"Here, I got one I got one." Luz said to us all as we were gathered in a larger room in the Germany apartments, sitting together and talking with lit candles and just having a relaxing night. After hearing that Grant was going to be okay, we all needed a break and we all needed a laugh. All of the boys took care of the solider who shot him, which made me not want to know what they actually did. Joe reassured me that I shouldn't know since I was already a shaken leaf with the whole ordeal. It took a good amount of kisses, whispered promised against my skin and just him holding me to bring me back to the reality that Grant was okay, and I was okay with him. So in the wee hours of the night, a group of us got together under the watchful night and jut talking about meaningless things that were in our past and what was meant for our future.

Most of the men were talking about memories of the past that were both embarrassing and terrible, the room being filled with laughter as I sat next to Doc, the both of us side by side against a bed as Malarky was above us, laying out on the bed and looking at the ceiling with his cigarette in his lips. Wine was being passed around, each of us taking a swig and having the taste sink under my skin nd down our throats. Luz was against the wall, Frank next to him as well as Christenson and O'Keefe. Buck was against the bed near my leg. Bull was in a chair, leaning back with a big grin on his face, along with a couple of the other men from our Company. Joe was across from me, dragging out his own cigarette and sitting in another chair next to Bull, smiling throughout each memory shared and laughing with the rest of us. We were both content on where we were, taking each other's faults and demons and moving forward with them.

I was still heated that he went after a German Captain with Webster and Sisk, since to me it was a risky and stupid move on his part. He could have been hurt or killed, and to have his own emotions come over him rather than think about it, that was the worst part. It was one of his faults: the hotheaded impulsive side of him that could be deadly within a blink of an eye. But then again he was trying to find revenge, seek out the vengeance for all who died in those camps. There was still more to Joe than I anticipated, but I was not one to have his negative setbacks be the center of my view of him.

We would eyes each other every once in awhile as stories were shared, having me see the same glint in his brown orbs and how his smile looked in the light of the candles in the room. I only smiled back at him, knowing that we both shared a fleeting glance at one another that the others wouldn't dare to think was past friendship.

"So this one chick I picked up at a store, right? Nice smile, pretty in the face when she smile with no teeth. But when the girl opened her mouth, it was like I was looking right into a bat French person's mouth….only like 5 teeth there!" We all groaned from his story, then laughing as he was howling in his spot.

"How about this one: I was with this one good looking girl who I met in school. We were back at her place, kissing into oblivion, when all of a sudden I see that she was lopsided in the chest!" Buck said to the group, having us all laugh once more as I was sitting next to Doc, seeing him smirk though he was not as loud with the laughter as the rest of us were. I had my head leaned against his shoulder though he didn't mind at all as we were listening to all the stories of old flames and old pranks. My hand was still sore, a bit purple and blue and was still healing. Since my punch out with the soldier, I was getting more intense glare from the men since they were now seeing me in a new light. Rather than being a delicate flower, though I knew they saw me a tough enough to get through war, I was unofficially a badass in their minds. Well, at least that's what Luz told me.

"You got any embarrassing stories there, Red?" Frank asked me as he watched me from the other side of the room. I tried to think of a good one, my head still on Doc's shoulders as they were all watching me now, big grins on their faces.

"I have one, about medical school," I explained, sitting up and crossing my legs in front of me before I went on, "I was about 19 at the time. We had a patient come in, this smooth talkin' guy who's sitting the bed with gauze wrapped around his waist like fifty times. He starts trying to have a conversation with me, flirting with me if you will." As I said this, all of the men were listening intensely. I could even see Joe leaning in a bit to hear the rest of the story from his spot on the chair.

"He was trying to get my address so he could take me out to dinner. I knew he was still of shit, he sounded like it from where I was. Anyways, I grab his paperwork and I realized….he got his cock blown clean off from a hunting accident with his buddy." I explained some more, hearing the men groan in unison and some of then even crossing their own legs. But I held up a finger to them.

