"Dear Soldier"

Note: Credits go to Nevermore_red who's amazing story 'Written In Ink' on AO3 has greatly inspired me to write this story of my own.

Check out her story 'Written In Ink' on AO3 in the fandom of Game of Thrones. You find it under her name Nevermore_red.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Band of Brothers' – mini-series or the book, nor do I mean ANY disrespect to the men of Easy Co. All that is mine are the OCs and a deep, profound respect for the real heroes.

It was the 28th of June and they were just taken from the line after fighting for twenty-three days. The fighting was fierce and many lives were lost and many soldiers got wounded, some so bad they would never return to the front lines and others would recover with time to get back into the fight. Ron didn't get through the last days unscathed, he had bruises and cuts here and there and took a shrapnel to the shoulder, but luckily nothing so bad to be taken off the line.

Throughout all the days the four simple words written by the unknown woman stayed with him, always being at the back of his mind. He wondered if she already got his reply letter and what she thought of it, of the things he wrote. Would she write back? With a slight shock he realized that he would be ... sad should she not. This feeling confused him for a moment, but then he thought about it. He was curious about her. Over the last days since D-Day he often found himself reading her letter at a quiet moment, wondering what kind of woman she is. From the letter he guessed that she must be kind and compassionate, but somehow he wanted to know more. He even caught himself wondering what she looked like and how old she is. He gathered she must be older than eighteen as she wrote her younger brother is that age and as her older brother was in the Army as well, he guessed that she had to be in her twenties, somewhere around his own age maybe. He didn't understand why he thought about these things, maybe it was because he felt that she could understand him and he could talk freely with her about what goes through his head without getting judged by her. He didn't have many friends because most simply didn't understand the way he viewed things and life, but he felt that she could, she could accept and respect him the way he is and maybe become his friend. Admitting to himself, Ron came to the realization that he would like that.

Later that day Ron sat freshly showered at a table in the tent that served as mess hall. They were still at the camp on Utah Beach where they would spend the night in tents before being taken by ship back to England. He had a hot meal that tasted just slightly less bland than the rations in the field and was halfway through it when Lieutenants Winters and Nixon from Easy Company joined him at his table with a tray of food for each of them.

"Evening, Lieutenant Speirs.", Winters addressed him and Nixon gave him a nod as he sat down.

Ron briefly looked up, "Evening.", returned the nod at Nixon and went back to his meal.

"Is it any good?", Nixon asked, poking his fork into the pile of peas on his plate.

"It does what it's supposed to do.", Ron replied.

Nixon harrumphed and stuffed a fork full of peas into his mouth.

They ate mostly in silence. At one point Ron asked Winters if he would take over the command of Easy Company for good, the Lieutenant who had the command at the start of the invasion didn't survive D-Day, and Nixon answered that Colonel Sink just told Winters he would be promoted to Captain and take officially over Easy's command.

Ron nodded, "Congratulations to the promotion.", he said, looking at the red-headed Lieutenant.

"Thanks.", Winters replied with a slight incline of his head.

Just as Ron finished his meal Colonel Sinks runner was approaching them, carrying some envelopes in his hands.

"Evening, sirs.", the Private Vest said, "I have some mail that just came in."

The private handed Winters two envelopes and Ron received three. Looking at the handwriting on the envelopes he saw that one letter was from his parents, one from his sister Elsie and the last ... Lt. R.S.

He recognized the script and unwittingly a small smile appeared on his face. She had written back.

"Mail from a sweetheart back home?", Nixon asked, a sly smirk and raised eyebrow directed at him.

A split second long Ron just stared at Nixon before saying, "I have no sweetheart back home. Goodnight, Lieutenants."

He stood up and left the tent, but not before he heard Nixon say to Winters, "Don't get me wrong, I suppose he is a good enough looking guy, but I can't imagine any girl being sweet on him."

"Why not?", Ron heard Winters ask, but he didn't linger long enough to hear the reply, though he can guess that it would be something along the line that women would be scared away from him by his dark and gloomy attitude.

