A/N - And I'm back! This chapter is a little darker in the beginning than it has been, but it's nothing too graphic. I just wanted to warn you. I'd also like to thank you for reading and thanks for the review toomanyfandomssolittletime, I'm glad you like it. :) Please R&R, and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

We knew we were to move out again, we just didn't know when and we didn't know where we were going exactly. France, we were sure, but they didn't tell us much. We tried to relax, spend as much time hanging out and doing as little as possible, that's how we all ended up at an English pub a few nights later. Bill had become real buddy-buddy with this replacement called Babe, he was from Philly too from what he's told me. I had yet to meet him, but I've seen him around. He was currently playing darts with Buck, George yapping in both their ears.

I was sitting at the bar, drinking a beer. The beer was hot, and I wasn't really a fan, but that's how the English made it and it was better than whiskey so I drank up. I had never been a hard drinker, but it was nice to relax every once and a while and have a drink.

Perconte hasn't said a word to me since what happened the other day in the street, and I steered clear from him. Bill was still mad at him, and Chuck stayed quiet about the whole thing minus the one time he asked if I was alright, but after that, nothing. Don hadn't said anything about it and George just told me to forget about the whole thing, telling me Perconte could be a bit of an ass sometimes.

Most of the guys had started to come around, Don and Hoobler had become closer friends of mine, they were both very sweet, and because Don was a friend of mine Skip and Penkala were too. I like those four, they're funny and keep me sane throughout this whole thing.

Liebgott was still pissy with me, but he always has been so I just ignored him. Webster was still being shy about it all. The only ones now who were still unsure were the two obvious ones, Shifty, Skinny, Tab, and Bull, the others were finally warming up. And of course, our CO's didn't know about all this, much to my surprise. I was surprised that nobody's told them yet.

"You alright, Maddie?" Ralph asked as he came over to stand beside me from where I sat at the bar.

I looked up from my drink and over at him, smiling a little and nodding, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Ralph looked at me for a moment, as if he were trying to read me, then he said, "What the hell are you doin' sittin' over here all by yourself?"

I shrugged and shook my head, "I've never been one to party."

"This ain't a party, it's a gatherin'," He told me, "Come on, come mingle with the rest of the guys."

I shook my head, "No, I'm good. I'll just stay over here. I'm getting kind of tired anyway."

"Tired? It's not even ten yet, how could you be tired?" Ralph asked and I was getting a bit annoyed now with his constant yapping.

"I just don't want to go mingle tonight, alright Ralph?" I snapped suddenly, taking him a bit off guard. I kind of felt bad.

"Sorry, yeesh..." Ralph said, looking down at the drink in his hand as he got quiet for a minute, then he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." I said quietly, then I sighed. I had to tell somebody, "I got a letter from my Ma... My brother, he's... He's MIA."

"Ah, jeez Maddie, I'm sorry," Ralph said, putting a hand on my back in a comforting way, "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, I just needed to get it off my chest," I said, looking down at my drink, there wasn't much left of it. I picked it up and downed the rest of it in three seconds before I slammed it down of the counter and grabbed my jacket, "I'm gunna go take a walk."

"You want some company?" Ralph asked, seeming concerned for me now.

I shook my head as I stood, though I offered him a small smile of appreciation, "No, I just need some time by myself. Thanks, though."

He smiled back at me, patting me on the back a couple times for comfort, "No problem. If ya need anythin', just let me know, okay?"

I nodded, "Will do. I'll see ya later."

"Alright, see ya," He waved me off as I went towards the door and disappeared from the bar.

As I stepped outside I put my jacket on and looked around the street. It was fairly vacant minus a few locals and soldiers walking around and talking. I adjusted my jacket over my shoulders before I started down the street, getting lost in my own head. I couldn't believe it, first my older brother is killed in Japan and now my younger brother goes missing in France. My parents still had hope that he'd be found, but a lot of MIA cases end badly and the soldiers are either found dead or never found at all. I lost two brothers in less than a year, two of my best friends were gone and I was an only child. I felt the tears sting my eyes, but I refused to let them escape. I wiped at them furiously, my eyebrows knitting together in anger as I clenched my fists and quickened my pace.

All I could think about at that moment was all the good times I had with my brothers when we were kids. My older brother, Mac, he was seven years older than me. He was the only kid in the family that had my father's thin blonde hair, but he had the bright blue eyes like me and my younger brother. He was a skinny kid, hyper as hell when we were kids. He taught our dog Lucy how to do all her tricks, he taught me and my other brother how to play soccer, baseball, football, everything. He wore little round glasses, he was born with horrible eye sight. I used to make fun of him for his glasses, and he'd always chase me around when I got too annoying, and he'd always catch me because he was bigger than me. He'd pin me down and give me wet willies, I always hated that, but he laughed his ass off every time.