"Oh, it gets better. I decided to be the devious one and go over to my friend Kate, she's the prettiest nurse in the whole ward and I told her to try and see if you can get his wood up, if it is still workable really." I explained some more, hearing the snickering of the men from hearing the plane that I had made, "So she walks over there, and already he's long gone from seeing her there with her face. She talks to him….and after a good five minutes he yells out in pain and grabs his crotch as if it was lit on fire." The men roared in laughter from the story, having me grin from ear to ear as they were just enjoying that story a bit too much. I only took another swig from the wine bottle that was handed to me by Doc, who was also laughing from next to me.

"Geez, Red. You are one hell of a Catholic Nurse." O' Keefe said in a grin to me, having me see the innocence on his face and how his laugh reminded me of a child. I just shrugged my shoulders. We all were quiet then but content with being around each other and having a moment of peace within that room.

"What do you think you're gonna do, after this whole thing is over?" Malarky asked all of us from behind me, having me think about it. After this war: the mere thought sounded so far away yet it was closer than we thought. We are going to be heading back to America any time soon, and once we were there, we were on our own. No more patrols, no more getting shot at, restless nights and constant empty stomachs. We were going back to a normal life, but was it normal? To me, what I was doing now was normal. I was so used to being a combat medic, being used to going out on the line for my fellow comrades in the war. So, going back to New Orleans…it was if I was going into the war again: new and scary. Was I going to have a normal life anymore?

"Get my old job back I guess," Luz replied, having me see him grimace from the mere thought, "Who knows. I'd be fine with even moving furniture around for a living."

"High doubtful," Frank commented from his spot, "Maybe I'll go back into the family business."

"Going back to school for once, and finishing finally." Webster said in a thoughtful tone from his own spot against the window, leaning against it in deep thought.

"I wanna travel," I said aloud, thinking of it more since Doc and I spoke about it in Germany, "See the rest of America that I haven't seen yet: New York, Washington, maybe even San Francisco." As soon as I mentioned San Francisco, Joe and I locked eyes on one another, having one moment with each other even in the room filled with men who were contemplating on their own futures. I only stared at him, no smiling or frowning. We both were seeing a future together, whether it was traveling around America or just settling down in a house away from the rest of the world. I didn't mind where we were going to be, as long as he was a part of it and not away from it. This war was going to be a big dent in my life, a high one, and it was never going to fade off. But I had to look into the future, as if it was a page of a book that was waiting to be touched and turned over. To start fresh, a firm foundation of a new era.


"So you wanna travel huh?" Joe asked me as we were side by side on the bed that Malarky was on two hours ago, though now it was just Joe and I in the room since the rest of the guys were back in their apartment rooms. The candles were still lit though they are low now, giving the room a dimmed light and an odd sense of warmth filling the both of us. We were both staring at the ceiling, holding hands as out joined hands were on top of Joe's chest. I head was on his shoulder, my red hair cascading down against his jacket and on the mattress.

"I've always wanted to, and since I've already been around Europe, America seems like the better bet." I explained to him, having my other hand rest on his arm that was between us and stay there, rubbing the fabric of his jacket sleeve with my thumb as I watched the high arched ceiling above us.

"What would you wanna see?" Joe asked, his voice filling the room and making it sound heavenly to me.

"New York," I replied, having me smile from the thought, "I'd hate to be the typical tourist, but I would want to see all of it and it's glory. And maybe the Pacific Northwest and experience real rain and real cold."

"What about San Francisco?" Joe questioned.

"Well, of course, since that's where you live and all. I wanna see your house." I explained, having me then feel him wrap his arm underneath me and pull me against his chest, my arms around going around his waist.

"My house isn't that fantastic to see, it's more of a brick house crammed away in the back alley of the city. Not too glamorous." Joe explained to me though I shook my head from hearing the way he spoke about his own home.

"I still wanna see it though." I reminded him, seeing him look down at me as I looked up at him. He was smirking again, having me feel the blush against my cheeks.

"Well, what about your place?" Joe asked me, having me hear the intrigue in his tone as I rolled my own eyes.

