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.

Carentan, France: 1944

Without hesitation, Eliza left the ditch she was sharing with Blithe and ran towards Third Platoon as someone was shouting for a medic. As she ran, Eliza became worried since the voice of whoever shouted sounded like Liebgott. When she arrived, Eliza saw Liebgott tending to Talbert, who laid against the trunk of a tree, who was immensely in pain.

"What happened?" Eliza questioned, as she quickly went to tend Talbert's wound.

"Smith thought Talbert was a Kraut, so he stabbed him with his bayonet," Liebgott answered, clearing the way as Roe quickly went to Talbert's side.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was him," Smith plead as he stared worryingly at Talbert.

"C' mon Smith, Talbert's gonna be okay, he's in good hands," Liebgott stated to reassure Smith, who was hyperventilating as he was nearing a breakdown. Meanwhile, Eliza carefully ripped away Talbert's clothing to find the wound, which was difficult given their circumstances. When she did, Eliza used the gauze to wipe away the blood and clean the wound while Roe grabbed some sulpha.

"I'll put some sulpha on the wound, Floyd. You're gonna be fine," Roe stated as Talbert moaned in pain. Knowing that contact of the powder with the wound would be tremendously painful, Eliza tried her best to comfort Talbert.

When Roe applied sulpha to his injury, Talbert's moans became louder, gaining the attention of more soldiers. After disinfecting the wound, Eliza used more gauze to control the bleeding as she applied pressure. As he became stabilized, Roe and another paratrooper prepared to evacuate Talbert, since Roe prompted Eliza to stay for her safety. Eliza complied without hesitation since she understood that it wouldn't be best to argue with Roe. As they left, Eliza decided to check on Smith to make sure he was okay. However, she stopped when Lieutenant Speirs walked towards her.

"Lieutenant Speirs," Eliza stated as she nodded to greet him.

"Can you report on what happened?" Speirs started after reciprocating Eliza's greeting.

"Of course sir, Private Smith thought Private Talbert was a German and accidentally stabbed him with his bayonet. Fortunately, Doc Roe and I were able to stabilize him. He was just evacuated."

"The men are getting uneasy, how are you holding up Corporal?" Speirs asked, particularly pointing out her wounds.

"Both my wounds are healing up nicely, but they're sore. Thank you for asking, sir."

"That's good, would you like a cigarette?" Speirs asked as he handed her a box of his Lucky Strikes.

"No, thank you, sir. I don't smoke."

"Huh, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's your poison?"

At Speir's question, Eliza couldn't help but smile sadly as she knew due to their circumstances, many relied on something to get through, such as Nixon with his Vat 69 and the men with their lucky strikes. However, Eliza had a peculiar vice.

"Chocolate."

When Speirs heard Eliza's answer, he couldn't help but smile as it made sense to him. Speirs always saw Eliza eating a piece of chocolate, but he also knew that she wasn't selfish as most people were with their own vices. If Eliza knew a piece of chocolate was going to help someone in any way, she wasn't reluctant to give it away. He saw it first-hand when Eliza was giving out chocolate to the men after capturing Carentan. It was endearing to know that there were hopeful people, even when the world gave nothing to be optimistic about. However, Speirs knew that these people would be the first to be killed. Because for a soldier to survive in a war, one must strip themselves of what makes them human: their mercy, compassion, and contrition. And so as they departed to their separate ways, Speirs couldn't help but feel that if Eliza were to be killed, it would be a damn shame.

Throughout the night, Easy Company settled around the outskirts of Carentan, anticipating the counterattack with dread and trepidation. For most soldiers, a German assault made it challenging to get some rest as they settled in, watching the lines with their weapon in hand, ready to shoot. Not only was fear torturing the paratroopers, but also annoyance as the loud singing of the Germans across made it unbearable for anyone to fall asleep. For Eliza, sleep had not come easy as it did for her fellow foxhole neighbors, even when she desperately needed rest as the previous hours have been harsh. Though Talbert was safely evacuated, Smith's guilt had been eating at him, worried that he had severely injured his fellow paratrooper. Fortunately, Liebgott was able to calm him down a few hours ago, so Smith was sleeping soundly next to him. At least Liebgott and Smith were resting, because it was uncertain if they were going to have another chance to sleep in.

Hours of the night passed by slowly, and Eliza remained wide away, watching the front lines so her fellow paratroopers could rest. Fortunately, Eliza was used to this, from the all-nighters and night shifts she experienced as a nurse. After making sure it was clear, Eliza removed her helmet as the improper sizing was obscuring her vision. However, the moment that she dropped her helmet next to her, it had awoken Liebgott.

"Damn it, sorry for waking you up."

"Nah, it's fine. I was going to wake up anyways, so you can at least catch some sleep."

"Oh, that's okay, Joe. Go back to sleep, I can still keep watch."

"C'mon Liz, you need to rest. I haven't seen you got any ever since we landed in Normandy."

"I'm fine, Joe, I'm used to not getting any sleep."

"Jeez, Liz. For someone's who's a nurse, you're an idiot."

Liebgott's jab at Eliza's intelligence caused her to angrily whisper, "How the fuck am I an idiot?"

With a smirk, Liebgott answered, "Sleep is important; any should person knows this, especially a nurse."

At his mockery, Eliza couldn't help but snatch a small rock near her and throw it at Liebgott.

