A/N: Sorry for being so busy! Okay, so yeah, I am shamelessly addicted to The Pacific as well, so I absolutely had to add these boys in there. Probably going to bring them up again sometime soon because yes. Just yes. 'Dangerous Disguise' was also updated if you want more Gene x Sam nerd fluff! I also have 'Little Red Dress' which is a Sledge x OC fic that you might hate me for. Check it out!

As always, reviews are so appreciated.

This is done purely for fun; I mean absolutely no offense by any of it! I hope no one is offended. I have nothing but the utmost respect for these men.

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Part 6: Boo

Elizabeth Nixon was a well-meaning woman, but she could be a bit overwhelming after a while.

Sam sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day as Lizzie, as she preferred to be called, followed her on her rounds through the ER and prattled on about nonsense. Sam was only half listening as she carefully inspected a little boy who had been brought in with a twisted ankle.

"You'll be fine, sweetheart," she told him as he hiccupped into his mother's shoulder. "We're gonna put some ice on it and wrap it, and you'll feel right as rain in a little while. Can you be a big boy for me and dry those tears?" The boy nodded hesitantly, and Sam smiled, reaching into one of her scrub pockets and pulling out a lollipop from the stash of candy she kept on her for just such occasions. She watched as his face lit up and he took it, before Sam looked to his mother. "I'll send someone in to wrap that ankle right now. Until then…" She stepped over to the counter, reaching up and pulling out an Instant Cold ice pack.

"Here, Lizzie. Press this to his ankle. I'll be right back."

The brunette nodded hesitantly, before doing as she was told, flinching a little when the boy hissed in pain. Sam looked them over once, before stepping quickly out of the bay and sighing. She caught the arm of one of the other nurses, nodding her head to the room behind her. "Can you do me a favor and relieve Lizzie of her burden in there? The kid just sprained his ankle; he needs a cold compress and a good wrap. Make sure you advise his mother on how to look after it." The nurse nodded, and Sam made her way to the nurses' station, dropping off the boy's charts.

He was her last patient for the day, and she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Eugene had gone home an hour earlier, and she couldn't wait to see him. They were supposed to go out for drinks with some of the guys and she planned to meet him at the bar. She'd grown fond of Eugene's 'military family,' as he liked to call them, and had slowly been introduced to more and more of the men from his company until she knew who each one was by sight and name.

"Hey, Sam, um…thanks for entertaining me today."

Sam turned to see Lizzie edging in to stand next to her, for once looking subdued. It wasn't that she didn't like her; Sam just preferred silence when working, or at least, not so much prattle. Elizabeth Nixon was the sister of Lewis Nixon, one of Eugene's captains. Lewis was also the best friend of the commanding officer of Easy, Dick Winters.

Sam had met both men, and she found Dick to be the more agreeable of the two; he was quiet, reserved, and very easy to get along with. And he secretly liked the cheesy romance movies she watched, so they had that in common. She'd even invited him over for a 'shitty movie weekend' with her, and he'd shown up with Lewis Nixon in tow. Lewis had eaten all her cheetohs, but besides that, she had a really nice time with the two and they'd become fairly good friends.

Shrugging, Sam flashed Lizzie a smile as she set the chart down. "No problem, Liz." When the silence stretched on between them, Sam looked up from the last of her paperwork to see Lizzie staring at her with wide eyes, in a gaze that reminded her of lost puppies and her annoying ass brother, Lewis. Oh, God damn it, she wants something from me. "Uh…did you need something else?"

"Well, I was just wondering if I could buy you dinner or something to show my appreciation."

"Not to…sound rude…but I'm already in a committed relationship."

Lizzie sputtered, and then burst into laughter as Sam grinned; she'd only been half serious. The last thing she needed was anyone harboring unnecessary crushes in the workplace. Well, besides Eugene of course.

