Disclaimer: Hi, I don't own any of the franchise of Band of Brothers. I have the utmost respect for the men of Easy Company and all those that have served. I mean no disrespect to those men. This story is for entertainment purposes only and is based only off the portrayal of the actors from the miniseries. Only Anna Cohen and any other original characters that may crop up in this story are mine.

Till the End of the Line

Chapter 19: Close Call

"Rise and shine Lieb, you're needed back on the front lines." Chuck's sing song tone disturbed Joe's sleep and as he shifted, I too was woken up. Not that I'd slept well all evening with the cold and occasional shell explosions.

"God damn it Chuck, how can you sound so cheerful this early?" Joe grumbled as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and tucking the blanket, we had shared around me before he then pulled himself out of the foxhole.

"You got your rest, now I can get mine." Chuck replied his smile broadening as Joe groaned lighting up a cigarette and grabbing his rifle throwing it over his shoulder.

"Fine, keep an eye on this one, will you?"

"Sure thing, Annie will be totally safe."

"I think the pair of you will find I can take care of myself." I grumbled making the pair of them chuckle. If anything, at least they were both in higher spirits that what the entire mood of the front felt like. One of the worst things for morale now was pessimism, thoughts of never getting out of here let alone getting back home. "Be careful out there Joe."

Joe went off to the front of the line, leaving me with Chuck who took the opportunity of coming off the front lines to take a well-earned nap. I managed to catch a couple of minutes before Val came over ending her rounds and starting mine.

"Keep a closer eye on Babe." She said as she handed me over some spare morphine syrettes from her medical bag.

"Of course." I agreed after the death of his friend Julian, that he witness to, he'd not been himself. Who could blame him, no one would be the same? I'd constantly blame myself that it was my fault they'd died…hell when Marie died, I blamed myself for weeks.

"I don't think he's dealing with Julian's death."

"Can't really blame him, I don't think anyone would."

"How are your supplies?" I asked knowing full well we were still running low on near enough everything and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"Running low again, you?" Scrounging around for anything from bandages to tourniquets, it was a 'good' day when someone offered their own medical supply kit to us…but that just meant they couldn't aid themselves if we couldn't get to them.

"Pretty much the same, I'm worrying that if this continues any longer, we will be completely out of everything." I don't know what we would do if we completely ran out of supplies, it was something that kept me up at night along with the ever present bombings and screams for medics.

"I'm sure this will end soon Annie." She replied one of us had to be a little bit optimistic.

"Ever the optimist."

"Better than being pessimistic." She laughed before looking over her shoulder, I knew exactly who she was looking for Dike.

"I guess we better get back to it before Dike comes from nowhere and calls us out for talking." I said as she settled down into what was originally my place in the foxhole next to Chuck.

"That man is an idiot."

"You can say that again."

A couple cases of trench foot, a couple of mild colds and the occasional cut or queried broken finger that turned out to be a bruise hand. It was at least not someone bleeding out or a death, but that could all change in the blink of an eye. One bombing later and I was on my way to Bastogne to the makeshift hospital in the church.

"What's the situation on the front?" Matron asked as we approached the steps up to the church where she was currently sat looking rather tired and smoking.

"Bleak but everyone is doing their part. Everyone's hoping supplies will somehow make it to us." I replied as the poor sod who'd been hit mid shelling raid was carried into the church. Matron stubbed out his cigarette and stood up motioning for me to follow along.

"You can say that for here too." She muttered as we descended down the stairs to where the soldiers were being treated. Still packed to the rafters and with the French nurses who were running around treating everyone as best they could with the limited supplies, the limited space and the cleanliness of a field hospital.

"Are we even able to evacuate any of the casualties yet?" I asked there were definitely soldiers here that I had seen here for days on end…surely there was some way we could get them out of here and to get them proper medical attention.

"Not yet, we're completely surrounded this church is the only saving grace we have."

"But it won't be much good when the supplies run out."

"No, but even if that happens, we have to continue on, we cannot give up." She began on one of her motivational speeches…no matter what was thrown at us she would come up with some sort of speech to boost everyone's morale. "We have a job to do and no matter the circumstances we must do it. They are out there at the very front of the line risking their lives so that we can win this war, we need to make sure they put up a good fight and make it back home."

"I know."

"We cannot lose sight of our goal, even if it seems like we will never achieve it." She continued seeming to be even more motivated. "You're a good nurse; you'll be able to overcome any problems you come to face with."

"Thank you."

"Everyone needs a moral boost every now and again." She patted me on the shoulder before she went on to check on her patients. I spotted Doc Green at the back next to the altar sorting through supply boxes. I weaved my way through the makeshift beds and other debris on the ground to get to him.

