Hello! Before I jump to the new installment, I would like to thank my dear reviewers, who made my day: bethrodrigues.77 (I'm happy to hear that you liked chapter 15! To be honest, it was a bit tough to write that one. ;) ) and AwesomeBlonde89 (Welcome to the story... and thanks for the sweet review! :) )

This time, I have a little surprise for all of you. I've added a new OC to the story. But, unlike Jess, this one will be the bad guy... you'll find out what I mean when you see him...

As always, reviews will be appreciated, so be free to tell me how I'm doing :)

Okay, that's all from me. And here it is... chapter 16!

Disclaimer: I do not own Band of Brothers. This is purely of entertainment. It is based on the HBO miniseries and no disrespect is meant towards the real men of Easy Company.

And she says 'Oh, I can't take no more',

Her tears like diamonds on the floor,

And her diamonds bring me down

'Cause I can't help her now...

Rob Thomas "Her Diamonds"

Chapter Sixteen: Hang Tough, Angel

I had no idea where I was. However, there was light somewhere. I could see its fade, yellowish glow behind my eyelids. I also heard a couple of voices. Although my ears were still ringing, I could feel that their owners were somewhere nearby.

What... just... happened? I tried to remember, when my leg burnt in pain again. I quietly groaned, cracking both eyes open.

"Doc!", somebody shouted, "Doc, she's awake!"

I heard hurried steps, before a familiar figure appeared in my sight. His face was unbelievably pale, which was a contrast to the dark circles around his eyes.

In the meantime, my heart begun thumping.

"Gene?", I croaked.

"I'm here, Jess." He sat beside me and gently took my hand. "I'm here."

"Gene, where's Tipper?" My eyes glanced around, but I couldn't see anybody else. "He was with me when that wall blew up and..." The thought that he was also hurt made me swallow hard. "Have you seen him? Is he... is he okay?"

"He's fine." Gene gave me a reassuring look. "I was with 'im a minute ago. They'll ship 'im to the States. He's gonna make it, Jess."

I closed my eyes when a wave of relief went through me.

"Oh, thank goodness...", I whispered to nobody in particular.

All of a sudden, another voice burst out of the silence. I knew who it was even before I opened my eyes.

"Welcome to the land of the living!", he said with a smile, "How are ya feelin'?"

"Speen!"

I tried to sit up, when I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I bit my tongue to keep quiet, but that couldn't stop my yelp.

"Hey, hey, take it easy." Ralph's hand gently pushed me back on the cot. "People don't usually walk away after being hit by a mortar..."

What? Although my chest still ached, I gave him a bewildered look.

"You were a real mess when they brought ya in. Two cracked ribs, a leg that needed a helluva stitching and more bruises than I can count!" Ralph frowned at me. "Jeez, did somebody used you as a punching bag before you got in that building?"

The thought of it suddenly made my throat tighten. It lasted just for a moment. But, I clearly saw that room with no windows. And I saw the two Germans, who had tried to beat my confession out of me...

When he saw my face, Ralph's good-natured smile suddenly faded away. Pursing his lips into a line, he gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"You're gonna be okay", he said, "Just hang tough, Angel."

I slightly raised one eyebrow. "What?"

"Angel. I called ya Angel." Ralph sniggered a bit. "That's Gene's idea. You know... 'cause you got on that roof and saved us all from above."

My lips parted in disbelief. I didn't hear something like that every day. I glanced at Eugene, whose cheeks had suddenly become bright red. Even the tips of his ears had the colour of a beetroot. He shot a threatening glare to Speen, before he looked at me again.

To be honest, I had to snigger, too. "So, Gene, you think that I'm an angel?"

He seemed more than embarrassed. He tried to explain, when the nearby door burst open. Liebgott stormed inside, while Toye was just a step behind him.

"Holy shit, are you fuckin' insane, girl?" Liebgott's voice bellowed in the small room. "What were you thinkin'?!"

I tried to ignore his tone. "It's nice to see you too, Lieb."

Still frowning, he made his way to me. He plonked himself on the edge of my cot and carelessly threw his helmet in the corner of the room. "I've seen a lot of crazy things here, but you must be the craziest! I mean, runnin' into fire and takin' a machine gun by yourself..."

"Give 'er some slack, Lieb, will ya?", Joe interrupted, standing beside him, "She saved my arse at that square!"

