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 Enamor1993, SEllis6, Karen Wood, MadmoiselleNemo, and top-shelf-product for following and favoring!
Aldbourne, England: 1944
Eliza was at one of Aldbourne's pub, sitting at a table alone and sipping a glass of beer. She had started frequenting the pub, ordering acholic drinks to be numb. There were times when the pain was uncontrollable that Eliza would just lie down in her bed, crying until there were no more tears. Other times Eliza was emotionally tired that she tried to sleep it off, but nightmares of her father plagued her. Her time at the pub didn't mean that she spent it all on drinking; she only drank when it became unbearable. Ironically, alcohol was the reason her father had gotten into a coma and died; a drunk driver had crashed into his cab. But here she was, drinking because it was better to feel nothing.
Eliza was drinking at the moment because she was writing a series of letters to her siblings and Jane. It had taken all of her strength to complete it, she had been angry that they decided to pull the plug without even consulting her. But as days past by, Eliza understood their reasoning since there was no point in holding on; it was the best course for everyone. While one set of letters was a response, the other letters were if she was killed in action. Back then, in the mess hall, Sergeant Lipton had announced that Easy Company was leaving England to head up to France. Eliza knew that Easy was going back to fight at any notice, so at least these letters were to serve as her final goodbyes since she couldn't be with them in person.
After she wrote the last sentence to her siblings' letters and placed it in an envelope, Eliza gulp the last bit of her beer and was prepared to leave until a group of Easy men called out to get her attention.
"Hey, Stardust, where have you been? Haven't seen you in a while," Guarnere exclaimed as Randleman, Martin, and Private Edward Heffron also chimed their agreement.
The mention of her nickname struck a painful sensation in her chest, especially since it was the beloved nickname that her father used. Among the men, only Randleman had noticed that Eliza's smile had wavered.
"Sorry about that, I haven't been feeling well these past few days. It's good to see you, Private Heffron. How are the men treating you? I hope they're not giving you a hard time," Eliza answered with a slight smirk.
Eliza met Heffron back at the mess hall through Guarnere, acquainted since both men came from Philadelphia. Even when she first met Heffron, Eliza knew how similar he was with Guarnere. So it wasn't a surprise when she discovered that Guarnere took Heffron under his wings.
"I'm fine, ma'am, nothing I can't handle," Heffron replied while Guarnere patted him on the back, while the rest of the men returned to the game of darts between Compton, Luz, and Toye.
"C'mon Stardust, he's one of us! And here, have a drink. Hey, Babe, you better start winning soon, I think your buddies are starting to miss you," Guarnere sarcastically mentioned, handing Eliza a glass of beer, while Heffron returned to the conversation.
"Yeah, they do look kind of sad, don't they?" Heffron commented, taking a sip of beer.
"They're just serious fighting me, that's all," Randleman expressed, joining in the conversation with Martin and patting Eliza's shoulder as a greeting. In return, Eliza grinned at Randlemen and Martin.
"Well, I think I'm gonna go introduce myself. Wanna join me, Stardust?"
Eliza nodded in response, not having introduced herself to the men in Randleman's squad. It would have been rude if she didn't make an effort to make the men feel they were welcomed in Easy Company, just because they weren't Toccoa men. However, gazing at the new recruits, Eliza couldn't help but feel dismal, as the presence of the men meant the replacements of friends that were killed in battle. It made her wonder who would be her replacement if she were to die.
Eliza's reverie was interrupted when Randleman joked, "Careful what you saw now. Don't take much to set my guys off."
While Eliza and Guarnere were making their way to the table the men were sitting at, Martin answered, "Yeah, and you got some wild-eyed killers right there, Bull," earning waves of laughter from the men.
When Eliza and Guarnere sat down, the men had stopped their conversation and focused their attention on the pair.
"Hey fellas, what do you hear? What do you say?" Guarnere declared taking a seat, while Eliza smiled at the men.
"Actually, that's Babe's seat, Private Heffron's," the paratrooper to their right answered.
"Is that right? I don't care if it's fucking Eisenhower's."
