already is. It doesn't matter what you do with her," DeWindt felt bad for the girl, but he couldn't do anything to help her. The squad glared angrily at him. They cared.

"What if we left her here?" Miller asked. Every head in the squad snapped up.

"This is just a temporary camp, we're hoping to move out soon. She'd have to follow us into combat," DeWindt said. Miller rubbed his forehead. He suddenly felt very tired. He was starting to realize that, whether he liked it or not, he liked Elizabeth. He'd never be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.

"We'll take her with us," he decided.

"To Neuville?" DeWindt asked, shocked.

"Apparently," Miller said bitterly. He walked over to a wooden box, sat down, and checked his map. The rest of the squad followed him. Wade and Elizabeth wandered over, having completely missed the conversation.

"We're not really taking her to Neuville, are we, sir?" Reiben asked.

"Yeah, we are," Miller answered. The entire squad stared at him.

"She's not our mission anymore," Miller said, standing up and looking for ammo. Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Then what is she?" Reiben asked quietly. Miller paused, thinking it over. Then he reached down and grabbed a stray M-1 Garand rifle from the ground. He shoved it at Elizabeth, making eye contact for a moment, then walking away.

"She's a soldier."