Disclaimer: I own nothing of Band of Brothers and the images I used, just my characters and story. In addition, I meant no disrespect to the real soldiers of Easy Company and I apologize for any mistakes whether it be historical inaccuracies or punctuation/grammar.

Thank you seeingthroughtheblack, jjbroadway,weredog, Twilight-lover106, mateopotato, and uzumaki49 for following and favoring!

Normandy, France: 1944

The night grew cold and dark as Winters, Hall, and Eliza continued their trek into the forests of Normandy. The trio had few encounters with the Germans but luckily were able to escape without any apprehensions. Even though the darkness of the night and the woods provided easy concealment, the soldiers were careful of their steps since dead foliage covered the ground. Unfortunately, this task was difficult for Eliza since her sprained ankle prevented her from moving swiftly such as Winters and Hall. Not only was Eliza's sprained ankle an issue, but the deep gash at the side of her abdomen became very painful whenever she moved. It was excruciating for Eliza to continue walking with the men. However, she couldn't risk asking support from one of the men or stop to take a break since the Germans were nearby. So, with a straight face, Eliza ignored her pain and followed Winters and Hall.

As the group walked further into the forest, Eliza became dizzy from blood loss, while the pain from her sprained ankle became too agonizing for her to walk. While Winters and Hall were scanning the area for enemies, Eliza leaned onto a trunk of a tree for support and closed her eyes to relieve her dizziness. However, due to the lack of rest, Eliza fainted as her body loudly thudded onto the ground.

The loud sound alerted the two men, as Hall pointed his rifle towards the direction of the noise, prepared to shoot, while Winters took his knife out. As their eyes scanned the area, they saw Eliza on the ground, unresponsive.

With haste, Winters knelt down onto the grass and settled Eliza in a sitting position, while a nearby tree trunk supported her. With fear and concern plastered on Winters's face, he quickly examined Eliza to make sure that a bullet was not the cause of her fall. With a sigh of relief, Winters didn't find any bullet wounds on Eliza. However, relief was short-lived as Winters discovered the reason for her collapse, as he looked at his hand stained with blood in the pale moonlight. Examining Eliza's abdomen, Winters found her former white bandage soaked with blood. As he looked at the extent of her wound, Winters cursed himself for not noticing that Eliza was becoming weak from the strenuous walking. Winters knew how Eliza was stubborn, which was not a surprise for him that she would ignore her pain so that the trio could reach the assembly area. Winters admired Eliza for her selflessness, but he was also upset that she would willingly place herself in danger for others since it broke his heart to see her suffer.

"Is she all right sir?" Hall questioned with worry, breaking Winters's reverie.

"I'm not sure Hall, she fainted from exhaustion and blood loss. Do me a favor, watch the area while I tend to her wounds," Winters stated as he searched Eliza's pouch for sulfa and gauze.

"Will do sir," Hall answered, turning his back away from the pair and patrolled the area, making sure there was no indication of the enemy.

While Winters covered Eliza's gash with sulfa, he couldn't help but remember the time he also tended her wound when she fell from running Currahee. With a smile on his face, Winters wrapped gauze around Eliza's stomach. However, the sudden movement roused Eliza from her unconsciousness. As she lifted her head, settled on the rough exterior of the trunk, Eliza saw that Winters was in the midst of wrapping gauze.

"What happened?" Eliza whispered as she fixed her posture so that Winters can properly attend to her injury.

"You fainted, Eliza, you should have told me your injury was this bad," Winters responded with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be a burden, especially when the Germans are close by," Eliza mumbled as she lowered her head in shame.

"You're not a burden, nor will you ever be one," Winters answered with a small smile, as he finished dressing Eliza's wound.

"We should get going, don't want to get caught by the Germans," Winters continued as he helped Eliza stand up. When she was in an upright position, Winters grabbed Eliza's arm and hauled her onto his back. From the sudden act, Eliza had no time to object, as she laid on Winters's back, his arms supporting her while she grasped onto his neck.

"What the hell are you doing Dick?" Eliza shrieked into his ear.

"You can't continue walking with a sprained ankle and a large gash on your stomach, it's the reason why you fainted in the first place," Winters pointed out as he walked to catch up with Hall, who was preoccupied with patrolling the area.

Eliza was about to object since she didn't want Winters harmed while carrying her. However, another wave of dizziness hit Eliza, and before going into unconsciousness again, Eliza whispered, "Thanks Dick, for always taking care of me."

After several more hours of walking, Eliza slowly opened her eyes and raised her head from the comfort of lying onto Winters, hearing him joking with Hall.

"We're not lost, private. We're in Normandy." Eliza was glad to be awake for the

"Oh, Corporal Clark, you're awake now. How are you feeling?" Hall muttered with a smile, as he walked with Winters by his side while having his rifle ready in his hands.

