February 10th, 1945

4:08 am

Ron's POV:

There has only been one other time when I was absolutely petrified about death, or how death was affecting someone that I knew. My brother was hit by a car when we were younger, almost getting killed. I remember thinking that he was dead, the sense of drowning was coming over me and making it hard to breathe as I waited for him in the hospital waiting room. That was the only other time I remember being scared of death.

And now I was going through it again with Kit.

I was pacing back and forth in front of Kit's room, waiting to hear from Doc to see what became of Kit. After she was brought back across the river, she was already unconscious from the blood loss and Doc was fighting off anyone else tooth and tail from touching her. None of us has been him this bad when it came to someone touching one of his patient, let alone his best friend. He was livid, and rightfully so. They carried her over to her room back in the building, and all we could do was wait. Now I was currently outside in the hallway with Bull and Winters, the three of us now just being patient and hoping for the best.

Bull was in charge of staying in front of her room and keeping her safe while she was behind examined, though after a good 20 minutes, Doc had to resort to getting one of the French Doctors in town who was way more experienced in handling something like this. So here I was, pacing in front of her room and waiting to hear from the doctor there.

This was utter bullshit.

A part of me was mad at her, for having to be a hero in her own mind and protect the rest of the men, though that meant that she would be placing her own life on the line of fire. Yet the other part of me was worried about her if she was going to be okay. From the look on Doc's face, when he came out of the room to grab more gauze and morphine, it wasn't going in our favor.

I blame myself for developing feelings for her, to kissing her when it wasn't professional. It was not right for me to do so, but it still felt right when I did it. I wouldn't take it back though now I was hurting on the inside from what happened to Kit. This is not how a Captain should act, yet I was not acting less of one and more of a worried boyfriend. What in the hell was wrong with me? Why was she doing this to me when I was just trying to be a good enough Captain?

The door opened, the doctor coming out with Doc right behind him and both Bull and myself looked over to see what was going to happen. But once we made eye contact with the doctor, he looked rather grave. Winters walked over to be next to them, having me see that he too didn't like what was going on with Kit. I eyed all three, and Doc's eyes were shifting down to the ground. They knew something and they didn't want to share it, but thy were going to be with me.

"How is she?" I asked them, trying to sound professional and not desperate. But Winters was watching the french doctor, seeing that this was serious and then he looked over at Bull.

"Leave us and head back to the others." He ordered Bull. Bull nodded, even though it seemed more reluctant, and he walked away. I could see he was torn up from not being able to hear what was going on with Kit. Once he was out of earshot, the doctor spoke up.

"Lieutenant Kit suffered a stab wound to the side, but the knife didn't hit anything too vital for her." The doctor explained with his thick french accent, "However, her rib is now splintered and it will take a good couple of weeks until she can heal up properly. She needs to stay in bed until you decide to move to another town, and she cannot go into battle anymore." I nodded in agreement, but he still looked rather grave, along with Doc.

"What else happened?" I asked cautiously, now looking over at Winters who too was confused as to why they looked like they were about to be sick.

"While I was examining Lieutenant Kit, I discovered her rib was already trying to heal from a previous accident." The doctor explained some more, "Your combat medic explained to me that she has not had any real problems with her rib while in the war, which would indicate that she had this wound inflicted on her by force long before she was enlisted."

"I don't understand." Winters said next to me, voicing the same thing I was thinking in my head.

"She shows signs and has visual marks in several parts of her body of a…past assault on her by force and without her consent." It felt like a house dropped on me. Was she assaulted? By force? I was floored, not saying a word as I looked from the doctor over to our medic. Doc was still looking at the ground, not saying a word and avoiding looking at me since I could tell this was affecting him too. Winters looked rather grimaced as I found my voice again after keeping it quiet for far too long.

"You mean to tell me, doctor, that she was…" I couldn't say the word, it was too vile and too ruthless to say given the circumstances.

"She was raped." I closed my eyes in defeat after hearing those three words. How could someone do that to Kit? Why Kit? She was someone who I would never have guessed that have inflicted on her, and yet it still seemed to real for me to get my head around. It pained me to think about it.

