-"DUST.... SO MUCH DUST IN MY EYES." Schofield murmurs to himself while sitting. He grabs his canteen and pours the reminding water into his eyes. They had just escaped from the German tunnel, and now sat on the dry earth.

-"Hold on now," Juliana says lightly while walking towards him, she grabs her canteen and proceeds to pour some of her water gently on Will's face. Blake's heart is warmed by the sight of it. He walks over towards the two and crouches next to Juliana who's on Will's right.

-"I wish I'd shot that rat." He comments to himself thoughtfully. Juliana sends him a look which reads, "I which you had too".

-"And I wish you'd picked some other bloody idiot." Schofield speaks a bit harshly. Tiredness lanced in his tone. He wipes his face with his sleeve and blinks his eyes.

-"What?" Blake and Juliana ask in surprise. This sudden outburst almost made Blake feel guilty.

-"Why in the world did you have to choose me?" Schofield speaks again. He's raised his voice and the other two move back a bit. Will reaches into his inside pocket and pulls out a thin tin box. Juliana catches a glimpse of a photograph. In it were mostly girls......

-"I didn't know what I was picking you for." Blake defends himself. Juliana can tell by his tone that he's slightly hurt. This makes her sad.

-"No, you didn't. You never know. That's your problem." Schofield's words are a bit harsh, but Juliana understood where he was coming from. He just had a near death experience, so naturally he'd be scared and act this way.

But to her, it still wasn't fair for Blake. Although she knew that Will wasn't exactly accusing Tom of choosing him, but she felt that she'd better say something.

-"Will you please give Tom a break! He had no idea what he was getting himself into, none of us did. He also saved you life. Try to be a little kinder. Please."

Will only looked into those blue eyes of hers, lost for words. She spoke calmly, and yet her statement made him feel a bit guilty.

After not hearing a response, Blake grows a bit flustered and sighs. He stands from his crouching position, to stretch his legs. Looking around before saying,

-"Alright then, go back. Nothing's stopping you. You can go all the way home if you want."

Schofield tenses at the word home. The anger that boiled in his eyes before, now fade away and become almost full of fear.

-"Don't." He mumbles while shoving his tin box back into his pocket. He stares off into the distance, and Juliana notices immediately his sudden mood shift.

She looks back at Blake and sends him a very "older sister look". She didn't know if he actually had one, but surprisingly, he picked up on it, and calmed himself. He exhales before trying changing his attitude.

-"Look, I didn't know what I was picking you for. I thought they were going to send us back up the line, or for food, or something. I thought it was going to be something easy, alright? I never thought it would be this."

Juliana sends him a small closed mouth smile. His words were sincere, and he spoke with an apologetic tone.

"So do you want to go back?" He adds, his voice filled with curiosity. At this point, anything could happen.

Will looks up as Juliana stands. She places a reassuring hand on Tom's shoulder, as if to say "don't worry, you still have me."

Will's face softens. Not only was Juliana was physical support, but moral support too. He sighs quietly and looks down at his wounded hand. Blake grows a bit impatient, but he waits for a response.

-"Just fire the flare."

Juliana releases her grip and Blake steps forward. He loads the flare and lifts it in the air. He then mumbles something incoherent under his breath before firing.

After this takes place, he and Juliana help Will stand. He wobbles a little, holding onto the nurse for support.

"Do you know where we are?" He asks, as Blake looks down at his compass.

-"Ecoust is directly south east. If we keep that bearing, we should make it." Is the reply.

Will and Juliana look in the direction that Blake is facing. Green grass can be seen, along with rolling hills, and trees. Juliana can't help but smile lightly at the sight of green earth again.

Will nods after taking the view in. Blake quickly places his compass back in his pocket and raises his rifle. They make no more sound as they fall into a single file line. Juliana took the back this time, as she didn't want Will behind her.

While walking along, Will didn't seem to notice his surroundings too much, until he looked up and didn't see the back of Juliana's head.

-"Juliana?" He called out, wondering where she might have gone.

-"Yes Will? Are you alright?" She asks from behind, concern starting to grow in her. It had been quiet and she was lost in her thoughts.

