I followed the rest of the group as we were about head out to the new area that we were going to relocate. There was only a small battalion of us now, having me fear and wonder where the rest of the men were and if they were okay. By the looks of what I was seeing around me, the thought of them dead seemed more logical and more of a reality than a dream. Roe got off most of the blood on my face as we started to walk, side by side in the cool night of Normandy. My mind was still reeling over the fact that I survived the jump into enemy territory and I was going to be okay, for now. Hell, I barely escaped death because of Buck putting a bullet to a German Soldier. I had to realize that there might be a moment where I was going to be on my own against a German, and I would have to fight to stay alive. It made me pray even more that I would never have that. Ever.

"How bad was your jump?" Roe asked me in a whisper as we were walking with the group, having to be silent since we were still undercover. I thought back to when I was in the air, falling to the earth and thinking that I would break my own legs from the sheer drop.

"I had Buck with me, so it was no problem." I replied in a shrug, having me see him smirk next to me as I watched him from my spot with my dark green eyes.

"Don't let Joe know that." He joked with me, having me shove him gently with my bloodied hands.

"You don't start with that." I reminded him, but my voice faltered and my smile dropped. I thought of Joe again, how I still had no idea where he is and if he was okay. He was smart enough to get himself out of trouble, I've seen it before. Plus he knew German, so it wouldn't be too much trouble for him to find his way around if he needed to talk to some local. But it was still a fear, a fear that I wouldn't find him anymore or if he was injured beyond my repair or use of hands. Roe gently took my hand in his, seeing that I was going through a moment of fear, having me look over at him, moving my helmet out of my eyes as he gave me a determined look on his face.

"We're going to find him." He said to me in almost a vow, "I know he's okay. We'll find him." I gave him a small smile to show that I was okay about it, but he knew that I as masking it and trying to be a strong solider. Then it was now cut off when we saw the whole group being singled to get down low to the floor. We all squatted down, waiting to see who in the front saw something out of the ordinary. There was nothing around us but the trees and the paved road, having me hear nothing at first. But then I heard it: the small sound of feet walking and a cart rolled along.

I followed Malarky as we were sneaking over the road and down a hill a bit, through the bushes and having me see the rest of the boys with their guns out, loaded and ready for anything coming. I stayed behind Malarky since I had no real gun to work with and it would be terrible to have myself in another situation like the done before with Buck.

"Wait for my command." Winters said to the whole group as we all stayed quiet. The sound was getting bigger as I saw a cart coming through the small area. There were a least half a dozen men walking with the cart. They were German Soldiers, all of whom not seeing us there. Maybe they were going to just pass by us without a hitch, and we would let them. I doubted Winters wanted to have any kind on confrontation with them this early in the war. But I was so wrong when Gaurnene opened fire, having me stay back as the rest had no choice but to join in with them. Doc and I watched as they were shooting down the entire cart, having me see them finally in action and getting rid of them within moments. Would I be able to join them if I had my own gun, or would I be too filled with fear. I just stayed still with Doc as I saw Winter shove Guarnene to stop him from shooting on the now deceased bodies.

"Everyone okay?" He called out as he was still staring him down as if he wanted to punch him in the face for going against his order. Doc and I got out from the bushes again and we were back with the group, all who looked out of it with us. We all responded with a yes as we got our bearings together. But then I heard another gunshot, having me look up to see that it was Toye, putting a horse out of its misery since it was caught in the line of fire. I felt bad for the horse, real bad, but then again sacrifices had to be made.

We all started walking out again, past the demolished cart and I could hear the distant conversations from the other members in our small group.

"What's that guys problem?" one soldier asked Malarky

"Gonorrhea," Malarkey answered in return.

"Really?"

"His name dummy, Guarnere, Gonorrhea, get it?" Malarky asked him in a short tone, looking a bit annoyed by it

"Well, besides having a shitty name, whats his problem?"

Guarnere apparently overhead, and he looked back the two of them and snarled, "None of ye fucking business, cowboy!"


We walked on into the night and far into the morning, having me see the morning sky open up for us as we went through some tall grass and I felt the cool crisp of the morning dew along my pant legs and fingers. It was somewhat soothing to see the sun again, though it was still the sinking reality that I was in the war as a combat nurse. This was a peaceful moment, beyond peaceful as we were all walking in a line. I had my hands in my jacket pockets, not saying anything but looking all around me and wishing I could just let me hair down and have my own head breathe from being underneath the helmet. But that wouldn't be great to do since we could be watched at that moment and I could die with a good shot to the head. What a rookie move. That would for sure make Joe look at me in such annoyance, though I doubt he would ever do that to me.

We walked along a large area of water, probably a pond that was so still along the morning air that it reminded me of New Orleans. I saw the clouds on the reflection of the water, along with the tall grass touching the water and having me remember my favorite place in New Orleans. I missed it, now more than ever, having me realize that I had that place here, walking along the water's edge with American Soldiers in the middle of the war. We walked, slowly and not having a word or two spoken amongst us. What was Joe seeing at this moment? Something just a beautiful and soothing as this lake? Or was he in danger, having to hide from any German Soldiers around him?