"No, no. I mean, really. I want to say thank you. I know I can be a bit…much. Lewis tells me I talk too much, and I probably talked your damn ear off today. But I really appreciate you offering to mentor me as I work on my medical license and…Well, yeah. So if you weren't busy, I'd totally love to buy you dinner."

Dinner sounded good. Food, actually, sounded good. But food always sounded good to Sam. She thought for a moment, and then decided that it couldn't hurt to be friendly. "Well, I might take you up on that. I'm going out with my Soulmate and a bunch of men from his company. Your brother might even be there but I dunno; if you'd like to come, you could totally buy me dinner, but only if you let me buy you a drink." Sam winked as Lizzie laughed. "Deal?"

"Sure, Sam! Sounds like a plan."

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The two women stepped into the Currahee Bar & Grill and were immediately assaulted by the smell of delicious food.

None of the men seemed to be here yet, or at least, none that Sam could see, and she'd texted Gene to let him know she was bringing a friend and would meet him at the bar. Neither nurse had changed out of their scrubs, not really worried about their appearance. They'd been in scrubs all day long, and had miraculously managed to keep them clean for once, so they figured they were as good as any other clothes.

"They aren't here yet," Sam informed Lizzie, glancing at the text on her phone that told her the guys were running a little late; she could practically feel Eugene's exasperation in the words, and she smiled faintly, before sticking her phone back in her pocket. "So we might as well get a booth or somethin'. Come on."

She motioned for Lizzie to follow her, and the two women weaved their way through the already pretty sizeable crowd of servicemen and civilians alike. "Looks like the Marines have taken over the place," Lizzie whispered in Sam's ear with a giggle, dodging around a laughing soldier. "Is it always this crowded?"

"Not usually," Sam admitted. They might have a hard time getting a booth, but she managed to spy one that hadn't yet been taken over near the end of the bar. "Come on, hurry!"

The two women quickly slid into the space, laughing as they plopped down on the smooth leather of the bench. "This was lucky," Lizzie commented. "Any idea when the boys will be joining us?"

Sam was spared from answering as one of the regular waitresses, a nice young woman with dark hair who was often the one who took care of Easy company when they were customers, stepped towards their tables. "Hey Sam!" she greeted, and Sam nodded with a smile.

"Lena, how's it goin'?"

"It's good," Lena replied, flipping open her little notebook and cocking a hip. "So, you guys alone tonight? Or will the boys be joinin' you? I take it you aren't going to wait for them to get some food ordered; you look like you just got off a long shift."

"It's like you're a psychic, Lena. I'm starving, and I know Lizzie is too. I'll have a burger and fries, the usual. Coke, please." She glanced at Lizzie as Lena wrote down the order quickly, and the woman nodded.

"I'll take the same."

"Sounds good girls. Be back in a flash with your food. Cokes first?"

"Nah, just with the burgers. We can wait."

"All right, be back soon."

Sam and Lizzie watched her go, before Lizzie turned to Sam excitedly. "So, Lew tells me that this is where you and Eugene sorta had your first real date?"

"If you can call me running out on him after we danced a date, then yeah, sure."

"You ran out on him?"

"It's a long story, Lizzie. But I-" Sam was spared from having to finish answering as their booth suddenly became a little more occupied than it had been before. Two men had slid in with them, one on each side, and effectively blocked them from escaping. Sam's face instantly dropped into a scowl, and the man nearest to her cackled loudly.

"What's with that face, darlin'? You're gonna hurt ol' Snafu's feelin's."

"Oh, I didn't know they let little girls into the Marines," Sam replied, turning to face him and narrowing her eyes. "Why don't the two of you beat it? We're waiting for people to join us and you're taking up their seats."

But the man, whose name was apparently Snafu—what the fuck kind of name was that? —just laughed and took a long drink from his half full cup of beer. "Nah, I think I like where we sittin'. What's your name, darlin'?"

"None of your business."

