I do not own Band of Brothers. This story is based on the Mini-Series, not the real men of Easy Company.

As always, comment and let me know your thoughts :)


"Jesus Christ…will ya stop pacin Liz? You're gonna wear a damn hole in the floor if you keep it up." Gene laughed, glancing up from the lighter he was playing with.

"Sorry." I sighed, plopping myself down on the chair across from him. "I just can't stand this waiting…" I added, chewing nervously at my thumb.

"They'll be okay… probably won't be needin us tonight." He tried to reassure me. "Jeez…don't do that… you know how dirty ya fingernails are?"

"I'm worried about Joe and George." I sighed, ignoring his comment and continuing to chew away to my nail.

"Aren't they stayin back? On covering fire?"

"Yeah, doesn't mean they won't get hit… My guess is that those pricks will open fire on us as soon as they hear the first couple shots ring out." I stared out the window across the town, unable to see the river from the building we were holed up in.

"They probably will… but we're ready for it. They're not." He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he put his lighter down. "I've never seen you this worked up Liz, not even back in Belgium… and they were in constant danger there."

"I guess it's because I was busy there, always had something to do?" I shrugged, not really knowing why I was so worried myself. I couldn't really explain it… I just was.

"You heard from your parents lately?" he asked, changing the subject.

I was grateful, I needed a distraction. Something to get my mind off of what was going on outside.

"Not since Christmas. But I sent them a letter a couple of weeks ago." I dropped my eyes. "It's probably been hard to get mail in and out of Europe."

"Yeah, haven't heard from my folks since early January either." He shivered as a cold breeze swept in through the window. "Did ya tell them yet?"

"No." I lowered my voice, glancing over at the other medics gathered on the other side of the room who seemed too focused on glaring out the window to care what we were saying. "I don't know what to say."

"You gotta tell them sooner or later Liz." he rubbed his forehead. "For your benefit and theirs. It'll be a lot worse if you show up on the docks at home with a random soldier on your arm."

"I know… I just… what if they don't approve? I don't want them to hate him before they even meet him… or think I'm over here whoring around or something."

"Come on… they wouldn't think somethin like that. They're your family. I don't think they'd think you're sleepin around." He shook his head, his eyebrows scrunching together in thought. "And they'll be happy that you're happy, I think they'll give him a chance... I mean, George did right?"

"Yeah, but George knew that I was single before I met Joe." I blurted out, meeting his confused eyes.

"I'm not following." He shook his head.

"I had a boyfriend back home… I broke it off with him a few months before Toccoa. My parents don't... actually know that we broke up." I confessed, picturing James' snarling face as George's friends drug him away that day… the last time I saw him.

"They must have known somethin was up? Not seein him around?"

"They thought that he was visiting his grandparents in California. They kept urging me to go visit him." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "That's part of the reason I joined the nurses corps… to get away from it all you know? I was sick of lying to their faces."

"Why would you make up such an elaborate lie Liz? Why not just tell them you didn't work out?" he asked unknowingly.

There was no way he was going to understand any of it without me telling him the whole story.

"They loved him, he was perfect for me in their eyes… He was in college, had a good job lined up as an electrician… God, my mom practically had our wedding planned out." I shook my head, fighting back the tears that were burning my eyes.

"I'm guessin he wasn't as good as they thought?" his concerned eyes met mine.

"He was… rough with me. They had no idea." I exhaled, letting out the breath I'd been holding in. I really didn't want to go through the whole story again.

"My God…" he paused, staring off into space. "You gotta tell them Liz… I mean… they're your family… they're not gonna take his side! Come on." he whispered, leaning in closer to me. "Does George know? Joe?"

"Yeah, George and Joe know… and Speirs." I cleared my throat.

"Speirs?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Yup… told him after the whole fiasco with the Kraut officers back in Rachamps." I bit my lip, glad that he wasn't pressing me for more information about James.

