Disclaimer: I own nothing of Band of Brothers and the images I used, just my characters and story. In addition, I meant no disrespect to the real soldiers of Easy Company and I apologize for any mistakes whether it be historical inaccuracies or punctuation/grammar.
Thank you MariaM95, xXFallenSakuraXx52, Grunt Lord Ryan, EriesAston, lyona5, InfinityMars, Sabrina Colt, snoowbunnie,Forgive Me If I Stare, JosieoftheRose, ANIMEFAN426, JuniKitty4427, .Angel27, and halflings for favoring, following, and reviewing!
Aldbourne, England: 1943
After a long ride on the crowded ship, Eliza released a breath of relief since she was able to move freely without bumping into anyone or lose her balance, the moment the ship would sharply pivot. When Eliza first stepped onto the small town of Aldbourne, she was amazed at the breathtaking sight. With its quaint styled cottages and buildings surrounded by evergreen forests and fields, the village immediately captured Eliza's heart. Furthermore, the cold fog that would be ever present was Eliza's favorite weather because it was just like San Francisco.
After gazing at the picturesque town, Eliza was brought back from reverie as she felt someone collide with her shoulder. As she looked, Eliza saw that it was Liebgott. And with a smile, Eliza apologized.
"Got your head stuck in the clouds, again?" Liebgott asked with a smirk.
"I can't help it, Joe, the town is beautiful," Eliza sheepishly answered.
"Well, we better find the homes we're quartering in, what street are ya on?" Liebgott asked.
"Oxford Street. How about you?" Eliza answered as she looked onto the paper that held the address, she would be living in for a year.
"Hey, look at that! We're on the same street," Liebgott replied back as he smiled, glad to live near his friend.
After the duo found the house that Liebgott was assigned, Eliza walked pass a couple more houses until she stopped at a pleasantly cozy cottage with a beautiful garden filled with flowers of many colors surrounding the entrance. Before knocking on the door, Eliza looked at the piece of paper in her hand, to make sure that she was at the right address. Once Eliza saw that she was at the right place, she quickly walked to the door and knocked several times.
"Dear, I'll get the door. It must be the soldier that will reside with us." Behind the closed door, Eliza heard the muffled British voice of a female.
After several minutes of waiting, the door was open by a blonde middle-aged woman. With a stunned expression, she whispered in horror, "Anne."
"Sorry to disturb you Miss, but my name is Eliza Clark. I'm the American soldier that will be quartering in your house," Eliza answered, however, the woman stood still, fixated on Eliza's face.
"Darling is there something wrong?" A man with graying brown hair and green eyes neared the doorway, curious to why his wife was taking so long. As he went to the front door, he saw that his wife was stricken with despair. But when he looked at the soldier, he knew the reason why.
"Hello, I do apologize for my wife's behavior. Please enter, you must be so tired from your journey." The man had gently moved his wife to the side, to allow Eliza to enter.
"Thank you, sir." Eliza entered while hauling her duffle bag onto her shoulder.
"Let me help you with that." The man continued, grabbing her bag and Eliza smiled in gratitude. However, the man sadly smiled back. Meanwhile, his wife had recovered from her daze and spoke to Eliza.
"I apologize for my behavior, while my husband places your things in your room, would you like some tea?" The blonde woman asked as they entered the small living room.
"That would be nice, thank you," Eliza tiredly stated as she sat down, while the blonde woman went to the kitchen to prepare the tea.
"Oh how forgetful we are becoming, you must not know our names. My name is George Watson." Mr. Watson exclaimed as he neared the living room, after fixing Eliza's room.
"And I am Margaret Watson. It's nice to meet you." Mrs. Watson stated as she placed the tea with biscuits on the coffee table.
"The pleasure is also mine, Mr. and Mrs. Watson. These biscuits are delicious." Eliza replied after taking a bite of a biscuit. From her statement, the couple laughed, glad that their baked treats were still delectable even due to rationing.
"I'm glad you enjoyed these biscuits, especially since I am the town's baker." Mr. Watson answered with pride.
"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Watson. Not only for the delicious biscuits but the kind hospitality as well." Eliza voiced after finishing her drink and biscuits.