"There are visual marks and signs on her body that indicate that this happened to her, but it's not fresh." He explained some more to the group of us.

"What do you mean by fresh?" Winters asked him in confusion since his own arms ere crossed in front of him and he was resting one of his hands on his cheek since he too was floored by the news.

"This didn't happen to her when she was in the war with us, sir." Doc answered Winters for the doctor, who nodded to show Doc was telling the truth. If this didn't happen in the war, it must have meant that it was the man that she mentioned, the man that used her as a pawn. She was supposed to talk to me about that when she came back, but now it was somehow making more sense than it should.

"Right now, all we can give her is rest and then after that, you can decide whether or not to send her home to keep her in your Company." The doctor explained to me as I was still in shock from what I heard.

"Thank you." Winters thanked him kindly as the doctor smiled and walked away. It felt the rest of us in the hallway, having me try to find my breath again from the news that I just heard. Almost like a sledgehammer to my chest, making ti hard for me to swallow and try to compose myself. I looked up and at the others, noticing that I wasn't the only one that was having a hard time dissecting this whole thing.

"She never mentioned that….not even once." I murmured almost in pain from my spot.

"I don't think she wanted to," Doc replied back to him, "It's none of our business anyways."

"We do as the doctor says: let her rest as much as she can," Winters explained to us, trying to compose himself again in front of us as our leader, "This does not go out to the others in the Company. We don't say a word unless she wants us to, it's already way too delicate of a subject. Understand?" He was trying to protect her own life with this secret since Doc was right: This was her personal life and it should not be placed on display.

"Yes sir." we all replied to him in a mutter.

"Now, I'm going to call Sink and let him know what happened, along with Captain Jacobs in Wolf Company." Winters said to us and then walking off down the hall. I was left with Doc, and we were still in shock. At least I was from what I heard of him. It was making me so angry and giving me grief from what happened to her. I knew she had a rough past with her family, but this was like I was being slapped across the face with reality. She went through more than anyone ever should in their life, and I wondered how she was still alive and full of life and spirit when she was already bruised and in pain from her past demons.

I had to talk to her about it.


February 11th, 1945

4:13 am

Kit's POV:

I dreamed I was a little girl again, being an around by my father and him holding me close. There was no sign of war, no sign of pain or agony, but my father and I swinging and playing in the backyard we had at our house. I loved that dream, but it was when I woke up I realized.

I wasn't dead.

I was in a bed, back in France. I thought I was dead, and I was on my way to heaven. It felt like that, but not anymore really. I was alone in a room, darkness was still around me as I thought it was early in the morning, almost dawn as my own middle was wrapped. There was a taped down gaze on my gash, feeling like it was tended to and healing up. It made me forget for a second what happened to me, but then it all came flooding back. I was stabbed.

Oh shit.

I remember it all. The gash on my head from being hit with the pistol. That hurt like hell. The officer, him stabbing me in the side when I was facing away from him, but not letting me go to drag me out and see the sea of faces that were in Easy. Oh God, their faces.

They were all looking like they were in pain and in agony from seeing me there in the clutches of some mad man. I could see it in their eyes, they wanted to kill the man to just get me away from them. I never wanted that from them, to see them hurt from what was happening to me. My fingers were spelling for them so they knew what was happening, I wasn't going to yell out for them because they could have been killed if I tried. Once again, I was thinking of others before myself. Damnit.

Where was everyone else in Easy? Were they freaking out? I knew the rest of the men that were on the patrol saw me being stabbed and they were screaming my name as I fell to the snowy ground but were they wondering how I was? I wanted to find Shifty, Doc, and Bull since they were really my three musketeers as friends. But then I also wanted to find Ron, oh Ron.

Where was Ron? Was he freaking out? I felt like he was must have had an emotional toll from all that he saw with me. Shit, I wanted to find him. I breathed in, feeling the burning pain there from where the wound was, but I also breathed flowers. Flowers? Craning my neck to the left, I saw that there was a nightstand there, but it was covered in every square inch with flowers that were inside small glasses filled with water. Some were glasses, others were mason jars, and the rest were tin cans. The flowers were all different species of flowers, colors and shapes that varied which caught my eye. There had to be at least ten flowers there in separate glasses, and even some above me on the windowsill since there was no more room in the stand. Who gave these to me? I was about to question it when I heard the door open and I looked over to see who it was that was poking their head in.