"So that's why you were so upset… about what the one officer did to ya?" he gulped. "Your boyfriend… he was… abusive like that?"

"Yes." I nodded, blinking away the last of the tears. I had promised myself that I wasn't going to cry over him ever again.

"Jesus Christ Liz." He sighed, placing a hand on my knee. "I had no idea… I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It was almost three years ago now. I'm never going to see the bastard again." I shook my head. "But, I guess I should tell them huh?"

"Yes, you should. As soon as possible. And tell them about Joe too." He nodded. "How could they still think you're with the guy after three years of not even seein him?"

"I think they suspect something now…I mean, they don't ask about him anymore in their letters. They haven't mentioned him in any of their letters since D-day."

"Even if they did figure it out themselves… you still should tell them why you ended it. They have a right to know, and you had every right to end things with him… you're the one who had to live with dating him, not your family." He drawled, his Louisiana accent thick with anger.

"You're right." I pursed my lips. "I need to be honest… I should to write them a letter and tell them… everything."

"Everything about Joe too… they need to know all of it." He added, squeezing my hand hearteningly. "Your ma's got a new weddin to plan." He grinned, making me blush. "Should get her through till you get home."

"Joe told me he wants to bring me home to San Francisco, to meet his family." I whispered nervously. "That's good right?"

"That's great Liz… at least you know he's serious. It's not just some fling." He smiled. "Ya know, to be honest, I didn't really have the greatest feelin when I first found out that you two were together."

"Really?" I laughed. "Why's that?"

"I always thought Liebgott was a dog… a ladies man ya know?" he smirked. "Then I saw the way he is with you and… well, I was wrong."

"You really think he's that serious about me?" I asked sheepishly.

"You deserve everything he gives ya Liz…" he laughed. "Jesus, all I gotta do is mention his name and you smile… I think you two are going to be happy together."

"Thanks Gene… you know I love you right?" I laughed.

"I love ya too… I never really had any friends that I thought of as family back home… You're my family Liz, all you guys." He smiled, looking out the window into the darkness. "Joe's gonna make it back here safe."

"You know… my mom can't wait to meet you." I smiled, walking over to the window. "She wants to cook for you."

"I'm guessin you told her I like home cooked meals huh?" he laughed, getting up to join me.

"Maybe." I smirked, nudging him. "She may or may not know how much you like gumbo."

The smile dropped from my face as shots began to ring out across the town towards the river, my heart pounded in my ears as I listened to the flustered voices calling out through the darkness.

"They'll be alright." Gene patted me on the shoulder as someone blew a whistle from over on the German's side of the river, signalling our men to open fire.

"G…Gene?" I stuttered, trying to catch my breath. "I know this sounds really stupid… but can we get closer?"

"Huh? We can't go out there… You know that." He shook his head, glaring out the window as our machine guns started to fire, explosions blasting across town as I desperately peered through the darkness, my face heating up.

"I'm sorry Liz… we gotta stay put. Speirs said not to move until we were needed." He sighed, cringing as mortar hit the building directly across the street from us.

"Jesus Christ." I breathed, starting to feel lightheaded as the sky lit up from all of the gunfire and mortar being exchanged across the river.

A shell hit one of the buildings near the river bank suddenly, sending bricks flying skyward as I gripped the wall for balance. Where the hell was Joe positioned? Left or right of the river? I had no idea… what if he was in that building. Bile rose to my throat at the thought.

My stomach churned as several frantic voices rang out across town, the men from the patrol had made it back across… how many of them though? And why the hell did Speirs have to put us in a building where we couldn't see a god dammed thing?

"I'm sure they're fine Liz… just be ready… in case." Gene touched me gently on the shoulder, handing me my helmet.

I nodded and placed my helmet on my head, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground outside as the machine gun fire continued. I could hear mortar hitting the river, the splashes clearly closer to our side of the river than theirs. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and waited… waited for any indication that this thing was over.

