"Flawless Abandon, Irrevocable Surrender"

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Band of Brothers' – mini-series OR the book nor do I intend ANY disrespect to the real men of Easy Co. All that is mine is Grace Grant and a deep, profound respect for the real heroes.

The sky was glowing blue when she woke up.

The first thing she noticed was how the ivory blanket draped on her appeared neon in the extremely early hour of dawn. The room was cool and she felt sore, achy; deep down and all over.

The second thing she noticed was his warm hand wrapped gently around her left one.

Curiously, and to her rooted amusement, her gaze blurred as she looked upon his sleeping figure, where he wore an exhausted and relaxed expression. Tears skipped down her face as she studied the purple smudges under his eyes and the days' worth of scruff on his jaw. She had woken up first again, she thought sentimentally. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever woken up to…before she had lost consciousness, she believed she would never see him again.

Her breath hitched audibly as his eyes fluttered open and landed on her.

His eyes turned glassy as he looked at her, at the tears skipping down her cheeks. Ignoring his instinct and refraining from enveloping her into an embrace, he silently held her gaze as he lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her skin. She sighed and he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears escape down his cheeks. Who did he have to thank for this blessing? How could possibly repay whoever made this possible…made her life possible?

Opening his eyes and leaning forward, his hand gently cupped her jaw. He opened his mouth to speak, but was at a complete loss as what to say. No words existed to explain accurately how he felt.

Instead, he looked at her and smiled.

She smiled back at him, tiredly.

"I love you too", he whispered softly, as he swallowed a wave of emotion, "you said you loved me before you closed your eyes that night…I didn't get a chance to respond."

Gently laughing, noting the pain in her abdomen, she put her hand on his, "Ron…"

He interrupted her smoothly, "are you alright? How do you feel?"

Taking a measured breath to assess her pain, she shrugged lightly, "I'm so tired, but I'm ok. I'm alive".

Smiling through tears, he nodded, "you are…thank God, you are".

She brought his hand to her lips and placed a kiss on his skin, "how long have I been asleep?"

"A few days", he answered as she sighed, realizing why she felt so groggy. "I missed you", he confessed.

"It happened so fast…I didn't think that…that this would happen", she started, trying to decipher what had happened when she was shot.

"You don't have to explain".

"He was in the middle of the road…he had killed those other officers", she remembered, "…one was a British Major, did you know that?"

He nodded, "I did…the privates who were with you told us everything".

"Boyle and Desmond", she murmured, "are they ok…are my men ok?"

"Everyone's fine".

"What happened to the replacement…what happened to him?"

"Handed over to the MP's", Ron stated evenly.

"Who found him?" she asked.

"Your men found him…I wasn't told who specifically".

"My men found him?" Ron nodded and she continued, her voice colored with a knowing tenor, "did they…"

Ron kept his eyes on hers, wanting to be honest, "when I got there, they had roughed him up".

Grace studied his face, knowing he was being generous with the term and understanding the restraint it had to have taken him to not severely harm or kill the man who nearly killed her. "How did you walk away?" she asked softly, wondering to herself if she could have done that if the tables had been turned.

"It took everything in me", he said simply, "everything. But I had to get back to you".

"Thank you", she murmured.

"Anything for you, I mean that". Ron leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers; Grace sighed into the gentle kiss.

"When you came to me…when I was on the ground inside OP2", she started after a moment of silence, remembering through the haze of that night what she had said, "…I had to see you, to speak to you…and I didn't even think about the men who were there and…"

"I know what you're thinking, and it's alright, I promise", he soothed, knowing for certain none of the men cared what she had said - only that she was alive, "love, you just woke up…you need to take it easy. Everything is alright…and the most important thing is that you're alright". After kissing her cheek, he looked at her and took a breath, unable to hold back his remorse any longer, "Grace…what I'd said earlier that day…please forgive me." His eyes studied hers, "I will marry you, I have always wanted only you. There is no one else for me in the world - no one. I love you, Grace". Grace's eyes filled with tears once again as she smiled at him. Ron continued after taking a deep breath, "I have almost lost you too many times to count." He frowned as his gaze blurred again, this time while he focused on the ring adorning her left hand, "how are you still here with me?"

"Because I love you", she whispered. "I love you…and it's ok, it's ok what you said".

"It's not", he clenched his jaw.

"Ron…"

"No, its…it's not ok", he breathed shakily, his hand lightly dragged down her neck, and then pulled away. "I did not mean what I said…I was terrified at the prospect of you jumping on Japan", he began unsteadily, looking over her face, "Grace…I don't deserve you." She frowned and in reaction, leaned forward, which caused her to wince in pain. "Please don't hurt yourself", he fretted. "I'm sorry…Jesus, I'm always sorry…I'm always apologizing to you…I'm always hurting you…in one way or another." She was shocked as she listened to the desperation in his quiet voice, "this isn't fair to you…I have not been fair..."

