Evelyn felt numb. She felt totally detached from reality. George had disappeared almost as soon as he helped her to sit up and then placed the baby, her baby, into her arms, going to find Joe and going to find help. When Joe had arrived shortly after, the look on his face had been one of surprise and then awe and then delight as he had scooped up his tiny daughter, cradling her in his arms as though it was the most natural thing.

George had been quick to follow with one of the few Red Cross nurses who were making the voyage back home too. Even as the nurse had helped to make sure the baby was well and that the afterbirth was delivered intact, Evelyn had felt as though she was floating above her own body, watching but not really seeing, and most definitely not feeling. Not feeling anything at all.

Now, as Joe set the baby back into her limp arms, she cradled them instinctively, looking down at the tiny human who felt alien-like to her. She couldn't wrap her head around the knowledge that that baby was hers.

"Ev?" Joe touched her cheek gently, turning her face towards him. "Baby, are you ok?"

Blinking, she could do nothing but just stare back at him; unable to find herself concerned about the frown on his face or the way he glanced anxiously towards George and the nurse.

"Evelyn?" Joe prompted her again. "The baby; she's crying. Think she wants her mom to cuddle her."

"I… I didn't know," she murmured quietly. So quietly that Joe almost couldn't hear her. "I don't know… this isn't…"

"I think she's probably in a bit of shock," the nurse explained gently as there was a knock at the closed door.

"She's not the only fucking one," George muttered, heading across the tiny room, glancing almost guiltily at Joe and Evelyn. "I had to send someone for Speirs. He's in charge and I figured we couldn't hide this and-"

"It's fine, Luz," Liebgott assured him. "You talk to him and tell him I'll be out in a minute."

"Sure thing," George answered, with one final look of concern at Evelyn who was just staring at the crying baby in her arms but doing nothing to soothe it.

"Evelyn," the nurse crouched down beside her and Joe, who was sitting on the cot beside Evelyn. "I know this is a tremendous shock but I need your help. Do you think you can do that? Yeah?"

Evelyn nodded and a tear rolled down her cheek. She felt nothing and yet everything all at once now, and it was overwhelming and it was terrifying.

"Your baby's hungry," the nurse explained. "And she's just as afraid as you are. She's in this brand new world and she needs you to make her feel safe. I need you to make her feel safe, ok? So, dad, why don't you help Evelyn with her shirt and we can try and get this little one fed."

"No," Evelyn shook her head. "I don't wanna… I just…"

"Ev, look at me," Joe took her face in his hands gently and smiled softly as he looked into her eyes. "This is fucking insane, I know, but you can do this. We can do this, yeah? We're a little family and we didn't fucking know we were gonna be one. I'm beyond ecstatic but I would be shitting myself if this had happened to me with someone who wasn't you, and you know why? 'Cause you're the toughest, most brave woman I know. You joined the airborne for Christ's sake and you fought alongside us on D-Day and in Bastogne and through so much other shit. So this? This is nothing. This is a blessing and this is the start of the rest of our lives in peace and happiness. Yeah?" He kissed her forehead, and looked down at the baby, stroking her soft mattering of hair as dark as her mother's. "You did the hard part, Ev. You literally grew her out of nothing and kept her safe in there for nine months, so safe we didn't even know she existed, and then you delivered with just George fucking Luz for help. Whatever comes next will be easy and you'll have me to help you through it all."

Evelyn's eyes followed Joe's and for the first time she took in the tiny button nose and the pouting lips that were full like Joe's. Angry little fists waved and the baby's scrunched up face as she cried reminded her of Bill. Letting out a laugh, as more tears dribbled down her cheeks, Evelyn cradled the baby against her, sshing her softly before turning to look at Joe and smiling.

They were a family.

… … …

News of Easy Company's newest arrival spread through the ship like wildfire despite Speirs' threats for it to remain a secret. The problem was that George in his excitement had told Perconte who had told McClung who had told someone else and so on and so on.

Another problem was that George had taken it upon himself to make sure everyone knew the baby's name, despite her parents not having even chosen it for her yet.

"My baby is not called Georgina," Evelyn scowled at Captain Speirs when he had come to check on them in the morning.

"Tell that to Luz," Speirs smirked, snatching the baby out of Evelyn's arms without even asking. "What? I know how to hold one of these, I'm not a complete idiot."

