Disclaimer: all the usual apply.

Chapter 15

Amelia POV

Bull kept his arm firmly around her shoulder for the entire walk to Easy's camp. If anyone they passed thought anything of it, they didn't dare to say so for fear that he would knock them senseless. Now that the adrenaline had worn off she was tired to her bones and therefore extremely grateful for the solid presence of Bull Randleman guiding her through the darkness.

As they approached some farm buildings she could make out Don, Muck, Penk and George sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall of what looked like an old farmhouse, the little red embers of their cigarettes dancing in the dark as they spoke.

She dipped her head so they wouldn't be able to see the bruise she could feel already forming, hoping to just enter the farmhouse unnoticed.

"Hey Bull, Em, come and hear this story," Muck called them over.

So much for that.

They stopped and Bull looked down to her, silently asking her what she wanted to do. Glancing over at her friends she could see the confusion on their faces at their odd behavior.

She shrugged in response to Bull's question. If they ignored the men, it would just cause them to worry more and then she would never be able to get rid of them.

Bull's grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly as he led her over to the four friends.

"What is it Muck?" Bull asked, his somber tone a stark contrast to the silly smirks plastered on the other's faces.

All four men picked up on his tone and where before they only casually glanced at them she could see they were now actively searching for the source of the trouble.

Without warning Luz sucked in a sharp breath and jumped to his feet, the sudden movement making her flinch. From the corner of her eye she saw Bull shoot Luz a warning look as the other man faltered at her reaction.

"Em, what the hell happened?" he asked, carefully coming to stand close to her.

With the exception of Derek, Luz was the last man she wanted to tell what had happened. She knew he would blame himself in some way for the attack since he'd been the one to summon Derek and he'd told them about the Dutchman. He'd seen him and he'd let him near her. The unexpected anger that flared up at the thought made her eyes stings. She blinked a few times to banish the thoughts, feelings and tears.

Luz had done nothing wrong, her anger shouldn't be directed at him. There was only one man to blame for what had happened.

Her hesitation and the dark look on Bull's face brought Don, Penk and Muck, to their feet. All of them were now standing close enough to see her disheveled state even in the dark and she couldn't bring herself to meet their eyes. She felt so vulnerable and unsure of herself, to exposed to look at them. As if they would know just by looking at her how close she'd come.

Sensing her growing apprehension Bull answered on her behalf. "Em got into a fight with some Dutch bastard. I'm taking her inside here," he jerked his head in the direction of the house, "so Doc can check her out. Johnny's got the guy, he's taking him to Winters."

Briefly glancing up at George she saw his face go from confused, to outraged and finally settling on realization. "The guy I left you with?" He whispered the words like they physically hurt him.

"George, don't do that, please." She heard the crack in her voice as the emotions threatened to overtake her.

"Fuck, it was him." The look on his face, the one of helplessness broke her heart.

She reached out and placed her hand on his arm, the movement made her ribs scream in pain but she pushed the thought aside. "Yes, it was him, but it's no one's fault."

"Em, I…" she cut him off, "No George, you listen to me. This is not your fault in any way. The only person to blame is that waste of space that attacked me."

She stepped out from under Bull's protective arm and hugged her friend gently. His arms gingerly encircled her and she thought he was never going to let he go again.

"I'm so sorry Amelia," he whispered into her hair.

"It's not your fault handsome. I'm fine, promise."

She felt him nod and as he took a small step back she immediately found Bull's arm around her shoulder again.

"You know, that's becoming your catchphrase right? I'm fine," George said, running his hand through his hair.

'That's because I am."

"OK, I need to get her inside now. George, go fetch Doc, tell him it's urgent," Bull said, already starting to turn her towards the door leading into the house.

"If he's busy with a patient just leave it, it's really not that urgent," she said over her shoulder.

She saw George shake his head at her as Don and Muck ran off to find Gene.

XXXXXXX

With the exception of a handful of officers the kitchen of the abandoned farmhouse was blessedly empty. The room was large, clearly meant to serve as kitchen and main living area for a family of five or six. There was one lone lightbulb hanging from the roof in the middle of the room, casting a soft glow but leaving the corners of the room obscured. She was surprised to see some furniture had remained, obviously the family had left in a hurry, only taking with them those things they could easily carry. Peering from under Bull's arm she saw Harry, Buck, Peacock, Speirs and some other officer from Dog sitting around a large wooden table eating preserved fruits straight from the glass jars.

