Doc and I rolled out from the hospital in one of the jeeps to take us to the men of Easy at our new destination. They've been there for the past day or two, already settled in the ruined buildings and making themselves look scarce. I was just glad to be out of the hospital now and going back into action and being able to work for once. After being in a bed for what seemed like months, I realized that I hated staying still for too long. It was so unproductive and not my kind of style; I needed to move around and to be entertained. It sounded like I was some kind of puppy, but staying still for me was pure torture. Thankfully Doc felt my pain, along with Joe, and he was glad to release me from the hospital bed and back out on the field. I was still in pain from my rib, which led to me needing to have a cane with me as support until I no longer needed it. It made me feel like a cripple, but then again I had no right to complain. The air was still cold, but not as cold as it was in Bastogne as we were going through the ruined town.

"How bad is it?" I asked Doc as we rode along in the jeep with the driver, who was too occupied with the road in front of us. I saw most of the buildings were so worn from the war, bricks all over the place and the scent of fresh smoke filling the air. It made me wonder, what did I miss from being out from the group.

"It's not looking too good." He replied, having me see him look dead on in front of us, "Lipton's sick and he doesn't look too good about it. You can take care of him since I doubt Winters would want you go out into the field right away."

"Agreed." I said back, having me close my eyes for a moment and drink in the fact that I was outside, no longer indoors and within walls that made me feel like I was in jail. No, I had a freedom now. Well, enough freedom that I could have as a medic. I smiled in my seat, loving the crisp air against my hair and face.

"Gingembre?" Doc called me out by my name, having me open my eyes and look over to him, seeing him finally look at me.

"What part of New Orleans are you from?" He asked me in curiosity.

"I live off of Lake Pontchartrain. Why you ask?" I questioned him back, seeing him shrug his shoulders.

"Just wondering is all. I'm from Plaquemine." He explained, having me look at him in fascination.

"Pas de la merde, really?" I asked, seeing him smirk at me from my sarcasm. I giggled, the both of us smiling.

"I didn't know where precisely you were from, okay?" He asked, trying to get me off his back.

"Oh, sans doute sans doute. But one of these days you should come out to the Big Easy and go out on the town with me. We can get real food and listen to actual music for once since the last few years I have been deprived without my zydeco fix." I explained to him, hearing him chuckle again and nod his head. As the ride went on, having me then eye him with a question haunting my brain. I never asked him this question before, since I either and no heart to ask it or it really didn't matter.

"Why did you want to be a medic?" I asked him, more serious now than our little spat at each other before. Doc paused, sitting next to me and he thought about it. I knew his pondering face, I knew it too well when we would either be in the field or sitting together during a meal.

"I didn't want to be one, not at first. They made me one, and I thought it was some kind of mistake that they made with me. But I guess I saw it as something I could do that is good in this whole thing." Doc explained to me as we were turning a corner and still weaving around and through the town, "Once they gave me that position, I never wanted to loose it. I fought hard to stay where I was, even after you came along to Camp Toccoa." I never really gave Doc enough credit then be deserved, having me wish that I should have told him that he was a brilliant doctor. Plenty of times when we were alone, or out in the field. He was amazing, making me look elementary in his shadow. But Doc, from what I knew and have grown to know about him for the past years, was never proud or boastful. He was opposite: humble and kind. He never took one ounce of a compliment.

"If it helps, I think you're the best Medic this army has ever had." I said back to him in a tone to show that what I was saying was the truth. He watched me, seeing that I was giving him a gentle smile and a nod on my head. I wanted him to truly take that compliment and hide it away so he can feel as though he had the best decision that he could. He grinned at me, having me see that he accepted it wholeheartedly.

"Merci." He replied in a light tone, having me roll my eyes as I could see a tint of red on his cheeks, which was no from the cold.

