It seemed ludicrous to say that Evelyn had seen worse wounds during this war. But that was the truth. They had all seen worse. But as she watched her brother writhing in agony on the cold snowy ground, she had never seen anything so horrific in all her life. She felt numb. No matter how hard she wanted them to, her eyes wouldn't leave the severed stump that remained of Bill's leg; tendon's quivering as they remained attached.

Eugene was on his knees working on him, and in her periphery she saw Joe Toye lying close to Bill. She was vaguely aware of the fact that he had suffered the same fate, yet all she could think about- all she cared about- was her brother. She blinked. This was a dream. It had to be. Like one of those nightmares that used to plague her sleep after Henry died. She blinked again. She was still frozen to the spot, watching but not really seeing. Listening to the chaos around her but not actually hearing. Somebody appeared beside her- Malarkey maybe? He spoke to her. Perhaps he asked if she was alright. She didn't know. All she could focus on was the crimson carpet of blood that her brother lay on. Perhaps if she had been in the right frame of mind, she would have been thankful that all her brother had lost was his leg and not his life. But at that moment, it felt like she had lost him. A jeep arrived, and they loaded Bill onto a stretcher. He said something to Toye, but she didn't really hear what. She couldn't hear anything other than the swishing noise in her ears.

When her brother called out her name, her heavy legs moved of their own volition until she was able to take hold of the outstretched hand reaching for her. He smiled reassuringly at her, ever the older brother taking care to be strong for his younger sibling. She wanted to be the stronger one. She wanted to be the one reassuring him. When Bill spoke to her, she squinted, trying to take in what he was saying. She couldn't even say it went in one ear and out of the other, because the truth was that it just didn't go in at all. The feel of his rough, calloused hand was the only thing she could think about. It was the only thing that felt real.

When Bill told her that he loved her and that he would see her soon, she knew that she repeated his sentiments, but she had no idea how. Her body was just doing things of its own accord while her head was spinning like she was on a carousel. The jeep began to move away, and she felt herself begin to run. She couldn't let go of her brother's hand. She wouldn't. In her warped mind, if she let go of his hand then she was letting go of him forever. In her warped mind, she couldn't process the fact that she would see him again once this was all over. All she could think about was the complications from his wound. The freezing cold had served a purpose and stopped the bleeding almost straight away, and sort of cauterised the stump of his leg. But in her head, all she could see was her brother lying on a bed, alone and bleeding to death. The jeep was speeding up and she couldn't keep up. She felt her brother's hand slipping out of her own. She couldn't breathe.

Must. Not. Let. Go.

As the jeep disappeared through the trees, she collapsed to her knees and retched. The almost empty contents of her stomach came pouring out onto the ground with a splatter. The bile burnt her throat, but she was kind of grateful for it. She wanted to feel it. Something. Anything that wasn't the feeling of utter helplessness inside her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to claw her eyes out and unsee that which she had just witnessed. She wanted her brother. She needed to be with him more than she had ever needed to in her entire life. He couldn't leave her here all on her own. How was she supposed to do this without him? All those times she had shouted at him and complained that he never left her alone to be a grown up, she now craved that desperately.

"Ssh come on," a familiar voice comforted her as she vomited again.

She shook at her head the canteen of water thrust in front of her face, but a hand cupped the back of her head and forced it to her lips. Reluctantly, she took a long swig. The ice cold water made her head hurt so much that she wanted to cry out in agony. But instead she kept silent, wishing that the pain would never stop. At least it would replace the pain she felt when she thought of Bill.

"Feeling a little better now?"

With a shaky hand, she handed the canteen back and looked up into dark eyes that stared back at her with such tenderness.

Lies. It was all lies. Why was he here looking at her like that? Looking at her like he wished he could take all of her agony away? Why was the one person who had hurt her more than anything in the world stood before her, when the one person who had protected and loved her was now getting further and further away with each passing second?

"Better?" she asked bitterly. "My brother's just had his fucking leg blown off and you're asking me if I'm feeling better? What? All because Joseph fucking Liebgott decided to give me a bit of water and pretend to care?"

"I do care," he argued.

