Thank you for the amazing reviews! I love getting them and I hope you all like this chapter. And Higgles123 and Elixer BB I'm sorry for any tears shed!

December 31, 1944

Easy still awaited orders on where they were headed next. This didn't stop the Germans from attacking, although it wasn't nearly as constant as it was before Boxing Day.

Evelyn slid into the foxhole with Luz, breathing heavily and wiping frozen sweat from her forehead. He gave her a commiserating look. "How's Joe?"

Toye had just been hit in the arm and sent to the hospital. For anyone else, that would mean at least a week off the line. Evelyn wouldn't be surprised if she saw the stubborn man tomorrow. "Purple Heart number three for him, but it's thankfully not serious."

Luz breathed a sigh of relief and watched as she tried to get comfortable against him. After she squirmed a few times, he sighed again, this time in annoyance. "About done, sweetheart?"

Evelyn frowned, placing her cheek against his chest, but something felt off. "Sorry. I guess I'm just antsy." She wiggled one more time against him.

Luz froze. "Move like that again against my hips, Ev, and I'll be makin' you more than a little antsy."

She snorted, finally giving up and leaning against him. "I'd like to see you try, George." She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I can't seem to get comfortable. Maybe I should just stay up."

He shook his head with his eyes closed, his cheek pressed against hers from behind. "You're not going anywhere." He smirked to himself. "Unless you rather cuddle with someone else."

Evelyn sighed, closing her own eyes. "You know I don't sleep with anyone else for the most part."

"When you sleep at all, you mean."

She swatted at his head, but ended up just tousling his hair sleepily instead. "I will if you pipe down."

"Yes, ma'am."

A minute passed. "Hey George?"

"Who's the one makin' noise now?"

"Happy New Year."

He smiled against her hair. "Happy New Year, sweetheart."

January 1, 1945

It seemed Easy was going to go on the move, although not off the line. They were being called on again to push back the German forces. Although everyone was happy to get out of that damned forest, they were only moving forward to a new one.

For the officers and NCOs, the day was spent planning their next moves into the outskirts of Foy. For the rest of the soldiers, they happily sat together off the line, the enemy having already retreated the area.

Evelyn felt more relaxed than she had in what felt like years. As she sat around with her friends, she smiled listening to their laughter and conversation.

"What about you, Evie?" asked Malarkey.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

Hoobler nudged her with his elbow. "You've gotta have one. Just think."

Toye nodded, holding a mug of coffee in his hands. As predicted, he went AWOL at the first opportunity. "Mine is still slitting Hitler's throat myself."

"Don't forget about Roosevelt makin' Joe Toye Day."

Toye smirked. "But I'm raising it to twenty grand a year. Man can afford it."

Evelyn laughed with the others. They were sharing ridiculous new year's resolutions. She looked to Perconte on her other side. "What's yours, Frank?"

Before Perconte could answer, Alley butted in. "I bet to clean his teeth every hour of every day for the rest of his life."

While Perconte and Alley shoved one another back and forth in good fun, Malarkey threw a bean at her, hitting her in the forehead. He grinned when her mouth dropped open. "Come on, Evie. Share with us."

Evelyn wiped the grease from her face and threw the bean back at him. To her disgust and to the delight of the others, he caught it in his mouth and ate it. "Gross, Malark."

"Food is food."

With that remark, she had an idea before he could bug her again for her resolution. There was no way she was going to share the real one. "OK, I have it." The men nearby quieted. Perconte and Alley were now on the ground wrestling. "I'm going to get fat." They groaned, making her grin. "So fat. I'm going to eat my way through Berlin, finishing off every inch of Hitler's personal pantry and roll back home."

A few of them clapped in response, agreeing. Food source was becoming thin again as the Army tried to reach all regiments in the area. Roe caught her eye, seemingly the only one knowing she wasn't telling the truth. She looked away.

She only had one wish in her heart for 1945 - to make sure each and every one of them made it home in one piece. She knew the likelihood of this happening was incredibly slim, but it didn't stop her from praying for it every night when she fell asleep and every morning when she woke up, ready to take on the next day. But the realist in her made her incredibly melancholy.

The faces of those they had lost either from catastrophic injury or death had begun to plague her once more now that the action had quieted. First and foremost, her brother Jack entered her head, his quiet confidence and shy grin. Evelyn always looked forward to meeting the lucky woman he would find one day. What she imagined as her future sister-in-law faded away, like him.

Then more faces. Over and over again on replay. First the most recent, those fallen in the hellhole known as Bastogne. Judy. Julian. Smokey. Suerth. Renee. Anna. And then the others from before. They seemed like so long ago, but some only a few weeks. Meehan. Hall. Tipper. Blithe. Miller. Dukeman. Heyliger.

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut, and she could feel a gaze on her, figuring it was Roe. Taking a deep breath, she looked, but Roe was chatting with Martin, who had joined them, along with Guarnere and Randleman. The NCOs seemed to be done planning with the officers.

She looked around, but all the men were seemingly occupied. Squeezing both Perconte's and Hoobler's shoulders, she stood up. "I'm going to take a walk." They nodded, but quickly started talking again. Evelyn thought she felt a pair of eyes on her again, but she ignored it. She walked into the dark woods.

