A/N: Thank you Raging Raven for the review!
I do not own Band of Brothers. Lyrics by The Shins.

V. Pink Bullets
Over the ramparts you tossed
The scent of your skin and some foreign flowers
Tied to a brick
Sweet as a song
The years have been short, but the days go slowly by
Two loose kites falling from the sky
Drawn to the ground and an end to flight

"Where you from, son?" Malarkey said, tormenting the German prisoners of war as the stray paratroopers headed toward the camp.

Cora turned and looked at Malarkey as he struck up a conversation with one of the Krauts about their common place of birth. With a single glance, she warned him not to stay too long. He nodded, but did not listen. She continued down the muddy road, following the sound of male voices. Her tension eased as familiar accents and tones filled her ears.

"Hey, Easy Company!" Joseph Liebgott called out as his comrades entered the camp.

Just as quickly as Lipton had, he fell into Cora's embrace: one of sisterly tenderness. "My Chosen brother!" she laughed. The two Jews stood with their foreheads pressed against one another and their hands clasped together, praying softly. He brought his lips to her cheek and she departed. Her eyes scanned the crowd of men for other faces, but only found a tall, red head. As she got closer, she found the person she was originally trying to find. His blonde hair, although slightly stained with mud, shined brilliantly in the diminishing sunlight and served as a beacon as Cora fought her way forward. With a smile plastered on her face, she called his name.

Buck stood next to Dick with a grin just as wide as Cora's. He spun her around like a small child when she found her way into his arms, her face buried into his neck and her laughter stifled. "It's good to see you, girl," he said with a laugh. They stood in a tight grip like old friends, despite only knowing each other for less than a month. "You alright?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" she scoffed. "I'm fine. I'm a tough broad remember? You look a little banged up though. Anything serious?"

"No. I'm okay. Just a few scratches."

Cora nodded. "I'll take a look at 'em later."

Half a second later, her name rang out and she was off to work: healing, stitching, and fixing. A switch went off in her brain, changing her from amiable to intense. Her fingers were quick on large open wounds with a thin needle and strong thread, and gentle while pressing gauze to bleeding sores. She was suddenly in her true role: surgeon. In a matter of minutes, at least four men were on stretchers and on their way to an aid station or hospital where they would heal properly. Cora watched her last patient get carried off and she stood, defiant and satisfied, with her hands on her hips.

"Easy Company, on me!" Dick called.

Cora quickly stepped through the crowd toward the barn where they were meant to gather. With a handkerchief that Buck handed to her, she wiped the remaining blood from her hands. Suddenly surrounded by the rest of her company, she listened intently to Dick's instructions. As far as she was concerned, he was their CO.

"The 88's we've been hearing have been spotted in a field, down the road a ways. Major Strayer wants us to take 'em out. There are two guns that we know of, firing on Utah Beach, and plan on a third and a fourth, here and here," he said, drawing a diagram using X's and lines. "The Germans are in the trenches, with access to the entire battery and with machine guns covering the rear. We'll establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast with two squads of three."

"How many Krauts they think we're facin'?" Guarnere asked.

Dick looked around at his troops. "No idea."

"No idea?" Cora replied in disbelief.

He looked at her with eyes that expressed the same emotion. "We'll take some TNT along with us, to spike the guns. Lipton, your responsibility. Liebgott, you'll take the first machine gun with Petty, A gunner. Plesha, Hendrix, you take the other. Who does that leave?"

The remaining few raised their hands. "Compton, Malarkey, Toye, Guarnere. Okay, we'll be making the main assault. Cora, you know what to do. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," they all answered.

When they arrived at Brecourt Manor, the guns were pounding like the beat of a Native American drum in Cora's ears. The orders she was given were simple enough: wait for the call and stay out of harm's way. Wait for the call… the worst part for her was the waiting.

It didn't take long, though. The minute the men got to the trenches, one of them called for a medic. Cora rushed out from her hiding place and dashed down into the ditch in front of Popeye. She leaned down.

Before she could ask him anything, a grenade landed behind Joe Toye, who quickly rolled up.

"You're one lucky bastard, Joe," Bill yelled to him as Toye checked himself for any wounds.

Cora leaned down again. "Where're you hit, Pop?"

"I can't believe I fucked up!" he looked up at Cora, embarrassment written all over his face. "My ass, Captain. I don't think it's too bad."

"Think you can make it back yourself?" Dick asked him, reloading his weapon alongside him. He looked to Cora with his classic military pretense. "Go," he told her. She nodded and headed above ground, crawling on her belly toward the trees. Popeye crawled out as well after being lifted up by Compton and Winters. They both reached safety near a broken, rusted truck. Lipton waited there too.

Cora bent over the soldier, working as quickly as she could, while also healing a slightly bruised dignity. She removed the bullet and patted him on the back.