Back in his tent he sat by a small lamp at the small table provided to him and read first the letter of his parents and youngest sister. They inquired about his well being and offered some supporting words, wishing him luck and fortune for what he has to do and told him about what went on in their lives. Elsie had added a drawing by his nine year old nephew that showed Ron in his uniform with a parachute above his head and 'Uncle Ronnie' written in untidy block letters on the top of the paper and 'Come back home soon' on the side. He smiled and thought about the last time he had seen his nephew while he was on leave home before being shipped to England. His sister and her son had stayed at their parents house during that time and George had mimicked the calisthenics he did every morning right after waking up, he remembered fondly.

Last he opened the letter from JH and read it. As he read the part about her cousin being a paratrooper in the same battalion as he is he did find that it was a funny coincidence. Did he know her cousin? Ron didn't know many soldiers outside of his own Company, mostly just the Officers and a few enlisted men by only their names. He didn't interact often with the men of his own Company and much less with the other two of the Battalion, though more so with Easy Company than with Fox Company. The corner of his mouth twitched up when he got to the part where she told him she wouldn't tell him who her cousin is and wrote that he should insert an evil smirk there. It let him know a bit more about her personality, telling him that she has a bit of mischievousness inside her and he liked that. It also told him that she probably wouldn't mind if she was on the receiving end of a bit of teasing or mischief and he liked that even more. Not many people know this, but Ron had humour. A devilish and sly kind of humour. And he also didn't mind teasing, whether he did it or he was the one subjected to it, though few really dared to tease him.

He noted that she mentioned her father often, in this letter as well as in her first. He guessed, as his daughter, she must admire him a great deal and from what she wrote about him he seemed like a man who deserved this admiration. From what she wrote about her father, he came across as a kind and honest man, a father who cared about his children. Ron was glad that she had a father like that. His own father cared a lot about his family too, but he knows that not everyone is so fortunate to have caring parents.

He also was glad that she understood his way of thinking. It strengthened his hope that maybe, out of this letter exchange could grow a friendship.

Hope.

She wrote about hope too and it made him put down the letter for a moment and stare at the wall of the tent. Maybe he had been wrong that the only hope in war is to accept you are already dead. Him thinking about her words of staying safe and strong were some kind of hope. And she is right, the line between hoping and being hopeless is pretty thin and difficult if not nearly impossible to maintain in war. He was warmed by it when he read that she worried about him and practically begged him to not loose hope. He supposed he could do it, even if it is just to hope to see the sun rising the next day as she wrote. Or to hope to get another letter from her.

She made him curious about her job prospect, but he could understand that she wanted to wait with telling him until things were official. He wondered what it could be, why she needed to prepare for it and what that entailed, though he supposed he had to wait for her update to find out. Hoping that this update would come soon, Ron put the letter to the other one in his tin box of pens and pencils, thinking that if they continued exchanging letters he would have to find another place for them. The box only had room for so much and somehow he didn't want to put her letters with the ones from his family. He felt they needed a special place.

Getting up, Ron slipped out of his jacket and pants, putting them over the back of the chair. He turned the lamp out, waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and laid down on the cot, pulling the blanket over him. Before he fell asleep, he hoped that she would write him soon to inform her if her return address changed or not. Until then he would put of writing a response. It couldn't come soon enough for him though.

Lewis Nixon was getting off the ship that brought them from France to England, his aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes from the sun. Two steps back on British soil he pulled his flask from his pocket and took a swig of his favourite Whiskey, kind of to drink to having survived Normandy and being back to safety for the time being. Dick was beside him, looking with a raised eyebrow at him as if to silently admonish him for drinking in the middle of the day. Lewis only raised his eyebrow in answer and held out the flask to his friend, who just shook his head with a small eye roll, declining the offer. Shrugging, he put the flask back into his pocket.

The harbour was full of people, soldiers mostly but on the edges a large group of civilians was welcoming them, cheering to them. Lewis pushed side by side with Dick through the mass of soldiers, trying to get as direct a path as possible to the waiting trucks and jeeps that would take them to Aldbourne.

Suddenly a female voice was shouting excitingly his name from ahead of them, "Lewis!"

He looked to where the voice came from, but all he saw was a mass of soldiers in olive-green uniform. Frowning, Lewis looked at Dick.

"Something you want to tell me?", Dick asked him.

Lewis shook his head, his eyes slightly widened, "I don't know."

