So I joined the Band of Brothers fandom recently, and holy cheese crackers it's such an amazing show. And as per custom of every fandom I join, I have developed a few more crushes from this miniseries, one of them being Eugene Roe, Easy Company's field medic.

This piece (and any future pieces written for the Band of Brothers fandom) is based off the TV show version of the character(s), not the actual heroes that served in Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. I mean no disrespect to them, nor do I wish to portray them in the wrong way.

Main setting will be during Bastogne. Female reader (yes I'm aware that females weren't allowed in the army in the 1940s but this is fanfiction, so...). Mentions of death and gore. Probably some curse words littered in. Mostly just the buildup until we get to the final scene, to the lines that inspired this whole thing. There's a lot of rambling so feel free to skip to the action bits. This part is mostly getting to know how Eugene and your relationship started out. First time writing a piece in the second person. 

~~~

Eugene had seen a lot of death, especially as a medic. It was gory and a real mood dampener, and it was never something taken lightly. But in a time of war, you had no choice but to keep going and move on. Mourning the death of your comrade was a luxury most couldn't afford when you were being shot at in every direction.

Never get too attached to anyone; it wouldn't do you any good if you got too attached to someone and they ended up dying later on. That was something you learned as a soldier. And as a field medic especially. That was what Eugene told himself when he had his first taste of battle in Normandy. Don't get attached, don't use nicknames, don't get close.

But that was all thrown out the window when he met you. You were a replacement sent in right before the happenings of Carentan. Like Shifty, you were a sniper.

Eugene noticed you kept quiet and to yourself, never making much conversation with any other soldiers. You probably felt a little excluded, considering all the fighting you hadn't been a part of. He didn't blame you.

He kept an eye on you, making sure you were fitting in well and had everything you needed. He even offered a shoulder to lean on if you ever felt you needed it. You were surprised, wondering what had made the medic make such a bold statement.

"Are you okay?" you had asked him with a twinkle of humor in your eye when he made his offer.

Eugene blushed and lowered his head, a smile making its way onto his face. You found it endearing, and accepted his offer.

"I'll be sure to find you when I want to talk." you assured him with a nod. "Thank you, Eugene."

~~~

You found Eugene sitting in one of the trenches that night, sliding down next to him. He smiled in greeting when he saw you, offering you a cigarette. You took it, leaning toward him so he could light it.

"How you feelin'?" he asked.

You shrugged, leaning back and looking up at the sky pensively. "Like I've just been through hell. Except hell grew sentient and decided to start sending machine-gun handling Krauts after us."

Eugene laughed. It always felt like that for him. Running around, dodging bullets and ricochets and explosions as he helped patch up wounded soldiers to send them to aid stations; the death and pain that surrounded him was never-ending. He often wondered when it would end, when it would all be over and everything could go back to the way it was before.

"I don't know, the battles are only going to get worse as we keep going. There's no point in trying to describe it." You turned to face him. "How are you? You've been running around taking care of all the wounded. You must be exhausted."

He shrugged. "I'm as good as you can get on the battlefield." He had picked up a leaf, shredding it to pieces and throwing the pieces into the dirt. "You kinda have to move past the pain and just keep going. It doesn't get any easier each time, either."

"I can imagine." A pause. "You should get some rest, Gene. You'll need it. More than me."

Eugene took a deep breath and let it out, leaning back against the dirt wall. He didn't complain, he would take all the sleep he could get. God knows how much worse it might get later.

The sunrise woke Eugene up the next morning, his head resting against yours. His hand had somehow found yours during the night as well, clasping it tightly as if the two of you were to be separated. He would've lied if he said he didn't want the moment to last longer. He wondered if he could even have a peaceful life like this after the war, just him and his significant other, sitting under his favorite tree and just admiring the sunrise.

"I think you could." Your voice snapped Eugene out of his trance. He blushed when he realized he had said that out loud. You only grinned back at him and held his hand tighter.

"You slept well, I hope?" you asked him as you dug around in your bag for spare cloth you always carried with you. Better be prepared for anything. "Ah, yes!" you quietly cheered when you found it, quickly stuffing it into one of your pant pockets.

"Fine. You?"

"Couldn't sleep."

It was endearing, watching Eugene grow a little pink and awkward at realizing that he had fallen asleep on you, then at deeper realization that you had let him fall asleep there and didn't try to move him (or yourself) somewhere else.

