** WINTERS POV **

The door closed behind me as I exited my meeting with Colonel Sink. I leaned against the wall for a moment, picturing the smiling face of the woman I'd woken up to this morning. The woman that I loved. There was no use denying it now, especially to myself. I wondered aloud if she'd ever speak to me again. Nixon chose that moment to walk by.

"Why the face, Dick? I'd have figured you to be in a good mood today, unless the whiskey has finally gone to my head and that wasn't the beautiful Rosalie James I saw sneaking out of your room at the crack of dawn this morning." He waited a moment for an answer, but when I didn't meet his eyes, he seemed to realize where we were standing. He looked at Sink's door, then back at me. His head dropped. "What in the hell did you just do?"

** ROSE POV **

"I don't know what it means, Bull. He was acting really… distant. He just kind of rushed me out the door this morning."

His strong jaw clenched and he wrapped me in a hug. With all that had been hanging in the air between us, I almost hadn't wanted to tell him what had happened, but he was the only person that I could trust, and he had been the one who had encouraged me to leave nothing unsaid or unexplored. True to his nature, he was my rock.

As he held me, he whispered against the top of my head, "I'm sure that everything will be okay, but I'm telling you, Rosie baby, if he breaks your heart again it's really going to piss me off."

I barely had time to laugh before an orderly showed up to tell me that my presence was requested in Colonel Sink's office. Bull, of course, insisted on walking me over to the building, promising to wait outside until I was done so that we could finish our conversation. It never occurred to me to be concerned about meeting with my "Uncle Bob," but had I caught a better glimpse of Captain Nixon's face as I passed him on the way in, it might have. Instead, I knocked on the door and entered.

"Come in, sweetheart!" His mood was jovial, giving no indication of a problem. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm good, Uncle Bob. Is everything okay? I was told that you needed to see me."

"Of course! No, it's nothing bad. As a matter of fact, let me first start by telling you how unbelievably proud I am of you. Of the woman that you've become. I wasn't sure about this when you first said that you wanted to join the paratroopers, but you have exceeded my wildest expectations. Which is why I am so proud that I get to be the one to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, I've just had a meeting with Major Winters. He said that the two of you had been holding a secret between the two of you for a long time now, and this morning, he realized that it needed to come out."

"Oh?" I tried not to sound nervous. Had Dick really come in here and told my Uncle everything? Certainly not, given his good mood. If not, then what was he…? Realization washed over me. Surely he hadn't… I was almost afraid to ask. "What's that, sir?"

"About what happened on D-Day. About you saving his life. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I wasn't really looking for recognition, Uncle Bob. I just did what I thought anyone would have done," I choked out.

"Well, that may be true, darlin', but I'm proud to tell you that I've submitted you for a Bronze Star. Which means that you'll have the points to go home. Dick gave me your discharge request already. I'll approve it as soon as the paperwork on your medal comes through, and we will rotate you home in the next few months!"

I barely heard what he said next as I began to understand why Dick had been acting so strangely this morning. After everything that had happened between us, his sense of duty had won. I pasted a smile on my face as my sweet Uncle Bob gushed over his pride for me and my bravery at saving a man who had become such an outstanding and indispensable officer. When, at last, he was finished, he hugged and congratulated me before finally dismissing me. I stumbled outside, where I saw Nixon standing with Bull. They must have already been talking, because they took one look at my face and rushed forward to hold me. Nixon spoke first.

"Rose, I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea he'd go to Sink. What all did he tell him? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

I was having trouble forming the words. Bull pulled my chin up to meet his eyes.

"Rosie baby, what did your uncle say? What happened in there?"

"He told Uncle Bob about the German on D-Day, and I'm getting a Bronze Star!" I sobbed.

Nix looked a little relieved, breathing, "Oh, thank God. A Bronze Star? That's great! Congratulations! You deserve it after…"

Bull cut him off. "What else?" Nix glanced between us, realizing that there had to be a reason I'd be so upset, and Bull prodded. "What else did he say?"

"He said that this meant he could approve my discharge papers and rotate me home within a few months. Apparently Winters submitted them after he said he was putting in the paperwork for the medal. Only I made him promise not to tell the brass about what happened in Normandy! And I damn sure didn't request a fucking discharge! He's doing this to get rid of me! He sold me out!"

"Shit," I heard Nix mutter, and Bull's angry eyes snapped to his.

"So this is how your friend operates? He drags her heart around a while and then, when he can't run away, he sleeps with her and then forces her out against her will? He may be a hell of a paratrooper, but as far as this whole thing is concerned, he's a fucking coward. And you can tell him this for me. He just destroyed the best thing that ever happened to him, because I'll be damned if I ever let him hurt her again."

** NIXON POV **

I walked into his room and slammed the door behind me. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the pillow as though she were still there looking up at him. He didn't even move when I came in.

