[MillietheWarrior]

"What do you think, Joe?" M.J. sat on the end of the bunk, hands folded in her lap.

"Bout what?" Joe questioned tiredly, raising his arm from where he'd slung it over his eyes after he'd claimed the bed for himself. M.J. occupied only the end of it, and had knocked his boots aside when he'd laughingly refused to move.

"About all this. The patrol, ya know?"

Joe gave her a look from beneath his arm, before he closed his eyes. "I don't think about it much. It's better not to. Gets in the way of doing what you gotta do. Don't dwell on it, M.J. It'll only lead to trouble."

"Yeah, but-"

[MillietheWarrior]

Joe growled and reached forward to grab the back of her collar, dragging her across his legs until she lay sprawled against the wall and his booted feet. "I told you, M.J. Don't think about it. Just focus on the here and the now."

M.J. turned her head slightly to the side, watching Joe with a steady look. He caught her gaze, and the two stared at one another for a few silent moment. "So…what is the here and now, Joe?" M.J. asked quietly, her voice sounding loud in the darkened room.

M.J. leaned forward a little, twisting her body so that her face was only a few inches from Joe's. "'Cuz it would make more sense to focus on it, if I knew what it was, don't you think?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Joe swallowed loudly, and M.J. could see his eyes shining in the dark. He parted his lips, face inching closer to hers. She could feel his heart hammering in his chest beneath her hand where it perched to keep her steady.

Their lips were only a hairs breadth away…

"'Ey, youz two! Look what I got!"

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. was so startled, she nearly leapt out of her skin. As it was, her and Joe's foreheads collided, and sent her head flying backwards into the top of the bunk that hovered over them. A loud clang, and a volley of swears followed Bill's exclamation, belonging to both Joe and M.J. as they roundly cursed their friend's ill timing.

M.J. rolled out from beneath the top bunk, clutching her head and practically growling under her breath. "God damn it, son of a bitch, that hurt!"

"Damn it, Bill! Couldn't you have waited a few more minutes?" Joe cried, rubbing his forehead where it had knocked into M.J.'s.

Bill looked confused, holding up a bottle of what looked like champagne or wine, and tilted his head curiously. "What? What did I do?" He paused to let his gaze rake over their flushed faces and the fact that they'd been sharing a bunk. He grinned devilishly, and folded his arms, finally putting two and two together. "Was it something I said?"

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[MillietheWarrior]

The assault that night did not go off without a hitch.

Although it did not 'go all to hell,' either, as Bill had predicted, they had lost one member of the group. Eugene Jackson was hit by his own grenade, and died not long after they brought him back across the river. It was felt deeply by all the members of the assault force, and those who gathered in the small, shaking room as mortars rained down all around them. Jackson had been a good man, and nobody wanted to see him go. It tore at Easy, and left a deep hole in the hearts of many.

[MillietheWarrior]

The only good thing to come out of the mission was the two Kraut prisoners. Of course, under threat of death and, thanks to M.J.'s interesting suggestions, much worse, they talked. The mission was such a success, according to the higher ups, that Colonel Sink ordered a second one for the next night. Needless to say, this did not sit well with Dick and Nixon, nor did it rest well with the men, who were tired, angry, and upset at being forced to take on another suicidal mission like the one before.

Risking his own neck, Dick call for a briefing about the ordered mission, and informed the men that it had failed. To the bewilderment and astonishment of all present, he ordered them to go back to their bunks and get a good night's sleep.

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J., who had learned of Dick's heroic call from one of the returning men, had only smiled and shook her head. He was a great man, and such a stunt could have cost him dearly. All the more reason to admire him.

M.J. sat outside on a nearby truck as the troops, along with Easy Company, packed up to leave.

Her bag sat beside her on the seat, and she had her arms folded across her knees. Frankly, she was tired dirty, and ready to leave this pile of rubble they had called home for quite some time now. She hadn't gotten a chance to shower, and for obvious reasons. Could she honestly expect to take a nice warm shower in peace? Not around here, she couldn't. Of course, she had every confidence that the men of Easy, especially Bill and Joe, would trounce anyone who so much as glanced in the direction of the tent showers, but still...

Why risk it?