She was upset. She was lashing out, which was completely understandable. All he wanted was to take her in his arms and hold her. He wanted to squeeze the pain right out of her. He wanted her to take his strength because when he was with her, he had more than enough of his own.

"No you don't," she growled, stepping right up to him and jabbing her finger into his chest. He was so close that she could see the pulse in his neck throbbing. "You don't care about anyone except yourself."

"That's not true, Ev," he shook his head, feeling like he wanted to cry just because of the look on her beautiful face. He'd seen that look of utter hurt on her face only two other times before. Once, after the death of Henry, and then the second time after he had broken her heart. "And that's not fair."

"Not fair? You know what's not fair? The fact that my brother's life is fucking ruined," she yelled. Her fists were clenched angrily at her sides. "And you're over here pretending to give a shit, when in actual fact you don't even like my brother. You fucking hate him. So just do me a favour Joe? Fuck off."

"Evie please," he stepped closer, grasping her desperately by the arms.

"Don't fucking call me that," she shouted, shrugging him off. "You lost any right to call me that when you said those awful things to me."

"Please," he begged, almost in a whisper.

"Leave me alone," she said through gritted teeth.

"Liebgott, I think it's best if you give her some space," Malarkey appeared.

"Are you for real?" Liebgott exclaimed.

"Yeah I am," Malarkey was firm.

"Fuck you," Liebgott growled. He took one last look at Evelyn, who looked ready to explode any minute and he swallowed down the lump in his throat.

"Lieb, listen," Malarkey grabbed him by the arm as he walked past. "I'm not telling you to leave because I think you've done anything wrong. I just think that she's not in the best mind frame right now and she needs some space."

"Just look after her Malark," Liebgott sighed. More than anything though, he wished he was the one looking after her. Walking away and leaving her in that state was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

… … …

Evelyn hadn't spoken a word to anyone all afternoon. Not unless it was an answer to a question. No one had dared to mention Bill or Toye to her because they were all concerned about how she might react, and she knew they had all been treading on eggshells around her. Part of her felt bad, but mostly she just felt angry at everyone and everything. As she walked towards Dog Company on the hunt for supplies, she thought about the outburst she had just had with Malarkey not five minutes before.

"Where are you going?" Malarkey had asked.

"To find Dog company and see if they can spare any more supplies," she answered quietly.

"Can't Doc or Spina do that?"

"Why would they need to?" Evelyn had frowned.

"I just thought that you know what with Bill you might wanna-"

"-Because my brother's just had his leg blown off, you think that I'm gonna sit around and mope?" she had snapped. "My legs are both still working so I'm gonna use them to do my job. Is that alright with you? Or do you perhaps need to run it by someone else? Eugene'll be back soon. You can always ask him. Or shall I perhaps go and find Captain Winters and ask his permission?"

"I…" Malarkey had opened his mouth to respond but he had been so flabbergasted that nothing more than a croak came out.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," she had growled, storming off angrily.

Looking back, she knew that Malarkey had only been looking out for her. She had been terribly unfair to him, and he didn't deserve it. The problem was that she just hadn't been able to stop herself from flying off the handle at him. She hoped that he would forgive her when she eventually apologised to him later.

"Corporal Guarnere, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Lieutenant Speirs appeared out of nowhere, interrupting her thoughts.

"Supplies, Sir," she answered. "We're pretty much down to nothing again and wondered if you had anything to spare? Sorry to ask but we're desperate."

"Don't be sorry," Speirs told her. "We're all in this together. I would hope that if my medics were short on supplies, I could send them to you? Therefore, I will be glad to help you in any way I can. My foxhole's just over here. Let's see what we can find for you."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I must say that I am rather surprised to see you here after the shoulder wound you took at Christmas," Speirs made idle chat as he rifled through satchels of supplies. It was rather surprising just how much he had managed to accumulate given the dire circumstances they found themselves in. Yet for anyone who really knew Lieutenant Speirs right to the very core, they knew that he was somewhat of a magpie when it came to finding and collecting things. "I thought that once the blockade cleared they would have tried to send you back to Holland to recuperate."

"Well, I just wanted to be back with the men, Sir. And besides, my shoulder's doing well enough now. Hurts every now and then, but there's plenty of people hurt worse off than me." she said quietly. She didn't really feel like talking very much.

