" Sometimes you get to what you thought was the end and you find it's a whole new beginning."

- Anne Taylor

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When they were dismissed, many of the women decided to head out to the PX Bar with some of the 82nd men, but Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie got news that they had to move out to New York City. Sweeney had stopped them before they had left where they had received their wings. He had clear instructions from Ridgway, who had been contacted by Colonel Sink.

The men of the 506th were receiving their wings around Christmas, which was in about a week and a half.

But, the women were ahead in training compared to them, so they were being moved out to England earlier than they were. More than 6 months, still without meeting the men they would be fighting a war with. Brilliant.

hey were moving out by train tomorrow. They'd be on a cargo ship, with members of the Chateau Thierry, who was set to head to Ireland, but was making a stop in Plymouth England for cargo and for the 3 women, who would be picked up by American counter parts who were to be in England.

So, the next day, the 3 women boarded a train to New York City after bidding the 17 other women good bye and wishing them luck in the future of their training with the men they would be with for the war. It was about 0900 when they finally got on the train after Captain Thermes had been the one to escort them to the train and put down his guard for a moment and wished the 3 luck.

They found seats in the corner, and carefully slid in with their jump wings and uniforms and luggage. Catherine and Lizzie slid in across from Hazel and let out a sigh of relief as they finally sat down, with their Jump Wings pinned to their chest on their way to New York City.

" So, Christmas 1942? Spent on some ship to England?" Catherine said with a playing smirk on her lips.

" Not the weirdest place I've spent Christmas." Lizzie commented and the two girls looked at her.

" What?" Catherine asked her and Lizzie nodded.

" Christmas 1934, my dad decided to take my family ice fishing out on Lake Michigan, in these tiny huts called an ice shanty, on Christmas Eve. I spent my Christmas there, pulling fish out of freezing cold water." Lizzie said, " Life with a father from the military, and that's not the craziest he'd done." The girls chuckled a bit.

" Was the fish good at least?" Hazel asked softly. Lizzie smiled.

" Best fish I'd had in a while, even on that Christmas morning, my brother was training to become a chef by then, wanted to be the greatest. He knew how to cook up a fish." Lizzie said.

" You haven't talked much about your brothers, what are they like?" Hazel asked as she sat up and looked at Lizzie. Lizzie smiled.

" Brady's the oldest, he wanted to be a chef ever since he was a kid, but then the war broke out and he had to stop his internship he had and sign up for the Navy." Lizzie explained, " I felt bad for him. But he hopes to pursue it afterwards." Hazel smiled.

" Then there's Michael, we look pretty similar, there's just a huge height difference and he's more of the All-American, with the scholarship for football and all. So he went out for Notre Dame, became a wide receiver, before he signed up for the marines when the war broke out. He felt he couldn't just stand around and play football as men sacrificed themselves. I agreed with him." Lizzie explained. Hazel smiled at her.

" Sounds like my brothers." Catherine said, " Jack and Clark, they both went out for the Marines, right after December 7th. I'd never seen them as worked up as that." Hazel bit her lip.

The train ride was peaceful, as Hazel stared out the window, watching as the world flew past outside.

Would this be the last time she saw America?

Her home?

Would she ever come back from the brutalities of war?

Would she feel like she finally left the war in the end?

What pain would she possibly come home with?

She tried to push that from her mind as she focused on the clouds and the sky and the sun above them and the world outside the train. It was warm inside the train as Hazel laid back and stared outside. Catherine was attempting to do so reading as Lizzie was generously eating some food from the concession run by a member of the military.

" What's that Hazel?" Catherine asked Hazel pointing to the necklace around her neck. The Star of David. Hazel smiled softly as she sat up and put the tiny emblem in her palm.

" It's my dziadek's, my grandfather's, he was a Polish-Jew, before he converted to Catholic for my grandmother." Hazel said, " He gave it to me before I came on the train to the WAC." Catherine smiled softly.

" That must mean so much," Catherine said as she leaned forward and looked at it gently.

" I don't want this to sound the way it might, but was that part of the reason you came out to the WAC and then to Camp Athene?" Catherine asked her, as Lizzie looked up. Hazel nodded.

" Polish people are being prosecuted for being Polish. That could've been me. I just felt I had to do something." Hazel said, " And being here now, getting closer to war, brings some comfort knowing hopefully that persecution will stop soon." Catherine smiled.

" It's the pride of the country," Lizzie said leaning forward, " I admire people that go to fight for our country." And Lizzie smiled at Hazel and Hazel smiled wide at her.

Their train pulled into New York City, at a military depot, where a Lieutenant of Camp Shanks met them.

" Hello ladies," he said as he approached them out of the smoke from the train. The 3 women offered smiles.

" Welcome to Last Stop, USA, I'm Lieutenant Thomas Dyer. This is the biggest embarkment camp in the US, so we're hoping to accommodate you for your last evening in the United States." he said with a smile at him.

" Thank you, sir." Lizzie said with a smile.

" Follow me, we're keeping you ladies under wraps still, away from the public as I've been informed, so we can't head out the entrance of the train station." he explained to them," Follow me."

The 3 women followed after the Lieutenant through the crowd of military men before turning and moving out a back door, that led to a designated alley way which seemed to be for military personnel. The Lieutenant walked over to a military staff car. He opened up the back trunk and took the women's luggage with ease.

" This will be the best way to make sure we get to Shanks without you ladies being seen." he confirmed as he opened the back door of the car, and allowed the 3 women to sit down side by side in the back row, with still enough space.

