Disclaimer: Hi, I own don't any of the franchise of Band of Brothers. I have the utmost respect for the men of Easy Company and all those that have served. I mean no disrespect to those men. This story is for entertainment purposes only and is based only off the portrayal of the actors from the miniseries. Only Anna Cohen and any other original characters that may crop up in this story are mine.

Till the End of the Line

Chapter 1: Embrace the Past

26th December 1941: San Francisco

For three years we had all been hearing the reports coming out of Europe as the war seemingly raged on while we carried on. Many had the opinion that the US should intervene and help our allies defeat the Germans like we had in 1917, others were not so happy if we did decide to get involved. But that all changed nineteen days ago when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, Dad has said this was a turning point in the war, that we could no longer be neutral and he was right.

"You can't be serious?" George my younger brother hissed, I'd decided I was going to do something to help out in the war. When I was eighteen I'd started training as a nurse and I'd never turn back and change a thing about it. Five years later and I was confident and happy in my position as a staff nurse on the general surgery ward at St Francis Memorial Hospital.

"What? I'm a nurse why shouldn't I help the war effort?" I replied I knew he was probably just a bit afraid that if I did go through with this I could end up shipped halfway around the world and he'd never see me again. Granted when he decided to join the Airforce a couple of days ago, I didn't have any objections even though he'd just barely turned eighteen and hadn't even gotten a proper job yet. He'd been doing the odd job for Dad at the garage while taxing me back and forth to the hospital, not that I minded the extra lifts.

"Is this because of Liebgott?" he asked Joe and his family had moved down the street from us when I was about six, and had started hanging around with my older brother David. The two of them would cause all sorts of trouble and more than one time Dad would have to bribe the neighbours so they wouldn't get into so much trouble. Unfortunately David was killed a couple of years after Joe had arrived in the neighbourhood, we'd all been playing around on the street, David had been stood in the middle of the street when a car came speeding down and knocked him down. By the time he'd been taken to the nearest hospital it was too late.

"George I'm not doing this for anybody but myself. Besides you're going off to war, why can't I?" I explained there was no other reason than to help out. If I sat at home and just listened to the amount of casualties and deaths, I'd feel as though I'd have let everyone down.

"Anna this is different."

"How so? Cause you're a man?" I asked the amount of people that didn't think it was a woman's place to be in the war was ridiculous. What did they think was happening in places that were being bombed day in day out? Did they think it didn't affect the women? Most of the men enlisting were enlisting to fight, not to become medics. The war effort needed nurses, needed women to take over the jobs left empty, the war effort needed every able body that they could get.

"Annie…"

"Don't Annie me, look I'm signing up and that's final. There ain't anything you can do about it." I said and I meant it, no matter how many people told me that I wouldn't be cut out for it, or that it was gruesome, I was still going to go and make sure that as many men were returned safely to their families. It was the least I could do, I'd already seen first-hand what it was like to lose a brother and seen how badly it had affected my mother, all I wanted was a chance to make sure that as many mothers were not left without their sons.

"Dad is going to kill me." He muttered I'm not sure exactly why he thought Dad would kill him and not me, maybe he thought it was his responsibility to talk me out of joining since he is the oldest son.

"He ain't, he's actually quite proud, mum on the other hand is not." I replied his brows furrowed if he hadn't been driving I'm sure he'd have had a larger reaction.

"They already know?"

"Yeah they do, why didn't you tell them you were signing up?" I answered I mean it was one thing me telling them that I was just thinking about joining the Army Nurse Corps, but he'd actually signed up for the Airforce and he couldn't take that back now.

"No, I haven't told them yet."

"Oh you're going to be in so much trouble!" I exclaimed even though I knew full well that Dad would probably be incredibly proud of him, I couldn't resist the urge to wind him up.

"If dad is proud of you…"

"To be honest, dad is going to be proud of you. Hell I'm proud of you, mum on the other hand is going to be so upset." I explained he relaxed a bit more, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, maybe he'd been thinking about what they'd say about it all day. Maybe for the entire journey he'd been mulling it over, going over exactly what he was going to say to them. Hell I'd done the same thing when I was telling them I was thinking about signing up.

"Yeah especially if she's sending two kids to war." He added I knew there was a high possibility one or even both of us may not return home, but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind.

"She's still got four other kids to look after."