Pulling various items out of a satchel and handing them to her, Speirs clenched his jaw and felt like he could have kicked himself.

"I heard about your brother," he said. "I would just like to offer my condolences."

"Condolences?" she frowned, feeling anger build up inside herself. "I don't need your condolences. My brother aint dead, and I don't know why everyone's behaving like he is."

Not even caring for one second that the person she was yelling at was undoubtedly the scariest man in the entire 506th, as well as a superior officer, she threw down the supplies he had already handed to her and took off running. She had no idea where she was running to. All she knew was that as she ran, she wished she could run away from the living nightmare that her life had become.

The cold air made it harder to breathe and her lungs felt like they would collapse but she pushed herself to keep going. The tears suddenly pouring down her cheeks were already beginning to freeze. With her blurred vision, she didn't see the huge tree root sticking out of the snow. But just as her face was about to meet with the snowy ground, Speirs caught her and lifted her back swiftly to her feet. Suddenly unable to stop herself, she burst into tears and felt herself sink to the ground. Somewhere inside her, she was embarrassed to be crying in front of someone who was almost a stranger. She was also appalled and anxious that she had just screamed at that same stranger only two minutes before. But she just couldn't stop herself from crying. Her entire body was wracked with sobs as the image of Bill lying on the ground flashed repeatedly through her mind. She put her head in her hands and just cried until there was nothing left. She didn't notice Lieutenant Speirs sitting down beside her and waited patiently for her to stop crying.

"I guess I'm in trouble for two things now," she muttered groggily, wiping her face on the back of her sleeve.

"Two things?" Speirs frowned, handing her a handkerchief from his pocket.

"Yeah," she nodded, blowing her nose before offering the handkerchief back. Speirs shook his head and motioned for her to keep hold of it. "I yelled at you, and then I cried at you. I doubt Captain Winters is gonna be so lenient on me this time, given it'll be the second time he's seen me in as many days."

"Oh yes," Speirs smirked. "The snowball incident."

"How do you know about that?" she frowned at him.

"I make it my business to know about everything, Corporal," he answered, and then suddenly frowned when Evelyn stood up abruptly. "Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd save you the job of having to march me to Captain Winters' tent," she answered honestly. "I'll just take myself and await my fate."

"Sit down Corporal," Speirs said. "That's an order."

Christ, she wasn't going to argue with that. She plonked herself back down on the snowy floor, ignoring the fact that her bottom was cold and wet.

"After the way you just spoke to me, I should be marching you to Winters for a disciplinary," he started. "But I think given the circumstances surrounding you at the moment, I am willing to overlook it."

"Sir, I don't need any special treatment because of my brother. I just want to carry on as best I can and not have everyone treating me with kid gloves."

"Do you enjoy getting yourself into trouble, Guarnere?"

"Excuse me, Sir?"

"You heard me," Speirs said. "I just told you that I was prepared to let you off for shouting at me, and you're telling me that I shouldn't? So if you'd really prefer, we can march on up to Captain Winters right now, or we can just forget about the whole thing? It's your call."

Evelyn smiled gratefully despite herself.

"Thank you, Sir. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know you were just trying to be kind and I shouldn't have bitten your head off."

"Don't worry about it," Speirs grinned. "Besides, I feel quite privileged to have witnessed that famous Guarnere temper first hand."

"My brother's temper is a lot worse than mine," she snorted.

And then she felt guilty for laughing. Her brother had just lost his leg. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying her hardest not to cry again. She didn't want to cry in front of anyone, especially not in front of Speirs. Well, especially not again.

"You're allowed to be upset, you know," Speirs told her.

"I know," she answered, her voice quivering.

"You're also allowed to cry."

"I know that as well," she answered, her voice getting higher in pitch. "I don't wanna cry though."

"Why?" he probed. "Nobody's going to think any less of you. Our emotions are what make us human."

"But I'm a medic," she said as a single tear slid down her face. "I see wounds like this almost daily. I manage to hold my emotions in then, so I can't let this be any different."

