A/N - What's up? I got a follower! Thank you! I was so happy to see that when I woke up the other morning. :) I hope you're enjoying this so far, I know I'm enjoying writing it. I don't like this chapter all that much, but meh! Whatcha gunna do? Anyway, here's chapter three, hope you enjoy it and please, please, PLEASE R&R! Please! Thank you and enjoy.

Disclaimer - I do not own BoB or any of it's contents, just the OC's. I do not have any disrespect for the men that fought in WWII, this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

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"One thousand! Two thousand! Three thousand! Four thousand! Five thousand! Six thousand! Seven thousand! Eight thousand!" Everyone cheered as Bill slammed his glass back down on the table and smiled, his jump wings in between his teeth.

"Hi ho, silver!" Bill called then he laughed along with the rest of the table.

I rolled my eyes as I stood next to George Luz at the bar, watching as Toye sat down on the other side, an empty glass in his hand. George walked up to him, doing his Sobel impersonation, "Corporal Toye, there will be no leaning in my company," George said, leaning against the bar now, getting in Joe's face, "Is that dust on your jump wings? How do you expect to slay the Huns with dust on your jump wings?"

"Luz," Joe said, grabbing George by his tie in a threatening manner, "Just get me a fucking drink."

George smiled his charming smile at Joe and said, "No problem, Joe. Here ya go."

He set the drink on the bar in front of Joe and lifted his own glass, "Three miles up, three miles down."

I smiled at them and lifted my own drink, "Hi ho, silver."

We then all took a swig from our glasses, but we were quickly interrupted by the loud call of, "Attention!"

We all set our drinks down and stood at attention as we were told. Colonel Sink walked into the room, as well as a few of his advisors and he smiled at all of us kindly, "Well, at ease paratroopers."

We all relaxed and looked up at the stage where Sink stood, watching us all proudly, "Good evening, Easy Company."

"Good evening, sir!" We all called back to him.

He watched us all for a moment before he started speaking, "Now, parachute infantry is a brand new concept in American military history. And by God, the 506th is going to forge that brand new concept into victory."

"Yes sir!" We called, a little excitedly on our parts. I felt George nudge me and I looked over at him, smiling right back up at him.

"I want you to know that I'm damn proud of each and every one of you," He said, smiling down at us still, "Now you deserve this party," He said as Grant walked up to him and handed him a beer, "Thank you, Sergeant Grant."

He nodded curtly and walked back over to the group. Sergeant? I didn't know he got promoted. I'd have to congratulate him when this was all finished.

"Now I want you to have fun, and remember our motto," Sink said, looking around at us as he raised his glass, "Currahee!"

"Currahee!" We all shouted back, taking drinks now ourselves.

We all relaxed back into the party and started conversing again. I smiled up at George and took a sip from my half empty beer and said, "I'll see you boys later, I'm going to go and congratulate Sergeant Grant."

George and Joe smiled at me and nodded before they went back to talking about whatever it was they were talking about. I walked through the crowd of Easy members, bumping into Bull, Frank, and Joseph Liebgott as I went. Joe sent me sort of a glare after I ran into him, and I sent him a weary look back. He didn't like me, and I didn't know why. I know he was a bit of a jackass and kind of ill tempered, but he treated me like the gravel he walks on.

I ignored his glare and approached Grant, one of my best friends here. I smiled as I came up behind him as he spoke to Shifty and Popeye, "Grant," I said, garnering his attention, "Or should I say, Sergeant Grant?"

He smiled as he turned to face me and I held out my hand, "Congratulations, Chuck. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Mattie," He said, shaking my hand firmly, "Now when are you getting promoted?"

I shrugged and kept my smile present, "I don't need no stinkin' promotion."

"Oh, come on! You're one of the toughest guys here, you deserve one," Chuck said with a bright smile himself.

"Well..." I said, shrugging, trying to hide my blush.

"Private Tauscher," Colonel Robert Sink's voice sounded, making me turn to face him respectfully.

