Author's Note:

Thank you Straight Edge Queen for another review! :D I'm so happy that you're looking forward to the updates!

Upottery, England

May – June 1944

In five days they would be invading France. Five days. Marie paced around her barracks, trying to exhaust the anxiety out of her but it wouldn't leave no matter what she did. No one was allowed to leave the base, so she couldn't even use a weekend pass to get her mind off of the big day. They had went over everything a hundred times over, everything from equipment checks, foxholes, artillery, passwords (like flash/thunder), what the Kraut uniform looks like, and they had studied maps of the English Channel and Cherbourg enough to where it was permanently burned in their brains. But even with all the training, Marie still was petrified.

"Stop pacing, Hun. You're making me nervous." Diana said, laying on her bed and reading a magazine.

"I'm just afraid something is going to go wrong. I mean we're going to be actually fighting." Marie murmured, chewing on her fingernails.

"You're a medic, you won't be fighting. I on the other hand am part of the Airborne Infantry, I'll be doing the killing." Barbara retorted while she was making her bed. "The boys won't let anything happen to you. Besides, Krauts don't shoot at medics."

"Yeah, that Red Cross you have on is like automatic immunity." Diana agreed.

Marie rolled her eyes. "You don't actually believe that, do you? I highly doubt the Germans are going to follow the rules."

"Relax." Diana ordered. "Just remember everything you've trained for, and you'll be fine."

"You're not at all nervous?" Marie asked her in disbelief.

"No." Diana replied, keeping her eyes on the magazine.

"Well the anticipation is killing me." Marie sighed, running her hands through her hair.

"It's just another jump." Barbara told her with a shrug while smoothing out the creases on her bed sheets.

Marie sighed again, shaking her head at them. How could they not be scared? They were entering Normandy for God sakes. They were jumping in right on top of the enemy. Some of them were going to die. Marie thought that they were just putting on brave faces. She left the barracks and went to find Emilia.

Marie walked into a tent where Winters, Meehan, and Emilia were going over maps and strategies before the jump. Emilia had been busy assisting with translating and geography so much lately that Marie had barely got to see her. Marie watched as Emilia drew on the maps with pencil and pointed to different locations, her brow furrowed in serious concentration. Marie saw that Nixon and Welsh weren't present. She guessed they were enjoying some time with their flasks before the battle begun.

"Sergeant Docherty. What can I do for you?" Winters addressed her, noticing her standing at the tent entrance.

"Uh, sorry, sir. I just wanted to see Emilia for a moment." Marie told him shyly. She felt dumb interrupting their plans just so she could chat.

"Sergeant Valdez is busy at the moment, Miss Docherty." Meehan informed her.

Marie's eyes went downcast in embarrassment. "Yes, sir. My apologies. Wait…" Marie snapped her head up at Emilia. She looked at Emilia's sleeve and saw the "T" under three chevrons. "Sergeant?"

Winters smiled. "Yes, we saw it fit to promote Valdez because of all the valuable work she's been doing. She's no longer a corporal." Marie couldn't believe it, she felt guilty for not noticing that she'd been promoted two ranks.

"Congratulations!" Marie beamed at Emilia. Emilia gave her a warm smile.

"Just give us a few more minutes, Marie. You can talk to Emilia then." Winters concluded. Marie saluted him then proceeded to wait outside the tent for her friend to finish up.

Emilia came out and they both hugged.

"Technician Third Grade!" Marie exclaimed, smiling at her friend.

"It's about time I caught up to you." Emilia said with a wink. "It's weird being a sergeant, or a staff sergeant I should say, since that's our technical rank. Too bad us techs still don't have the authority to give commands. I would've loved to boss the boys around."

Marie chuckled as she imagined them giving Muck and Malarkey orders.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Emilia asked.

Marie's smile fading as the fear rushed back. "Honestly, Em… I'm scared as hell."

"We all are." Emilia told her, tucking a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear. "Anyone who says otherwise is a damned liar."

"I guess that makes Barbara and Diana liars then." Marie said flatly. "They were giving me flack for being afraid."

"Just remember everything and you'll be fine." Emilia assured her.

"That's just it, I'm afraid I'm going to go blank in the middle of the jump. I can see myself being so nervous that I forget the entire objective." Marie explained.