The female voice called again, "Lewis! Lew!"

His eyes again in the direction from where the voice came Lewis started to get a little bit panicked. Shit, he thought, did one of the woman he got a little frisky with before the invasion read a little too much into their fling? Or did he somehow managed to get one of them knocked up and now she came to tell him and demand he take the responsibility for her and the unborn child? Shit, shit, shit.

He gave Dick a desperate, wide eyed look, seeking help, when he saw a red-headed small figure pushing their way through two soldiers from the corner of his eyes and barrelling into him not a moment later. Two slender arms circled his waist and a slim body was pressing against his. Looking down, Lewis only saw a head of fiery red hair pressed against his chest.

"Oh Lew, it's so good to see you.", the woman said, squeezing his waist a little harder.

He again looked wide eyed at Dick and his friend had a hard time suppressing a chuckle. Lewis mouthed 'What should I do?' to Dick, but he only shrugged. A bit awkwardly he patted the woman's back with one hand.

"Oh come now Lewis Nixon! Is that any way to greet me after we haven't seen each other so long? Give your cousin a proper hug, will ya?!", the woman said, reaching for his arm that still hung at his side and putting it around her.

Wait, did he hear right? Cousin? He frowned down at the red-haired head in his line of sight. That fiery shade of red ...

He moved his hands to the woman's shoulders and pushed her back, causing her to look up and immediately, as Lewis looked in familiar green eyes, his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

"Judy?", he asked, "What ... what the hell are you doing here?"

His cousin chuckled with a bright smile on her face, "Yes, it's me! Your cousin Judy. Who did you thought I am?", she narrowed her eyes at him, "Did you go gallivanting around with woman who are not Kathy? Your wife?"

Caught, Lewis shook his head quickly, "What? No, of course not! I'm-"

"Lewis Nixon! Don't you lie to me!", Judy slapped his chest, a smile tugging at her lips.

He smirked, "Yeah, well ..."

"You are a horrible husband!", she laughed, "Anyway ... do I get a proper hug now?"

Lewis didn't need to be asked again, pulling his cousin in for a hug, one hand on her back and the other holding her head against his chest as Judy's arms circled his waist again. He was surprised, but happy to see her, although four years age difference between them, they have always been close and he had thought often about her since they last saw each other two years ago. Though he still wondered what she was doing here in England and intended to find out as soon as possible.

They pulled apart, but not before Lewis cupped her cheek and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Studying Judy's smiling face he noted how much she changed in the two years they haven't seen each other. Judy still had been nineteen years old then, already a beautiful young woman who turned every man's head, but now at twenty-one, turning twenty-two in just under a month, she looked like a fully matured woman with feminine curves, graceful facial features and she even has lost all the baby fat of youth that made her still have a slight round face two years ago. He can only imagine that the men were probably all falling over themselves to gain her attention, laying the world down at her feet.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Judy, but ... what the hell are you doing here?" he asked, looking down at his 5' 4" short cousin

Still smiling brightly Judy replied, "Didn't you get daddy's letter yet?"

Lewis shook his head, "The last letter I got from uncle Richard came a week before the invasion."

"Oh, well ... guess it's gonna come soon then."

"Suppose so.", Lewis said, "But honestly, I want to know why your here? In case you haven't noticed, there's a war going on here in Europe and even though England is relatively safe it doesn't mean it's a good time for a vacation."

"How about you introduce me to your friend here first, huh?", Judy looked at Dick who was watching the reunion of the two cousins with a small smile.

"Judy, quit the stalling and tell me.", Lewis said a bit more sternly, but Judy only raised one gracefully bowed eyebrow and pursed her light pink painted lips.

Sighing, Lewis pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, causing his sunglasses to slip up a bit. He took off his sunglasses and motioned with them in his hand to Dick, "Judy, this is Lieutenant Richard Winters, or Dick to his friends.", motioning with the sunglasses to Judy he continued, "Dick, meet my annoying cousin Judy Hyde."

"Hey! I'm not annoying, you big oaf!", Judy protested and gave him another slap on his chest.