"But this is different. Bill's your brother. Your flesh and blood," Speirs spoke. "Don't hide how you're feeling because it's only going to eat you up inside and stop you from doing your job properly. If you care about your brother, then allow yourself to grieve for him. And before you open your mouth and shout at me again, I don't mean to grieve for him in the sense that he's dead. Grieve for him in the sense that he's no longer going to be the way you remember him. Grieve for him in the sense that he won't be here with you anymore. I've heard about the way you two argue-I don't think there's anyone in the entire 506th who hasn't- but it's going to be hard not having him with you. He's a piece of home; a piece of familiarity. Whether you realise it or not- whether you've spent all of your time with him or not- you will have come to rely on his closeness. Now you have to learn to be here without him. And you know what? You can do it.

When I first heard about you, a female in the airborne, I thought that the military had gone stir crazy. What place does a woman have here? How would a woman cope doing this? This is a man's job, and even then it's not for every man. I have known a lot of strong women my entire life. My mother was the strongest woman I have ever known. But even she, I think, would have struggled to deal with this. And do you know why? Because she would not have allowed herself to feel in the way that you do. And it would have eaten her alive. But I've watched you quietly over the past two years, and your ability to feel so deeply about everything is what's helped you. Your ability to laugh and cry and shout and bawl. Do you not see that if you stop yourself from feeling the way you need to feel about your brother, you're only doing yourself a disservice?"

Sniffing, Evelyn looked at Speirs. Really looked at him. On the surface was the man that everyone talked about; that everyone was scared of. The man who had shot twenty German prisoners on D-Day; the man who had shot one of his own men for being drunk. Here was a man that almost everyone in the 506th was terrified to be anywhere near. Yet as Evelyn sat beside him and listened to his words, she saw something deeply profound inside the man. Oh, she had no doubt that he could probably rip a man to pieces with his bare hands if he needed to, but that it wouldn't be done needlessly. The man was an enigma.

"You know, you're not actually that scary once you get to talking," Evelyn told him. She had thought that on the previous occasion that she had spoken with him, but now it was even more apparent.

"Oh, I am," Speirs answered, pulling out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. "I just hope for your sake that you never have to see it. Cigarette?"

"I don't smoke, Sir," she shook her head, as a shiver ran down her spine. She had told him that last time she came begging for supplies, but she didn't expect him to remember.

"Lucky for you," he wriggled his eyebrows and grinned again. She frowned. Was he trying to tell her that he knew about all the rumours to do with him? Or was it just a coincidence? Nah, it was a coincidence, it had to be. Didn't it? "You're looking at me strangely because you want to know if the rumours are true, don't you?"

"What rumours, Sir?" she tried to ask casually, but the squeak in her voice gave the game away.

"All I'll say is that you shouldn't believe everything you hear," Speirs answered, looking slightly amused by her answer.

"So they're not true then?" she said, somewhat relieved.

"That's not exactly what I said," he smirked. "What I meant is that people have a tendency to over-dramatize things. But whatever rumour or story you hear about someone, there's always an element of truth. There has to be, otherwise the story wouldn't exist. There's no smoke without fire, as they say. Now are you still after those supplies or not?"

"Uh yes, thank you Sir."

As she walked hurriedly to keep up Speirs' long effortless strides, Evelyn frowned to herself. Why was nothing ever as it seemed?

… … …

That night, Evelyn couldn't sleep. Not that foxholes were the most comfortable of places to sleep anyway. But usually she could at least close her eyes and catch an hour or two in between checking on everyone. She hadn't even done much of that though. Eugene and Spina had told her to rest and let them do it. Her initial reaction had been to fly off the handle at them, but then she recalled her conversation with Speirs earlier in the day. She was tired and upset about Bill. And she was going to succumb to those feelings, at least just for one night. For one night, she wasn't a medic. She was Evelyn Guarnere; younger sister of Bill.

Beside her, George was snoring softly, and every so often would mutter something unintelligible in his slumber. It was so cold that the only way for anyone to sleep was to huddle up with one another. Therefore very gently, Evelyn disentangled George's arm from around her shoulders and pulled up the thin blanket covering him so that it was now right underneath his chin. He jerked and then continued snoring once more before snoring again. Kissing his bearded cheek, Evelyn smiled down at him and climbed out of the foxhole. There was someone she needed to speak to.

