May 30th, 1944

Aldbourne, England

"Thank you, again, for lettin' me borrow your books to read," I was in one of the common rooms of the hospital in the early evening, the windows were left open for the light spring air to come in and cool off the night from how warm it was that day. But then again, it was early that day since the next morning, the men were going to move out to Upottery and get ready for their big jump into the war. It was going, I knew it was and I could feel it in the air. Everyone could, both the soldiers and the nurses were feeling it as the day was getting closer and closer now. I didn't want to think about, mostly because I had to make the decision to get close to the men that were there in Aldbourne, the men in Easy Company who were more than just soldiers. They were young men, almost too young for my liking really, and they were still in their golden age to find their real purposes and lives.

But not this.

"It's no trouble at all, I doubt anyone would be missing these books anyhow if the go missing. Most of them are collecting dust any who," I admitted to him now as he was scanning some of the pages there within the thick book that was within his hands now. We were the only ones out there in the common room, the other nurses were back in their rooms and the soldiers were in their living quarters. Our common room was located on the second floor, out of the way from the patients and the only way to get in and out was through the stairs in the back since we weren't allowed to go in and out of our quarters when the patients were there. It was mostly packed with old couches and chairs, a few desk to write home at, bookshelves with medical books and journals, along with other reading material that was left there from past nurses and residents, and a few knick knacks on the shelves and on the floor. We were sipping tea there on the main couch in the middle of the room and some candles were lit in order to both save electricity and to not give our location way.

"You read this one?" He asked me in curiosity, having me look over his shoulder to see that it was in a chapter about the brain and its effects from damage.

"Thumbed through it once or twice to get through training here," I answered, seeing that he was on a page that showed the illustrated picture of the brain, "I needed some more information on the artery flow."

"Guess it's not a light coffee table read, is it?" He asked in a snort now as he looked a bit more confused with he brain picture that was in front of him and I had to grin from his snarky reply with the book in his hand.

"Lighter than the other books in here," I responded, seeing I'm crack his short smile that he had shown to me since we sparked a friendship between us. I liked him plenty, we both talked about medicine and what could happen out there in the field, along with any other medical tips I could give him when it came to his satchel and his now knowledge. He was more curious than anything about medicine, what kind of tools he would need to use and me coaching him with easier ways to use them.

"Doc?" I asked him now, seeing Doc look up from his reading of the book and give me his famous quizzing look on his face now as I asked him the one question on his face, "Are you afraid?"

He didn't say anything for a moment or two now as he the thinking of how he would answer me. I really wanted to know if he was scared, I would be too if I was about to jump out of a plane. But I was going to stay there in town, I wasn't going to risk my neck out there on the front line. I was still going to be back here, within the walls of the hospital until they too send me somewhere else that would be better for me. I had some protection, where they were hardly going to have some.

"A little bit," He answered, having me see him think about it more to think before he drew in a shaky breath and went on, "I wasn't before I woke up a few days ago, but the more I thought about it the more nervous I got. I don't know what it's going to be like.'

"I don't think anyone does," I added to the conversation now, already trying to picture it in my head now and see what the next few days were going to look like, what the sky would look like when it was going to be lit up with firing from both sides, it didn't sit in, not yet. It still felt like a dream for me to try and dissect.

"I don't know what it'll be life for me, they talk about it all the time on how we're not supposed to be attached to the them," Doc explained to me now softly as he fiddled with the book pages there within his already calloused fingers and I watched him in silence, seeing the wheels turn in his head and now he too was getting all planned out in his head, "It sounded harsh when I heard it, but I guess it's true. We can't get attached to them because they could be…they could be dead the next morning or shot in front of us. We can't afford to lose our own minds out there on the field."

"Or here in the hospital," I added again, seeing him now look over at me and I had to look at him too to show that I knew he was telling the truth. He knew what he was talking about, how we were supposed to be trained in not turning a hopeful eye and to lose sight of what was really going on in the war.

"Are you afraid?" He asked me now giving me the same question that I just gave him moment who when we were just now starting to talk about this. Was I afraid to have this war right in front of me? To have my elbows and arms covered in blood? To see men dying all around me and having to learn how to jut go on with life and go on with my job.

"I am," I had to admit to him, a bit on the passive side really, and tell him the truth about it. To be very fair, I had to have been petrified with what was going to happen within the next few days, even the next few hours. I was afraid for myself, for the other nurses in the hospital, and then most of all, for the men in Easy.

