There were candles everywhere, only giving a bit of warmth in the cold chapel.

I was watching one particular candle burning its way down to the bottom of the holder it was on as we were sitting there in the chapel. At least Black Mamba was in the chapel since I ushered them away as soon as the coast was clear and we could rest before we were moving out to the next area. I knew we needed some kind of break, I could see it on their faces on those who came out to me in the recent battle. It felt messy, compared to other missions we were on. Messy and too violent.

Easy was somewhere outside finishing up their cleaning of the town, and a part of me wanted to take the girls out there to at least help with the process. But the other part of me needed to keep them separated, since it was very clear back before the assault happened, out in the forest with Sink and his one remark, that we were on different pages when it came to warfare.

We were there only if we were needed. Like we were extra space.

Was that supposed to be true? In a world that was overrun by men and how men would think, it was a bit harder for us to have some kind of place here when we were just trying to do our job and stay alive. Even the way Sink made it sound, though he might have been coming from a good place, made me think that he didn't have enough faith or enough of a good sense of hope in our unit. I wondered if there were others like him, doubting me and my unit and what we could do for them. If only we could shut them all up, at least I wondered if we could.

I could see some of the children that were singing in the choir ring out their voices in the small chapel. They sounded hauntingly beautiful, none of us were making a sound just to let the sounds of their voices and the soothing rhythms of whatever song they were singing to us fill us and engulf us in peace. It made me forget and not realize that the doors to the chapel were opening,

I was sitting in the front, the rest of the girls were two rows behind me and scattered about as we all looked over and watched some of the Days company men coming into the small area now. No one was saying anything, no one moved from our end as we could see them trudging in, heaviness in their steps and the bitter cold on their faces. There they all were: Perconte being carried on Bull's back, Christenson, Liebgott, Malarky, and the officers including Spiers and Lipton.

It felt like I haven't seen their faces in years, though it's been maybe a week or so. When I left them last, they looked better than they did in front of me. And I knew I saw them earlier in the fight in Foy, but it was all a blur and I was more focused on the task at hand than reuniting with them. But it was good to see them again, to see some kind of familiarity there in that small church as they were coming in little bit little. I knew they saw me, as well as the rest of the girls and I could see some flicker of warmth back on their faces. Some of them were shocked to see us, other were still fatigued.

"Heya, Captain," Babe said to me with his happy tone, the cold was there all over his face and even in his hair. I grinned at him, finally getting up from the pew and standing there as the rest of the guys were standing there around me and the girls. I didn't know what to tell them, and they didn't say a whole lot either. We both were sitting in the silence because of the aftermath.

"You boys look alright," I said to them all, they all were quiet and some of them were nodding in agreement, It made me look at Malarky, seeing him with a beard coming in and the fatigue was all over his own body stance. I saw pain there, even with a small smirk there on his face from seeing me. I felt like I had more to say to him than the others because of what I heard happen to his close friends.

"I'm sorry to hear about Muck and Penkala," I reassured him, seeing him just nod his head and hold the straps of his jackets with his worn gloves, "They told me it happened right when I left."

"There was nothing anyone could do," He explained, the other having a twinge of pain from the memory of those two lost souls. I felt like I could say something else to make it easier, but nothing was coming out from me and it made me feel terrible. But it was O'Neal that spoke up on my behalf.

"You guys are still a good company," She said to him, her voice was tender and yet stern at the same time for him to remember that, "Honestly, there' no other company like you guys."

"Don't butter us up, we like you guys already," Luz commented to her now, a few chuckles were heard as Liebgott spoke up from his spot behind Luz.

"Glad you're back, Captain. We've missed ya," He said in a lazy kind of way, making me feel a smaller sense of warmth back in me from hearing that from him. It sounded genuine, unlike other times when it was like pulling teeth. But now we all heard some more footsteps coming into the chapel, making us all look to find more Easy members spilling into the chapel. I could some more of their faces, and there was one face that I instantly felt my stomach drop to the floor.

Eugene. He was okay.

He had fatigue all over his own face as he was walking in with another medic at his side, some blood on his hands and a bit on his sleeves and he locked eyes with me too. He stopped walking, the others passing him and not thinking about it as we were staring at each other. The rest of the group was filling into the pews and sitting in silence while I was finding myself walking over to him, it felt like gravity was the cause of it or something else that was deep within me. I thought of his voice in my head for constant hours on end while we were apart, I could see him in my mind when I would fall asleep and try to think of nicer things.