"Oh--uh, sorry. For--"

"Don't worry about it. 'Sides, I thought it was nice." you reassured him with a wink.

Eugene didn't think he could get any pinker. You thought he couldn't get any cuter.

You opened your mouth to add something, but a sudden shout of, "MORTAR!" and an explosion interrupted you.

The both of you dashed off in opposite directions, Eugene towards safety until someone shouted for him, and you up in a nearby tree.

Again, you took shot after shot, picking off as many enemies as you could. It was an exhilarating challenge, picking off soldiers covered by shrubbery or crouching in their trenches. You reloaded a cartridge when you ran out of bullets, and in that split second you felt a jolt in your shoulder. You glanced down and saw the shiny glint of a bullet gleaming back at you with blood running over it, dark red staining your clothes.

"Shit." you muttered, gritting your teeth at the pain and looking back up towards the action. You exhaled sharply, leaning back and hiding behind as many of the tree's leaves as you could. Fishing out your pocket knife, you fished out the bullet and sent it falling below. You grabbed one of your cloths out of your pocket, quickly wrapping your wound as best you could. Your fingers deftly twisted and tightened the cloth until it was firmly secured around your shoulder. Never mind the blood and pain, you would tend to it later.

The battle ended almost as soon as the Sherman tanks rolled through, and you left your post in the tree, sliding down against its trunk when you made it to the ground. You closed your eyes and leaned back against the tree, breathing out a thanks to your father for teaching you how to stay hidden and shoot straight.

"(Y/N)!" a voice called. "(Y/N), you okay?" You opened your eyes and saw Eugene running towards you, a concerned look on his face.

You grinned up at him. "Never better."

He nodded, then spotted your shoulder and knelt to see what he could do about it. "You're hurt."

"Eh, it's nothin'. Been through worse." You swatted away his hands fussing with your bandage. "I'll live. I took care of it as soon as I got hit. Go help everyone else." Eugene hesitated for a moment. "Go on, I'll still be here when you've covered everyone. Go take care of everyone else and then come and bandage me up, okay?"

A small smile flashed on his face. "Okay."

Eugene came back a few minutes later and found you where he left you, your rifle propped up next to you as you rested your eyes. He tapped your arm gently, nudging you awake.

"Hey. Your arm still good?" he asked you.

You shrugged your good shoulder and began unwrapping the makeshift bandage, your fingers fumbling a bit.

"Here, I got it." Eugene grabbed the loosened ends and began quickly unwrapping the soiled cloth. "You did a pretty good job wrapping your wound. Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Hunting with my dad. Taught me everything I know about shooting and wilderness survival." You laughed as you watched Eugene work. "Who knew I'd be joining the army and using the skills I never thought I'd use unless I was in a plane accident in the forest?"

Eugene nodded, looking closely at the bullet wound. "You met Shifty yet? He's a sniper. And a damn good one."

You nodded, your gaze moving from watching Eugene's hands to watching his face. "He's a sweet boy. A real charmer."

His expression hardened slightly, then went back to worried a second later. You watched him closer, then snickered, trying to keep from shaking too much as Eugene tended to your wound.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that you're kinda cute when you're jealous."

Eugene stopped working and looked at me in surprise. "Jealous? I'm not jealous!"

You nodded, trying to hide your knowing smile. "You got nothing to worry about, Doc. I'm saving a special spot in my heart for someone special." You added a cheeky wink for extra measure.

Eugene shook his head didn't say anything else until he finished patching you up and wiped his hands on his pants. "Gotta watch that shoulder, but other than that, you did great fixing it. Maybe I could have you as an assistant or something."

I chuckled. "Yeah, maybe."

Eugene had made an effort to know you better, going against all his rules about not getting too attached or too close to anyone. He knew he was going to regret getting close later, that something would either happen to you or to him, but he couldn't help it. You were an interesting person. (The fact that you were pretty didn't help him either. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to become your significant other if you let him.)