"I'm fine now, thank you for asking, Hall. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I prefer my first name, Eliza than Corporal Clark or ma'am since it's too formal, " Eliza replied with a smile of her own.

"Well, if only you call me John, ma-Eliza." At Hall's response, Eliza happily nodded her head towards him.

"Dick, you don't have to carry me all the way to the assembly area. I'm okay now," Eliza whispered into his ear, now diverting her attention to the red-haired man that was gently carrying her.

Winters was about to state his disagreement. However, a loud noise alerted the trio, so Winters gently placed Eliza down to hide among the shrubs. After several minutes passed by watching the other side of a small river, Eliza and the men saw a soldier stepping out and walking to their side of the river, recognizing that it was an American paratrooper.

"Who's that?" Winters whispered as his pale blue eyes stayed on the trooper.

"I think it's Lip," Eliza answered, which she was right when Lipton uttered,"Lieutenant Winters? Eliza?"

Eliza, Winters, and Hall met with Lipton and two other paratroopers, as they knelt down to exchange information.

"Any weapon?" Winters whispered to Lipton.

"No sir, as soon as I hit that prop blast, so long leg-bag; all I got is this knife and some TNT, these 82nd boys got their M-1s, though," Lipton answered, while the troopers for 82nd diverted their attention to Hall, who exclaimed," Oh man, 82nd, Where the hell are we?"

"Sir, I saw a sign back thataways, it said, Sainte-Mère-Église."

At the mention of the sign, Eliza and the men were glad to have some indication of where they were in a place they barely knew about because even with maps on hand, it was difficult to navigate through the woods in the dark.

"Flashlight? Raincoat?" Winters asked, which Lipton gave his flashlight and obtained a raincoat from one of the men in 82nd.

After several minutes of looking at the map under the raincoat, Winters informed," We're about seven kilometers away from our objective and only four hours away from when we need to have it secured."

"So, we got a lot of walking ahead of us. You, men, will stick with us until we find your unit," Winters continued, while Eliza cursed under her breath at the mention of walking so much. With a plan, Eliza and the men quickly packed their things and started on their trek.

While Lipton was notifying the men from 82nd of their objective, Winters quickly went to assist Eliza. However, Eliza immediately held her hands up to stop Winters.

"Dick I'm fine, I can walk on my own," Eliza stated as she reassured Winters by limping beside him.

"All right but I'm keeping a close eye on you so you won't faint again," Winters reluctantly agreed since he knew that Eliza was too stubborn.

Hours after walking onto a clear road, Eliza and the men saw a railroad up ahead. As they grew nearer, the group saw several soldiers.

"Flash," Winters exclaimed as he slowly walked first, while Eliza and the rest of the men followed.

"Thunder!" A chorus of men responded, glad to find another group of paratroopers.

"Lieutenant is that you?" Guarnere asked while Winters nodded his head in response and greeted Malarkey.

"Glad to see you, sir. Hey fellas, is everybody okay?" Guarnere continued, as he scanned over the group.

"Yeah we're all okay, except for Eliza, she sprained her ankle and got a large gash on her stomach," Lipton informed him, the two being the last to appear since Eliza was holding Lipton's arm for support.

"What the hell happened to ya? The Krauts got to ya?" Guarnere questioned with concern, as he quickly walked assist Lipton in supporting Eliza.

"Nope, as a matter of fact, my injuries were caused by landing in the trees," Eliza answered, after thanking him for helping her.

"Guarnere!" Winters called, shortening the conversation between Eliza, Lipton, and Guarnere.

"Well, I better go and see what the Lieutenant wants, but it's good to see you, Stardust," Guarnere stated, which he then called for Toye to help Eliza.

"You too Bill," Eliza replied, giving him her signature smile.

Eliza and the men continued walking along the tracks, with Hall and Guarnere at the front leading while Eliza was at the back of the group, with Winters carefully watching her. As the group neared a tunnel, they began to hear the neighs of several horses. Suddenly, Hall raises his arm and the entire group halt, as Winters runs up and peers over a fence. With haste, Winters signals the men to take cover on the side of the railroad. Once they were all hiding behind a concrete partition, the men prepared their firearms to shoot from Winters's command. However, when the Germans appeared, Guarnere suddenly fired his weapon. Soon, the rest of the men shot their guns, until every German and their horses were dead. Meanwhile, Eliza stayed where she was, shutting her eyes and covering her ears from the loud sounds emitting from their weapons. When it was over, Eliza saw the lifeless bodies of Germans and horses, with blood, covering the whole area. The sight had haunted Eliza to the core since she knew that war would entail many deaths, but witnessing it was a much different situation.