Lewis just rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.", Dick smiled and held out his hand to Judy.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lieutenant.", Judy beamed a smile at Dick and slipped her hand into his, "I heard a lot about you already from my oaf of a cousin over there. I take it you're the one who's trying to keep him from getting into trouble and I don't envy you for that task. God knows that wherever he goes he's bound to get into a situation he can't escape by himself from. Just be glad that my brother isn't here with him. Boy you can't imagine what trouble Andrew and Lew get into together. They're like two small boys on a sugar high!", she laughed.

Dick chuckled, briefly glancing and smirking at Lewis before looking back down at Judy, "I try my best, ma'am!"

"That's good, Lew needs someone to look out for him. Oh and please call me Judy. 'Ma'am' makes me feel so old."

"I can do that, but only if you call me Dick.", Dick smiled.

"With pleasure, Dick.", Judy smiled back and Lewis looked between the two of them, wondering if he ever had Dick seen smile so often and open at a woman he just met and marvelling once again how Judy got absolutely everyone to instantly fall almost in love with her.

He shook his head to clear his mind and get back to the important question that still wasn't answered, turning to Judy, "Now spit it out, Judy, why are you here?"

She smirked, "Well, you see, I'm the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment's and specifically the 2nd Battalion's new and very own civilian photographer."

The information seeped only slowly into Lewis' mind and he needed a moment to truly understand what his cousin was telling him. When it finally processed to a point where he registered just what that meant he exaggeratedly shook his head, "No! Absolutely not! You can't be serious."

Judy scowled at him, "I am serious!", she said and shoved a pass issued to her by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, that held her picture and personnel data and stated that she was part of the US Army Signal Corps of the Photographic Section as a civilian photographer, under his nose, "Here."

Lewis took the pass out of her hand and looked at it. This ... thing allowed her access to any areas of the theatre and guaranteed that she received any assistance needed in her job. Being a photographer in the Signal Corps, even just a civilian one, meant that she would go everywhere the unit she was assigned to went, that included jumping out of airplanes with them, being on the front lines, in actual combat with them. She can't ... she must have lost her mind.

He clenched his jaw and pushed the pass back into her hands, "I'm not allowing this! Do your parents know about this? I don't believe they would even agree to it!"

"Of course they know! I told you daddy sent you a letter. He wasn't exactly thrilled that I accepted the offer and he only agreed to let me go under the condition that I'll be assigned to either your or Andrews unit and ... well, you know daddy. He pulled some strings with his old friends in the Army and as I'm standing in front of you now you see that he succeeded.", Judy replied, folding her arms in front of her chest and looking with a furrowed brow at him.

Lewis sighed, "Listen Judy, do you even know to what you agreed? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? Just because you carry a camera instead of a gun doesn't mean the enemy won't shoot at you. Hell, they don't even need to aim directly at you ... a stray bullet is all it takes, or a mortar explosion!", he squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed a hand over his face, "Your mother! Aunt Linda would never let you do this. You're her pretty little gemstone, polished to shine so bright that everyone who looks at you gets blinded."

Snorting a rather unladylike laugh, Judy replied, "You don't even let me explain ... and it kind of is mum's fault to begin with."

"Now, who is lying to whom here, Judy?", he scoffed, "And what is there to explain?"

"It's true! It wasn't her intention and she is absolutely not happy with how it turned out, but it was her who got the ball rolling so to speak.", Judy answered, sounding annoyed, "And I will explain, but I think you need to calm down a bit first, Lew. So, what do you say? Think you're calm enough to survive a drive to Aldbourne with your dear cousin?"

Pressing his lips together, Lewis inhaled deep through the nose, his eyes holding Judy's for a moment before admitting defeat, though only for the time being, "Fine. But this is not over, Judy! I'll have you back on a ship to the States quicker than you can say Blitzkrieg."

Rolling her eyes, Judy said, "We'll see.", and turned to go ... in the wrong direction.

Lewis grabbed her upper arm and pulled her between himself and Dick, steering her towards the waiting jeeps and trucks on which Easy Company was already waiting. As they made their way for a jeep Lewis looked over Judy's head at Dick, shaking his head and sighed. Dick just gave him one of his barely there smirks and shrugged with one shoulder, silently telling him that he wouldn't get involved in this. Great, Lewis thought, just what he needed right now, dealing with his annoyingly stubborn cousin when all he wanted was to drown himself in Vat 69.