"What are you most afraid of?" He asked me that question now, having me almost feel bitter about what I was about to tell him. What was it that was going to keep me awake mostly in the night? Was it how I was thinking that I myself would be killed if Aldbourne became a target? Or maybe how this war could be more devastating than we thought. But the one thing that popped into my head, or at least his face came into my head and almost made me deafly afraid, was Joe.

"Loosing the people I care about the most in the war," I responded back to him now, not wanting to give too much away to him about him knowing about Joe and I. I didn't want anyone else to know since, even though it would be seen a normal for a nurse having a fling with a soldier, it was still personal for me to let the others know, and I hoped Joe felt the same way since as of thus far he didn't tell anyone.

"Do you miss home?" He asked as he looked away from me and I fished out a cigarette for me to smoke through from the thoughts and anxiety of thinking about losing my friends and Joe.

"I do, from time to time. Washington D.C. this time of year is lovely," I voiced to him now, getting my own cigarette ready and then handing him the pack myself and then grabbing the lighter that was sitting on the coffee table to light up my own stick.

"Never been there," Doc explained shortly now as I light my stick and inhaled, then handing him the lighter too and seeing him do the same.

"I've never been to Louisiana either, so we're both in the same boat aren't we?" I asked him in a snort now, hearing him chuckle as I exhaled and he inhaled.

"You should see it, especially New Orleans." He voiced to me as he exhaled through his nose.

"Is that where you're from?"

"Nope, I'm from Baton Rogue." He explained as I eyed him and inhaled once more.

"I'd rather go to baton Rogue then, not New Orleans." I replied with a shrug of my shoulders now and he shield at me, having me see his teeth and how his cigarette was between his front teeth. It was then when the back door that lead out to the staircase in the back of the building opened, the both of us looking over in that direction and seeing someone coming through the door and closing it, a lanky figure that made me grin and exhale my smoke through my nose now and Doc looked back at me.

"That's my cue. Gotta get some shut eye anyways." He said to me as he grabbed the book in his hand and hopped up, having me hop up too and give him a hard hug. I was hoping to say goodbye to the men in the morning before they left to Upottery and off to the war that was lying ahead. I liked Doc plenty, like the others who were in Easy that wanted to talk to me and get to know me because I was the one who changed Joe for good. Doc was especially good to me, gentle and good to talk to and swap stories with.

"Take care, Doc. I'll come and say goodbye in the morning," I reassured him now as he was hugging me back and almost trying to remember me in that hold. He pulled away and smiled, having me see the look of innocence on his face and I wanted to remember that too.

"You better," He replied, having me grin at him one more time before me moved away from me and over to the back door now as the other figure walked over in my direction They both hugged, having me see the lanky face there as he cracked a smile at Doc and clasped him on the shoulder.

"I'll see you back at barracks, Doc," Joe said to him now as Doc moved on to the backdoor and then Joe walked over to me now, having me grin at him and walk over before he could meet me at the couch. I didn't want to have the talk with him about how we both had to look forward to what could happen to us in the future with this war. I was afraid to talk about it with him, almost making me feel like this was going to be some kind of fling of a romance that we were about to end. Yet to me it didn't feel that way, it felt like something that could be real. But what did Joe think about it?

"Doc givin' you good company?" Joe asked me as he hugged me close and I felt him almost nuzzle into me. I had to breathe him in, smelling the outside summer air and the sweat from his brow at he moved away and I handed him my cigarette out of habit. He inhaled deeply and we both walked over to the sofa again and he sat on the arm of the sofa and me in the middle now, facing him and seeing him exhale through his lips up at the ceiling.

"He needed a book to read and quiz up on before you guys would head out tomorrow," I explained as he then looked down at me now, the cigarette was between his lanky fingers and I saw him looking a bit out of the ordinary there. he was thinking about, I knew he was. But how he was thinking about it was making me squirm a bit on the couch. I wanted to pick his brain to see what was going on there, to see if we were still going to go on with what we were having right now.

"He's trying' to be prepared, good for Doc," He said to me now, inhaling once again now and I looked down a bit at my folded hands on my lap now and jut staying quiet for a moment or two. If I said what I was feeling, then we would be opening a whole of worms, but if I didn't, then it would be another mess in itself.

"He's a bit afraid you know," I voiced, still keeping my eyes on the lap.

"Who, Doc? No shit, what about?" he asked me in an amused tone now.

"About being in the war, jumping out of the plane," I said the first two on the list, hearing nothing from him now as I said those things to him, "Saving lives and not getting attached." I felt like I just threw a bomb at him, almost like I got his attention now as I slowly looked up at him and saw him looking right at me with eyes that were both loving and stern at the same time. He was getting what I was feeling and where I was going with this.

