A/N:

Thank you Ellipse27 for the story follow!

Thank you BobtheFrog for another review! Thank you for your kind words! I'm just sorry that so many chapters are so depressing and heartbreaking. Thank you once again for the reassurance! :)

Thank you kEs-2717 for another review! Yes, Joe and Bill get me every time, too. It was so sad to write! I'm glad you're still looking forward to more!

This chapter killed me to write. I actually cried, I'm not even kidding. I'm updating earlier because I'm going away for about a week. I hope I captured everything all right, I kind of rushed this chapter because it was too painful to spend too much time on. Dialogue mainly from the book, and some from the show. Despite all the sadness and heartbreak, I hope you guys enjoy.

Foy, Belgium

January 9th, 1945

Almost a week had passed by since that dreadful shelling, but Easy Company's chipper attitude hadn't been restored. All of them had a feeling that the worst was yet to come, but when was yet to be determined by the enemy. Malarkey had felt guilty about making a move for his P38, and was trying to make it up to Marie in subtle ways. She accepted his silent apology, but kept a watchful eye on her friend. With Buck being reassigned, she knew he was going to feel extra lonely now that three of his friends were being moved from Easy Company. Marie went to vent her worries to Emilia, whom listened intently but assured her there was nothing to be too concerned about. Malarkey handled large amounts of stress well, better than Marie anyway, so he should be able to shake off any lingering self-inflicting thoughts. Marie wasn't too thrilled with Emilia's basic answer, but she knew there wasn't much that Em could do other than just consul her with kind words. Emilia then proceeded to tell her that the assault on Foy was coming up fast, only making Marie sigh deeply. Easy Company had been worn down and stretched thin, how in the name of Christ were they going to be able to take the Germans head on? Marie had left the conversation feeling empty-handed.

As she sulkily approached her foxhole, she noticed Buck standing beside a jeep with a driver in it. He was speaking to Malarkey. Buck's appearance was drastically different than how he looked a few days prior. His uniform was starched, and his platinum blond hair had been neatly combed and washed. He hastily smoked a cigarette, taking quick drags as Malarkey stood before the Lieutenant. Marie and Malarkey had visited him in the hospital, but he'd remained distant and withdrawn, not wanting to listen to the snippets of newspaper they would read to him.

"I've been reassigned, Malark." Buck stated. "Some desk job in Paris. Director of athletics and entertainment or something." Buck longed to stay with Easy Company, but Winters wouldn't allow it.

"That's great, Buck." Malarkey replied, smiling slightly.

"Dick said I could come and say goodbye."

"I'm glad you did. I'm happy for you."

Marie watched the two men converse, feeling bad for eavesdropping on something that seemed private. She waited by the sidelines, wanting to say goodbye to Buck, but she didn't want to intrude.

Buck glanced around, looking anxious about something. "Don, there's something I need to know." He paused again, staring past Malarkey and back toward the crowd where most of Easy Company stood. "What, uh… what do the other guys think of me?"

"They think you're a hell of an officer, Buck."

"Really?" Buck seemed somewhat surprised.

"Really. They wish you the best. Honest." Malarkey assured him.

Buck nodded, holding back tears. "Thanks, Malark." He saluted Malarkey, trying to keep his trembling hand still, but the emotion was clearly written on his face. Malarkey returned his salute.

Marie couldn't wait around any longer. She walked up to Buck and saluted, a sad smile on her face. She was going to miss him dearly, but knew it was best that he was taken off the line. Buck looked slightly startled to see her, but he returned her sad, lopsided smile. They watched Buck slowly climb into the jeep and drive away, just like they watched two other friends do a few days before, but under different circumstances. Malarkey looked back at Easy Company, gathered together in small groups as they chatted about the upcoming siege of Foy no doubt. He gently tapped Marie on the shoulder and cocked his head in their direction. Marie followed, not wanting to stick around. Three emotional departures in one week was enough.

Almost the entire day had passed and not one piece of German artillery had been shot at Easy Company. Of course no one had let their guard down, but they decided it would be fine to stretch their legs and talk outside of their foxholes. Luz had gathered Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, and Marie to tell them a story about Dike.