"Never said you were," Evelyn muttered, eyeing Joe with a look that made him bite back a grin.

The last few hours had been spent dealing with a vast array of emotions and questions, as well as trying to adapt to having a new baby in a confined space on a ship in the middle of the ocean. After her initial shock had worn off, Evelyn had taken to her new role like a duck to water; surprising herself but not so much her husband. After all, she'd looked after a company of grown men for years, a baby was nothing in comparison. At least not when the mother in question was the most maternal and caring person he knew even if she didn't always realise it.

"You know I'm still having a hard time understanding that this came as a shock to you," Speirs said. "I've never heard of a woman not knowing that she was expecting."

"We both come from big families and neither did we," Liebgott answered. "According to Luz it happened to his mom though. She had miscarried at two months or so and then seven months later out popped another baby. Apparently the doctor said that it's common for some women to lose one twin and not the other; although granted, most end up knowing they're still pregnant with a second twin. And it's funny you know because twins run on my dad's side of the family."

"Hmm," Speirs made a non committal noise. "So what are we calling this baby then if not Georgina?"

"We as in me and Joe, or we as in me, Joe and you, sir?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Shame to see motherhood hasn't made you lose that sarcastic streak. I hope this one turns out to be a horrific teenager so you get a taste of your own medicine," Speirs muttered, although his lips twitched as he said it. "I like the name Annie, just putting it out there."

"I'll add it to the list…" Evelyn smiled politely when Speirs abruptly handed the baby back just as there was a knock at the door. "...Of definitely nots."

"I heard that," Speirs said as Joe got up to open the door.

"You were supposed to," Evely grinned.

"Looks like you have more visitors," Speirs nodded politely when George and Babe walked into the already cramped room. "I'll leave you to it and make sure some food is sent down here. We should arrive in New York the morning after next. I've arranged for you two, sorry three, to leave first. Rest up until then and although I expect a flurry of visitors heading down here, let's try to keep it orderly, ok?"

"Yes sir," Joe nodded.

"Oh, and congratulations," Speirs smiled widely before disappearing, closing the door quietly behind him.

"You know it still terrifies me when he smiles like that," Heffron shivered slightly. "So, uh, how are you doing, Ev?"

"I'm just great, Babe. You know, I'm on board a floating sweatbox and I just pushed a baby outta me and then I get to disembark with said baby and wait for my family to freak the hell out about that as well as me being married."

"Right," he grimaced.

"But apart from all that I'm fine," she smirked. "Well, more than fine. I think."

"How could you not be fine?" George grinned, holding out his arms and talking in a baby voice. "No, I don't wanna hug you, Ev, I wanna hold my favourite girl."

"I thought I was your favourite," Evelyn scowled even as she handed him the baby.

"Well, you were until little Georgina, my god daughter, came into my life and she knocked you off the top spot, didn't you, Georgina? The prettiest girl I've ever seen," George was stroking her cheek and making silly little faces at her.

"George, we're not calling her Georgina," Evelyn told him pointedly.

"Well that's strange," George frowned. "'Cause I'm her mom's best friend, I'm her god father and I'm only the person who fucking– shit sorry, Georgina, pretend you didn't hear that– I mean fudging, helped to deliver her."

"And as grateful as I am George and as much as I love you, I'm not naming my baby after you."

"This has got you written all over it," George scowled at Joe. "Look, Joe, I'm sorry you weren't there to witness the miracle that was the birth of your child but you can't take away the bond that me and Georgina have got. You just can't."

"Hey, this has nothing to do with me," Liebgott held up his hands. "I like the name personally, and I think it's fitting that she's named after you."

"You're honestly taking his side?" Evelyn couldn't believe it.

"I'm not taking sides, baby, I'm just saying that I like the name. Suits her. Georgina Mary Liebgott."

"Mary? When did we decide that was her middle name?"

"Well, you know, my mom always wanted me to name my first born daughter after her so I figured she wouldn't mind it being a middle name instead. But we could always throw your mom's name in there too. She can have two middle names."

"Oh that's great then," Evelyn muttered sarcastically. "Babe, why don't we give her your mom's name too, huh? George, let's throw your mom's in there too."

"She'd love that," George nodded enthusiastically.

"Give me strength," Evelyn closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know what, I give in. You can all call her whatever the fuck you want because I can see I'm clearly not gonna win."