I was standing in front of him before I knew it, the other Easy members were sitting now in silence and there was nothing else that was heard in the whole chapel except for the children singing in a haunting way. We were watching each other, studying the lines and the marks on each other's faces that are both familiar or fresh. I could see more weariness on his own face, but his mostly looked the same at the same time. His dark hair poking out all over the place since his own helmet was tucked underneath his arm and his dark eyes were watching me in a sudden realization that we both were together again. What was I going to say to him? Why was I scared to talk to him?

"You're okay," He stated, his accent thick and low which made my own skin feel hot all over since it felt like a long time since I really heard his voice, no longer in my head but now in front of me. I gave him a small smile, not able to move since it would feel wrong to hug him in front of the others who were just trying to read and have some kind of peace in their lives. But God I wished I could hug him at least, it would be enough to bring me more strength at the end of the day.

The thought never crossed my mind on how I was becoming more and more dependent on a person, becoming more lovestruck than logical. How did this happen, how did it sneak up on me? He was just a person that I grew close to, not just with a friendship but with a need for safety and a need of normalcy in this chaotic war.

"You're okay too," I replied calmly back to him, seeing a small smile there from his face from what I told him. It made me think that I wanted to really just be alone with him and talk with him, which spurred me into walking past him and grabbing his arm to pull him along. He came with me without a pull or resistance, the pair of us going to the front of the church and opening the door. The cold burst of wind hitting the both of us hard as I turned the corner, his hand slipping into my own hand now since we were both now alone with anyone there to see us this close. I didn't care at that point, I just needed some time with him and him alone.

I guided us over to the side of the church, the cold brick walls of the church brushed against my side since I was staying so close to the wall in case we were going to be seen. When I saw we were far enough away from people I moved to stand in front of him and I breathed out a sigh of relief when he squeezed my hand far too tight and he pulled me into a hug before I could make my own move to hug him. It was a bone crushing hug, almost a bit too tight but secure enough for me to hug him back. It felt so good to jus be around him again, which was beyond silly for me to think like that. I was a Goddamn Captain, and he was making me resort to acting like a teenager with her long lost love.

Was that what this was?

"I was worried," I said to him in a harsh whisper against the cold as we were still embracing each other, "When I got word what happened back there."

"It's okay," He reminded me as he rubbed my arm there soothingly while he pulled away slightly to get a good look at me. I could see the new lines there, along with some paleness there on his face compared to before. He's been in the snow for far too long.

"You look pale, Chere," I said out of the blue since it was making me nervous how he was looking more wired with the bones, maybe with a lack of eating of eating and it made me wonder what was the case for that.

"The snow does that," He reminded, almost cracking a joke as I grinned at him slightly, seeing him reach out to touch a part of my face, "You look worn too." I grasped his fingers that were against my cheeks, lacing our fingers very gently together and feeling the pads of his fingers against my palm. It was calming, after briefly looking at each other to see how the other was doing. But it was good enough for me to just see him there and see that he was alive and well.

"You goin' on any more missions?" He asked me, not wanting to sound way too curious but I could tell he was. I shook my head.

"Not right now. You're stuck with me," I almost said it in a teasing way as I saw a small sense of relief there on his face. I was glad to not be away from him either. There was already too much time away from each other's company. I didn't want to just have him in my head, as desperate as it sounded, I needed to physically see him. Not in a thought of devotion or pure madness, but just to keep my now head in check that he was alive and that he was okay.

Eugene saw me thinking to myself, the thoughts were playing over and over in my head as he framed my face gently with his cold fingers and his face was back in medic mode. My mind was not slowing down, even with his company since I was once again thinking back to my rank and what was at stake.

"You alright?" He asked me, clearly noticing how I was looking less of myself with the confidence and swagger that I would harbor when I was in my role. I didn't need to have him worry about me or what I was going through, he had plenty of others to fuss over and to protect since he was the medic. I wasn't going to be on that list when I knew I had another thing to worry about.

I nodded my head in reply, not saying anything as he slowly gave me a small smile, maybe not convinced of my answer but he was not going to push it. I was thankful, even when he leaned in and gave me a cold kiss and had me sigh against him.

I was thankful we were reunited.

February 1945

Haguenau, France

Things were moving around and they were moving fast.

For one, the men were different, very different.

Since the start of that morning when we were in that small town, David Webster came back to Easy after being away for so long. Since he was shot back at the crossroads months before and was sent to a host pail, he missed out on the cold and plenty of other things up until this point. He looked fresh, too fresh competed to the others that were just trying to breathe and get on with the day and what was lying. I knew I was glad to see him, as some of the girls from Black Mamba since he was courteous to them, but some of the other men in Easy weren't so kind. In fact, it was as though he was treated as if he was lower than dirt. it was odd, odd and saddening.