"That's enough Guarnere! Everyone okay?"

"Yes, sir," The men answered as they scan the area to make sure the noises of their weapons didn't alert more Germans, while Eliza came out of her cover and joined the rest of the men.

"Next time I say wait for my command, you wait for my command, Sergeant," Winters sternly stated to Guarnere, since his action could've cost severe consequences.

"Yes, sir," Guarnere answered with the same tone, as he knew that Winters had no right to reprimand him for killing the Germans.

Within a few seconds of the end of their conversation, Eliza and the men were alerted at the shot of a gun, turning their heads to the sound and fearing the worst. However, they saw Toye killing a horse out of mercy. Eliza sighed in relief, grateful that it wasn't one of them to be injured, though she was sad that the innocent horse had died. When it was all clear, the men continued scavenging the Germans for supply, Lipton handing Winters a German rifle and Eliza, a combat knife.

"Just in case, I know medics don't usually carry a weapon, but it's better than your scissors," Lipton stated, knowing that it was best for Eliza to be armed.

"Thanks, Lip," Eliza responded as she accepted the knife since she chose not to carry a weapon. However, the few close encounters had shown her how helpless she was.

"What's that guy's problem?" Hall asked as he looted, which caught Eliza's attention.

"Gonorrhea," Malarkey responded while checking the bodies of the deceased Germans.

"Really?"

"His name, dummy. Guarnere, Gonorrhea, get it?"

"So besides having a shitty name, what's his problem?"

"None of your fucking business, cowboy!" Guarnere shouted, having enough of Hall's questioning.

However, Hall was not the only one curious as to why Guarnere was acting out. So when the men finished rifling and continued walking at the orders of Lipton, Eliza seized the opportunity to talk to Malarkey alone.

"Hey, Don, what happened with Bill?"

"You don't know?"

"C'mon Don, if I knew, I wouldn't be asking you."

"Well, I heard his brother died at Cassino."

At those words, Eliza sadly sighed since she understood Guarnere, for she knew the pain of losing someone close. So, Eliza thanked Malarkey and continued walking with the men in silence, as she couldn't help but think about her mother.

Soon, the night became day as the sun slowly tinted the land with its orange rays. As they continued walking, the unit came across a marsh-like area, with many insects buzzing around. Fortunately, the trek through the marsh was short, as the group reached to more green lands. Nearing a burned down farm, Winters cautiously stopped the unit, calling Lipton and Wynn who recently joined them to inspect the area. When it was declared to be clear, the men and Eliza walked to pillage from the dead. Limping closer, Eliza was appalled to see the dead paratrooper hanging from the tree.

"Hey Stardust, you okay?" Toye asked, concerned from Eliza's horrified face.

"That could've been me," Eliza whispered, as she stood still staring at the body with haggard eyes.

"C'mon Stardust, it won't do you any good to continue staring," Toye stated as he gently placed his hands on her shoulder, to move her away from the horrid sight.

Eliza was not the only one to be stunned as McDowell, a man from the 82nd, kept his eyes on the dead paratrooper, only for his reverie to be broken by Lipton. As the group collected ammo and supplies, loud sounds from planes flying above them alerted that the landings have started. So the group quickly packed their things and proceeded their walk to the assembly area. While the men walked in silence, Eliza couldn't help but keep her mouth sealed, when she knew that the man who was walking next to her was suffering.

"It's tiring to see the same pitying looks from everyone, isn't it?" Eliza whispered because, from experience, she knew how condescending it was.

"Yeah it is, how do ya know?" Guarnere asked, surprised that Eliza understood.

"My mother died when I was 16; I remember how much I hated it because that's what everyone saw me as, a child who just lost her mother. I also received the same treatment when my father got into a coma from a car accident, which is worse because he's not even dead, even though the possibility of him not waking up is greater, I still have faith."

From her story, Guarnere was amazed, since he couldn't believe that the brown-haired woman limping next to him, had endured so much in her life. Everyone in Easy Company thought that Eliza was such a bright person, who would always lift their spirits when she grinned, and it showed when her eyes gleamed. It was just like his ma told him, that the people who smile the brightest are the ones who suffered the most.

After many hours of walking, the unit finally reached the assembly area. Eliza sighed in relief, glad to see more of her fellow paratroopers and that she didn't have to be in more excruciating pain from hiking through the woods. As the men dispersed to go to their respective unit, Eliza heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Hey, Liz!" Liebgott shouted, glad to see his friend had made it safely. However, Liebgott's smile turned into a frown when he saw Eliza limping and many layers of gauze wrapped around her stomach.

Running towards Eliza to help her, Liebgott shouted," What the hell happened to ya?"

"It's nice to see you too Joe and don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Eliza answered as Liebgott grabbed her arm and placed it around his neck, to support her.