"Hey Doc, how are things going here?"

"As best as I can make them Anna." He said as he stood back up and turned to me smiling. "How is the front?"

"Little bit colder, few more explosions throughout the day and night." I replied at least when you were on the back of the lines here you had the church to shelter in away from the cold. Bombs would still make it as far as here as shown by the decimated town, but the church still stood a safe harbour for all those who needed help. "Not exactly where you want to be, but I guess we have to be here."

"True, we've got to make the best out of this horrible situation."

"Anything I can help with while I'm back here?" I asked gesturing to the rest of the room, it would be rude to just appear with yet another person to take care of and scurry off with supplies.

"I'm sure there are several things."

The cases I'd been dealing with this morning paled in comparison to the torn and missing limbs, some of these men needed to be evacuated as soon as possible or they may lose their lives sooner than they were losing their limbs. And then things got worse as the ground began to shake…the bombs were dropping and they were dropping a hell of a lot closer to the town than they had before.

"Anna get as many people out of here as possible!" Doc Green yelled over the sound of the explosions, we were trying our hardest to move as many men to safety as possible hopefully the church would withstand this and we would be able to keep the field hospital there.

"What about you?" I asked him as everyone was running around trying to get as many people out as quickly as possible. Every now and again the walls and ground would shake, dust would rain down on everything…the one place that had lasted through this looked like it was about to come down on our heads.

"I'll be fine, get them out!"

"But…" Another shake and more dust came falling down, I couldn't leave him down here but nothing I could say or do would convince him out of here.

"Go now!"

"Anna, where is Doc Green?" As I came up out of the church holding half of a stretcher with a soldier with a severe head wound Matron came running over.

"Inside the church." I replied to her as a soldier took over carrying the stretcher allowing me to help up another.

"Right, get these men somewhere safe for now." She directed as she headed further towards the stairs down into the church.

"Where are you going?" I asked already knowing that she was going back in there to get Doc Green and this time he would be coming out of there.

"Saving the one competent man out here."

"Be careful!"

"You too."

I never thought I'd one day wish I was back in the foxholes, back in the snow and mud, but between the explosions and the fire out here I'd give anything to be huddled up through out this. I pushed my back further into the wall I was currently taking cover against as another plane flew overhead, more explosions rocked the ground. Thoughts raced in my head…what if I was never going to my family, or Val, Matron or Doc Green or…or Joe. Oh god what if I never get to see Joe again, and tell him…tell him I love him.

What felt like an eternity was mere minutes, but within those minutes pure destruction had occurred. The church that had stood as a safe refuge was nearly complete rubble, the houses that had somehow miraculously survived up until this point were no longer there. Fires burnt around everywhere causing thick plumes of smoke to hang in the air. A wall exploded near me the sound ringing in my ears, I shrank further back against the wall knowing I shouldn't, I should get away from here, get the others away from here, but my body betrayed me. Another explosion closer and another closer still, and suddenly I was pulled away from the wall as debris cascaded around me and the person who pulled me away from the wall. A shard of some of the debris grazed my cheek I felt blood start to slowly gather and fall out of the newly formed cut.

"Miss Anna?" hands lifted my head off of the floor, I was now staring into the eyes Gene Roe. "Are you alright?"

"Gene?" I thought for a second that he was the one that had pulled me away from the wall however Gene was in front of me now tending to the new cut on my cheek while the person who had pulled me out of danger still had an arm holding onto me. I looked to my left to find none other than Doc Green. "Doc?"

"Anna, we need to get up and get as many people away from here." He stated as he carefully pulled himself up and then once Gene was done with my face, he helped me up as well. "Help Doc Roe out here."

"What about Matron? Where is she?" I asked catching his sleeve and trying to tug him back for some answers.

"I'll get her don't you worry." And with that he disappeared into a cloud of dust and smoke, I turned back round to face Gene.

"Thank you for helping me."

"Don't mention it Miss Anna, just doing my job." He said with a small smile on his face, and then he glanced over towards the church. He was definitely worried about the Belgian nurse Renee; I hadn't seen her when Doc Green had ushered me out of the church so hopefully, she had gotten out to somewhere safe.

"She'll be safe Gene, don't worry." I reassured him finally getting up of the floor and getting my ass in gear, these men were counting on me to buck up and swallow down my fear to make sure they were all safe. It seemed after that last barrage of bombs that the worst was over, but that could change at the drop of a hat. What felt like mere minutes turned into actually being an hour as Gene and I worked with the jeep drivers to get as many people out of danger as possible.

"Annie! Annie!"

"Val?!"