Malarky, with Bull and Garcia right behind them.

"Heya, Kit." Malarky said with a small grin, the other two following him in. They each had a flower in their hand with its own glass of water, having me grin as they walked over to stand next to me in my bed. I was glad to see them, but being constricted to the bed was making it hard for me to want to hug them. Malarky placed his flower on the windowsill that had a room as Bull walked over to stand next to me, reaching over to grasp my hand in his. I had no idea how he was feeling about the attack that I had to go through, and I had to make sure that he was okay with what he was seeing.

"You've been out for a whole day. How are you holding up there, Kit?" Bull asked me softly, having me watch him and see that he looked worn out himself like he never got any sleep at all.

"My side hurts like hell, but I'm not gonna let that stop me." I tried to joke with him, but he still looked bit somber from what was going on with me. I squeezed his hand in my own though my hand was small in his bigger hold that almost swallowed my hand. Something was haunting him, and it made me wonder what it was before Garcia spoke up from his own area next to Malarky.

"All of the guys found flowers for ya out in one of the gardens near the edge of town." He explained to me with a bit of lightness there.

"They all did?" I asked since it was still a shock that they all did that for me. It was such a token of kindness, something I never thought I would get from a couple of the guys, those select few that would rub me the wrong way.

"They all did, including Liebgott surprisingly," Malarky said to me with a small tone of humor behind it, "Hell, he was the one that helped Shifty take the shot on that German."

"He did that?" I asked him, not even being it in my head that Joe would do that. Joe and I never got back on a regular talking basis from my spat with him. So for me to picture him trying to help me, whoever mean that sounded, was enough for me to have faith in the guy again.

"The rest of the guys are wondering how you were doing," Bull explained to me once again with the softness in his voice, having me look back at him and smiled from my spot.

"I'll be okay, you can tell them that," I reassured him, seeing him smile at me as he was still holding my head, "You know where Doc and Shifty are?"

"Doc went to the hospital for more supplies for both himself and Spina, and Shifty is on patrol with Babe," Malarky explained to me as he was rearranging the flowers on the window sill for me, "I'll let them know you're awake and you wanna see them."

"Thanks, Malarky." I thanked them, "I feel bad for scaring you boys."

"You petrified us, Kit." Bull explained bluntly, his voice was inching with pain. I knew this was going to happen, the others being mad at me for putting them through emotional shit like that. Most of them saw me along that bank with the German there, holding me there like a pawn and they could do nothing but watch. That made it worse, much worse for me. This was not what I wanted when it came to these men, putting them all through hell. Especially Ron, who was probably going through emotional hell at that moment. I had to find him and make sure he was okay since he was the one who tried to get me out of the patrol team that night.

"I'm sorry for putting you boys through that, but I wasn't going to let him hurt any of you." I explained to Bull calmly.

"So you would rather get yourself killed than one of us?" Bull asked, his voice was bitter and out of place though I stayed quiet. I knew where he was coming from, since it was the ultimatum of either my life or one of theirs.

"It's what I was supposed to do, Bull. I was supposed to protect you boys from being killed." I told him, but he shook his head.

"I don't think that's what any of us on that river bank were thinking, Kit. We were worried about our friend who was dying in front of us." He replied, not his voice was no longer bitter but a bit wavy because of the pain that was evident there. I understood then where he was coming from. Because of seeing one of their friends almost die and not in the best way possible. It was still mind-blowing to me that they considered me to be one of their own, one of the Easy soldiers. I should be beyond glad that I was not dead, but then again I still felt bad about how it affected them all.

"Sir." I snapped my head over to see who Garcia was talking to, having me heart drop to the put of my stomach when I saw who it was: Ron. He was standing in the doorway, looking right at me with bags under his eyes and a look of pure somber there. I was so glad to see him, and he looked glad to see me too.