"Georgina Mary Augusta Liebgott it is then," Joe beamed, watching as Luz held the baby out towards Babe, who looked terrified at the idea of even touching her because she was so tiny and fragile.

"My mom's name is Anne," Babe added quietly, glancing nervously at Evelyn who had her arms folded and her jaw clenched in annoyance.

"I swear to fucking god…"

… … …

"Ssh ssh, it's alright."

Evelyn cracked open a tired eye and groaned. It felt like she had only been asleep for seconds and Georgina was already hungry again. Standing up a few steps away, Joe had her upright against his shoulder, bouncing her gently, trying his best to soothe her but playing a losing game.

Sitting up, Evelyn unbuttoned her shirt, having foregone the t-shirt and the brassiere beneath out of convenience, and held out her arms. Georgina settled as soon as she was against Evelyn's skin and didn't take much rooting for her to find her milk source, suckling hungrily, her fist grabbing at Evelyn as though frightened her food might be taken away at any given moment.

"I still can't believe this is real," Evelyn murmured, stroking Georgina's soft head of hair. "We have a baby, Joe."

"We do," Joe grinned, sitting down beside her and watching Georgina with such love that it made Evelyn's heart melt. "Just when I thought I couldn't love you anymore, I see you with her and I just…"

"Become a soppy bastard?" she finished for him with a knowing smirk, leaning into him as he wrapped an arm around her. "My mom's gonna kill me."

"And your brother's gonna kill me," Joe scoffed. "Well, I reckon looking at Georgina will soften him a bit. I might get away with a punch in the face and that's it."

"I won't let him hurt you," Evelyn promised. "Not much anyway."

Joe laughed, a deep belly laugh that made Evelyn start laughing as well. She laughed so hard that she snorted which made him laugh all the more, and for a split second he was taken back to Holland, watching as she laughed herself almost into a fit thinking about bread rolls with faces on. Holland felt like so long ago now; everything they had seen and done felt so close yet so far in the past at the same time, and now they were here. Almost home and starting a life they had never imagined having quite so soon.

"You wanna know when I first realised I loved you?" Joe whispered, watching his daughter feeding hungrily and swallowing down a lump in his throat at the sight of Evelyn's face sobering from her laughter as she looked down at the baby when she made a small sound.

"When I got hit in Bastogne?" she guessed.

"Nah, long before then," he murmured. "It was back before we even kissed on your birthday in London?"

"It was?" she frowned at him. "I didn't know that."

"Neither did I… at the time. It was after you found out about Henry…"

She was asleep. Tear lines ran through the dirt on her face from where she had been crying. Shifting slightly in the foxhole so as not to awaken her, Joe peered down at her face and felt his heart clench. It physically hurt him that he couldn't take away her grief and her anguish over her brother's death. It even hurt that he couldn't take away the betrayal and upset she felt over Bill keeping Henry's death from her. While Joe and Bill didn't exactly like one another, Joe knew that he had only done what he felt was necessary to protect Evelyn and he couldn't blame Bill for that. Not at all.

Frowning in her slumber, Joe reached out without thinking and brushed his fingers across the crease in between her brows, smiling slightly when her hand slapped him away subconsciously. Tracing his finger down her nose, noticing a tiny scar just on the bridge, he made a mental note to ask her about it sometime.

Pausing at her full lips, he swallowed as his throat dried almost instantly when he thought about how they would feel against his. More than that he thought about how he would feel being the person to make those lips curve into that smile he so loved every day for the rest of time. And not just smile but laugh, because when she laughed it made him feel like nothing in life could touch him.

Everything about her did that.

"... Even back in Mourmelon when all that shit happened with Bill and I was a complete fucking idiot, I didn't realise I actually loved you. I knew for sure I was on my way to loving you but I didn't realise it had already happened."

"You wanna know when I knew I loved you?" she asked, shifting the baby to her other breast to continue feeding. "On the Island, when you guys had gone to save the red devils. Gene and I were sitting and waiting for you guys and all I could think about was your neck. I know it was fixed up by then and stitched and what not, but I just couldn't stop thinking about how lucky you were that night at the crossroads. I was sitting there with Gene and just anxiously waiting for you to come back, praying that you'd come back alive and whole. I don't think I necessarily realised it was love, but all I knew was that the thought of not seeing you ever again hurt me so much that I couldn't bear to think about it. I think that was why I finally had to say something to you about kissing me back in London. I had all of these feelings and I just didn't know what to do with them, and then suddenly we were kissing again and it all felt right. Well, until it wasn't right again for a while."