My younger brother, now we were as close as a brother and sister could be. We never left each others sides. His name is Matthew, the fake name I took on when I first went to Camp Toccoa. I told him I was gunna use his name, he liked that a little too much. He had my mother's thick dark hair and he had the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. He was the funniest guy I knew, he always knew how to light up a room, Luz reminded me a bit of him, though Luz is a bit more outgoing. Mattie was always real shy and awkward, he got picked on a lot in school for his size. He was skinny as hell, it kind of ran in the family. Mattie had an obsession with music, music my father hated and my mother loved. He liked jazz a lot, my father hates jazz. Now basketball, basketball was our sport. Mac was never good at basketball, so me and Mattie would play it all the time. When we were little, we played it all the time and I used to win pretty much every time, but as Mattie got older he got better. He got taller, to about six foot, and I had a hard time beating him. We were surprised at how tall he got, we weren't know to have a lot of tall people in our family, but Mattie broke that expectation, but he's still the sweetest guy I'll ever know.

I felt the tears stinging my eyes again, and it was becoming a bit overwhelming. I can't believe they're both gone. How must my parents be feeling, knowing I'm their only child left. We couldn't all die in this war, I wasn't going to let my parents suffer this way. I'd survive this thing, I'd be more careful. I had to be, I had to go back home to them.

I hadn't even realized it, but I found myself in a small alley, sitting down and leaning against a wall, my knees drawn up to my chest and the tears spilling freely down my cheeks. I don't know how I got here, but I just did. I made no move to get up, I just sat there and cried my feelings out.

I cried for a good five to ten minutes, maybe more, I lost track of time, but I tried to stop my tears from flowing when I heard footsteps approaching. I picked my head up from my arms and peered up towards the street, trying to make out the figure that was approaching me.

"Who is that?" I asked, my vision blurry with tears and my voice weak.

When the voice spoke up, I realized it was no one I knew and they didn't seem very friendly, "I thought I heard a rumor about there being a woman in Easy Company, but I never believed it was true."

His voice was nasally, but very menacing. I could hear the smile in his voice, I didn't like the way the smile looked either. I tensed my shoulders up and narrowed my eyes, sniffling, "What do you want?"

"You know, I haven't been with a woman since we left the States, maybe you could help me fix that," He said as he got closer.

I was getting nervous, but I held up my strong front and got to my feet quickly, ready to fight if it came to it, "Go fuck one of the local girls, I'm sure one of them would just love to sleep with a jackass like yourself."

"Ooh, feisty, I like that in my women," He said as he got closer, "None of the local girls have that."

"You better keep walking, pal, if you know what's best for you," I said, holding up my fists and glaring at him, my eyes still watery from crying.

He chuckled at that, "What are you gunna do, beat me? I have easily eight inches and sixty pounds on you, you couldn't take me if your life depended on it."

"Want to bet?" I asked bravely, even though I wasn't quite so confident in myself at the moment. I didn't have any weapons on me, I left my knife back in the barracks.

The man suddenly lunged at me, grabbing my arms and pushing me to the wall. He pinned my hands above my head and pushed his body flat against mine, I could finally see his face. He had pale blue eyes that looked crazed, I could smell the alcohol on his breath, he was absolutely wasted.

"Get off of me," I snapped in between my gritted teeth.

"I don't know," He said, "I kind of like where this is going."

Next thing I knew his mouth was on mine and I felt his hand on my chest. My eyes went wide with shock, I could taste the bitter taste of alcohol as he pushed his tongue into my mouth. I spit then, right into his mouth and he pulled away quickly. He spit on the ground next to our feet and his look changed, he was angry now, really angry.

"You'll regret doing that," He spat, then he smacked me hard across the face. I cried out in pain, but I wasn't giving up that easily. I glared hard at him and kicked him where it counted. I brought my knee up and caught him right in the groin. He hollered out in pain and crumpled to the ground, holding himself and that's when I took the opportunity and ran, but he grabbed my ankle and I went crashing to the ground right beside him. There was pain, but for some reason I couldn't pinpoint it as he dragged me back over to him. He flipped me onto my back and I felt his hands on my shoulders, pinning me down. I opened my eyes to look at him and saw him sitting on top of me, an evil glint in his eye. He said something, but I didn't hear him, I couldn't. I was in a daze. I must have hit my head when I went down. I felt him fumbling with my pants and then I saw him fumbling with his, that's when I broke out of it. I squirmed underneath him all the sudden and he grabbed my arms and held me down, "Hold still!"