"Ron, you listen to me", she sternly spoke, "none of this is your fault…none of it."

"I sent you down to the hospital…I put you in the line of fire…"

"Stop it", she commanded in a calm voice, "This is not on you. We could not have predicted this…please don't say that…please." They intensely gazed at one another as she continued, "I'm here and I'm ok. And I am here with you…I'm here with you because I want to be." She looked into his eyes, onto his features as she squeezed his hand, "I love you".

"I love you too", he breathed, "you know that?"

"I do", she nodded confidently, "and I know that you have to stop blaming yourself for everything that happens to me…especially this. We are in this together. Please don't pull away from me…not after everything we've been through".

Ron bit his lip to keep it from trembling, "I won't…I'm here, love…I'm not going anywhere". They smiled at one another again, their postures relaxed. He leaned forward again and kissed her softly, "I'm supposed to be taking care of you, not keeping you awake…"

"Don't worry about it", she assured, "I don't think I could sleep now if I tried".

"Are you in pain?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, but it isn't unbearable", she clarified.

"You should try to sleep".

"I'd feel better if you were lying next to me", she whispered.

He smiled tenderly, "I don't want to hurt you…"

"You won't, I promise", she began to shift her body to make room on the full-sized bed for him.

"Be careful", he commanded, "please don't hurt yourself". Wincing slightly, she gently righted the blankets and looked to him as he got in bed with her, using great care as to not shuffle her. He remained still and allowed her to curl herself around him. Before she had woken up, they had disconnected most of the lines and tubes that were in her…all she had left was an I.V. for fluids. They laid comfortably together, breathing in and out in the stillness of the morning, watching the sun begin its rise in the East. After a while, he felt her shift, then hiccup. He grew alarmed then, realizing she was crying. "Grace?" his worried voice soothed.

"I'm sorry", she whispered.

"Don't be sorry, it's alright", he assured, "are you ok?"

"Yes", she breathed. "…I was so scared", she murmured after a second.

His heart fell through his chest at her small voice, "oh, Grace…I know." He carefully cradled her, feeling her try to push herself closer to him, "be gentle with yourself".

"I want to be closer to you", she hiccupped again.

"I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere…you need to let yourself heal". He scooted closer, his fingers dragging through her hair, "I was scared too". He happily admitted that fact; he had encountered that crippling fear more than once. "I was terrified, everyone was…but Doc Roe got you the help you needed. You're here, and I am not going anywhere".

Oooooooooooooo

A few quiet and peaceful hours later, the sun had come up and Ron needed to go to report for morning drills with their company. He fidgeted slightly in the bed, not wanting to wake her or leave her.

"I know you're awake", she whispered, a smile in her voice, "I can feel you moving".

Ron smiled, "I don't want to leave".

"You have drills to lead, Captain".

He sighed, unsurprised that even wounded and mending, she knew what was going on, "you are correct, Lieutenant".

Squeezing his torso with her arms with what strength she had, she sighed in response. "What do you think it will be like when we don't have drills and no one to refer to us as 'Captain' or 'Lieutenant'?"

He smirked, dragging his fingers through her hair, "I can't wait to find out", he whispered, "although, I may refer to you as Lieutenant for the rest of our lives".

He felt her begin to giggle, then breath slowly to stop herself, "that's ok with me, Captain". Gingerly, she sat up with Ron's help, "it hurts to laugh", she commented.

"I'll make sure Luz doesn't come to see you until you're healed", he snarked.

She held her hand out on his chest, "don't make me laugh", she smiled.

"I apologize", he murmured.

"I don't want to know how it will feel if I sneeze", she wondered aloud as he carefully climbed out of her bed and righted his BDU's.

"Are you ok? Do you want me to send someone over to you for the morning?" he asked, gauging her appearance. Her skin had gotten its color back, her bandages had been changed and she was beginning to look like herself.

"I can manage the morning alone", she nodded, "say hello to the men for me….never thought I'd be jealous of them doing morning drills".

"I know what you're thinking…but you have to stay in bed for now at least. We can talk to Doc Roe and Doctor Kemp about when you can come back to CP", he said in a measured voice, leaning down to kiss her.

"I ran Currahee a week after getting a bullet through the shoulder", she reminded him.

"And you tore your stitches doing it".

"They tore when Sobel made me run the training course…twice".

"Don't make me order you to stay in bed", he playfully warned.

"You can order me to do that all you want when I get discharged back to CP", she countered, grinning.

"I know you're feeling better because you're torturing me". They smiled tenderly at one another when he made his way to the door, "I love you".

