Disclaimer: I do not own the Band of Brothers mini-series or book, not do I intend any disrespect to the real men of Easy Company or their families. I only own the original characters.

This story is based on the mini-series and I have done some additional research to try and keep it as historically accurate as possible. However since this is a fiction there are some interpretations of and changes to actual events in order to make the story work.

Chapter 5

Derek POV

Upottery Airfield; England

Derek lay awake staring at the roof of his tent, listening to the sounds of the sleeping camp. When they'd received the order to move out to Upottery in May everyone knew what was coming. Now it was only a matter of time.

The men who had never seen combat before had an air of anxious excitement about them, wanting to put their training into practice, test themselves against the enemy they had heard so much about. For those who knew what was waiting for them the announcement was as sobering a sobering one. Amelia had started to push herself harder than before, demanding nothing less than perfection at all times. He knew this was her way of coping with the anxiety that was eating away at her beneath the surface.

He took a deep breath, focusing on the feeling of his lungs expanding until they felt as if they could burst at any moment. Slowly he let the air out and tried to force the tension in his muscles to leave his body along with it.

He heard a movement to his right and looked over to Amelia, sleeping an arm's length away from him on her bunk. As a sergeant she should have shared a barracks with the men, however since they were a sniper team it had been pretty easy to convince the powers to be that she should bunk with him. Dick and Meehan had supported him, as he knew they would. Of course Amelia had been annoyed at the special treatment, he didn't really care though and she got over it quickly enough. He wanted to give her a few more moments of privacy before the necessities of combat made it impossible. At least that's what he'd told her. In all honesty he took comfort in having her close to him. Having her close kept him sane, helped him feel less alone.

The sound of someone whimpering softly interrupted his train of thoughts. Turning to look at Amelia he could barely make out her face in the gloom of the tent. Staring closely he saw she was fast asleep, but tears where rolling down her cheeks, making her long hair stick to her face. Nightmare, he thought. Since the move their nightmares had increased, both in frequency and intensity.

He sat up and got out of bed, quietly padding over to her. She was curled up on her side, maybe taking up a third of the bed space. Fuck, has she always been this small?

He lifted the blankets slowly and climbed in next to her. He felt her body stiffen slightly when the bed moved, however she relaxed a second later when she realised it was him. She turned to him, burying her head in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a protective embrace. He knew that when the nightmares became truly frightening, having someone to sleep next to helped calm her down. Grounding her to the here and now. He was glad to be that anchor for her, she'd been one for him more times than he could count. He felt her body relax and the sound of her deep, steady breathing lulled him to sleep.

He woke early the morning with Amelia still curled into him. From the light outside he figured they still had about an hour left before they had to get up, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. Slowly extracting himself from her grasp het dressed and sneaked out of the tent. Once outside he lit a cigarette and took a long drag, looking up at the dark grey sky. Hmmm, looks like rain. He started to walk in the general director of the Easy tents, more out of habit than anything else.

Rounding a corner he found Dick leaning against a stack of creates, staring up at the sky with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Hey," he said, coming to stand next to Dick.

Without looking away from the spot he'd been staring at, Dick replied, "Hey."

They stood there in silence for a few moments, each man deep in his own thoughts, when Dick turned his attention to him. "How's Amelia?"

Watching some MP's patrol in the distance, Derek just shrugged. "She's fine. Why?"

Dick turned back to look at the sky before replying, "She's been pushing herself harder than usual. Just want to make sure she's fine."

"She's just doing her job Dick. She knows what's coming and wants to be sure she's ready."

Finally looking away from the MP's he took out another cigarette from the pack he kept in his jacket. Flicking the lighter open he lit it, taking a few quick breaths to make sure it took. "The men ready?" he asked, taking a longer drag.

Dick nodded his head, running his hand through his hair. "Ready as they'll ever be."

"Yeah," he replied, taking comfort in the feeling of the smoke working its way into his lungs, soothing his nerves from the inside.

"Yeah." Dick leaned back against the crates.

They stood there for a few moments more, until the first men emerged from their tents. Derek straightened out. "See you at the briefing."

Dick just waved casually.

Entering their tent he saw Amelia had already left for breakfast. Walking towards his side of the tent a small piece of paper on his pillow caught his eye. Opening it, he immediately recognized the handwriting.

Derek, thank you. I'm fine.
Promise.
Em.

Smiling he tucked the note into his pocket and grabbed his gear before heading out to yet another briefing.

XXXXXXX

Amelia POV

"Mother of all things holy, how on god's green earth am I supposed to move with all this shit strapped to me?" she exclaimed in frustration to George and Toye. They were sitting in the middle of the airfield trying to fit all their kit into the new bags they had been issued that morning.

"Wow, watch the language there. I've got impressionable ears," George said.

Amelia scoffed. "Handsome, you haven't been impressionable since the day you were born."

"She's got spunk this one." He ruffled her hair before turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"Three day supply of K-rations, chocolate bars, Charms candy, powdered coffee, sugar, matches, compass, bayonet, entrenching tool, ammunition, gas mask, musette bag with ammo, my weapon, my .45, canteen, two cartons of smokes, Hawkins mine, two grenades, smoke grenade, Gammon grenade, TNT, THIS bullshit, and a pair of nasty skivvies!" Toye was clearly not a happy camper.

She had to laugh at him. He was right of course, but that didn't make his reaction any less entertaining. Turning her attention back to her own gear she assessed the three neat piles she'd made. She'd mentally labeled them I'll live if I lose it, It'll be inconvenient to lose it and I'm thoroughly screwed if I lose it. Since she was going to keep the latter category on her person, she started to pack the least important things into the stupid leg bag they had been issued. She was a sniper; how did they expect her to sneak around with a bag strapped to her leg?