Harry was facing the door and he nearly choked on the large peach he was trying to wolf down in one bite when he saw them. After the darkness outside she found the pale light of the lightbulb as blindingly bright as the midday sun in Africa had ever been. As the other men turned to look at what had startled him she suddenly felt incredibly exposed again. She pushed herself further into Bull's side, trying to hide from them as much as possible.

Speirs was so fast out of his chair she only realized he'd moved when he was standing in-front of them, hard eyes searching for an explanation for her appearance and Bull's over protective bearing. She knew that Bull holding her was only making it worse, making the men worry more, so as difficult as it was she pushed herself out from under his arm and straightened out. He allowed her to go but she felt the presence of the big man right next to her shoulder, ready to jump to her defense at a moment's notice.

In the moments it took her to compose herself Harry and Buck had joined Speirs, each one critically looking from her to Bull trying to figure out what had happened.

"What happened?" Speirs asked her, his voice already promising someone a world of hurt.

Leveling her gaze to meet his she replied, "A Dutch Resistance member was drunk and he picked a fight with me. He got in a few good shots but in the end he lost."

"Where's the son-of-a-bitch now?" Buck asked, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Bull, Johnny and some other Easy men found us. Johnny asked Bull to bring me here while they took the guy to Winters."

Harry and Buck nodded while Speirs' eyebrows knitted together. "Amelia, how exactly did the fight start?" he asked her, his voice softening a fraction.

She felt Bull shift next to her and she took a deep breath, making sure her voice came out level, now was not the time for an emotional meltdown. "He came onto me and when I rejected him he got angry and we fought."

"He's a fucking dead man," Harry swore, almost under his breath.

"Get in line," Buck retorted through clenched teeth.

Speirs didn't say anything, he held her gaze for a long time, as if he was trying to decide if she was really as fine as she sounded.

Not even glancing in his his direction Speirs asked, "Randleman, is there anything else we should know?"

"No sir, when we found them the fight was already over."

Speirs slowly turned his eyes on Bull and cocked his head slightly to one side. "How do you know the fight was over?"

Bull glanced over at her and she nodded her consent. May as well tell them everything now.

"Sergeant Jones had her sidearm raised to the man's head while he was on his knees."

All eyes turned to her and she shrugged. "I said he lost. I didn't say by how much."

"That's our Amelia," Buck said, the pride in his voice making her lips turn up at the corners just a fraction.

Speirs took out a pack of smokes and taking two cigarettes out he lit both, handing her one. Taking it she was relieved when her hands didn't tremble, she didn't want anything to give away the panic she'd felt less than an hour earlier.

Taking a long drag of his own he spoke as he exhaled, "You should have shot him."

"Maybe…." she trailed off.

"Here. It isn't water." Harry held out his uncapped canteen to her.

"Thanks Harry. You're making a habit of giving me a drink after a tussle."

"That's just because you make a habit of getting into tussles."

Taking a long drink, she handed the canteen back to him as the warmth of the alcohol relaxed her muscles just an inch.

"You hurt?" Buck asked.

"Scrapes and bruises mostly. I fell badly at one stage, think I hurt the ribs on my left side."

"Doc's on his way," Bull answered the question they both knew was coming.

"Good, when he gets here we'll go outside so he can look you over in private," Harry said, lighting his own smoke and turning to Bull. "While Doc's busy go talk to the men. If they know Doc's treating her they'll be worried. The last thing we need is them going to find the ass and beat the living daylights out of him."

Hearing a knock at the door Amelia glanced over her shoulder to see Gene standing in the doorway.

"That's our cue. We'll be outside," Harry said, nodding to the others to follow him.

Speirs briefly rested his hand on her shoulder and she returned the gesture with a weak lopsided smile and a small nod.

XXXXXXX

Bill POV

"Hey Hashey, you look like shit. You see your first Kraut or something?" Tab shouted over his shoulder and Bill turned to see what all the fuss what about.

Tab was right, the guy was pale and his eyes were all kinds of angry. Even when Tab called out to him he barely glanced in the direction of their small group and just stayed rooted to the spot he was standing in while he tried to light a smoke with trembling hands.