"I love you", she whispered back.

"Door open?" he asked, lingering in the doorway.

"Sure", she nodded, smiling at his face, then watched as he retreated down the corridor.

Taking a measured breath, Grace lifted her hospital gown to look at the bandage around her waist. She softly placed a hand on her wound, feeling the dull ache there that was beginning to grow. Soon, she would need more pain medication.

It felt like a terrible dream, really. She could not believe that had actually happened - it was so quick. But here she was, evidence of the incident.

Outside she could hear a few jeeps and some masculine voices. She wished then that the hospital was closer to CP and the men's barracks…what she would give to hear all of them doing drills outside. She was a terrible patient, she knew this about herself.

She studied her single room: the I.V. stand on her right, a large chair on her left; there were four other chairs pushed against the far wall by the door - no doubt some of her men had visited her and dragged in other chairs. At the foot of her bed was a table with a pitcher and a glass of water. Grace choked up when she saw nearly a dozen little glasses lined up with a variety of small flowers balanced in them. She smirked, recognizing the flowers from those outside OP2 and down near the lake. The men must have picked them and come up here.

"Lieutenant Grant?" an accented voice spoke gently from the door.

"Yes?" Grace responded, looking at the older man in slacks and a sweater.

He walked in a few feet, smiling softly at her, "I am the surgeon who worked on you. I am glad to see you awake".

Grace wondered when the hospital acquired a German surgeon; she had assumed that Doctor Kemp had received her that night. "Doctor, thank you very much", she said gratefully.

"Doctor Weiss", he clarified, "I was told by your medic that you should be waking up and I wanted to check your progress myself".

"Doctor Weiss", Grace smiled, greeting him. Understanding from his words that he wasn't actually assigned here, she asked anyway to be sure, "you don't work here?"

"No, no…your captain was adamant that you received the best care", he said, smiling shyly and Grace noted to herself to ask someone how they got this doctor. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore", she responded, "but other than that, I'm fine…considering the circumstances."

"Good, good. I will make a note with the doctor here to have a nurse give you pain medication to help with the soreness". He smiled again, nodding, "it was good to meet you, Lieutenant, you will make a speedy recovery".

He made to leave her room and Grace called out to him, "Doctor Weiss…thank you. Thank you so much".

"It was my pleasure, Lieutenant", he nodded, then walked away.

Grace was left with her thoughts and questions then…but not ten minutes later, Gene came into her room, knocking on her door softly, interrupting her train of thought.

"Grace? How are you? How are you feeling?" he asked, his eyes skipping over her form.

"I'm ok, Gene, I'm sore but I'm ok", she said, smiling, "it's good to see you".

He smiled back, "I must say, it's good to see you too, Lieutenant, you had us worried".

"Yes", she nodded, "…didn't see that one coming".

"Nobody does", he answered. "I'm here to give you some pain medication".

"Thank God", she breathed, "it's beginning to get annoying."

"I bet", he laughed gently as he pushed a syringe into the thin tube connected to her arm.

"Thank you, Gene", she said sincerely, "for helping me that night. There's no other medic I wanted to see more".

"Don't mention it, Lieutenant", he bashfully shook his head and Grace smiled, knowing this was the most he was going to take as far as 'thanks' went.

"I met the German doctor", she announced after a beat, realizing that Gene could answer her questions.

"He came in here?"

"Just before you did, he said he was the one who worked on me. I assumed Doctor Kemp had been here".

Gene shook his head, "Doctor Kemp had been off duty that night…it was another doctor, I didn't know him, he took one look at you and said he couldn't do anything…that there was no hope".

"Jesus, are you serious?"

He nodded gravely, "oh yes".

At his silence, Grace shrugged, ignoring the ache in her side at the movement, "well then, what happened? How did you manage to scrounge up a surgeon?"

"I'm not sure if I should go into it", his voice lowered as he looked at her, then sighed, "Captain Speirs and Talbert loaded you onto the jeep right after…Talbert went with the men and I went with Speirs. We went to a few places he knew of, he ended up getting the surgeon's name and address from someone." Grace knew the holes in Gene's story were code for 'he threatened anyone and everyone for information'. "He drove the jeep to the surgeon's house and took him here".

"That simple, huh?" she smirked sarcastically.

"No", Gene answered and left it there. "Alright, you know the drill - no heavy lifting, no running, jumping, any of that until you get the all-clear from Doctor Kemp."

"When do you think he'll clear me for discharge so I can go back to CP?"

"If you're good, maybe in as little as two weeks", he guessed.

She pursed her lips, not liking that answer, but not about to argue with it like the rest of her men would. "Thanks, Doc, for everything…thank you".