"What a pair of idiots we were, huh?" Joe murmured. "Wasted so much time skirting around each other and then fighting when we could have been doing this."

Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her soundly, their tongues dancing as they poured everything they were feeling into that moment. A moment which was short lived when they heard someone clearing their throat.

"You know it's behaviour like that that got in you in this situation," Talbert commented with a smirk, as Joe leaned in front of Evelyn slightly to block Floyd's view of her. "Just thought Ev might be hungry. It's hard work feeding a little one, or so I've heard anyway."

"And you just wanted the chance to look at my boobs, Tab," Evelyn teased, buttoning herself up and lifting Georgina up over her shoulder to wind.

"George said there was a hot nurse checking in on you. Thought she might have been around and I could have had a look at hers," Tab grinned, setting down some bars of chocolate and some MRE'S. "Not the best food but it's something at least. So this is little Georgina? She's cute. Looks like Bill."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that," Joe muttered, taking the baby from Evelyn and standing up to give Tab a proper look at her while Evelyn tore into one of the chocolate bars without hesitation.

"Best midnight snack ever," she grinned as she took a huge bite. "You're the best, Tab."

"I know," he winked, reaching out to touch Georgina's little hand. "I'll leave you two to get some more rest but I think there'll be a few more fellas coming down in the morning to see you before we dock. Johnny's chomping at the bit surprisingly."

"That's because Johnny's a big softie," Evelyn smiled. "Even if he pretends otherwise. And I think that he's extra nice to me because of Bill. You know they got matching tattoos when they went on that trip to Scotland after Normandy?"

"I actually did not know that. But now I do, I'll be sure to mock him for it," Tab smirked. "Bill and Johnny sitting in a tree and all that. Anyway, night guys, and good night, Georgina. I feel for you, little lady, because you have an entire company of men who are going to vet any guy who ever comes near you when you're older."

"Especially if any of those guys are like you, Tab," Evelyn snorted.

"Heck, if any guy like me ever comes near her I'll be the first one to stop them," Tab commented. "Night guys."

"Night Tab," Joe closed the door behind him, moving over to the crate at the foot of the cot bed that was a temporary crib and placing Georgina in it, tucking a blanket around her and bending down to kiss the top of her head.

Moving to turn out the light, he huffed out a gentle laugh when he saw that Evelyn was already fast asleep, snoring softly.

… … …

"I don't know how I'm supposed to leave her."

The ship had docked at New York and everyone was waiting for the long process of disembarking to begin. Before it could start though, Speirs was ensuring an adequate, quiet exit for the Liebgotts; all three of them. Which meant that George had a final opportunity to say his goodbye to his favourite girl.

"You've known her for all of two days, you'll be fine," Speirs was impatient for George to hurry up with his lingering farewell.

"Look she's crying because she knows we're being separated," George was having none of it.

"She's crying because she's hungry… again," Evelyn rolled her eyes. "I need to get off this damned boat and go feed her before we make our way to the station."

"I've managed to secure you a seat on the train to Philadelphia," Speirs said, smirking at Joe and Babe. "A seat for Evelyn and the baby, that is."

"You know I never thought the day would come where I wished I was from Philly," George practically growled at Joe when he tried to take the baby from him. "Just one more minute."

"Clock's ticking to catch that train," Speirs tapped his watch.

"What about Ev?" Joe decided he needed to take an alternative route to separate George from Georgina.

"What about her?" George frowned, causing Babe to snort out a laugh at the look of pure indignation on Evelyn's face.

"I have a baby and suddenly you don't care about me anymore," she muttered.

"That's not true," George shook his head. "But I've had years of you and barely hours with this little girl."

"Exactly," Joe put a hand on George's shoulder. "You and Ev have been together every day for years and any minute now that'll all be over. So you wanna know what I think is happening here, George? I think that you're too afraid to say goodbye to Ev so you're putting all your attention on Georgina."

