June 8th, 1944

Normandy, France

I stayed mostly with Easy throughout the night, since no one had the real desire to sleep though Winters encouraged it for us to get our strength. I had to do something to make my mind at ease, walk around and tap my fingers, read more from my book and trying to memorize some of the poems in there, even humming to myself was turning into a chore. But it was good to see most of their faces since some of them were still missing and have no turned up yet at our meeting point there in the town.

After Eugene and I reunited, we stay up some of the night talking about how our jumps went and what happened since we landed on the ground. I was just glad he was there safe, and I told him all that happened with me and my jump. I think for me it was just the fact that I could hear his voice and feel him hug me that made me realize that this was no dream, both good and bad. We were real Combat Medics now and we were going to have to rely on each other a lot when it came to medicine and soldiers. It was a haunting thing to think about, how we both were going to be in the line of fire sometime in the future. if not tomorrow, then the next day or at the next town. It was going to be something that would change me, but I was glad I wasn't the only one going through it as the sole Combat Medic there.

Eugene was lost himself for a bit, finding himself in some kind of farmland field surrounded by cows who went crazy when he almost landed on one. He and to hide quickly before German soldiers ran over to where he landed, in which he had to wait it out in the abandoned house until the soldiers left, realizing that there was nothing there but a empty parachute and one of his ripped jacket pockets that came undone. After they left, he went down the road a bit since he could read the road signs, going down a few houses until he saw one house was still awake.

He knocked on the door, seeing that it was a farm family and he asked where he can go to get to Saine Mere-Eglise, since he was fine speaking fully French at this point. He was pointed in the right direction with kinds, though he was afraid that he was going to be shot on the spot since he was a soldier. But once they saw he was American, they were polite none the less. He met up with Bull after in the wee hours of the morning and they walked together. According to Eugene, Bull landed in a tree and was almost killed by a German soldier, but he knocked him back with his bayonet just in time. By the time they reach our town, it was already nightfall and they were safe and sound.

"Just like that?" I asked him as we were sitting in one of the shops there in town that was abandoned, since the rest of the men were walking around in silence or in other shops talking together. I would join them, but Eugene seemed like better company.

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. I was just glad I ran in Bull when I did." He replied back, his voice was thick in the softness of the room. There was silence between us then, even after he told me who he got here sounded so tiring for him to tell since he was looking out of from next to me, feet propped up and his arms resting out on his knees. HIs face already looked weathered, as if he already was in a battle or two. But we just landed, so who knew how the rest of the war was going to play out on his knees.

"I'm glad you're made it." I said to him softly, seeing him grin from his spot and look over at me with the same smirk.

"You were afraid that I didn't?" He asked me coyly, having me chuckle and shake my head.

"I knew you could. Hell, you can do anything, Eugene," I complimented him, it came out so smoothly and naturally from my lips, "I was just glad that you came here safely, you know?" I was afraid for you, that you got hurt or killed and that you weren't going to come back to me. If only I could say that to him.

"I'm glad you made it too," Eugene reassured me, his voice was softer now since it was only the two of us and the subject matter was a bit heavy to begin it, "I was kind of worried that you weren't going to be okay out there."

"Because I'm a girl?" I asked him with a shrug of my shoulder, no longer wanting to be cocky or smart ass like with him. He shook his head.

"You're my friend, Jemima. I was afraid that I wouldn't have been able to see you again since I care about you." He explained calmly, though my own heart rate was now accelerating since he confessed that he cared for me. I knew he cared for me, but it was just hearing it from his mouth, hearing it in his tone, that made me fall for him even harder from my spot. I tried so hard not to kiss him hard on the mouth since that would be beyond foolish. But I did the next foolish thing: I leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. I had no regrets doing this since my heart was telling me to do this so many times since we met at Camp Toccoa. It was his kindness, the inner strength and the sheer drive for being a great medic that drew me to kiss on the cheek. I felt the warmth on his cheek as my lips touched it do delicately, like I was kissing a snowflake. When I pulled away a millisecond later, I smiled at him and just stared at me, blush was clearly evident on his cheek where I kissed him. I just left it there, since I wanted it to be between us: the forbidden kiss.