"MEDIC! We need a medic down here!" someone called out from below, waving their arms up at our building.

Sargent Martin.

"Liz… Spina, let's go!" Gene hollered, leading us down the stairs and out of the building as I snapped into medic mode, the commotion at the river in the back of my mind as we reached Martin.

"Who is it!?" I asked frantically as he led us towards the firing. "What happened?"

"I told him to wait! I told him to fuckin wait!" Martin growled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Johnny! WHO IS IT!?" I yelled over the firing, shooting Gene a worried glance as we trudged through the rubble.

"JACKSON!" Martin screamed back. "Come on! We gotta move!"

"Fuck…" I breathed, catching a quick glimpse of the activity near the river as we reached the building Martin was leading us towards.

So much for getting in and out with no problems…

"WHERE THE FUCK IS THE MEDIC?" Someone screamed out from inside. This was not good…

"Move out of the way! Let Doc do his job!" Martin bellowed, pushing through the crowd of men gathered around Jackson's flailing legs on the table as Gene pushed his way through to his side.

"Move guys!" I yelled, coming around the opposite side of the table to Gene. "Coming through."

"HE'S GONNA FUCKING DIEEEEE!" Vest screamed out, snapping my attention over to where Jones was holding him down, a horrified look on his own face as he met my eyes.

What a great first day of combat experience…

I nodded and turned back to the task at hand as the men continued to panic around us, screaming at the prisoners, screaming at each other, at Jackson…

"My God." I finally got a good look at Jackson, one half of his face and neck had been severely burnt and torn apart by shrapnel of some sort… at close range. He was panicking, his legs thrashing around the table as he struggled to take a breath.

"Jackson! Eugene!" I yelled, leaning down over him as Gene inspected his face. "It's Liz! I need you to calm down so we can help you alright? Can you do that?"

He whimpered and nodded slightly as Gene pulled his mouth open, trying to see down his throat.

"Light! I need some light! Get me some light!" Gene demanded. "Liz, hold his mouth open for me."

I placed my hand where Gene's had been, tilting Jackson's head back as I pulled his mouth open, hearing him wheeze in response… not a good sign. Something was obstructing his airway.

"Alright… Jackson… look at the flame." Gene said calmly, leaning over the table to look down his throat as Skinny held a lighter over his face.

"That's it… you're doing great." I added reassuringly, meeting Gene's worried eyes as he finally got a good look down Jackson's throat. The room fell silent around us as everyone waited nervously for Gene to say whether or not he was going to be okay.

"It's alright Jackson… we'll get you fixed up." I patted him on the shoulder, feeling him relax beneath me as he finally got a partial breath.

"That's good." Gene whispered, his eyebrows scrunching together as Jackson whimpered, tears pouring from his eyes as he started to panic again. Explosions continued to ring out across the town, lighting up the room as they hit the ground nearby.

"Alright… let's get him outta here… let's get him outta here." Gene ordered worriedly, nodding over at me.

"I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" Jackson cried out as some of the men helped us lift him onto a stretcher.

"You're not going to die." I murmured, more to myself than to Jackson. "You're going to be okay."

"LET'S GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Gene bellowed. "You're gonna be fine!"

"Take it easy! Jackson!" Babe cried, helping the men lift the stretcher. "Clear a path!"

"I don't wanna die! Liz!" Jackson whimpered, grasping my hand tightly, his good eye met mine as terror spread across his face.

"Jackson… you're not going to die!" I yelled over the mortar, keeping my grip on his hand as we carried him over towards the door.

An explosion went off right outside the window, sending bits of ceiling showering down on us as we lowered the stretcher down to the floor. Jackson started to choke, his grip tightening on my hand as I dropped to my knees beside him, hoisting him up into my lap.

"HE CAN'T BREATHE!" I yelled as Gene took Jackson's neck in his hands, trying to keep him from moving around too much. We still didn't know what we were dealing with, moving around could make it worse.