I was in one of our meeting spaces that used to be a grand parlor room of some kind, the remains of some kind of chandelier was still intact to the almost crumpled ceiling above us, the wallpaper was slowing coming off the walls, and the smell of dirt and moisture from the rain and snow was all over the place. The rest of Black Mamba was resting up and staying in their own rooms away from Easy since we were assigned to stay with them for the time being until we were needed elsewhere.

Even my own heart and state of mind was hardening, and they could all see it. Mutterings and grumblings were going around not only with men from Easy but with other companies of my leadership as Captain and what I was doing. At first, I was letting it roll off my shoulder, but even the best Captain would have to break sometimes, and I wondered when that was going to be me.

Lipton, worn from pneumonia that was taking over his body, plumped down on a lounge chair as George Luz walked over to him with a cigarette stuck out of his mouth and a piece of paper to hand to Lipton. Webster was in the doorway, taking off his own helmet as Luz saw him with his cheeky grin and floppy hair over his eyes. As for me, I was sitting next to Lipton with my own head swimming in thoughts.

"Look who it is. Nice digs, huh Web?" Luz asked Webster in amusement.

"Yeah," Lipton agreed.

"Sgt. Lipton?" Webster asked the officer as Luz was bringing over a blanket for Lipton, 'Felling all right?"

"There you go. He's got pneumonia." Luz explained as he threw the thick army blanket over Lipton, whom as trying not to get his paper wrinkled from the action. I even jerked away a bit not to get hit by the blanket, now Luz giving me an apologetic look, "Sorry Captain."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Webster stated in a low manner.

"What are you sorry about? He's alive, he's got a couch, a goddamn blanket. He's just as a bug," Luz explained in a rushed manner and with his own smirk while he walked away from the both of us. Lipton looked over at me with his sad eyes, having me die him a small smile and nod my head to show I was rooting for him too.

"Sgt. Malarky said to check with the CO if I should be in 2nd platoon," Webster informed Luz, now Lipton speaking up next to me and from his lounging position on the couch.

"Have a seat, Webster. We'll get you situated." Lipton explained, then motioning to me, "You remember Captain Bellerose from Black Mamba?"

"You're Captain now…ma'am?" He asked, then addressing me properly but was still shocked as I nodded my head with my soft smile at him.

"Since December, Webster," I answered, seeing him think about it in his head and then having it all click. He was quiet about it, but the look on his face was enough for me to tell him bluntly, "Captain Josephine was killed in battle out in Bastogne. I run Black Mamba now and we're helping Easy from here on out."

"We're grateful they're here with us. Bellerose is doing a damn good job leading them," Lipton said in agreement, his voice sounding proud of what he said about us and I just smiled. Compliments were hard to come by when it came to me and my leadership, but Lipton was one of the rare few that was not afraid to dish out compliments.

Bombs were scattered and heard throughout the outside of the building we were in as Webster plopped down in his chair by the piano in the corner, still looking lost and out of place.

"How long have you been sick?" Webster asked Lipton out of pure curiosity.

"Long enough," Lipton smoothly replied with a grumble in his own voice. I felt bad for him, being bedridden and not able to help out with his men. I was about to say something in his defense when someone walked through the propped door, all of us were looking. It was a different person, one we haven't seen before and he too looked fresh and new to the whole atmosphere. Helmet on his head and his pack on his shoulder, he walked in and almost looked a bit lost himself before he finally looked over at Lipton.

"Is this the company CP for Easy?" He asked Lipton, who was propping himself up a bit now to address the new person. Webster stood up, along with the other Easy member in the corner who was arranging things in a box.

"Yes, sir," Lipton replied, which made me look at the new guy and saw that he was a lieutenant. But I stayed still next to Lipton, not saying a word.

"As you were. Lt. Jones, looking for Captain Spiers." He replied as Webster sat back down and Lipton spoke up for him again. The man, Jones, briefly looked over at me before he looked at Lipton.

"He's on his way, sir. Why don't you sit down," Lipton offered as Jones walked over to the Chair that was next to me. Lipton talked to another soldier that was behind us then, "Can you grab me a coffee? Want a coffee sir?"

"No, thank you," Jones replied as he sat down. I could tell Webster was eyeing him up and down hill Jones was getting settled with his bag on the floor and his rifle now off his back, almost trying to find out more about him without saying a single word. Hell, I was doing it too, and he seemed too clean to be here with us. Call me judgmental.

"Captain?" Lipton asked me now.

