"Golden Gate Park"

Author: carmen_085

Disclaimer: I don't own any Band of Brothers characters. All original characters in this belong to me

Summary: He stared down at the dark, swirling water under the bridge. A step up and over…and a push off the railing is all it would take. Closing his eyes he swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat. No matter what, they were always there. The men who lived, the men who died, and her…always her. ( Liebgott X OC with an ensemble storyline)

Author's Note: I do no own any Band of Brothers characters and this story is based on the mini-series and not any real life individuals. I started this story last year but looking back I wanted to re-write it with more detail, same initial storyline but hopefully more developed. Thank you for your time and please leave a review!

Chapter Two

San Francisco

November 1945

The pier was deserted this time of night as he walked and smoked. Cold droplets of salt water clung to his dark hair as he pulled the collar of his jacket up higher. A normal person would be inside someplace warm right now. He wasn't normal though, and most days he hardly felt like a person. A street car rumbled to a stop as a woman in a nurse's uniform got off, her dark hair pinned into a bun a navy blue cape covering her white dress. He stopped, inhaled sharply and then she turned around.

It wasn't her.

Exhaling his lungs burned as he shook it off; one foot in front of the other. His fingers were numb as he reached into his coat producing a silver flask. Cigarettes weren't cutting it. He needed more; he needed to forget.

Forget the War. Forget the men. And forget her.

God…nobody said it was going to be like this when he got back. The bourbon cut away at the bile in the back of his throat. This was it; a cold night alone with nothing but booze and smokes for company. This was his big prize for surviving the war. A whole lot of fucking nothing.

Bending down to shield his light he felt someone bump into his left side. Hard. The unlit cigarette fell out of his mouth into the gutter. Who the fuck? A large man in a suit and gray wool overcoat; a Nazi Commandant look a like if anyone was asking him. Nobody was asking him but still.

"Watch where you're going you prick!" Droplets of moisture shook free from his dark locks of hair. The man turned around barely acknowledging him.

"Piss off you lousy drunk." He felt anger begin to boil. Before he could think about it he charged toward the man. Putting himself between the stranger and his destination; Joe got in his face.

"I'm a paratrooper you piece of shit…what did you ever do?" The man's eyes narrowed as a smirk came to his face. For a moment he seemed like he found this all amusing…entertaining, and that he was going to tolerate it. Just for a moment. In the next moment Joe felt a fist connect with his face as he stumbled backwards onto the sidewalk.

"Nobody gives a shit about what you did over there….Go to hell." His wet footsteps faded as Joe pushed himself off the ground on shaky legs. He was angry, he needed to hit something….to destroy something. It had been so easy over there, revenge, and so instantaneous. He had to be civilized now…controlled. The problem was the bourbon made him care less and less. Within seconds a metal trash can was rolling in the street as Joe shook out the lingering ache in his upper back. A few people stared at him, no one said a thing. He walked on, pulling another smoke from jacket.

There was a time when being a paratrooper meant something. It meant everything actually. They were the best of the best; special forces before the Army even knew there was such a thing. They would have done anything to get those jump wings and sometimes it felt like they did.

Camp Toccoa

July 1942

"Whoah fellas you gotta check this out…" Perconte pressed his nose to the screen window of the bunk house. His eyes roved over the parade grounds not quite believing what he was seeing.

Guarnere came to stand beside the short Italian squinting at the sight himself. "Is that a broad?" Their attention piqued, the rest of the guys crowded around eager to see for themselves.

On his bed Joe resisted the urge to gawk as he lit another cigarette. One good thing about being in the Army; they kept everyone supplied with smokes.

"Holy shit….they're letting women in now?" Malarkey shook his head in disbelief as his close friend Skip Muck came to lean next to him. Everyone liked Skip in the company; he was thoughtful, kind, and tough as nails. But he was also quiet and mature beyond his years. His old man had run out on the them when he was young, leaving him to see to his mother and sisters. It was hard…really hard.

The figure on the parade grounds turned and from that angle you could most definitely tell it was a woman. The men began hooting and groaning. Guarnere shook his head as he pushed off the window frame.