Lizzie was trying to hold in her giggles with her hand, but they were managing to escape, and the man next to her was grinning as well. He had bright red hair, and a boyish face that was spoiled by the intense look in his eyes. "Wow, ya'll are mean," the red-head commented. "But I guess it's just 'cuz we didn't introduce ourselves." He held out a hand for Lizzie to shake, and she took it with a tentative smile. "That idiot next to your friend there-" He pointed at a lazily grinning Snafu. "-is Merriell Shelton. Just call him Snafu. I'm Eugene Sledge. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Eugene," Lizzie replied, looking smitten.

"Okay, hi, yeah. Very nice to meet you." Sam elbowed the man beside her, Snafu, when he got a little too close. "But really, we are waiting on some people to join us, and they might not if they see you guys sitting here."

"But everywhere else is full," Snafu replied. "An' this booth is mighty comfy. Who you waitin' on anyway? Your boyfriends?"

"No," Lizzie replied. "Some guys from Easy Company; paratroopers."

"Sky trained boys, huh?" Snafu remarked, smirking over the rim of his cup. "What you want them for?"

Sam leaned back in the booth, pinching the bridge of her nose. "For your information, one of them is my Soulmate. And one is her brother."

"You still haven't told us your names," Snafu reminded her, leaning in eagerly.

Sam wrinkled her nose. "If it will make you go away, then you can have them. I'm Sam, that's Lizzie. Now shoo."

"Yo' boy," Snafu continued, as though he hadn't heard. "Where he from?"

"Excuse me?"

"Just curious. Maybe I know him."

"I doubt it."

"I know a lotta people."

"Louisiana."

Snafu blinked, looking as if he'd just been struck by some sort of revelation. "What? You ain't kiddin' are ya?"

Sam folded her arms over her stomach, closing her eyes. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could make them go away with her mind. "I'm not kidding, no. He's from Louisiana. Why? Why is that a thing that is an important thing?"

"Hell, girl, I'm from Louisiana too. Yo' boy a Cajun too?" He clearly meant it as a joke, but when Sam fixed him with a look, his smile faded. "Wait. You tellin' me he actually is a Cajun too? No God damn way."

"Wow," Sledge commented, raising his eyebrows. "That is some serious coincidence right there."

"So…you're from Louisiana?" Sam asked. "And a Cajun? Well, holy shit. I guess that is some serious coincidence." So maybe they weren't such terrible guys; she just didn't like them taking up the booth when they had been saving it for Gene and the guys. "Maybe you know Gene."

"Gene…That name don't sound familiar," Snafu admitted, leaning back in the booth and throwing an arm over Sam's shoulder. "But maybe if we stick aroun' I'll get to meet 'im and then we can see if I know 'im. Whatchoo think, boo?"

"I think you should definitely not put your arm around me if you don't want it broken."

Snafu and the rest of the men laughed, and Lizzie giggled quietly under her breath. "Your boy gon' break it for me, boo?" Snafu taunted, and Sam pinched his hand, watching as he retreated with a yelp, rubbing the abused appendage and shooting her an accusatory look.

"No. I am perfectly capable of breaking it myself, thank you. Listen, you guys are welcome to stay here…I guess. But if you get too close to me, I will scratch your eyes out."

The two man broke into another round of laughter, and out of the corner of her eye, Sam could see that Snafu had gotten comfortable in the booth, leaning back with a contented look on his face. Mentally, she despaired of them going anywhere, and decided that she'd just accept their presence for now. He was way too cozy for her comfort, sitting a little too close and his knee and leg and hip were brushing hers. She scooted closer to Lizzie in response.

Lena broke up the silence that had descended by reappearing with their food and cokes, sliding it towards Sam and Lizzie and shooting the red-haired nurse a sympathetic look as she strolled off. Snafu snagged a fry from Sam's plate, and she instantly fixed him with a death glare that had him pausing before it even reached his mouth.

"No one steals my food," she hissed, curling a possessive arm around her plate. "Do it again, and I'll bite you."