She wasn't sure how long and far she walked, but eventually, she made a loop back towards the men. Expecting to find them all together still, she was surprised to see Liebgott near the edge, by himself and smoking a cigarette.

When he saw her, he held out his pack to her. She took one with a soft smile. "Thanks, Joe."

Feeling in her pockets for a lighter, she forgot that she let Spina borrow it to score the edges of bandages that they cut to double up on supplies.

Liebgott held out his. Leaning forward, she lit it, his hand blocking on the cold wind. She pulled back, looking at him taking a drag. "Thanks again." He only nodded. She glanced around the woods and towards the others. For whatever reason, she felt uncomfortable looking at him. "Are we headed out soon?"

He nodded again, pulling his eyes from her and turning to also look at the others. They stood side by side. "Yeah. 0500. Buck wants us dug in before the krauts wake up."

Evelyn nodded to herself. "Makes sense." She couldn't help a glance at him. Although sometimes reserved, he was even quieter than usual. "Are you OK, Joe?"

Liebgott raised an eyebrow and met her eyes. "Am I OK? Christ, Cassidy, you're half dead and somehow still on your feet and you're askin' if I'm OK. Jesus."

She grinned, taking another drag. Whatever tension she felt when she first found him fell away, and she relaxed as the smoke and nicotine coursed through her. "Yeah, I'm asking. Are you OK?"

He rolled his eyes before smirking, his gaze back on the men. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He began to walk forward, but not before tossing her the rest of his crushed cigarette pack. "To aid your dirty habit."

Evelyn caught it before her smile widened, watching him go. "I hope you're not keeping a tally on how many times I've thanked you now, Liebgott!"

He turned towards her, walking backwards. Smirking, he called back. "We're almost up to double digits!"

Shaking her head, she followed after him, her energy returning. It was time to get back to work.

January 2, 1945

Foy, Belgium

The move into the forest surrounding the town of Foy was a quick one, and mostly painless. Brown and Stevenson, two replacement soldiers that she had yet to really get to know, were both hit, although not life threatening. After she and Spina treated them and Luz got a jeep, she took a deep breath, thankful they were still breathing. And then she kept moving.

Lipton tried to get everyone organized, ordering most of the soldiers to dig in and set up cover, with a few others to do a quick patrol of the area. Evelyn's chest heaved as she hit the frozen earth again with her shovel.

"Evie," called Guarnere from across the way. "Need a man to help ya?"

She waved him a rude gesture, causing him to cackle. "Bill, this shovel in my hands is about to crack your head open. Lord knows these guys will thank me for shutting you up, so you're only left with women to help you. Pity it's just me nearby."

Hashey and Perconte laughed next to her, digging in a double wide hole nearby. Hashey shook his head, sweat dripping off his nose. "I don't know how you do it, Evie."

Evelyn looked at him. "Threatening Guarnere? It's easy, you should try it."

Perconte laughed again. "I think Hash means dealin' with us."

Hashey nodded as Evelyn laughed this time. "Dealin' with us. Savin' our lives. Still smiling." He looked up at her. "How do you do it?"

She quieted before poking him with her shovel. "Just like you do, Les. One day at a time."

Before either could say anything more, Hoobler slid in between them, lounging on the ground, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Hiya, friends."

Evelyn looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. "What's with the look, Hoob?"

"What look is that, Evie?"

She began shoveling again. "Like you just wedded and bedded Rita Hayworth." The men laughed loudly, which only caused Compton to yell at them to be quiet, even across the field.

Hoobler's grin widened before he waved a side arm in front of him. "Close. I just got me a luger."

Perconte's mouth dropped open. "Let me see that!" Hoobler handed it to him, his smile now smug. "Where did you get it?"

"Well, let me tell ya."

Evelyn had to endure the story not once, but three times. After telling her, Perconte and Hashey about how to shot the German officer off the horse from twenty yards away and through the head, he repeated it again when Guarnere stopped by to heckle Evelyn again, and then once more when Shifty walked nearby.

Finally, he put the luger away in the pocket of his trousers, but continued to relate to them his joy. "I mean, I've been trying to snag one since D Day. Only took me seven months, but I got it!"

Evelyn nodded, her hole nearly finished. She met his eyes and grinned. "So you've repeatedly told me, Don. Now can you help me dig in, or are you going to tell me about how he fell again?"

Hoobler grinned but sat up. "I'll help ya, but now that you mention it, it was like slow motion. I thought he was gonna get away, but…"

A single, deafening shot rang out, making all four of them jump and then still. Just as Hoobler was describing, it was all happening as if in slow motion.

Evelyn couldn't hear anything, the sound of the gun blocked everything else out. Her eyes widened in response, still locked on his, but then she saw the pain in them. And he slowly fell to the ground.

"Hoob!" cried Perconte, reacting first. He turned his body on the ground until he was on his back, gasping for air. Hashey sat frozen in his spot.

Perconte looked up to Evelyn. "Evie!" he yelled. "Evie, help me!"