"Let me guess. You did what you thought you had to do? Are you kidding me, Dick? You're having her discharged so that you don't have to face her! You slept with her, and now you're shipping her out! I gotta say, I didn't think you had it in you."

I expected an argument, but all I got was, "She hates me, doesn't she?"

"I don't know, Dick. I saw her coming out of Sink's office. She was destroyed. She feels betrayed. And I can tell you this much. You won't have to worry about facing her until she gets shipped home because I don't think Bull is going to let you anywhere near her if he can help it."

At this, he finally looked at me.

"He knows? She told him about last night?"

"Of course he knows! She tells him everything! And when you were apparently acting all weird this morning, he was the only person she felt like she could confide in… and then you went and confirmed everything that she was worried about! I can't believe you'd sleep with her and then sell her out like that!"

"I didn't mean for that to happen!" Now he was fighting back. "You're the one who sent her to argue with me about the transfer!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault!"

"Things just got… out of hand. And then, I guess I panicked. I mean… I never wanted to hurt her, but I can't let her get sent to the Pacific, Lew. I just can't."

"Because she's going to get in your way? Distract you?"

He cut me off quickly.

"Because I love her! Because it's better for her to go home. Better for me not to have to worry about her every single second of every single day. I can't give her the relationship she wants, and I won't be able to stand worrying about her anymore over there. Because I would rather her hate me, marry Bull, and be safe than risk her life following me over there."

I shook my head at my best friend's sad face.

"Looks like you're going to get your wish."

** ROSE POV **

A few weeks passed, and by the time we were standing in formation before my Uncle Bob, I was resigned to the ugly reality of what had happened between me and Major Winters. He'd been doing his best to avoid me at all costs, and when he couldn't, Bull stood by as a physical barrier between us, silently daring his superior to talk to me. I noticed that Nixon, if he spotted me while walking with Winters, always managed to steer him in a different direction and out of my line of sight. Standing in that line beside my protector, I couldn't help but appreciate the care and concern of these men, as well as their discretion at a time when I needed it most. Of course, part of that was about to be revealed to the Company.

"Gentlemen, most of you know by now that, while I am fond of all of you, I have a particular connection to a member of Easy Company. I've watched her bloom since childhood, protected her as fiercely as I was able, and been truly terrified as she entered this war. But I stand before you today as a proud surrogate father, because a few short weeks ago, I was made aware of exactly what type of woman I had helped to raise.

On D-Day, after landing in the wrong drop-zone, Rosalie James met up with a lieutenant, and the two began making their way toward the rendezvous point. Along the way, they were forced to seek shelter from a German soldier, splitting up across a path to hide in the hedgerows. This German soldier drew a weapon in preparation of shooting the Lieutenant who, at that moment, was not aware that he had been spotted. Rosalie James, seeing the danger and knowing that any noise might expose their position and draw fire, jumped the German soldier from behind and took him down using only her trench knife, thereby saving the life of the man who, later that day, would be named your commander, and is now Major Richard Winters.

It is my honor and privilege to present Rosalie James with a Bronze Star, with the V for valor, for her courageous actions on June 6, 1944. Rosalie, please step forward."

Finally, the pomp and circumstance was over and we were dismissed, my shiny new medal pinned on my chest for the world to see. I was offered a great deal of congratulations, and a number of impressed comrades wanted to know why I'd never told the story before. I deflected as best I could, until I felt the firm reassurance of Bull's body behind me. At last, my body relaxed and I leaned into him, his massive arms wrapping comfortably around my waist. I didn't have to look to see him grinning around his cigar as he spoke to the group around us.

"She's pretty damned amazing, isn't she?"

"Wait," Talbert demanded. "You knew?"

Luz looked at Talbert like he had three heads, smacking him on the arm and rolling his eyes.

"Of course he knew! Look at them! Don't you pay attention to anything around here?" Then to Bull, "Let me guess. She told you about it while y'all were missing in Holland, right?"

I felt Bull nod and George threw up his hands at Tab in a gesture that clearly suggested he had missed the most obvious thing in the world. The two of them continued to bicker for a moment, and Bull took that moment to lean down close to me. His voice was a fierce, low whisper that sent goosebumps across my skin as he spoke, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.

"Rosie baby, you listen to me. I don't give a damn why he put you in for that medal. Wear it with pride. You deserve it. You earned it. I don't want to hear you tell one more person otherwise. Regardless of the circumstances, that medal is exactly where it belongs. All you need to know is that Easy loves you. I love you. And I am so unbelievably damned proud of you."

As he stood back up, squeezing me in a small gesture of reassurance, I felt my own posture straighten with confidence. Tab studied us, his eyes narrowing as though he were trying to figure something out.

At last, he asked, "So… what is this with you two anyway? I mean, are you two just friends, or…?"

He let the question trail off and Bull unconsciously pulled me closer. Without meaning to, we answered at the same time.

"Or."