"Sir," I said, looking up at him as he approached me.

"I need to speak with you a moment, if you don't mind," He said, tilting his head off the side, towards an area where we could speak alone and quietly.

"Yes sir," I said, handing my beer to Chuck to hold.

Sink started over towards the door and I cast a look back at Grant, and he winked at me, silently telling me this was it. I just rolled my eyes and followed after Sink. I stopped by the door with him and looked up at him curiously, "What's all of this about, sir?"

"I've seen you out there training with all those other men, and jumping out of that aircraft. For you to be a small as you are, you sure do run right up there with the big dogs," Sink said with a kind smile.

"Thank you, sir," I said, my hands clasped at my waist respectfully.

"I've found it fit to promote you," He said, and half of me wanted to be surprised and the other part of me wanted to laugh. Chuck was going to have a field day with this, "Congratulations, Corporal Tauscher."

"Thank you, sir. I'm honored, sir," I said and he held out his hand for me to shake, which I gladly did.

"Alright, now go on, Corporal. You don't want to miss the party," Colonel Sink said and I nodded.

"Sir," Then I turned on my heel and went back over to Chuck, who was still holding my beer.

"Well then, Private?" Chuck said, an eyebrow raised as I took my beer back from him.

I took a sip from it and then said, without looking at him, "Call me Corporal, Sarge."
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June 1943
We were doing combat training today. We were actually going to go out into the woods and face 'the enemy', AKA another company. It was early morning though and most of the boys were heading down to the mess hall for chow, so I decided now was my time to shower.

I snuck off to the showers quickly and quietly, grabbing my clothes that I'd be wearing for the day. I got into the showers and there was nobody else there, which was to be expected, everyone showered as soon as they got up generally, but I waited a while longer for obvious reasons.

I looked at myself in the mirror, going ahead and brushing my teeth. My hair did need a trim, it was becoming a bit too long. Maybe I can get Toye to cut it for me later, God knows Liebgott won't do it. After I finished brushing my teeth, I took off my sleep shirt and started to unwrap the bandage around my chest. I threw it onto the counter next to the sink and shimmied out of my shorts and underwear before I turned on one of the showers and got in.

The warm water felt good and woke me up from a long light's rest. It was nice not having to get up and run Currahee every morning anymore. It was nice having time to relax before drills started. I washed my shaggy hair quickly and let the shampoo run down my back as I rinsed out my hair.

As I reached for the bar of soap on the side, someone behind me spoke, "Hey, Mattie."

Shit. I yelped and without even thinking I spun around then quickly ducked, hiding my naked self from view.

"Jesus Christ!" The voice of Chuck Grant suddenly cried, his voice a little higher than usual. I peered over at him a little and saw him covering his eyes with his hand and blushing like mad, "I'm sorry! I-I, uh..."

"Chuck, what are you doing in here?!" I snapped back, taking advantage of him covering his eyes as I leaped out and grabbed my towel.

"I-I was wonderin' if you were goin' to join us for breakfast today, you-you were runnin' a bit later than usual," Chuck said, shaking his head, "Now I know why."

I blew out an annoyed breath, my face bright red too as he just saw me butt naked, but I did say, "You can open your eyes now, I'm covered."

Chuck took his hand away from his eyes wearily and he blushed a little deeper when he saw I was only covered by a towel that barely went below my buttocks. He tried avoiding eye contact with me and I would've laughed if the situation weren't so awkward. Chuck wasn't really the shy type, so seeing him like this was quite amusing.

"You're-you're... You're a woman!" Chuck cried, looking me up and down and going redder, which I didn't think was possible.

"Shh! Would you quiet down?!" I cried, stepping closer to him and putting my hand over his mouth, making him go stiff, "I don't want anyone to know about this, you got me? So don't go around being a loudmouth."

Chuck just nodded his head and kept his baby blue eyes on mine. I pulled my hand away from his mouth and stepped back away from him, giving him some space. He seemed nervous, which is understandable.