"Hey Babe, what's going on with your friend?" he asked Babe who just shrugged.

His cigarette finally lit, Hashey walked over to them and Toye and Grant moved aside to make some room for him.

All five men stared at the private as he took a few drags of his cigarette. They would have heard if the Germans had attacked their line and as far as they could tell everything was quiet.

Toye let out an irritated sigh and said, "You gonna tell us what's going on or what?"

Hashey took one final drag and as he blew out the smoke he said, "Captain Winters and Lieutenant Smith told us to fetch Sergeant Jones from the final building they'd cleared."

"Us?" Tab interjected.

"Yeah. Sergeants Randleman and Martin and Liebgott and I."

"Then what?" Bill prodded. He didn't like where this was going and he was impatient for Hashey to get to the point.

"When we got there, we found her holding her sidearm to some beaten Dutch guy's head. And she looked like she'd gone a few rounds herself."

"What?" they all exclaimed practically at the same time.

Toye took a deliberate step towards Hashey and growled, "What the hell happened?"

"I only heard what she told Sergeant Martin and Joe. Apparently…" Hashey trailed off and ran his hand self-consciously through his hair.

"Spit it out kid," Bill asked, barely able to contain the sick feeling making its way up the back of his throat.

Hashey took a deep breath like he was bracing himself before blurting out the words. "The guy tried to force himself on her. She was able to fight him off but she got hurt in the process. From the way she was holding her side, I'm pretty sure she broke some ribs."

For a few agonizing heartbeats none of them said anything. In his mind's eye he could almost see Amelia standing over the guy, gun raised and face strained in pain.

What sounded like a low growl escaped from his chest but before he could say or do anything Babe grabbed Hashey's shoulders and asked, "Where is he?"

"We took him to Winters and Derek. Sergeant Randleman brought Amelia back here. To the house where the officers are staying."

Babe let go of Hashey and he looked about ready to murder someone. Quickly looking around their group he realized they all did.

"We gotta do something," Babe said through a clenched jaw.

"You told them?" Joe asked from right behind him and everyone turned to look at him.

"Yeah," Hashey replied.

"Good."

"How is she?" Grant asked. Hashey may have been there, but Joe knew Amelia better than any of the replacements did.

"You know her. Beaten and bruised but still feisty as all hell." Joe said it with a smirk but Bill could see the worry in his eyes.

"I should have shot the son-of-a-bitch when I had the chance," Joe added and they all nodded their silent agreement.

"Were there MP's?" he suddenly asked.

"With Winters?" Joe clarified and he nodded.

"Yeah, I think I saw a few. Hashey?"

"Yeah, I saw a few," the private agreed.

"Babe, you know John Clark from back home?" he asked and Babe's forehead creased as he ran over the name in his head.

"Yeah, I know the Clark brothers. What's that got to do with anything?"

"John's one of the MP's that jumped into Holland. So how 'bout you and I go pay him a visit to make sure he knows what that bastard did?"

"Let's go."

"Hey Joe, will you show us where you left the bastard?" he asked as he put his helmet back on and picked up his gun.

Joe flicked his half smoked cigarette to the ground and led the way back into Eindhoven in a determined silence.

"Bill," Tab grabbed his arm as he was about to turn and follow the others. "Make sure your friend knows she's one of us."

He gave Tab a steely nod and left the small group behind him as he stalked back into town.

XXXXXXX

Roe POV

He'd been sorting through medical supplies in the makeshift aid station when George and Muck had found him. They'd come tearing into the place and grabbed his medical bag without saying a word. He'd been confused and pissed at their interruption. They hadn't heard reports of fighting so what the hell where they up to?

When he hadn't followed them out of the tent George turned around with a miffed look on his face. "It's Amelia, she got into a fight!"

That was all the reason he'd needed. Dropping what he'd been busy with he'd snatched his bag from George and followed them to the house. The memory of D-day came flooding back to him, seeing her covered in blood, looking like she'd been dragged through hell and knowing she'd very nearly been killed. The fear and adrenaline flooded his system and he'd run headlong through the dark all the while saying a silent prayer that she would still be alive when he got to her.

Now alone with her he took long ragged breaths, trying to calm his shattered nerves before he said anything. He couldn't get to the guy that had hurt, and as unfair as it was he knew if he said something now he'd direct all of his panic turned anger onto her.