"Absolutely, Lieutenant", he nodded, making his way to the door, "if you need anything, you call on me". She nodded back to him and he smiled, "I'll make sure to send your regards to the men".

"Thank you".

"Don't mention it".

Oooooooooooo

The pain medication that Doc Roe had given her knocked her out soon after and she awoke to a knock on her door a few hours later.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Grant?"

Grace rubbed her eyes and looked to the door as she sat up, swearing internally at the pulling she felt from her abdomen. "Yes?"

The young orderly walked in, a hat-box-sized package in his arms, "package for you, Lieutenant, from the states".

"The states?" she murmured.

"Yes ma'am", he said, "um…is on the bed alright?"

Grace nodded absently, looking bewildered at the box, "thank you". The orderly said his thanks and left, leaving her alone.

She recognized the box. The last time she had seen it, it was in her father's first office at the airfield hospital in England in 1940.

For a few minutes, she simply stared at it. It looked the same, no stains or wear and tear. The hat box had been her mother's; her father had taken to using it as a keepsake box. She wondered if it still smelled the same.

On top, there was a letter addressed to her from the airfield.

Attn: First Lieutenant G. Grant
101st Airborne, 2nd battalion, Company E.

Lieutenant Grant,
I hope this letter and its accompanying package finds you well. It was only able to be sent now that the war in Europe is over and the lines of communication are open.
Enclosed are your father's possessions as well as some of your brother's that were left at your old station in England.
We tried to locate them, but were saddened to hear they were no longer with us. I cannot, however, say that I am surprised to see you are a First Lieutenant for the American Paratroopers. I remember you fondly from the hospital where your father first worked in England in 1940.
I heard of your battalion and company's contribution to the Battle of the Bulge, and I must say, I am happy you made it through.

Wishing you the best of luck,
Major B. Culpepper, PhD.

Grace was touched. She remembered Doctor Culpepper - he was the head of the hospital that she first worked at with her father while Chuck was training with the RAF. He was a sarcastic man who she found delightfully refreshing. She was amazed that he had kept this box over all these years; she would have to write him back to thank him.

Gently, she untied the sturdy string from around the box and opened the lid. Inside were a few papers that Grace determined were of legal matters, one was even her father and mothers' wedding license.

Beneath the papers were some photos. Grace gasped as she pulled one out. She remembered taking this one. It was the summer of 1939, Chuck was getting ready to go to England. They were in Lew's backyard - the three of them: Chuck, Grace, and Lew. She was in a skirt and sweater in the middle posing with her tongue out at the camera and her arms around both of their shoulders. Chuck was on one side of her with one arm around her and one holding a football, and Lew was on her other side with his arm around her and he was looking at her and smirking.

God, they looked like kids in this picture. Grace shook her head, knowing that looking at this now was bizarre, with the way things had turned out, she never could have predicted this.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if any pictures of her and Ron together existed. They had so many 'normal' habits to catch up on whenever they rejoined society.

Over the next hour, she poured over all of the photos and items in the box. Everything triggered a memory of some sort. There were ribbons and old coins, keys to her father's car and a key to Lew's summer home. Once she had been through it all, she was overwhelmed and exhausted, and the need to stand up and stretch her legs was intense.

She put the items back into the box and shut it, using her foot to push it aside. Gingerly swinging her legs to the side of her bed, she planted her feet on the cool ground. Gradually, she shifted her weight from the bed to her legs, her hands grasping the mattress. Biting her lip at the dull ache from her muscles working, she managed to stand. Her thoughts suddenly jumped to Bill and Toye, and she imagined them getting used to life without a leg. She was lucky she was alive. She grinned then, knowing that even down a leg, Bill and Toye had probably raised hell at the hospital they were at.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a low voice questioned from the doorway.

Grace looked up to Lew, the smile on her face meeting the raised brow on his, "I'm tired of sitting in that damn bed all day".

Lew watched her, ready to pounce should her balance waver, "I heard you just woke up today, how are you sick of being in bed?" He made his way into the room, "it'd be nice to have a break and get to lie in bed all day, I don't know what you're complaining about".

"You think so, huh?" he nodded at her, "well, get shot". Lew barked a laugh, "too soon?" she questioned.

"Looks like you're feeling better", he said.

"I'm glad I'm awake, I don't like being out for that many days".

"I'm happy you're ok", his voice was serious and Grace looked to him.

She nodded, "me too".

Lew smiled tightly at her, then walked towards her, "come here…wait, no - scratch that - I'll come to you", he held his arms out and gently held her to him, "don't scare me like that again, kid".

"I know…I'll try not to".

"I know", he nodded, "I love you, Gracie".

"Love you too, Lew", she murmured against his chest.

Thank you to all who have reviewed so far!

Let me know what you think of this one.

Next chapter is in the works.

xoxo