I kicked and punched at him, it didn't get him off me, but it helped since he couldn't get control of me, "You're makin' this harder than it needs ta be!" He yelled at me and I felt him punch me right in the side of the head, which sent me seeing stars. I blinked a few times and suddenly felt nauseas. He started messing with his pants again, then I heard him yelp out. I couldn't see what was going on, I was still reeling from the hard punch in the eye.

I heard my attacker hollering, cursing out and I heard a few punches being thrown, then there were footsteps running past me and out onto the street.

"Don't let me see you again!" I heard a familiar voice yell, anger evident in their tone.

I winced and tried sitting up, putting a hand to my head. I winced again and pulled my hand away from the tender bruise around my eye. Then there were footsteps and the voice spoke again, "Tauscher... Are you alright?"

I blinked a few times as I felt hands on me, but they were gentle as they helped me up. I looked up and caught sight of their face, and this face surprised me, "Liebgott?"

He looked me up and down, then he put his hand on my chin, turning my head towards the light, but I flinched and smacked his hand away. He looked at me in concern again, a little anger evident in his gaze as well, "You busted up your chin real bad, and your eye..."

I swallowed thickly then I finally came back to the world, understanding and fully comprehending what had just happened, "I'm fine. I'm fine... I can- I'm fine."

I pushed him away from me and tried to stand, but when I got to my feet I stumbled and fell into Joe's chest. He wrapped his arms around me and tried to steady me. I closed my eyes for a minute, fighting the nausea and then I opened my eyes when I regained my composure. My whole body stiffened and I pushed Joe off of me irritably, "I'm fine, Joe. Really."

I looked towards the street where my attacker went running, then I said, "I'm gunna head back to barracks. I'm tired."

I started off towards the street and I heard Joe follow me. Leave me alone, Joe.

"Tauscher," He called after me as I started down the street, my entire body stiff as a board now, my eyes alert and my fists clenched, ready to fight anyone who came at me, "Maddie."

His hand was around my wrist and I spun around to face him, anger in my eyes, "I'm fine, Joe! Now leave me alone!"

He looked at me for a minute, then some annoyance came into his gaze as he released my arm, "A thank you would be nice."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, "Do you ever let up?"

He ignored me and followed after me down the street as I began walking again, "I'm just concerned, is all. That asshole just tried to rape you, for cryin' out loud."

I spun around to face him, an incredulous smile on my face, "Why do you care?!"

He looked at me like I was stupid for a moment before he said, "We may not get along, Tauscher, and I may be a jackass sometimes, but I'm not just goin' ta let somebody do that to ya. We're in the same company and this company looks out for one another, now I don't know what that means ta you, but it means a hell of a lot ta me!"

"I care more for the men in this company than you can even imagine, Liebgott! You know that!" I cried. How did this turn into an argument? Why did everything involving Joe turn into a argument? I huffed and turned on my heel again, walking towards the barracks.

"I'm walkin' with you," He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and following after me.

I huffed once more and looked over at him, "You just don't listen do you? I want to be left alone!"

"I don't care," Joe said, quickening his pace to keep up with me.

"Why won't you just leave?" I asked him, my eyes burning again. No, we're not crying in front of Joe, no way in hell are we doing that.

"Because, what if he comes back?" Joe asked me.

"I can take him," I spat, narrowing my eyes and glaring at the ground.

"Yeah, cause that went so well just a minute ago," Joe scoffed, "I'm walkin' you ta the barracks."

"I can take care of myself, Joe," I said.

"What is it with you?" Joe asked, grabbing my wrist again and stopping me, "You go around, actin' like you can do everything by yourself, that no one can touch you. You act like you're invincible, but you're not! Why can't you just let somebody help you every once in a while?"

"Are you describing yourself, Joe?" I asked, a small smug smirk on my face.

"Shut up, Tauscher," He snapped and I began walking again. It took him a minute, but he started after me again. I didn't say anything to him and we were silent for a few moments. Tonight was just not my night. I felt his eyes on me, and for once they didn't feel angry, "I'm walkin' with you."