"Gene, please don't look so upset." He could hear the weariness in her voice, but it didn't do anything to damper his anger.

"What in the name of god were you thinking Amelia, getting into a fight? You promised me you'd do your best not to get hurt!"

"I did my best Gene. It's not like this is my idea of fun you know!", she exclaimed, her voice rising to match his.

"So what, you decided to go off on your own again?" He knew he was being unreasonable, but seeing the purplish green bruise on her cheek was making his blood boil.

"When do I ever just go off on my own? God Gene, I'm not some replacement trying to be heroic!"

"Then what happened Amelia?" he was full on shouting now.

"Derek and George left me Gene! They left me alone with someone and he tried to force himself on me! None of you were there so I got myself out of it! You weren't there…." Her voice broke on the last sentence and tears streamed down her face.

His heart clenched violently in his chest making it difficult to breathe. They'd left her and she'd almost been….fuck.

Closing the short distance between them he enveloped her in his arms. She clung to his jacket and buried her face into his chest as she wept. The anger that had consumed him moments before was replaced by guilt for what he'd said and a sense of failure for what she'd had to endure. He felt her legs start to buckle and he held on tighter to her but she gasped and he instinctively let go.

She brushed the tears from her eyes and her runny nose with her sleeve. Through little sniffles and hiccups she said, "I think I hurt my ribs during the fight."

He placed his hand on her back and steered her towards the table, indicating she should sit down on-top of it.

"I'm sorry Gene, for what I said. I didn't mean any of it," she whispered, no longer crying.

"No, you're right. They left you alone, we all did."

She shook her head and took his face in her hands, forcing him to meet her tear stained eyes. "Gene, George and Derek thought they were leaving me with a friend. They couldn't have known."

He took her hands in his and closing his eyes he softly rested her knuckles against his lips, taking a moment to convince himself she really was sitting here in-front of him in one piece. Opening his eyes, he found her looking at him, her green ones reassuring his that even though she wasn't fine now, she would be.

"OK chérie, but from now on if he ain't from Easy, you shoot first and ask questions later."

"Deal," she answered.

"So where ya hurt?" he asked her.

"It's mostly nothing, but my left side feels like someone dropped kicked it."

He nodded. "OK. I'm gonna have to lift up your shirt to take a look."

She nodded and started to take off her jacket. Watching her closely for signs of any other injuries she wasn't telling him about he saw her grimace trying to shrug off the cumbersome jacket.

"C'mon, let me help." He reached over and helped her to get the jacket off.

She pulled up her shirt to give him access to her ribs and he sucked in a sharp breath. The entire left side of her body was already turning an angry dark purple. The sight made him wish he could get a minute alone with the guy that had hurt her.

Reaching out he gently touched her injured ribs, trying to gage how sensitive it was and feel for any broken bones. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and said, "I have to push down on them now to see if any are broken. It's gonna hurt."

She gave him a firm nod and he returned his full attention to her injury. Applying more pressure, he worked his way all along her rib cage, pressing down on each one to see of it would give or not. He then went down the rest of her side, feeling for any other obvious internal injuries.

He heard her taking deliberate breaths, trying not to flinch away from his touch or make any sounds.

Finally satisfied he took a step back and said, "I don't think any of the ribs are broken. Bruised definitely and some of them are probably cracked. Your side is pretty tender, but I can't feel anything major. If you start to feel worse though you need to come and find me immediately. Could be an internal injury I can't see." His voice was firm, not allowing any room for argument.

She nodded obediently, but he knew how stubborn she could be.

"I'll be checking in on you every day and I'm gonna tell Bill and the others to keep an eye on you as well."

"Gene, that's a bit dramatic don't you think?"

"No," he replied flatly.

She let out a huff of air but didn't argue further.

He took out a bandage from his pack and firmly wrapped her chest. They didn't speak, him using the work to keep his mind occupied while she was lost in thoughts of her own.

"That's quite snug Gene, you know I need to breathe right?" she teased when he was done.

"You'll live," he said with a wink.

A knock on the door made him turn around and he saw Derek peer around the door. "Can we come in? We need to speak to Amelia." Gene would hear the strain in his voice.

"Yes sir, we're done here."

Amelia pulled down her shirt but stayed seated on the table, resting her hands in her lap she almost looked relaxed.