"Ev, what are you doin'?"

Stopping, Evelyn let out a breath and turned to face the person she had managed to avoid all day. Babe stepped closer, his eyes full of concern.

"I just needed to go speak with Winters," she replied.

"At this time of night?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to ask him if he could arrange for me to see Bill before he gets shipped out. He might say no, but I thought it might be worth it."

"I, uh, I'm real sorry about Bill," he scratched his head awkwardly. "I've been wanting to find you all day and tell you, but-"

"-But you were worried I was gonna shout at you the way I have everyone else?" she finished for him.

"Well, yeah," Babe admitted with a small smile. "But not just that. I knew that if I came near you, I would wanna hold you and well, I didn't think that would be such a good idea in front of everyone."

"Babe," she started with a sigh. She really didn't have the energy to do this right now.

"I ain't dumb Ev," he told her. "Ever since that kiss, things haven't been the same with us. I thought at first that maybe it was because you just didn't want anyone finding out, but then I realised I was kidding myself. There's only one person that you have feelings for here and it aint me."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling like the most horrible person in the world.

"Don't be," Babe smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I think I knew it right from the moment it happened. But there was a little part of me that really hoped that my amazing kissing skills would have won you over."

"Hey don't knock yourself, that was some fine kissing," she chuckled.

"But just not as fine as someone else's?" he winked.

"I really am sorry. Maybe in another time or another place, things between us could be different? Maybe when we get back to Philly? Who knows what the future holds for us?" she said, even though in her heart of hearts, she knew that there was still only one person she wanted a future with. Even when she was mad at him, he was all she wanted.

"Ev," Babe grasped her hand. He knew it too. "Until you manage to heal that Liebgott shaped hole in your heart, there will never be an us. Not here, not in Philly. Heck, not even if we were on the moon."

"You're a good guy, Babe Heffron," she said, feeling choked up. "I'm glad to have you as my friend. You are still my friend, right?"

"Too right. You ain't getting rid of me that easily," Babe grinned, pulling her in for a tight hug. At first she tensed up, but then quickly let herself relax. After the day she'd had, this was exactly what she needed. "Besides, somebody needs to keep your brother informed about all your comings and goings."

"I guess," she sighed. "God, I never thought I'd be standing here wishing that my brother was still here watching my every move."

"With any luck this goddamn war'll be over soon enough and then you'll have him breathing down your neck for the rest of your life."

"Yeah good point. Perhaps I'd better think about relocating once this is all over," she joked.

"Nah, you're a Philly girl through and through."

"True," she conceded. "But I reckon Eugene could easily turn me into some Bayou Barbara you know."

"Maybe for like a week or two, but it's true what they say. You can take the girl outta Philly, but you can't take Philly outta the girl."

"That's very true too. Well, uh, I best get going. It's late."

"Sure," Babe nodded. "You want me to come with you to see Captain Winters?"

"No, that's alright," Evelyn shook her head. "I'd rather go on my own." Standing up on her tiptoes to place a feather of a kiss on his bristly cheek, she smiled. "Good night, Babe."

"Night Ev."

As he watched Evelyn walk away, Babe smiled to himself. One day she would be over Liebgott, and when that day came, he would be ready and waiting. His mother had always taught him that patience was a virtue, but he had always struggled with that. Patience had never been his strongest suit. However, Evelyn Guarnere was definitely worth waiting for.

… … …

4th January, 1945

"The only good thing about being wounded is that we finally get to go home. I feel like I've forgotten what home looks like. How long do you think it'll be 'til they get us back to America?" Toye asked. He glanced over at Bill, who was staring into space. "I reckon the first thing I'm gonna do when I get back is throw on a pink dress and hop around on my one good leg while spinning a plate on my finger." Nothing. "Then perhaps I might have my mom put some makeup on me and sell me at the market to the highest bidder." Still nothing. With an annoyed sigh, Joe picked up the thing closest to him- which just happened to be a small piece of stale bread- and launched it at Bill's head.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" Bill scowled, rubbing the side of his head. Who knew a piece of food could hurt so much?

"I've been talking to you for the past five minutes with no answer. Something interesting on that wall, is there?"

"Sorry," Bill apologised. "I was just thinking."