"Getting attached…" he trailed off, having me breathe out slowly now and then feel a bit uncomfortable. He handed me the cigarette back now and I inhaled without thinking twice and seeing him nod his head.

"He's not the only one who's afraid of being attached to someone," I commented to him now and I could see him squirming a bit on the arm of the sofa and watched me exhale through my lips

"Georgie," Joe started with me, looking at me with caution there written on his face as he said my name, but it sounded different this time. Usually the way he would say my name it was lovely, almost hypnotic, but now it was almost like he was about to treading water and not drown for it, "I wanted to talk to you about me leaving tomorrow."

"It's a bit scary for me to think about Joe," I said back to him now, trying not to give in with my feelings now and cry a river out of my eyes, "And I knew it was coming from the moment you kissed me last year, that I would be having to let you go."

"I took that risk, Georgie," Joe explained as he then moved down onto the sofa from the arm there and was still keeping diatonic from the both of us but close enough where he could reach out to me and hold our hands together, "I wanted to kiss you, and I admit it was a bit of a bold move on my part to do that, but I knew what I wanted and what I wanted was you,"

"I think you're not expecting me to sit here safe in this town while you jump out of a plane, right?" I asked him now, seeing him sigh as I gave him the cigarette now and he inhaled, now looking a bit on edge now to hear what was going on with the both of us.

"You wanna join me in the plane I suppose?" He asked me back, trying to keep his own tone of sarcasm down and I eyed him carefully now as he exhaled through his nose.

"I would like to try and have some kind of reassurance that my boyfriend is going to survive," I advised him, seeing him now cock his eyebrow at me and I looked at him with stupidity now since it made no sense to me that he would be smiling.

"What?" I asked him, not getting the joke if there was one.

"You called me your boyfriend," He stated, having me still be a bit peeved on how he was dealing with this and yet he was stating something that didn't seem on the subject.

"So?" I asked him, shrugging my shoulders now and seeing him take the cigarette in his hand now, between his fingers and place it on the ashtray of the coffee table without breaking eye contact with me. He then leaned over to me, placing his lips on mine and holding it there for at least a few moments now, once again wiping my brain from all kind of memory that I thought I had before. This kiss was rather sweet to me, the small twang of a scent of tobacco on his lips and it almost placed me in a haze now as he pulled away and placed his hands on my neck to center me there in front of him on our sofa there in the common room.

"I'm not as afraid to jump out of a plane," Joe said to me in his raspy voice and our head were still so close together, "Not now since I know you're my girlfriend and I care about you more than I can admit,"

"I'm still scared, Joe," I told him softly as his thumb was caressing my check there and his eyes were still so soft looking at me, "I'm scared for the both of us."

"You don't have to be," He reassured me.

"How?"

"For one, we're not like the other couples around here to consider a great time as a fling, I don't see that with us. You're worth more than that to me, Georgie. Secondly, you and I both know how to really get our asses out of a situation better than most here, so we don't have to worry about that part of this whole shithole situation." Joe explained to me now as I felt him moved his fingers into my hair now to keep them there.

"You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?" I asked him in a raspy manner now, both still reeling from that kiss and also from what he was telling me and letting me know we both were capable of going through this war with our heads on straight.

"Plenty of times after I kissed you, I did," He commented back to me, "I get that you're scared about this, but I think we can ultimately get through this." Our foreheads touched them, almost like he was leaving a seal on me to breathe and let what will happen….happen. He had confidence in this, he was confident in the both of us, even after acknowledging that our lives are going to shift dramatically, almost like the floor to give out from underneath us and we would free fall into an abyss.

"Once I get word where I am and where I'm gonna go, I'll write to ya," He promised me then, having me not help but smile at him since it sounded so simple and clear for me to hear,"WE can that kind of couple that writes to each other on how we miss each other's voice."

"You sure you really wanna do that?" I asked him in a coy manner, seeing him grin widely at me now and nod his head at me, "Never took you as a sap."

"I'm no sap, I'm just crazy for you," He replied to me. It seemed like he was crazy for me, it really did now as we were just enthralled with one another on the eve of his departure to war. At first I was sad to think that he would be gone and for who knows how long if he was going to make it out alive and hardly with any scratches there. We both were on a mutual understanding with one another in how this war was going to shape us. He was trying to be more positive, positive and productive about it since we had no other choice but to go along with the waves of life. I was just glad to be going through these waves with him.

I was not going to be alone for the ride.