"Yes, please," I replied, Jones now looking at me with more intrigue since my title was brought up.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Sir, this is Captain Bellerose. She leads the Black Mamba unit from the Special Operations unit of the Airborne Infantry. Black Mamba's been with us since D-Day," Lipton explained as Jones looking at me, almost up and down now as I was staring right back at him without moving or showing any kind of weakness. He looked intimidated by me new since I was a Captain, did he think I was lower than a Captain?

"Black Mamba's reputation is well known throughout the regiment. I heard that it was Captain Josephine that was running Black Mamba," Jones commented, even with him trying to sound as casual as he could and yet he was trying to get the real answer out of me. There was a shift in the air, everyone in the room was feeling it and I saw both Lipton and Webster watching me carefully to see my own reaction. How was I supposed to react when it sounded like someone was trying to get a rise out of me. I breathed out through my nose, my eyes directly on him and not moving an inch as I finally spoke up with my voice staying level.

"She fell in Bastogne to the enemy, I took over as the acting Captain."

He said nothing as I answered him then, which used the next person to be walking into the room at that point with a clock in his hand and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Captain Spiers. He briskly walked in as Jones shot up to stand at attention and Lipton spoke up once again.

"Captain Spiers, sir. This is ..uhh…Lieutenant Jones," Lipton introduced, but he was instantly shot down by a scolding Spiers as he pointed to Lipton.

"Listen, for Christ's Sake, will you go back in the back and sack out? There are some beds back there with fresh sheets."

"I will sir. Just trying to make myself useful, sir," Lipton tried to reason with him as he was about to let up on the couch. I placed my hand on his shoulder, Lipton looking over at me and I smiled.

"It's okay, I'll help you in a second," I reassured him calmly as Winters then walked into the room with Nixon right behind him almost like an obedient puppy. Winters looked like he had a lot on his mind then, ruffling his red hair and almost looking off in a daze while he finally spoke up.

"Listen up. Regiment was patrol for prisoners," Winters explained.

"This one comes from Cornel Sink so…its not my idea," Nixon added to the explanation.

"Since the river is the main line of resistance, we're going to have to cross it to get to them." I got up from my spot when he said that to the group, walking over to Spiers and seeing Spier keep his eyes on both Nixon and Winters, his game face was already on and alert.

"What do we need to do?" Spiers asked, having em listen and not say a word.

"There's a three-story building on the enemy side, up the embankment. We know it's occupied, and you can have 15 men. Think very hard about who you want to lead the patrol. You'll need a lead scout, a translator, and we got the entire battalion on covering fire." Winters explained.

"When?" I asked, chiming in.

"Tonight. 0100," Winters answered for me, "Black Mamba is requested to help, Cornel SInk's orders. However he only wants just a few of your soldiers to come along for backup, and the rest stay here with the battalion. Think hard of who you're going to send across the river, and I would advise no one of high ranks…we can't risk losing an officer."

"Yes, sir," I replied to him, seeing Winters look at Spiers now.

"You good?" He asked.

"Yes sir," Spiers answered, looking at the ground and already contemplating in his mind.

"Spiers? Bellerose?" We both looked up at Winters as he was giving us some kind of sincere look then since he was leading the battalion and he was no longer active like he was before, "I want this to be as foolproof and as safe as humanly possible."

"Yeah don't take any chances on this one. We're too far along for that," Nixon commented as well, and I could hear the sincerity there in his tone. They both wanted this to be perfect, nothing going wrong or going out of place. I would too since this was way too risky of a mission and not so simple.

I then looked over at Spiers. it felt like we both needed to have some kind of talk as to what we were going to do tonight on the patrol and how we were going to handle it. I wanted to pick his brain and see what was in there in hopes that we would be successful, but in how he was looking and standing, it was not feeling easy about it. I was in the same boat as Nixon went over to talk to Jones.

"Who are you?" Nixon asked him as Winters and Spiers were talking together in a hushed way. I slowly walked over there, but I kept my eyes on the pair of men that were meeting each other.

"Lieutenant Jones, sir."

"Right, our West Pointer," Nixon commented as he eyed him up and down with amusement, "When did you graduate?"

"June 6th, sir."

"June 6th? Of last year?"

"D-Day, yes, sir." Nixon gave a small laugh when he said this while Winters was walking over to me now, "All right, don't get hurt."

"Bellerose, a word please?" Winters asked me as I walked with him a bit farther away now and Jones was left there to the small talk of Spiers and Lipton who were already trying to get a plan together.

Winters and I were alone now a bit away from the group, having me wonder what was on his mind.

"What are your thoughts on who you're going to take?" He asked me, having me shift from one foot to another with a bit of anxiety.