"You fellas know I've got no reason to bullshit you, right?" Luz told them. Muck chuckled skeptically in response. "I'm not gonna bullshit you, it's what I saw. It's so unbelievable, you may not believe it." Luz paused a moment, getting into 'story mode'. "So you know who comes runnin' up to Lipton, he's got no helmet, no gear, no nothin'." Luz cleared his throat, readying himself to impersonate Dike's voice. "Uh, 1st Sergeant Lipton, you organize things here, and I'm gonna go for help." Luz mocked, his impersonation and facial expression matching Dike perfectly.

The group listening couldn't resist. They laughed as Dike continued to goof off. In the middle of all the fits of laughter, they hadn't even noticed that Lipton had walked up to them.

"I need to go polish my old wheat clusters." Luz added, still holding on to the imitation.

Lipton broke up the group. It was late and time for bed anyway. Malarkey told everyone goodnight as Marie followed him to his foxhole. She was feeling tired, part of her just wanted to crash in his foxhole for the night instead of wandering all the way to Babe's. She felt bad leaving Babe alone, but her body's physical state got the better of her as she collapsed into Malarkey and Bain's foxhole. All she seemed to feel anymore was just tired. She'd never went so many days feeling this exhausted in a row until Belgium. She decided she needed the rest, not wanting to fight it and regret it later, but right as Marie closed her eyes the artillery started falling. Judging by the amount of artillery that was being launched, this blitz looked like it was going to be just as severe as the last one.

"Jesus Christ, not this again!" Bain growled in agitation.

Marie ducked herself low, feeling like she was burrowing into the snowy floor of the foxhole. No matter how much she lowered herself, she didn't feel completely protected from the overhead artillery strikes. The Germans were relentless while they dropped the bombs on Easy Company, but the overworked company had learned from their past mistakes and immediately took cover without hesitation. No one moved as the snow started to shoot up like a geyser again, or when the flashes of fiery light would explode too close for comfort. Everyone just curled up in their foxhole, some shouting, some not. It was chaotic as usual, but Marie was so fed up with the shellings and freezing weather that she felt almost apathetic about the whole attack. She didn't want to die by any means, but she decided to approach the entire situation with 'what's the point of it all?' look. Marie closed her eyes again, covering her ears at an ill attempt of drowning out the piercing sounds of the artillery. Malarkey was at her side, one arm keeping her pushed down in the barrage, as he covered his head and helmet with his free hand. Snow and dirt rained down on them, as did a few falling branches from the tall trees above. The shelling lit up the sky like a fireworks display, but Marie dared not take a risky glance in case a stray shell whizzed by. She laid her face against the snow, feeling the ice prickle against her skin, but the chill didn't bother her too much given the dire circumstances. She could feel her cross necklace press against her chest beneath her layers of clothing. Marie's ring shown beautifully in the barrage, ironic considering the destruction it was causing the territory that surrounded them. Marie focused on the little things, trying to keep her mind off of the blitz as much as she could, as if it were a casual event going on before her. It's funny what a person could grow used to. She'd experienced hell in different forms since the war began, but her murderous rage at a stranger still held the place deep in her heart of what true fear and evil looked like. She thought about his piercing blue eyes, his shockingly white teeth barred as he glowered down upon her choking figure.

Schlampe! He had called her. The tone of his foreign words made chills run down Marie's spine as her vision began to tunnel at the memory of the young German's ferocity and appearance. Her stomach dipped and churned as if it were on a roller-coaster, as her fingers felt like they were becoming numb. Someone was calling her name from far away. The German didn't know her name, no it wasn't him, this voice was familiar. Malarkey? It couldn't be, he wasn't there when she tumbled down that hill and thrust her knife into that man's flesh. She could feel someone touching her; she stiffened up in defense, thinking of how the German had wrapped his frigid hands around her throat. But this touch was on her face and it was gentle. They wouldn't stop saying her name over and over, as if they were in a panic. Was she hurt? She didn't even know where she was, nothing but darkness surrounded her.