"Ne laissez pas voter émission de blush," I commented to him under my breath as we were slowing down and getting close to our spot with the men. Doc rolled his eyes, having me see that we were both back on good graces. Once we stopped the car, Doc hopped off first and threw out his hand for me, having me grab it and trying to get off the jeep with ease. But the rib was still healing, and it was still in pain. I squinted as my feet touched the floor, having Doc freeze up next to me.

"You okay?" He asked me, having a lace of concern in his tone of voice as I screwed my eyes shut from trying to show too much pain.

"Ça fait mal comme une chienne." I replied in a grunt, having me hear him chuckle as I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"You were too stubborn to make the small morphine that I was offering back at the hospital, and this is what you get." Doc reminded me, having me roll my eyes as we slowly made out way into the building, Doc next to me as I was using my cane. He got me up to the second floor with the cramped staircase that made me feel as though I was going to fall through with every step. But the pain was nothing I couldn't handle really, it wasn't too much.

As soon as we turned a corner into the hallway, I saw a group of men in what looked like a parlor. I knew a couple of men as soon as I went through the archway: Luz and Malarky, along with a sick Lipton and Webster. I could hear their conversation from the hallway, having me so glad to hear their voices again.

"He's got pneumonia."

"I'm sorry." I knew that voice was Webster since he sounded so sincere and so calm.

"Why? He's alive, he's got a couch, a goddamn blanket. He's snug as a bug." Luz said in a cocky tone. Before I could even take one step in, all of the conversations that were going on with all of them were cut short as they were all looking at me now with happiness and astonishment in their eyes. Lipton was on a couch with a blanket, looking like death and pain. Luz looked older, his hair grew out and the glint in his eyes was now dimmed down. Webster looked healthy, since he was taken out from being shot in the leg before he could even reach Bastogne. He was lucky, not going through the winter hell. Malarky was by the window, talking to some new solider whom apparently was in some kind of command. He looked worse: a beard coming out and his eyes looking hollow and dark.

"Sweet Christ." Luz said aloud as he saw me, having me give one short wave as my other hand was on the cane that I was using. No one moved, nor did they say a word for a moment. It was as if we froze in time, having me worried that I did something wrong, or I looked like I was death. Did I look like that?

"You all look like hell." I said aloud in a cocky, tone, cracking a smile since I wanted to have whatever kind of mood this was to be light again. Luz then walked over to me, his eyes never leaving my face, standing in front of me just to be sure I was real enough for him to handle.

"You're okay." He simply said, almost as if he was in a dream. He then hugged me gently, having me hug him back with one arm and close my eyes for good measure.

"I am, Luz. I'm okay." I said to him into his hair as he pulled away, a big grin on his face.

"I know someone who was wondering where you were." He said in a big grin, running over to the other side of the room, leaning down into my old pack and having me see him pull out a familiar puppy. Archer was there, in his arms and he looked like he got bigger and leaner since I saw him last. I smiled a big grin as Luz walked back over to me, still holding him close to his chest as I saw Archer try to wiggle his way out of his grasp to get to me. Malarky left the other man and walked over as well as Webster over to where I was.

"There's your momma, scavenger. He's been missing you badly, you know." Luz said to Archer as Archer wagged his tail from seeing me. I grabbed him in one arm, nuzzling into my dog and seeing that he was now wearing a red collar on his neck. I missed this kid, something about having a dog around made me feel normal as an American citizen in a foreign country. Who knew dogs had that kind of power, to make people feel joy in times of despair.

"You got him a collar?" I asked Luz in amazement.

"We found it in Foye, not attached to anything at all really. I figured you ended to get him one, and a leash too." He explained as I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Luz." I thanked him. He then gave me his sweet smirk that I missed, a hint of color was back on his cheeks once more.

"Don't let Joe know you kissed him or else he'll end up dead in his sleep." Lipton commented from his spot on the couch, having me roll my eyes at him as I then heard the others chuckle from his comment. Luz took Archer out of my arms again, placing him on the floor and Archer hopping off to something in the pack.

"Go play, let your mom greet some old friends." Luz said to him as I reached up to hug Webster. He had a simpler hug, though I could feel it in his touch that he missed me.