"True, but still she ain't going to like it either way." He agreed as he pulled into our road before parking right outside our front door. "Finally back home."

"Thanks again for the lift."

"Eh nothing to worry about." He replied as we both exited the car. "You know you could drive yourself if you ever learn how to."

"Yeah I could but I do like looking out at the scenery." I replied it was nice to just sit and watch the world pass by without having to worry about concentrating on the road and making sure you didn't crash into anything.

"And dad doesn't really want you behind the wheel." George added I mean dad wanted us all to be safe and of course driving can be very dangerous, especially if you're not confident.

"Well he took me out once…it didn't go well but I'm sure if he actually taught me I'd be totally fine." The last time dad had taken me out was shortly after George had gotten his license, it was all going fine until I oversteered at one point and nearly ended up crashing into a wall.

"Or you know you'd drive us all into the neighbour's wall." He joked as he slowly started walking up the steps to the front door.

"Hey! I did not drive into a wall."

"You nearly did."

"Whatever." I grumbled as I passed him my front door key as he looked as if he was trouble locating his.

"Besides it would take away your excuse to get lifts off of Joe." He added waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Joe and I were just friends; it was kind of him to offer me lifts to work every now and then before he'd then start his rounds in his taxi.

"He offers I just politely accept."

"Yeah sure, whatever you say. Speaking of the devil, hi Joe." George stopped opening the door and raised a hand in greeting Joe who was just walking up the road behind me. I turned round and greeted him too.

"Did I miss something?" he asked stopping at the bottom of our steps, he would occasionally go out on walks around the neighbourhood after his shifts.

"Nothing." I replied glancing back at George who had a smug look on his face.

"Yeah right."

"Cut it out." I said hitting him on the arm which just served to make him laugh; Joe who was still standing at the bottom of the steps shook his head and chuckled.

"I'm getting inside; mum's cooked up a storm, you joining us Joe?" George asked as he finally stepped inside the house, opening the door wide.

"No I couldn't, I'd feel like I was intruding." He replied stepping back off the steps as if he were about to leave.

"Ah she won't mind." I responded mum always cooked too much food to feed us all and was extremely welcoming if company was brought round, even if she had no prior warning. "She always says the more the merrier."

"You're sure?" he asked stepping back on to the steps, of course she wouldn't mind Joe joining us for dinner. He'd come round many a time when we were kids, he didn't come around as often anymore, but mum wouldn't mind if he joined us tonight.

"Yeah." I replied ushering him to come up to the door, which he finally did. "Besides it's not like we've brought in a complete stranger off the street."

"Do that often?" he asked jokingly.

"No."

"Come on you two, you're letting a draught into the house." George complained from the hallway, I entered the house followed by Joe who closed the door. I took off my coat and scarf hanging them up on the coat stand in the hallway before offering to take Joe's coat.

"Ah Joe will you be joining us?" Mum came out of the dining room; no doubt George had immediately gone into get food and informed her of Joe's arrival.

"If it's not much trouble." He replied as he handed me his coat and scarf to hang up.

"Not at all the more the merrier." She replied smilingly widely and ushering him towards the dining room. I think even if we did bring a stranger off the street to dinner, mum would always welcome them like a long lost friend.

"Thank you Mrs Cohen."

"No need for formalities Joe, Sarah will do fine." Mum said as she let Joe pass by her and into the dining room as I was about to go through she stopped me. "Ah, now Anna go upstairs and wash up. I will not have you eat at the table in work clothes."

"Yes mum." I said begrudgingly as I looked at the table full of food that I'd have to wait a little bit longer to get. I hurriedly ran up the stairs and flung open the door to my bedroom, unclipping my hair out of the bun I'd put it in this morning. I kicked off my work shoes as I grabbed my brush and quickly brushed through the tangles of my curly brown hair. I sighed as I caught a glimpse of what I looked like in the mirror, worn out with hair sticking out in odd directions. My stomach growled and so I opened my wardrobe and grabbed a plain blue dress and a pair of stockings before running to the bathroom to change. I threw on a pair of shoes and once I was happy that I at least looked presentable I ran down the stairs and into the dining room, taking the last seat in between my two younger sisters opposite Joe, who was wedged between my brothers. I helped myself to the food that was on offer and began to tuck in.