"Remember the pathfinders are going to jump an hour before us to set everything up, so we'll have something to go by." Emilia reminded her. Marie nodded to that, feeling some of the uneasiness lift off her shoulders. "They'll send in the radar, then we're going to jump five miles inland from Normandy. Then we head for Utah beach. The rallying point is Le Grand Chemin. You know all this, Hun. Meehan has been over it with us a thousand times."

"We meet at Le Grand Chemin at 0700 hours." Marie added.

"Exactly. See? You got it." Emilia soothed. She patted her friend on the shoulder. "I've really got to get back to helping the lieutenants. I'll see you around. Try not to have a panic attack, okay? And don't keep expecting the worst." With that Emilia went back into the tent.

"Okay, P for Priority, M for Morphine, S for Stable, and F for Fatal." Ralph Spina went over with Marie slowly.

"I know… I'm just afraid I'll screw up." Marie told him.

"You're an RN, Hun. You are more qualified than the other Docs… well not the battalion surgeon, but you get the point. Just remember what they told us, don't spend too much time marking up the men with the letter system instead of treating them. That's only if they have to be shipped somewhere else or if you're assisting in the battalion aid station." Spina added.

"Thank you for going over everything again with me, Ralph." Marie said with a grateful smile. They were inside the tent where they spent a month taking in their last bit of medical lectures.

"Anytime. You ready for the big jump in two days?" Spina asked with a nervous smile.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Marie moaned. She left the tent and went back to her barracks so she could finish up the last few chapters of Wuthering Heights. The ending with Heathcliff dying unhappily only made the invasion feel even more ominous. She closed the book, unable to bring herself to read anymore of it.

She sat up on her bed and took a few deep breaths. Her hands clutched the mattress as she tried to steady herself. Tomorrow was June 4th they'd start preparing for the jump that they'd do early morning on June 5th. It all felt so unreal. Her leg was jittering in nervousness and her hands were slightly trembling as the held onto the mattress. She stomped her quivering leg in annoyance, her damned restless leg syndrome was really revealing itself now. She hadn't frozen up on the practice jumps, but when it came to the real thing she wasn't sure if she could go through with it. She cursed herself for feeling so cowardly and reminded herself that she'd be with Easy Company every step of the way.

Sitting outside by the giant C47 aircrafts made the reality of it all sink in even deeper. Marie was walking around, trying to find someone from 2nd platoon so she could get her supplies ready. She spotted Malarkey and started to head over to him when she saw Lipton walking around and shouting. He was reminding everyone to sign up for the 10,000 dollar life insurance. Marie knew she'd forgot something, she ran up to Lipton.

"Make sure you don't miss out!" He called again.

"Where is the signup?" Marie asked him.

"Right over there, Hun." Lipton told her while pointing.

"Thanks. My father could really use that money." Marie said, following the direction of his finger.

Lipton gave her a sad smile. "You already think you're not going to make it?" Lipton asked her, softly. She looked over at him with uncertain eyes and was about to say something when Martin walked up, looking distressed.

Martin had a letter from his wife. She found out that Guarnere's older brother Henry was killed in Monte Cassino. Marie clasped her hand over her mouth at the news. Martin had come to ask Lipton for advice on what he should do.

"I think you should tell him, Johnny." Lipton said with a sigh.

"Before the jump?" Martin didn't look pleased at his answer. Lipton offered his sympathies but there was nothing that could really be done about it. Lipton continued on with the life insurance message. Martin bit his lip and looked over at Marie.

"What do you think I should do?" Martin asked her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe you can make him find the letter by accident?" Marie suggested, giving her shoulder a little shrug.

"Maybe." He pondered a minute like he was considering her advice. "I'll figure it out. See you later, Hun." Martin said as he walked away.

Marie finished filling out the life insurance papers then went over to where Malarkey was sitting. He was struggling with his equipment along with Luz. Guarnere was sitting back and eating ice cream from a bowl. Seeing Guarnere made a wave of sadness wash over Marie. She fought not to let it show up on her face so he wouldn't think something was amiss. She sat down next to them and immediately started getting her equipment ready.

"Why are they springing these things on us now?" Malarkey questioned them as he continued to fumble with his equipment. Marie remained silent, slowly packing up her supplies and thinking about the inevitable future and of Guarnere's brother. The regiment was in limbo at this point, they knew they were going to jump but they were still waiting for the official word.