"I heard what happened to you, thank God you're okay." He said to me as I pulled away and shrugged me shoulders.

"It's no bullet to the foot, but I'm glad to see you're okay too." I replied to him, having me see then there was something that he was not telling me. Something was haunting him, that or eating away at him and it had me concerned. But I couldn't question him since I was now in the arms of Malarky. He chuckled into my hair, having me squeal as he lifted me from the ground.

"Sir, she's still healing so that could have her stitches come undone!" Doc said in concern from behind me, having me then feel Malarky lower me to the ground quickly and look at me up and down. He was still grinning from ear to ear, though his facial hair and worn colorless face made him look like he was in his veteran years now.

"Is there anything that won't kill you? I mean, you survived a grenade!" Malarky said to me in a grin, having me smile widely a him and shake my head.

"I'm not one to leave you boys in the dust so easily," I replied back to him, "I missed you guys too much." Malarky gave me one more hug, having me rest my head against his shoulder and breathe out a sigh of relief.

"We've missed you too, Red." He replied back to me, the both of us pulling away from one another and having this day feel a bit better. But something felt off in this situation, something didn't sit right as I looked from him over to Webster, who looked out of place here. Compared to the others, he looked rather clean and less in fear. I had to talk to him and make sure he was okay.

"Hey Web, you wanna go out for a bit and talk?" I asked him, seeing him snap out of his own thoughts and over to me, nodding his head.

"Sure, Red." He said back in his light tone, having me smile at him and then over at Lipton.

"And you, don't you dare move until I come back and get you some home remedied tea for your pneumonia," I ordered Lipton, having me see him smirk and nod his head. I then was walking with my cane over to Webster and tapping him once on the shoulder, "Come on Web."


"They're not the same since I saw them last." Webster explained to me as we both were sitting in one of the windows on the side streets, away from being seen by anyone. It was nice to talk to him since he was kinder than the rest and not a rag tagged. But from what I was hearing, he was getting not a good amount of warmth as he came back from being both in the hospital and in rehab for his foot. Poor Webster, not getting a welcome back that was more deserving than it should be.

"It's only because they were in Bastogne, which was hell for all of them really. We lost a good amount of men there: Muck and Jullian. And Toye and Guarnene went home with no legs." I explained to them as we both were holding out tins of coffee and just basking in the silence of the ruined city we were in.

"I get where they are coming from, Marley. But it still feels out of place for me. It's like they don't even want to look at me in the eye anymore, all because I wasn't there." Webster explained to me some more, having me hear the agitation in his voice as he talked about it with me, having me nod my head in agreement.

"Understandable. Just give them time to get over it, the stick up all their asses." I said back to him, seeing him chuckle from his spot next to me a she drank some more from his own tin can and scanning the area, "You had to heal, there's nothing wrong about that."

"Not according to you, since you completely survived a grenade. I think you're going to give the rest of Easy a run for their money when it comes to survival." Webster explained to me with his softer child-like grin. I shrugged my shoulders, taking another drink from my own coffee as I looked out in the distance around us.

"I don't have any other excuse to get out of the army now, do I?" I asked him with a small smirk, the both of us smiling from that remark. But it was then short-lived when an explosion went off, having the both of us shoot up from out spot in the window, me grunting in pain as I got up too quickly. Webster grabbed my arm, helping me out of the store and we both hurried over to see what happened. I knew that I had a job to be a medic, but right now I was on the sidelines with my own wound holding me back This time, I just had to be a spectator and not be a medic. Damnit.

We both joined the rest of the men, seeing a soldier already dead and covered in blood at the top of a ruined building that took the explosion. Just seeing that face made me come back to the reality that is this war. We were all used to this, no doubt in that, but I was gone for so long that I have forgotten what it felt like to look at a dead body, and know that there was nothing that I could of done. Doc was there, looking at the body with his helmet on and looking just as bad as the rest of us. We all were too far gone with our own demons to show remorse or pain for the fallen man. Some of the soldiers left without saying another word, and I felt a hand on my shoulder, having me look over and see that it was Malarky.