We kept walking around the lake and further on, the sun getting higher and higher up and the day going through the day as we walked on, though I was still trying to figure out how we were going to get to our next destination. That much I left with Winters, but that came to a stop as we all came upon a farmhouse. But the place itself looked deserted and demolished into, some of the places missing like it was shot from the sky and other pieces of the houses were all over the area. I even saw a dead cow along the grass as we walked passed it, having me watch as two of our men ran over to the house to see if it was safe. We all waited, seeing them signal for us to come over and check it out as well. I walked with Doc, having the both of us look up and see a dead paratrooper in the trees, hanging from the strings as if he was a puppet. I said nothing, but I averted my eyes to see Lipton going through another dead soldier's jacket and pack.

"Anybody needs supply or ammo, now's the time to get it." He said to us as some of the other soldiers started to do the same, though they were walking at a slower pace. I saw Toye reach up to grab the rifle from the soldier hanging in the air, then walking it over to me and handing it to me gently. I grabbed the gun with both hands, looking an it like it was a foreign object as he gave me a serious stare.

"Better for you to have a gun than nothing at all, Red." He advised me gently, giving me a small smile as he walked on past me and over to the rest of the men. It didn't feel right, not to me as I watched the gun in my own hands. Doc was still next to me, looking a bit out of place with the other soldiers as much as I did since we were the medics, not needing any of this at the moment.

"It seems like I'm robbing the guy of his gun." I explained, having him look up at the dead body with a solemn look on his face.

"He has no need of it now." He replied back, having me nod my head. I knew it was true, and I needed a rifle more than he did since he was now dead. I threw the strap over my shoulder, like the others and I had the weight of the rifle sink into my shoulder to bring me into the reality even more.

Way to live a good life. Before I could walk over to the others, a huge sound of an airplane flooded the skies, have the ground beneath us shake. We all sunk to the floor in case it was a bomb going off, but another plane went over us and made the sound booming in my ears. I saw Lipton get up from the body he was next to as Winters checked his watch.

"The landing's just started. Let's go."


"Come on, tell me something about yourself that you haven't told me yet." Doc pressed me as we were walking again, still trying to find our way to Sainte-Mere-Eglise. I smiled at him, rubbing the back of my neck and trying to keep my own mind straight. The walking was getting old for me, old but routine as we were still trying to get to our destination. The other men in our group looking over at me as well, only briefly before scanning the area and Winters being in the front of us.

"What do you wanna know?" I asked him in a hopeful tone.

"I don't know, what do ya like to do other than savin' lives." Doc suggested with small sting of hope in his voice, "Since you're so good at that."

"Shut it, Doc." I replied back, hearing the men chuckle around me as I thought to myself once more, what would I tell them? I had nothing else under my belt, not really.

"I guess….I can sing." I said in a shrug to him as we turned around the bend, still in our lines and having me see him look over at me with a raised grin on his face.

"Really? You sing?" He asked amused, having me roll my eyes again from the sheer thought of him pressing into wanting to know more about me. I knew he was doing this to pass the time and to have my own mid occupied and away from fear.

"You make it sound like I'd never done it before, thanks for the support there." I joked with him, seeing him grin again and then go back to the subject.

"Since when you do sing?" He asked, interested in the notion that I sang.

"Since I was 4 years old." I replied, smiling from the memory, "My mom and dad met when my dad saw my mom singing in church. She's been singing to me since I was little, and she taught me how to sing."

"Well, what do you sing then?" Toye asked with wonder as he looked from behind me, still walking ahead. I still had no idea why I was the source of tis subject since we could be talking about anything else at the moment.

"What do you think, Toye. She's from the South ain't she?" Malarky asked in a grin, having me give him a playful glare.

"Because that's not racist at all." I countered with Malarky, hearing him laugh from my comment and shake his head, "If you must know, I can sing plenty of things."

"Opera?" Malarky asked with a raised voice and a wide grin on his face.

"Don't push your luck." I replied, but I went quiet as we were passing a group of German POW's. They were all weaponless, which made me happy and less concerned as we were walking passed them to the destination. Some of them were standing close to another cart while others were on the top, looking rather grace being prisoners. I walked by, seeing some of their faces on me as if I was an alien on some kind. Well, it could be true since I doubted they had any female soldiers, not to mention female combat medics in the field. But I kept walking, not wanting to make eye contact as I heard Malarky speak up.

"Where ya from, son?" He asked one of the Germans in a mocking accent, almost as if he was taunting him. But the German answered him as he was walking away from him.

"Eugene, Oregon." He replied, his German Accent was thick and cut through the air. The rest of us went on, but I saw Malarky look back at the man, no longer looking like he was going to kill him from just speaking to him, but more interested in his answer. He even walked back, being left behind as we kept going. Leave it to Malarky to strike up a conversation with someone in the field of war, even if it was a German solider. None of us said anything, it made me realize that we wanted to be at the destination far sooner than ever.

"You gotta be kiddin' me! I'm from Astoria!"


