"I've always wondered what Austria looked like before the war." I breathed as I soaked in the picturesque landscapes that surrounded us.

"Whatta mean?" Malarkey asked as we bumped around in the back of the transport truck. "This place looks virtually untouched."

I shot a smile to the redheaded man in return as several tall blonde women made their way over to the road, waving and cheering the trucks full of Easy men. In a truck surrounded by 2nd platoon men I had never felt more keenly alone than I did at that moment.

In 2043 I had been deployed to Austria, one of the major battlegrounds of the 3rd world war. What was once these lush, panoramic vistas straight out of a fairy tale I now found myself in had be absolutely decimated, ravaged by a war that left no country untouched. Bombs lobbed towards the mountains where civilians took shelter had destroyed the towering mountains, sending rocks and debris spilling towards the foothills and landslides laid waste to the towns and cities. The Austria I knew was painted in a palette of browns and greys, not the multifaceted vista I now observed. Never had I seen anything so majestic before. Nor had I ever felt such pain at what was to come of all this splendor in the future.

"Hey Benny!" Web nudged me, bringing me out of my thoughts. He pointed to a very lovely looking young woman. "I think she likes you."

I followed his gaze to the women in question and smiled politely as I waved at her. She ducked her head and giggled, whispering something to her friend.

"They probably ain't ever seen anyone who looks like Benny before." Liebgott laughed and slapped me on the back.

"Well, to be fair, there aren't many women that look like them on the reservation either." I joked back. I watched the men as they waved and shouted at the beautiful Austrian women, laughing at their antics as they vied for their attention.

"The war is over!" Malarkey exclaimed as he slung his arms around Liebgott's and my neck.

"Yeah," I breathed deep the fresh clean air. "It is."

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We were called into the mess to watch the mandatory newsreel that replaced our promised movie night. The marines on the screen fought against the Japanese army in heroic videos as the annoying old timey reporter voice told us about the fight in Okinawa. I could sense the frustration and tension in the room as the men realized they were going to be shipped to the Pacific. I saw George glanced over at me out off the corner of my eye, a question clearly written across his face. I stayed facing the screen but shook my head minutely. We would not make it to the Pacific, the war would be over soon. I felt him as he sighed deeply in relief. The lights flipped on and everyone filed out of the mess grumbling about the points they needed to go home. I lingered behind, letting the room clear before stepping out into the brisk evening air. I lit a cigarette as I walked along the path, contemplating my place in this world now that the war was over.

"Benally," a voice called and I came to a halt, turning towards the unmistakable figure.

"Captain Speirs," I greeted as he fell into step next to me. He motioned and I continued my stroll with him beside me.

"Interesting movie night," it was not a question.

"I've seen better," I shot back and glanced towards him. A grin grew across his face and we walked in silence for a time. The evening sky quickly grew dark and millions of stars twinkled down at is. We stopped and leaned over a chest high stone wall that ran along the side of the lake. The water reflected the stars and I found myself more at peace than I had been in a very long time. The chirping of crickets surrounded us like a nighttime lullaby. I felt those piercing eyes as they turned from the lake and bored into me.

"How many points do you have, Jo?" I was slightly taken aback at the question. I shifted so my back was leaning against the wall and turned my head so I was eye to eye with the taller man. I stared him in the eyes for a while, not saying anything. He sighed and turned away, clearing his throat as he did so.

"Do you want to transfer? I'm sure Winters could get you a cushy job at Command," he dropped so his elbows rested on the wall.

"Wow, I didn't know you wanted to get rid of me so much, sir. If you want I could just go for a walk into the lake." I turned and jumped up on the wall and made a move as if I was going to jump.

"Benally." He growled and grabbed my trouser legs, pulling me back down off the wall. "If you weren't such a damn good NCO I would shoot you." A surprised laugh fled from my chest and he rolled his eyes.

"Nothing's stopping you, sir." I leaned back against the wall again and gestured around us. "We're kinda alone here." He glared at me. "I'm not afraid of you, sir."

His glare melted from his face and was replaced with a genuine smile.

"I'm well aware of that, Sergeant." He sighed. "You still haven't answered my question, Jo."

"No, I haven't." I grinned and he rolled his eyes. "Why're you asking, sir?"

"I'm not going to lie to you. I need you." He turned to look back at the lake. "Winters already has plans to get some of Toccoa men out of fighting in the Pacific." He pulled at the thread in his sleeve. "You've been through a lot already, I won't push you if you don't want to do it, but I need your help keeping these men alive when we ship out to Japan."

A small smile crept it's way across my face without my permission. I glanced around at the mountains until I could face him again.

