That night we received shelter in the church. It felt incredibly odd, being back indoors for the first time since December. Liebgott stuck close to me, looking around at the Catholic church. Malarkey led the way into the church and made a bee-line for the front alter. He kneeled the second he got there and bowed his head into his hands.

"I'll be right back," I told Liebgott, going over to the alter to officially pray for the first time in what felt like years. The statue of Jesus Christ on his cross looked down at me with passive eyes. I dropped my gaze and closed my eyes. I could hear Malarkey mumbling his prayers out loud.

I prayed for the remainders of Easy Company, for the end of the war, for my family back in Alabama. I added Guarnere and Toye to my list, asking God to guide them safely to home to the States. And then I finally prayed for Skip and Penkala, telling God that I knew that my brothers were up there with Him. I added Faye Tanner to my list at the end. If I felt this bad about Skip dying, I couldn't imagine how she would feel when she found out.

Did she even know?

I finished praying and left Malarkey there. When he finished, he would come back. I went to the pew where Liebgott was sitting by himself. I glanced around and saw that Luz was praying in the front pew. I sat down beside Liebgott and slumped into the seat.

"We're moving out tomorrow," Liebgott said in a hushed voice. Men were starting to settle down for the night. I spotted Martin already sprawled out on the pew across from us; his eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply.

"Where to?" I asked quietly.

"I think it was called Hagenau," He said, a frown on his face. Liebgott got a small dimple between his eyebrows when he frowned. I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed it before now, given all the time that I had stared at Liebgott's face.

Just admitting that to myself made me feel like I was breaking some sort of rule.

I clearly remembered Sink's warning about joining Easy. He wouldn't allow me to have any kind of romantic relationship. The man could get distracted during battle and his priorities could change from fighting the enemy to protecting me. An image of that morning filled my head: Liebgott getting held down by the men across the way because he was going to come after me...

Liebgott already cared deeply for me, I realized. More deeply than I had even thought about. Remembering how we made first met, I found it almost amazing that we were now as close as we were now. But was our relationship deeper than that? I'd be lying to myself if I tried to tell myself that I didn't feel anything for him. I remembered how frightened I had been when that bullet had grazed Liebgott's neck, probably the same terror he felt when Dike pushed me into the fray.

Luz had been suggesting my feelings for Liebgott for a while now, ever since we saw Liebgott get hounded by those Dutch girls. But how long had Luz known? Since our experience with the Dutch, since Aldbourne, before then? I stole a glance at Liebgott; he had stretched out his long body so that his feet were underneath the pew in front of us. His head was leaning back, the back of it resting on our pew. He was trying to sleep, but was still in the position so that if I left, he'd be able to know.

Luz plopped down in the seat right next to me, finally finished with his praying. Malarkey was still at the later praying. Luz pushed back his dark hair out of his eyes and rubbed his face, looking tired for the first time since we left the forest. When he looked down at me, I caught him glancing quickly between me and Liebgott. I leaned in closer to him, so that Liebgott wouldn't be able to hear.

"How long have you known?" I asked Luz as quietly as possible.

Luz blinked. "I noticed it after that very first drop. He was looking at you differently. And then I saw how you looked at him. Didn't take me long to figure it out."

"Does anyone else know?" I asked.

"Not that I know," Luz glanced around at the men sleeping in the pews. He hesitated before saying, "Skip knew. He said that Liebgott looked at you the same way he looked at Faye."

Just the thought of Skip knowing about my affection for Liebgott felt like a punch in the stomach. Unlike Luz, Skip was never one to point out something that could make others uncomfortable. It made sense that he wouldn't have brought it up. But it still added a new hurt to Skip's name. I sighed and leaned back, trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. I was just an inch away from touching Liebgott. Luz saw this and stretched out, pushing me towards Liebgott. That inch gap was suddenly gone.

I cast a glare at Luz but he just shrugged before yawning and closing his eyes. I closed my own eyes, allowing myself to relax with my side pressed against Liebgott. His body shifted until we were both pressing ourselves against the other.

The next morning, we were sent out via military trucks. I sat between Malarkey and Luz, Liebgott sat right across from us. Every now and then I found myself glancing over at him, my eyes drawn to him like magnets. Some times I would think that he was glancing at me too, but I was never sure.