"It is not a problem at all. However, we should be thanking you for your service as you help us win this damn war," Mrs. Watson sincerely replied.
"Corporal Clark, you must be tired, I'll show you to your room." Mr. Watson stated, as Eliza rose up and smiled her thanks to Mrs. Watson.
As she walked up the stairs, Eliza saw the many pictures of the couple with their children, a blonde-haired boy, and a brown-haired girl who must have now been around Eliza's age. Once they reached her room, it was clear that Eliza was occupying their daughter's room since it was very feminine.
"Oh Mr. Watson, you can simply call me Eliza," Eliza uttered before Mr. Watson left.
"Okay, Eliza. But do call us, if you need anything else." Mr. Watson responded as he descended the stairs.
When Mr. Watson entered the kitchen, he saw his wife cleaning up the dishes. From his presence, Mrs. Watson looked at her husband and with much despair stated, "She's just like her, in appearance and mannerism."
"I know darling," Mr. Watson replied with the same amount of sadness.
When Mr. Watson left, Eliza took a closer inspection of the room. The walls painted with a lovely cream color accenting the antique dark brown furniture. At the corner of the room, was a vanity that held family pictures and cosmetics. When curiosity got the best of her, Eliza sat down on the seat and took a closer look at the photos, in which many consisted of the Watson family all cheerily. However, one particular picture caught Eliza's attention. It was a picture of the Watson's daughter, all grown and wearing her nurse uniform. As Eliza's gazed on the photo, a light bulb had turned on in her mind, as she realized that Mrs. Watson reacted to the way she did earlier was because Eliza looked exactly like her daughter. However, what puzzled Eliza was Mrs. Watson's expression of sorrow. Due to her tiredness, Eliza didn't ponder it further as she needed to place her things away and rest.
After her nap, Eliza looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was 5:30 in the evening. Grudgingly getting up, Eliza fixed her appearance and went down to help Mrs. Watson prepare dinner. As she reached the kitchen, Eliza saw Mrs. Watson busily stirring a pot of stew.
"Do you need any assistance ?" Eliza asked.
"Oh no dear, you're a guest in this house, it would be impolite to ask you to work." Mrs. Watson answered as she added some seasoning.
"I insist, Mrs. Watson. I can help you cut these potatoes."
"Oh, alright. The knife is in the drawer to your right."
After grabbing the knife, Eliza started to peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. As she was chopping, with a sad smile," Pardon for being so straightforward, but you remind me of my daughter, Anne."
"Well, I can tell from her pictures that I look like her. If you don't mind me asking, where is Anne?"
"She is not here with us anymore. My precious Anne was a nurse and decided to help with the patients wounded from the London Blitz. Unfortunately, she died from a bomb explosion, " Mrs. Watson solemnly expressed, as she continued to stir the stew.
"I'm sorry for your lost, Anne was very brave to aid those injured from the bombings," Eliza stated with a smile, while she added the diced potatoes in the stew.
"Thank you for your kind words. It's hard as a parent to see their children leave; I've lost my daughter to the war and my son, George is far from home, in harm's way as he fights in the infantry division."
"I may not know your sufferings as a parent, but I do know how painful it was to lose my mother and to leave my siblings so that I can provide for them as being a medic for this damn war."
"Oh dear, fate has been very cruel to us." Mrs. Watson sadly stated as she patted Eliza's hand in comfort.
And with great revere, the two women in the kitchen understood each other's pain of losing someone as a mother who lost her child and a child who lost her mother.
Several weeks passed by and Eliza was enjoying her stay in Aldbourne. Even though the training was difficult, she gained more knowledge in basic combat, weaponry (in case the need arose), and tactical strategies. In addition to her training as a paratrooper, Eliza also struggled through more lectures and practicals for medic training.
In her spare times, which was mainly in the evenings, Eliza would help Mr. Watson in the bakery by stocking the store with the rationings and prepare the ingredients for baking in the morning. As a reward for her help, Mr. Watson would show Eliza how to bake some of the specialties in the bakery. With the extra muffins, scones, and other baked pastries, Eliza would secretly gift it to the men after training. Meanwhile, Eliza's relationship with Mrs. Watson grew as they shared stories about their family while completing household chores. As Mrs. Watson saw her daughter in Eliza, Eliza grew to see her mother in Mrs. Watson.