Packing up his few things he was about to leave when Winters entered to room and giving him one look said, "You should stay Doc, a group of men are standing around outside. This way they can hear the full story from you."

"Yes sir," he said, leaning back against the side of the table to Amelia's wounded left.

Once Derek and Winters were inside they were joined by Nixon and Johnny who was flexing and un-flexing his right hand suspiciously. Johnny closed the door firmly behind then and the three officers came to stand close to the table, each one clearly looking her over to decide for themselves how badly she was hurt.

After a long wait Amelia rolled her eyes and said, "Will you three cut it out. It's not that bad, Doc already checked me out and gave the all clear."

"That right Doc?" Derek asked him but not taking his eyes off of her.

"Few bruised and cracked ribs are the worst of it. It'll hurt for a while but she should be able to continue with the Company."

Winters nodded, mulling over the piece of information while Derek's grey eyes and Amelia's green ones held their own private staring contest.

Nixon cleared his throat. "The guy confessed. The Dutch Resistance are gonna take care of him. Whatever that means."

Amelia slowly looked away from Derek and over to Nixon. "What did he confess to?"

This time Winters answered her question. "That he was drunk and started a fight with an American soldier. van Kooijk's upset, he said it was unacceptable and that he'll be appropriately punished."

"I see," was all she said.

Gene knew there was more to the story and by the way the men were looking at her they all knew it as well. They just didn't seem to know how to bring it up, all of them shifting their weight around uncomfortably.

"Gentlemen, you are grown men and I consider you all friends. Just ask me what you want to know," Amelia said as she started to undo her hair from its messy braid and play with it, something she always did when nervous and trying to keep her hands busy. From the corner of his eye he saw her lips twist a fraction in pain when she touched her skull and his mind involuntarily filled in the blanks of the possible reasons for the gesture.

Winters took a step closer to her and she stopped what she was doing. Letting her hands fall back into her lap she met his worried gaze.

"Once we were away from the Dutch Johnny told us what he'd seen and what you told them," he took a long breath before continuing, "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine Dick, really. It's war, these things happen. I was lucky the worst it ending up being is a few hurt ribs and a nasty bruise on my face. I just…." she trailed off and her eyes fell into her lap.

"Amelia what?"

"I just don't want to be sent away from Easy because of it?" she whispered the words like she was scared of the answer.

"You're not going anywhere Amelia. Easy needs you and the men need you. This wasn't your fault in any way," Winters replied, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Gene saw her relax and he was almost sure he spotted a small tear form in the corner of her eye.

Winters glanced over his shoulder at Derek before looking back to Amelia and him. "After you've spoken to Derek you should go speak to some of the men. They're worried and Doc can tell them you're fine but they won't relax until they see you for themselves."

She gave him a small smile and said, "I will. Thank you Dick."

"There's nothing to thank me for."

With that he took a step back and Gene took this as his sign to give Amelia and Derek some privacy. Leaving the room with the other men he glanced over his shoulder one last time to see Amelia and Derek facing off, neither one moving or saying anything.

Derek POV

Once they were alone neither one said anything for a long time, each one waiting to see how the other would react first.

Since he'd walked into the room he'd clenched his jaw and balled his fist so tightly to stop himself from flying into a rage at the sight of her that he could feel the edges of a headache start to form. Her jaw and left cheek were already starting to form an ugly dark bruise, she was shielding her left side with her arm, a sign of an injury he couldn't see but felt in his gut none the less, and he'd seen her flinch earlier when she played with her hair.

She held his gaze, never looking away, fearless and stubborn as ever. His eyes were burning with pure rage, having turned the sleet grey of winter's storm. In contrast her eyes were dark and placid, not giving away a hint of the turmoil he knew was just under the service.

Letting out a sharp breath all he could think of saying was, "I should have been there."

"This isn't your fault Derek." Her voice was perfectly level. Too level and too controlled.

"Amelia, if I had stayed then this wouldn't have happened!" With each word he was losing his temper, the storm of emotions finally being unleashed.

"Derek, please…."

He cut her off. "No, I shouldn't have left you alone. Not with some guy we didn't know! Fuck, what would have happened if…"

She held up her hand to interrupt him. "If what?" she exclaimed, finally losing her iron grip on her emotions. "If the men hadn't arrived when they did? I'll tell you what would have happened! I would have shot him! That's it!"