Vest walked past them, calling out the names of men who had received mail. She didn't expect anything so didn't even bother looking up. Glancing over to where Joe was standing, she saw him crowding around Tab admiring something the man had received in the mail. From her place on the ground she couldn't make out what was in the box, but Tab looked really chuffed with himself.

"George, will you watch this for me?" She pointed towards her two bags. "I quickly want to chat to Derek."

"Yeah sure. Do you know how this thing works?" He held up the strap for the leg bag and looked at her with a desperate expression. He must have asked the other boys already.

Smiling at him she replied, "Yip, I'll show you when I get back."

She started to walk in the direction she'd last seen Derek. She had to see him before their jump. She had woken with a knot in her stomach which wouldn't go away so she just knew that something was different about this jump.

"Hey Gene, have you seen Derek?" Amelia asked, stopping next to her friend who was sitting on the ground sorting through medical supplies.

He briefly looked up at her, clearly distracted. "Uh, yeah. I think he's over there." Gene pointed her in a direction.

"Thanks," she said over her shoulder, already walking in the direction he had pointed.

Spotting Derek standing with Buck and Harry she picked up her pace. Buck had only joined them a while back, but he'd fitted in easily and he and Derek had hit it off. He was a tall man with light blonde hair, an easy going attitude and a penchant for gambling with the men.

Seeing her approach Harry smiled and she couldn't help but smile back at him. His smile looked extra cute with all the black grease he had on his face. "Hey there Em."

Stopping between Harry and Derek she greeted all three men. "Hey Harry. Do you mind if I quickly steal him away?" she asked, pointing to Derek.

"Nah, he's all yours," Buck replied.

Derek indicated to a spot a few feet away and she followed him. Looking around to make sure no one would be able to easily overhear their conversation she said, "I think we're jumping tonight."

The way she said it and the look on her face left him in no doubt as to what she meant. He took out his lighter and started flipping it open and close repeatedly. It was a nervous tick, something he did to occupy his hands. "You're probably right. Meehan has been away for a while and everyone from HQ has been looking a bit off."

She chewed her lip thinking this over. It was one thing for her to suspect it, but once he acknowledged her hunch, it became real.

"Just be safe, for me," she whispered, holding his gaze and trying to memorize every little feature like she had done numerous times before.

"As safe as I can me in a war zone." He tried to chuckle, but it came out hollow. "I love you Em." He took her hand and squeezed it, not wanting to draw any more attention to them.

She smiled at her friend and hoped that he could see in her eyes all the things she didn't have the time to say. Like how he was her family, and she needed him to live through this war, even if she didn't. "I love you Derek." She squeezed his hand back.

They stood like that for another split second before letting go of each other, walking back to join their friends. She saw Dick hand joined them and he held a piece of white paper in his hand, talking quietly to the small group.

Reaching them he held out the piece of paper to her without saying a word. She waved it off, already suspecting what it said. Derek reached over and took it, mumbling the words out loud as he read.

Amelia studied the faces of the men around her, trying to recall every moment she had shared with each one. If this was it, she'd rather have this be her last memory of them. Alive and together.

All of a sudden Lieutenant Meehan's voice rang out over the airfield. Turning towards the sound of his voice she saw him standing on-top of a jeep's hood.

"The Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog. No jump tonight! The invasion has been postponed. We're on a 24-hour stand-down."

"Well shit," Derek half said, half whispered.

She touched his shoulder and turned to go fetch her things, starting to make another mental list. This one of all the friends she had to speak to before they jumped into Europe.

XXXXXXX

"Bill, Bill please wait will ya." She was practically running after him. They'd been watching the movie the army had decided to show to the men to take their minds off the coming invasion, when she saw her friend get up from his seat abruptly. Judging by the way his jaw was set something was terribly wrong, so she followed him outside.

He stopped when she called his name the second time. Seeing his face up-close made her heart constrict. This is bad.

She slowed down, approaching him almost cautiously. "Bill, darling, what's wrong? And please don't give me any of that 'nothing' crap," she spoke softly.

He clenched his jaw and looked down at a letter he was holding. "You fought in Italy right? Do you know where Monte Cassino is?"

She was confused by his question, but answered anyway. "I think it's some sort of a hill, 'bout 80 miles from Rome. Why?"

He waved the letter around as if the response would jump from the page. "My brother, Henry", he paused, now folding and unfolding the letter, "he got killed there." He shoved the letter into his jacket pocket and started to pat himself down, searching for something.

Sensing what it was Amelia took out the full pack of smokes from her own pocket and held them out to him. Without meeting her eyes he took one and lit it.

She put the pack back in her jacket and took a tentative step towards her friend. Looking around to make sure they were alone, she embraced him gently. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry Bill. I know how this feels, I truly do." She pulled away slightly so she could see his eyes. Finding them she added, "If you ever want to talk about it, please come and find me."

He gave her a sad smile and let her go without stepping away. "Thanks. I will."

With that he turned and walked away. She didn't follow him. He had to deal with this news in his own way and she hoped he would find her when he was ready to talk.

She turned to go back to her tent, knowing Derek wouldn't be back for some time. It suited her well though, she wanted some time alone with her thoughts and prayers.

Stopping outside their tent she turned to look up at the dark grey sky one last time. Let's just get this over with.

XXXXXXX

And we are off, next stop France. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. And as always thanks for the continued support!