"Lipton wants to see you."


"Here." I said to him, handing him the tea I made him as he was still on the couch, blanket still on him and he was still looking sore about being stuck in one place. I was in the same position that he was in when I was wounded, so I had a feel for him as he looked at my tea suspiciously.

"What's in it?" He asked me as I stood back up straight and watched him with a grin, since he looked like a child that was about to swallow a tablespoon of cold syrup.

"Black pepper and some basil mixed in. It helps with your lungs and the bacteria that's there. Drink it every 6 hours and you'll be fine before you know it, sir." I explained to him, having me see him then look at the tea once more.

"Black pepper?" He asked me with an unconvinced tone on him. I shrugged my shoulders, my hand was still on my cane.

"Old Louisiana recipe. My great-grandfather was a traiteur who taught my grandmother and who in return taught my Uncle." I explained, having me see him look at me now totally confused.

"….it's a person who practices faith healing." I went on some more with some hesitance, "Anyways, one of the things taught was making home remedied teas with herbs and anything else we could whip together." Lipton nodded his head, having me watch as he took one long sip from the tin can. I watched as he grimaced a bit, then look back at me.

"And you're not….not a faith healer yourself?" He asked me in curiosity.

"No, sir. I never got the chance to learn it myself since I was too much into medical school." I replied, having me see him nod his head.

"Well, the real reason that I wanted to see you is to give you an assignment." He explained, having me wait in anticipation to see what they would need of me, "Since Winters want you to still get better from your injury, he wants to you help out with the local hospital here on our side of the river. You know the language, and both you and Doc need the medical supplies for anything else that we might need in the future. We have some other medics there to help you out since they also know a small amount of French. We need to get on their good side and have a firm relationship with the hospital. I have no idea when the next time will be when we are near a local hospital, so we need as much medication and supplies as we can carry in order to hold us over. You understand, La Noux?" I nodded my head to show that I understood. It was better than not doing a single thing and staying still in the moment of the war. They thought of this as a good thing for me, and maybe it was.

"Yes, sir."


I walked out of the building, rubbing my ear under my helmet and I looked over at the several pieces of men that were talking together. I could see Webster with the new soldier that I was talking to Malarky, he too looked too clean cut for the men. I then saw Joe, having me see him wink at Webster who was walking to Martin and then having me see him walk away from the group over in my direction. I was glad to see Joe out here, since we were both back in our own elements and no longer in the hospital. Though the last time I saw him we both went from having a simple conversation into a make out session and then ended with our feelings being spilled to each other. Joe saw me, walking over with a big grin on his face as I smiled back.

"Hey you." He said to me in a light tone, having me feel him take my hand in his and trying to hard no to kiss me in front of the men, but we both knew that they all knew about us.

"What's going on over there?" I asked him in curiosity, having me see him look as well with the sight of Martin talking to the other officers.

"They're planning a patrol tonight on the other side of the river, wanting to take 15 men with them to grab the rest of the German Prisoners." Joe explained to me, having me look over at him then pointing at him with my fingers touching his chest.

"Are you—" I started, but he shook his head.

"I was requested, but Webster's going in my place." Joe explained, having me sigh in relief. I was kind of glad that Joe wasn't going to go onto the patrol and getting himself in the line of fire, but then again Webster was going to be in his place and being in danger. He already felt like he was on eggshells with the men now, and this could be even worse.

"What did Lipton want with you anyways?" Joe asked me, interested in what happened with me and no longer with what was going on tonight.

"He wants me to go the local hospital with a couple of the other medics from other Companies so we can help out." I explained back to him, "And to mostly get more supplies that we might need since we don't know if we'll be near a hospital again."

"So he wants a supply run, then?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Mostly to help out the locals and get less wounded citizens out of the way in case things go South here." I answered him, which made more sense than I thought.

