"Ugh, my ass hurts." Fish groaned as he sat down in one of the man-made shallow ditches in the base camp we had finally made it to on Omaha Beach.

"Did you get shot there?" Wade, always one to try and be on top of things when it came to pain, cocked an eyebrow at Fish as he set his pack down. Fish looked up at him annoyed. "No I did not get shot in the ass. Can you just stop playing doctor for like, three seconds, Wade?"

"He's just trying to be nice. Jesus, Fish." I rolled my eyes at him as I sat down between Jackson and Wade, shoving my pack between my feet. Fish looked over at me, shifting his position so he was lying down on his left elbow. "What's the deal with you?"

I glanced over at him as I placed my rifle next to me. "What?"

"He means, what's your story? Why the hell are you here?" Reiben clarified for me as he held a cigarette between his lips, holding his hands up to light it and then taking a puff of smoke in Jackson's direction. Jackson sent a glare in Reiben's direction as he fanned away the smoke that hit his face, turning his gaze to me. "I think we're all curious."

I shrugged. "Well, uh…anything specific you want to know?"

"Yeah," Reiben's word was obscured as he attempted to talk with the cigarette still between his lips, his eyes locking on me. "Why aren't you back at home sewing or some girly shit-"

"For fuck's sake, Reiben, do we have to start that shit again?" Jackson groaned and ran a hand over his face as Reiben looked at him and smirked, smacking him in the arm. "Course I do, Bumpkin."

"Just go ahead and tell us the generic stuff and ignore the walking dick over there." Caparzo grinned at me from between Wade and Fish, lying back on his elbows as I bit the inside of my cheek. "Hmm…well, when I was younger my family had a big house with a lot of land and a few horses on the outskirts of Boston. It was just my parents and my older brother and I. My mom and dad would alternate between teaching us various skills in both spectrums. For instance, my mom would teach me how to cook-"

"Which you should be doing now-" Reiben flinched and dropped the cigarette from between his teeth when Jackson kicked him in the shin, glaring at Jackson when the cigarette hit the dirt.

"Let her finish." Jackson sent the glare right back at Reiben before nodding at me, telling me to continue.

"As I was saying, my parents liked to have us learn skills that would leave us better prepared later on in life. Nathaniel, my brother, always wanted to be a pilot so my dad took him out and taught him how to fly in the restored prop plane he had bought. After a while, my brother decided to tell my parents he was enlisting into the reserve to become a fighter pilot. This was when we knew things were getting bad in Europe and the war was impending."

"So, you signed up as a man to serve the country, right?" Fish cocked an eyebrow at me as I shook my head with a chuckle. "That's sort of right. My brother never got the chance to start his fighter pilot training. One late night someone tried to break into the house. My brother, being the protector that we all came to know him as, tried to scare the burglar out of the house with his shotgun. We heard gunshots so we imagined he had to use force, but when my dad ran downstairs first we heard a really sad cry. My mom and I ran down and I just saw my brother lying there with a bullet wound in his chest. His eyes were staring right into my soul; wide open and glassed over. My mom just collapsed to the floor and I was just there, frozen in place."

I took in a breath as I remembered the image of my brother lying on the floor of our house, blood seeping out of his chest and onto the wood floors. I noticed at this point everyone was staring at me in complete silence, probably shocked that a story like that would come out of my mouth.

I coughed once before looking up at everyone. "After that I decided that I wanted to fulfill my brother's dream of being in the military. Although, I didn't have any idea how to fly a plane so being a fighter pilot was out of the question. I just enrolled as a marine, a male marine named Alexander Bolt, and took on basic training. During a training session with some of the weapons, my helmet had been bumped off and my long hair gave me away," I reached up and ran a hand through the length of my dark brown ponytail. "There was a lot of screaming and confusion among the marines, so I just decided to show them I was worth keeping around since I knew they would send me home right then and there. I took a gun and started shooting at the targets, hitting them all square in the bulls eye and at an alarming place that made everyone take notice. Long story short, I promised them that I could make it through all of the training and be one of the best sharpshooters they put into combat. After a lot of arguing and reluctance, they agreed."

I smiled and looked up at everyone. "And now I'm here with all of you."

"Wait a minute," Everyone looked at Reiben as he waved a hand at me, shaking his head. "That's it? They just let you in here because you made a lot of promises? Give me a break."