I read some more that night and he just stayed up, listening to me read some of them aloud just to pass the time. He was silent when I read to him, just gazing off in the distance and contemplating to himself as the others were talking together and trying to keep the moment light. I could have sworn I saw Joe and Bull walk by when they spotted Eugene and I, sitting together in one of the abandoned shops with a few candles lit because we were on noise and light discipline. We were sitting side by side against one of the dressers that were there, my reading was nice and soft against the deathly silence that was around us in the town. My voice was so soft in the musty room as I read the poem out loud on the page to Eugene:

"A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,

And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,

And the dry stone no sound of water. Only

There is shadow under this red rock,

(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),

And I will show you something different from either

Your shadow at morning striding behind you

Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;

I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

As I read this, I felt more and more of my worry and sense of fear was slipping through my lips and onto the paper that was so thin between my fingers. I was glad that I kept my book and I didn't loose it in the jump, it was some kind of anchor for me since this was still all too new to me. Eugene was quiet next to me, though I could see his eyes were warm again from me just reading to him. We had that effect on each other: just being near one another brought the other peace and tranquility. It was not safe waters for me, though he was safe enough for me. We knew each other so well at this point that we could read the other's face and see what was bothering the other, how the other was feeling, and where the other wanted to go. He was my best friend, and I was his.

We would protect each other from anyone and anything, but was there more beyond that?

I walked out of the building where I was taking a break in, cracking my back once again and being greeted by the sun that was shining down right on me and having me squint from feeling the harshness against my eyes and skin. We were still in Normandy and were about to get ready to head out to the new assignment that would be given to us. Most of us were not able to sleep since we were still on the edge from our first jump and just getting our nerves settled. The boys did good in the fields near the farm, and now all we had to do was wait. Waiting, at least to me, was the worst thing we could do. We were on the edge, since every noise we would hear would make us jump in our uniform and turn our blood quicker.

"Morning, Jem!" Webster said to me as he walked over from the courtyard where all the men were, having me yawn from my spot and scratch my hair as he grinned at me. It was always nice to see Webster since he never had any kind of scowl on his face or a meanness to him compared to Guarnene or even Martin for that matter. He was kind, intelligent, and a good hearted guy.

"What time is it?" I asked him in wonder, seeing that the sun was high up already.

"Too late to call it morning now, actually." He replied, having me chuckle and straighten out my own uniform and feel my hair was in a knot from sleeping on it. Pulling out the tie on the end, I smoothed it out with my fingers and looked around at the others in the square. Most of them were sprawled out on the statue steps or around the buildings, just being around each other with talks and murmurs.

"I must of overslept a meeting. Great." I mutters as I started to braid my hair again.

"Nope, no meeting yet. I think more men are coming through and once they get here, Welsh wants to talk to us." Webster explained, having me nod my head to show that I heard him.

"You still reading that one book Doc got you for your birthday?" Webster asked me, having me pause mid braid and look at him with a confused look.

"Why you ask?" I asked him lightly, though I was wondering why he brought up the book, a completely different subject.

"Just wondering is all, Jem. Maybe when we go though another town, I can look out for another book for you read since I'm sure you'd be sick of just one book for so long." Webster explained, having me grin at him.

"Sure, though I do like the book I'm reading right now." I replied back, now seeing him give me a teasing smirk from right in front of me.

"Oh, I'm sure you like it since it came from someone real special." He hinted, now having me glare at him with annoyance. Now he was on the bandwagon with the teasing that was against me, which started with Luz and now was making its way around the whole company with Eugene and I not knowing about it. They were sneaky, but not sneaky enough.

"Web, don't say something that you're going to regret with a black eye." I warned him in a light tone, seeing him just shake his head with the grin still there, showing no sign of meanness to me or hostility.

"I'm just saying…it's kind of cute. Our two Medics reading into the dead of the night some poetry from T.S. Eliot. Kind of like a forbidden romance, don't you think?" He asked as we both walked over to the main area where we saw some more men coming into, Including Blithe and Hall who were reuniting with us.