"Oh, thank the lord on high you are alright!" she ran over pulling me into the tightest hug I had ever received in my life. Relief washed over me, knowing that she was alive made me feel hope for the rest of those still stuck in the foxholes in the forest.

"I'm glad to see you." I mumbled into her shoulder. "Is everyone else alright?"

"Everyone is still freezing their asses off in the forest."

"Oh, that's great news…well except the whole freezing thing, but I'm glad they are ok." Knowing that at least they were somewhat safe made me feel so much better now it was just a case of knowing that Doc Green and Matron were alright too. Once I knew that I wouldn't have this pit in the bottom of my stomach making me think something was wrong.

"Doc Green!" Val shouted near enough directly into my ear as she let me go out of her bear hug.

"It's good to see you all still well and alive." He said but something about his tone and the look on his face felt off, as if something had happened.

"I'm glad you are alright." Val said as she also brought him into a hug, maybe not as tight as she had brought me into.

"Did you manage to get to Matron?" I asked hoping that she would pop up at any second and reprimand us for some small thing that didn't really matter but would make it feel like this was all a normal day.

"Yeah where is Matron?"

"She…erm, she's not going to be with us anymore." He stuttered his hands smoothing back his hair before sitting at the base of his neck. Hearing those words made my heart drop, of all the people I didn't think this would happen to her.

"What you mean she's…" I couldn't bring myself to say she was dead, that was a thought, although common in the situation, that I couldn't piece together it couldn't be true.

"She can't be…"

"She's not dead no, just erm…she lost her arm…" He continued the words 'she's not dead' where such a relief, but then her losing her arm dampened that relief. The best hope now was that she would be able to be sent back home, but she would no longer be that rock we all could rely upon.

"Oh god."

"They've been able to open up a line to get the injured evacuated." Those words meant the world not only could Matron be evacuated so could every single one of the injured here today and however long we would still be in Bastogne. This could also mean we could get our much-needed supplies as well.

"So she'll be on her way home soon."

"We've got to see her before she goes. She's done so much for us." Val said grabbing my hand as Doc Green motioned for us to follow him. For the first time I really saw the destruction that had occurred here, all the buildings that were reduced to rubble. And then we passed the church where Gene was knelt at the caved in entrance holding a blue strip of fabric…the same that the nurse Renee used to where as a headband…she hadn't made it.

"Gene…I'm sorry." I let go of Val's hand who in turn stopped Doc Green from getting too far ahead as I knelt down next to Gene putting a hand on his shoulder. He squeezed my hand as he closed his eyes for a minute before tucking the fabric into his pocket and standing back up.

"I'll be fine." He mumbled giving me the smallest of weak smiles I had seen in days before nodding towards Val and Doc Green. "Go with them, don't worry about me."

"I'll see you later." He nodded before turning to go back towards where the jeeps had been pulling up from the forest. I returned back to Val and Doc Green on our journey to see Matron before she returned home.

"Will you stop fussing! It has gone, it is bandaged and it is clean. I am perfectly fine deal with the people who aren't" Even before we entered the tents, we could hear her, bossing around the other medics no matter what rank they were. When she saw the three of us her eyes lit up and her arms…her one good arm and her injured arm. "My girls, oh thank the lord you're both alright."

"We're glad to see you alive." I said as she brought us into a hug filled with so much love. Tears began to fall some of relief for everyone being alive, some of sadness knowing that she would no longer be here with us.

"So, so glad."

"Now girls, I won't be able to finish this journey with you." She began more tears came knowing that this will be the last motivational speech she would give us in person if at all. "Both of you are amazing nurses, you've overcome so much and dealt with everything that has been thrown at you. There is no doubt in my mind that you will all be fine with me out of the picture."

"I don't know how we will cope."

"You will I have faith in you." She reassured a big smile on her face before looking over at Doc Green. "Just make sure you look after the one of the only competent men for me. He's good at looking after others, but when it comes to himself, he seems to forget that his life is important."

"We'll make sure he returns home as well Matron."

"Make sure you the pair of you return home as well, I don't want to hear that you didn't make it back." She stated, "And also don't listen to what that idiot Dike says, follow the orders of a competent man."

"We will don't you worry."

"I'll miss you all so much, when this is all over and the three of you return home, come and visit me."

"I promise." And that was a promise I was determined not to break, no matter what.

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a long time I was hoping I would have a lot more time to be able to write, but I was wrong. I was hoping to get this chapter up for the 75th celebrations of VE day but I missed that goal. I hope you all are doing well despite the troubling time of living with COVID-19, I am fine and well and hopefully will be able to write a lot more now. I hope you enjoyed this story and will continue to enjoy the next chapters. Thank you so much for all your support.