"Christ, well your head must be hurting now," Toye smirked. "Don't think too hard or else it'll explode."

"Very funny," Bill huffed, before going back into his almost trance-like state.

"There it is again," Toye shook his head. "Right, out with it now."

"Out with what?"

"Whatever it is that's on your mind."

"It's nothing," Bill waved him off.

"Bill, you've been in a world of your own all day. You best tell me what it is, otherwise I'm gonna beat it out of you my friend."

"I'd like to see you try," Bill raised an eyebrow. "Even with one leg I could still take you easily."

"Yeah, in your dreams maybe. Now tell me and then you won't have to find out just how deadly I really am."

"It's Ev," Bill sighed.

"Of course it is," Toye rolled his eyes impatiently. "What's she done now?"

"She aint done nothing," Bill answered. "It's just that I'm worried about what she's gonna do now that I'm gone."

"She's gonna be just fine," Toye told him firmly. "If anything, she's gonna be happy that she's got some freedom from you and your beady eyes watching her every move."

"And that's exactly what concerns me," Bill admitted.

"Oh for fucks sake, Bill," Toye let out an exasperated sigh. "Please tell me this isn't about fucking Liebgott? The two of them barely even speak anymore. I think it's safe to say that she's well and truly over him."

"You obviously don't know my little Evie very well," Bill said. "She's the master of putting on a brave face. I think she gets it from our mom. Anyway, the day she got back from Bastogne I found the two of them talking."

"Talking? Heaven forbid! Quick! Someone fetch Father Maloney to perform a wedding mass before the scandal becomes common knowledge."

"Shut up," Bill scowled. "I caught them and he had given her his coat. The only reason I didn't make her give it back was because it was so goddamned cold and I couldn't stand to see her freezing. Anyway, when I came upon them, they were looking at each other like…well it's hard to explain unless you saw them with your own eyes. The only way I can explain it is like when Frannie and I once had a row about six months before I signed up. I'd had a fight with some chump from our neighbourhood, Bobby Marlowe, over five dollars he owed me in a bet. Bobby was a friend of Frannie's family and she wasn't best pleased when I gave Bobby a shiner. Especially because two days later, his sister was getting married. Frannie wouldn't talk to me for almost two weeks. Eventually, one day, I finished work early and I bumped into her leaving my house. She'd been to see my sister, Clara and obviously thought I wouldn't have been there. I remember us just standing there by my front steps. We just stared at each other. Neither of us wanted to be the first to apologise or act like we weren't still mad with the other, yet we both wanted the fight to be over. That look is the same one I saw between Evie and Liebgott. It was a look of longing and maybe something more. I just for the life of me can't understand how she can still have any fucking feelings for him after the things he said to her."

"What things?"

Reluctantly, Bill told Toye exactly what had transpired between Evelyn and Liebgott. Toye obviously remembered being there when they had found the two of them in the barracks together, but as he listened to the awful things Liebgott had said to Evelyn afterwards, he was livid. He wanted nothing more than to jump out of bed and punch the guy in the face. He considered Bill to be one of his best friends, and although he would never admit it, Evelyn was almost like the little sister he had never had.

"Son of a fucking bitch," Toye growled.

"That's not all. Joe I need to tell you something else," Bill started, taking a deep breath. Never usually one to struggle with words, he found himself doing so now. "Well, that evening after we caught them together, Liebgott was on guard duty, I went to find him. I gave him an ultimatum. Either he broke up with my sister or I went to Sink and told him everything about them. The idiot told me that his feelings for Ev were real and that he didn't care if they got kicked out because he wanted to be with her regardless. But I gave him no choice. I told him that my sister couldn't handle the shame of being kicked out. I made him agree to break things off with her. I made him see that it was in Evelyn's best interests and that if he really cared about her, he would let her go."

"So those awful things he said to her were what you told him to say?" Toye frowned.

"No," Bill scowled. "Of course I never told him to say those things. Knowing my sister the way I do though, she can be very stubborn and if he told her the truth she would have found a way to wrangle her way out of it. I'm guessing Liebgott knew that as well. I can't say I enjoyed seeing my sister so hurt but at least it did the trick."