"Easy there, tiger. I think if you said that louder I would have gotten kicked out from the Company and the army from our officers because of the subject matter. And besides, since when do you know T.S. Eliot?" I asked him, trying to change the subject on him since I clearly did not want to talk about my romance life in the army in front of him.

"I read too, Jem. I'm not like all the guys here who prefer comics or porn spreads. I study books at Harvard before I came here, so I read up on the guy once or twice. He's not too bad." I heard the end of it being sarcastic, having me grin at him and then my gaze go back over to what the guys were doing. Joe was holding out a flag for Hall to look at as if it was some kind of prize and I cringed from seeing it: A nazi flag. I didn't even want to look at it, since I knew what it meant and represented. It made me feel worse since I was, technically, a Jew. That flag then was the symbol of my enemy. I even wonder why Joe was holding it up like a trophy and how there was a hint of satisfaction behind his glint in his eye. Was it because he was hiding that fact that the symbol was hurting him too?

"I'll keep my eye out for a book for you." Webster said to me, having me snap my gaze from my brother over to him. Webster was seeing the same thing too, and though he looked cool next to me, I could tell it bothered him too. I nodded in agreement with him.

"I'll do the same, there has to be some books lying around here and there. And hey, while we're at it, let's make it a book club!" I said too gleefully, trying to lighten the mood again as I slapped him on the shoulder. He eyed me suspiciously as we were then all called over to the courtyard. As Webster and I walked over, I could see Eugene walk over with Spina from inside the building where I came out of. Eugene found me with his eyes and walked over to me in a brisk pace, having me see some sort of urgency in his eyes.

"What's up, Eugene?" I asked him as more and more Easy Company members were huddling together in front of Harry Welsh.

"Got word from one of the other Combat Medics in H Company," Eugene explained to me, having me watch him carefully as he took in a deep breath but still looking out of it, "The Medics from both I and Bravo Company didn't make the jump."

"Shit," I cursed under my breath as we were waiting to hear what our brief before we moved out, "They both died."

"One did, and the other got hit back by two bullets to the chest." Eugene explained some more in a low tone, having me see that it looked real to him, too real. We were the bigger target, to be fair, when it came to war. We had no gun or weapon to work with, and the odds of us getting hit was higher than before. All we had to do was run, and get the wounded safe and out of harm's way. Two of us already were in the way, and they were taken out. I could see it in Eugene's eyes a bit, though he was strong enough for the both of us. I grabbed his jacket carefully, having the material go between my fingers as if it was second nature. Eugene looked at me carefully then, having me give him a serious look.

"That won't be us, Eugene." I reminded him, seeing him watch me intently. He was scared that it was going to us one day int his war, one minute being alive and the next being dead. But I was petrified from the thought, more than him. He could hide it, but I couldn't. There was something in me though that told me to be strong and not show the sign of fear that was threatening to expose itself on my sign and in my eyes. But what I said was fact. It was true, and that's all I had to say to him on the subject as Welsh spoke up finally.

"No talking, no smoking, and no playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz." He explained, having me look over at Luz and see him somewhat smirk from his spot.

"So, where are we headed to, lieutenant?" someone asked from the crowd.

"We're taking Carentan." He replied.

"That sounds like fun." Perconte called out.

"It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah Beach can link up and head inland. Until we can take Carentan, they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor's sending the whole division." Welsh explained from more, having us all intake a breath at the gravity of the situation.

"Remember boys, give me three days and three nights of hard fighting, and you will be relieved!" Luz intimidated Taylor, hearing some of us chuckle from his remark as I looked over at Eugene again, seeing him look more serious again. I was still holding his jacket, I realized, and we were closer to each other to almost brushing shoulders, reluctantly I released his hand and placed my own back at my side, looking back at the conversation with Welsh in front of me, trying to mentally go into combat medic mode. I had to start thinking strategic ways to not get hurt in the upcoming mission, and how I was going to have to be fast and quick when it came to mending soldier's wounds and cleaning up blood. As we walked out to the next place, my satchel in place and my mind already trying to be ready for what was ahead of me, I had no idea Eugene was watching me.

Giving me the look like I was about to step into hell.