"George was just telling us how he's enlisted to the Airforce." Dad started conversing I looked over at George who looked pleased with himself, it must have gone well, even if mum didn't look to happy about it. "And Anna is thinking of joining the Army Nurse Corps aren't you?"

"Yes and I think I definitely will sign up." I replied after swallowing a mouthful of food.

"I can't believe this." Mum sighed dropping her cutlery to her plate; everyone glanced over at her before returning to eating their dinner.

"Well someone has to look out for him over there. If he so much as grazes his knee he thinks he needs to be rushed to A&E." I stated jokingly earning a laugh from everyone at the table except mum and of course George.

"Hey I do not." He whined but in reality it was the truth he was such a drama queen when it came to small injuries and mum made it ten times worse.

"Stop it the pair of you, you're acting worse than children and in front of Joe as well." Mum reprimanded she had yet to pick her cutlery back up and start eating again, the news George had actually enlisted had probably made her sick to her stomach and maybe even a little bit angry.

"Sorry." We both mumbled returning to eating and not saying a word in case it set mum off.

"Joe, are you enlisting?" Dad asked after a minute of two of silence that was just filled with the scraping of cutlery against plates.

"Yes, in fact I've joined the Paratroopers." He replied I looked over at him surprise probably written all over my face. The paratroopers were a completely new section of the armed forces, I'd seen the commercials for enlisting that were played at the cinema or listed in the newspapers. They were meant to jump out of planes and behind enemy lines, completely cut off from help from the other armed units. They were first into the action.

"That's fantastic news, isn't it Sarah." Dad said a smile present on his face clearly very proud of Joe and the rest of us for joining up, even if I hadn't fully enlisted yet.

"Yes David, fantastic news that were sending people off to get killed." Mum replied sarcastically a frown on her face as she placed her napkin on the table. The mood at the table shifted again everyone just glanced at one another not saying a word.

"Sarah." Dad said in a warning tone, the smile had been wiped off of his face at mum's outburst. She couldn't look at him and simply fussed over the baby of our family, my four year old sister, Rose.

"Sorry." She mumbled and that sort of finished the dinner conversation the rest of the meal was pretty much in silence. Dinner finished with everyone leaving the table and moving into the lounge, I helped mum clear the table and wash the dishes.

"You can't be serious can you? Joining the army, Anna you've got a good job here all you need is a good husband." Mum asked as I handed her a clean dish to dry, of course she would bring up marriage. If she'd had her way she would have had me married off at eighteen, but she didn't simply because I'd found my way into my current job.

"Mum…"

"If you go to war you won't find one there." Well I mean she was wrong there, all the young men were off to war surely the odds were stacked that I'd find a husband if I went over with them either to Europe or the war in the Pacific.

"Mum, I ain't going to marry anyone right now." I stated a few nurses in the hospital had been talking about this since war had been declared, how could you marry someone right now if you didn't know whether or not they'd be coming back to you? Sure if you were married to them before all this happened that was different, imagine being newly married and not seeing your husband for months if not years until the war was over, if he managed to make it home.

"Why not? There are plenty of good men that you could meet." She asked as she placed the plate she'd been drying back into the cupboard where it belonged.

"Mum, it ain't about finding a good man. Christ the good men are all going to war and God only knows if all of them will make it back. I got to do something to help them get back here; get back to their lives, their wives, their families." I replied as I let the water drain out of the sink handing her the last clean dish to dry.

"Anna…"

"Sorry to interrupt." Joe had just entered the kitchen holding on to a glass.

"Oh Joe, no need to apologise what do you need?" mum asked a smile replacing the frown she had been wearing for our entire conversation, can't be seen to be moody in front of a guest.

"Just returning this glass." He replied holding up the glass that was in his hand; mum took it from him and passed it to me.

"Ah thank you."

"Ah here you all are I was just thinking a toast is in order." Dad has now joined us in the kitchen, his statement made mum frown instantly and she went for the exit.

"I need to get the kids to bed." She mumbled as she began to exit the room but dad motioned for her to stay.

"After that then dear, we've got to celebrate the moment." He explained smiling at both me and Joe.

"What is there to celebrate David?" she asked clearly all of this was just too much for her, but dad wanted to celebrate and once he had his mind set on something he was going to see it through.

"Sarah it's not every day that our son and daughter are joining the army, not to mention Joe joining the elite Paratroopers." Dad responded at which point Joe went to intervene.