And I let him.
0-0-0-0-0
We were jumping into Holland. I had yet to tell anybody about what happened a few nights ago, and Joe hadn't told anybody. When asked about it I told them I had had a bit too much to drink and fell outside on the street, most of them seemed to buy it, but a few of them were skeptical, Bill and Chuck mostly. I had yet to tell anybody but Ralph about my brother going MIA. I had all that sitting on my shoulders and I was jumping into combat. I was kind of glad though, I'd find a way to vent my emotions and be a good soldier at the same time. I tried to forget that at the moment though, I wanted to spend some time with my boys before we got back in the airplane. The last time we jumped we were being shot at, we could have crashed that night. It was the most terrifying experience in all my life, hopefully this time it was a different story.

"Hey! Hey, Tauscher!" I heard my name being called as I adjusted my parachute harness around me. I turned my head and saw Bill waving for me to come over, "Come 'ere!"

I sighed and turned towards Bill, carrying my weapon in my bag with me. I went over to Bill, who was standing with Chuck, and stopped in front of my best friend, looking up at him in mild annoyance, "Can't you see I'm a bit busy here?"

"We're all a bit busy, Maddie," Bill said, giving me that look, "I want ya ta meet somebody. This here is Babe Heffron. Ya know? The guy I'm always tellin' ya you should meet?"

I smiled as I looked up at the taller fellow, holding out my hand for him to shake, "So you're the famous Babe Heffron this schmuck can never shut up about?"

"Are ya really a woman?" Babe asked quickly, but he shook my hand.

I looked over at Bill, a bit accusatory, but he held up his hands in defense, "He's a good guy, he won't tell nobody."

I looked back up at Babe and nodded, "Yeah, it's true."

Babe sort of smiled a little, "Wow, I can't believe it... Bill here never shuts up about ya."

I smiled, "Bill never shuts up in general."

Babe snickered a bit at that and I felt Bill hit me on the shoulder irritably, it made me flinch. I've been a bit jumpy since the other night. Bill didn't seem to notice.

"Well, holy shit," Chuck suddenly said, looking off towards a couple trucks rolling up towards us.

We all turned to face him curiously, then I saw what he saw. Sobel. Jesus, I thought we left his ass when we left England the first time.

"Who's that?" Babe asked as he looked over towards the jackass that made our lives living hell for two years.

"Sobel," I said, adjusting my harness around my waist, "Our first CO. You wouldn't believe what he made us do. He'd revoke your weekend pass just for breathing the wrong way."

"Ain't that the fuckin' truth," Bill snapped in annoyance as he too messed with his harness, making sure it was secured tightly around him.

"No shit," Babe said and we all nodded, then I saw Popeye approaching, a big smile on his face.

"Well, well, what do we got here," Bill said with a smile as Popeye came over, giving the guys handshakes.

"Hey guys," Popeye said, looking around at the three familiar faces, smiling at me, "Corporal."

I rolled my eyes, "You can call me by my name, Popeye. Pretty much everyone knows now."

"Really?" He said, looking around.

I shrugged, "Well, mostly. Not our CO's though, so don't talk about it around them."

Popeye nodded, then he saw Babe, "Who's this?"

"That's Babe. Replacement," I said, looking down at myself for a minute, satisfied with my work, "He's good though, he's from Philly."

"So... Sobel just gave you a lift?" Bill suddenly asked, confused about this.

Popeye looked over at him and nodded, "Yeah, I can't believe it myself."

None of us could, but we didn't ask anymore questions. We had a jump to prepare for.
0-0-0-0-0
Holland wasn't what we expected. We thought we would be met with enemy fire, but when we jumped it was quiet, there wasn't a sound to be heard, then when we made it to Eindhoven we were met with joy instead of resistance, and it was beautiful. I forgot about my worries for a little while in Eindhoven, the people adored us. Of course, all the locals thought I was a man so I was getting kisses from women, but I tried not to let it bother me.

"Well hallelujah! I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life!" Chuck cried over the cheering people as he watched me get a big kiss on the mouth from one of the women.

I rolled my eyes and wiped my mouth as she ran off, "Shut up, Chuck."

"Hey Chuck! Get over here!" Somebody called his name and he smiled down at me, "Duty calls."

I rolled my eyes again as he went off in the direction his name was called. I kept pushing forward, the crowd starting to annoy me. I've never been one for big crowds, I was always a bit claustrophobic. I pushed my way towards the street corner and climbed up on a light post a little, looking over the crowd, trying to see an opening somewhere, but it seemed the whole street was crowded. I'd just have to suck it up and deal with it. I sighed irritably and got down back into the street, pushing through the crowd once more, getting some hugs and kisses from the women, some older men gave me hugs and a few children gave me hugs as well.