Once we reached the town, I saw the main commune that in the middle of the town. The large arch and the gray stone walls gave me a view of its history: Sainte-Mere-Eglise. We finally made it to out destination. Somehow I felt a wave of relief come over me, knowing that we made it in one piece. I saw soldiers in the area, all of whom looked worn out from their own jumps. But it was good for me to see a lot of men walking around, trying to find their own Companies and other men. Would any of the men be here from our Easy Company? I had to find out for sure.

Walking on the paved stone, I looked up at the big church in front of us, having me seem so small compared to how big it was in the sky. It was soothing to feel, even when I was in the middle of a war. I wished to go in there and hide, but I had a job here: to find the others and for us to stick together. Military cars were moving in and out of the area, soldiers running around and officers were barking out orders. I stayed close to Doc as we were flagged down by some of the other medics who looked like they needed help.

"Hey, you two. Come help with this guy, we need extra hands." one medic called, both of his hands were drenched in blood. Doc and I broke into a run for the men, following him around the bend and seeing a bunch of pews from the commune out in the middle of the street, men on there sprawled as if they were in the hospital in a bed. I saw the tragedy in front of me, ready for work as Doc and I went over to the men they were in need of help with. His whole neck was drenched in blood and I saw some of his lips were stained as well, hands were shaking and his face was white.

Doc went to work on the man's neck as I grabbed his hand, having me see the man's eyes go to me, wide and scared. The other medic got to work on his chest, which was littered with glass.

"You're going to be okay, you hear me?" The Medic told the man as Doc got some powder on his neck to numb the pain. The man nodded his head as he blinked a few more times, Doc stitching up the neck and having me leave his hand for wiping the neck clean with my spare hand.

"Give me the pain killer shot, Red." Doc said to me as he grunted through another spill of blood from between his fingers. I ruffled through his pack that was on his hip, giving it to him then throwing off the helmet to have me see better. As my helmet hit the pavement, I saw the main Medic look right up at me, eyes wide to see that I was a female. I stared back at him, not willing to compromise with him and to talk when we had to save this man's life.

"What happened to him?" I asked the Medic as Doc finished up on his neck. I wiped the blood on my jacket as the Medic gulped.

"Took a shot to the neck, it grazed him but it was enough for him to bleed out." He explained.

"How long ago?" Doc asked he got the neck stable.

"A couple of minutes ago, he was brought here as soon as we found him wandering in his hand on his neck." He answered back. Doc and I got up from out spot next to the wounded men, who looked a lot better now as the main medic looked down at our work on his neck.

"He's good now, keep him here until you find his Company." Doc ordered him, having me see him nod his head without speaking as I reached down to grab my helmet and we both walked away from him, seeing the other soldiers that were wounded looking more at peace than in trouble.

"Good work Doc." I said to him, clasping him on the back as we made our way back to the square to find the others. Doc nodded his head, squeezing my hand that on his shoulder for support.

"Thanks for the help, Red." He thanked me back, the both of us going silent as we saw our men, with others that joined us. More Easy men were there now, having me sigh in relief as they were all talking together and making sure the others were okay. But my eyes went to a familiar face that I thought I would never see in what seemed like hours or days: Joe. His helmet was under his arm, with his brown hair flowing in the wind as he was asking the guys something under his breath in a fast pace, almost urgent. He looked fine to me, no scars or blood on his hands or face. There was still grease on his face from the drop, but nothing else too damaging. It made me so happy to see him there, no longer relying on the thoughts in my mind but seeing him pure reality.

"You know where Marley is?" I heard him ask, his voice sounded desperate as he was asking another man from out Company. The man pointed over in our direction, Joe following the finger with wide eyes and a panic on his face. I watched for a moment, standing next to Doc as Joe finally looked over in my direction, having me see a wave of relief and satisfaction come over him. Once we made eye contact, I saw him drop his helmet to the floor and the others with him looked over to see what he was looking at. They saw me too, just as amazed as Joe was. I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye, but I must have been mistaken really. He pushed his way away from the men and walked over to me in a brisk pace, not in a run like Doc did, but more of a determination walk to get to something he wanted.

As soon as he was close enough to me, he pulled me in with my jacket and hugged me so close, having my helmet in my hand drop to the floor as I hugged him back, clutching the back of his jacket and neck to mare sure this was real. He was here, he was here with me, and he was safe and sound. I sighed into his shirt, finally being able to breath since I saw him last in England. I felt him hold onto me with such a fierce hold it made me miss him more and more. For some reason, I didn't mind the both of us hugging each other like this in front of the other boys, it didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that we were reunited and safe.

Once he pulled away, he looked down at me with a huge grin on his face, a satisfaction on his smile as his own brown eyes looked like they were on the verge of tears from just seeing me. One of his fingers traced my cheeks, having me think he was trying to make sure I was real enough for him as I was still holding his jacket. I couldn't help but smile at him, since my heart felt like it would burst at the seams now.

"You look good." he said to me, trying to be cocky but I could tell he meant something else with what he said. He was mentioning that I was safe, alive and well in front of him. He must have been afraid that I wasn't going to make it as well, afraid that I was hurt or dead at the hands of a German. I laughed, a laugh escaped my chapped lips as I heard him say such a thing.

"You look good, too." I said back in my broken tone.

All was well in my first day at war.