Jackson squirmed in my lap, the tears pouring from his eyes as he wheezed and choked on the blood coming up his throat.

"Please help me!" he begged, arching his neck as Gene untied the bandage, taking his face in his hands. "DOC… oh my God!"

"JACKSON!" Gene shrieked. "You're not gonna die! You're not gonna die! I need to you hang on!"

Jackson nodded and sputtered, blood spilling out of his lips as he gyrated in my arms, his eyes were distant and empty and tears began to fill my eyes.

He was too far gone… we couldn't help him.

"JACKSON!" Gene called out again once more, but it was no use.

Jackson took one last gurgling breath before going limp in my arms, his eyes closing slowly as the men around us looked on helplessly.

Gene took his helmet off and threw it to the ground in frustration, trying to hide the pained look on his face as he met my eyes. None of us said anything, none of us moved.

Some of the men started to whimper around the room as Martin shuffled over towards us, draping a blanket over Jackson's body as I pulled my hand from his now loose grip, wiping away the tears that ran down my face.

I squeezed my eyes shut, lowering Jackson out of my arms and down to the cot.

I just wanted to go home already.


"Just don't look at the needle Lip… it'll be over before you know it." I promised, flicking at the syringe to get the bubbles out.

"Just do it already Liz." He hissed as I stuck the needle into his arm, squeezing out the contents before pulling it out.

"See… all done. You're doing a lot better… the coughs almost gone." I smiled, wrapping the needle up to dispose of as he rolled his sleeve down.

"That felt fucking fantastic Liz… thank you." He grumbled, taking a swig from his canteen.

"Colour's returning to your face too… give it another day and you'll be back to normal." I continued, ignoring his grumbling. He'd thank me later when the pneumonia was gone.

"Thank God for modern medicine huh?" he mumbled, taking another long swig from his canteen.

"Yeah... thank God."

"Hey, is Joe alright?" he murmured, settling back down into bed as I loaded the medication back into my satchel.

"He's okay." I smiled. "So is George."

"I should be out there on those patrols with them… not stuck in this fucking broom closet." He growled, pausing as someone cleared their throat from the doorway.

"Hope I'm not interrupting." Jones stammered. "I can come back later if…"

"No, No Sir… it's alright. I was just leaving Lieutenant Lipton here to rest." I smiled, patting Lip on the shoulder. "Drink lots of water and get some sleep for God sake… the patrols can wait."

"Yeah, Yeah… I'm drinking… I'm drinking" he murmured, waving me off as I smirked. "Thanks Liz."

"Sorry about that Sir… Lieutenant Lipton is just on the end of his pneumonia, figured I better keep up on his shots until it clears up." I said, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind me. "Captain Speirs said you wanted to speak with me?"

"I did… I mean I do." He replied nervously. "Is there some place more private we can talk?" he added, glancing over at my brother who was shooting us a curious look.

"We could go out by the river, yeah." I nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way and shrugging my shoulders at my brother who narrowed his eyes at us.

He better not tell Joe about this. My brother was a real shit disturber sometimes and he'd caught on that Joe wasn't too fond of Jones… I wouldn't doubt he'd bug him about seeing me with him.

"So, what is it you wanted to speak to me about?" I asked, following him out the door. "Is everything alright? Were you hit last night?"

"No, it's not that. I'm fine." He shook his head. "I just wanted to talk to someone about what happened… With Jackson. And, I trust you…" his face reddened as he met my eyes, his eyebrows drawing together.

"Oh… I see." I nodded, recalling the terrified look he'd been wearing when I had last seen him in the dank basement the night before.

If seeing Jackson die like that had disturbed all of us, I could only imagine what it did to him, having never experienced something like that before.

Therapy had never really been my forte but he clearly needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't judge him.

"Look, I have an idea how much you guys have been through. I really have no right to be so bothered about this but… I just can't get it off my mind." He sighed, looking out across the now calm river.