"Hey, what the fuck was that for?"

"That's for being a smart-ass."

But Liebgott had a point, every since Easy Company had landed on Normandy, Eliza never properly rested. If she had the chance to, Eliza thought there were other important things to do, such as checking up on the men. So reluctantly, Eliza accepted the fact that she needed to sleep, as it would not do any good for Easy's female medic to be sleep-deprived.

"Fine, but wake me up if anything happens."

"Finally. Liz, you're too stubborn for your own damn good."

"I know, but you wouldn't have me any other way."

And she was right, unbeknownst to Eliza, Liebgott couldn't help but smile as he gazed on her slumbering figure. Because even if he had the chance, he wouldn't change anything about her.

The night slowly faded into the bright morning as Easy Company geared up for a counterattack. The tension in the air was thick as the paratroopers anticipated with the dread of another battle to be fought, as it was moments ago that Easy Company acquired Carentan. In each foxhole, soldiers were preparing their weapons while listening to their commanding officers, discussing procedures for the battle. Meanwhile, medics such as Eliza and Roe were rifling through their pouches, making sure they had enough medical equipment for the onslaught of wounded soldiers.

It had been a while since Eliza awoke from her slumber at the crack of dawn. Trading places with Liebgott, who went back to sleep after conceding from another argument that occurred as she refused to sleep more. Once their quarrel had ended and Liebgott had fallen asleep, Eliza returned to the same spot and settled in as she had before. Fortunately, Eliza noticed that Smith remained asleep in his place, without any indications that their disagreements had woken him. Eliza couldn't help but sympathize with what Smith was experiencing, the stress of the situation had become emotionally tiring. It was a feeling that she was familiar with, having to experience death more than the average person. Each passing of a patient or fellow paratrooper had never become easier to cope; their deaths ingrained in her memory, her failures haunting her. Although, Eliza knew that she couldn't dwell on their demise as she would lose herself in grief. It had become difficult to contain her sentiments during the events of Carentan, as each failure punctured her ability to bottle her emotions. Eliza realized that she had to become more resilient in keeping her feelings in check, it would do no good if her judgment was clouded as the survival of others and herself depended on it.

When everything was set, Eliza and Roe settled into the foxhole, waiting in silence. Even though it was discouraged that medics should be near each other, Eliza and Roe took some time to converge, to check on each other's supply of medical equipment. It had become a little habit they had acquired with Spina, as being the medics of Easy Company meant they spent the most time together. During their training, the trio would study together as Eliza was a nurse, had immensely helped Roe and Spina, who had no background in medicine. As they soon entered the war, the medics of Easy Company met to trade supplies if they were running low and couldn't restock. Despite the technical reason for their small meetings, it also became a way to assure they were safe, given the circumstances that with each little meetup could be their last.

To ease her nerves, Eliza reached down into her pouch for a little piece of heaven. To her dismay, Eliza realized that she had run out of chocolate, the remnants consisting only of the paper wrapping that contained the precious sweetened treat. Before joining Roe in his foxhole, Eliza had checked on Smith, to relay that Talbert was safely evacuated and would be fine. After hearing the news, Smith was relieved; however, the emotional toll of what happened was evident as Eliza noted that he stilled seemed to be tired. For a boost, Eliza handed Smith her last supply of chocolate as she knew he needed it more than she did.

Now, Eliza looked into her pouch, checking if some chocolate slipped out and settled at the bottom. With a disappointed sigh, Eliza found no chocolate. Across from her, Roe laid on the dirt of the foxhole, focused on the side of the Germans. However, hearing Eliza's sigh had shifted his attention to the disappointment of her face.

"Why the long face?"

"I ran out of chocolate."

At her response, Roe smiled as he knew how much Eliza loved chocolate. Remembering that he had half a bar of chocolate in his pocket, Roe gave Eliza his remaining supply to her delight. As she accepted the bar of chocolate, Eliza reached into her own pocket and retrieved a box of lucky strikes. Because she didn't smoke, Eliza usually gave it to the men in exchange for chocolate. Lucky strikes were more preferred than chocolate, as the rations were much bitter than the ones back home. Regardless, Eliza favored dark chocolate as it had more richness and flavor than the typical chocolate that most people were partial to.

"Thanks, Gene, it was good doing business with you," Eliza stated as she handed the box of lucky strikes to Roe, who accepted it with gratitude.

However, Eliza wouldn't be able to find solace in the rich taste of chocolate as mortar rained down Easy Company.

A/N:

It's been a while, and I apologize for the very long wait. First and foremost, I would like to appreciate those who have supported La Vie En Rose during my hiatus. I would have thanked you individually in Chapter 11 (Part 2); however, I have lost count, but don't worry, your support is noted. As it has been a long time since I've been active, I feel obligated to give a reason for my absence. I have not been writing La Vie En Rose because I was focusing on my mental health. Over the past year and a few months ago, I was not in the right place mentally because I was experiencing significant changes in my life. To be honest, I am not a person who can adapt with ease, so the divergences have taken a toll on me. However, I am doing better at the moment and learning to accept the changes in my life. This is not an announcement that I will stop writing La Vie En Rose; it is reassurance that I am continuing this story until the end. It is my goal to complete La Vie En Rose and to write more, eventually creating my own novels. If you have read this far, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read this message. With this being said, I will try my best to post frequently.

Best Regards,

Angie