I hated waiting. It was hell, it was literally hell. I was bouncing on my toes now, at the edge of the safe zone and hearing what was happening in the town and how the men were already fighting and shooting, So far, not even 15 minutes into the battle, there was already heavy fire and buildings crumbling around the area as Easy and others were in there, fighting the Germans. All I had to do was wait, wait for someone to call out for help. This was the worst, since it could happen at any moment and they could be severely hurt or just having a cut on the leg.

I wasn't the only one waiting, Eugene was right next to me as well. But unlike me, he was so still against the dirt road, watching the entire thing as well as I was and I was just shaking with my feet tapping the dirt beneath me and my fingers tapping against my jacket and pants of my uniform. It was like I was racing again when I was in high school, waiting for the gun to go off so I could run. This was far beyond different though, and I was not aiming to get a ribbon at the end of the race. I was aiming to save a life.

"Take a deep breath, Jemima." Eugene instructed to me from my right, he sounded so cool and collective through his own eyes were scanning the entire battle with intensity. His lips were in a thin line, not moving and not showing emotion.

"Why aren't they calling out for a medic yet?" I asked in a worried tone, scanning the area with my own eyes and hearing more gunshots, along with shouting in both English and German.

"Because they don't need one yet." Eugene reminded me, having me just shake my head.

"What if they can't call out for us and they need us? What if something's wrong?" I asked in a rushed pace, thinking of so many scenarios where someone could be hurt and not be able to cry out for help. That was the worst, not being able to help out in what I was meant to do. But Eugene took my hand in his, still standing next to me, and I finally broke my gaze from the scene in front of me and over to Eugene, whom was now looking at me with both warm and serious eyes.

"It's okay, Jemima." He reminded me again, his voice was softer now and I could feel as though he was trying to take the weight of the stress off my shoulders like a blanket. He gave me a reassuring smile and I tried so hard to smile, but the realness of the whole battle in front of me, where my brother is and the rest of the men I called my family, was weighing down on me so hard. It was a brief moment I had with Eugene until we heard the infamous call.

"MEDIC!"

Both of our heads snapped to the front again, and I released his hand. We both bolted into a run, my hands pumping at my sides as I was now in medic mode. The call was in the heart of the battle, and we were both running full force. Our satchels were smacking against out jackets, our breathing was shallow and even with our running, and our feet hitting the dirt in every strive as we were in our own race against time for who was hurt. I was in a mission now, like I was back in the streets of San Francisco, racing my brother against others who thought they could beat me. I was wicked fast now, and this was more serious.

We reached the edge of the city, the both of us going up against the buildings and loping around us as bullets were flying over us. I looked around as I ran along the buildings in the edge of a store that was abandoned, ripped to pieces and about to fall over. I could hear more people shouting, things flying in the air and near my ear as I took in a deep breath. I was in the battle now, no turning back.

"MEDIC!" We heard it again, both Eugene and I heard it from the left, making us run over and to the smaller street on the side. One of the men was on the ground, clutching his neck and the blood was coming out of his fingers. Oh God, my first victim in a real battle. I bolted over to him, Eugene behind me as I slid on my knees up to him, grabbing his face gently and seeing him look up at me in a panicked look.

"Help me Jem." He pleaded his eyes were big and filled with fear. I nodded my head, reaching into my satchel with what I needed: powder and gauze.

"Hold still and breathe." I explained to him as Eugene got his supplies out too. I framed his face in my hands as I handed Eugene the powder, hearing him rip it open and splatter it on the wound with the man grunting.

"Keep your eyes on me, keep breathing in through your nose and our through your mouth, nice and slow." I instructed as I wrapped the gauze around his neck gently, seeing him breath as I told him to do so, getting him patched up and ready to go within no time. It was a nice and clean wrap, good enough for me as I placed my hand on his back and helped him up to sit instead of being on his back.

"Get out of here, soldier." I said to him, seeing him hop up slowly with his gun in hand and going off to fight some more. Eugene and I got up again, pressing ourselves against the wall in case someone was watching us.

"Come on." Eugene grabbed my hand again, but this time was to get me out of the open as we snuck into the abandoned shop that was closest to us. We were still under fire, and going out in this time would seem like a death sentence since bullets were hitting the ground hard everywhere and soldiers were running left and right, some of them getting hit and dropping dead to the floor.

