Hello again, my dear readers! I hope you're having a nice weekend :)

First of all, many thanks go to bethrodrigues.77 for the wonderful review (Well, you're right, when Jess saw Mike among the replacements, she definitely flipped out. I mean, she is already worried about Gene, Bill and the others (and herself also). Adding Mike to that list definitely isn't what she wanted. I'm really surprised (and glad) to hear that you like Mike as a character! In that case, I have news for you: he will have a special role in this story. But that will begin in the next chapter. I hope that's okay. :) As for Denham, this chap is reserved for him... and for a few more surprises. ;) ).

Also, I added Doc Roe's POV again in this chapter, along with Jess's. If you see some mistakes regarding grammar, they are made on purpose. I just tried to adapt my writing to his accent... ;)

One more thing... I made a small change in chapter 22. I just changed its name from "Moving Out Again" to "Plenty Of Duties". I hope this sounds a little bit better. ;)

Okay, that's all from me. Enjoy the new installment!

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.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Reason I'm Fighting

Gene:

Jess sent me a faint smile. And then she got up and went after Denham.

I watched as he led her through the crowd, to one of the shady streets on the other side of the square. If it wasn't for the people gathered around, I could have easily seen them talking. But, after just a few steps, they vanished from my sight.

"Hey, Gene", Luz asked from the front row, "Where are ya...?"

"Later, Luz."

I was already on my feet, moving away from the men. As quickly as I could, I begun weaving my way towards Jess and Denham.

Perhaps following her wasn't such a good idea. But, if I knew one thing about colonel Denham, it was this – don't expect good news form him. And I wasn't planning on leaving Jess alone with that man. With one hand holding the strap of my medic bag, I approached the edge of the square.

It didn't last long when I saw Jess and him talking in one street. Actually, he was the one talking, while Jess was listening. Judging by her expression, she was far from happy. She kept glaring at Denham, with her hands hidden behind her back.

I just had to know what he was saying.

After a few more steps, I stopped at the nearby corner and leaned my back against the brick wall. That was when I heard Denham's stern voice:

"...gathering information. His contacts saw the British Second and Guards Armoured pass half an hour ago."

Still holding my bag, I decided to peer behind the corner. The moment I looked in the street, I spotted Jess. Whatever Denham was telling her made her stand quite stiffly.

"I saw those contacts", she said, "These so-called 'resistance members' are kids, for chrissake!"

"These are reliable reports, Prichard."

Even from this far, I could see her brow furrowing.

"I don't think so", she replied.

"Well, you can think whatever you want. Your mission is to fly around this area and check the ground for any Krauts. The Brits are coming this way and I don't want them getting into an ambush. Is that clear?"

"But..."

"Is that clear?"

Jess looked as if she was planning to stab him with something. But, thank goodness, that didn't happen. In the end, she just nodded and muttered:

"Yes. As clear as daylight."

"Good." Unlike her, Denham seemed satisfied. He gave her a long look, before he added: "Dismissed."

She shot him another glare, which would almost put Liebgott to shame. And then she turned on her heel and dashed back to the square. Towards me.

Damnit... I jerked and pinned myself against the wall. A second later, she stormed right past me. Luckily, she was deeply in her thoughts and she didn't notice that I was there. With a more than an upset look, she went back to the rest of Easy.

It didn't last long, when Denham emerged from the street. But, he didn't go after her. Instead, he stood on the sheer edge of the square, frowning.

And then he saw me.

He slightly cocked his head. "Roe."

"Suh." I curtly nodded, after which Denham continued watching the square.

I was just planning to turn around and go back to Jess, when something came to my mind. Maybe there was something that could be done...

If all of this was happening a few months ago, I would've called myself crazy. But, now, that seemed almost right. Come to think of it, even that would be better than standing and doing nothing.

I swallowed thickly because of what I was planning to say – and what I was planning to do. Taking a deep breath to relax, I shoved my hand in my pocket. Soon after, I fished out a pack of smokes. There were still some left inside.