"Come on, let's give them privacy." Malarky said to both Bull and Garcia, the three of them reluctantly moving away from me and shuffling out of the room. It left me there to be alone with Ron, who moved to close the door behind him and walk over to me slowly, almost as though he was afraid to move too fast to spook me. But I kept my eyes on him the whole time, not saying a word and seeing him eye me up and down to make sure I was okay. I didn't know what to say to him, or how to tell him what happened to me. He then slowly lowered himself to sit on the bed, having enough room where he wasn't going to touch me, but he then laced our fingers together and I felt the warmth again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me quietly, which scared me since it didn't sound like him at all.

"I'll be okay, Ron." I answered, yet he still looked sour about something that was in his mind. I watched him, seeing the pain there on his face as he was watching me. So I squeezed his hand, hoping to get whatever was haunting him out of him before it would get worse.

"What is it?" I asked him softly.

"The doctor examined you while you were still unconscious," He started with a gulp and an intake of his breath, "Your rib was splintered from what the officer did to you."

"Which is going to heal up soon I take it." I added, not knowing where he was going with this conversation and why he was looking so burdened.

"Kit, he saw that your rib was already damaged." He explained to me now, having me pause and eye him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" I questioned. Ron looked down and away from me since it seemed like the next thing he was going to say was going to make him want to vomit.

"Your rib already had some damage on it from what happened with you before you came to the war….and you know what I'm talking about." He said gravely, having me loose my own train of thought and cringe in my spot. He knew, he found out from the Doctor who examined me and found the evidence from the rape. Ron now knew what happened, and yet I was going to tell himself before the patrol went all haywire. How was he feeling about this now? He had to hear it from embody else, and not from me. That had to have been a slap in his face, and now my heart was breaking.

"That's what happened, with that man, wasn't it Kit?" Ron asked me quietly, our hands still connected and our stares at each other were intense, "He….raped you."

"Yes." I replied, since hiding it from him was no longer an option.

"Who was he?" Ron asked me, still looking more composed than I thought he would.

"He was my ex-fiance. We were engaged when it happened….and I haven't seen him since." I explained calmly yet I was holding onto my hand tightly to show that that be pained him, what he was hearing from me. I never wanted him to find out his way, but I had no other choice or way around it.

"You told me once, that you came to the war to get away from something…that he the reason?" Ron asked with his voice almost sounding shaky and uneven now since he looked like he wanted to cry from it all. This was a new side of him I never thought I would see since he was more of an intense force to be reckoned with.

"Mostly, but it also had to do with my mother trying to get me to go back to him." I explained calmly though he gave me a shock of anger from the news.

"She wanted you do go back?" He asked bitterly, "And she knew what happened?"

"No," I stammered out, since I wouldn't want him to hate on my mother for something she had no power over, "The only ones in my family that knew were my brothers."

"But still, she wanted you to fix it." Ron kept going.

"I would never go back to him, Ron. Nothing is going to make me go back." I promised him boldly now, since I could see him thinking about it his head and how sick it was that my mother would want me to try and fix something between Gerald and I.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" He asked me in wonder now though I bit my lip and tried to find a way to explain it to him.

"I was going to after the patrol, remember?" I asked him, seeing him think to himself again, "And I never wanted to really have that be the main topic of conversation anyways. I didn't want the others to only see me as a victim of rape, but see me as a soldier."

"You're more than that to the men, and to me." Ron explained calmly, rubbing my hand with his thumb and having me feel a chill go down my spine from the feeling.

"I know I am, but it was still something that I was afraid to admit what happened to me. It's not really a great subject matter any who." I countered back with him, seeing him scoot a bit closer to me on the bed, reaching up with his spare hand carefully to place it against my cheek, having me feel the calloused fingertip and palm there against my skin and I smiled at him. This was making this bittersweet moment that I was feeling in my chest became more of a content feeling and less of a burden, since Ron was not running to the hills from what he heard about me. I felt broken, shattered into a thousand pieces, and never good enough to be whole and to be with Ron. I knew he had sins of his own, but mine was overtaking me and making me feel worthless.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I felt like you wouldn't appreciated me if you knew what happened to me." I explained to him almost a broken manner, but he shook his head.