You appreciated the company you had in Eugene. The other men were still slightly closed off but you didn't mind. It was only natural; they'd been through Normandy together, trained together for 2 years. You only hoped that they would be comfortable fighting with a soldier who had only been there for a few weeks.

~~~

Operation Market-Garden. A plan to liberate German-occupied Holland and liberate Eindhoven, and eventually free Holland itself. If this mission went successfully, we would be able to cross the Rhine and have this war over by Christmas. Also known as one of the scariest nights of your life so far. 

Making your way through the crowded streets of Eindhoven was difficult, as someone stopped to hug you or attempt to give you a friendly kiss everywhere you turned. You couldn't wait to get out of town and move on. It wasn't time to celebrate now, the mission wasn't complete. 

The tanks crawling slowly into Nuenen was a relief from the hectic townsfolk of Eindhoven. You laid back against the metal, helmet over your face to shield your eyes from the sun. You could've stayed like that, and you most certainly would have taken a nap right there.

A sudden gunshot had you jolting awake and shoving your helmet back on your head. You looked towards the town to see Lieutenant Robert Brewer leading the group fall to the ground. 

"Clear the track!" was heard and everyone jumped off the tanks and moved towards the ditches on the side of the road. Bull ran for the fallen man.

"MEDIC UP FRONT!" Bull cried, holding the Lieutenant still. "MEDIC UP FRONT!"

You saw Eugene take off towards the front, then saw him a moment later as he was shot in the leg and fell to the ground with a shout of pain.

"EUGENE!" You climbed out of the ditch and kept low as you ran towards the two men, sliding to a stop by Eugene and shouldering your rifle and pulling out supplies from your aid kit and applying to his wounds. 

"Come on, stay with me, Eugene. It didn't hit anything major. You're going to live." you muttered to him, tapping his face. "It went clean through. You're not too badly hurt."

Ralph Spina came hurtling through and began tending to the fallen Lieutenant. You looked up at the other medic. "They'll both make it, Roe's shot in the leg and Lieutenant Brewer was shot just below his jawline. Neither bullet hit anything major."

"Help me get Brewer to the truck, he can be taken to an aid station and rest up." Ralph nodded towards the vehicles at the back. "Eugene looks like he can patch himself back up and go back to battle soon."

You looked down at Eugene. "Can you stand?" He nodded. "Okay, up you go."

You gently helped him up and wrapped his arm over your shoulders, making your way to the trucks as fast as you could without hurting Eugene too badly. He was pulled onto the truck and you helped Ralph hoist Lieutenant Brewer up before patting Eugene's leg.

"See you soon." you called, then ran off towards the town. 

You found some men crouching behind a building, by some stacked barrels, with Bull crouching behind a brick column.

"Bull." you called from behind another column. He turned to you, and nodded in greeting. "Something tells me some shit is gonna go down pretty soon, and it's going to get real bad."

"Where've you been for the past few minutes?" he joked.

"Making sure your medic gets back on his feet. Come on, we've gotta move."

As soon as you said those words, you spotted the Tiger tank. 

"There." you pointed your finger at it. "That's gonna be troublesome."

The next few minutes were a blur. Explosions rocked the ground, bullets flew everywhere, dirt and debris hitting anything and everything in its path. You were surprised you even made it through this much of the battle without being hit. You saw Bull run away from the Sherman tank that got half blown up and jump in the ditch, crawling away from it as best as he could as it gained on him.

You didn't think twice about running to help him out. How, you had no idea. You were sure you'd figure it out when you got there though. You jumped into the ditch and crawled out the other side, shouting his name out as you crawled with him. You extended your hand to him, yelling for him to grab it so you could drag him out before the tank crushed him. He reached up and grasped it with no hesitation, pulling himself up as you edged away from the ditch with his hand still firmly grasped in your hand.

The both of you lay there for a moment, breathing heavily as you caught your breath. You could hear the distant rumbling of the trucks driving away from all the carnage, knowing you should have gone with them.

"You were supposed to leave with everyone else." Bull said as he looked around for danger. He got up and hurried to the end of the ditch.

"Yeah, but I couldn't let anything happen to Easy's Bull Randleman." you rebutted with a chuckle. "'Sides, you're good with the replacements. You make 'em feel somewhat less awkward."

Bull didn't reply but motioned for you to follow him into a tunnel under the road. You crawled in after him, wondering how long it would be until you were found or until you could escape and make it back to Easy before they left.

Severely unedited, there's probably some inconsistencies or typos. I apologize in advance.

Also, Happy Belated VE Day! I planned on publishing this yesterday (it's 1 am where I am rn), but I had some stuff to finish. 

Enjoy the next part!