"That a promise, boo?" Snafu asked, leaning forward with a grin as he popped the fry into his mouth.

Beside them, Sledge and Lizzie were rolling their eyes, and Lizzie silently pushed her plate towards him to offer him a fry. The red-haired soldier took one with a grin, watching as the pretty nurse blushed darkly. Sam might be taken, but Lizzie hadn't said she was, so maybe there was hope for him. She was pretty cute, after all.

While Sam was busy guarding her food from Snafu, who was turning stealing a fry from her into a very dangerous game, Lizzie busied herself chatting quietly with Sledge. None of the table's occupants noticed the group of men that walked through the door, eyes scanning over the crowded bar in search of the two women.

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Babe was the first to see them, and he tapped Gene's shoulder, pointing to the booth near the bar.

"Who the fuck are those guys?" George asked, following their line of sight and tilting his head.

"Marines," Toye snorted, sounding incredibly unimpressed. "Marines who don't know their fuckin' place."

"Down boy," Babe laughed, but Gene was silently thinking that he might be inclined to agree with Toye. The two men who were in the booth with Sam and Elizabeth Nixon looked like they were awful close, and trying to get even closer. The one beside Sam kept stealing her fries, and she'd swat angrily at him in a way that reminded Gene of how she ate at home, with him trying to pilfer food from her plate and her very nearly body tackling him to get it back.

"Think we should go kick those two bums outta the booth?" Bill asked, sizing up the two men and deciding that he could probably take them alone if he had to; they didn't look like much to him.

"We might as well be a lil' friendly," Gene drawled, though he was itching to smack that smug smile off the face of the man beside Sam. He told himself he was just being silly, and shook his head, allowing Babe to lead the way towards the booth.

When they reached the booth, he could feel his fellow soldiers fanning out behind him, as though forming some sort of wall that would separate the corner from the rest of the room. Mentally rolling his eyes, Gene cleared his throat, catching the attention of the people at the table. "Hey there, Sam," he greeted, ignoring Babe who waved excitedly.

Gene watched Sam's eyes widen, and she was immediately shoving at the man beside her.

"God damn it," she snapped, brows drawn down over a stormy face. "Get the fuck out of my way, Snafu!"

When the man, Snafu, only laughed and refused to do as she asked, Gene felt his own dark look slide into place. But Sam was quick to remedy the situation by slipping under the table and popping up on the other side right in front of him. She immediately threw her arms around his neck and he responded by snaking his around her waist and pulling her to him, placing a chaste, welcoming kiss on her lips.

"Hey yourself, Gene. What took you guys so long? Wait, wait. Don't tell me." She rolled her eyes to the red-head at Gene's side, and smirked. "Babe was doing his hair?"

"'Ey. Looks like mine take effort and maintenance."

"Yeah, we can't all wake up beautiful, I guess."

"You're a heartless woman, Sam," Babe whined, before Sam wriggled away from Gene to throw her arms around Babe in greeting. Gene took the opportunity to look over the two men at the table discreetly, eyes narrowing on the one who snuck a fry from Sam's plate.

They were normal looking enough, wearing casual military ODs and lounging around on the booth. The one beside Lizzie looked remarkably similar to Babe, but his eyes were far too dark and clouded to be as carefree as the Philadelphian. The other one, the one that made Gene the most uncomfortable, had blue eyes and dark hair, and he watched the activity around him with a sharp gaze and a lazy smirk that the Easy Company medic was definitely not fond of.

"Uh, hi," the red haired Marine greeted the paratroopers, glancing between his buddy and Lizzie. "Hey, sorry we're intruding on your night. I'm Eugene Sledge. That's Merriell Shelton." He pointed to the man across from him. "We can high tail it if you don't want us here, no problem." He seemed genuinely worried that the men would be upset if they stayed, but George Luz slid into the booth beside him, smiling amiably.

