This is my first time writing Band of Brothers fanfiction, aswell as using an OC so bare with me!

Disclaimer: I do not own Band of Brothers, as much as I wished to. This is based on the characters in the series as they are portrayed in the series and I mean no disrespect to the real characters, whom I respect deeply.

Chapter 1

November 1945, South Philadelphia

The city was in full swing now that the war was officially over. As the soldiers returned from overseas, Philadelphia flourished once again with the hustle and bustle of young people enjoying themselves. It was almost as if the war had never happened. A lie of course, because it still lived on in the hearts and minds of the soldiers and nurses who faced the horrors of war and the citizens who had lost family members to it. But it did not stop people from celebrating, far from it. Everybody needed a boost, something to get them through the day and what better way was there than to get on with life as they had before the war?

She was sure she was only one of the many females who were currently preparing for a night out, searching to fill the empty void that for the past few years had been filled with sadness and fear. Her fingers worked expertly as she pinned a few of her brown locks up with pins, the rest of her hair falling down her shoulders in loose curls. After applying a bit of lipstick to her lips she took a deep breath and checked her appearance in the mirror. She looked decent enough. For once her hair had cooperated, and the small amount of make-up she had applied seemed to make her brown eyes bigger. But the longer she stared at herself in the mirror, the more eager she became to undo her work. It felt wrong to spend half an evening deciding what to wear and dolling herself up when previously she had spend her days taking care of the wounded. Trying to make them as comfortable as possible, trying to keep them alive. After the tumult of the war, she felt uncomfortable to go back to the way things were before. This was in fact her first night out, an idea courtesy of her friend Anna because she spend most of her evenings cooped up in the small apartment they shared. She had thoughtlessly agreed at the time, but now all courage left her. Quite frankly, she was scared as hell to go out there again, as silly as it sounded. How on earth could she pretend that everything was normal? Inside she was screaming, but was she expected to pretend she was okay? However, before she could even act on the idea of not going and started to reach for the pins in her hair, Anna burst into her room as the very picture of excitement.

"All ready to go?" she exclaimed, marching to Emilie's side. "You're not even dressed yet!" she then observed with a frown. Emilie flitted uncomfortably under Anna's gaze as the latter fixed her with a stare. She was quite sure her friend knew exactly what was going through her mind right now, and if there was one thing Emilie knew about Anna, it was that she never gave up once she had something in her mind. Unfortunately for Emilie, that meant going out on this particular night and there was nothing she could do to get out of it.

Coming to this conclusion, Emilie turned around with a sigh and regarded the articles of clothing that she had gathered in a pile on her bed. All the dresses she owned were either horribly old or didn't fit with the image Emilie had in her mind of the dress she wanted to wear. One was too formal, while the other was too casual for her taste. Anna seemed to agree since she tutted her lips in disapproval. Emilie would have been affronted, was it not for the fact that for once she agreed with her friend. Without another word Anna turned on her heels and strode from the room. When she came back, Emilie felt herself smile for the first time that evening as her friend held up a dress of her own. It was a beautiful shade of red and already she was in love with the garment. She took the piece of clothing and slipped it on. Anna helped her tie the black ribbon around her waist and they both stood before the mirror to watch her. It was a nice dress; covering the most crucial parts and not revealing too much, tight around the waist thanks to the ribbon and with a flared skirt to her knees that moved whenever she did. She turned her head to look at Anna. "Will it do?" she asked, surprising even herself with how amused her own voice sounded.

Anna laughed. "This will do just fine!" she said and smiled fondly at her. "Now let's go, or all the good men might just be taken!"

Her feet felt like hell and her cheeks were on fire from the warmth. However, despite everything she was enjoying herself immensely. She had lost track of time a long time ago as she danced with every men that came her way, while also trying to keep an eye out for her mischievous friend. She had failed that task, for she had lost sight of Anna about half an hour ago but Emilie was sure her friend would turn up soon enough and that it was not worth the search. Instead she kept on dancing, laughing as her charming partner twirled her around. She had not expected herself to have so much fun, but she was and she was immensely glad that Anna had dragged her out here.