At Guarnere's response, Eliza rolled her eyes, knowing that it was to assert his dominance over the men, not just based on his rank, but also on the way he carried himself. Eliza was correct as the men looked taken aback and a loss at words.
Guarnere looked at the paratrooper to their left and asked, "Who are you?"
"Private Miller, James Miller. I'm in Sergeant Randleman's squad."
"Us too, I'm Les Hashey."
"Tony..."
"Garcia, I know who you are. Old Gonorrhea don't miss nothing."
When Guarnere took a sip of his beer, Eliza thought that it was the best time to introduce herself.
"Well it's nice to meet you all, I'm Corporal Eliza Clark. But you can call me Eliza or Stardust, it's a nickname the company calls me, better than Gonorrhea. Don't you think?"
The men smiled, afraid that laughing would aggress Guarnere.
Eliza noticed that the men were tense, so she joked, "No need to fear Gonorrhea here, behind all the tough act, he's quite a softie, especially with Heffron."
"I'm just hanging out with the guy, doesn't mean I'm a softie."
"No need to deny it, Gonorrhea."
"I ain't denying anything, Stardust. I'm just showing the kid around, so he ain't a lost duck."
"You say so yourself, but the evidence speaks for itself."
"What evidence you talkin' about? What am I now, a criminal?"
The friendly contention between Eliza and Guarnere eased the men, evident from their laughter and smiles. They were thankful that Eliza had been nonchalance; she made them welcomed in the company. It was hard joining in much later when the men had already established their worth.
"All jokes aside, Easy company is the best one out there, so you're in good hands. You would want a comrade like Gonorrhea next to you when the guns are firing at you," Eliza mentioned, taking another sip of her drink and earning a wink from Guarnere.
"Now you boys be good to Stardust, she's one hell of a medic. No one better to patch you up when a kraut's bullet gets ya."
Although she was surprised by Guarnere's compliment, Eliza felt honored that she was being acknowledged for her contributions to the war effort. It was typical that medics were overlooked for their work since they weren't the ones shooting at the enemies. But in the past few days, Eliza had been overthinking her performance as a medic. It was hard not to think if she was quicker or smarter enough, Eliza wouldn't have so much blood on her hands. Added with the fact that her father passed away, she was slowly losing her sanity. The only thing that kept Eliza going through the pain was people desperately depended on her.
After their pleasantries, Eliza and Guarnere continued their conversations with Hashey, Garcia, and Miller to get to know the new recruits of Easy Company. It had gotten to the point that they listened to Guarnere telling the story on how Heffron received a "Dear John" letter by a broad named Doris, the same name of a pinup that was plastered on the plane.
At the end of his story, Guarnere turned to Randleman and exclaimed, "Hey Bull, your squad listens up real good."
"Yeah, they're being polite like whenever Bull opens his mouth," Martin replied, joining Randleman and Heffron at his side.
"Johnny, what are you saying? Bull's boys are just humoring him?"
"Yeah, like whenever he gives out some of his folksy wisdom from back down on the farm."
"Probably think he's a fucking hayseed. Ain't that right?"
Guarnere's banter with Martin resulted in the men laughing. However, Eliza had been quick to defend Randleman as she interjected, "C'mon, nothing wrong with Bull's wisdom, especially since you all need it."
"Hell, this is why you're my favorite, Stardust," Randleman uttered before taking a puff of his cigar.
"Right back at you, Bull," Eliza replied, winking at him, while the men exclaimed or grunted their disagreements.
After the ruckus, Guarnere turned towards the new recruits stating amidst the noise, "Now you new boys, you pay attention to Sergeant Randleman. Got that? That's the smartest man in the company."
In response to Guarnere, each new recruit nodded their head.
"It's true, glad to know that Bull's wisdom finally got through you. On that note, I have to get going, need to help Mr. Watson at the bakery. It was nice meeting you all, and if you have time, come visit for some baked goods. It's down the street from here," Eliza stated with a small smile, getting up from her seat to leave and Guarnere joining her in leaving the table to join another group of men in the game of darts.