"Ah, hell. We ain't bothered by you guys. Besides, if the girls didn't want ya here, Sam would've flipped you over the table by now. So, ya know, congrats on still being alive and everything. I'm George Luz by the way. That's Joe Toye, Bill Guarnere, Babe Heffron, and Eugene Roe."

"I'm gonna go get some beer," Toye grumbled, clearly not sharing George's opinion on the Marines staying at their table. "Bill, come on. I could use a hand."

Bill, who had been silent up until that point, pointedly rolled his eyes over towards Gene, who nodded subtly and shrugged, sliding in to sit behind Shelton and reaching forward to slide Sam's food over to the end of the booth so she could sit next to him. He tried to ignore the look the Marine beside him was shooting him, and patted the booth for Sam to sit down.

"This yo' boo?" Shelton drawled, leaning forward on his elbows as Sam slid into the booth and Babe scooted in beside her. At the familiar drawl and cadence of the man's words, Gene looked at him sharply, eyes suddenly narrowing.

"Yep, this is my Gene," Sam quipped as she motioned to him, and Gene felt a swell of pride in his chest at her introduction; it was much nicer than George's. "Gene, you won't believe it. But Snafu is from Louisiana too, and he's a Cajun."

"That so?" Gene asked, eyeing the man beside him. Maybe he should have made Babe slide into the booth first; he suddenly didn't feel like he wanted to be sitting next to this 'Snafu.'

"It's so," Snafu replied, taking a drink of his beer. "Yo' girl sho is nice; she shared her fries with me an' every'thin."

"More like you pilfered them, you jerk," Sam retorted, taking a bite of her burger. "Want some fries, Gene?"

Gene carefully grabbed a few, considering himself blessed that Sam had actually offered him some of her food, rather than hissing at him and trying to hoard it away. He locked eyes with Snafu as he popped one of the fries into his mouth. "You here on leave or somethin', Snafu?" he asked amiably, but the other man could sense the hostility, and the corners of his mouth quirked up in a wicked smile.

"Sho am. Jus' out to have a lil' fun. Sam here looked like quite the firecracker; most red-heads are, ya know. So the Sledgehammer an' I figured we'd come to talk to 'em. She done proved me right, yeah. You sho is one lucky bastard, Eugene Roe."

Joe and Bill chose that moment to return with drinks, and Sledge took the opportunity to slide out of the booth, nudging George and gesturing meaningfully with his eyes. George nodded quickly, scooting out to let the Marine free and Sledge breathed a sigh of relief; there was no way he was about to break up a God damn brawl just because Snafu wanted to rile up another Cajun and his Soulmate. No fuckin' way. The bonds of brotherhood in battle only went so far. Besides, he'd already gotten Lizzie's number, so he was good.

"Snafu, we should get goin' back to barracks. Bill and Burgy will be wonderin' where we got to. Come on."

Lizzie scooched out of the booth quickly so Snafu could leave, the tension making her move faster than she normally would have. Sam had stopped chewing her burger, lips pressed tightly together as she stared between Eugene and Snafu, who hadn't dropped eye contact since the latter had spoken. Very slowly, still smirking like the devil himself, Snafu slid out of the booth, beer still in hand. Eugene didn't look away, scowl firmly in place as he contemplated how hard he'd have to hit the guy to knock him out with one punch.

"Well, guess yo' right, Sledgehammer. We should get back to barracks." He took one last drink and set his empty beer cup back on the table. "Sho was nice meetin' ya'll. 'Specially you, Sam. Thanks for the fries, the good conversation, and the fun time. I hope we meet again soon." He winked, and edged around Toye, who was glowering as darkly as Gene, ready and probably more willing to punch the cheek out of the way-too-fresh Marine.

Sledge grabbed Snafu's arm and beat a hasty exit, his sense of self-preservation far greater than his friend's. "What the fuck is your problem?" he hissed quietly as they weaved through the crowd. Snafu only chuckled lowly, looking back over his shoulder once at the glaring group of Paratroopers before Sledge dragged him all the way out of the bar.

