Thank you so much for the reviews! And I forgot to thank Higgles123 for allowing me to bounce the idea off!

Guarnere didn't have an opportunity to say anything when she returned again. Not only was he busy moaning in pain from his exercises, but Liz quickly placed his pills on the nightstand before leaving again just as quickly.

They watched her go. "Did ya scare her or somethin', Joe? Can't trust ya with anything."

"Be nice or I won't tell you her name."

That got his attention. He sat up and suddenly his pain was manageable. "Look at you, casanova."

Toye rolled his eyes, massaging his right thigh."You mean I was just nice to her instead of suggesting somethin' lewd?"

"And because she's a looker. Can't tell me you haven't noticed."

"That's it. You don't get to know."

Guarnere grinned. "Defending her honor already, are ya? Don't worry, Joe. I'll back off."

"Frannie will be so pleased."

"Hey, fuck off."

And just like clockwork, Liz arrived in the late morning. After seeing her for the last few days, Toye got to know her face more. Not as if he'd admit it to himself or Guarnere for that matter, but he looked forward to seeing her sharp brown eyes and hearing her smart comments every day. But today when she showed up, she looked absolutely ragged.

Before Guarnere could open his mouth, he asked, "Christ, are you OK?"

Liz met his eyes. "I'm assuming you mean that I look like shit. Well, if it's any consideration, I feel like it too." She gave him his pills.

Guarnere tried to meet her eyes. "Nurse?"

"I'm not a nurse, sergeant, or did you lose your hearing too?"

He grinned at Toye. "I like this broad." She turned to go. "Wait, what's your name?"

Liz paused. In the corner of her eye, she looked at Toye, surprised he didn't share with his curious friend. "Keep with 'doll,' 'honey,' or something equally as demeaning, sergeant. I need to go."

Guarnere turned to Toye and mock gaped. "Why do you get to know?"

Toye smirked, inwardly pleased with himself. He shrugged. "Keep nagging, Gonorrhea, or I'll let slip your nickname."

Toye was up and about the next morning for PT with Nurse Mindy. Guarnere wasn't exaggerating - the woman was damn scary. He did as he was told, even beyond the point of severe pain. Sweat poured down his back and he continued to try and strengthen what little muscles he had left in his right leg.

A figure caught his eye near the medicine cage. Liz was dropping off a few empty cups and retrieving some new ones. She stood out like a sore thumb in her OD pants and tshirt among all the nurses and doctors around her. She didn't speak to any of them beyond requesting additional medications for her next patients.

When she looked up, she caught his eye. Walking over to him, he caught a brief and small smile from her. "Nurse Mindy, huh?" she asked.

Toye nodded, leaning against the machinery to try and catch his breath. "How did you know?"

A mischievous glint entered her brown eyes, something he had never seen before. "Well, I see your file every day, of course, but even if I didn't, only she can make a grown man look like you right now."

Toye gave her a grin and rasped out through the pain, "Yeah, she's a real peach."

If he didn't see it happen himself, he would never have believed the short, sharp almost-bark of a laugh come from her. She looked like she didn't believe it herself.

Before Liz could respond, the woman in question came up behind her. "Feeling better today, I see."

Thinking at first that the terrifying woman was speaking to him, Toye watched as Liz took a deep, angry breath before turning to the nurse. "Yes, ma'am," she responded stiffly. "And it was nothing."

Nurse Mindy gave her a cool look and crossed her arms over her broad chest. "If you just allow us to do our job properly, Sergeant Brady, then I'm sure you'd be…."

Liz clenched her teeth and responded through them. "You mean by sending me home." Before the nurse could respond, she packed up everything in her arms. "I need to finish my rounds. I'll see you later, Sergeant Toye." And with a stiff nod to Nurse Mindy, Liz left them.

After a beat, the nurse turned back to Toye. "Why have you stopped, sergeant? Another ten rounds, if you'd please."

With memories of Sobel playing in his head, Toye watched Liz go, the questions surrounding her only growing.

Later that morning, Toye waited for Liz to come by with his pills. She had already given Guarnere his while he was gone at PT, something which Guarnere raved about, swearing he almost made the tough broad smile.

"I wonder why she wears those old OD pants. That ass would look so much better in those skirts the other gals are wearing."

"She's not a nurse, dumbass."

"Oh yeah, says who?"

Toye looked at his friend. "She did, dummy. And did you ever think that maybe those are her ODs?"

Guarnere scoffed. "A broad in Army? Christ, Joe. What next?"

"Actually, a broad in the Airborne."

They looked up to see Liz at the doorway. She walked to Toye and handed him his pills, but her eyes remained on Guarnere, and this time, they blazed. "82nd Airborne, in fact," she added.

Guarnere snorted. "Bullshit."

Liz cocked an eyebrow and leaned dangerously closer to him. "You think I haven't heard that before, sergeant? You think I haven't come across men like you, in my own company, that didn't believe it until they saw me graduate with my jumpwings? I'm curious, Guarnere, how many stars do you have over your wings?"

Guarnere lifted his chin proudly. "Two. D-Day and Operation Market Garden."

Liz's mouth twisted into a hard smile. "I've got four. Two the same as you, but before that, two in Italy."

"Bullshit," he said again, but not quite as confident this time.

She shrugged nonchalantly before standing upright again. "If they ever give me back my goddamn jacket, I'll even show you my chevrons. I don't want to further give you a heart attack, Guarnere, but we're the same rank."

Guarnere began to splutter, but Toye cut in. "It's true, Bill. I was there when Nurse Mindy addressed Sergeant Brady."

His friend turned to him, wide eyed. "You shittin' me?" Toye only shrugged, but was surprised to see Liz glancing at him with a calculating look.

She seemed to decide something then. To only Toye, she murmured, "My name is Liz. If I'm not at the front lines, save the Sergeant Brady crap."

He silently assessed her before nodding. "Then call me Joe. I ain't going back there either, not like this." She nodded back before turning to go.

Guarnere called after her. "You can call me Bill!"

"Shut it, Guarnere!"

He turned back to Toye, still in awe. "Hey asshole, when were you gonna tell me we was gettin' treated by a goddamn paratrooper?"

Toye only shook his head, his eyes still on the door. "I didn't know she was in the Airborne, only she was a soldier."

"Christ, if she got half the training we did, I'm a dead man."