A/N: Thank you for the reviews! They were much loved and swooned over.
Music by Vic Damone. I do not own Band of Brothers.
Enjoy!

II. An Affair to Remember

Our love affair is a wondrous thing
That we'll rejoice in remembering
Our love was born with our first embrace
And a page was torn out of time and space

Cora sat alone on a bench, writing a letter to her disappointed mother. Her uniform was similar to that of a woman serving in the WAC, only she held herself with less grace. As the ink stained her pale, calloused hands, a few other women joined her on the wooden seating. A redhead and two blondes chatted away like three hens before introducing themselves to the woman to their left.

"Hello. I don't believe we've met. I'm Second officer Charlotte Taylor. This is Third officer Elizabeth Hinkle and Third officer Rebecca Crane," the redheaded woman said cheerfully. She couldn't have been much older than Cora, despite the fact that her heavy makeup made her look at least five years older.

Cora scanned their faces with an eyebrow raised. She put down her pen and extended her arm cordially. "Captain Cora Larson."

"Captain?" the blonde, green-eyed one named Elizabeth squeaked. "How can you be a captain?"

"There are no captains in the WAC," the other one said with a scoff.

Cora tried her best not to roll her eyes. God, someone save me. "I'm not enlisted with the WAC. I'm of E Company, 101st Airborne Division, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment… the paratroopers."

"They allow women in the Airborne?" Charlotte asked, perplexed.

Suddenly, Cora remembered why she refused to join the Women's Army Corps, the Army Nurse Corps, the Public Health Service, the American Red Cross, or the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve: because being surrounded by women 24/7 was nauseating. The middle child of six daughters, Cora had dealt with enough estrogen for one lifetime. It was bad enough that she had to fight with her own amount.

"Luckily, yes. Plus, there no other surgeons or qualified medics signing up and looking like a pin-up girl helped a little," Cora said with a laugh as she returned to her letter. "Of course, the Colonel suggested that I join the WAC, but I told him that if I wanted to be a bookkeeper or a dental technician, I would have stayed home in New York." Please save me from these idiots.

Just as the three began to defend their positive positions in the war effort, a man strode up towards them, two bars pinned to his garrison cap. His voice was soft like velvet as he spoke Cora's name, her rank included. A crooked smile played across Cora's full, crimson lips. She raised her dark eyes up to find Sobel standing before her. He smiled down at her, his eyes matching hers in intensity. They watched each other silently before Cora tucked the pen and paper away in her utility bag, and pulled a cigarette out of its pack.

"Lovely meeting you, I'm sure," she said, lighting the cigarette and walking off with the other captain.

The two officers walked along for a little while before either of them spoke. They drifted closer together as Cora exhaled the smoke, to the point where their fingers touched and they joined hands.

"You're a life saver," she whispered.

They seemed to mold together perfectly, a match made in heaven… though that may have been a bit of a stretch. For whatever reason, though, Cora was almost sure that she loved him. The new her, sardonic and hopeless, loved him. The old version of her stopped trying to resurface and let the dark monster take over. Part of her enjoyed it, and another part felt lost, like it didn't belong. Who are you? Where are you?

Later, she walked alone to the empty mess hall. Her skin drank the sun's rays as they warmed her chilly bones. Birds sang somewhere above her, happily enjoying the brief bit of sun they too were receiving. She smiled a little as she walked. A group from Able Company passed her, something she had barely noticed until she picked up on what they had said: Winters. Court-martial. Battalion mess. Sobel.

Cora's heart thudded loudly in her chest. Richard… She rushed off to find him.

"Is it true?" she asked him, through his open window.

There was an anxiety in her voice and a redness to her cheeks that made Dick avoid questioning what she was doing there. Only you would have a conversation through a window. He nodded. Cora reached up and took his big, warm hands into her tiny, cold ones.

"I'll find a way to fix this. I won't let you go."

As she walked quickly away from the house, her voice echoed in his mind. Those five words instantly became a permanent part of his memories, playing on a loop inside of him. He could still feel the iciness of her fingertips…

Cora's eyes were wide, scanning every face in search of Sobel. She walked at a pace that nearly had her running to and fro over the base. She inhaled deeply, recognizing his aftershave drifting on the air. Then she saw him. Her fists tightened and it took everything she had not to run over to him and claw his eyes out.

"Captain Sobel!" she called, trying her best to remain calm. "May I have a word with you?"

"Can this wait, Cora? I—"

"No, this can't wait. I want you to call this whole court-martial business off," she snapped.

"How will you remember me if I die?" Cora asked, her head rested on Herbert's bare chest.

He smiled at the question as his fingers traced circles on her back. The aroma of cinnamon wafted up through his nostrils as he inhaled. There were so many answers to her question he was unsure of where to begin.

"Too many to name," he replied. "The way you always taste like coffee, the smell of your hair, your laugh, and how I can tell exactly what you're thinking just by looking in your eyes. How will you remember me?"

Cora was silent for a moment. "I'll remember how sweaty you always are…"

"I don't want to talk about this here," Sobel replied, his voice filled with anxiety.

"I don't give a damn what you want. Stand before me at attention, Captain. I still have superiority over you." Her voice lowered some. "Now, you call this off. Winters is one of the best men in the entire 101st and you know it. If you care about me at all, you'll put an end to it."

"I will never forget this moment," he whispered into her skin.

"Permission to speak?"

"Granted," Cora said reluctantly.

"If you care about me, you'll let me deal with it. It was his choice to request a trial by court-martial."

"But you gave him the option, Herbert. Please… if you love me…"

"Well, then maybe I don't love you."

The words hit her hard, like being punched in the stomach. Her lip quivered as the tears formed. Part of you will live in me… Her hand collided hard with his cheek, leaving a mark. He wanted to tell her he didn't mean it, but Cora walked away from him too quickly. He couldn't see her cry.

"Who said that you were allowed to question your commanding officer?" Sobel snapped at her in front of the entire company.

Cora's eyes were narrowed and a million witty comebacks rolled around in her head, but none of them found their way out. It was the first time he had ever reprimanded herin public, the first time in the year and a half that they had known each other. She continued to stare forward, not daring to utter a word. She had obeyed his commands… her heart sank.

That's where the old Cora had been left behind.

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