"Cigarettes?", I asked, offering them to Denham.

"Thank you." Denham took one, while his other hand searched for a lighter. In less than a minute, he was already smoking.

"Got any kids, suh?", I asked.

Denham looked at me, slightly surprised. "Uh... yeah. I do."

"What would you do for 'em? To keep 'em safe?"

This time, Denham raised both of his eyebrows. I was probably treading on thin ice right now. But, I held my ground and waited, until he muttered:

"Anything."

I nodded again. This was the answer I wanted to hear.

"Well, I ain't got no kids." I shrugged, taking out a cigarette for myself. "But, I do have family here. I have my brothers and... someone special. She's actually the reason I'm still sane. She's the reason I'm fighting. And I would do anythin' ta protect her. I hope you understand that, suh."

A sly, almost disgusting smile begun emerging on Denham's face.

"You have the hots for Prichard, huh?", he asked. After a moment of silence, he let out a short chuckle. "So, that's why you came here, Roe? To spy on me? Or to beg me to let your sweetheart walk back home?"

That sonofabitch... I did my best to stay calm and ignore his last question. But, that was easier said than done. Especially after all he had done to Jess. I kept remembering the look on her face when Denham assigned to Easy... and how terrible I felt for not being able to stop him.

"I'm not here ta beg, suh. She'll fly wherever you send her. And she'll do what must be done, just like the rest of us."

That made him frown. "Why are you here, then?"

I didn't answer immediately. I lit my cigarette and took a drag. Letting a long puff of smoke in the air, I looked back at him.

"I'm here ta tell you ta stop threatenin' her. Or else, there's gonna be hell ta pay..." This time, I had to force myself to add: "...suh."

In just a matter of seconds, the satisfaction on Denham's face faded away. His smirk disappeared, as if it had never been there.

"Are you threatenin' me, Roe?", he asked in a low voice.

"Not at all, suh. But, you do know that nobody can guarantee yo safety here. I mean, out here, anybody could get hurt. Fo example, I could get hit tomorrow... or you could, suh. It's as simple as that."

"What are you implying?"

"If you don't treat Jessica with more respect, I might decide not ta hear yo call for a medic. I might decide that yo insides stay out." I gave Denham a long and serious look. "Now, that wouldn't be good fo ya, huh?"

Denham stared at me for a moment. "You can't do that. You swore an oath to take care of the men around you."

"Would ya seriously bet on that?"

My question kept hanging in the air. In the meantime, Denham chucked his cigarette on the pavement. He was furious - I could see that on his face. But, his voice remained level when he said:

"That's dangerous talk, Roe."

"I know, suh." I took another drag from my cigarette. And then, with a short glare, I added: "But, I can be dangerous, too."

Jess:

The sky was clear, without a trace of clouds... and without a trace of Messerschmitts.

It was just me, my Spitfire and the green fields beneath me. As I was gliding through the air, I spotted a few farmhouses far below. I flew over them a few times, searching for any strange details and movements. Denham had warned me that I might see Germans heading this way.

However, all I found was nothing. There was nobody down there.

But, where are they then? I mean, this was still occupied Holland. There should be somebody actually guarding it, trying to drive us out. Although it would be nice if I didn't see a German for the rest of this operation, I had a strong feeling that something was wrong. Things shouldn't be like this... or should they?

When the sun begun to set on the Dutch horizon, I decided to give up for now. Slowly turning my plane around, I begun my descent towards the town.

I landed not too far from the outskirts of Eindhoven. As soon as my greenish bird stopped in the grass, I turned off the engine. And then I slided out of the cockpit on the soft ground.

By the time I had been in the air, the town became strangely quiet. Yellowish lights could be seen from the windows, which meant that the people were awake. But, human voices were more than scarce.

Perhaps the boys are tired from the trip, I whispered to myself.

After another meeting with the Dutch resistance, the company had decided to stay in Eindhoven for the night. Everyone was billeted in the houses on one side of the town. I thought that the locals wouldn't like having Yanks and the British as guests. But, to my surprise, they were more than happy to put us up.