"That's not fair." I objected.

"What?" he asked confusedly.

"You can't compare yourself to us like that. We've been in this way longer… seen awful,terrible things. I'd like to say we're used to it at this point but it still gets to us too. I mean, you saw how the men reacted last night right?" I sighed. "Don't feel like you're not as tough as the rest of the men because you're upset. We're all upset."

"I can't even imagine the things you guys have seen… being over here since D-day. And here I am, probably younger than half the company and trying to lead you guys like I know what I'm doing." He shook his head.

"Seems like you knew what you were doing last night. I'd say you handled it pretty well." I said, seeing him shoot me a look of disbelief. "Hey, only losing one man on a patrol as risky as that… that's pretty lucky."

"Is it always like that? So… horrible?" he shivered. "Do they always die like that?"

"Not always… sometimes we only have a few wounded during combat… but most of the time yeah… it's actually often a lot worse." I replied honestly.

"They said it was safe… we'd be in and out no problem." He said, glaring out across the river at some Germans who appeared to be loading up their stupid railroad gun again. "That's why I volunteered, figured I could use the experience."

"Safe… fucking foolproof. Come on." I spat, shaking my head. "Colonel Sink and his God Damn words."

I probably should have been more reserved considering I was talking to someone of authority but I knew he agreed seeing as a small grin was playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Jackson was hit with his own grenade you know? Threw it and ran in too quickly." He averted his eyes, chewing on his bottom lip. "Martin told him to wait."

"I thought it was a Kraut Grenade?" I exclaimed, crossing my arms over my chest as he shook his head. "My God…"

"Did you know him well?" he asked quietly, turning to face me now.

"Well enough to know that he was only 20." I said quietly. "He lied about his age to join the army when he was 16."

"Just a kid." He breathed. "And you all knew about his age?"

"Jackson was a paratrooper, and a fine one at that… he was one of us. We weren't going to rat him out because of his age." I replied plainly. "Now I sort of wish we had… he'd still be alive, probably hate us all but he'd be at home and alive."

"You can't blame his death on something like that… it was an accident. Nothing any of you could have done differently."

I nodded absentmindedly, trying to hide the pained look on my face as I pictured Jackson's parents receiving the telegram in a few days' time. As of right now they probably still thought their son was alive.

"For some reason I think there's a lot more on your mind than Jackson…" he stated plainly, shifting closer to me. "I know I don't really have much experience but I'm a good listener if that's any help."

"I was fine… well I mean, as fine as I could be considering what we went through in Normandy and Holland… then we were stationed in Bastogne, in Belgium." I sighed, playing with the cuff on my sleeve. "That month in that forest changed us all..."

"The battered bastards of Bastogne. That's what everyone calls you guys." He said. "To be honest, it's a little intimidating joining a company with such a reputation."

"We earned that title… lost a lot of good men back there." I sniffed. "I just wish we could have saved more of them."

"But you got away from it… you're here now." He said gently.

"Did I really?" I gestured around us, letting out a long sigh. "This is just a different caliber of hell."

"I'd like to think that things are going to start looking up soon. They're pulling out of the depression back home, this should all be over soon enough." He grimaced. "Nobody back home has any clue how bad it is over here."

"How could they?" I adjusted my helmet, realizing how rude I was being. This was supposed to be about him, not me. "Sorry Sir, I was the one who was supposed to be telling you it's going to be okay… not the other way around." I apologized.

"I'll be fine …you're a damn good soldier Liz." He smiled genuinely. "I've only been here a couple of days and I can already see it… Easy is lucky to have you."

"I'm just a nurse…I'm no soldier." I replied, gesturing to the Red Cross around my jacket sleeve.

"Yeah, but you're just as important… Don't sell yourself short." He smiled, tipping his helmet to me as he turned on his heel to walk away. "I'll see you later."