When at last her throat felt so dry that she could barely utter a word, she bade goodbye to her partner and made her way over to the bar in search of something to drink. With a bit of a struggle she managed to snatch up an empty bar stool, squashed between a couple on her left and a red-haired man on her right who was quietly conversing to his neighbor. She paid no mind to either of them, using all her concentration on trying to catch the barman's attention. That was until a familiar voice caught her attention. She took another glance at the two men to her right then yelped out a surprised "Bill!" as she realized who it was. The redhead glanced up in surprise, his light eyes taking in her appearance before his gaze flitted to his neighbor. The other man looked just as surprised, doing a double take on her before recognition dawned in his eyes.

Quickly, Emilie hopped off her seat and crossed the redhead to reach Bill's side, pure delight filling her being after not having seen him for such a long time. She kissed him on the cheek then took in his appearance, finally noting that he looked good, better than he had looked the last time she saw him. "Wild Bill, it's so good to see you again! You look well," she said, smile widening when he grinned back at her. "You don't like so bad yourself Em," he drawled with his Philly-accent.

Emilie had met Bill Guarnere in the hospital where she had just been stationed after her return from Europe some time before the war was over. She had been granted with the task of helping him with his recovery, making sure to help him get along with his artificial leg as best as possible. Upon their first meeting he had already struck her as a real gentlemen despite his mischievous attitude and for the remainder of his stay in the hospital they had gotten along great.

Emilie was shaken from her thoughts when someone cleared their throat. She glanced up the source of the sound and found that Bill's red-headed friend was looking at the both of them with such a confused face that it nearly made her laugh.

"Em, this is Babe Heffron. He served in Easy Company with me," Bill said with a proud tone in his voice, one that Emilie had also detected in the past every time he talked of Easy Company. "Babe, this is Emilie Roché. She's a nurse in the hospital I stayed at."

"Pleased to meet you," Babe said politely as he shook her outstretched hand. After the quick introduction, Emilie reclaimed her seat next to Babe and waved the barman over while her two companions recounted funny stories. They remained that way for a while, her listening to the two men with the occasional question thrown in while taking sips from her drink. Both Bill and Babe insisted on buying her drinks like the gentlemen they were. Their company was wonderful and the alcohol made her relaxed, all thoughts of war, blood and agony momentarily forgotten as she simply enjoyed herself.

After some time she noticed that Babe's attention was longer on the conversation but on the dancers, his fingers drumming on the wooden surface of the bar to the beat of the music. She felt a pang of disappointment when he silently sprang to his feet, clearly about to leave her and Bill when she was taken by surprise.

"Do you dance, Miss Roché?" he asked with a hopeful smile, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "I sure do," Emilie answered happily as she got to her feet and placed her hand in Babe's, his fingers curling around hers. He led her to the dancefloor after Bill convinced the both of them he was fine on his own for a while. Emilie could just make out Bill's wink when she glanced over her shoulder for a moment.

"I have one condition though," she said when they stopped on the dancefloor, glancing up at Babe's handsome face. "You have to stop calling me Miss Roché. It's either Emilie or a nickname, take your pick," she said. The apprehension in his eyes disappeared as he grinned widely at her.

"Sure thing, I think I can do that," he promised before his fingers curled once again around her own and he started to lead her through the room to the beat of the cheery swing music, immediately proving to her that he was an excellent dancer. His laughter mixing with her own made her heart swell and for the first time since the war was over she felt glad to be alive.

That was it for the first chapter. I haven't seen many post-war fanfictions so I thought I'd give it a shot. You know very little yet about Babe or my OC, but be patient, it'll come. Next chapter will be from Babe's pov.

Review to let me know what you think so far! (: