Beautiful Scars

"They depended on each other. And the world depended on them."- Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Band of Brothers

Rebecca's eyes burnt into her reflection as they traveled the raw scar on her body, the baby blue dress with a V neck showed the world the imperfection. From the tip of her collarbone to the right-hand side of her lower cheekbone, a jagged line met the two places. She had been through most of the war with it. Tonight, the dress left it exposed compared to the greens she usually wore on a daily base. It never bothered her, not that she had a mirror to check her appearance on the front line. She never second guess the scar as her brothers in arms didn't speak out about it, they simply treated her like normal.

She cursed the Germans for the scar, for the lives lost and the war. A weight had been lifted when they finally reached Hitler's nest, there was still a fair chance that Easy Company would be thrown back into the war with Japan in the Pacific.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen once she returned to America. She never thought past the war or the fighting. The heels on her feet gave her a taste of what it would be like back home. After being in army boots for the last few years, her feet were already aching to be on flat ground.

Her eyes traveled up from her feet to her face, the scars. She wasn't so sure about the dance or the image she saw in the reflection. Lipton had found a box of dresses in Hitler's bunker, they just happen to be in her size. She could still remember the smiles and jokes about her being lucky for such a gift and the idea of her dressing up seem to entertain the boys. Now she wished, she had an excuse to put her uniform back on and hide the dress under the bed. The decision on keeping her hair down or up was made once she glanced in the mirror, it helped to cover some her imperfection though not enough to her liking, the brown curls brush against the top of her shoulders, but no further.

Turning away from her haunting image, she grabbed the white shore from the back of the chair and wrapped it around her body like a safety blanket, hiding as much of her right side as she could. Not for the first time that night, she wondered what he would think with it so exposed.

Sweat collected in her palms, she hadn't been this nervous since her first time jumping. She tried to keep her head calm but the sound of the dance was drifting towards her, the music and the laughter of her boys.

She hugged the shore closer to her as she made her final step into the room. It was like any other gathering except the boys made sure their uniforms were clean and ironed, each either had a girl on their arm or counting one.

It wasn't hard to find the men she was looking for - each clean and shaved with a beer in hand, she watched as the usual jokes and pushes went around the group. "Now what is a beautiful lady like yourself doing alone?" A smile reached her lips before she turned to the face of George Luz.

"Lady?"

"Woman." He held his hand out, a small cheeky smirk very present. "Care to dance?"

She let him led her out to the dance floor and watched as a smirk grew on his lips as her body relaxed around him. "You look beautiful Beck." She gave him a tiny smile. Her shore slipped a bit down her arm and Luz didn't even cast a glance to it. "Anyone would think I'm about to propose to you." She frowned at his words as he looked over her shoulder. Luz spun her around and she caught sight of the Irish man watching them closely.

"Maybe he should get the nerve to ask me." Luz raised an eyebrow at her.

"You are in a rush to make babies." A smirk tugged at his lips as Beck pinched him.

"Ask for a dance."

"For a dance." He spun her around again as the song started to come to an end. "I'll get you a beer." Before she could say a word, Luz moved through the crowd towards the bar.

"Can I have this dance?" Beck stilled as she watched Luz flash a smile across the room. "Beck?" A hint of nerves sounded in his voice as he blocked her view of Luz. Answering, she simply placed her hand on his shoulder and the other in his waiting hand.

She took a moment to take in the man in front of her, the smudge of dirt on his cheek and the stubble on chin that she had got use to wasn't present as he spun her in a circle, pulling her body flush against his solid one. He was a changed man, different to the one that first arrived at the barracks with lines now engraved in his face from the experiences of war. "Don."

"I know." She laid her head on his shoulder and breath in the scent that she had become use to over the years together. She couldn't believe they had made it through the long years, she had her doubts at times but he was always there for her and her for him.

He brushed a piece of hair away from her face and leaned his forehead against her own, making her come back to the present away from the scattering memories.

She would have continued to dance with him but the dying notes made them slowly pull apart and make their way towards the loud Easy Company as the next song started up. "Beck you have to help me convince these guys to play a game of darts." George was already getting friendly with some of the boys from A Company, he was up to his old tricks again.

Rebecca turned to the pair of Able Company men, "We'll pair up, you against us." She directed her finger at George and herself. She may have been in the war until the end but men still underestimated her as these men did, they nodded their heads.

"Winner gets a pack of smokes." George added.

"Two packed of smokes." She threw a glance at George, there was no way in hell she was sharing a packet with a chain smoker like him. The men nodded in agreement and the lined up in front of the broad.

George was polite enough to let the Able boys go first and they seemed quite happy with their score as George started on his turn. Usually, it was George that played the left-hander move with the fellas but with Rebecca in the game, he left the acting to their dearest Beck.

"Now Beck, remember to hit the red bullseye." George rolled his eyes with a sarcastic tone while the Able men snorted as she got into position. She lined it up having done the practice multiple times within the year and threw the dart. It was just on the edge of the red circle. She hardly paid attention to the few boys in her company who watched them as she collected her packet of smokes.

She almost missed the words one of the men muttered under his breath, "You'll need your hit with something like that." She tensed up as she followed his eyes to her scar and her fingers tightened around her winning smokes. She was tempted to say something catty back at him but words escaped her mouth as her vulnerability was struck.

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" She was thankful that George had stayed by her side though it seemed to only make the testosterone in the room unbearable.

"Everyone knows that she spreads her legs for Easy Company." She had expected George to throw the punch but Joe Liebgott beat him to it. The two didn't always see eye to eye, Joe could be quite blunt but he didn't stand for someone mouthing a woman, not to mention one that was a part of his Company. Rebecca herself hardly had time to process the fight. It happened so fast, thankfully Lipton along with Speir's was quick to divide them.

The room suddenly felt like she was back at camp, like a piece of meat in a lion's den who had no respect for the other sex. While the guys were trying to settle Liebgott's raging tempter down, she made the escape, knowing that she should have stuck to her instincts and stayed far away from the dance and restless men. Everyone seem to be on edge, looking for something to do with the war over, they weren't needed for anything at the moment which left them aimless in a foreign country.

Once she managed the stairs to the beds, she entered the empty room and collided on the hard mattress letting the tears soak into the pillow. She wanted it to end, she had wanted it to end years ago, now she just wanted the heat of the sun and the sweet roses of her grandmother's garden back home.

Rebecca sucked in a sharp breath at the unexpected feeling of fingers running through her hair. Rolling onto her side, she received a small smile in return for her watery one as he gently laid down on the mattress next to her. She tried searching his face, his soft brown eyes and red hair stuck out in different directions giving her the impression that he had run his hand through it several times before reaching the room. She had no idea how he put up with her crap, the things other company's must say about them because of her involvement in the war or times like these where she let her emotions get a hold of her. "Did I tell you that you look beautiful?" She gave out a disbelieved laugh as he continued to run his fingers through her dark strands. "Every part of you." One thumb brushed the tears away before trailing the scar marked on her face. He leaned forward and placed soft kisses on the raw line, slowly taking his time until he reached her lips. It was sweetness filled with passion as she enjoyed the moment of feeling his lips pressed against hers. It was a promise for what was to come, the future standing side by side.

Authors Note: I don't mean any disrespect to the soldiers who fought the war, simply writing a fan fiction because I enjoyed the TV show so much. And I'm working on a list of the characters and writing one-shots for them if anyone is interested in reading more.

Revised: 18/04/18