"Can't say I want to stay in this war any longer than I have too." A low sound, almost a growl came from him as he rubbed a hand through his hair. I continued on casually "But, I don't have anywhere near enough points to even think about leaving, what with only being shot once and all."

He snorted and turned to look at me. I met his eyes with my own.

"And George isn't going anywhere soon and I promised his mom I'd keep him alive, so it looks like you're stuck with me, sir."

Another smile found itself crossing the Captain's face and I felt myself returning it with one of my own. He shook his head and grabbed my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He paused as his dark eyes met mine and his eyebrows knitted together momentarily. I felt my heart jump and had to take a deep breath to calm it, sure that it was an evolutionary reaction to his predatory state of being. He stared into me shifting a bit before jerking his head slightly like he was trying to clear away his thoughts. He grinned and squeezed my shoulder once more before dropping his hand back to his side.

"Good man, Benally. I knew I could count on you." I watched as he walked away and sighed as I turned around to look at the lake once again.

"Outstanding."

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We stood in formation as Speirs informed the men about the lottery. I had spoken with him earlier in the day as he discussed the lottery with Lipton and I and decided to rig the drawing. I fought a grin as I watched Harry make a show of 'mixing' the hat to give the illusion of a random draw.

"For easy company the winner is," Welsh fought a grin as he handed the slip to Speirs. "Serial number 13066266, Sergeant Darrell C. Powers."

We cheered and whistled congratulating Shifty on his 'luck.'

"Sergeant Grant will see to it that second platoon takes over the crossroads checkpoint beginning at 2200." Speirs was back to business mode. "General Taylor has announced that the 101st division will definitely be redeployed to the Pacific."

I watched the grins fall from the faces of the men and wanted so badly to assure them their fight was over. They were exhausted and homesick, they missed their families and they had no idea when their war would be over. A heavy filling settled on my chest and continued to grow with each word Speirs spoke.

"So, beginning tomorrow at 0600 hours we will begin training to go to war."

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"Can't say you're the most popular man around here today, sir." I raised an eyebrow as I addressed Speirs. He glared momentarily at me and Lipton fought of a grin as the rest of the senior NCOs looked frightened for me.

"Well Benally, that's why I've got you," he grinned, putting the rest of the NCOs at a slight bit of ease as they were now assured they weren't going to witness my murder. We sat in a room along with Easy Company's officers as Speirs laid out plans to get us battle ready. He assigned each NCO duties to get their squads back into shape for the war in the Pacific. We were handed out schedules for checkpoint duty as well as other tasks designed to keep the men busy and out of trouble.

Not that would be of much help.

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"So Doc, How'm I doing?" I asked Roe as he finished what I hoped was my final exam.

"You've gained weight." He answered.

"Are you calling me fat?" I shot back. His head snapped up and he stared at me in shock.

"I… I… No, I was just-" he stammered.

"I'm just fucking with you, Gene." I grinned at his glare.

"Why do I even bother," he muttered.

"Cuz you like me." He couldn't hold his glare as I chuckled and a smile fell across his face.

"I guess I do," he snorted. "God knows why."

"I'm just special."

"Yes you are, sha." He sighed. "Promise me ya'll take care of ya'self from now on, huh?"

"Scouts honor," I held up my fingers in a scout's salute.

"You weren't in da scouts, were ya," he raised his eyebrow.

"That's beside the point." I waved away the comment. I grinned and wrapped him in a one armed hug. "Really Gene, thanks for everything."

He blushed as ducked his head before slinging his arm around me to return the hug.

"I'm always here for ya, Jo."

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"So, it's all over." George sighed as we laid side by side on a grassy patch by the lake sharing a smoke.

"Yup," I blew smoke as I passed him the cigarette. "All over but the crying."

"So when the hell do we get to go home?" he growled and took a puff.

"When the Japanese surrenders in four-ish months," I shrugged.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do?" He rolled so he was propped on his elbow looking over me.

"Go home with you." I answered. "Go visit Buck in California maybe."

"Not that I'm complaining about that, but what about going home?" I breathed deeply.

"I don't think I'm going home, George." I said after a moment. "I don't know why I'm here and I don't know how to get back… I don't think I can get back."

We were quiet for a while and I thought about my family and friends. It hurt to finally say I wouldn't see them again, but it was a reality I had to face.

"You'll always have a home with me, JoJo." I grinned up at Luz ruffled his hair.

"I know," I pulled his hair slightly before dropping my hand. "I love you, George."

"I love you too, JoJo."

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So I've been doing a lot of editing the past few months and I changed a bit of things around to make the story flow better. I recommend rereading and seeing what's changed if you want to.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and please leave a review if you liked it!