"Stirrin' the pot," he replied, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. "That's all."

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The car ride home with Gene was a little too tense for Sam's liking.

After the Marines had left, the atmosphere had been pretty well ruined, and Sam had quickly finished her dinner and bid goodbye to the men and Lizzie (who had decided to leave at the same time; she didn't really talk to anyone, and Sam felt bad that she hadn't stayed to introduce her), all but pushing Gene out the bar in front of her. Babe had tried to stop her and ask her what was wrong, but she'd only gestured meaningfully to her Soulmate with her hand, and he'd nodded slowly, muttering that she should "take him home already if he's going to be such a fuckin' wet blanket."

Gene still hadn't said a word, even when they pulled into her driveway and he turned off the SUV. Sam finally sighed, turning in her seat to face him. "Okay," she demanded. "Whatever you wanna say, you better say it. And for the record, you don't need to be pissed off right now."

"I'm not…pissed off," Gene began haltingly, but even Sam could tell he didn't believe his own words.

"You've been acting like a bulled up puppy since Snafu made that stupid comment about me. If it bothered you so much, you should've just punched him and been done with it. He was annoying, but he was harmless. He was probably just trying to get a rise out of you." She made a vague gesture with her hands in the air. "For some reason, you men always like to cause trouble with each other. He was probably playing Alpha Cajun with you."

Sam saw Gene's lips quirk just slightly as he turned to look at her, raising one brow. "Alpha Cajun, huh?" he echoed. Unclipping his belt, he ran a hand through his hair, sighing softly. "Sorry, Sam. I jus' don't like guys like that. Fuckin' assholes who just say things for the sake of being an asshole. His friend seemed okay, but that Snafu fella? I dunno." He shrugged his shoulder. "Maybe he…made me jealous. Maybe. I'm not sayin' he did."

Sam quirked her lips as Gene looked over at her with a pitiful expression, and she reached out and gently tugged on his cheeks, turning them up in a smile, making him sputter with laughter and swat at her hands. "Don't be jelly, Gene."

"Well, he said you gave him some of yo' food. And when I try to get some, ya hiss at me and call me the spawn of Satan."

"I do not!"

"The last time I took some chips off your plate you started yelling dramatically about needing a 'young priest and an old priest' and then flicked soda at me and said 'the power of Christ compels you to give me back my chips!' before you tackled me to the floor and took them back by force."

"…That…might have happened…"

Gene fixed her with a look, and Sam puffed out her cheeks when he laughed. "Sorry, Sam. I won't act like a 'bulled up puppy' no more. I can't promise I won't punch that guy the next time I see him, but eh." He shrugged. "Marines ain't paratroopers."

"Of course they aren't, Gene," Sam replied, blowing the air out of her cheeks and unbuckling her belt. She flung open the car door, stepping out and watching as he did the same, before she dug around in her pocket for her house keys. "You know," she commented, finding her key and holding it up in the porch light. "I'll admit; you are really adorable when you're jealous."

"I think you mean 'manly and intimidating.'"

"I compared you to a puppy, Gene. There is nothing 'manly and intimidating' about you."

Sam had only just gotten the door open when she found herself being scooped up into Gene's arms and carried inside. She squeaked, nearly dropping her key as he kicked the door shut and set her on the island counter that separated the living room from the kitchen beside the front door. "Gene, what the fu-" Her loud shriek of annoyance was cut off by his lips as they came crashing down on hers.

"Okay, wh-what-" Sam tried again, pushing at Gene's shoulders just slightly, but that only succeeded in forcing him to switch from her lips to her neck, and she clamped her mouth shut to muffle the moan that would have escaped as he settled between her legs, hands clamped on her hips.

"I'm attemptin' to change your mind," Gene muttered against her skin, and Sam sucked in a sharp gasp as his breath ghosted over her neck.

"Oh," she murmured, fingers reaching up to find his hair and tearing a groan from his lips. "Then by all means, please, please do."