"I would never do that to you, Kit. Not in a million years." Ron reassured me, his face was now soft and no longer in pain as we were close enough to breathe each other in, "I'm only sad that it happened to you, and how it affected you."

"It doesn't affect me that much anymore, not as bad as it did before. Trust me, it used to be hell to be able to let someone get close to me, let alone touch me." I explained to him, seeing hie eyes go to his hand was on my neck and cheek.

"Am I am exception?" He asked.

"Of course, since I have the feeling that you would never do that to me. Ever." I answered, seeing him nod his head and lean over to kiss my head with such loving tenderness that it was going to make me cry. I felt his lips against my skin, the hand on my neck staying so gentle and still and the other hand clutching my hand having a possessive hold on me. I had to be able to accept that he wasn't going told what Gerald did to me, Ron would never do that. I knew him well enough to know that he was stern, but he was stern enough to be a good friend and a protective one. He held people close without showing it.

"I would never hurt you in any way, Kit. I care about you too damn much to see you get hurt again." Ron said against my head, still staying close to me and having me clutch his jacket with my spare hand and try to feel grounded and safe within his embrace that he had on me, "I only wish that I stopped it from happening."

"I know you would have." I murmured to him since my lips were touching his jacket then, "It's less painful now than it was before I came into the army."

"Really?" he asked me now, pulling away to look back at me right in the eyes.

"I think so. I have friends in Easy that are making it better to breathe every day, and less of a pain to wake up in the morning. And the girls in Wolf Company, I don't think I would have gone through training in one piece without them." I explained to him since it was all true. Without the support of both Easy and Wolf Company, I don't think I would have gotten through the whole war and the whole healing process without them and just having their company there for me to experience and feed off of.

"The doctor explained that you should no longer be in combat since you're still healing from both the stab wound and….the ex-fiance incident." Ron passed before mentioning it like it was a tooth he had to have pulled out of his skull. I eyed him since this was going to be another can of worm for me now.

"Really? What did Winters say about that?" I asked him.

"He's all for it. Winter's is calling your Captain and Sink to let them know." Ron answered.

"And what if Sink wants me to go back again? Apparently he thinks I'm indestructible." I advised him. Ron looked a bit more agitated when I brought up Sink.

"You're not going back on the line, even if Sink asks you to. The last thing this Company needs is to lose a good officer and soldier. He's going to have to realize that you're not made of steel." Ron replied back with the boldness back in his town, "And the doctor also said for you to stay in bed and not move around until we leave the city."

"Great, I hate staying still." I said in a bitter manner though Ron chuckled from my antic of throwing a small tantrum.

"You're gonna have to get used to it for the next couple of days, and I will make sure you don't move around too much." Ron reassured me with almost a stern tone, sounding a bit like a parent scolding a child.

"And how are you going make me stay in bed, I wonder?" I asked him coyly, seeing his grin spread wider on his face as he then leaned over to almost brush his lips against my own. He was making it far too hard for me not to lunge over and kiss him hard since I was away from him for far too long. But then again, I had to act professional and get my own shit together.

"I have my ways." He replied back to me with my lips as we then kissed in my bed. It was like a burden was lifted off of me, and like my eyes were seeing the light again. The fear of Ron not accepting what happened to me was far away from me now, and there was no sense of holding onto the past anymore when it came to seeking the approval of others and their acceptance.

He never saw me as more than enough for him, and I never had to worry about that anymore really.


February 12th, 1945

"I see your two cigarettes, and I'm going to raise it two more cause I think you're bluffing!" Luz commented to me as I grinned at him from my spot with my card in my hand. We were playing another round of cards with Christenson. Babe, Webster, and Shifty, which entailed me having me take placed on my legs delicately without killing me and the boys sitting around it to having some time with me.

After Ron and I had our moment alone, I was greeted by Shifty and Doc, whom both hugged me carefully and were sterner with me like big brothers would than happy to see me. Doc was the most concerned since he was acting like a mother hen with my bandage and making sure I didn't move around too much. It got to the point where I was going to shove him off of me if he poked me with his curious fingers one more time, but he got the message.

"You think I'm bluffin'?" I asked him coyly, my head still getting used to the taped gauze on my forehead and the smaller scratches from the patrol were fading now as Luz just winked at me.