"What now?" I asked Eugene in panic as a bullet got a little too close for my taste, having me jump back a bit, as well as Eugene.

"We wait until someone else is bleedin' out." Eugene replied back in a huff as I looked up above us at the building right across from us. Someone was moving in one of the windows, having me squinted to see what it was: A German Solider. He opened the window, looking right at the both of us and he threw something out of his hand right at us. Oh god, a grenade. It gave me only a second to react, since I felt a second was all that I had before I could be killed.

"Eugene, move!" I screamed, the both of us diving in different directions as there was an explosion. The sound was booming, but that was the motion compared to the push that it had upon my body. I was knocked off my feet, literally, into the wall that on my right since that was the direction I jumped, things around me were falling, having me cover my head and neck as I felt bricks land and roll off of me. It was hard for me to breathe, though it was not enough to knock me out for good.

After things died down, I got up slowly and coughed, feeling the dust fill my lungs and getting new bruises and scratches on my neck and hands. I blinked a few times, trying to find where I was. I was in the shop next door, which meant that shop Eugene and I were in was no long gone. Oh God, where was Eugene? I panicked, brushing off the rest of the bricks and seeing blood already on my hands and I was about to yell out for him when I heard someone already beat me to it.

"Jem, you okay?! Jem!" I whirled behind me, having me see Bull jog over to me with a panicked look on his face. I nodded my head, seeing him grab my jacket to get me out of the line of fire.

"We need to get you under cover, come on Jem." he ordered me, though I was to fight his hold on me to go and find Eugene.

"Where's Eugene!" I asked him in a roar, seeing him look back at me and then back at the remains of the shop Eugene and I were in. I looked too, seeing on the other side someone coming up from the rubble and looking around in panic. It was Eugene, and he too was covered in dirt and sweat. There were splatters of blood on his face as he looked around with worry and fear on his face.

"JEMIMA!" He screamed on the top of his lungs, having me see him finally look over at me. I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes as we made eye contact with one another. He thought I was dead, he thought I left him behind. What a feeling. Was it heartache?

"Eugene, RUN!" I screamed back, motioning with my hands to tell him to get out of there. He kept his eyes on me for a moment before bolting getting out of sight as Bull pulled me again. I followed this time, the both of us running along the walls and missing bullets that were trying to hit us. I thought for a second that I was going to loose Eugene in that explosion, my own heart merely broke for a solid second before realizing that he was okay.

"Medic! Medic help!" I heard the call, breaking from Bull and I bolted towards the sound again with nothing else on my mind but to find whoever was calling out for me. Soldiers were running past me left and right, thought I dodged them and I tried to hard to keep my pace up and light. My boots were lighter than air as I dodged the fallen windows and door frames, trying to breathe without suffocating from the scent of blood, dead bodies and rubble along with smoke and torn skin. My mind was on the prize, a soldier whom was propped up against a wall of a pretty torn up building that look like he was about to collapse. I peppered over and saw it was Sisk, another Easy member, and I ran over to him. His arm was bleeding out, and it looked like he wasn't going to be able to use it with a bit of morphine.

"Hang, on Sisk." I ordered him, digging through my bag and getting out the morphine along with the powder and bandage. I rolled up his sleeve of his jacket, seeing the wound that was the size of a nickel on his smooth skin and the blood pouring out. Brushing it off I got to work with the powder and then the shot of morphine before getting the bandage there on the wound. He was staying still, though I could tell from his kicking that he hated the pain that I was causing him to get him better. it was when I tied the bandage that I heard something crack from above us, having the both of us look up and see a part of the roof falling off, right over us and about to kill us.

"Sisk, move!" I said to him, wrapping my arms around him and rolled the both of us out of the way before he could react. He clung onto me though his arm was still hurting, he never released me as we did this. We rolled on the dirt ground as the roof barely missed the fallen pieces of the roof, Sisk hugging me back as we rolled a few more feet over and our helmets colliding as we did this. But by the time we stopped rolling, we both were on our sides and breathing out shaky breaths. It might have looked odd on my part, but I had to save him from dying by crushed bricks and metal.