"If they think I'm going to war with some broad they got another thing coming…" Skip's eyes flicked to him before looking back out the widow. "Probably got here on her back anyway…" Guarnere flopped back onto the bed as he let out a disgusted sigh. Muck winced slightly at the connotation as he looked at the floor.

Like most young men, he and his friends could get rowdy. When women weren't around guys pretty much said anything, and he too was guilty of a few shameless catcalls. That was until the night Teresa, his youngest sister, came home with her shirt ripped, hysterical and bleeding. A group of boys from her school had attacked her, held her down, and tried to do worse. She fought them off, though, and ran all the way home. Skip saw red that day; tracked down all those bastards and gave them a beating they wouldn't soon forget. Nobody put their hands on his sister. Later he would find out that that whole mess started with catcalls and crude jokes at the lunch table. From that day on he never said another derogatory word about a woman. He knew all too well how easily words could become actions.

Stamping his cigarette out, Liebgott spared a glance at Guarnere muttering angrily on his bed before standing up and stretching. It was barely dawn and these fools were out of bed an hour early to gawk at some broad on the parade grounds. Malarkey and a few others were still oogling the sight of her as Muck had gone quietly back to his rack. He noticed that about Skip; he never participated in the raunchy discussions that were often commonplace in a group of young men. To each their own he supposed; for the most part he also didn't feel the need to get in on the immature antics of Luz, Malarkey, and a few others. A lot of the guys had never left home until now, never been aware from their mothers, never even had a job; Joe was a little different. He'd been out in the world and he'd seen how shitty it can be.

The door to the cabin slammed open as Joe felt his heart sink. Great…these fuck heads had done it now.

"TEN HUT!" Everyone snapped to attention as Sgt Evans stepped into the building, arms crossed, eye narrowed. Liebgott's eyes quickly flicked to the side, Sobel's henchman…beautiful. "Since everyone seems to be awake at 0500 we might as well get an early start to the day." Joe narrowed his eyes across the room at Perconte. Why couldn't he have just kept his big mouth shut? "Don your PT gear…we're running Currahee." The room was silent as Evans paused for a moment giving them all a hard look. Without any further ado he turned and left, slamming the door behind him. The minute he was gone a chorus of groans echoed with a few flying objects directed toward the short Italian.

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, huh?" Martin tossed Perconte a dirty look as he roughly yanked a t-shirt over his head.

"If a broad is joining the company you fellas don't want to know about it ?" Frank shook his head in disbelief.

"Aint no broad going to make it…we'll make sure of that." Joe Toye pushed past the men, his voice low and threatening. Liebgott threw a glance at him through locks of dark hair. Pulling his boots on he reasoned he didn't really care one way or another about some woman trying to join up. He didn't want to care about her or anyone else here if he could help it. He knew exactly what caring about someone and losing them got you…a whole bunch of nothing.

Lucy stood on the parade grounds ramrod straight as the sun began to lift above the horizon. Sobel said he would be here at 0500 sharp; so she made sure she was here at 0430. She didn't have a watch on but she reasoned that it was at least 0530 by the amount of daylight. Her pack was secured to her back; she had gone through every piece of it and had meticulous packed it last night- once, twice, and then three times before she was satisfied. She didn't know what Sobel had in store for her today and she almost loathed to find out. Whatever it was she was sure that it would be designed to break her. Closing her eyes for a moment she took a deep breath.

If I can take it, I can make it

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other she became aware of voices behind her. She had been hearing whispers for at least a half hour now but didn't dare turn to see where it was coming from. A cabin door slammed open and closed and suddenly there were heavy footsteps coming toward her but still she didn't move. Lucy wasn't stupid, everything was going to be a test here; there would be no down time…no time to relax. Their desire to get rid of her would mean that she would need to be on guard 24/7.

Instead of taking the dirt path to Currahee, Evans led them right across the parade grounds. Right past her. It was no accident and everyone knew it. Widening her stance, Lucy had a terrible feeling about what was coming. One shoulder and then another and another. She jostled side to side but somehow remained on her feet. She didn't look at them although nearly all of them turned to stare at her. Taunting smirks on their faces , she tried to remain impassive and blank. She wasn't sure which one did it but out of nowhere she suddenly felt herself propelled forward onto her knees, her hands landing roughly on the hard earth. Seeing the opportunity to pour salt into a wound, she felt a foot connect with her back side as she sprawled face first onto the grass.