"Better for you stay away from the danger over there, eh?" He asked, rolling his shoulders to shrug off the cold as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Same with you, Joe. This is better than me sitting on my ass and doing nothing at all." I countered, hearing him chuckle at me rant with him.

"I'm staying within eyesight of the whole thing, just in case it does go South, they want me near a gun." Joe explained some more, "So don't even worry about me, okay?" I eyed him, seeing him watch me from his spot in front of me and I nodded my head to show that I was fine with it. I looked over my shoulder and I could see a jeep getting ready for me to head over to the hospital.

"You gotta go?" Joe asked me, seeing the jeep as well as I looked back to him, shoving my hands in my pockets to keep my hands warm.

"They need me today, but I should be back tonight for the patrol in in case something does happen here." I reminded him, having me see him look at me with a weary look. I smiled, reaching up carefully then to move some of his brown hair under his helmet. It was a small showing of my affection towards him, small enough for us not to be seen by the others, but big enough for the both of us.

"And Joe, be nice to Webster please. He's not feeling too great about you guys being sore at him." I asked him, seeing him look a bit sour about the fact I brought him up with our small moment. He did nothing, having me grab his sleeve to have him stare at me.

"Don't be a dick to him, okay?" I asked, pressing the subject more. It sucked that Webster was being crossed by the other soldiers because they were sore at him not being at Foye and Bastogne. It was dumb in my opinion, but they had their own opinions about it and I had no right to say anything about it. But I too was gone from those moments, so I felt for Webster for being out of the loop. Joe reluctantly nodded his head at me, having me grin at him.

"I'll see you tonight when I get back, it should be at around 1900. Maybe they have chocolate at the hospital and I can swipe it for the both of us?" I asked in a suggested tone, having me see a spark behind his eyes go off and a big cocky grin on his face. It made me blush, that he was smiling at me in this manner.

"Are you askin' me on a date, La Noux?" he asked me in a seductive kind of tone, having me chuckle.

"Maybe." I hinted at him, having me see him laugh a bit from his spot since I was the one being forward with him now. It felt nice, taking the step forward from being hesitant to being confident. The jeep honked behind me, having me smile at him once more before turning on my heel and about to walk over to the jeep. But before I could even get a foot away, Joe grabbed my hand gently in his and I looked over at him, seeing that his back was to the rest of the men when he was holding my hand. Within a moment, he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. It was a quick kiss, but something about it made it thrilling for me since it was out in the open for all to see. It was also out own moment together, a great one.

He dropped my hand quickly before we could do anything else. I started walking backwards and I winked at him, doing another one of his own traits against him. Facing forward back to the jeep, I walked with a big grin on my own face. This was a new turning leaf for me when it came to being in Easy Company.

Time to be a medic again.


"As you can see most of the wounded in here are locals and they need more help than we can give them." A French doctor explained to myself and the medics as we walked into one of the wings of the hospital that we were stationed at. He was the only one who could speak English, and one of the main doctors at the hospital, having me glad we had someone to help us out since we were the foreigners. It was me and two other Army medics, Private Jones and Private Massimo. The hospital itself was still intact, though it took some blows here and there and it looked like it needed an upkeep. A lot of the wounded in there were locals: farmers and shop owners that were caught in the aftermath of the war that we were in. I felt terrible, beyond terrible since I knew we were a part of them suffering.

"How many are we looking at, sir?" Private Massimo asked behind me, having me stare at the French Doctor.

"There are at least 200 citizens here that are in need of immediate care, not to mention the children that are needed for evaluation for any infections." The Doctor replied to us, having me look over at me with a hint of concern.

"Children, sir?" I asked him.

"Yes, there is a huge amount of children from the smaller farming towns in the area that having me caught in the last attack and they are in need of inspections. I am in need of two of you to help me own nurses in looking at the children." He explained, having me feel as though I needed to do this task. I was used to tending to wounded soldiers, but children were another thing. It would be a change of pace and a new kind of medicine for me to work with. I had nothing else to loose in this town and city. So I took that step forward, letting myself be known.

"I can help with the children sir."