"You think everyone is bluffing." Webster countered back with Luz.

"Ah, tis true dear Web. I think you all are bluffing." Luz retorted with his own version of an English accent. We all chuckled as I placed my hand in front of them all to be seen.

"Royal flush. I win." I said in victory as they groaned and I took the loot in the middle of the table.

"What gives, Kit? Since when do you play poker on the regular?" Christensen asked me as he was about to shuffle the cards to get another around going.

"Since I have three older brothers who wanted to corrupt their baby sister, in which they did." I replied back as he just eyed me with the look of suspicion back on his face.

"Never took ya as a poker lady anyhow." He commented though I stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled from my gesture,"Then again, you're kind of a tough cookie around here."

"Amen to that," Webster said in agreement as Christenson shuffled the cards some more,"What else did ya do with your family anyways, other than hunt and hustle people out in poker?"

"Let me think," I said to him as I leaned back in my bed, "My mom forced me to learn how to play the piano."

"Look at that, a renaissance woman right here in Easy, fellas! How about we get ya a piano and you play us some Beethoven or Mozart." Luz joked as he lit his own cigarette in his mouth.

"You wish, that was more like playing teeth. I learned classical music, but I had a knack for ragtime music." I explained to him as Christenson was passing out the cards for us to play.

"Ragtime? You can't be serious." Christenson said in almost a groan, but it was harmless really.

"Hey, it was either ragtime or more classical music, and by the time I was 12 years old, Classical music was spewing out of my ears." I replied back to him, the other chuckling from their spots around our makeshift table before we heard a knock on the door. We all looked even though Luz had to turn around in his seat as we noticed that it was Joe at the door, poking his head in. No one said a word and I was more shocked to see him than anything. But he looked at all of us, giving us a neutral face.

"Heya fellas, what are you up to?" He asked casually and with lightness there.

"Just playin' poker, though Kit here is kicking our asses." Luz answered him as he looked at his own hand of cards with a grimace.

"I was wondering' if I could have a moment to talk to her alone if that's okay?" Joe asked, politely, and with a small bit of awkwardness there. I was a bit shocked that he would want to talk to me alone, since the last time we spoke it wasn't pretty at all. In fact, I threw a knife at him to scare him. So this came out of left field, and the boys coughed awkwardly and started getting up from the table. Christensen grabbed the table from being on top of me. Babe was holding the cards in his hand as they were all leaving one by one and I was giving him a look to not leave me.

"I'll let Doc and Shifty know you're okay." Babe explained to me cautiously as I was really trying to tell him with my eyes that I wanted him to stay. It wasn't that I didn't trust Joe, it was just I that I had to real strength left in me to have another talk with him that could end in a spat. But Babe shrugged his shoulders, a small look of wonder on his face since he too had no idea what was going on.

"If you make her cry, swear to God I'll slug you." Luz playfully but also at the same time threatening tone to Joe as he passed him out of the room. Joe just grinned at him, though it looked like an award smile because he knew that Luz was also telling the truth. Even Webster eyed me, asking me with my eyes if I was okay. I nodded at him, seeing him give me a small smile.

Once the three of them left the room, after Christenson propped the table against the wall, Joe finally moved into the room and I saw something in his hand that made my see him in such a different light. He was folding a tin can, a medium sized one with one rather large flower in the tin itself. It was a gerber daisy, white and looked rather pristine compared to the rest of the room that we were in that was gray and depressing. Hell, it surprised me to see him with the flower as he walked over slowly with his own unique manner and going to be next to me. He looked rather awkward standing near me, but then he pointed to the chair that was closest to me that was once used by Babe minutes beforehand.

"Can I sit?" He asked, having me slowly nod my head as he then shot himself down on the floor and then looked at the flower with his brown eyes. I was still in awe of how simple the flower was, and, in fact, how beautiful it looked in the tin can and within his dirty calloused hands.

"Got ya this, but never got the nerve to give it to ya, you know?" He asked me sheepishly as he placed it on the nightstand since there was barely any room. I helped him get it placed on the surface since it almost toppled over, and I grinned at him kindly.