Lieb muttered something under his breath, but I didn't hear it. Perhaps it was a good thing that my ears were still ringing.

"Thanks, Joe." I tried to make myself more comfortable on the cot. "How are the other chaps? I haven't seen them in a while."

"Well..." To my surprise, he begun counting on his fingers. "Malark, Bull, Shifty and Luz are outside, waiting for news from ya, Winters is next door, but he just wants to talk to ya... and Nixon's drinking somewhere, I think."

"Hey, don't tell all of 'em to march in!" Ralph sprung up from his chair. "This room is already bursting at the seams! The last thing I need here is Bull squeezing through the door!"

Everybody chuckled. Even Gene sniggered a bit. I didn't know why, but when I saw him smiling, I felt heat picking up in my cheeks.

That was when I noticed something... or someone standing at the door.

Following my gaze, Eugene turned his head. And then he raised his eyebrows.

"Lieutenant Nixon?"

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The intelligence officer made a step inside the room.

"Of course not, sir." My lips curved into a smile. "Come in."

Squeezing between Ralph and Joe, Nixon sat on another squeaky chair. For some reason, he had a strange smirk on his face.

"Is something funny, sir?", I asked.

"I have news for you. Actually, for all of you, so you better listen."

He slightly leaned forward, glancing at each of us. An then he said:

"Carentan is ours. You, Miss Prichard, and private Tipper pulled quite a stunt out there. But, it helped us... a lot." Nixon glanced at Speen, whose mouth was now half-open. "So, yes, guys, we won this time."

Lieb grinned almost from ear to ear. "Jess, you know I never doubted you!"

Eugene sarcastically rolled his eyes. I struggled not to laugh.

"And that's the first news", Nixon added, "The second one is that there's a ship coming. It will transport the wounded to a hospital in Aldbourne." His snigger slowly turned into a grin, almost as wide as Lieb's. "And that includes you."

The whole room suddenly became quiet. Or was it just my imagination? I wasn't quite sure. I kept staring at Nixon, trying to find out if he was joking.

"Are you serious?", I asked in a quiet voice.

"Why shouldn't I be?" He shrugged. "You're going home, Miss."

I couldn't even describe what I felt in that moment. Whatever it was, it made me feel happy and relieved in the same time. It looked like I'd just woken up from a bad dream and found out that everything was all right. However, that wasn't the most important part.

I would see Neve again.

After being stuck for days in Normandy, I would finally be with my sister. And I wouldn't miss that chance for all the gold in the earth. I could already feel my lips spreading into a grin. Somebody slapped my shoulder as a sign of support.

But, I also felt something that I hadn't expected. Although I was almost elated to getting back home, I was a bit sad, too. In the end, I would have to leave Eugene and the rest of the Easy chaps behind.

Don't get me wrong, but after all we'd been through, parting from them wasn't so simple anymore. These men, who had been complete strangers to me, became my friends. Even if it looked a bit odd, dodging bullets and cheating death on a daily basis had formed some kind of bond between us. And I felt almost sorry for tearing it.

Biting my lip a bit, I looked at Nixon. "When?"

"You have a half an hour to get ready."

That made my eyebrows slightly furrow. "Do you always tell news like this at short notice?"

"Not often." Nixon grinned again. "But, it's more exciting this way, isn't it?"

XXX

When Gene carried me out of the Aid station, the jeep had been already there. But, in order to get to it, he had to weave his way between the chaps of Easy Company.

To my surprise, almost all of them were there. Don and Shifty were nearby, grinning, while Bull was towering over them. Speen, Joe and George were there, too. Of course, I couldn't help but notice Lieb and his smirk.

Everyone was there except Winters and Nixon. I had already said my goodbye to them. Oh... and Guarnere was missing, too.

I looked around, trying to spot him somewhere nearby. But, there was no sign of him. However, I didn't give a sod about that. If he was convinced that I was weak, I had no reason to even think about him. Anyway, he must have been celebrating his victory in some truck on the other side of the town...

"I'm gonna miss you", Toye said, pulling me away from my thoughts.

He stepped aside, letting Gene approach the jeep. And then Eugene slowly and carefully put me on the front seat. Jeez, somebody will think that I'm made of glass...

"With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!", George shouted, making everybody laugh.