"My God, I can't believe this," Chuck whispered, beginning to panic, "I've... Touched you in... Places."

"Don't make it sound weird, Chuck," I said, rolling my eyes. He's referring to my chest.

"But it is weird!" Chuck replied, still whispering though, "What- I- Am I the only one that knows about this?"

I shook my head, "No, Bill and Spina know, too."

"Oh my God," Chuck said, running a hand through his usually combed hair that he had just now ruined and spiked up, "This is too weird, I-" He was breathing heavily now, putting a hand to his chest, "I don't feel so good. Is my heart supposed to be beating this fast?"

"Chuck, calm down," I said, using one hand to calm him and the other to keep my towel wrapped around myself, "Breathe."

He tried, but he tried too hard and he began to hyperventilate. I cursed to myself and watched as Chuck's back hit the wall behind him as he tried his best to breathe. I didn't even care at that moment, so I turned and grabbed my clothes, quickly putting them on, not bothering with the bandage right now, I'll get that in a minute. When I turned back to Chuck he was breathing heavier and had his eyes covered again, his face bright red once more.

I knelt down in front of him from where he slid down the wall and to the ground, but I kept my hands to myself at the moment, "Take your hands off your eyes, I'm dressed."

He cautiously and slowly removed his hand, and when it was gone from his face I saw that his bright blue eyes were as wide as saucers. I put my hands out in front of me, trying to calm him down, "Chuck, please, calm down, it's alright."

"I'm just-" He ran a hand through his hair again, messing it up further than he already had, "I'm just tryin' to take it all in, okay? This is a little much!"

"Alright, I understand, don't shout," I said, my voice so calm, it was surprising even me.

Chuck closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing. I wanted to touch him, grab his shoulder, pat his back for comfort, something, but I knew it would be too awkward for him, knowing what he'd just found out. So I just sat there awkwardly, waiting for Chuck to calm down, at least just a little bit.

I sat there for a few minutes, waiting for this thing to pass, and eventually his breathing evened out, for the most part, and a little color had come back to his face.

"Okay," Chuck said, running both his hands down his face before he looked up at me, though he kept averting my eyes, "Let me get this straight. You're a woman, disguising herself as a man... Why?"

"It's pretty obvious why, Chuck," I said to him, giving him a look, "They'd never let me into the Airborne knowing I was a woman. I had to disguise myself as a man to get in, it was the only way."

"Y-you could've helped out some other way! Like-like... You could've become a nurse or something!" Chuck cried, though he kept his voice only audible to us.

"I could never be a nurse, I don't have to patience nor the comforting qualities it takes to be a nurse," I explained, "Besides, my dad was in the military, as were my uncles and both my grandfathers, and when my brothers signed up, well... I just had to. It felt right."

Chuck didn't say anything else, he just started at me. I couldn't quite define the look he was giving me, I couldn't tell if he was angry, surprised, confused, weirded out, maybe all of the above?

"You're not going to tell anybody about this, are you?" I asked, silently praying to God that he didn't.

Chuck then furrowed his brow at me, looking at me as if I were insane, "What? No, of course not. I-I couldn't do that, not to you."

I raised one eyebrow at him curiously, and a bit surprised, "Really? You're not going to rat me out?"

Chuck shook his head, "No, never. You're one of my favorite people in this damn company, without you on my ass 24/7 I probably wouldn't even be here anymore. You're scarier than Sobel some days, you know?"

There's the Chuck I know and love.

I smiled a small, thankful smile at him, "Thank you."

"You're not surprised, are you?" Chuck asked, one eyebrow raised, "That I'm not going to rat you out?"

I didn't answer him with words, I just shrugged.

"Oh, come on, Mattie, I thought you knew me better than that," Chuck went on, his smile becoming wider; he seemed to be becoming more comfortable with my real identity as time went on. Chuck then looked down at his watch and sighed, "Come on, help me up. We need to get down to the mess hall before breakfast is over."