"It's practically a farmhouse on the bayou, Joe." I explained to him, hearing him chuckle next to me as we were side by side on the bed, seeing the tinted ceiling above us.

"So we can both agree: we have shitty homes." Joe said in a light tone though I shook my head.

"Don't call them shitty." I scolded him, hitting him lightly on the arm and hearing him laugh from my antics on them, "It would be shitty if we have shitty families. But from what you told me, you don't. I wanna meet your family." Joe went quiet, having me roll over to lay on my stomach, my chin on my hands that were now on his chest. He was watching me from his spot, the smile never leaving his face as he hands went to my back, rubbing my back with his skinny fingers.

"What? You don't want me to meet your family?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head, the smile was infectious to have me smile at him.

"I think they would love you, hands down. You're hotheaded, stubborn, you dig your heels in what you know and what you're good at, and not to mention you're gorgeous." Joe replied, having me shake my own head, but he went on, "I swear, I'm gonna keep saying you're gorgeous until it gets through those red curls of yours. Anyways, I think my mom would make you so much cake that you'll get sick. She tends to do that with any girls I would bring home."

"And how many have you brought home, if I may ask?" I pressed him, seeing him shake his head.

"You will never know." He answered, having me glare at him as he stuck his tongue at me in retaliation.

"You're not being fair here." I teased him, seeing him eye me some more from his spot, my fingers tapping his chest as I waited for him to say something in this peaceful mood.

"What about your family?" Joe asked me.

"I think they could handle you since you are very much a gentleman," I said in a shrug, having me see him bite his lip from hearing the teasing in my voice, "Honestly, my mom and dad are pretty much down to earth, not even stuck up or saint-like. I think my dad would like you, you both would mesh really well. Along with Owen, God would he love to meet you and talk about cars and comics with you."

"I would love to meet them," Joe replied back to me, having me got back to resting my head against his shoulder and the both of us staring at each other, "And who knows, I can meet them sooner than you think. I do want to get their blessing though."

"Blessing?" I asked, seeing him look at me intently.

"For me to marry you." Joe explained some more, his voice was more serious at me. having me then shift so I was on my side facing him. He wanted my parent's blessing to see if it was okay if we got married, something that I would never expect to come from Joe. Not that Joe was no gentleman to begin with, but then again it was still a shock to me. I never would think of them wanting to go that extra mile for me. This could not be a joke, not from him since the look he was giving me was filled with love. He shifted as well, facing me on his side so we were inches apart from each other, almost breathing the same air.

"You want my parent's blessing?" I asked him slowly, seeing him still stare at me as if this was no joke.

"If I'm not going to screw up in one thing in my life, it's going through this whole thing with you, okay?" He asked me, no ounce of teasing there and determination in his face as he watched me carefully, "I'm already trying to not be a screw up as it is, and for me to do this for—" But I instantly had to shut him up by kissing him there, grabbing his face in my hands and feeling him freeze for a moment before responding to me. I wanted to kiss him for multiple reasons: for wanting my parents blessing to marry me, for still wanting to marry me after I broke a man's nose, and just to simply shut him up from talking about how he was too insecure for me. We both were in fear about being too insecure for each other. I kissed him hard, no longer needing to show sweetness to him and I could feel him kissing me back just as hard and lustful.

Within a moment, he grabbed me by the hips, still kissing me and then he roll us over where I was underneath him and he was above me. He threw off his jacket within a moment, almost like a blink of an eye as he then wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up through his kissing, having me now sit on his lap as our make out session was continuing on. One of my hands was back in his brown short locks and the other was on his neck as both of his hands were on my hips, holding me there on his lap and not wanting to let me go. I could feel my hair framing my face and my own heartbeat going into overdrive, but I didn't care at this point since I was too far gone in his kisses and his hold one me to care.