I was just passing the first house, when I heard a quiet rustle behind the corner. I would have ignored it, if it wasn't for a small problem.

The wind wasn't blowing.

My pulse begun to accelerate. However, I didn't stop. I continued walking in my regular pace – and slowly moved towards that corner. My hand went for my pistol, which was strapped to my hip.

I had asked Winters for permission to carry one, just in case. But, I didn't expect I would use it soon.

Well, if the Germans wanted to surprise us at dusk, they have another thing coming. Trying to make as less noise as possible, I sneaked to the sheer corner. A moment later, I pulled out the gun, with my finger bent around the trigger.

There was only one man nearby. But, I had a feeling that his buddies weren't too far.

I swallowed thickly. And then I made one final step. I approached the silhouette and caressed the barrel with the back of his head.

"Stop", I whispered.

The stranger's hands shot up in the air.

"Holy shit..." His voice was quiet with shock. But, I recognised it in a second.

My jaw almost touched the ground. "Toye?"

Joe quickly turned around, with his eyes wider than ever. As soon as he saw me, he jumped almost three feet away.

"Jesus Christ, are you flippin' insane?!", he shouted.

"Are you insane?" I lowered my pistol, staring at him in bewilderment, "What are you doing, sneaking at this hour? I thought you were a bloody German! And..." I blinked when I saw somebody peering nearby. "Donald, is that you?"

"I think you have some issues there, Jessie", Malarkey said in his familiar accent, strolling out of the shadows, "Old habits die hard, eh?"

"Can someone tell me what you're exactly doing here?", I asked.

"Well..." Toye glanced at my gun, as if I'd use him for target practice at any second. "We knew where you'd land... so we wanted to wait for ya."

I felt hues of red sneaking up on my cheeks. Thank goodness it was already too dark to see that...

"Just don't sneak up on me like that", I said as seriously as I could, "Ever. All right?"

Toye quickly nodded. Don parted his lips, ready to say something, when a loud screech made me jump out of my skin. The cellar door of the farmhouse nearby had suddenly opened, releasing a surge of light into the darkness.

"Shit!" I aimed towards the door, in the same time as Don and Joe.

But, the man who came out of the cellar wasn't German. He was Dutch.

He was more than startled when he saw our guns. Staring at us with wide eyes, he said something. But, I couldn't understand a single word.

Lowering his rifle, Toye spoke in German, but with the worst accent I'd ever heard:

"Sprechen... Sie... Englisch?"

To my surprise, the man nodded. "Ja. A little bit."

"Wha... what were you doing down there?", I asked.

"It's an air-raid shelter", the man replied, "We've been in there since..." He glanced into the sky, searching for the right word. "... since the planes flew over." That was when he looked at all three of us. "And who are you?"

"We're Americans", Joe replied, "Paratroopers."

"You maybe are, but I'm British!", I retorted.

The man's eyes widened in bewilderment. "The Germans are gone?"

"Think so", Don answered, "You see any, let us know."

"You here... to stay?"

"Long as we have to."

The Dutchman was quiet for a few moment. And then, in a few quick steps, he went back to his cellar.

It didn't last long, when Don muttered:

"Yeah, they don't tell us much."

Joe scoffed. "Or feed us much."

I felt a sudden urge to smack Joe on the head. However, I didn't have a chance for it, because the Dutchman returned. This time, he came back with cans in his hands. He gave one to each of us, including a packet of cigarettes. I glanced at my can, which had 'olives' written on it.

"See that?" Don grinned at Joe and me and waved with his cigarettes. "They all speak English and love us. What a great country! I say screw Paris."

"Don't talk about screwing, all right?", I lashed out at him, "You have a lady here, for goodness sake! And a... kid?"

All of a sudden, I noticed a small boy, sitting near the cellar door. He was wearing old, baggy clothes and he was so skinny that my heart ached. His messy brown hair almost reminded me of Neve's.