In addition to helping in the bakery, Eliza found a beautifully secluded field at the outskirt of town during one of her explorations, which she would spend her time laying in the green grass filled with colorful flowers that bloomed in the cold Aldbourne weather. The field was most beautiful at the rare moments of sunny weather with the sunshine accenting the vibrate colors of the flowers and during the night when the moon and stars would cast a lovely glow onto the field. It was during these moments when Eliza would be able to relax, read the letters her siblings and Jane wrote to her in private, and write back describing in detail how much Aldbourne was a stunning town which she hoped they would have a chance to see.
Since Easy Company's training was advancing, strategic simulations became more common as to place in practice the tactics they've learned from Colonel Sink. Unfortunately, Eliza was currently practicing a simulation with First Platoon which was led by Captain Sobel, who had no idea where he was leading the platoon. Running in an open area of the terrain, Captain Sobel stopped the platoon as they neared a fence.
"Why is there a fence here? There should be no fence here. Tipper!" Sobel shouted with unease.
"Yes, sir?" Private Tipper answered.
"Give me the map." And so, Tipper handed the map, knowing that Sobel had no clue where they were.
"Perconte. Luz. Get the men. Take cover behind those trees!"
"All right, let's go. Move it out, fellas," Luz shouted as First Platoon followed orders and hid behind the trees. Meanwhile, Sobel, Evans, and Tipper were figuring out their next move.
"There should be no... There should be no fence here," Sobel stated as he pointed on the map.
"Uh, we could go over it, sir," Evans suggested as he stared at the map in Sobel's hand.
"Really? That's not the point! Where the goddamn-where the goddamn hell are we?" Sobel continued, shouting and anxiously looking at the map.
As First Platoon was behind the bushes, Eliza and the men knew that Captain Sobel was lost again since it was clear from his distress.
"Perconte?" Sisk asked, gaining Perconte's attention.
"Yeah?" Perconte responded.
"Sobel's lost again, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he's lost."
"Fucking Christ."
"Hey, Luz! Can you do Major Horton?"
At Perconte's request, Eliza gave him a strange look as she pondered why he would ask at such a time like this.
"Does a wild bear crap in the woods, son?" Luz stated while imitating Major Horton.
"Maybe the good major can goose this schmuck, get us moving?" Perconte stated, bringing light to Eliza's question.
"No, no way. I'm not gonna-" Luz answered as the men and Eliza huddled around him.
"Oh yeah! Luz, you gotta! Come on." Muck encouraged, while Luz was contemplating if the benefits outweighed the consequences of his imitation. He looked at Eliza since she was the voice of reason in the company.
"Well, at least it will make Captain Sobel move so we'll be able to catch up with Second Platoon," Eliza stated with a small smile, while the men muttered in agreement.
And at Eliza's response, Luz agreed, "All right, just this once. Shhh!"
"356, 833... Isn't that the intersection?" Sobel muttered as he scanned the map.
"No, sir, it's here. You're a full grid off." Tipper annoyingly answered.
"Goddamnit."
"Is there a problem, Captain Sobel?" Luz exclaimed, perfectly imitating Major Horton.
"Who said that? Who broke silence?"
"I think it's Major Horton, sir."
"Major Horton? What is he, Did he join us?"
"I think, maybe he's moving between the platoons, sir?"
"What is the goddamn hold-up, Mr. Sobel?"
"A fence, sir, a - God! A barbed-wire fence, sir!"
"Oh, that dog just ain't gonna hunt!"
"Shut up!" Luz whispered to the men and Eliza as they laughed loudly.
"Now, you cut that fence and get this goddamn platoon on the move!"
"Yes, sir! "Where are my goddamn wire-cutters?"
As they waited for Captain Sobel to cut the barbed-wire fence, Eliza praised Luz's impression of Major Horton and helping them move, instead of waiting for Sobel like sitting ducks.
"Well, Luz, that might have been one of your finest performance," Eliza expressed with a laugh.
"Of course, Stardust, I am the best after all." Luz smugly stated while tipping his helmet to Eliza, who laughed more.