"It's beautiful, Joe." I complimented him, seeing him watch me now with the small sheepish smile on his face. I wanted to know what he was going through at that moment with his thoughts since I haven't seen him look this awkward in such a long time. He had an ego, a bit of an ego really since he was never one to show any kind of vulnerability compared to the others in our Company. So this was a new and somewhat scary thing for me to see.

"How are you doin' with your stitches?" Joe asked me, trying to have a casual conversation with me as he pointed to my side where I was still wrapped up. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It could have been worse." I explained to him lightly. He eyed me how in surprise.

"How?" He asked with wonder there on his face.

"Well, according to the doctor, if the knife was still in me for another minute or so, I would have bled out and died there on the bank," I explained to him softly, though his eyes were still on me the whole time as I was explaining this to him, "Thankfully the guy the shot before he would drive the knife into me more, and apparently I have Shifty to thank…and also you."

"Me…you're thanking me?" Joe asked, having me see that I was blowing his mind from the sheer notion that I was thinking him. I nodded my head as I folded my hands on my lap on the bed.

"Malarky told me that you helped Shifty take the shot. So, if you think about it, if it wasn't for you calling that shot to Shifty, I would be dead." I finished with the explanation, seeing him look dumbfounded and out of sorts there in his chair. This had to be a real first for the both of us, finding neutral ground for once in a good couple of months. We haven't been nice to each other since we helped each other in Market Garden, and ever since we were at each other's necks and not letting go. But for him to still look out for me and make sure I was still alive, that meant a whole lot to me.

"Are you trying to thank me or somethin'?" Joe asked me in a low manner, but he was sounding more shocked than anything.

"It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?" I asked him back, sounding a bit cocky to him and he slowly smiled at me. This was the typical Joe that I remembered joking around and playing cards with, and I was glad to see him back and in front of me.

"Well, you are a friend of mine….though I have been treating you real bad lately. I'm been a bit of an…." Joe trailed off, rubbing the back of his head as he then tapped the front of his jacket pocket to find his cigarette. He almost looked like he was about to stumble just trying to find his own stick. I reached over to the nightstand where the drawer was, fishing out the cigarette pack in there and holding out for him. He eyed it as he reached over, but I beat him to the punch.

"An asshole?" I asked to finish his sentence, seeing him give me a cocky smile as he fished out the stick and placed it in between his teeth.

"I was going for the term Dick, but we can call me an asshole if you want." Joe replied with the stick in his mouth, reaching into his pants pocket and lighting the stick there. He inhaled and turned his head to the side in order to exhale and not have the smoke near to me. What a gentlemen really, and I grinned as he faced me again, inhaling the smoke and leaning back in his chair casually now.

"I can go either way: Dick or Asshole." I reminded him, seeing him smile and exhale out of the corner of his mouth.

"And I can live with that. Hell, I deserve both titles anyway from the way I was treating you." Joe replied, "I wanted to apologize to you when you came back from patrol. What I said to you was completely shitty, and really uncalled for to be fair. I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine, Joe." I tried to reason with him, but he shook his head as he tapped his shoe on the floor, and I could see this was already eating away at him.

"I'm serious. I'm not really that great when it comes to being nice to people, let alone making friends that are not as cocky as me." Joe explained to me roughly as he inhaled one more through his stick. I felt kind of bad for him, since he knew how bold and cocky he was and how he was really trying to make himself feel better since he spat at me. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed another cigarette from the pack. He was about to say something when I grabbed the lighter from his hand, flicking it open and lit the end before inhaling. Joe eyed me with his smirk still on his face.

"You supposed to smoke with a busted rib?" He asked me with cocky attitude yet I exhaled and the smoke exited through my nose.

"You gonna stop me?" I threw another question at him, seeing him just grin and shake his head. After that we chuckled there in our spots. We were back on a good note between the both of us since we were back to being cocky. I needed this since the rest of the men were far too careful with me in case I was about to break into a thousand pieces. I could tell with Joe, I wasn't going to get that, not at whole lot at least. I was only glad things were starting to feel a bit more normal.

I only hoped things were going to get better for me in the end with this whole war.