After what seemed like forever, we both pulled away from each other and just looked a teach other. He had swollen lips, his cheeks were red and his breath was already ragged from us going at it. I think I looked pretty much the same. After a pure moment or just looking at once another and drinking in the afterglow of our loving on each other, we both broke out into childish grins and giggled. I felt like I was laughing more than him, though his giggle was softer and more sincere.

"Damn woman, you're going to be the death of me." He said in me in a raspy tone, having me hear him speak for the first time since we started to kiss there on the bed. He then rested his forehead against my own again, his hands on my back and having me feel the fingers through my thin shirt and onto my heated skin, "You have no idea how hard it is for me, to not just tell people about us. It kills me sometimes….not being able to simply hold your hand in public, let alone kiss you because you deserve it." I smiled as he whispered these things against my lips. I only wanted this thing as well, it also made me so sad that I could not publicly kiss him for all the men to see and to be understanding.

"You can kiss me all you want as soon as we go home, anywhere and at anytime," I reassured him, resting a hand on his cheek and rubbing the cheek with my thumb with tenderness, "Though I'll miss the thrill of kissing behind our boys' backs. But it hurts me too…not being able to kiss you in the open."

"And even just to hold you…like this." Joe went on with his woes, having me feel his arms go completely around my waist and trapping me there in his lap, "It's just a bad tease, the worst I have ever felt when I see you right in front of me…and I can't even touch you." I shook my head against his, no longer wanting to hear him say how much it hurt him for not being able to be close to me.

"Hush now, love." I cooed him, pulling him close and rest my head against his and my chin on his shoulder, closing my eyes and the both of us just hugging each other on the bed. We were both worn from the war, almost being kill so many times and having so much emotion held up that it would explode at any moment. We didn't need to do anything else but hold each other and just….breathe.

Somewhere in the apartment building complex, music starting playing softly on a record player, haunting the whole area with orchestra strings and a lovely melody coming through the silence. I smiled, hearing the soft sound of the music filling our room from farther away, hearing it was a French song from Edith Piaf. I only knew one or tow of her songs, but I could translate them all.

"Sometimes I dream that I am in you arms,

and you speak softly in my ears

you say things that make me close my eyes

and I find that marvelous."

I translated out loud in a whisper for only the both of us hear. I could feel him smile against my neck as I went on with the song, having this one moment with Joe and not know what was going to be held next for the both of us. But this was enough for me, enough for me to hold onto until I figured out what my future was going to look like.

"Maybe on day you will return,

I know that my heart waits for you

you can not forget

the past days we spent together

my eyes never stop searching for you

listen well, my heart calls you

we can love each other again

and you'll see life would be beautiful."


A few more days went by, having us again feel like we were stuck there unless we had an excuse to go back home. There was no green light to leave Germany yet, which meant more waiting and more wondering. Since the war was truly over, why where we still here? I was constantly trying to keep my own mind at ease and away from the future by making myself busy: helping other medics in training since those medics would be transferred over to the Pacific for help there. I was even asked to go there since Medics were very much needed. As tempting as it was, my mind told me not to. I remember the conversation clearly, seeing myself in front of Dr. Kent again as he was explaining the situation with me outside out at base camp, having me hear the soldiers run to and fro and see the tents set up. A German small battalion, all of them were prisoners and waiting orders from their commander, who was also a prisoner.

Dr. Kent was talking to me, having me stare at him and see that he would be willing to make me one of the head Medics in the Pacific since I got both a Bronze Star and was recommended by both Doc and Winters for my work. I was wearing my new uniform: a woman's army jacket with my bronze star on the chest, pencil skirt with tights and heels, my hair in a low bun and my garrison on my head. My eyes then went over to Joe, whom was standing with his own army uniform on and a rifle over his shoulder, the garrison he was wearing had the paratrooper badge on the side. He was watching me, seeing what was happening and knowing that I was being asked to move on with my position. But I looked back at Dr. Kent, who was waiting for an answer.

"I wish to decline, sir." I replied to him, seeing a surprised look on his face.

"Why is that, La Noux? You're one of our best medics." He explained to me.