"I have a few popping in my head. Jameson's our second sniper, O'Neal's a good tracker and all." I trailed off, knowing what I really wanted to ask him but I had no real heart to do it. He saw it o my face, his own face looking a bit concerned now since I wasn't talking anymore.

"Bellerose?" He asked, having me bit my lip now and stare at him right in the eye.

"Was it Cornel SInk's order to not send Officers in my unit?" I asked him straight forward, seeing him think for a brief moment.

"Not his, but my own," I gave him a quizzed looked,"After what happened to Josephine in Bastogne, I don't want to risk having another officer be lost here in the war. We're short on commanders as if is, and it would be risky to lose anymore," he paused, seeing my own face and now it was clicking in his head, "You're going to want to go out there yourself, aren't ya?"

"I don't want another soldier under my command to be lost," I explained to him calmly now, seeing him watch me as I was now talking about what was going on with me and my unit, "We're already having plenty of eyes on us, and those eyes are ready to see us falter once. I don't want that."

"And neither does Easy or this whole battalion for that matter," Winters said in agreement.

"It's not right for me to say something out of line when it comes to our leaders, but I need you to know that there is more at stake for Black Mamba than there is for Easy, sir. Our necks are goin' to be exposed and in the right moment, we will be sent home," I explained to him carefully, not as a warning to him since it would be out of line. But it was more of him being aware, aware that I was having way too much at stake because of my rank and because of who we were in the army. One false move, and I was going to be in so much trouble. But I would rather have that on my shoulders than on my soldier's shoulders and in her hearts. They didn't deserve it, that kind of responsibility. They were along for the ride, it was me that was going to take the fall whether I was ready for it or not.

"Captain," Winters said to me in his sincere tone, making me look at him now with worry on my face, "It's your decision since technically you're not under my command in the battalion. I do a advise you, to make the right choice."

What was the right choice anyhow?

After we both left the building to walk over to the set of abandoned buildings that Easy and Black Mamba was in, Speirs was walking next to me and was in the same step, his eyes dead ahead and I was rethinking that whole situation with Easy and Black Mamba. It was not going to be a good set of news to tell the others, I was not liking forward to it.

"What's your opinion on the decision for Easy and Black Mamba?" Spiers asked me out of the blue, having me not say anything for a moment or two.

"It's a practical decision, one that both Easy and Black Mamba can handle with ease and the right precision," I replied, seeing him still look ahead but something was on the back of his mind. It was like he didn't like what I told him, he didn't like the answer. We were still walking together in since down the crumbled path and seeing, out in the gray and wet distance, the small island that we were about to embark on within that very night.

"Is that your professional answer, Captain?" he asked then.

"Did you want it professional or personal?" I countered back, seeing him finally slow and I did the same. I felt like I was playing some kind of word game with him since he was trying to get some kind of answer out of me that I wasn't ready for or that I didn't want to admit. We both were standing there, drinking in both what we were just told and what we were about to do. As a Captain, I had to think logically, to think of what was going to lie ahead and what will be helpful for the others in Black Mamba. But then again, the personal side of me was seeing red flags all over his plan. This was not a good idea, I could see that things could go wrong and to loose more of my comrades, more lives being lost was not going to go well within my own gut.

"Personal," He answered, his voice was not stern but sounding more sincere and leveled at the same time. I took in my own shaky breath, thinking of the best way to tell him what I was really feeling without stepping out of bounds.

"It's a suicidal mission, it's too much of a risk for the men and the women that we have," I explained as I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked away from him briefly and back to the small island where I could see our target that night, "Even if we do get boats and we take the best men out there, we're taking much bigger of a risk on this mission than others in the past."

"You don't think we can handle the mission, Captain?" He asked me now, seeing the concern on my face and how I was more shifty than still.

"No, Captain. I think this is a mission that could go wrong, even with the precise planning that we are capable. but there's nothing that we can do about now, can we?" I asked, hearing nothing from him now since I brought that between us. At least he knew what was on my mind and what was going to hold me back, "Is there anything else?"

"No…no there isn't Captain," he replied calmly now, having me nod my head, "I'll get the men notified since they're coming into town now."

"I'll do the same with Black Mamba, and I'll come back to plan it with you in 3 hours due time," I explained as I got my hands out of my pocket again and moved my hair from my eyes to watch him. He was cool and calm, already thinking of the plan behind his eyes and moving the pieces around mentally. I saluted him once before I moved away from him, walking down the road and already trying to remind myself that we had a job to do, we were meant to do this and there was no other way out of it. I wanted there to be, I wanted to get both the men and the women out of there in one piece and never to look back.

But that was lost.