Meanwhile, Second Platoon waited anxiously for First Platoon to arrive as they hid behind a brick wall covered in vines. As more minutes passed by, Winters decided to move on without First Platoon.
"We have to move," Winters quietly whispered to Lipton.
"Sir, without Captain Sobel and First Platoon?"
"It's a T-intersection, we improvise. Double envelopment, lay down a base of fire to cut the road in all directions, hook right with First Squad. Tell Guarnere to move left with Second. I'll be right in the middle with Third. Go."
After signaling the squads on what to do, Winters and First Platoon moved out of their covers and crossed the concrete path, going into cover within the dark greenery. As Winters traveled along the crossway, he stopped when a gray-haired man got off his bicycle and raised his arms.
"You've done it now, Yanks. You've captured me." The man stated, in which Winters smiled and checked his watch. Not far along, Captain Sobel and Second Platoon ran the opposite track.
"Hi-yo, Silver!" Sobel shouted, alerting Winters and the elder man.
"Would that be the enemy?" The man questioned.
"As a matter of fact, yes," Winters answered and tipped his helmet, while the man smiled at him.
As First Platoon neared Second Platoon, Eliza saw Winters talking to Mr. Wright, who was a regular at the bakery of Mr. Watson. Quickly, Eliza ran to greet them.
"Hello, Mr. Smith and Lieutenant Winters." At her greeting, the pair smiled.
"Hello dear, if it is not a problem, can you tell Mr. Watson that I will visit the bakery later in the day to pick up a delivery."
"Will do sir. It was nice seeing you, Mr. Smith."
"Of course, well I will see you later. And it was nice meeting you, young man. Oh, and Eliza dear, you both would make a lovely couple." Mr. Smith whispered the last part of his sentence to Eliza and rode away smiling from the couple, as he knew the lovely young lady he met from Mr. Watson's bakery would surely blush. However, it wasn't a joke because the look between Eliza and Winters was the same look Mr. Smith had for his wife.
And Mr. Smith had been right when Eliza began to blush, alerting Winters.
"Are you okay, Eliza?" Winters asked
"I'm okay. It must be the cold weather," Eliza lied as she would not tell Winters what Mr. Smith had told her, in any circumstance.
"Well, we better hurry."
And so the pair ran to their respective platoon.
Several days after the tactical stimulation, Eliza was currently helping Mr. Watson carry some flour into the bakery. When her task was complete, Mr. Watson gave Eliza a basket of extra muffins and various pastries from the morning. With the basket in her hands, Eliza made her routine to find the men and give them the delicious treats. As she walked the various roads, Eliza was greeted by many of the people, since most of them were regulars at Mr. Watson's bakery. At first, many of the town folks were surprised that an American female was serving directly in the war. However, as time passed, the people got used to Eliza's friendly demeanor. At the end of a street, Eliza saw some of the men playing basketball. As she neared them, Randleman was the first to notice her and stopped the game, slowly the rest of the men turned their head to see what caused Randleman to end the game. When they saw it was Eliza with a brown basket in her hands, they smiled.
"Hey Stardust, what'cha got in yer hand?"
"Hello Bull, I just got from the bakery, so I have some muffins and pastries that Mr. Watson and I baked."
"You're a godsend, Stardust," Malarkey stated as he and the men ran to grab a baked treat.
"Thanks, Don, but it's mostly Mr. Watson that bakes, so you should all thank him."
At her statement, the men nodded since their filled mouths of delightful pastries hindered them from speaking. Fortunately, the men finished eating their treats and Eliza hid the basket when Sergeant Evans stopped his jeep in front of them. As Evans walked towards Nixon and Winters who were across the street, Eliza picked up her basket and bid the men goodbye. Eliza made her way towards the pair, while Sergeant Evans rode away in his jeep.
"Oh, for crying out loud..." Winters annoyingly muttered under his breath.
"Misspelled court-martial," Nixon pointed out as he red the letter in Winters's hand.
At her statement, the men nodded since their filled mouths of delightful pastries hindered them from speaking. Fortunately, the men finished eating their treats and Eliza hid the basket when Sergeant Evans stopped his jeep in front of them. As Evans walked towards Nixon and Winters who were across the street, Eliza picked up her basket and bid the men goodbye. Eliza made her way towards the pair, while Sergeant Evans rode away in his jeep.
