Jackson hurried across the falling rain and crouched behind a large pile of broken buildings. He blinked the rain from his eyes and readied his weapon.
Miller and Rox watched as Caparzo kept bleeding from his chest. The rain carried the blood towards them and Miller took Rox's arm.
"The damn blood's coming to us." he said, quietly.
She looked around for Jackson and whispered, "Come on."
Wade and Fish heard as Caparzo grunted, trying to speak. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter, stained with his own blood.
"Get down, Cap." Fish whispered.
"This is a letter. Copy it...mail it to my dad." Caparzo said with a whimper.
"You're gonna give to him yourself, just get down." Fish replied.
"God...oh, God, help me." Caparzo pleaded, holding out his hand.
Sarge stayed with the little girl as she continued crying. "Please, stop crying. Please, don't. Shut up, please."
Rox rolled her eyes. "She can't understand you, you idiot."
"Hey, you want to babysit her? Be my guest, sweetheart." Sarge spat.
"Shut up, both of you." Miller said, hoping Jackson found something.
A gunshot answered his question. Fish laughed and stood up.
"We got him!"
Rox got up and hurried towards Caparzo. The mud splashed everywhere as she and the other ran towards him. They stopped as Wade bent down beside him.
"How bad is it?" Reiben asked.
Wade paused and shook his head. Reiben shook his head and kicked a puddle, splashing water everywhere.
"Damn it."
Wade bent down and grabbed the letter from Caparzo. Miller stared down at the body and shook his head. The little girl climbed over the pieces of her house and threw herself into her father's arms. Jackson met up with the rest of them and stared at Caparzo.
"This is why we can' t take children." Miller said, coldly.
He started to walk off and Rox shook her head. "He was just trying to help."
Miller stopped and all they heard was the pouring rain for a brief moment. He turned and looked at her.
"Did him a lot of good, didn't it?" he asked, glancing back at Caparzo.
"How dare you..." she muttered, kneeling down by Caparzo.
She removed her jacket and placed it over Caparzo's face. Jackson stepped up and told her to keep her jacket.
"He's gone. You don't have to do that. You're going to need that jacket." he said.
She grit her teeth. "I want to do this. It's the least bit of respect he deserves for his service."
Reiben and Sarge shook their heads and followed the captain. Upham gave Caparzo a small salute and walked on. Rox stood with a gray shirt underneath the jacket she had on. The rain stained it, making the color darker.
"Let's move." Miller called out.
They all followed in silence. Jackson bent down and yanked off Caparzo's tag from around his neck. He stared at it and put it in his pocket.
The group found an old church that had been blown up on its side. They took refuge inside and decided to get some rest for the night. Miller sat with Sarge by a small fire they had made. The rest of the men and Rox sat together, talking about Caparzo.
Reiben shook his head, bitterly. "When I get my hands on that Ryan kid, I'm gonna-"
"God Almighty, Reiben. Shut up. you're killing me." Jackson groaned, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's not me killing you, pal. It's Ryan. Caparzo's just the first, wait and see." Reiben replied.
Rox scratched her cheek. "And, you'll be next if you don't shut up about it. God, give it a rest."
"No one asked you, honey. Get some of your beauty sleep. You got two hours, but that's something."
Wade nudged Reiben and shook his head. "Ryan didn't kill Caparzo. A German sniper did."
"Might as well have been Ryan's finger on that trigger." Fish commented.
"That's enough. We move in two hours. Get some sleep." Miller ordered.
The men settled down in the debris except for Wade. He had started copying Caparzo's letter and sat in silence. Rox grabbed her helmet and went by the fire with Sarge and Miller. Jackson watched her as he laid down, exhausted and relaxing his muscles.
Rox rubbed her nose as she sat down by the small fire. Miller stared at her as he removed his jacket. Sarge glanced at the men, making eye contact with Upham. He watched as Miller placed his jacket on Rox's shoulders. She glanced up at him and just gave him a single nod.
He sat back down beside Sarge with a sigh. "I hope this boy Ryan is worth it."
Sarge looked at him. "You're kidding yourself. Hell of a mission."
Thunder crashed in the sky, causing Upham to tense. He laid on his back and stared at the church ceiling. It was cracked and not even white anymore. It was a dull gray and brown color.
A stained glass window caught his eye. Mary was painted on the window with only half of her body broken off. Sarge began to clean his teeth with his finger nail and Rox rolled her eyes. She glanced at the captain as he stated at his shaking hand.
"How long's your hand been shaking?" she asked.
"Couple of weeks."
"Is it getting worse?"
"No. It comes and goes. It stops when I look at it."
They both looked at his hand, and it had actually stopped shaking. She shifted in her seat and sighed through her nose.
"What do you think it is?" she asked.
"I don't know.
"You might need to find a new line of work. This doesn't...seem to agree with you anymore."
"I'll be alright." he said, glancing at her.
They looked at each other for a moment until she looked at the small fire. "You really shouldn't have talked about Caparzo the way you did."
He sighed and rubbed his temples. "I know that, okay? But, he should've followed orders."
"I know what the hell he should've done." she said, regretting her harsh tone. "But, he deserved a-"
"A what? Huh? A hymn or two with the clouds parting and angels looking down on him?"
She frowned. "That would've been gold compared to what he got."
Miller stared at her, wanting to be angry and say a good comeback. He shook his head and sighed.
"You're a good captain."
He blinked and looked at her. "What?"
She hesitated and repeated. "You're a good captain. You're not a good man, but I know you can be. It's in there somewhere."
He stared at her, not sure if he should laugh or take her seriously. Sarge watched, accepting that they had forgotten he was there. He leaned back quietly and closed his eyes, smirking.