"Amelia…."

"No Derek. Stop making this about you!" She was properly screaming now, gesturing wildly with her hands.

"This is not your fault! You were called away by a superior and you left me with an ally. With the exception of that piece of shit still being alive, what happened after that has nothing to do with you or the other men."

She ran her hands through her hair and he could see her chest rapidly rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath.

He rubbed his palms over his face and through his hair. She was right of course, but he still felt like he'd somehow failed her.

They stared at each other for a long time after that. A part of him wanted to reach out to her and pull her to him, keep her close and safe where no one could hurt her as long as he lived. The other part was dreaming of ways to inflict unimaginable pain onto the man that had attacked her, his hands twitching in anticipation.

She must have seen the inner struggle because her face relaxed as she hopped of the table to step closer to him. Taking his hands into her own she let out a shaky breath. "Derek, in the end I'm fine. And that's all that matters now."

He clenched his jaw, still unwilling to let go of the anger.

"He isn't worth it. The Dutch will take care of it."

Closing his eyes, he did his best to forget the images that had formed in his mind when Johnny had told them the entire story. Taking a long inhale and exhale he finally looked at her. Her eyes were no longer cold but rather they were searching his, trying to make sure that he was holding up.

She's trying to make sure I'm fine. God, I'm going to kill that worthless waste of space.

"Amelia, you say the word and I'll kill him. I know where he is and our guys won't ask any questions."

"No, no don't," she said with a small shake of her head.

He nodded, not happy but willing to give in to her. "You're sure you're OK?"

"I'm probably in shock at the moment, because I don't feel much of anything right now. But I'll be fine."

"You're sleeping here tonight."

She started to object and he shot her a look. "There's more than enough space and Dick already told us he wanted you to stay close until we moved out. There's an extra mattress in the one room which you can take."

Pulling one hand out of her grasp he placed it behind her head and gently pulled her against his chest. "You may be fine, but I'm not. Please do this for me."

He felt her nod.

"I should go see the men. By now they would have heard some version of the story and the longer I'm gone, the wilder it will get."

Reluctantly letting go of her he turned and opened the door, allowing her to exit the house first. The area close to the door was oddly empty considering the handful of Easy men who had been loitering around just moments earlier when they'd arrived.

Must have left when the screaming started, he thought.

Walking out into the night he grabbed her hand and she turned to face him, her eyebrows knitted into a small frown. He knew she would be safe here, but the thought of her walking alone in the dark made his stomach contract.

She smiled and patted his chest with her free hand. "You have to let me go Derek, otherwise I won't be able to do my job."

"Take the safety off of your sidearm until you get to them."

"Already done," she said, pulling out of his grasp.

XXXXXXX

Amelia POV

She had a strong suspicion the men were waiting for her just on the other side of a large hay bale she could make out a few feet away from the door of the farmhouse.

Walking over to it she had the oddest sensation. On the one had she was hyper aware of her surroundings, hand firmly placed on her sidearm, but on the other her legs felt like they were trying to walk through knee-deep sucking mud.

Coming close to the hay she saw Bill and Joe step out from behind it and come towards her, Bill never stopping until she was firmly wrapped up in his arms.

Peaking over the top of his shoulder she saw George had joined them and was standing next to Joe who was shooting him a dirty look.

Bill finally let her go and smoothly lit a cigarette before handing it to her. She gratefully accepted it and took a long drag while she tried to decipher the tension between her two friends.

Bill, having lit his own smoke, said, "Doc told us you're OK, but we gotta keep an eye on you for a while."

"I tried to tell him it isn't necessary, but he can be quite forceful when he wants."

"Good, you need some sense talked into your thick skull."

"I love you too Bill."

"Yeah-yeah," he said, but he pulled her into another quick side hug none the less.

"And no one is gonna leave you alone again," Joe said, the pointed comment clearly directed at George who looked down at his shoes, not meeting her eyes.

"Joe, listen. The only person who has any blame in this isn't here. I'm a soldier just like all of you, so you won't be able to babysit me all the time. We're all here to do a job. And as for what happened, if you were in George or Derek's position any one of you would have made the same call and you know it as well as I do."