"Oh, for crying out loud..." Winters annoyingly muttered under his breath.
"Misspelled court-martial," Nixon pointed out as he red the letter in Winters's hand.
"Court-Martial?" Eliza worryingly exclaimed, alerting the two men of her presence.
"Captain Sobel is punishing Dick for not completing orders, but he can appeal and request a trial by court-martial," Nixon stated with annoyance.
"That pretentious ass," Eliza muttered angrily. However, both men heard Eliza and smiled as they agreed with her.
"You're going to appeal, right?" Eliza asked Winters since she knew it was the right thing to do, as the red-haired man in front of him was not in any fault.
"Yes."
From Winters's answer, Eliza gave him a reassuring smile and handed him a chocolate croissant as she stated, "Good Luck, Dick."
"Thank You, Eliza."
The news that Winters was working in Battalion Mess, while his trial was under review, spread quickly. From this, Easy Company became anxious since they lost a great leader and left with Captain Sobel, who didn't even know how to read a map. Since their lives depended on their leader, the NCO's of Easy decided to resign, knowing that their punishment would be death.
"So we're going through with this, right?" Grant solemnly expressed to the men around them as they sat on a bench hidden in a barn.
"We gotta do something," Ranney responded.
"Yeah," Lipton and Grant muttered.
"All right. Good. But we all better be clear of the consequences," Lipton whispered as he looked at every NCO sitting on the bench with him.
"I don't care about the consequences." Martin seriously exclaimed.
"John, we could be lined up against a wall and shot. Now, I'm ready to face that. And every one of us had better be too."
After Lipton's statement, the men were alerted to Eliza's presence as she bolted to the front doors, huffing since she ran to find the NCO's.
"I thought it was a rumor, but you're all doing it. Do you idiots know that they'll kill you if you step down?" Eliza angrily exclaimed.
"I will not follow that man into combat." Guarnere firmly stated to Eliza.
"Me neither," Bull continued, affirming every NCO's act of defiance.
"Huh, I guess nothing will stop you. Good luck." Eliza sadly whispered and smiled to each man for their bravery. As she left the NCOs to their own, Eliza prayed that the men wouldn't die for their act of courage.
"All right. Then let's do it." Lipton stated, and so the NCO's wrote their letter of resignations.
Not long after the NCO's submitted their resignation letters, they were called into Colonel Sink's office to await their punishment. Fortunately, Sergeant Ranney was busted down to private, while Sergeant Harries transferred out of Easy Company. The luck of Easy Company continued as Captain Sobel, by orders of Colonel Sink, was reassigned to a parachute school in Chilton Foliat, to train non-combat officers. To replace Captain Sobel was Lieutenant Thomas Meehan of Baker Company, who proved to be a great leader to Easy and was much accepting of Eliza as a female serving in the war.
Unfortunately, luck does not last, as Easy Company was nearing the end of their training at Aldbourne and would soon jump into war. To thank the American soldiers and bid a farewell, the people of Aldbourne decided to throw a celebration in the town's dancing hall, with great drinks and music.
Eliza was preparing for the celebration since the majority of Easy forced her to come. Grudgingly, Eliza was putting on her Class A uniform, when a knock on the door scared her. Calming her nerves and finishing buttoning her white blouse, Eliza opened the door to see Mrs. Watson smiling and holding a white box.
"Oh hello Mrs. Watson, how can I help you?"
"Hello dear, I just wanted to ask if you are going to the dancing hall for the celebration?" Mrs. Watson asked while entering her daughter's room.
"Unfortunately, I am."
"Dear, you don't seem like you want to go."
"I'm not one to party, drink, or dance. But I was forced to by my comrades to join since I've rarely been spending time with them."
"Well, since you're going, I've brought you a dress that you can wear instead of your dreadful uniform."
"Oh thank you, Mrs. Watson, but I cannot wear the dress since I would break protocol."
"This was Anne's favorite dress. She never had the chance to wear it since she was reserving it for a special occasion. It would be splendid if you were able to wear it, especially for the celebration."