"Damn you, Liebgott. I don't care what Webster says about you not being the smartest knife in the drawer, you're wiser than you let on," George sniffed before kissing Georgina on the tip of her tiny little button nose and handing her over to Joe so he could reluctantly turn his attention to Evelyn. "Evelina Peccorina."

"Georgie Porgie," she didn't even care that she was already crying and when George pulled her in close for the tightest hug she'd ever had in her life, she gripped him back just as hard.

"How am I supposed to say goodbye to you?" George murmured into her hair. "The best friend any guy could ever have and now I'm meant to live the rest of my life without seeing you every day."

"We can talk every day, I promise. I'll call you every night."

"Oh yeah and then Lieb can bitch at me about how much it's costing him," George scoffed.

"If it ends this quicker I'll pay the damn phone bill every month myself," Speirs rolled his eyes.

"I'll visit as often as I can," George promised, pulling away so he could look down at Evelyn, her eyes as red and glassy as his own. "You better not let Georgina forget who I am."

"As if I ever would," Evelyn choked out a laugh. "You're the first person she ever met, George and you'll be the person she calls when she's had a bad day at school or when Joe won't let her have a boyfriend."

"Well I'll be with him on that one," George grinned before his face sobered once more. "I love you, Ev. Never would have gotten through the last few years without you and I… I'm honoured to have shared so much with you. Not just the happy times like watching you work out that you liked this beanpole or here, or finally marrying him and giving me the most beautiful goddaughter ever. No, I'm honoured that I was there for your worst times as well; that you let me be there to help you and-"

"Christ," Babe choked out a sob which he tried to cover up with a cough.

"Anyway, I hope you know that no amount of land between us will ever change how I feel about you, Ev," George took her hands, bringing one to his lips and kissing it as he forced a smile to his face. "This is us for life, no question about it."

"I love you so much, George," Evelyn threw her arms around him again, soaking in the last of him and hoping that it would hurt less and less the longer they were apart; that phone calls and letters and organised visits would ease the niggle that was already eating at her heart.

"I love you more," he kissed the top of her head. "Both of you; well three if you count Joe too. Now get going and you'd better call me to tell me just how bad Bill beats up your husband when he sees Georgina."

"You got it," she laughed, touching his cheek briefly before stepping away. "Good bye, George."

… … …

Evelyn found herself growing quieter the closer they got to home. She and Babe had chatted almost non-stop for most of the train journey, telling Joe all about Philly and talking about their families. Joe had written to his parents when they were back in Aldbourne to explain that he would be visiting Evelyn's family first before he returned back to San Francisco, and hopefully with his wife in tow.

Glancing over at Joe who was sitting down opposite her, holding a sleeping Georgina in his arms, she caught his eyes and smiled softly when he winked at her. Babe was staring out of the window, watching as the sights of home flashed past them, and as his excitement continued to grow Evelyn's only diminished.

Seeing the factory where her brother, Henry, worked, she realised that she didn't feel like she was coming home at all. Philly didn't feel like home anymore. Home was where Easy was, only Easy was no longer anything. Easy was men spread out across the country ready to see their families and friends and re-start their lives, and Evelyn wondered if they felt as detached from their place of birth as she did.

When the train came to a stop, Evelyn allowed Joe to pass her the baby while he took their bags, and she allowed him and Babe to help usher her off of the train. Even as she saw the throngs of people waiting and waving excitedly to greet their returning sons and husbands, Evelyn felt like she was seeing the place for the first time in her life. She felt apprehensive and almost unsettled.

It wasn't even so much the nerves about what her family would say when they saw what she had brought home with her. It was the knowledge that she was no longer that young girl who held grudges over stolen hair ribbons, or who fought with her siblings for more time in the bathroom. She wasn't that girl who blushed at the kitchen sink when her sisters quizzed her over the man who was now her husband. She wasn't the Evelyn who had left here with so much innocence.

She was someone she didn't recognise sometimes. Someone who had been through so much yet who felt like she still had so much to achieve in life to say that she had really done anything at all.

So lost in her thoughts, she barely had any recollection of getting into the taxi. Nor did she remember saying goodbye to Babe, who said he would be around the next day to visit. All she remembered was the train station and then now, standing on the doorstep, knowing she should just open it but somehow feeling like she couldn't. Feeling like she had been gone too long to just walk in unannounced; feeling like she was a visitor who should knock and wait patiently for the answer.