George looked up for the first time and she recognized the relief washing over him. Reaching out she took his hand and squeezed it ever too slightly which earned her a small smile in return.

"I'm tired; I need to get some sleep before we move out. Derek and Dick want me to sleep in the house tonight with the officers, but from tomorrow you all had best save me a spot in your foxholes."

"Save a beautiful woman a spot in my foxhole. It's all my teenage fantasies come true," Bill joked.

She rolled her eyes and let out a small giggle.

Bill shifted his weight self-consciously from one foot to the other. She recognized the gesture as something he did whenever he was building up the courage to say or do something he knew was risky.

She quirked her head to one side and he stopped moving. Taking a deep drag, he said, "I know one of the MP's responsible for holding the guy, he's from my old neighborhood."

"Bill," she started to feebly object but he interrupted her, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna go down there. Not that I don't want to, but the place is crawling with MP's."

She relaxed a fraction. "Good."

"Nah, I just told the MP what the piece of shit did. He said he'll take care of it."

She gave him a flat stare.

"What? You don't want him taught a lesson."

"Of course I do. I just don't want you to get into trouble."

He smirked and flicked the butt of his cigarette to the ground. "Don't worry about that."

"Thanks Bill," she relented. "I best get back to the house before they come looking for me."

She gave George and Bill a kiss on the cheek goodnight and as they walked away Joe hung back as she'd hoped he would.

"Joe, thank you."

"For what? I didn't do anything?" He sounded angry and resentful, almost exactly like Derek had earlier.

"Joe, you being there stopped me from killing that guy. But more than that, when you had your arm around me you were practically the only thing keeping me together."

"I wish I could have protected you. I wish I could protect you from all of this. I…" he trailed of and ran his hand through his hair, "fuck, I don't know Amelia."

"Joe, don't. Don't say anything you don't mean and don't blame yourself for any of this. You can't protect me anymore than I can protect you. Not that that will ever stop me from trying."

Gently reaching over and pulling her towards him he kissed her on the forehead and said, "Sweet dreams Amelia."

"Sweet dreams Joe," she replied.

Crawling onto the old, lumpy mattress minutes later the sounds of some of the men she trusted most in the world breathing and talking in hushed tones all around her lulled her into a fitful sleep.

XXXXXXX

Babe POV

"Fuck," he swore as he threw the empty pack of cigarettes to the ground.

He swore that pack had been full when they'd jumped that morning, but since they'd gotten back from visiting the MP's he must have had five alone waiting for Bill.

He'd desperately wanted to go with him and Joe to check on Amelia, but Bill had ordered him to wait for them back at camp. He understood his logic. She'd been through a lot and bombarding her may not be what's best, but god knows there's nothing he wanted more than to see her and hold her in his arms where he could assure himself of her safety. So instead he smoked and glared into the darkness and waited.

He saw three shadows appear from the direction of the officers' house and he had to deliberately tell himself not to run over to them.

Bill must have spotted him because he said something to the other two guys Babe couldn't hear as he walked over to him.

"How is she?" he blurted out the question before Bill even had a chance to stand still.

"Good, considering. She's a tough broad that one. Few cracked ribs and an ugly bruise on her face are the worst you can see."

He clenched his fists as Bill listed her injuries. He knew they were in the middle of a war and a lot worse could happen to anyone of them, but the mere thought of her scraping her knee made him want to knock someone's teeth out.

Bill's eyes flashed to his balled fists and the murderous set of his jaw. "Hey listen, Em wouldn't want you doing anything stupid so don't go looking for trouble tonight. It won't do anyone any good if you're locked up by the MP's."

His eyes flicked in the direction of Eindhoven and he considered going after the guy regardless of Bill's warning, but when he met Bill's gaze, the warning they held changed his mind. He nodded and said, "Yeah, OK."

"C'mon, we should get some shut eye before the move in the morning," Bill said as he led the way back to the foxholes they'd dug for the night.

"Bill?"

"Yeah."

"What are we gonna do if one day she isn't alright?" he asked Bill the one question that had been running around his head all night.

"I don't know kid. I really don't know."

XXXXXXX

I hope are all having a great week. Thank you for the great reviews and feedback. To my lovely guest reviewer thank you for the wonderful message. This chapter started off as a 'section' of another chapter but then it kept getting bigger and bigger...hahahaha :)