Reiben dismissed me as he threw his head back with a laugh, Jackson shooting him an eye roll as I shrugged. "That's pretty much it. I know it's hard to believe, but that's how it happened. However," I flexed my fist and pointed to the bruise that was still slightly visible on Reiben's jaw. "They also took a specific interest in my ability to take down men double my size and my agility."

Reiben glared over at me as I smirked at him, Wade cocking an eyebrow at me. "What, so you're like half robot, too?"

"I wish, then I could shoot Germans with lasers from my eyes." I let out a laugh as I imitated lasers shooting from my eyes with my hands, causing Wade and everyone else to smile. Except Reiben that is.

"You didn't take me down. You just got lucky." Reiben crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at me, my hand rising to give him a dismissive wave. "Whatever."

"Listen up!" The sound of Horvath's voice caught all of our attention and we looked behind us, watching as he and Miller walked over. Horvath took a knee beside Jackson and I as Miller walked away from us towards the command post, talking about finding an interpreter.

"What are we doing?" Caparzo looked up at Horvath as he lit a cigarette, puffing out a few breaths as Horvath shot him a look. "What?"

"What are we doing?" Caparzo said his statement again as Horvath took off his helmet, setting it under his arm.

"You're being sent home wrapped in an American flag with a hunk of cheese in your ass, Caparzo, you smartass." The look Horvath sent Caparzo and the statement caused me to snort, placing a hand to my mouth to hold back laughter.

"I thought you liked it in the ass?" Reiben sent Horvath a smug smirk, puffing on a newly lit cigarette.

"What?" Horvath sent another look at Reiben, daring him to say it again which we all knew he would.

"I thought you liked it in the ass?" I rolled my eyes at Reiben as Horvath sighed at him, annoyed.

"If you don't shut the hell up and let me finish what I need to tell you I'm going give you to the Germans and let them have their way with you, that sound good?" Horvath shot a look at Reiben who just smirked. "Perfect."

"Fucking…" Horvath mumbled to himself as he sighed, placing two fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Anyway…all of you lucky bastards and lady have been chosen to go on a mission to find a soldier named James Francis Ryan."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Reiben shot a look at Horvath, all of us looking at him confused. Horvath just sighed again as he shrugged. "Orders from the boss. Guy had three brothers all killed in the war and they want the last one alive to send home to mom."

My face fell at the thought of losing three brothers. Losing my own was hard enough, but losing three?

"So, when do we move out to go find this unlucky bastard?" Reiben piped up again and I could see Horvath resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. "Just as soon as Miller finds a new interpreter. Upham I believe."

"Great, someone else to babysit." Fish spoke between puffs of his cigarette and rolled his eyes, Caparzo landing a solid kick to his shins as he grinned. "Yeah, he'll be a playdate for you since you know we're the ones babysitting your ass."

Everyone in the group let out a chorus of laughs at the look that crossed Fish's face, a hand coming out to swat at Caparzo. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Hey! Want your head blown off you fancy little fuck?" I let out a snort at Fish's statement from behind me, glancing back to see him glaring at Timothy Upham, the newest addition to our squad. He was a cartographer who could speak French and German and he would come in handy for those instances we needed a translator, but he was also jumpy as hell. That was what really made me iffy about his presence.

"S-sorry…" Upham mumbled out at Fish as he looked at him, Fish sending another glare in his direction. "Don't you ever touch me with those filthy little rat claws again. Get the fuck back in formation."

Upham retreated back a few steps as Fish turned away. He looked as though he was about to say something back to Fish and I elbowed Wade who was walking next to me, giving a nod in the direction of the two. Wade looked back at them just as Upham spoke. "Just want to know where you're from…"

Upham's voice was timid as he spoke to Fish and Wade shook his head, looking over at me. "What is with this guy?"

"I'm not sure if giving him that gun was a good idea. Does he even know how to use it?" I looked at Upham skeptically as he attempted to escape a death glare from Fish by moving up to walk next to Caparzo. I watched him for a moment before he spoke again. "Caparzo?"

Caparzo looked over at him, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. "Hey, drop dead, Corporal."

I made a face at Caparzo's response and held back the urge to let out a chuckle at the utter embarrassment that flashed across Upham's face when he once again got rejected of a conversation.