He held out his hand for me to grab and I did firmly, pulling him to his feet. He winced as he stood and when I let go of his hand he shook it out, as if he were in pain, "Damn, for a girl you sure do got a strong grip."

I rolled my eyes and socked him on the arm, "Smart ass."

He rubbed his arm and chuckled at me, "You can pack a punch, too."
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I was so tired. We were all in a ditch of sorts, our weapons at the ready and being extremely silent. The only sounds to be heard were the birds chirping and the crunching of leaves underneath a nervous Captain Sobel's boots. We've been in this position for what's felt like hours, but it's only been about twenty minutes. I'm pretty sure Sobel's lost.

I was about to fall asleep where I stood. It was nice out today. The sun was shining, it wasn't too hot, the birds were chirping, making me fall into a comfortable and peaceful trance. Spina was sitting on the ground behind me, playing with his wrist watch, as Eugene stood beside him, just standing there awkwardly doing nothing. Medics didn't carry weapons, so he just stood there and awaited orders. He seemed a bit frustrated, to be honest, which was rare. Eugene was usually pretty calm and gentle, so if he was ever agitated, you knew to steer clear.

"Petty!" I heard the harsh whisper of Sobel, making me look over to where he was standing, he was gesturing for one of the other men to come over to him, "Map!"

"Jesus..." Petty said, taking his map out of his bag and taking it over to Sobel quietly, the leaves crunching underneath his boots as he went.

I watched as Sobel took the map from Petty and looked down at it, then he looked up, his dark eyes seeming frightened. Great. He said something, but he was quiet, so I couldn't hear him from where I was standing. I heard some more leaves crunching from somewhere in that direction and then I saw Sobel jump down into the ditch, muttering something to Sobel. I then watched as Sobel pointed up out of the ditch somewhere, this was when I cast a glance back down to our two medics.

Ralph just shrugged his shoulders and continued fiddling with his watch and Eugene sighed and ran a hand across his forehead in frustration. I would've chuckled at the expression on his face if I weren't so frustrated with our Captain as well.

"Second Platoon!" We heard Lieutenant Winters whisper loudly, garnering our attention, "Move out!"

I furrowed my brow and turned to look at the medics, "What?" I said, but more to myself than to them.

"Tactical column!" He said before he turned and started up the hill.

I looked back at our medics again, Ralph looked shocked and Eugene mumbled something to himself incoherently as we began to follow Lieutenant Winters up the hill. We only made it a few steps before we were 'ambushed' by the other company who had been hiding in the grass, wearing full camouflage and holding their weapons up, aiming right at us.

I sighed in defeat as the supervisor came out, a notebook in hand along with a pen, looking extremely disappointed in Sobel, "Captain, you've just been killed, along with 95 percent of your company."

I looked around at the men around me, and then at my company. Malarkey looked shocked, but not because we were ambushed, but because of Sobel's decision. Toye looked like he wanted to kill somebody, and I couldn't blame him. What I wouldn't give to shove this bayonet so far up Sobel's ass, he-

"Your outfit?" The supervisor asked, ready to write it down.

Sobel looked like he didn't want to say it at first, and I wouldn't want to either. He's making us look bad, we didn't need that and we sure as hell didn't deserve it, "Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th."

The guy wrote it down and as he did I've never felt so angry. I felt bad for these men. We tried so hard to get here, we worked our asses off. We ran six miles everyday for a year, we jumped out of an airplane, we put up with this jackass for what seemed like forever, and here we were, letting him make fools of us.

The look on Eugene's face I've never seen him wear, and it was amusing, but also frustrating. Sobel makes even Eugene's blood boil.

"Leave three wounded men on the ground and report to the assembly area," The man ordered him and Sobel sighed in annoyance.

He had no right to be annoyed, he's the one that got us into this mess.

He turned around and looked at us, trying to pick his three 'wounded' men, "You, you, and you."

Bill, Eugene, and me.