They continued to move around her as she exhaled into the grass. Her face burned with humiliation as she quickly attempted to recover. From the rear Joe saw Toye and Guarnere push her over as he averted his gaze. He wanted nothing to do with her…nothing to do with any of this. Still curiosity got the better of him as he passed her his eyes flicked to the side. She was on her knees now dusting herself off as she looked up and their eyes met.

Gray eyes that looked right through him.

Joe felt his heart clench in his chest. He stopped running for a moment his legs forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. He couldn't think. He felt lightheaded.

She stared at him and he stared right back.

Lucy felt her stomach flip and her throat tighten. Her knees ached from being shoved to the ground but she didn't feel anything. Her mind went blank.

Muck stopped running as the rest of the Company continued on ahead toward Currahee. Sparing a glance toward Joe, who seemed to have suddenly slipped into a coma, Skip turned his attention to the girl. Before he could think about it, he jammed his hand under her arm and began to help her up.

"Are you…." Before he could say the word OK. Sobel came storming toward them.

"GET AWAY FROM HER !" Skip jumped back like he had been stung. Lucy felt her heart lurch into her throat as she scrambled to her feet. Her gray eyes stared straight ahead as she swallowed hard. Within a second Sobel was in her face, his hot breath tickled her nose as she shuddered imperceptibly. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO LOOKING AT? FALL OUT !"

Muck started moving not wanted to bring anymore misery on the girl or himself but Joe stood there looking between her and Sobel. Lucy could feel him staring at the side of her face but she didn't look. Sobel's attention on the other immediately swept to Joe as he took a lunging step toward him. "I SAID MOVE OUT!" Joe blinked, shook his head head and began to jog after Skip. What the hell had just happened to him?

Sobel, finally satisfied, turned his vitriol back to Lucy. "Private Bennett why are your ODs dirty? Did I not say to meet me on the parade grounds at 0500 sharp and to be ready? You don't look ready to me."

Lucy swallowed hard. No matter how much she prepared, it didn't really matter. Shit was just going to happen. "No excuse sir." Her eyes wandered to the column of men disappearing up the mountain.

Sobel sighed like he had just been validated. That this was a mistake and now because of her and her dirty ODs everyone knew it. Shaking his head his eyes narrowed at her once more. "Drop and give me thirty." Lucy doubted that she could do the task but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. Moving to take her pack off she knelt down. "I didn't say to take the pack off, Bennett." Sobel clicked his tongue. "Make that forty."

Swallowing hard, Lucy shouldered her pack once more and assumed the position. Up…down…Up..down. All she focused on was the grass moving closer and father from her face. Her arms began to shake after twenty; the fifteen pounds on her back not helping much. Up…down…Up…down. She made it to thirty but just barely. Taking a moment in the full upright position she took a deep breath.

"I DID NOT SAY TAKE A BREAK !" Sobel squatted down next to her so that his voice was the only one she could hear. "Feeling weak Private ?Maybe you should give up now…." Up…down…Up…down. "We both know you don't belong here…just put your dress on and go back home…." Sweat rolled off her nose and down her lip as she licked the salt away. Five more. They couldn't stop her if she did the work. "Just quit now….take your little strap and go home." The tourniquet was not a little strap. She was pissed now. Three more. Up…down…Up…down. Lucy finished the last push up and quickly scrambled to her feet. Her heart was pounding as her arms trembled at her sides.

For his part Sobel showed no emotion at her accomplishment. "Let's go !" Without telling her what was coming next he drug her over the obstacle course. Most of the barracks were now up as a small crowd had gathered near the mess hall to watch her effort. Her own company had already taken off up the mountain after pushing her into the dirt of course. Pulling a stop watch from his pocket Sobel made a grand gesture of the fact that the course was timed and he doubted that she would be able to do it. Letting the pack slide from her back Lucy took a deep breath.