[MillietheWarrior]

So she sat, dirty, disheveled, and feeling quite grimy, on the back of the truck that was bound for their next destination. She sighed, unfolding one of her arms and propping up her chin as she watched the men milling about around the city. The sound of quiet footsteps beside her snapped her out of her silent reflection on just how dirty she really was, and she turned to see Eugene Roe standing beside her, his bag on the truck beside hers.

"Howdy," she greeted wearily, watching as he offered her a soft, amused smile. "How goes it, Eugene? Need anything? I've certainly got nothin' to do. I wouldn't mind helpin' ya gather up some supplies. 'Sides," she mumbled. "I could probably get em' easier than you." She pointed at her chest. "What, on account of these things."

[MillietheWarrior]

Eugene coughed, and blushed furiously, but his smile did not waver. "Ah, no thanks ma'am. I've got everything I need here with me." He patted his trusty medic bag, and nodded, his large helmet bobbing on his small head. "You look down, lieutenant. Somethin' wrong, if'n you don't mind me askin'...?"

M.J. smiled. His voice was really rather comforting. It was no wonder he was so good at what he did. "Nope. Nothin', 'cept the fact that I'm filthy, tired, and...just disgusting, frankly. You guys are sure lucky. I wasn't able to take a proper shower...And Joe took my chocolate bar."

[MillietheWarrior]

The last sentence made Eugene chortle a bit, and he reached into his bag and pulled out a small, square bar. "Here ya go, Lieutenant. I can't help you fix your shower problem, but I think I can remedy that chocolate one." He held it up to her, and M.J. smiled, taking the proffered gift and breaking it in half. She handed half of it back to the medic, much to his happy surprise, and stuffed the other half in her front pocket.

"Thanks, Eugene," she muttered, leaning back a bit. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" Eugene glanced up, and dipped his head in a polite nod. "All right...How come you never call me by my name?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Eugene looked thoughtful for a moment, before settling his elbows on the tailgate of the truck. "Well, ma'am, to be honest, I just don't feel comfortable usin' nicknames, and I know that your mother didn't name you 'M.J.', beggin' your pardon. If I knew your real name, I'd be happy to use it, if that's what you want."

The young woman could only smile with a tilt of her head. "You're a strange one, Eugene. But I like ya, so I'll tell ya. And besides, I don't think you should be calling me 'ma'am' or 'lieutenant.' It just doesn't sound proper, coming from a nice guy like you. And I like to consider us friends, don't you?" Eugene smiled a bit, as his cheeks tinted a light shade of red. "My real name's 'Mary.' But don't tell anyone I told ya. I'm not too fond of it."

[MillietheWarrior]

The Cajun medic looked a bit confused. "How come? Mary's a nice name, and it suits you. I like it, to tell you the truth. You shouldn't be ashamed of your name. Especially when you're both so pretty." He nodded to her, and picked up his bag, heading for another truck as the others fellas began to file towards hers.

M.J. couldn't help but smile at his retreating form, as helped haul up some of the bags that the Joe and Bill threw her way. As they all settled into their respective seats, Bill on one side of her, Joe on the other, M.J. leaned her head back against the thin railing on the side of their truck.

[MillietheWarrior]

"What's that smile all about, kid?" Bill asked, slinging an arm around her shoulder and mimicking her position.

M.J. shrugged as Joe turned his head to offer the two a curious look. "What's what about?"

The young lieutenant sighed gently, and smiled softly up at the grey and blue sky. She watched the clouds drift by as she took her time answering their questions. "No matter how dirty I get," she muttered finally. "No matter how filthy and disgusting and horrible I feel...No matter how many rocks I get in my boots, or how uncomfortable they start to become after hours of walking...No matter how matted my hair gets, or how smudged my cheeks are, or if I haven't had a nice shower in something akin to forever...No matter what happens to me, or how I feel about everything...I'm glad I'm here."

[MillietheWarrior]

Joe and Bill followed her gaze, but their thoughts turned elsewhere. To home, to their families, and to the loved ones they'd left behind. As much as they wanted to agree, they found that they just couldn't. They wanted to go home.

"Lemme rephrase that..." The young woman murmured once more. "I'm just glad I'm here with you two." M.J. sighed, finally finishing spouting off her thoughts. Joe and Bill's attention shifted back onto the fiery young lieutenant, and, in that brief moment, they found that, no matter what they thought or how they felt, they just couldn't agree more.

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