That was when an idea came to my mind.

"Hey!"

Toye exclaimed in disapproval when I snatched a chocolate bar out of his pocket. But, I didn't answer him. Instead, I tug off the silvery wrapping and handed the chocolate to the boy.

The lad looked at me, while his gaze was laced with surprise. I smiled and placed the candy in his small hand. I assumed that he didn't understand English, but I said:

"This is all for you."

Hesitating a bit, the boy wrapped his thin fingers around the chocolate. And then he took a tiny bite. As he was chewing it, a small spark appeared in his eyes.

He looked back at me and shyly smiled. Although his face was a bit dirty, his expression was so cute that I couldn't stay serious. That was when he came closer and hugged me, wrapping his skinny arms around my waist.

"He never tasted chocolate", the Dutchman explained.

I hugged the boy back, when I noticed the time on my watch. If we didn't get a move on soon, Winters and Nix would send an entire search party for us.

"You're welcome", I said with a smile, letting the boy go.

Ruffling his soft hair, I said goodbye to him and his father. And then I went with Joe and Don towards the town.

After some time, we reached a house with a shop on the ground floor. Ralph, Gene and I were billeted there together. Judging by the darkness inside, the two of them must have been asleep.

"You owe me a chocolate, Jess", Joe murmured, obviously not satisfied.

"Oh, you'll get it... if you're lucky enough", I said, making Don burst into laughter. He was still laughing when I looked back at the silent house. "All right, there's my stop. See you tomorrow, lads!"

Waving off Don and Joe, I turned around and went to the shop. Luckily, the door was unlocked, so I sneaked inside. As quietly as I could, I took my boots off and left them in the corner. And then I made my way up the old stairs.

While the family we were staying with was sleeping downstairs, we had two rooms on the first floor. Ralph's was in the first room – I could hear his snoring behind the door. Trying not to chuckle, I went to the door next to his and peered inside.

Although it was pretty dark, I saw Eugene's silhouette in one of the beds. Unlike Ralph, he was so quiet... it seemed as if he wasn't inside at all. I remembered the last time I had seen him sleeping, which made a smile spread across my face.

Walking almost on the tips of my toes, I went to my bed. But, then I stopped and looked back at Gene.

Maybe I shouldn't go to sleep just yet. Maybe I should give him a small surprise, after a long and hard day...

Holy smoke, Jessica, what are you doing? The thought of it made my cheeks burn and my heart race. But, on the other hand, we could be moving out tomorrow. We might not have privacy like this - and probably no roofs above our heads - for a while.

In a few quiet steps, I came closer. And then I carefully climbed on his bed. Trying to keep my balance, I leaned a bit more and kissed him on the cheek.

That was when he moved.

My heart jumped when his arm wrapped around me. It might have been almost pitch black in the room, but he somehow found my lips and kissed me. And, in just a moment, I forgot that we were in a war and that we should be waiting for British tanks to arrive. Nothing mattered anymore expect for him. I smiled and kissed him back.

However, something was a bit strange. It wasn't Gene's kiss... it was as sweet as before. The point is that my dear medic didn't stop there. I blinked in surprise when he started nibbling on my lower lip, while his fingers tread down the sides of my shirt. All of a sudden, they were already resting on my hips.

Jeez, I had no idea that Doc is so experienced... I quietly sniggered, with one hand on his shoulder and the other one in his soft raven hair. After he kissed me one more time, I couldn't help but whisper:

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Somewhere in the dark, I noticed the silhouette of his hand moving. It reached for the lamp on the bedside table. A second later, with a quiet click, bright yellowish light engulfed the whole room.

"Jesus Christ!"

With a loud shout, I fell out of Eugene's bed and crumpled on the floor. Meanwhile, the lad on the bed gawked at me in disbelief.

"Jess?", he muttered.

I couldn't believe my own eyes. "Liebgott?!"

Oh... you didn't expect that, did you? ;)

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