Evelyn blinked several times before her heart began beating once more. She jumped from her foxhole and leapt towards them. Hoobler gasped and cursed in pain.

"Don, where are you hit?" she cried. There wasn't any blood. Distantly, she heard Hashey yell to someone. "Where are you hit?"

Hoobler cried out. "Hurts like a sonofabitch. My leg! I think it broke my leg!"

And then she saw it. At first it was only a dark spot forming on his uniform, his right upper thigh. Cutting it open with her trench knife, the next layer of fabric was darker., the circle growing. She cut it away to reveal a third layer of trousers. Cursing, she ripped it open, apologizing to him internally when he yelled again in pain.

What she saw when she finally found his skin caused her to freeze in horror. Blood poured from the wound, whereever it was. She couldn't find it. "Frank, I need Eugene! I need Roe!"

Perconte immediately began yelling for him, screaming at the top of his lungs. Instead of Roe, Compton and Lipton came by, demanding to know what happened.

Still lucid, Hoobler began apologizing. "It was in my pocket! The luger! I didn't even touch it, I swear."

"It's OK," replied Lipton as Compton cursed him out. "Hang tough, Hoob. You are gonna be alright."

Pulling a large stick from the ground and a long strip of sheet she stole from the hospital in Bastogne before it was blown away, Evelyn began to tie the tourniquet around Hoobler's thigh. From the corner of her eye, she saw Compton pull a syrette of morphine from his aid kit. "No!" she yelled, causing him to pause. "He could go into shock. All of you, take off your coats. He needs to get warm."

The snow silently fell on them as the men did as they were told, piling them on Hoobler where they could.

Twisting the stick tighter and tighter, he cried out again as she treated him. "Evie, am I gonna lose my leg?"

Now that the tourniquet was in place, she tried to focus on finding the wound. "And stop that swagger of yours, Don? I don't think so."

Appeased, he turned to Lipton. "Hey Lip," said Hoobler. "You said I was great shot, right?"

Roe arrived then, sliding in the snow next to her. She turned to him, her lips white. "I can't see anything." She dropped her voice. "I'm worried it's the artery."

His eyes widened, knowing what that meant. She refused to agree to his thoughts. "No, Eugene. We're going to act. I need your clamp. And as many bandages and rags as you have. I'm going to try and pinch it closed. You need to make sure I can see my way there."

Roe nodded, immediately digging into his pack. Handing her the clamp, she chanced a glance at Hoobler, who was becoming increasingly pale and quiet. She looked at Compton and Perconte by his head. "We can't move yet. It might kill him. But this is going to hurt."

Understanding, they quickly put a thick wad of coat in Hoobler's mouth to bite down on. "That's it, Hoob. Evie's got you."

She looked at Roe. "Let's do it."

Together, they worked, Roe trying to wipe away as much blood as possible while she felt inside the wound with her fingers. Like she predicted, Hoobler screamed. The sound left them all with goosebumps. Lipton had to lie across his chest and Roe across his legs to stop him from bucking against her.

Evelyn chewed on her lip, trying to remember her nurse's training when it came to artery. What it felt like, what to do. Hoobler's cries vibrated her ears. Finally, she felt the thick vein. Instead of being plump and firm with blood, it felt shredded. "I need a second clamp."

It was by her side in a flash. She didn't realize Hoobler wasn't screaming anymore. Locking the first clamp on the vein, she reached for the second. "That's it. I got it. It's right there…"

"Evie."

"Hold on, let me just tighten it."

"Evelyn."

"Eugene, I can't see. Wipe again!"

"Evelyn."

At his soft voice, his soothing tone, she met Roe's eyes. They held an all too familiar look of helplessness. She turned to look at Hoobler. He was still, his eyes blank and slightly open.

"Sergeant," sighed Compton, sitting back on his heels. "You did all that you could…"

Evelyn stood up quickly, dropping the tools from her hands, her eyes still locked on Hoobler. Her hands felt warm, too warm, covered in his blood. "No," she murmured softly. "I only prolonged his pain."

And before any of them could say more, she turned and stalked quickly away.

Evelyn ran. Something was building in her stomach, and she ran deeper into the woods until there was no one around and she was alone. Thankfully alone.

Finally bending at the waist, catching her breath, she willed the contents of her stomach to come up and get rid of the terrible pain there, but nothing did. When she looked up again, she only saw Hoobler's face, laced with excruciating pain as she dug into his skin. The quiet of the forest was gone and she only heard his screams as he continued to die. Die under her hands.

You could have ended it. Made him comfortable. Given him the drugs to let him go in peace.

She screamed. A long and high-pitched cry, causing her throat to go raw, but the acid in her stomach finally found relief in the action.

You selfishly tried to keep him alive, even when you knew he was going to die. It could have been quick.

Evelyn screamed again, but this time it was choked off quickly by sobs. Her body shook with them, finally allowing herself to grieve. They had been built up for so long, but then again, only a few weeks. It felt like a lifetime since they left that auditorium in France, Martin jealous of his wife's fascination with John Wayne.

She didn't know how long she stayed out there, but when she did emerge again, it wasn't long enough to heal. Only long enough to quiet her own emotions again.