I sighed. I just want to go to sleep.

"Alright, let's go," Then Sobel and the others went off, the other company heading off as well.

"You three sit tight," The supervisor said, "In about twenty minutes I'll send somebody to get you."

We nodded, well I did. Eugene cut his eyes to the ground and began twiddling his thumbs and Bill just rolled his eyes and turned, trying to find a good tree trunk to lean against. The supervisor then went off, writing something down as he went, following after Sobel and the rest of the company.

I sighed after he was out of earshot and went over to Bill, sitting down against the tree next to him. It was then silent for a minute, we just sat there together in our shared annoyance and frustration. I slumped my shoulders and tilted my head back, trying to peer up at the clear sky through the tree branches up above us, my helmet making it a struggle to get comfortable. I took it off, it's not like they could scold me for it, I was already 'dead.'

I set the clanky thing down next to me and released a tense breath through my nose, resting my hands over my stomach and trying to relax. I closed my eyes and let the comfortable warmth from the sun send me into a state of relaxation, but my silence and peace didn't last long, because Bill spoke.

"What a jackass," Bill muttered irritably.

I cracked one eye open and peered over at him, "What?"

"Sobel," Bill said as I looked fully at him now; he cast me a brief, yet irritated glance, "He gets us lost out here, and then he moves us out?! We were in a secure position! We could've drawn them out and took 'em by surprise, but no! Sobel just doesn't know what the hell he's doin'!"

"Keep your voice down, somebody could be out here listening to all of this," I said, not wanting him to get in trouble.

"Do I look like I give a fuck?" Bill snapped, sending a sharp glare my way, though I knew his anger wasn't directed at me.

I sighed again and avoided his gaze as Bill started mumbling to himself, "Fuckin' good for nothin' sack a shit..."

I rolled my eyes and tried ignoring Bill's grumbling. I knew he was irritated, so was I, but Bill's complaining could be a little much sometimes and eventually it got old. I closed my eyes again and tried relaxing against the tree trunk, which was difficult, as it was probably the most uncomfortable thing I've ever tried to sleep on.

Then Bill spoke again. God dammit, can I get some sleep sometime today?

"Hey Doc, ya should prob'ly sit down," Bill said, looking up at Doc, "We're prob'ly gunna be here a while."

I opened my eyes and looked up at Eugene. He was just standing there, looking up at the clear blue sky, his dark eyes not visible to me at the moment. I cast a curious glance to Bill and he just shrugged, giving me an obviously confused sort of look.

"Doc?" Bill said his nickname again, trying to catch the odd man's attention.

Then I noticed Gene's fists were clenched at his sides, his knuckles paler than usual. I gave him a concerned look, "Gene, you alright?"

He finally looked down at me and Bill, and I caught eyes with him. Though his fists showed rage, his eyes showed peace. How he accomplished hiding his anger so well, I'm not so sure, but I admired him for it. Gene looked at me for a moment, then he simply said, "I'm fine."

He then almost silently made his way to the tree next to the one me and Bill were leaning against and me and my old friend shared another confused look. Bill shrugged again and then looked away from the medic and looked down at his hands in his lap, messing with his fingers now.

Since I probably wasn't going to be able to catch a little catnap while we were out here, I guess I should probably try and pass the time. I looked to Gene who was now leaning back against the tree, looking down at his boots stretched out in front of him.

He always looked so peaceful. I couldn't help but notice how good he looked in his uniform. I cleared my throat awkwardly, embarrassing myself with my thoughts. Bill gave me an odd look and Gene looked over at me in concern, "You a'right, Colonel?"

I cleared my throat again, gentler this time, and nodded, avoiding both his and Bill's eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just... I just got something in my throat."

Gene seemed to take that as a perfectly normal explanation, but Bill kept his eyes on me, and I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head. I looked over at him, my blue eyes curious. He was smiling in a knowing way, and the way he waggled his thick eyebrows made me glare at him, but when I did that he just winked at me and smiled to himself.