"You've done some fucked up things in your time, but this is right up there with the worst of them," Toye shook his head. "In trying to stop your sister from getting hurt, you've actually hurt her more. You've broken her heart for crying out loud."

"Don't give me that," Bill scoffed. "Her heart ain't broken. She would need to be in love with the chump for that to happen, and she's too young to fucking know what love is. What I did was stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life, and if I had to do it again I would in an instant."

"Bill, when are you gonna wake up and see that she's a fucking grown woman?" Toye exclaimed. He was angry at his friend. God only knew that Bill meant well and wanted to look after his sister in the only way he knew, but how could he not see that the way he went about things wasn't necessarily the best? "After Henry, I really thought you might have learnt, but I see you're still as pig headed as ever."

"You know what Joe? Fuck you! I love my sister more than anything or anyone in the entire world, and everything I ever do is to protect her."

"I know that," Joe rubbed his face wearily. "It's admirable just how much you love her and care for her, it really is. But one of these days Bill you're gonna do something and she might not forgive you for it, no matter how well intended it was. You need to tell her."

"Come again?"

"I said you need to tell her," Joe repeated.

"Oh yeah, alright then," Bill scoffed. "I'll tell her that I'm the reason she's been moping around like a soppy Susan. She'll hate me."

"And she'll hate you when she finds out that you kept this from her," Toye was adamant. "And mark my words, she will find out. You need to tell her and yeah, she'll be mad for a while, but then in time she'll realise that you were just trying to protect her."

"I aint telling her," Bill crossed his arms stubbornly. "And that's final."

… … …

Evelyn felt guilty that she was greatly relieved to see there was a blanket covering the lower half of Bill's body. It was unbelievably selfish, but she just couldn't bear to see him as anything but whole.

"What's with the long face?" Bill grinned. "You look like your favourite brother just got his leg blown off by the Krauts."

"How can you even make a joke about this?" she frowned at him. She looked at Toye, who just shrugged and shook his head.

"I'm still alive so I gotta just be thankful for that," Bill answered. "And besides, the broads are gonna love me even more now. Just have to get myself an eye patch and I'll be like some real life dashing pirate from the movies. You know the ones where the woman always gets kidnapped and ends up falling for the handsome mercenary?"

"In your fuckin' dreams," Toye snorted.

"I don't even know how to answer that, so I'm not gonna," Evelyn furrowed her brow and sat down on the rickety wooden chair in between their beds.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Bill asked. "How did you manage get to get off the line?"

"I spoke to Winters last night and he agreed to let me come see you," she explained. "When it all happened yesterday, I just couldn't get my head together and I didn't want that to be our last goodbye for God knows how long."

"Me either," Bill smiled.

"So, how do you feel? Have they been giving you enough morphine and stuff?"

"Oh yeah," Bill nodded and wriggled his eyebrows. "That little red head over there has been very attentive."

"Would you stop already?" she smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Stop what?" Bill exclaimed.

"You know what," she eyed him. "I don't wanna hear you making jokes, I wanna know how you're really feelin'."

"I'm fine, I told you," Bill answered.

And perhaps to someone who didn't know him as well as she did, they might have accepted his reply. But not Evelyn. She had spent her entire life with him, and she knew when he was holding something back.

"Ev, don't think I'm being rude, doll, but I'm gonna get me some shut eye," Toye said. "It's gonna be a long few months recuperating with this one beside me wherever we end up. I need all the rest I can get."

"Sure thing, Joe," she nodded. She leant over and kissed him on the cheek. "Take care of yourself."

"You too," he winked.

Neither of them realised that Joe Toye was in fact only pretending to be tired so that he could give Bill the chance to talk to Evelyn without feeling like he had to put on a brave face. But the second he closed his eyes, he fell asleep nonetheless.

"Now are you gonna tell me how you're really feeling?" she asked her brother, once Joe's breathing became slow and steady. "And don't lie to me. I'm your sister, and I can read you like a book."

"I know you can," he sighed. Part of him had hoped that his joviality might have prevented her from seeing just how hard he was finding all of this, but she was just as shrewd as he was. If not more. "I don't even know what to say or where to even start. I'm petrified of what my life's become. I haven't even looked at it. I begged them to cover it up and keep it covered. You know I can still feel my toes moving even though I aint got any?"