"You'll be alright, Popeye," Lipton assured him before rushing off to hand over the TNT to the others.

"Cor, you think this is a ticket home?" he asked.

"Not sure, Pop. Maybe."

"Shit, I just got here…"

Cora laughed and sewed up the small hole in his uniform. "Then hopefully it won't be. Besides, I kinda like having you around."

Cora waited there with him until the jeep came and drove him back to the battalion headquarters. She was left there, once again. She could hear Dick calling from the trenches, something about falling back to the original positions. Suddenly, he came barreling toward her, waving his arm.

"Come on, Cora. Back to battalion!"

She stood immediately and took off toward headquarters, the lieutenant coming right up alongside her. They walked back into the camp together, trying to catch their breath. Dick nodded and left to report to Strayer. As he turned, Cora continued to walk straight. She attempted to remove the dirt and grime from her face as she wandered forward, only looking up when she heard the rumble of the tanks. She nodded to the soldiers perched on top of the vehicles until one of them slowed to a stop.

Lewis Nixon, a devilish smile on his face, motioned for her to join him. He took her hand and pulled her up next to him. Cora laughed and took the cigarette from his lips, ignoring his annoyed expression. He removed another one from his pack and lit it with hers.

"Where's Dick?" he asked. "I thought the two of you were joined at the hip."

"We were, but he had to go tell Strayer about Brecourt. Lucky boy."

As the tank drove, the two found their friend standing on the side of the road. Cora tapped the metal next to the driver, signaling for him to stop again. Dick smiled up at Nixon and Cora, shaking his head a little. "Going our way?" Nixon asked.

Cora hastily maneuvered herself behind him, swinging her legs over the side toward the open countryside. "Nice ride you got here, Nix."

"Straight from Utah Beach. We should put 'em to work before they're missed."

They traveled until the evening began to set in and the sun dipped below the horizon. The troops stopped in a small town, for they were all given an hour to rest and find food. Cora found some refuge in the back of a truck with a group of Easy Company men who were waiting for Malarkey to finish cooking. It was stuffy and whatever the Irishman was concocting, the smell made Cora sick to her stomach.

"My God, Malarkey, my ma's cooking isn't even this disgusting!" she teased, remembering her mother's attempts to make anything other than her traditional New Yorker dishes.

"And what would you suggest, Cor? Gefilte fish or something?" Guarnere interjected.

Liebgott and Cora exchanged amused glances. "Hell no!" they cried in unison.

Malarkey began to serve his creation, which Cora discovered wasn't as revolting as it smelt. She scoffed it down in five large bites, a habit that she had from being one of six children. The men watched in awe as the slight woman quickly turned the fork into a shovel, stating the occasional, "Jesus Christ, Cora!"

Guarnere pulled the fabric flap back, trying to get some cleaner air to his lungs. Dick spotted him and faintly heard Cora's laughter coming from that same direction. "Evening," he greeted, peaking into the back of the truck. "Did something die in here?"

"Yeah, Malarkey's ass," one of them joked.

"Uh, any word on Lieutenant Meehan yet, sir?" Buck asked, stirring the food around.

"No, not yet," he replied.

The idea that Dick was their commanding officer, although it meant that something had happened to Meehan, made Cora's heart soar. She knew from the beginning that he had been best suited for the job above all others. She fought back a smile that attempted to play across her face, revealing her true thoughts.

"Joe, the lieutenant don't drink," were the words that snapped her out of yet another daydream.

All eyes fell upon Dick as he reached for the bottle Toye was offering him. "It's been a day of firsts." He took a long swig and instantly regretted in as he struggled to swallow the bitter liquid. "Don't you think, Guarnere?"

Bill took a drink from the bottle after Winters, issuing an unspoken end to their battle for power. Before exiting and leaving his troops behind, he turned. "Oh, Sergeant? I'm not a Quaker."

Cora was the first to erupt with laughter, followed quickly by the rest of the men. It was probably the first time that the wit she had come to adore surfaced. The topic swiftly traveled to Mennonites and Lancaster County, and Cora felt forced to leave. As she climbed from the vehicle, she saw Nix coming toward her.

"You just missed him," he told her, cutting off what was to be a pleasant hello.

She nodded and shrugged her shoulders before heading in the direction that he had pointed to. The twigs snapped beneath her boots as she ambled down the path, flashing lights in the distance leading the way. Dick was instantly silhouetted by the warfare, casting a dusky shadow on the moist ground. Cora came up alongside of him as he sank down into the seat of a jeep. Her body moved close to him and she rested her head on the top of his affectionately. He took her hand in his, their fingers knitting together. The fire danced in their blue eyes and somewhere deep inside of their bodies. While one prayed, the other dreamed. For both, it was the day of days, which they ended together.

A/N: So this is obviously turning into a WintersOC. But for all that are wondering what happened to Sobel, just wait! Be ready for an appearance pretty soon…