"And I thank you for that, sir. However, I wish to just go home and start a new chapter with my life. I am thankful and grateful for being here sir, there's no doubt in that. But I just need to be home." I explained softly, seeing him smile and nod his head at me.

"Thank you for your honesty." He replied to me, sounding more genuine than hurt that I refused a position with him.

"Thank you, sir." I replied back to him, then walking away from him and over to Joe, who looked really surprised at me as if I was slapped in the face. I only smiled at him, though he shook his head from what he heard.

"You turned down a promotion?" He asked me, disbelief was in his voice as I just simply shrugged my shoulders, my hands behind my back and really not caring at this point who was watching me smirk at him.

"I have arrangements already that I would hate to break." I explained, seeing him slowly smile from what I was telling him. We had our promises to one another, to go to each other's homes and see what brought each other peace and harmony. Who was I to break it now since the war was already done and over with. I then saw Joe reach into his pocket, shuffling around a bit before pulling something out in his hand. It was a small brass ring, something that looked so simple, but the way he held it made it more magical in my eye. He smiled sheepishly at me as he held it out for me.

"I uh…I got this for you last night with Luz." He said to me, gently grabbing my left hand and slowly slipping it on my finger before I could even say anything about it, "I'm gonna get you a better one when we have the chance back in America, but I just….I don't know. I think I just wanted to give you this as a start." I smiled widely at him, seeing that it was fitting perfectly on my finger and it made me look more official as his soon to be wife. Joe smiled at me, having me really wish that we were alone together again. But this was enough, he wanted me to have this to show that he meant what he's been saying and showing me since the moment he met me.

"This is perfect Joe." I replied back to him, almost not being able to both breathe and say that to him. He just smiled, taking my hand in his and having me see the bronze ring glisten in the sunlight that was high above us. This was our first step, having me only wish that we were back in America now so we can be properly married and start our lives together. But the thought was short lived when we saw two people walking over in our direction. One of them was a regular private, but the other gave me chills down my spine. I never thought I would see his face once more, but there he was. I moved my hand away from Joe as we both watched with cool looks on our faces.

Captain Sobel.

He walked by Winters and Nixon who were in the jeep across from us, the both of them watching Sobel and the private walk by. The private saluted Winters no problem, and he returned it. But Sobel did nothing, still walking and having me see Winters watching him now with Major eyes.

"Captain Sobel." He started.

"Major Winters." Sobel replied, trying to sound civil, but not looking at him.

"Captain Sobel." Winters said aloud, having Sobel finally look over at him, "You salute the rank, not the man." Sobel then, reluctantly and with pain in his face for doing this, saluted him and then stalked off, not even looking at Joe and I as he did this with the private right behind him like a lost puppy. Joe smirked from his spot next to me, though he too was annoyed. I just shook my head from the entire sight.

"What nerve." Joe said to me as we both walked over to the jeep, Joe shrugging off the rifle as we heard the German commander talking to his men in German. I listened, standing next to the jeep with Winters and Nixon.

"Liebgott?" Winters asked aloud as Joe looked over to listen to what they were saying.

"Men, it's been a long war, it's been a tough war," He started translating as the man spoke on to the others, "You have fought bravely, proudly, for your country. You are a special group, who found one another a bond that exists only on combat." Joe leaned against the jeep as he said this, looking on not with disgust, but with content on his face. Winters and Nixon listened too, though Winters felt more moved as I merely felt as though I was hearing something too personal to these men. I never had bad feelings to the Germans, not once. So this felt as though I was intruding on them and their moment together.

"Of shared foxholes, Held each other in dire moments. Have seen death and suffered together. I am proud to have served with each and every one of you, you deserve long and happy lives of peace." Joe finished, having me feel a tear down my own cheek. I was affected by him saying this, of all things. This was the official way to end of the war, at least in my own book: to hear the enemy commander tell the men that they deserve to live and no longer be in fear, that they made their own bonds together and they were brave and true. That was enough for me, to know that I did what I thought was right and I did enough.

I was enough for this Band of Brothers.