-"No need for concern," he answers, for he could hear it in her voice. She shakes her head at this, she knew she was bad at hiding her emotions.

"It's just, well, your usually in front of me.... um... always in my line of vision. I mean, um, I know you're safe when you're in front of me......" he says the last part quietly. He bites his tongue as he feels a smile form on his lips.

Juliana can't hold back the smile that's on her face. She blushes while looking anywhere but ahead.

Tom's the one whose smiling the widest, and he wished that he could turn around just to see their faces. That would ruin the moment though, he changes the subject.

-"Juliana," he says while looking around. She doesn't reply, but waits for him to continue.

"it's kind of a long name don't you think. No offense of course, I think you ought to have a proper nick name. What you think Sco?"

-"Well, can't say I don't agree, but it's got to be a good one." Will answers while scratching the back of his head. A habit of his whenever he was getting nervous.

Curious to see what he would say, Juliana hurry's her steps up so that she could walk beside him.

-"What will you call me then?" She asks, curiosity dancing in her eyes as she watched his face.

Will was very aware that her eyes were in him, and so his cheeks tinted light pink. He was shy, and now that a pretty girl gave him attention, that made him feel a bit awkward.

He exhales a shaky breath, a slight chuckle escaping along with it. He looks down at her, immediately getting lost in those blue eyes of hers.

-"Jules." He answers while still gazing at her. He snaps out of his day dream quickly after he realizes that she's turned her face and is looking ahead.

"Jules is a proper name don't you think Blake?"

-"Aye, very proper!"

Silence falls once more, each one lost in their thoughts. Blake feels slightly out of place, so he slows his pace down.

"Hey - did you hear that story about Wilko? How he lost his ear?" Tom says breaking the silence. Juliana is quick to respond.

-"No, but do tell it!"

-"Keep your eyes on trees while you do." Schofield says a bit seriously, he looks up as they walk through a wooded area.

-"Alright then! Bet he told you it was shrapnel."
Blake responds, glad that at least someone was willing to listen eagerly.

-"What was it then?" Schofield asks, becoming involved. Tom's dramatic pause in his story telling, made Will intrigued.

-"Well, you know his girl's a hairdresser, right? And he was moaning about the lack of bathing facilities when he wrote to her - remember those rancid jakes at Arras?"

Schofield nods, and Juliana urges for him continue. Although they both turn up their noses in disgust at the last part.

"Anyway, she sends him over this 'hair oil'. Smells sweet, like Golden Syrup. Wilko loves the smell, but he doesn't want to cart it around in his pack, so- He slathers it all over his barnet, goes to sleep and in the middle of the night he wakes up, and a rat is sitting on his shoulder licking the oil off of his head!"

Blake exclaims while chuckling. Schofield begins to laugh, and Juliana does the same. Although the thought of a rat on your shoulder disgusted her a little.

"Wilko panics and he jumps up and when he does - the rat bites clean through his ear and runs off with it!"

-"Oh no! It's his fault though!" Juliana laughs quietly, the others join in, their chorus of light laughter the only sound in the area.

-"Oh, he made a big of a fuss of it, yelling, screaming." Blake adds continuing. His gift for exciting story telling shone was he used facial expressions and emotion in his voice. He reminded Juliana of someone she knew well.....

The ground sweeps gently downward out of the burnt copse. Living things return to the world in small patches. They're now walking on soft,  luscious green grass and seemed sweet and clean.

"Best of it was he put so much bloody oil on himself that he couldn't wash it off! He was like a magnet. Rats left us alone, but they couldn't get enough of him. Poor bloke!"

Blake says with a chuckle. Juliana and Will join in, while keeping their eyes open at their surrounds.
Above, far in the distance, the two British planes from earlier, are seen hovering in the sky.

-"Heading back home." Schofield mumbles while watching them, pausing before continuing,

"I wonder what they saw..." He pulls his eyes away from the planes, and the trio come to a halt. They briefly scan the land around them.

-"Watch the ridge lines." Blake instructs, earning a nod from the other two in response.