I averted his dark eyes and looked back to my feet- Oh yeah! I was going to try and pass the time.

"So... Gene..." I started awkwardly, not looking over at him at first, but eventually I caved in and caught eyes with him, making my heart skip a beat, but I ignored the feeling and went on with my question, "What's it like back in Louisiana?"

Gene sort of smiled at my question, his smile was very faint, but it was there nonetheless, "It's nice. It's hot in the summer and comfortable in the winter, but it neva' gets cold 'nough ta snow... We live near the water, and when I was a kid my dad used ta take me out on his boat and we'd go fishin'. I caught my first fish on my ninth birthday, I remember how excited my Pop's was. I'll neva' forget the look on his face..."

The smile on Gene's face was a heartwarming sight, I loved seeing it on him. I smiled at his short story and tried thinking of a memory from my childhood, then I smiled. Time to embarrass Bill back.

"When I was, I don't know, thirteen? I got into a fight on the playground at my middle school," I started and I could just feel Bill's glare on me, "The kid was really asking for it, you know? He was always picking on my friends, calling them names, one day I'd just had enough. So I took him outside and I socked him right in the jaw. I beat the hell out of him, and it was funny, 'cause he never messed with my friends again."

"That's horseshit!" Bill snapped defensively, his arms crossed as he glared at me, "You've been tellin' people that since the day it happened, and it's all false."

"Except for the part where I kicked your scrawny little ass," I remarked and then I heard Eugene speak.

"You beat up Sergeant Guarnere?" Gene asked, and I nodded, but Bill shook his head.

"He was bigger than me at the time, I was only twelve! Barely twelve!" Bill defended, but I snickered at him and I heard Gene chuckle at it too. I've never heard him laugh before and it was a beautiful sound.

Me and Bill looked over at him and I smiled widely at him, but Bill glared at the timid medic and snapped, "Whadda ya laughin' 'bout, pretty boy?"

Then Eugene frowned, his cheeks turning pink at the nickname Bill just gave him. I smiled at his embarrassment, but Bill just glared at him a little longer before he turned his attention back to his feet before he spoke again, "Anyway, what happened ta me wasn't nearly as embarrassin' as the time I caught you making out with a-"

"Okay! That's enough of that!" I cried suddenly, my cheeks turning a shade of pink now as well. I sighed and pulled back the sleeve of my combat jacket, looking down at my wrist watch, "How long have we been here, now?"

Bill just rolled his eyes and replied with, "Five minutes, if that."

I sighed again, but louder and more exaggerated this time. This was going to be a long twenty minutes.
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A couple of weeks later was the day we've all been waiting for, well, one of them anyway. We were about to leave the states. We were to catch a train from North Carolina to New York City, and from there we'd board a boat that would take us to England. We were trying to cherish the moments we had left in the states, because sooner than later, we'd know for sure some of us wouldn't be coming back. It hadn't really become real just yet, we were still just cutting up and we remained loose. We had yet to realize how serious this actually was.

"And to think we've still got, what? A year of training waiting for us in England?" Joe Toye said, scoffing in an annoyed way, "And to think we were almost away from Sobel."

"Who in their right mind thought that?" I asked, furrowing my brow curiously at him, "You'd have to be an idiot."

"Well, Cobb is the living, breathing definition of that word, so..." Shifty joked, playing with some grass that he pulled out of the ground in the palm of his hand.

"Shut up, Shifty," Cobb said back, clearly annoyed, but he went on, "You think the Krauts 'll get him? Or one of us?"

I disliked Cobb. He was a jackass. He hated me, more than Liebgott did. And speaking of Liebgott.

"Who? Sobel?" The skinny man suddenly asked, setting his duffle bag down and sitting down on top of it, looking around at all of us, "Well, you know, I'm always fumblin' with grenades, it'd be easy if one went off by accident."

"Well, they must of put him in charge for a reason," Shifty said, looking at nobody in particular.