"It's just an extra eighty pounds strapped to your leg." Luz said in a sarcastic nonchalance. He held up a strap that looked like a rope and stared at it blankly. "Does anyone have any idea how the hell this thing works?" Luz looked around but everyone gave him a shrug. Marie thought it was crazy that they'd be jumping into Normandy without a clue how all of their equipment works. She shuddered at the thought but continued to pack up her medical supplies and check her chute.

A soldier came around and was passing out a letter to everyone. Marie took it and peered down at the paper, but she couldn't focus her eyes on the words. She felt relieved that Luz had begun to read it aloud, even if he was doing it in Sink's voice.

"Soldiers of the Regiment,

Tonight is the night…" Luz paused as he read on ahead. "Of nights…" He read in a serious tone, dropping his Sink impersonation. Marie gulped and looked down at her paper. It was official now, they'd be jumping in a few hours.

"That's why they gave us ice cream." Guarnere said.

Marie let out an anguished groan as she set the letter down and double checked her reserve chute.

"You all right?" Malarkey asked her as he inspected his M1.

"I guess, despite the fact that I might go into cardiac arrest from anxiety." Marie muttered.

"Want some ice cream?" Guarnere asked her, holding out his bowl.

"No thank you, Bill." Marie replied, looking over her shoulder.

"They didn't give you any weapons, Hun?" Luz asked Marie, looking down at her neatly spread out supplies. "Not even a sidearm, just all medical stuff." He observed.

"I got a knife." Marie told him, holding it up.

"That'll be useful in a gunfight." Luz said sarcastically. "They didn't give you a lot of stuff for the jump. Do they not think you can hold it all?"

Marie shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not complaining."

"You're going to be fine, Hun. It's just like jumping all the other dozen times we've jumped. Except it'll be dark and there'll be Germans. But all you have to do is follow the platoon when we land in the DZ and you'll be golden." Malarkey told her.

"I know, I know. It's just… I can't help thinking that something is going to go wrong." Marie said. She could sense that something was coming, but she wasn't exactly sure.

"Don't get too worked up, Hun." Malarkey said with a sigh.

Marie had finished painting the black paint on Emilia's face when Meehan gave them the news from Eisenhower: No jump tonight due to weather conditions. The jump was now moved to the June 6th. There was a mixture of cheers and groans. Most were anxious just to get it over with, and the extra day of wait just meant more anticipation. Marie wasn't sure how to feel, her overwhelming mixture of emotions just made her feel exhausted above all else.

"Well, we have another free day." Emilia announced with a smile. She looked more optimistic about the jump being cancelled then Marie did. "They're playing a movie tonight, Mr. Lucky with Laraine Day and Cary Grant. You wanna watch?" Emilia asked Marie.

"Nah, I'll pass." Marie answered. "I think I'm gonna turn in early."

The next morning everything had to be assembled all over again. Emilia had blacken her, Marie found out that 2nd platoon wasn't really doing it so she decided not to. Emilia had cut the ends of Marie's hair back to its original length. Emilia protested that she should let it grow out a little because it looked pretty, but they were entering war. She didn't have the luxury to take care of her hair. They triple checked their gear and chutes inside the hangars. The weather had calmed down a great deal, so Marie knew that Eisenhower wouldn't call off the jump this time. The extra day offered little comfort, in fact everyone seemed grimmer than before. Papers with a message from Eisenhower were passed out to everyone. Marie looked down and read hers to herself.

'Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you… Good luck! And let us all beseech of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking!'

At least he was eager.

Inside the hangar, Father Maloney was also offering his words of faith to those who wished it. Hearing last minute prayers and scripture readings did help Marie feel a little more hopeful. She went over and decided to bow her head and pray along with the rest of them. She was a Christian, but to what denomination she had no idea, she just believed her own way. Maloney's voice was so calm and collected as he spoke on. He pushed up his glasses at the bridge of his nose from time to time as he read from the Bible. Marie saw Muck, whom was a devoted Catholic, holding on to a rosary. He saw Marie amongst the group and went over to her.

"Getting right with the Lord?" Muck asked her, he smiled but his voice sounded serious. He slipped the rosary in his pocket.