"And another thing," Caparzo took a drag of his cigarette before looking at Upham. "Every time you salute the Captain you make him a target for the Germans. So do us a favor, don't do it. Especially when I'm standing next to him, capeesh?"

"Capeesh…" The word was an almost whisper as I strained to hear Upham. Caparzo gave Upham an eye roll as he turned away, replacing the cigarette to his lips. I turned my attention back to the front as Upham started to move up to Wade and I, falling into step between us. There was silence for a moment as I tried not to look at Upham, attempting to look as though the field we were walking in was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen. When I felt eyes on me I finally turned my head, meeting the curious gaze of Upham. He stared at me unblinking for more than a few moments before I made a face at him. "What's up with you? Never seen a girl before?"

The question came out louder and more aggressive than I had wanted it to and I could hear Caparzo and Fish give out snorts from behind me. Upham blinked hard at me and jumped in shock, shaking his head as Wade cocked an eyebrow at him. He shook his head. "No- I mean- I've never seen a girl in the war. I didn't know women were allowed in combat-"

"Corporal, what's your book about?" Wade interrupted Upham and reeled the conversation in a completely different direction, knowing my patience was growing thin. I had dealt with Reiben talking shit about me all morning and I wasn't about to get into another conversation about how I was a girl in the war, especially to the one guy in the group who looked like a shaking lapdog.

Upham chuckled as his mood got a bit brighter with the conversation turning to what he was working on. "Well-"

"Watch the gun." Wade pushed the barrel of Upham's gun away from his head, my face contorting into a look that told everyone I knew I was right about Upham and his awkwardness.

"Sorry, sorry," Upham laughed nervously as Wade just nodded at him to continue. "It's supposed to be about the bond of brotherhood and the love between soldiers during war."

A loud "ha!" sounded from behind us and we all glanced at Fish, seeing a smirk on his face. "Hear that, Reiben? The love between soldiers. He wants to write a fucking novel about you and Lex."

I shot a hard glare in Fish's direction as Caparzo held back a snort, Upham looking at me curiously. When I turned back around to face forward I saw Reiben looking at us from the front of the group, a smirk playing on his features. I rolled my eyes at him and groaned, mumbling to myself. "You had to go and say something like that, didn't you?"

Caparzo looked over at Upham and let out a laugh, motioning in his direction. "What do you know about brotherhood? Get a load of this guy, Fish."

I saw a look of confusion flash across Upham's face before Caparzo tapped him in the shoulder, motioning to the front of the group. "Why don't you go ask the Captain where he's from?"

"Yeah, ask the Captain where he's from. He'll tell you everything you want to know about him." Fish held back a laugh as he looked around, Upham looking back at him and then to the front of the group. "Really?"

"Just don't get him started." I shook my head at Upham and he looked at me, shrugging a bit when I turned away from him again. There was silence hanging over the group again as we continued to walk, moving into an area where a few trees and bushes were overgrown.

"You want to explain the math of this to me?" Reiben's voice cut through the silence after a while and we all looked up at him. "I mean, where's the sense in risking the lives of the eight of us to save one guy?"

Miller cocked an eyebrow at Reiben before speaking. "Anyone wanna answer that?"

"Reiben, think about the poor bastard's mother." Wade spoke from beside me and I nodded at him, Reiben turning to glance at Wade before making a face. "Hey, Doc, I got a mother, you got a mother, the Sarge has got a mother. I'm willing to bet that even the Captain's got a mother," Reiben looked over at Miller, a smirk making its way onto his features before continuing. "Well, maybe not the Captain, but the rest of us have got mothers."

"There's not to reason why, there's but to do and die." Upham piped up from behind Wade and I and we both turned to him, my eyebrow raising in question.

"La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la. What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Corporal, huh? We're all supposed to die, is that it?" Fish walked up next to Upham and shot him an accusing look, forcing Upham to shake his head.

"Upham's talking about our duty as soldiers." Miller spoke once again and took the attention off of Upham, a sigh of relief sounding from his mouth. "Yes, Sir."

"We all have orders, and we have to follow 'em. That supersedes everything, including your mothers." Miller looked at all of us as we remained silent.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." Upham shouted up toward Miller and I saw him nod, Reiben shooting a look at Upham before turning to Miller. "Even if you think the mission's FUBAR, sir?"