Rox reached out and placed her hand on Miller's chest. Red flowed to his cheeks as his breathing got heavier.
"Yeah. In here somewhere." she whispered, running her hand from his chest to the side of his face.
"Rise and shine, boys!" he called out, suddenly.
She swallowed and stood to her feet. All the men got to their feet with several groans, shouldering their gear.
They moved on as the sky began to light up. Sarge walked by Reiben and Fish with a grin on his face.
"Did you have anything to do with that?" Fish asked Sarge.
Sarge grimaced. "With what?"
Fish chuckled and pointed at Miller and Rox, who were walking together up ahead. Sarge smirked and shook his head.
"No, but I sure as hell wish I did." he replied.
"He's already got the hook in her mouth. All he has to do now is reel her in, slowly but surely." Reiben said, spitting on the ground.
"Ain't that the truth?" Sarge laughed.
They continued until they reached a large bean field with other soldiers. Many were wounded and being treated. Wade walked over, trying to see if Ryan was one of them. Fish walked over to a few that were standing in the grass.
Miller and Rox approached Lieutenant Reinhart. "Sir, we're looking for Private James Ryan, Baker Company of the 508th."
Reinhart shrugged. "You got me, sir. A lot of guys have been in and out of here."
Miller nodded, disappointed and glanced at Wade. "Wade?"
"Not here, sir." he replied, holding a bandage in his hand.
"Do you have anything that could help us out?" Miller asked Reinhart.
Reinhart snapped his fingers, remembering something. He handed Miller a sack of dog-tags and Miller handed it to Jackson.
"See if you can find him." he told Jackson.
Jackson nodded, walking away with the sack. "Yes, sir."
Reiben smiled, excitedly. "I'll help."
They all sat down and dumped the dog-tails onto the ground, looking for Ryan. Fish joined in, lighting a cigar.
"You think he's here?" he asked.
"Bet he is." Jackson replied.
"Bet I'll find him first." Fish spat.
The men started digging madly into the pile, as if it were a game. Rox helped Wade treating a man who had his eye bleeding. She handed him a gauze as he pressed onto his eye. She glanced over at the men as they dug into the pile of dog-tiles.
"Everyone good here?" she asked Wade.
Another soldier spoke for him. "Not, ma'am. We got tons more coming in."
She turned and saw a line of soldiers that were wounded and bleeding. They were miserable and broken. They turned and saw Miller's men digging through the dog-tails. One of the men in line, clutched his and kissed it.
Rox watched Jackson and the other laughing and cursing at each other as they looked.
"Screw you, he's mine." Reiben said.
"No use hiding, Ryan. We're onto you." Jackson muttered.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Fish sang.
"Ten bucks, I nail him first." Reiben spat.
"You're on." Jackson replied, gazing at a dog-tag in his hand.
"I got him!" Fish exclaimed, holding up a dog-tag.
Miller rushed over onto the grass and stood behind Fish. "James Francis?"
Fish reread the tag and paused. "Oh, wait. It's R-E-Y-E-S. Reyes, damn it. Close."
Reiben laughed. "Yeah, cut the crap, Fish."
Miller smiled and turned to see Sarge and Reinhart disgusted at them. Rox and Wade were also upset. Rox hurried over and snatched the dog-tag from Fish, kicking him on his side.
"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?' he groaned, standing up.
"You wanna keep it down, you freaking moron? There's men that are hurting here. And, you idiots aren't exactly cheering them up with your laughing and crap." she spat, glancing at Jackson.
Miller felt a hint of guilt and walked away. Fish wasn't finished. He took the dog-tag back from Rox and tossed it in the pile that they had already checked.
"You know, I'm getting real sick of your little attitude, Rox." he said, blowing smoke in her face.
She shrugged. "Well, you're going to have to deal with it for a while."
He gave her a small shove. "Get the hell out of my face, stupid girl."
"Hey! You wanna shut up, Fish, huh?" Sarge barked.
Fish hesitated but kept his glare on Rox. "Jesus, why are you even here, huh? All you do is scold us and try to woo the captain because you've never been laid."
Rox felt her cheeks burn with anger as she clenched her fists. "Shut up."
"You know it's true. That's why you're pissed. That's all women are good for, getting-"
She raised her hand and smacked him across the face. He stumbled back as Miller came between them.
"Hey! Calm down, you hear me?" he yelled, grabbing Rox's arm.
He dragged her aside as Jackson threw a dog-tag at Fish. "Serves you right, stupid."
Reiben chuckled. "Man, did you tell her off."
"She's right. Keep it down and cut the crap." Wade scolded.
Miller and Rox stopped in the middle of the grass as she drew her arm away from him. "Hey, look at me."
She folded her arms and shook her head. "No, you listen to me, sir. Those guys don't have a hint of respect for me and I know you don't give a damn about it."
He grabbed her chin and spoke quietly. "Look at me. You were right, okay? I shouldn't have said what I did about Caparzo and they shouldn't have been laughing over those dog-tags. Okay? You hear me?"
She slapped his hand away. "Oh, now, you care. I'm sorry if I seem like a real pain, but..."
She shook her head and groaned in frustration. "I'm sorry. Okay? Is that what you dragged me over here for?"
He stared at her as a small wind blew across the field. The grass swayed with it and the clouds started to gather together.
"Okay." he mumbled. "But, don't be sorry about Fish. He deserved what he got."
She stared at him as he slightly smiled at her. They both turned when they heard Jackson speak up.
"He's not here, sir."
Miller groaned. "Jesus...what can we do?"