"GO!" There was no instruction, no warning; he didn't even tell her what the time limit was. So she took off moving as quickly as she could to negotiate the obstacles. Lucy was no weak woman; her work as a medic in San Francisco has prepared her for more than just baking a cake. Still she wasn't as strong as the men and Sobel knew it taunting her as she reached the six foot wall.

One try…she missed the top. Two tries….she bounced off the bottom of the wall. Somewhere behind her she heard laughing as a group of men pointed hooting at her failed attempts. On the third try she was up and over, albeit rather ungracefully as she hit the ground with a thud.

"Private Bennett you are two minutes slower than the men….that might be good enough for the Women's Auxiliary but that is not good enough to be in the Paratroopers… COME ON!" Ducking under the barbed wire she rolled through whatever shit they threw in there to gross mama's baby boy out. Well, fuck they would need to try a lot harder for her. The next obstacle was a deep water pool they had built to suss out any pansies who were afraid of water. Sure, this wasn't the Navy but there was no telling where you might land. Lucy smiled when she saw it jumping in without hesitation, she was a good swimmer…a great swimmer actually. Blazing through the water she made up considerable time despite the one size too big ODs dragging her down. "Wow Bennett maybe you should have joined the Navy…we'll be happy to send you over to them Private !" Seemed like a compliment…or as close as she would get to one with Sobel. Another wall, this time she made it up and over in one try despite the soaking layers of material hanging off of her. Feeling a surge of confidence she bounded to the finish line in five minutes and thirty seconds. Sobel clicked the watch as he stared down his pointed nose at her.

"That's three minutes slower than the men do it…"She stood at attention before him, water dripped off her hair and down her face. "You've got a long….LONG way to go. Get your pack…we're running Currahee."

Lucy didn't know much but she knew that Currahee was the mountain at the edge of the camp. Three miles up…three miles down. She swallowed hard as she shouldered her pack. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ? LET'S GO!" She began to run as fast as her legs would move; her wet feet sloshing in her boots. Lucy kept a decent pace until she hit the incline of the mountain and then it took all she had to keep her feet moving at all. She kept her eyes straight ahead and the only thing she focused on was putting one foot in front of the other. For his part Sobel harangued her every step of the way making sure she knew how pathetic she was.

About halfway up the mountain, her pace slowed to a fast walk, she began to hear footsteps coming toward her. Easy Company appeared around the bend, the men looking tired but easily maintaining a run in perfect formation. Keeping her head down she readied herself for the jeering.

One rough shoulder and then another and another. Stumbling she refused to go to the ground again as she continued chugging slowly up the mountain. From the back of the pack Joe watched as a few of the guys ran into her on purpose as they snickered to themselves. She was soaking wet, her hair was matted to her face, and sweat was rolling off her nose but she was still moving. Averting his eyes to the back of Christenson's head he took deep breath. He needed to get a grip. Turning, he stole one more glance before she disappeared out of sight. His heart squeezed painfully. Christ…he'd a girl or two back home but never anything like this. No woman had ever made him feel anything…much less anything physically…just at the sight of her. Sucking in a gulp of air he shook his head; what the hell was happening?

The top of Currahee was met with little fanfare as Lucy touched the rock and barely had time to catch her breath before Sobel was in her face about the whole affair taking thirty three minutes. Pathetic…ridiculous…embarrassing; she had no business being in the paratroopers or the Army at all. She stood silently on shaking legs and took his ridicule. She had noticed that neither Sobel nor any of them men had been wearing their full pack and gear as she was but decided to keep that to herself. Not like it would have mattered anyway. The run back down the hill was less daunting and she made up some time finishing the round trip in just over fifty-five minutes.

The men were already lined up on the parade ground, freshly showered and ready for the day's instruction. She, on the other hand looked like a wench that that just crawled out of the sewer. Her ODs had mostly dried as her hair frizzed in the Georgia heat. Even back home Lucy had never been a pretty princess, being raised without a mother would do that, and she had little use for make up or curling her hair the way most women did. Most days her tanned face was fresh and clean with her dark brown hair pulled into a low bun. She followed Sobel toward the men as he hadn't told her not to. He stopped in front of them appraising each man as she stood behind him like a lost puppy. Taking the opportunity to be out of his line of sight she searched their faces for the man with dark hair; her heart racing.