"Liz, don't ignore the damn question."

"I landed on some trees, so I got a sprained ankle and a gash on my stomach."

"C'mon, I'm taking you to the aid station right now. Didn't I tell you to be careful out there?"

"Yeah you did, but it's not my fault that I had to land on an area with so many goddamn trees."

After the pair finished bickering, they immediately went to the aid station to get her wounds checked. In the makeshift station, Eliza saw many medics treating injured paratroopers, one of them being Roe, who was wrapping gauze on someone's head. In an instant, Liebgott carried Eliza to Roe, knowing that she would protest to being taken care of when there were other soldiers with much severe injuries.

"Hey, Doc, Liz's got a sprained ankle and a gash on her stomach. I've gotta go, but I'll be back to check up on ya," Liebgott stated as he gently placed her on a table, while Eliza bid him goodbye and good luck to the others, as she knew that the men were awaiting orders.

"Gene, don't listen to him, I'm fine," Eliza stated, hopeful that Roe would trust her.

"Then lemme check your wounds," Roe ordered, knowing that Eliza was downplaying the severity of her wounds, she always was.

With a sigh, Eliza knew that Roe had caught her lie, so she carefully unraveled the gauze and lifted her shirt. Solemnly, Roe examined the long and deep gash on Eliza's stomach, making sure there were no signs of infection. When there was none, Roe injected local anesthesia and cleaned the wound of dried blood. After, Roe stitched her wound and wrapped it with clean bandages. When he finished, Roe checked onto her sprained ankle, which he used gauze as compression to decrease swelling.

"The gash on your stomach should heal up quickly, but I'm concerned about your ankle since it's pretty swollen. Stay here and keep it elevated," Roe stated, as he gently placed Eliza's ankle on an old blanket.

"Thanks, Gene, but I can't just sit here. I'm a medic, so I should be helping out," Eliza expressed, as she tried to stand up so that she can show Roe that she was all right.

"Fine, but I need ya to rest, you won't be any help if you open your stitches or injure your ankle even more," Roe responded, knowing how headstrong she was.

"Thanks, Doc."

The day had quickly gone by, and Eliza was currently staring at the night sky, taking a break that was forced upon her by several of her fellow medics. Around her, she saw many men coming back from securing Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, so she limped around to find anyone from Easy Company until she came across a truck. Hobbling closer, Eliza saw a man behind the cover, and so curiosity got the best of her. When she entered, Eliza was greeted by Malarkey, Guarnere, Toye, Lipton, Compton, and Winters.

"What the hell is that smell?" Eliza asked as she leaned onto the trunk, next to Winters.

"That my friend is Malarkey's cooking," Compton answered, after taking a sip of his drink.

"How are you doing?" Winters asked with concern, while the other men tuned into Eliza's response as they were also worried about her.

"I'm okay. Doc stitched and bandaged me up, so I'll be fine," Eliza answered with a smile, grateful for their concern. Meanwhile, Toye handed both Winters and Eliza a bottle of beer.

"Joe, they don't drink," Guarnere commented as he smoked a lucky strike cigarette.

"It's been a day of firsts," Winters responded, as he grabbed the bottle while Eliza nodded in agreed and took a sip of the alcoholic beverage.

"Don't you think, Guarnere?"

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on."

"Good night, sir."

"Oh, sergeant."

"Sir?"

"I'm not a Quaker."

From Winters's response, everyone laughed while Guarnere mentioned that Winters was probably a Mennonite. While Winters left, Eliza stayed a while to finish her beer and to catch up with what happened at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. However, she was devastated when she learned that Hall had died at Brecourt.

"He was a good man, even from the short time I got to know him, I could tell," Eliza sadly stated as she took another sip.

"Yeah, I was a dick to him, wasn't I?" Guarnere asked Eliza, after taking a bite of what Malarkey cooked.

"You were, but he understood why. Well, I should be heading back to the aid station, I'll see you guys later." As she left, Eliza received a chorus of goodnights.

While turning to the aid station, Eliza saw Winters deep in thought while staring out at the orange horizon from the bombings. Curious, Eliza slowly approached Winters and whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

From her voice, Winters slowly turned around to see Eliza starting at him with a smile.

"Nothing important," Winters replied as he smiled in return since a couple of minutes ago, he was thanking God for seeing him through that day of days. So Winters promised to God and himself that if he could manage to come back home, he would live the rest of his life in peace and maybe, with Eliza by his side, just like she was right now.

A/N: I'm sorry for not updating for a while, I decided to take a break since I was trying to get over writer's block. In addition to writer's block, I injured my shoulder and I completed this chapter several days ago, but it was all gone since Microsoft crashed. So thank you for your patience and support!