"No need to make a fuss over me, Mr Cohen." He said smiling sheepishly but dad shook his head.

"No, Joe this is an important moment to share, and call me David."

"Fine, after I put the kids to sleep." Mum responded as she finally left to go put the youngest of the Cohen children to bed.

"Great, Anna I'm sure there's a bottle of something around here that we can use." Dad said a bright smile plastered on his face, I opened on of the cupboards that generally hid whatever alcohol dad had stocked and found a bottle wine.

"This do?" I asked holding up the bottle to him I didn't think it was possible that his smile could grow any larger but it did as he accepted the bottle.

"Perfect." He said and with that he went back into the lounge, bottle in hand. "Could you be a dear and bring the glasses."

"Yes Dad." I replied as I opened the cupboard to the glasses and picked out five glasses.

"So you're really enlisting?" Joe asked breaking the silence, I hadn't thought he'd have much of an opinion as to whether I enlisted or I didn't.

"Yeah, and you're really going to throw yourself out of a plane?" I replied joining the Airborne was such a huge deal, a completely new section of the armed forces that would be completely surrounded the enemy when they parachuted behind enemy lines.

"Yeah you know me, always looking for an adventure." He said leaning against the cabinets as I leant back against the sink.

"Yeah right, you're a regular Flash Gordon." I joked earning a chuckle from him.

"Hey you should read them sometime, it's got a great story." He added Flash Gordon was one of, if not the, his favourite comic series. If you go him started on it, he rarely let up and without even reading a single word you would probably already know the full plot line and who said what.

"I think the amount of times you've read excerpts out loud; I already know half the story." I laughed he shook his head though he was still grinning.

"You gotta admit…"

"It's good Joe, I know it's good." I finished for him on the odd occasion that he'd given me a lift to the hospital he'd somehow work in what comic he had read recently or what films were on at the cinema saying he'd love to see the comics make it to the big screen.

"Any man that gets to call you his girl will be a lucky one." He said winking earning him a punch to the arm which he then pretended I'd actually hurt him.

"Don't you start too." I'd had this from mum constantly asking if I'd met any men that could be potential husband material, the girls in work had also been asking since most of them had found someone. I just hadn't had the time to be bothered to truly find someone, not that that was going to change anytime soon since the war started.

"Just saying."

"Yeah, yeah. I ain't got time to find a man."

"Too busy saving the world?" he joked maybe if any of us had a good skill for art we could make a comic of all our adventures. Then maybe Joe could be actual Flash Gordon.

"Damn straight." I laughed even though I meant it, no matter what I was going to go through with whatever training they could throw at me and make it to help the men fight and make it back home safely. I hoped to save as many people as I could possibly save and if I had to help Joe or George at some point I would do my best and make sure the three of us made it home.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything, Dad wants everyone in the lounge for the toast." George said as he came through the kitchen door.

"Alright, grab these glasses for us George." I said as I handed him three of the glasses as Joe and I followed him into the lounger where dad was stood unscrewing the cork out of the wine. Mum was sat on one of the couches a hand massaging her forehead as if she had a bad headache. As we entered dad motioned for her to stand as we formed a small circle George handed mum a glass while keeping a hold of his and dad's, while I handed Joe the second glass in my hand. Once dad had filled each glass he began his little speech.

"This is a momentous occasion that I couldn't be more proud of. All three of you are going to do our country proud." Dad began as everyone stood around with a glass of wine, mum had finally come back from putting the rest of my siblings to bed, she didn't look too pleased but she forced herself to smile, probably for Joe's sake. "Whether it be fighting on the front line or helping those who are wounded, I'm sure each of you will do your best. L'chaim!"

"L'chaim!"

Author's Notes:

I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter, I had originally written a different story completely for a friend a few year back which focused more on Doc Roe, I wasn't very happy with how that story panned out and since deleted it. A few weeks ago I felt the need to rewatch Band of Brothers again and was so happy I did, I'd originally watched it because I was (and still am) a huge fan of Richard Speight Jr. and would watch everything and anything he was in and so instantly loved Skip. Rewatching again and again I couldn't help loving all the lads, and now even though Skip will still be one of my favourites, right up with him is Liebgott. And I just had to write something, so here it is and I hope you enjoy reading it, I'd love any feedback you have so I can improve it in future chapters/rewrites.