As she walked past several of the men to the exit, Randleman caught Eliza's arm to stop her, whispering, "Hey, you okay? Seemed like you were out of it?"
"Oh, hey Bull, I'm fine, just probably drank too much. You know I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol."
"It ain't that, there's somethin' else bothering ya?"
Eliza smirked, knowing that out of all the men to notice, it would have been Randleman.
"It's most likely that I was sick for a couple of days, so it's nothing to worry about."
Randleman knew that it wasn't because she was slightly drunk or recovering from a cold, but knowing how Eliza was, he didn't press her to disclose her issues.
"Alright, but the men are worried about ya. Don't be a stranger now."
"I won't, I'll see you later, Bull."
Walking out of the pub, Eliza released a deep sigh, as it was challenging to keep up a cheery facade. It had been a nice distraction to spend time with the men. But all good things come to an end, the numbness was gone and replaced with the sadness she desperately tried to run away from. Fortunately, she was able to last that long since it was painful to hear them use her nickname, knowing that she would never hear it again from her father.
And so, Eliza walked away from the pub to Mr. Watson's bakery. For at least just a moment, Eliza would not have to dwell in her anguish.
It had been several days since Easy Company had moved out of Aldbourne to an airfield in preparation for their jump into Holland. Currently, Eliza was counting off her medical supplies and placing them into her pouches. It was a bright and sunny day, a vast difference from when she was at Upottery with the dark gray sky and howling wind that postponed their jump. Finishing to pack up the rest of her equipment, Eliza took a moment to sit on the grass and removed the clasp of her necklace, just to take her mind out of the jump. It wasn't that Eliza was a nervous wreck such as before, but she was still apprehensive.
The mission Easy Company was jumping into was Operation Market Garden, which was more significant than D-Day. Easy's goal was to liberate Eidenhoven from German forces. Doing so would allow the Allied objective to take roads between Eidenhoven and Arnhem so that the British armored divisions could move into Arnhem. During the rundown of this operation, Nixon revealed if it were to succeed, the tanks could go into Germany and end the war by Christmas.
Staring at her necklace, reminded Eliza that she needed to return back to her siblings. It was enough that they lost their father, but to lose their oldest sister in the same period would be tremendously agonizing. Furthermore, they would lose their home and be sent to their wretched grandmother, who lived across the nation in New York. Eliza's mother, Lillian, had mentioned her grandmother several times when she was alive. Yet, Lillian never gave any other information about her. Eliza had only encountered her grandmother twice. The first time was at her mother's funeral; across a distance from her mother's grave, Eliza spotted an elderly woman wearing an expensive black dress and her blonde hair nearing gray pinned into a neat updo staring at them. When Eliza met the woman's eyes, she saw the same green eyes as her mother and herself.
The second time she saw her grandmother was when Eliza was coming home back from work. As she walked the familiar path, Eliza saw a black car parked at the front of her apartment. Curiosity getting the best of her, Eliza stopped in tracks and observed the car, wondering why it was parked in front of her home.
Her curiosity would be satisfied as the same woman from her mother's funeral walked to her and, with those green eyes, looked Eliza from head to toe.
"Just like your mother," The woman remarked with a barely noticeable smile.
But before Eliza had any time to react, the woman walked away and into the black car, driving away never to be seen by Eliza ever again.
As Eliza entered the apartment, she saw her father, John, sitting at the kitchen table, looking distressed. Realizing that the woman was the cause for her father's agitation, Eliza sat at the table and provoked her father, to tell the truth. The woman had been Elizabeth Jones, Eliza's maternal grandmother. She had confronted John, threatening to take the children away as she thought it was the best for her grandchildren to live with her. Nevertheless, John refused Elizabeth to take his children, as she disowned Lillian after escaping to live her own life, not wanting to be in a loveless marriage to whatever rich bachelor her mother chose.
Not wanting to linger in her thoughts anymore, Eliza clasped the necklace back to its rightful place and began strapping the buckles of her parachute. However, before Eliza would finish, a familiar voice that she never imagined hearing again called out her name.
A/N: Hi all, please check out my Wattpad account as I post updates on the story there. Hope you enjoy this chapter!