Off they go again, the soft earth feeling good and comfortable underneath their sore feet. Blake's eyes stick to the left, Schofield's to the right, and Juliana ahead and occasionally behind them.

-"Well that's your medal sorted then."
Will says, breaking their concentrated silence. Blake's facial expression turns into a confused one as he looks back at Schofield.

-"What do you mean?"
They don't stop walking, Juliana listens intently to the conversation that starts to unfold.

-"Lance Corporal Blake showed unusual valour in rescuing a comrade from certain death" blah, blah, blah." Will says while keeping his eyes on the look out.

-"You reckon?" Blake asks, curiosity and excitement lancing in his tone. Receiving a medal at the age of nineteen would surly be something.

-"I do." Schofield answers, pleasing Blake immensely. He smiles to himself and looks back at Juliana. She sends him a small smile and he nods before looking back ahead.

-"Well, that'd be nice. Since you lost yours." He responds optimistically, although some sorrow was hinted in his voice.

-"You lost yours? I'm sorry Will." Juliana says apologetically. He looks over at her, but his face is somewhat grave and disappointment of losing something can't be seen on it.

-"I didn't lose mine." Will says quietly as they walk along. Blake and Juliana immediately start forming questions in their minds, as they process what he said.

-"What happened to it, then?" Blake inquires innocently. Juliana thought it would be best for her not to say anything at all, unless necessary.

-"Why do you care?" Schofield replies a bit cooly, as if the memory of a piece of tin and ribbon was something he'd wished he forgot forever.

-"Why do you not?" Speaks Blake. Juliana sends him a look, telling him that maybe he should just drop the conversation.

-"I swapped it with a French captain." This answer shocks Blake, and makes Juliana wonder. What could he have swapped a medal for?

-"Swapped it? For what?"

-"Bottle of wine."

-"What did you do that for?"

-"I was thirsty."

-"What a waste."

They go back a forth, and Juliana continues to hold her tongue. She understood Blake's shock, and Will's reasons.

"You should have taken it home with you and given it to your family." Blake says with slight disappointment for Will. Juliana would be lying if she said that she didn't agree with him.

Schofield doesn't reply, but merely looks about him, and at everything but Tom or Juliana. The nurse could tell that he was growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute.

-"Men have died for that." Blake continues, while shaking his head. Juliana now steps forward towards him.

-"Blake I think you should be quiet now." she says softly while looking back at Will. Concern for him grows within her.

This was the moment that she realized that she realized, that these two meant more to her than just keeping them alive.

No sound comes Schofield. Instead he looks down at his boots, his chest heaves up and down, his breathing starting to get thrown off.

"If I got a medal, I'd take it back home, why didn't you just take it home...."

-"Look it's just a bit of bloody tin! It doesn't make you special, it doesn't make any difference to anyone." Will says, his words bit a harsh, and he kept flinching at the sound of the word  "home".

-"Yes it does. And it's not just a bit of tin. It's got a ribbon on it." Blake responds, a bit hurt and feeling guilty.

Juliana hated to see them fight. Blake just crossed a line and Schofield must have been reliving old memories that were the opposite of good.

Will laughs, exasperated. Then he turns to Blake and Juliana, and looks them in the eye. Worry, and pain is etched in his face, and on different circumstances, Juliana would've given him a hug, to let him know that everything would be alright.

-"I hated going home. I hated it. When I knew I couldn't stay. When I knew I had to leave them, and they might never see me...."

He chokes up. Juliana squeezes her eyes shut as she feels tears start to well up in them.

Why am I so darn emotional?

She thought while watching Will try to regain his reserved composure again. Once he had, he walks ahead of the two.

The youngest two of the group watch him. Blake feels horrible, and tells Juliana immediately how he feels.

-"Don't worry Tom. It's just hard for him, that's all." She gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as they follow Schofield, whose heading towards a gate.

Beyond it, is a row of cherry blossoms, they're beautiful, and a sight for eyes. Their white blossoms making light of the pervious conversation.

Lol I wasn't kidding when I said
I would change the cover again......