"Praying for everyone to have a safe landing." Marie whispered, trying not to interrupt Maloney's mini sermon. Marie glanced over at Maloney. "He's a good chaplain."

"He is." Muck agreed. They attended until Maloney was finished, then went to join everyone else. General Taylor was walking around and offering encouragement and saying that 'they'd only be fighting for a few days then they'd be going home.' Marie scoffed at his words. There was no way that Easy would be able to be bailed out that quickly. They were Easy Company - the company that always got the short end of the stick.

Out on the airfield, everyone prepped their gear for the jump. Marie watched as Malarkey put on about sixty-five pounds of weight. She felt awful that the mortar squad had so much strapped onto them, and that wasn't even all his gear.

"What is all that, anyway?" Marie asked him as they got ready.

"Uh, the bipod, base plate, tubes." Malarkey listed as he scanned his gear. "That's not counting the ammo, tools, weapons, and food. With everything that's almost 200 pounds I think."

"200 pounds? Is the Army crazy! Who sends men jumping out of planes with that much weight!" Marie exclaimed.

Malarkey shrugged. "It'll be fine." Malarkey eyes gazed over to find Emilia and Muck walking toward them. They would be boarding the C-47's soon. This was their last chance to say goodbye.

They all hugged individually. "I'll see you on the ground." Muck told Marie and Malarkey. Muck pulled Marie into a tight embrace, which she returned fervently.

"Keep her safe, Skip." Marie whispered. She was talking about Emilia.

"Yeah." Muck replied, whispering back. "You keep an eye on Malark, okay?" Marie nodded in response.

Emilia and Marie then hugged goodbye. Marie didn't want to let go, she knew when she did they would have to go their separate ways.

"Everything will be fine, Marie. I'll see you in Le Grand Chemin, maybe even before that." Emilia said to her.

"You better be waiting there." Marie said. Emilia only gave her a forced smile. No one could guarantee if they were going to make it.

With that being said, Muck and Emilia returned to their platoon. Marie looked over at Malarkey, biting her lip to keep herself from getting upset. He only gave her a weak smile, and they continued to ready their gear.

Everyone was lined up outside of the plane. Marie glanced around, and saw that she was jumping as the ninth person this time. Buck Compton was up front, along with Bill Guarnere. She was happy that it was them leading. Malarkey and Toye were also on her plane. She saw that Guarnere looked preoccupied. She wondered if Martin had found a way tell him about his brother, but she didn't want to ask. Marie studied each man that would be boarding with her. She carefully memorized their faces.

Dewitt Lowery, Salvatore Bellino, Johnny Plesha, Cleveland Petty, Edward Bernat, Earl Hale, Thomas Burgess, John Sheehy- Her thoughts were interrupted by Buck's order to board the C-47. With her heard in her throat, she walked onto the plane. Everyone was silent as they boarded. They all searched each other's eyes, all feeling the same thing. No turning back now.

Compton was going down the line as the sat inside the planes, handing out airsickness pills. Malarkey had refused them the first few times, but Buck had ordered him to take them. Marie wasn't taking any chances, she swallowed the pills down right away then waited. The nerves in her gut had bundled up at this point. The engine of the plane starting made her jump in her seat, making Toye give her a funny look. He was sitting right next to her, while Malarkey was a few seats down on the opposite side. Marie took a deep breath, unsuccessfully trying to calm her nerves.

Toye reached out and gripped her hand. She squeezed his hand in comfort. It was almost midnight and the plane had lifted off. Marie swallowed and closed her eyes. Once the plane was airborne it had all become official. She waited as the plane took them off into the unknown.

Marie started singing Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine to herself so she could calm down. She always sang that song as a child and it often helped during the rough patches of her childhood. She hoped it would help her now.

'Come Josephine, in my flying machine

And it's up she goes, up she goes

Come Josephine, in my flying machine

Going up she goes

Up she goes

Balance yourself like a bird on a beam

In the air she goes

Up, up, a little bit higher

Oh, my, the moon is on fire

Come Josephine in my flying machine

Going up

All on

Goodbye'

While singing to herself, she'd managed to drift off to sleep, feeling peaceful for the first time in days. Malarkey and Emilia's words echoed in her head: everything would be fine. As her eyelids grew heavy, she believed them for a moment. The verses floated around her subconscious until she was finally able to fall asleep.

All on

Goodbye