"Ev?" Joe took her free hand in his, the one that she wasn't cradling Georgina against her chest with.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know," he nodded, kissing her temple. "But you can do this. We're doing it together, right?"

"Yeah."

Lifting her hand to knock on the door, it swung open before her fist could meet with the black painted wood. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Bill standing there with a beaming smile on his face that dropped almost the second he saw what she was holding.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

… … …

"Oh, look at those little fingers."

"And those eyelashes. God I'd kill for those."

"Where on earth is Clara with those baby clothes?"

Evelyn sat on the sofa listening to her mother, her sister, Gina, and Frannie, fussing over Georgina. The second Augusta Guarnere had laid eyes upon her first grandchild, she had gone into matriarch mode, sending Clara to the house at the end of the street to borrow some baby clothes from the lady there. She had sat Evelyn and Joe down in the living room where the chairs were comfortable, and had put Frannie and Gina on coffee making and food serving duty, force feeding Joe and Evelyn almost as much as humanly possible. Her father, who had barely had a second to process seeing his daughter for the first time in three years, as well as meeting his surprise granddaughter and son in law, was at the store a few blocks away looking for a pram.

"Sorry, I got stuck talking to her," Clara appeared in the doorway with a bag of clothes. "I was gonna tell her the clothes were for Frannie but Mrs Gomez next door had already seen Ev holding the baby and apparently everyone on the street already knows."

"Of course they do," Gina rolled her eyes, smirking at Joe. "Nothing is a secret round here for long with that nosy bitch next door."

"Gina!" Augusta exclaimed, shooting Joe an embarrassed smile. "What will Evelyn's husband think about us when you open your mouth and talk like that?"

"He's heard me swear more times than he can count, mom, it's fine," Evelyn muttered.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you say that," Augusta rolled her eyes, reaching out to cup Evelyn's cheek as her eyes misted up for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Oh my little girl. My little Evie married and with a baby. I still can't quite believe it."

"Neither can we," Joe grinned. "She came as quite the shock."

"I've never heard of someone not knowing they're pregnant before," Frannie commented, looking down at Georgina who was squirming, not enjoying all of the attention she was getting from the females in the family. "Have you told your parents yet, Joe?"

"I'm gonna call them after," he answered. "Pretty sure they'll be as shocked as you guys were. And hopefully as happy too."

After everything he had heard about Evelyn's family, and from what he knew of Bill, Joe hadn't been expecting such a warm reception. He had expected quite the opposite in fact. So when Evelyn's father did nothing more than shake his hand and her mother hugged him as though he was her own son he had been pleasantly surprised. Evelyn's two sisters and Frannie had been just as welcoming, all squeals and excitement looking at Evelyn's wedding ring and the baby. The only person who had yet to show any happiness at seeing his sister alive and meeting his niece was Bill.

After his initial outburst at the door, Evelyn and Joe had been swept up by the rest of the family, none of whom seemed to show any interest in Bill's scowl or the daggers he was shooting at Joe. Frannie, at one point though, had murmured to him to lose the sour expression for the sake of everyone else, which had just made Bill sit in the corner of the living room smoking and scowling at everyone. Joe knew Evelyn was upset but that she was trying her best to hold herself together for the sake of everyone else.

"Of course they'll be happy," Augusta told him. "This might not be the most conventional way anyone's ever done it, but a baby is a blessing nonetheless. Especially one as beautiful as our little Georgina."

"I'm still having a hard time accepting that you had to let a guy see down there to get her out," Clara murmured.

"You have guys see down there all the time Clara, so what's the issue?" Gina teased, scowling when she received a crack around the head from her mother. "Oh come on, mom, I'm only playing."

"You girls will be the death of me," Augusta sighed. "Joe, do you want some more food? Clara, go and get Joe some more of that pie and your sister too. She's wasting away and she needs her energy for the baby."

"We're fine, Momma," Evelyn protested even as Clara went scuttling off out of the room to do as she was told.

"And Frannie, sit down, your ankles are looking swollen," Augusta ignored her youngest child. "How lovely that Georgina will have a cousin in just a few months. Two grandbabies in one year; how blessed I am. Isn't it wonderful Bill?"

"If you say so," he stood abruptly, using his crutches to hold himself up. "Come on Frannie, we got somewhere to be."

"No we don't," Frannie frowned.