Evelyn didn't know what to say. She felt tears brimming in her eyes, and she grabbed her brother's hand and kissed it tenderly. It wasn't fair. He could undoubtedly be an idiot at times, but Bill had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone that he cared about.

"And Frannie," Bill whispered and closed his eyes. His face was contorted in a pain that wasn't physical. "She aint gonna want me now. I'm a cripple."

"Bill, don't say that," Evelyn squeezed his hand. "Frannie loves you. She wouldn't care if you have two legs or none."

"She deserves better than me," he shook his head and a tear escaped out from the corner of his eye. "I've spent our entire relationship treating her without the respect she deserves. How many times have I messed around with other girls and she's forgiven me without hesitation? How many times have I told her that I'm just sewing my wild oats, and that once we're married I'll put a stop to it all? Never once did I stop to look at myself and the mockery I was making of our relationship. She's the most beautiful, kind heart person I know, and she chose me to give her heart to. Yet all I've done is trample all over it and treat her like she's my back up option. In some ways I think this is God punishing me for the way I've behaved in the past. I've treated Frannie awfully and now he's giving her an escape route."

"Bill, stop now. God's not punishing you. And you know my opinions on the things you've done behind Frannie's back- or right in front of her face- but you have a chance to make things up to her now. You have the opportunity to show her how much she means to you and how special she is. Frannie adores you and I know for a fact that she will stand by you through this, just like she has through so many other things."

"I don't think I want her to," Bill said.

"William Guarnere, you listen to me now," Evelyn snapped, using his full name. "Do not push her away, because if you do you will regret it. This does not have to be the end for you."

"That's easy for you to say," Bill scoffed. "You're not the cripple with one leg."

"Call yourself a cripple one more time and I'm gonna smack you round the face," she shouted angrily before realising she was creating a bit of a scene. Lowering her voice, she continued. "I have no idea what you're going through right now. No idea at all. I'm not even gonna try to pretend. But I do know that you're the strongest and most brave man I know. This will not defeat you. The Bill I know won't let it."

"When did you get so wise, huh?" Bill smiled and cupped her cheek. "Christ, I'm gonna miss you, kiddo."

"I'm gonna miss you too," she put her hand over his. "I can't believe you're going home."

"And I can't believe I'm going home without you. Mom's gonna fatten me up big time. When you get back, you won't recognise me because I'll be so fat," Bill joked, and although Evelyn appreciated his attempt at humour, she knew that he was just putting up a front again. It really was a family trait.

"I guess it's time for me to go now," she sighed, looking at her watch.

Winters had been able to secure her a jeep on the understanding that she would only be able to spend half an hour with her brother. At the time, half an hour had sounded perfect, but now that it was time to part she wanted to never end.

"I guess," Bill smiled, and she could see that he was beginning to choke up again.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she blinked back tears. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't cry. She wasn't going to see her brother for goodness knows how long. Her last memory with him couldn't involve tears. But as she leant down and wrapped her arms around him, she nestled her face into his neck and her resolve broke.

"Don't cry kiddo," Bill whispered, stroking her hair. "Come on, stop crying."

"Sorry," she sniffed. "I just love you so much."

"And I love you too," Bill moved her so that her face was in front of his. He kissed her button nose and wiped away her tears. "You look after yourself, ok? And don't be getting into any trouble 'cause I'll find out you know."

"I know," she gave him a wobbly smile, getting up from her chair.

"One last thing before you go," Bill stopped her. From underneath his blanket, he pulled out an envelope. She frowned when she saw her name written on the front in Bill's sloppy scrawl. "I want you to read this once you're back at camp."

"What is it?" she eyed it warily.

"It's just a letter," he answered, and Evelyn pulled a face. She wasn't stupid. "But I don't want you to read until you're back at camp."

"Alright," she nodded, putting it in her pocket.

"And Ev? Promise me one thing."

"Sure, what?"

"Promise me that no matter what, you'll always love me."

"Of course I will," she said truthfully.

"Say it."

"I will always love you."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what."

"Good," Bill sighed with relief. "Take care of yourself, kiddo."