Well, except Gene and me. Eugene's cheeks suddenly got a strange shade of pink. I guessed that mine weren't so different.

"Seeya, Jess." Don came by and squeezed my hand.

Bull suddenly appeared behind his back. He playfully winked at me and sniggered.

"We'll visit ya when all of this is over."

I couldn't help but smile. "I hope you'll keep your word. Take care, all right?"

"You can count on that."

When I finally hugged everyone and said goodbye to them, I thought that I'd eventually miss the ship home. After a third hug from Shifty, I lay back in my seat. In the meantime, Gene sat in the driver's seat, ready to turn on the engine.

All of a sudden, George glanced at Don. "Malarkey, are those tears?"

"Jeez, George, it's just this goddamn dust!" Don rubbed one eye.

I smirked when the engine loudly hummed. As the vehicle moved, I waved again to the men from the company. You might think that I'd been given too much painkillers, but I would really miss those chaps.

And then, the jeep picked up speed and dashed through the streets of Carentan. It didn't last long when Eugene turned the wheel. The jeep soon went to the right, rumbling towards the outskirts of the town.

As we were passing a row of trucks, Eugene's free hand gently landed on mine. That raised my spirits up for a bit. I interlocked my fingers with his, smiling, just when...

"STOP!"

That bellow almost made me jump out of my skin. The jeep screeched to a halt, picking up a small cloud of dust behind.

I blinked in disbelief. There was a tall man standing in front of the vehicle. His large hands were placed right on the hood of the engine.

"You can turn off the engine, Roe", he ordered.

Eugene hesitated for a moment. And then he turned the key, making the engine stop. That was when the man moved. Letting go of the hood, he strolled to the side where I was sitting. As he was coming closer, I glanced at the medic.

"Gene?", I whispered, "Who is that?"

He swallowed hard. "That's Denham... colonel Denham. He's colonel Sink's replacement."

I raised both of my eyebrows. What is a colonel doing in this part of town? I turned around, just in time to see him standing next to the door.

Denham gazed at me, before he said: "It's nice to meet ya in person, Miss."

I slightly frowned. "Well, thank you... sir."

"Stories spread fast, you know. It doesn't matter what the subject is. But, your story spreaded faster than you can imagine." The colonel smirked. "I don't know if they told ya... but, when you took that machine gun, you helped us take over Carentan."

"Actually, they did. So?"

"In all my time, only a handful of my men did the same as you." He grasped the handle and opened the door of the jeep. "You may be a lady, Miss Prichard, but you sure have guts. To be honest, you could be of great importance on this side of the Channel."

I almost burst into laughter. Does he really think that I'll fall for that?

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't accept your offer." I could see small creases forming on his forehead. But, I decided to ignore it. "You'll have to look for somebody else. As you can see, I'm leaving this place."

Grabbing the edge of the door, I slammed it shut again. That was when Denham gave me a long and strange look. I expected that he would shout at me... or something like that. However, his voice was barely louder than a whisper when he said:

"I hope that your sister is okay."

My hand froze on the door handle. I turned my head towards Denham, as something cold flooded me from the inside.

"What did you say?", I asked.

"I mean, she's a really sweet girl. And she's good at school, ain't she?" As seconds passed, a sly smile begun spreading across his face. "She's a bit different than you, though. I noticed that you look more like your mum, with your fiery hair and all. On the other hand, your sister inherited dad's looks..."

I stiffened in shock. Nobody knew that. Not even Eugene knew that. Before I was aware of what was happening, my hands clenched into fists on my lap.

"How dare you..."

Denham tilted his head slightly. "If you stay here, I promise nothing... unexpected will happen to your little Neve. Or else..."

My heart sunk all the way to my boots. Gene suddenly stood up.

"Sir, you can't do that!", he protested.

"I can. And I will."

In one quick move, Denham picked up a clipboard. He glanced at it before he cleaned his throat. He seemed as if he was just preparing to throw a curse on me.

"Jessica Mair Prichard..." His every word felt like a punch in my stomach. "...from this day, you are a member of the 506st U. S. Parachute Infantry Regiment..."

I could feel my mouth drying. "No..."

"...without any chance of reassignment!", Denham mercilessly continued, "Your duties will be serving the United States and fighting against its foes. You'll be placed within Easy Company. And you'll stay with these men until you die or outlive this war..." He slowly smirked. "Well, good luck with that."