"We do 'cause I say we do," Bill argued.

"Oh calm down," Gina rolled her eyes. "We all know you're just annoyed that mom and pop aint been screaming and shouting at Joe. Sit down and shut up, or even better come and actually make an effort to meet your niece and maybe even try to look happy that our sister is home finally."

"Shut the fuck up, Gina. Frannie, come on."

"Frannie, sit down," Gina ordered. "If you wanna go Bill then you go, but Frannie's staying here."

"Fine," Bill spat.

"Bill, wait," Evelyn reached for him as he passed her but he shrugged her off.

"I can't even look at you right now," he sneered before turning his attention to Joe. "And you. I fucking knew you were a piece of shit but this really takes the piss. It's bad enough you married my sister without even asking anyone but then you knocked her up as well. Good job making sure she's can't ever fucking be rid of you now, huh?

You know, I was just coming around to the idea of you and her being hitched when I see that in her arms and now her life is ruined just when it's about to begin."

"That is your niece," Joe squared up to Bill, anger coursing through him. Anger not for himself but for Evelyn. "And I don't give a shit whether you like me or not I won't let you stand there and let you make her cry. Look at her; fucking look at her!"

"Yeah, she's crying 'cause she can't handle the truth which is that you and that baby are a fucking mistake."

"Stop this both of you," Evelyn cried, taking hold of Georgina who was crying now too.

"Say that again," Joe gritted his teeth. "You tell me again that my baby is a fucking mistake? You've got no fucking idea what we've been through, what she's been through. You're lucky there are women here otherwise I'd have you outside for a fight, one leg or two."

"And I'd still fucking kick ten tonnes of shit out of you with the one leg," Bill growled. "You wanna try-"

"What on ground is going on here?!" Joe Guarnere roared as he stepped through the door.

"It's what on earth, daddy," Gina whispered.

"Why do I come home and hear everyone shouting at each other like this? And why is Evelyn crying?"

"Because Bill's an idiot," Gina muttered.

"Tell me something I don't know," their father sighed. "This ends now. All of it."

… … …

Evelyn's eyes were heavy and swollen. Her father had sent her upstairs to feed the baby and get some rest, promising her that he would sort everything out and then come and get her.

She had cried and cried as she fed Georgina, ignoring Frannie as she paced up and down the bedroom calling Bill for all kinds. She had cried so much that she must have nodded off for a short while because when she awoke, Georgina was asleep in an actual baby outfit and not a blanket that had been fashioned into a romper suit, and in the pram that her father had gone out for earlier on.

Sitting up, listened for the sound of arguing but all she heard was the noise of someone coming up the stairs. She could tell it was Bill by the thump of his crutches followed by that of his foot. When he paused outside the door, she expected to pass by again on his way to the bathroom. Instead he knocked once and pushed the door opening.

The look on his face as he took in her tired and sore eyes was one of guilt, and one of concern and the need to care for her like he always had.

"I'm sorry," he croaked out gruffly, sitting down on the end of the bed and resting his crutches against the wooden frame.

"Do you actually mean that or are you just saying it because pop made you?"

Sitting opposite one another at the kitchen table, Bill and Joe glared at each other, eyes full of hostility and jaws clenched with anger and upset. Glancing between the two of them, Joe Guarnere sighed and shook his head.

"You both love Evelyn," he began. "And even if you struggle to find anything else in common then let that at least be enough. I would have thought serving together to fight for your country should have been another thing for you to share with each other rather than something that divided you."

"I have no problem with your son, Mr Guarnere," Joe spoke up. "We've had our issues in the past and as an older brother myself I understand that the idea of me and Evelyn isn't an easy one for him. That being said, I do have a problem with the way he's treating Ev. By all means be pissed at me, Bill, but I won't allow you to talk to her like you just did. And I damned sure won't allow you to talk about my daughter like you did either."

"Then you know what you can do if you don't like it," Bill growled. "You got your own family waiting for you back home, so why are you here bothering with mine?"