Landsburg, Germany

March 13th, 1945

The back door of the jeep opened, having me blink a few times to see that it was dawn, wherever we were now and more soldiers were standing outside the jeep peering in at us. We must have looked wrecked there, skin barely clinging onto the bones there and our jackets and pants were battered to the point of almost falling off our bodies. Our hair was messy and pressed back, bags under our eyes that were so wide from the shock of still being out of the camp and popping out of our heads.

After we were taken into the German household, the man called one of the local battalions that were close by and explained to them, though a german translator, and they picked us up at his house to take us into Landsburg where a major was stationed and thy are going to take care of us from then. It was within the wee hours of the morning and now the sun was coming out us now.

"Are these the ones that Winter told us were coming?" One of the Lieutenants asked, looking at us in a bit of a grave manner now and it made me look at him twice now and realize that I have seen him before, almost like a distant memory now as he was looking right at me. I knew his face, I really knew his face and I tried to think back to when I did.

Oh…it was Carwood Lipton from Easy.

"Oh my God," He said in a low tone now as the others were looking a bit stray as I was in the back of the jeep, away from the light as he took in a shaky breath, "Georgiana?"

"You know her?" Another soldier asked now as he was clearly not getting what was going on. He looked aged, almost like the war did that to him and made him so with a weathered look there within his eyes, and what looked to be a distinct yet thin scar on his cheek near his jaw now. He looked the same and yet different at the same time.

"Yeah I do, I can take her from here over to Winters," He said to the soldier.

"Yes sir," He said back to him as they opened barrier now and some of the soldiers came over to reach out and help us out from the jeep. I had to look back at the others in there, Anthony, Benjamin, Charles and a couple of others who were still looking a bit on the bewilderment side from what we went through. I was the nearest one there now, reaching out and taking one of their hands to be helped down from the back of the jeep, onto the pavement and seeing plenty of other soldiers there, staring at each of us now as we were pouring out of the jeep and into the bright sun.

"You were in the camp?" Carwood asked me now, walking over to me and looking at me up and down. I was still in shock from how I was being an old friend in front of me, of all places there in Europe during the war, I had to see him here. But if it meant that he was here, then the others in Easy was nearby, and if that was the case, then I would see the faces of the past that I wrote in my journal. It was still in my jacket pocket again my chest, in worries that it would be lost forever.

"Yeah," I replied to him, my voice sounding a bit raspy now as I saw some of the others being escorted away from me now, having me turn and look as two soldiers were talking and walking away with Charles within their reach.

"Where is he going?" I asked in a panic, walking over there in a brisk pace and Carwood placed his hand on my arm to stop me, but my own mind and focus was on Charles who looked like he too had no idea what was going on, "Where are they taking him?"

"He's malnourished, he needs to go to a hospital and be inspected in case he's sick," He tried to explain to me, holding my arm now tightly in his hand and I looked back at him in almost a panic.

"Which hospital?" I asked him now in a lower tone, thinking that I needed to go find him and protect him from what could happen in the near future.

"Just down the street where we're stationed," Carwood replied calmly now seeing me panic a bit, "He's going to be fine, trust me."

"He's not sick," I tried to reason with him, but just seeing him walking away from me and out of my sight made me already want to cry and not longer think of anything else to do. Charles was our rock in that camp, and now they were thinking he was sick or something that made me sick in return now. It was hitting me in all corner now, not knowing where to look and what to hold onto as Carwood saw me crying and placed both of his hands on me now.

"Hey," he said, having me look up at him and seeing him smile gently at me, "I'll keep a tab on him for you and make sure you know how he's doing, okay?" I had to nod at that, tears were till stinging my eyes and having me sigh in defeat knowing that I was not going to see him at this second.

"Georgiana, we need to get you over to Dick Winters and let him know what happened to you, okay?" He asked me now, having me look away from the sight of Charles walking away and then nodding in agreement. He released one of my hands and escorted through the moving crowds of men that were watching me like I was a sideshow of some sort. Like I was foreign to them, and I must have been for most of the men who were looking at me with wide eyes and open mouths of shock and wonder. But I kept moving with Carwood now as he was getting us away from the edge of town where we were and over to the courtyard from what I could see. I looked too, not being able to recognize the kind of town that it was and seeing some of the citizens there, all bunching up together under the orders of other soldiers and moving out to the edge of town like they were being herded to go somewhere at the moment. Where were they going? As I walked past them, I could see them too looking at me like I was under some kind of microscope and being analyzed by them.