A grin graced Miller's lips as he looked at Reiben. "Especially if you think the mission's FUBAR."

"What's FUBAR?" Upham looked between us in confusion, Fish glancing at him. "Oh, it's German."

A sarcastic laugh sounded from Fish, Caparzo, Wade, and I as Upham shrugged. "Huh, never heard of that."

"Sir, I have an opinion on this matter." It was Jackson's turn to give his two cents as he looked at Miller, earning a nod from the Captain. "Well, by all means, share it with the squad."

Jackson scrunched his eyebrows a bit. "Well, from my way of thinking, Sir, this entire mission is a serious misallocation of valuable military resources."

Miller nodded. "Yeah. Go on."

"Well, it seems to me, sir, that God gave me a special gift, made me a fine instrument of warfare." Jackson finished and Miller grinned, motioning a hand at Reiben. "Reiben, pay attention. Now, this is the way to gripe. Continue, Jackson."

Jackson smirked before continuing. "Well, what I mean by that, Sir, is...if you was to put me and this here sniper rifle anywhere up to and including one mile of Adolf Hitler with a clear line of sight, sir...pack your bags, fellas, war's over. Amen."

A sarcastic laugh sounded from Reiben as he looked back at Jackson. "Oh, that's brilliant, Bumpkin. Hey, so, Captain, what about you? I mean, you don't gripe at all?"

Reiben cocked an eyebrow at Miller who just shook his head. "I don't gripe to you, Reiben. I'm a Captain. There's a chain of command. Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, so on, so on, and so on. I don't gripe to you. I don't gripe in front of you. You should know that as a Ranger."

Reiben just shrugged. "I'm sorry, Sir, but uh...let's say you weren't a Captain, or maybe I was a Major. What would you say then?"

"Well, in that case," Miller grinned and let out a soft chuckle, a second knowing grin coming from Horvath. "I'd say, 'This is an excellent mission, Sir, with an extremely valuable objective, Sir, worthy of my best efforts, Sir. Moreover, I feel heartfelt sorrow for the mother of Private James Ryan and am willing to lay down my life and the lives of my men - especially you, Reiben - to ease her suffering.'"

"He's good." I heard Fish chuckle from behind me as I grinned at Miller's 'gripe.'

"I love him." Caparzo looked back at Fish with a grin, earning an eye roll from Fish and a kissy face, which Caparzo happily returned. I grinned at both of them before I turned to face forward once again, silence overtaking the group. We continued walking as a slight drizzle began to fall down on us. I bent my head back to look up at the dreary gray sky, only to have much larger drops fall into my eyes. I frowned as I bent my head forward, rubbing my right eye as Miller shouted for us to pick up the pace. A heavier downpour started as soon as we reached a destroyed town.

"Freaking really?" I threw my arms out to the sides and glared, Wade chuckling from next to me as I picked up a steady jog. All of us crouched down next to concrete pillars; Miller, Horvath, Wade, and Jackson on one side, while Fish, Caparzo, Reiben, Upham, and myself took the other side. Miller looked at us and motioned a hand forward. "You five go!"

He whisper-yelled in our direction and we nodded, Fish taking the lead as I followed behind Reiben with Upham behind me. We quickly made our way over to the edge of a building, taking cover behind it while Miller, Horvath, Jackson, and Wade made their way over to another group of soldiers taking cover behind a large wagon.

"Watch it!" I felt a nudge to my ribs as I crouched down next to Reiben, seeing him glare at me. I huffed at him and repositioned my stance, purposely hitting him in the head with my gun again with a grin. "Oops, sorry."

"I swear to god, Thunderbolt. You'll be the one to get us all killed." Reiben sent me another glare as I just grinned at him, shaking my head. "Nah, that'll just be you and your smartass mouth that'll kill us all."

"I'm going to strangle you in your sleep-"

"Are you guys really fighting while we're stuck in a combat situation here?" Caparzo sent us both an annoyed look as Reiben and I just glared hard at each other. I huffed again at Reiben before shoving his shoulder. "Just pay attention to what's in front of you-"

"That's kind of hard when you're right next to me." Reiben's attitude immediately changed and he grinned at me, nudging me in the shoulder with his own. I glared at him again, realizing that he might be bipolar with his sudden mood swings. I just groaned at him and rolled my eyes, earning a satisfied chuckle from the man in front of me.