Joe watched from the back as Sobel scanned the Company; the girl stood behind him looking beat to hell. Her eyes roved the crowd as his own gaze was able to discreetly settle on her. She was a little taller than the average woman and built strong not like these Hollywood pin ups that needed a meal. Her eyes were light gray, her cheek bones were high, she had a small nose and full lips. Joe's eyes lingered on her lips as she found him in the crowd. Their eyes locked for a moment before she forced herself to look away.

Sobel found what he was looking for as his eyes settled on Guarnere in the second row. "Private Guarnere…front and center." Joe saw the way Guarnere's shoulders slumped as he reluctantly presented himself to the CO.

"Sir." Running a finger over his lips Sobel looked out over the Company once again, the demonic gears in his brain churning.

Without hesitation he shoved Guarnere, catching the man off guard he stumbled to the ground. "How's it feel Guarnere?" Lucy swallowed hard; she wasn't sure if Sobel was sticking up for her right now or that he just didn't tolerate disrespect in his unit. Turning he grabbed her by the wrist throwing her onto the ground next to Guarnere. Definitely wasn't sticking up for her. The rest of the Company watched in silence.

"Guarnere has just taken a direct hit….mortar….Bennett here thinks that she can save a man from bleeding out…" Sobel turned to them both still on the ground. "What are you waiting for Bennett ?" So this was it; on day one she would need to show the whole Company if she was worth a damn. For his part Guarnere sneered at her clearly pissed that Sobel had seen him push her down earlier and that because of it he had been roped into this whole bullshit exercise. Lucy didn't hesitate as she swung her pack off producing one of the tourniquets she had made from the front pocket. Sliding the strap over his leg she tightened it the way she practiced until the surly Italian winced. She stifled the smile on her face as she looked back at Sobel who was decidedly unimpressed. "Your piece of shit strap isn't all, Bennett. Now you need you need to get him off the line…you're still taking fire." Shit. This was the test; this was what he had cooked up all along. Make her drag him…..make the other men see how weak she was.

Lucy's had drug a man before but not more than a few feet. Thankfully Guarnere was about the same size as her. Hazarding a glance at the rest of the Company she reasoned it could have been a lot worse. Grabbing him under the arms she began to move backwards. "Bennett…" She stopped looking at Sobel. "You'll stop when I say."

Foot by foot she managed to drag Guarnere across to the parade grounds as everyone watched. For his part he cussed her out the entire time calling her a stupid bitch among other things. When she finally hauled him behind the E Company Cabin Sobel called out that he was sick of standing around and they should get their asses back here. Finally letting the man go she stood up straight, her back aching. Guarnere tore the tourniquet from his leg as they stood there staring at each other for a moment. He didn't like this idea…didn't like it one bit; trusting his life to a broad in combat. Still he was scrappy kid from South Philly and he respected people who didn't give up. She definitely didn't give up. Guarnere stepped into her and she didn't flinch just stared at him unblinking. Exhaling he silently handed her the strap, turned, and walked away. The bitch had balls, he would give her that, still it would take a whole hell of a lot more for her to be a paratrooper.

San Francisco

November 1945

Joe laid down on the worn wooden bench as he pulled his coat tighter. The promenade was empty this time of night as he stared up at black starless sky. Heavy fog rolled across the bay as the street lights cast a hazy white glow. Tucking a cigarette between his lips Joe lit the tip as he sucked in.

He thought about that day…that first day when he saw her out on the parade grounds. She stopped him cold in his tracks made his heart stop and restart again. She made him care about something when he didn't want to care about a single fucking thing. Love at first sight….well he didn't believe in that shit. But still, what ever it was that they had between them began that first moment he laid eyes on her. The connection; it was magnetic, overwhelming…it was theirs…completely theirs from the very beginning.

She was so beautiful that day…and everyday day after but especially on that day. She was so raw; hanging onto her dream with everything she had. He knew she was special that day…that she was going to do something great. What he didn't know was that she was going to bring him to his knees…that she was going to be so far inside of him that he didn't think he could breath without her….and that at the end of it all he would hurt her so badly that their unbreakable bond would be shattered into a million pieces.

TBC…..

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