"Over here," Carwood said to me now, having me look ahead now and seeing some other soldiers talking together in the courtyard to each other in hushed tone now like there was something serious going on around or near them within that moment. but they all stopped within seconds, looking up and over at me now. At first, I was a bit scared to see them looking at me in a different fashion than the other soldiers mere moments before. But now I knew why they all looked like they are seeing a ghost.

It was them, Easy Company.

I knew their faces, it was just like how I saw Carwod and I thought I was being thrown into the past. But it was Johnny Martin, Frank Perconte, David Webster, Donald Malarky, they were all there. They were the same ones I met back in England years before, back before they were in the war and shifted for both the good and the bad. Once again, I saw the toll of war on their faces and in their uniforms and how they stood in front of me now. They were no longer cheerful, that was robbed from them now as I didn't say a single thing now, Carwood, still supporting me up with his hand on my arm and the others were standing close to one another.

"Jesus Christ." Babe Heffron said with a groan to his lips now, all of their eyes wide and some of them looked like they were about to cry. Was it me? Them being me shattered and almost skin and bones for them to witness. I must have looked like death, literal death now as Carwood finally spoke up.

"Someone grab Major Winters," he said to the group, but no one moved for a solid moment or two, still looking at me like this was a trick from God to see me. They all look tired, tired and angry. Johnny smacked Frank Perconte on the chest now.

"Go get him, Perconte," He said to him in a snark as Perconte bolted away after he tore his eyes from me. As he was running off, another soldier spoke up from behind Jonny now and I could hear what he was saying as he ran off too in another direction. The men finally walked over to me now, slowly and carefully and they were standing right in front of me. I could see the heartbreak, not their faces, and my own heart was tearing up and over again to see them all alive there in front of me. It almost felt like I was going to heaven now and seeing all who died in the war, but it made no sense since they were there in front of me and showing me that they indeed survived. I smiled weakly at them now, Bull being the first one to walk over to me now and look down at me. I didn't know what to do, and after a moment or two of us staring at each other, he finally leaned down to hug me gently without saying a word. I thought Carwood was going to push him off, but he didn't now as I felt Bull's tears on my battered jacket. I hugged him back, trying to find the strength to hug him and not lose my own energy from doing a simple hug. Once I hugged him, thinking of the others and how we were reunited again, I started to cry.

Really cry.

"Oh God, Georgie." I head Christenson say from near Luz now as I felt some of the other men place their hands on me and touch my jacket, my skin of my neck and just keep the hands there. It was like they were placing some kind of protection on me, most of them were close enough to touch me on my shoulder or arm now as I wept there in Bull's arm. It was a bittersweet reunion, almost like I was breathing again and seeing a family that I haven't seen in such a long time.

"You ain't going nowhere, you hear me?" Bull asked me as he pulled away and looked down with his big blue eyes that were watery and still crying. I nodded my head, my own tears were still falling freely like a waterfall as the men were moving away from me now and someone was running over to where I am.

"Where is she?!" It was a rushed tone, almost muffled, but I gasped as soon as I heard that voice. Oh, that voice, the very voice that brought me peace in the middle of the nights and throughout my time at the camp. It was real, it had to be real since I saw him weaving me way over to me now. He stood there in front of me, the other moving away from us to give us space and I was looking at him like I saw a ghost or even an angel that was there to rescue me. He was there.

Joe.

He looked too battered from the war, thick skinned and almost calloused in his eyes and on his skin, but it was still his face that haunted my dreams and my memories while I was away. I knew it was Joe that saved me from that camp. his voice telling me to push on, his face while I dream that would warm me up from my head to my feet, and the memories of him holding me telling me all was well. He saved me, he was my savior now as I saw him there plain as day. He was there within arms reach of me, and yet I couldn't much an inch now as he was looking at me up and down now like I wasn't there, I was a mirage. I wanted to reach out and grab him, holding him close and breathe him in order to realize that he was real and we were back together again, after long last.

"Georgie?" He asked me now, his voice was on the brink of tears and I had to smile at him, the first time that day I really smiled, even after all that happened to me. I fought to stay alive for him, as silly as it sounded because I knew our future was real enough to get to and reach out for with my bare hands. He then cried there in front of the men, the fresh tears there on his face and I were weeping once more, my smile was leaving me and I hide my face from him so that he wouldn't see me so weak. But I heard him rush over to me now, wrapping his arm around me and keeping me close to him and not letting me go for one moment.

I was no longer back at that camp, with a gun to my head and death knocking at my door every day I woke up or went to dead. I should be happy now, I should be beyond happy that I made it out of a slim chance of survival. I was back with Joe now and we were embracing each other now like it was the last thing we were going to do that day on earth.

But why was I empty inside?