Mrs. Watson then removed the cover of the white box and the protective wrapping, revealing a beautiful sage dress covered in delicate white lace. Seeing the dress, reminded Eliza of her mother since she owned something similar, which she frequently would wear when she went out with her father.
"Oh, it's beautiful," Eliza whispered as she gazed at the dress in awe.
"Well, hurry and change into it," Mrs. Watson exclaimed in excitement, while she placed the dress in Eliza's arms and pushed her into the changing screen.
After changing into the dress, Eliza timidly stepped out of the screen and saw in the mirror, how the dress perfectly fitted her. The green lace dress stopped at the mid of her calves, which allowed her to dance the night away without any worries and the bateau neckline flawlessly showed her necklace off. Furthermore, the light shade of sage beautifully accented her green eyes.
"It looks amazing. You must wear it."
"Sadly, I cannot Mrs. Watson, plus I don't want to ruin such a pretty dress."
"Dear, don't worry so much about the rules and no one will notice you since you'll blend right well with the other women."
"Oh, alright."
"Wonderful! Now let's do your hair and makeup."
After getting ready, Eliza entered the dancing hall, crowded with both soldiers and towns folks. Many were dancing to jazz played by the local musicians, while others were chatting or drinking the night away. As she walked around, Eliza spotted some of the men at a table, drinking. At her presence, the men hooted and cheered that she was finally here to celebrate.
"Hey, Eliza's finally here and looking like Rita Hayworth!" Muck exclaimed while the men cheered in agreement.
"Damn right she is!" Luz also declared, causing Eliza to smile and laugh.
"Not that I'm complaining, but why aren't you in uniform?" Guarnere questioned.
"Mrs. Watson insisted that I wear this dress, instead of my uniform for tonight's celebration," Eliza answered as she sat down with the men.
"Well, we have to thank Mrs. Watson that she forced you to wear the dress, but anyway want to dance?" Malarkey asked as he reached for her hand.
"Don, I don't know how to dance," Eliza stated as her face grew red with embarrassment.
"Not a problem, I'll show ya how." And so, Malarkey dragged Eliza to the dance floor, teaching her some moves but telling her that moving to the rhythm of the music was important. After stepping on Malarkey's foot several times, Eliza got the hang of it and continued to dance with the other men of Easy.
Meanwhile across the hall, Winters and Nixon were watching the celebration with great joy, especially for Winters as he saw Eliza wearing a beautiful dress, while she danced her worries away. As Nixon took a sip of his drink, he looked at Winters seeing that his friend had fallen for Eliza.
With a smirk, Nixon asked, "Why don't you ask her for a dance?"
"She's probably tired by now, plus it's already late. I'll see you in the morning."
"Alright, but you just missed an opportunity."
As Winters left the dance hall, Eliza also retired for the night since her feet were aching with all the dancing, she was a tired mess. As she walked in the cold night, Eliza spotted Winters not far along and called out to him.
"Hey, Dick wait up!"
"Hi, Eliza. I thought you were still at the dance hall."
"I was, but I got tired from all the dancing. I didn't notice you were there."
"Oh, I was sitting across with Nix, while he drank."
"Well, since I wasn't able to dance with you, will you accompany me to go somewhere private?"
"Eliza, it's already late. You should be heading home."
"Just this once, Dick."
"Okay."
And that "okay" was all Eliza needed to take Winters's to the outskirt of the town, to her favorite place. When the couple reached the field, Eliza started unclasping her shoes.
"Eliza, what are we doing here?"
"It's my favorite place in this town, and I didn't get a chance to dance with you, so may I have this dance?" Eliza jokingly questioned.
"Of course my lady, but we don't have any music to dance to," Winters responded, joining in on the joke.
"That will not be a problem because I sing better than I dance."
And so, the couple danced under the starlights in the vast field while Eliza sang,
"Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is La Vie En Rose…"
A/N: I apologize again for a long hiatus since I was busy with school. So as a gift for your patience, I've written a long chapter even though I've been easing myself back to writing. Also, I know the English version of La Vie En Rose was released around the 50's. However, I couldn't help but use it as the centralized piece for this story. Fortunately, regular posting schedule (weekly) will resume since it's the summer and I'm not taking any summer classes. Thanks for reading!