I passed by Hoobler who had a small boy in his arms and he was just chatting away to him. I smiled at bit at that. I saw Tab making out with a woman at a table and I rolled my eyes. I pushed past the people crowding around us, trying to make my way through the crowd faster, then I ran right into one of our men. I stumbled a bit and looked up to see who it was and saw a very flustered Eugene Roe, struggling to get this woman off his arm.

I almost laughed.

"You alright there, Gene?" I asked, adjusting my helmet on my head.

He looked down at me, his face tinted pink, "Please help."

That's when I laughed. I grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the street with me, eventually the lady got the right idea and let go of Gene. As we walked through the crowd I noticed Gene was limping a little bit and I furrowed my brow, "You alright?"

He looked down at me, a look of confusion on his face for a moment, "Yes. Why?"

"You're limping," I pointed out, my voice laced with concern.

He then realized what I was talking about and he slumped his shoulders a bit, "It's nothin'. I landed on barbed wire when we jumped. I'm fine."

I looked down at his leg and saw there was a tear in his pant leg at the calf, his pants around the wound soaked in blood, "Did you fix it up?"

"I bandaged it, but I didn't have time to do nothin' else," Gene said. One thing I noticed about him was that he took care of others before he took care of himself, and sometimes that was a bad thing.

"We need to get out of this crowd so you can get that dressed properly," I said, tightening my hold on his arm as I helped drag him through the crowd.

He didn't say anything as I dragged him through the street, mostly because we stumbled upon something horrific. Me and Gene both watched with almost disgusted expressions as men dragged several women to a small clearing in the center of town; they ripped at their clothes, forced them to their knees and shaved their heads. I saw another man drawing swastikas on their foreheads.

"What the fuck..." I said quietly, watching as this continued on, but neither me nor Gene did anything to stop it. We were in shock, it seemed.

"They slept with the German's," I heard a voice say next to me, it was Cobb. He looked over at me and Gene, a cigarette hanging out his mouth as he shrugged his shoulders, "That's what I heard, anyway."

Then we all turned back to face the gathering, but still, none of us did anything.
0-0-0-0-0
I was shuffling my deck of cards that night, leaning back against a large stack of hay. It was actually quite comfortable, and it was quiet for once, so I was happy for the moment. After we finally made our way through the town, me and Gene found Ralph and he helped patch up Gene. Of course, Gene had to protest, saying he could do it himself, but me and Ralph both told him to shut up and let Ralph do his job. Gene stopped protesting after that, but he had a look on his face, a grumpy look. He looked like a small child who didn't get what he wanted at the store, and I had to hold in my laughter at the expression on his face.

I wasn't tired at the moment, so I just played with my cards. Gene had been my company, but he finally fell asleep about half an hour ago. He was sitting next to me, his wounded leg sprawled out in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and his head tucked into his shoulder. He was a quiet sleeper, he didn't move too much.

"Hey Maddie," I heard that Philly accent, and I looked up just in time to Bill coming to sit next to me, "Lose your chattin' buddy?"

I smirked and looked over to Gene briefly, "Yeah, I guess he finally got tired of my constant yappin'."

Bill snickered at that as he got comfortable next to me, "You two sure have been spendin' a lotta time together."

I rolled my eyes, "First Ralph, now you?"

Bill snickered again, "I'm just messin' with ya," Bill then got quiet for a moment, releasing a loaded sigh then he asked, "How ya been holdin' up?"

I furrowed my brow curiously, but I responded with, "Good... How about you?"

He shrugged, "I'm always fine, I'm just worried 'bout you, that's all."

I sighed, "Ralph told you, didn't he?"

Bill was quiet again, but only for a moment, "I'm real sorry, Maddie. I know how close ya two were."

I looked down at my hands in my lap and shrugged, "It is how it is."

Bill watched me for a minute, trying to read me. He knew the scar I had on my chin and the black eye had a story, and it wasn't that I had too much to drink and fell. Bill knew I didn't drink much, he's known me for over ten years. I know he wants to ask me about it, but I'm just not sure I'm ready to talk about it, but on the other hand I wanted to tell somebody. The only person who knows is Liebgott, and surprisingly, he's kept it to himself. Joe's been giving me looks lately, and not the normal ones. They weren't filled with anger and annoyance anymore, no, these looks seemed concerned, as if he were watching out for me.

I looked up and around the area, then over at Gene, making sure he was still soundly asleep; he was. I then turned to Bill before I stood up, "Come with me."

Bill looked at me curiously as I started to walk away, and he got up quickly, following after me. I stepped away from the area where me and Gene were sitting and away from earshot from the rest of the men. I stopped a few yards from the men, Bill coming to stand in front of me as I stared down at my boots. He noticed the tense silence, a look of concern clouding his features.

"What is it, Maddie?" Bill asked urgently, his fists clenched at his sides.

I released a tense and nervous breath, my fists clenched as well, then I started to speak, "It's about the other night. When all... This happened," I said, motioning towards my face where a small scab still remained on my chin and a light grey tint was around my eye.

"I knew ya didn't fall," Bill said, a look of anger coming over his face, "Who did it? Who beat ya up? Was it Joe? Frank? I'll kick their asses, I swear-"

"Bill!" I snapped, a little too loudly. I released a tense breath, calming myself, "It's not Joe, and it's not Frank... They wouldn't-" I sighed again, cutting myself off. Hold it together, Maddie, you can do this, "I don't know who did it, he was from a different company... I went on a walk that night after I found out about Mattie. I ended up in this alley, crying. I just wanted to be alone for a while, then..."

Bill adjusted his shoulders in front of me, and I could just tell he was getting angry, "Then what?"

I released another tense breath, preparing myself, "Then this guy assaulted me. He-he..."

"I'll kick his ass," Bill said through gritted teeth, "I'll find out who did it and- Wait, how far did it go? He didn't... Ya know?"

I shook my head, "I put up a pretty good fight... But somebody else helped, somebody came to my... Rescue."

As much as I bitched at Gene earlier for needing to let somebody else help him sometimes, I really wasn't too good at admitting when I needed help either.

"Who?" Bill asked curiously, anger still evident in his tone.

"Liebgott," I said, and that seemed to surprise him.

"What?" Bill asked in shock.

"He tore the guy off me and got a few punches in, then he told him to get out of there before he did much worse," I said, wringing my hands, "Then he walked me back to the barracks, even though I told him not to. He said he didn't want that guy coming back after me."

"Joe did this? He helped ya out? Joe Liebgott?" Bill asked and I nodded, wanting to smile at the tone in his voice.

"Yes, Joe helped me," I said, nodding, "I found it hard to believe myself... Now, you can't tell anyone about this. It's between me, you, and Joe. Got it?"

"No, we have to find this fucker and turn him in! He needs to be punished for this shit!" Bill snapped angrily.

"No Bill, we can't tell anybody!" I said in return, "You'd have to tell a CO, and if they found out that I was a woman... I'd be out of here for sure! So we can't tell anybody, got it?!"

Bill was quiet for a moment, looking at me with concern and anger in his dark eyes, but he nodded, "Yeah... I got it."

"Alright," I said, nodding, my brow furrowed in worry, "Thank you."

"Yeah," Bill said in return, "But just let me know if someone else starts botherin' ya. I'll take care of it, a'right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, alright."

"A'right," Bill said, stepping over to me and giving me a brief hug, "I'll see ya in the mornin'."

Bill wasn't a touchy feely guy, he didn't hug me often, because I wasn't a touchy feely person myself, but that hug meant a lot, even though it was brief. It told me he was looking out for me, protecting me, and that he loved me. You could tell a lot from a hug. Bill pulled away and turned on his heel, walking away, not saying another word. I sighed as I watched him leave, slumping my shoulders, then I turned away a moment later, going back over to where I was sitting before.

Gene was still asleep, sitting in the exact same position I left him in. I sat back down next to him, but closer than I had before. I leaned against him a little bit, our arms touching, and when I touched him, he felt it and stirred him out of his sleep a little.

He blinked a few times and looked over at me, "Matilda?" He said, looking over at me sleepily, "Are you alright?"

I nodded and smiled a small, sweet smile at him, "Yeah, I'm fine... Just a little cold."

He looked at me curiously for a moment, but he didn't say anything else, he just mumbled something incoherent and relaxed back against the hay, but he didn't move away from me. He fell back into sleep a moment later, but I remained awake, looking up at the stars that covered the sky. It was pretty here in Holland, I liked it here so far.

I sighed and relaxed my head back against the soft haystack, crossing my arms over my chest protectively. I was surrounded by men, only men. I knew this when I signed up, I knew if someone found out about me it could be trouble, but at that time I told myself nobody would find out about me. That went well.

I was surrounded by men, and I was just now realizing that.