I was uncomfortable being here all of the sudden. Every time Liebgott was around I could just sense that he wanted to say something to me, something smart. I didn't want to fight the guy, because even though I could pack a punch, Liebgott could kick my ass. You had to be cautious of the little guys, we could surprise you.

I got up from where I stood, grabbing my bag and looking down at the guys, "I'll see you guys later, I'm gunna go find Bill."

"Alright, see ya 'round, Matt," Toye said, and the others just grumbled a farewell as I stalked away from the irritable and impatient group.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, and when I did that I realized just how heavy it was. I grunted at the sudden weight over my shoulders and back, but pressed on. I'd be fine, it was just a little bit of weight. I released a tense sigh and walked on, trying to find Bill, or Ralph, or... Anybody, for that matter. I didn't know Toye and Shifty or those other guys all that well, I knew them, I just didn't talk to them too much. I was most comfortable around Bill, of course, Ralph, and Chuck. Maybe it was because they were the only three here who knew I was a woman.

I stopped after I found someplace off the main pathway of people and looked down at my watch. It was nearly eleven, our train should be here any minute now. I looked up, letting my sleeve drop, and looked around for a familiar face.

"You're lookin' a little down there, Maddie," A familiar voice suddenly spoke, making me jump at the suddenness of it.

I spun around a faced Chuck Grant, who was smiling a charming smile at me. He looked happy, at least. I released an exaggerated breath and sort of glared at the man, "Jesus Chuck! You scared me shitless!"

"Sorry," Was all he said as he walked over to me, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he set down his bag next to his feet, "So... You ready for this?"

I frowned then and shrugged, shimmying out of my bag as well, letting it fall down at my feet, "Are you?"

Chuck's smile faltered a tad, and you could see the uncertainty in his blue eyes as he shook his head slightly, "No."

"Me neither," I said, looking around at the men chattering around us, "I don't think anybody is, really. Others are just better at hiding it, I guess."

Chuck just shrugged again and said, his confidence fading, "What can you do, though?"

I shook my head, frowning deeply, "Nothing."

"We've got a war to fight," Chuck went on, his smile shrinking by the word, "And we're going to win it if I have to die trying."

"Don't say stuff like that," I quickly scolded him, swatting a hand at him, but missing him by a mile as I furrowed my brow in annoyance.

"Say stuff like what?" Chuck asked, seeming confused now as he too furrowed his brow.

I shook my head again, turning to avoid his eyes, "You're not going to die."

I heard Chuck sigh and then I felt him get closer to me, then there was a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I still didn't turn to look at him, "I know."

That didn't sound genuine, he sounded doubtful. Everyone did. The men were going into this thing with confidence to win the war, but lacking that confidence when it came to surviving this stupid thing. I hated this. All of these good people were dragged here, to fight this stupid war. I don't know what the world would be like without people like George Luz, Bill Guarnere, Skip Muck, Chuck Grant, and Doc Roe. These guys all were very unique in their own way, and they all were very special to me, if anything were to happen to them, I'd- Well, I don't know what I'd do.

I sighed as Chuck spoke up again, "Lighten up, Tauscher," He said, squeezing my shoulder and I could just hear the smile on his face, "The war hasn't even begun yet. By the time we get this thing started it'll be over."

I hope you're right, Chuck Grant. I hope you're right.

"And besides," Chuck went on, his voice dripping with smug sarcasm, "If anybody's going to die in this war, it's our lovely Captain Sobel."

I scoffed and finally turned back around to look at Chuck, a small smile had made itself present on my face, "Oh, come on, Chucky. He only got us lost once, what are the chances of it happening again?"

Chuck scoffed now too and rolled his eyes for extra effect, "Very high."

I chuckled and smiled up at him. What would I do without Chuck Grant? He was the one that was going to help me through this war, as well as Bill, Ralph, and Eugene. They were the ones who looked out for me, and I was sure as hell going to do the same for them, and I'll do it if I have to die trying.