"You okay?" I asked him as we got up from our spots, but Sisk was cut off from my remark as something was running over to us: a German Soldier. He threw me behind him, shielding me as he shot at the soldier who fell after two shots, hitting the ground like sacked potatoes. He saved me then, without a second more or less. We just saved each other within fifteen seconds from death, and I felt as though it was an out of body experience. Sisk got up, grabbing my arm and helping me up as he grinned at me.

"You good?" He asked me, having me nod my own head at him. He acted like this was nothing, like it was another day for him.

"Yeah, thanks, Sisk." I thanked him, seeing him shake his head.

"Naw, thank you for saving me." He said to me in a huff as I watch him jog off to go back to the fight. Within a few minutes, I almost died twice, this made me really rethink of how I was going about this Combat Medic job. I took out a deep breath and ran, no longer wanting to be out in the open anymore.

I ran for an archway that was near me, hiding behind the columns and looked around me. I couldn't see any of the Germans anymore, it was mostly Americans. Was that a good thing? There was still firing going on and the ground was flying up and around from the bullets hitting it so hard. I had nowhere to go to that point, so I staying behind the open area, thinking that it was my best bet and that I would be fine there. I wasn't until I was met by Malarky and Guarnene that I knew that we were at least doing okay with the fight.

"You still alive, Jem?" Guarnene asked me over the gunfire. I nodded my head, not saying a word as both Guarnene and Malarky stopped by me, somewhat blocking me from being seen and starting shoot like it was nothing to them, seconds nature.

"Where's Doc?" Malarky asked me in a loud tone.

"How should I know?" I asked him back in retaliation.

"Well you two are attached by the hip at this point." Malarky argued with me, having me wish I could punch him there in front of everyone, but this was not the time at all. I was trying to make sure I wasn't shot at. But that was short-lived, since a bullet just sliced over my hand that was was clutching the column in front of me. The slice was clean, not deep, but enough to have me cry out and scream in pain. I brought the wounded hand to my chest, tears were threatening to hit my eyes as both Malarky and Guarnene looked at me now in panic. They saw my hands to my chest, the blood coming through my fingers and how I was berthing in a panicked pace now.

"Jesus, Jem!" Malarky said as he squatted down in front of me, placing his rifle on his arm as Guarnene kept shooting to protect the both of us. He was about to take my hand to cheek it, but I clutched it tighter to me, like a child refusing to give up a toy.

"Get the powder from the bag, and the wrap." I grunted through the pain, my teeth gritting in pain as Malarky shuffled through my bag to find what I told him to find. He grabbed the powder, ripping it open as I moved my damaged hand to be in between us. I saw the slice from the bullet, a nice clean cut from the thumb bone to the other side of the top of my hand, like a blade on a sword. He sprinkled the powder on top, having me gasp out in pain but not scream as he got the powder there and then handing me the spare wrap that I had. I wrapped my own hand, trying to get it done fast as I looked up and past Malarky.

On the other side of the street there was a few soldiers that were German that were about to go over to the intersection, where I saw 5 of our own men were and they didn't see them. They were about to be slaughtered and I had to think of something to stop the Germans since I had no weapons. I threw out my damaged hand, that was still bloody and shaking from the pain, and Malarky, followed my pointed finger.

"Stoppen Sie, wo Sie sind!" (Stop where you are) I screamed, seeing all three of the German Soldiers freeze from hearing a German command being thrown at them. They all look in our direction, just in time for Malarky to hop up and throw a grenade in their direction, They were blown to bits within second, having me sigh in relief and lean against the column once more as the battle was dying down. I closed my eyes, trying to breath again with normalcy as my own body was now trying too hard not to fall asleep on me from the sheer exhausting that I was going through.

"Good call, Jem," Malarky said to me, having me open my eyes and seeing him reach down to grab my arm, "Come on, I'll get you out of here since we're practically winning." I nodded in agreement, following him out from the open archway and over on a side street, staying close to him as I saw the open countryside again. I survived my first battle in the war, and as I should be feeling happy that I survived the whole thing, I felt heavy. I almost died twice, and almost lost my hand, but then again it could have been worse.

What a day.