Marie's eyes flew open to see Malarkey crouched over her, his hands frantically tapping her face to wake her up. Marie blinked, rubbing her eyes as her heart speedily hammered in her chest as the fresh memory of the German swam in her subconscious. What happened? She recalled another shelling, but how did she end up on her back with Malarkey worriedly standing over her?

"Marie? Thank God!" He sighed in relief. "I don't know what happened, but in the middle of it all you just kind of passed out."

"What?" Marie questioned, though her tone was slightly indifferent. She didn't really care about fainting from stress in the middle of a bombing, but about what happened to Easy Company. "I need to check for wounded." She stated without waiting for an answer, standing up too fast. Her head felt like it was spinning, but she ignored it.

"I hear people making rounds to check on everyone. I think it's safe." Malarkey informed her as he held his hands out in caution to steady her swaying motion. "You want someone to go with you?"

"No, it's fine. I'm sure I'll see Roe and Spina." She climbed out of the foxhole, her legs still wobbling with uneasiness. She wasn't about to tell him about her current state of mind and constant reminder of the horrible and scary thing she'd done a couple weeks before.

As Marie ran around the perimeter, she noticed debris from trees and artillery scattered in even larger quantities than what Easy Company had experienced before. Men scurried around, helping soldiers that were trapped or completely winded out of their foxholes. She stumbled blindly around, feeling out of sorts since she'd unexpectedly fainted and missed all the action. She made it about a hundred yards from Malarkey's foxhole when she saw Roe on one knee in a foxhole, just staring into it. She came up behind him, startling him as he whirled his head around. His eyes widened as he realized it was her.

Marie gave him a funny look. "What's up?"

"It's…" Roe turned away, looking back into the foxhole. Curious, Marie started to step forward to peer inside and see what he was looking at, but Roe suddenly turned around and held out his hands to stop her. "Don't." He told her, but she pushed through anyway. Inside were the scattered remains of two human bodies. A shelling had hit directly in the foxhole and sent pieces of the poor unfortunates all over the place. Marie covered her mouth, trying to mask the smell that was sure to be produced from the grisly scene. A small sound came out of Roe's throat, as if he was unable to speak. Marie glanced back at him, feeling uncomfortable with his odd behavior. Surely he'd seen graphic human remains like this before, if not worse. Roe wordlessly stared at her, his face drawn in disturbed silence. Marie wished he'd spit it out already, his reluctance to speak was making her nervous.

"It's Muck and Penkala." He finally said.

Marie only stared at him, not knowing what to say. She felt herself break into a cold sweat as her lips tugged into an awkward and fearful smile, as if part of her sensed what was coming.

"What?" She managed to say.

With a sullen face Roe cocked his head in the direction of the bloody foxhole behind her. Marie's expression fell as her flesh went completely cold. Her legs became stiff, unable to move another inch. She held her breath, her mind not wanting to comprehend the words that had just came out of the Doc's mouth. She slowly turned her head as if she hadn't seen the condition of the foxhole behind her. Her stomach dropped to her knees as her body suddenly felt like it had weighed a ton. She gripped her stomach as an excruciating pain bloomed within it, making her hunch over. It was as if someone had socked her directly in the gut. Marie's eyes couldn't focus on the mass of disarrayed limbs and body parts that were scattered about. No, it couldn't be, not Warren 'Skip' Muck. He was invincible. This was a mistake, Roe just got his foxholes mixed up, that's all. Marie heard Roe shift from behind her. She looked back at him, her body still contorted in shock. He had slipped his hand in his pocket and started to pull something out of it. A sharp, agonized gasp escaped Marie as she recognized Muck's rosary, the colored beads dangled limply in Roe's pale hand as he held it out.

Skip… Skip is dead…

Marie faced the foxhole again, falling to her knees before the gory resting place of two soldiers she knew well. She started to retch as tears started to build heavily behind her eyes. She couldn't do it, she couldn't summon any tears, she was too stunned – too damaged already. Bile rose, burning her throat as she heaved onto the snow. She felt herself falling forward; her hands caught her, grasping the snow as she balled her quivering hands into fists. The entire world was lost around her, she could only see the bodies before her; she could only feel the pain become dull numbness around her body. Nothing else existed - time had stopped along with Muck's heart.