"You don't think I wouldn't like to be seeing my family right now? You don't think I've missed them? You don't think I've not thought about how it will feel to hug my mom after three years or meet my niece for the first time?" Joe exclaimed. "I want nothing more than to be in San Francisco right now but instead I'm here because I wanted to make sure Evelyn got to see her family first, including you. I wanted to be here to apologise for marrying her without anyone's permission or knowledge but to explain that she means the fucking world to me and that I'll be the best husband she could ever ask for. I wanted to be here when you met your niece because I know Evelyn was petrified and I know she's tired and feeling a whole bunch of things that I, as a man, can never comprehend. I wanted to be here to thank you for writing her that letter after you were wounded so that we could have another chance and so we could be together. But you, you are too pig headed to give a shit about anything but yourself, Bill, and I'm not gonna let you hurt her. She's been through enough; things that you won't like when you hear but things that I'm gonna tell you anyway."

And Joe really had told him everything from the miscarriage to the camp; Grant, Jackson and everything and everyone else in between. Joe had even told him about his talks with Babe to ensure Evelyn would be taken care of if anything had happened to him in the Pacific.

By the end of their discussion, Bill had been forced to admit that the real reason he was angry, and it had nothing to do with Evelyn or even Joe, and certainly not the baby.

"I mean what I'm saying," Bill cleared his throat, reaching for Evelyn's hand and squeezing it gently when she didn't pull away. His eyes focused on his thumb brushing across her knuckles, he didn't notice the tears pouring from them. "You wanna know why I was so angry when I saw you at the door? It was 'cause I failed you, Ev."

"What?" she frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"When I got wounded in the Bois Jacques, I failed you 'cause I left you. I left you all alone out there and not a day went by where I didn't think about it; where I didn't read the papers and think about you."

"You didn't fail me, Bill," she whispered. "I wasn't alone. I had Joe and I had our friends. I was never alone. And you know what? If you hadn't been wounded, you never would have written me that letter and I never would be where I am now; married and with a baby and home. And if you hadn't helped shape me into the person I am, I never would have gotten through half of the stuff I've gotten through, even with Joe. You've never failed me, Bill."

"Seeing you standing on that doorstep just brought up all these feelings and instead of just telling you how happy I was to see you, and instead of showing you how excited I was to meet my surprise niece, I had to go and act like a goddamn idiot."

"You weren't acting like an idiot, you're just acting like a typical Guarnere," she smirked. "And it's not too late to tell me how happy you are to see me, and it's definitely not too late to show me how excited you are to meet your niece. In fact, I can hear her stirring about now. She'll want to feed in a minute. Maybe you could hold her first?"

"I'd like that," Bill nodded. "But I wanna do this first."

Wrapping his arms around Evelyn, he pulled her against him, kissing the top of her head and she could feel his body shuddering as he held her.

"I'm so proud of you, Evie," he murmured. " I'm so glad you're home. And… although my opinion don't matter none, I was wrong about Liebgott. He's a good man and… I know he's gonna take good care of you. Both of you. Now let me meet my niece, huh?"

Wiping Bill's tears away with her hand she kissed him on the cheek before climbing out of bed and walking around the other side of the bed to the pram, where Georgina was wriggling her head from side to side and frowning.

Bill's face was one of awe when Evelyn set Georgina down gently in his arms, and he glanced up at Evelyn briefly with a giddy laugh.

"She looks like me."

"I know," Evelyn laughed too.

"Least she ain't got her dad's nose," he joked, earning him a smack from his sister. "And we gotta do something about that name. Georgina? Really?"

"Joe and George tag teamed me," Evelyn muttered, sitting down beside Bill. "I was given no say in the matter. You should have seen George though; he was so good when it happened. He was so calm and he knew what was happening before I even did."

"Well I guess the name aint all that bad," Bill admitted begrudgingly, stroking Georgina's cheek and smiling when she pursed her lips at him as though annoyed. "I hope my little guy and gal are as cute as you little Georgina. I'd say won't it be great to see them growing up together but I have a feeling this little lady is gonna be a California girl," he smirked when he saw the look on Evelyn's face. "Don't worry, there aint another argument coming. You're a big girl and you've gotta do the best for you and your family now, Ev, and it aint that far away. Our kids'll still be the closest of cousins and the best of friends. I don't doubt that for a second."

"Neither do I."

This is the last chapter of Ev's journey. There will be an epilogue coming and I hope to write lots of imagines for Ev and Joe's life and family together. I'm feeling really quite emotional and although the epilogue is written, I'm not sure if it will be posted before the end of the week because I feel a bit scared to say goodbye to the story I've been working on for about 4 years. Chloe x