I smiled to myself, glancing out across the still river. Age and inexperience aside… Jones was a respectable Lieutenant, I see now why they chose to post him with us… he was going to fit in well with Easy Company, that much I was sure of.


"Hey Guys." I interrupted, stepping into the room full of quiet chatter to see most of second platoon gathered around the bunks. It didn't look like anyone had gotten any sleep last night. The beds were still made, Jackson's bag and helmet still on the top bunk of one of the beds.

"Liz!" Joe exclaimed, pulling me into his arms. "Speirs said you were alright but I needed to see it for myself. What the hell happened?"

"I'm fine." I buried my face in his shoulder, trying to think of the words to explain what had happened earlier that morning.

I glanced down at Babe, he had been there last night with me in the basement. He stared up at me blankly, shaking his head slightly, he still hadn't told them about Jackson.

"Jackson's dead." I blurted out, deciding that beating around the bush wasn't going to do any of us any good. Everyone's eyes snapped up to me in alarm.

"Jesus…" Joe whispered, unwrapping me from his arms as a chorus of curse words were whispered amongst the men. "Was it...quick... at least?"

"No… it wasn't." Babe chimed in, shooting me a sympathetic look. "He hung on for a while."

"How?" Malarkey spoke up, his saddened eyes meeting mine.

"His own grenade… he tossed it in the window and went in after it too soon. It hadn't gone off yet. They managed to get him back across the river to Gene and I, but it was too late, he was too far gone."

"God... I'm sorry Liz... Anyone else hit?" Joe wondered aloud, hopping up on one of the top bunks and laying down as an air of depression filled the room at my news.

"Just Jackson." I sighed, hoisting myself up on the bunk as his feet. "How'd you guys do last night?

"Well, the Krauts definitely didn't see any of it coming that's for sure… we managed to take a bunch of them out." Malarkey yawned, taking a long sip of coffee.

"I guess two prisoners weren't enough. Word is Sink wants another patrol tonight." Perconte sighed, placing a steaming cup of coffee in my hands. "Which is completely insane considering they'll be expecting us now."

"They're definitely preparing for it." I added, narrowing my eyes at the window as a faint whistle came from across the river. It hit somewhere in the distance. False alarm.

"So whatdy'a think about tonight? Same group?" Babe sighed, asking the question that I knew we all were thinking.

Malarkey shrugged his shoulders, leaning up against the bed post as some footsteps echoed up the stairway, catching our attention.

A disgruntled looking Webster appeared a few seconds later, Jones trailing behind him.

"We heard you got two prisoners…" Malarkey said, watching as Webster trudged tiredly over to stand on the other end of Joe's bunk.

"Good work." He added, nodding to Jones who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. He still wasn't comfortable amongst the men… he knew that they didn't really respect him yet. It wasn't that they didn't like him, they were just so used to seeing replacements die that most of them chose not to get too close.

I met Jones' eyes and shot him a small smile which he returned, relaxing a bit as he leaned up against the door jamb.

"Jackson's dead." Webster exhaled suddenly.

"Yeah, we heard. Liz was just telling us." Joe said quietly, propping himself up on an elbow and lighting up a cigarette before leaning back, his boot resting comfortably against my back.

"Yeah well… they want another patrol tonight." Perconte sighed, plunking himself down on the bunk at my feet.

We fell into silence… all of us reflecting on the events of the past couple of days as the shelling continued on outside. I felt numb, cold and numb as I stared at the ground beneath the bunk. I had thought that Haguenau was going to be a reprieve from the violence… I mean, sure the war would still be going on but it wouldn't be anything like Holland or Bastogne. I was so sure that we weren't going to lose anyone else, so sure I'd held the last dying soldier in my arms.

I was wrong… Haguenau wasn't a paradise… We'd lost Jackson in a patrol that was labelled "foolproof." Unfortunately that plan didn't take into account human nature or mistakes… which sealed Jackson's fate.

Another Easy Company man dead in a war that was supposed to be over…