The sun had started to rise when Marie finally moved from her spot. A few tears drained from her eyes, leaving her emotionless face glistening in the early morning sun. She trudged around with unorthodox movements, not knowing where she was going, not caring. One of her best friend's was dead, a man that she had come to know and love since Toccoa, a man who had been with her since day one of combat. Marie could hear men crying around her; Muck and Penkala were loved among Easy Company. As Marie seemed to drift through the cries of sorrow, Marie's phlegmatic thoughts went to Malarkey. Muck's best friend – she didn't even think about how he was doing right now. Marie turned her direction back toward Malarkey's foxhole, praying that he was there. As she made her way as quickly as her disoriented body could carry her, she saw Malarkey sitting over the foxhole, staring at something in his hand. As she drew closer, she noticed it was Muck's rosary. Without saying a word Marie sat beside him, linking one arm with him as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Malarkey didn't openly acknowledge her, he only focused on the rosary, moving the beads around with his fingertips. There was nothing to say, anyway. Nothing could fill the hollow place that Muck had left blown apart. Marie thought about Faye Tanner, Muck's shredded body, about his memories listening to Glenn Miller with him, playing darts, and about his story making it across the Niagara River. His wise cracks and constant pestering trying to push Malarkey and Marie together would never happen again. Never hearing Muck's voice or seeing him again made another tear run down Marie's face. She felt so empty, and she was sure Malarkey felt the same way too.

They stayed like that for hours, the two of them staring at the rosary with heavy eyes until Roe came to check on them. Roe waited a moment; he'd already spoken to Malarkey earlier, and now he was told to come back again and check on him and Marie. Winters had split them up into different platoons those years ago to help in case this happened, but it hadn't done any good after all.

"Malark, Docherty, uh, Winters wants to know if you want to come back and spend a couple of days with him at headquarters. Help out there, ya know. Be a runner." Roe passed along the message.

Marie knew this offer was most likely only exclusive to Malarkey, considering Easy Company probably couldn't afford to take a medic away at a time like this. But the sentiment was kind, she knew everyone was worried about Malarkey. He'd lost four of his friends now, and all back to back. Malarkey looked around as if he was trying to gain approval from those around him. There were other Easy Company men present, but they weren't paying attention; their heads were bowed as they cried over the death of Muck and Penk. Malarkey's eyes rested on Marie's, who silently beckoned him to make a decision.

"Tell him thanks, but I'll stay put." Malarkey replied.

"Sure, Malark? You could use a break. Everyone needs a breather now and then."

"I'm okay, Roe." He concluded.

"What about you Marie?" Roe asked.

She only shook her head. Roe left the two of them alone again. Marie wished he would've left to clear his head, though that was rather hypocritical of her to think.

"Why'd you stay?" Marie asked, her voice coming out in a dry croak.

"There's no officers left in Easy Company other than Dike. I'm a sergeant, which means I'm going to be put in charge of something. I can't leave with Lipton doing all the work." He answered, his voice trailing off. "With the attack on Foy coming any day now, Easy Company is going to need all the help it can get."

The sound of crunching snow alerted the two soldiers, but with their current state of mind the two had a sluggish reaction to someone approaching them. Emilia's figure materialized through the haze; her face streaming with tears as her eyes locked onto theirs. Emilia ran toward Marie, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a desperate embrace. Emilia broke down into sobs as her legs became weak beneath her, almost bringing Marie down to the ground with her. Marie didn't react, her movements and emotion were still too slow and numbed to express anything other than blankness. Malarkey was the same, watching the two women with little change from his stoic expression. Emilia's breakdown is what finalized what Marie and Malarkey didn't want to be true, Muck was really dead. The entire experience felt like it wasn't real, but when a steady woman like Emilia started shedding tears, that's when the reality of the situation had settled in. The three of them stood there for what seemed like an immeasurable amount of time, the only sound that they could hear was Emilia crying softly into the fabric of Marie's BDU's. Their tight-knit group was now in shambles, and there was no shining glimmer of hope that they could see to ever feel the same again.

They had all lost something irreplaceable.

Skip Muck was dead and he was never coming back.