"You BASTARD!"

Ignoring my scream, Denham straightened the paper on the clipboard. And then he turned around and slowly strolled down the street.

I stared at his back, completely dumbstruck. My lips parted, but I wasn't able to say a single word. Actually, I felt it even hard to breathe. It seemed as if four invisible walls started closing in around me.

I had hoped that I'd finally go home - that I'd get out of this hellish place. But, now, I was stuck here for good.

"Jess..." Gene's voice seemed strangely distant.

I didn't pay attention to him, as my hands begun shaking. I found out that I hated Denham from the bottom of my soul. That thought burnt deep inside me, searing every other emotion I had in that moment.

All of a sudden, I felt a strange shape under my fingers. Whatever it was, it was cold and smooth under my touch. And then I remembered something.

I still had Tipper's pistol with me. In spite of everything that had happened, it was still strapped to my right hip.

Holding my breath for a second, I wrapped my fingers around the gun. That was when I slowly raised my arm – and aimed at the back of Denham's head.

"Jesus Christ...!", Gene muttered. His more than worried face appeared in the corner of my view. "Jess... Jess, look at me. Look at me. You can't pull da trigger. If you do that, you'll be placed against a wall and shot!"

"I'm already dead, Eugene!", I shouted, "Can't you see that? I won't survive in this war! I can't survive!"

"Jess, as long as yo heart beats, you'll have a chance!"

Closing one eye, I corrected my aim. My hand might have been shaking like a leaf, but I could still make that shot. I was sure of it. Meanwhile, Denham was slowly walking down the street, not knowing that he'd end up with a hole in his head.

"Jess, please!" Gene moved from his seat and crouched right next to me. "I know how you're feelin'. But, you can't do this to yourself, for chrissake! You can't!" His gentle Cajun accent was almost begging me now. "Just let 'im go... please."

Hand on heart, I wished that everything was that simple. However, I couldn't let Denham just walk away – not after he'd threatened me and the only family I had. He deserved the bullet in this barrel. My eyes started to sting as tears welled up in them. I blinked a few times, trying to keep them at bay.

Unfortunately, they were stronger than me. Much, much stronger. They burst through all the dams and poured over my cheeks. And then my hand shook harder than ever. Reaching out, Gene's hand carefully took mine and lowered the pistol down.

A second later, I was already sobbing. The gun slipped from my grasp and rattled on the floor of the jeep.

"Shhhh, shhhh... come 'ere..."

Almost cooing with his accent, Eugene carefully wrapped me into a hug. He placed one hand on my messy hair, but that couldn't comfort me. Actually, nothing could comfort me now.

I already imagined myself running God knows where with Easy Company. It was just a matter of time when I would escape bullets and take lives again. I started trembling, as tears trickled down my face.

"Oh, God..." Sniffing loudly, I dug my face into Gene's shirt. "I... I can't do this... I can't kill people again..."

"You're gonna be fine, Jess."

"I won't be fine! I... I'm assigned to be a bloody murderer!" I tried to wipe the tears from my cheeks. But, the salty drops were quickly replaced by new ones. "And I'm assigned to... to die in his hellhole!"

Still holding me close, Gene stroked my hair. And then he quietly said:

"We're gonna help you stay alive."

I cracked my eyes open. "What?"

Gene's hands slowly slid off me, letting me go. I raised my head and saw his eyes, dark with anger. However, something else was there, too... although I couldn't figure out what it was.

"We're gonna help you get through this, Angel." He gently wiped my tears with his thumb. He seemed serious and determined like never before. "Spina, Toye, Malarkey, Liebgott, me... I mean all of us."

If I wasn't so desperate, I would definitely laugh now. Instead of that. I struggled not to sob again.

"How could you possibly succeed?", I asked, making his eyebrows raise, "I'm not cut out for... for any of this, Gene! I... I can't do this! I don't follow orders and I cause trouble in every place I go. I'm a walking disaster...!"

"You're a part of Easy now."

I let out a quiet gasp when he cupped my face with his hands. He looked at me for a long, silent moment, before he added:

"When Denham assigned you, he forgot one thing about this company."

I looked at him in bewilderment. "And what is that?"

"We always look out for our brothers... and sisters."