Dyer closed the door before walking around the opposite side of the car and pulling the door handle open to the driver's seat. He slowly sat down in his uniform and turned the car on, before removing his cap from his head, and respectfully placing it down on the chair. He slowly rolled the car forward, down the rest of the alley way and then out onto the main road of the streets of New York City.

Hazel's eyes became glued to the window, like wide balls of amazement as she stared at all the buildings and people that walked throughout the streets so freely. There were children and couples and older men walking little dogs or carrying boxes of supplies at their store fronts. Oh how Hazel wished she could just walk along the streets and visit all the shops. Maybe in the future when there weren't so many restrictions for Operation Virago.

Hazel watched the children with smiles on their faces walked along the streets, as the blistering wind was blocked by the tall buildings that were in the city of New York. It was all so, magical in a sense. Hazel had never been to a city. Lizzie and Catherine glanced to each other with smiles on their faces as they watched Hazel look out into the city with such wonder in her eyes.

" You like it?" Lieutenant Dyer asked as he glanced back in the rearview mirror, noticing the tiny Corporal looking out at the city with luminous eyes.

" It's beautiful, sir." Hazel said, watching lights flash above them in buildings. Catherine noticed Lieutenant Dyer smile.

They drove through New York City, watching the busy life of the people who lived there seem to thrive, as a war raged. Catherine couldn't help but feel a slight pit in her stomach as the American people enjoyed this freedom here right now. There were soldiers fighting in the Pacific right now, for their lives and their country, as people back in America, in countries all over the nation, live freely, with a democracy without tyranny. It gave Catherine hope. Lieutenant Dyer slowly turned onto the bridge that would take them across the George Washington Bridge and into New Jersey.

" I've never been to Jersey." Lizzie said as she leaned forward with wide eyes as they looked at the tiny towns that were right there once you got off the bridge.

" It's the Garden State." the women heard Dyer say from the front, " Cranberries, blueberries, tomatoes, you name it."

" My ma used Jersey tomatoes all the time from the market," Hazel said leaning forward, " she always said that they were the best ones produced."

" Your mom sounds like the cutest person." Lizzie said leaning forward, " What's she like?"

" She made homemade food all the time, lots of jams, preservatives, sauces, all homemade. But she was brought up that way." Hazel said, " And I look a lot like her, with the hair and the eyes and the nose. We're very similar. I miss her a lot." Hazel smiled at them and then looked out at new Jersey.

" I wish she could see all this, all the world has to offer." Hazel said.

" She will." Catherine said as Hazel glanced towards her, " When she sees what her daughter can do in the military, fighting for the country." Hazel smiled. As they passed back into New York again, they moved towards Camp Shanks, as darkness slowly fell around them. Lieutenant Dyer, slowly pulled into the camp, and drove towards an office building. He slowly pulled the car into a parking spot near a bunch of other military staff vehicles and parked it. Then he grabbed his cap and adjusted it on his head, before turning to look at the women.

" You'll be housed with WAC members for the night, their barracks are near the other side of camp." the Lieutenant explained to them as the women nodded.

" Ok, let me help you all out." he said as he opened his door and camp to Hazel's door and opened it up before stepping back. As Hazel turned and jumped out of the car, like a child she couldn't help but look around it wonder at the size of the camp surrounding them. It was amazing, all of it. Lizzie and Catherine hopped out after Hazel as Dyer went around to grab their bags from the back.

" How big is this place?" Catherine asked Dyer as he handed her, her bag.

" Pretty big, biggest embarkment camp to date. Currently 40,000 soldiers each month." he explained.

" Holy shit." Catherine said as Dyer smirked.

" I know right? Wouldn't suspect it." he said as Catherine nodded, as he handed Lizzie and Hazel their bags.

" Alright, let me take you to your barracks, you only have cots, since it's one night, but you'll be with a few of the officers here in the WAC." Dyer explained as he started walking and the women followed him, " In the morning at about 1100, after breakfast, I'll come and find you ladies and drive you to your embarkment spot in the docks in the city, to head out to Plymouth, England."

" Yes, sir." the trio answered him. He led them towards a building and knocked on the door. There were footsteps behind the door and then it opened and there was a woman on the other side with a smile on her face.

" Lieutenant, how can we help you?" she asked, before her eyes found the trio.

" The Airborne ladies, of course." she said as Dyer smiled at her.

" Thanks Sergeant, make sure they get settled and get some rest. They leave tomorrow for England." Dyer explained.

" Yes, sir." the WAC Sergeant said, before stepping back, " Come on in ladies." Catherine led the way up into the barrack where a few other women were.

" I'm Claudia Albright, one of the Sergeants here with the WAC, we've heard all about you guys." she said as she walked in and a few other women began looking their way.

" Really? All the way up here?' Catherine asked as Claudia walked forward and took a seat on a bed.

" Of course! Operation Virago is popular amongst us ladies. We always try to get information on it to see how it's going, so we were excited when we heard you three were staying with us." Claudia said.

" Yeah!" a tiny ginger haired woman said, " I mean, you're all so amazing, to be accepted into the program and be able to fight alongside men and advocate more for change to happen hopefully. It just means a lot seeing women do that that, especially now. I'm Annie by the way." The trio smiled.

" We hope to live up to that." Lizzie said with a smile, " We want change as well and hope the success of this starts something even greater." The WAC women in the barrack were welcoming and fun to talk to when they weren't training. They asked about training for basic and for being a paratrooper with their jump wings and what that was like.

That night, Hazel lay awake at night, staring at the window above the cot she was in, staring up at the stars, with slightly saddened eyes. She hoped that they could live up to the support all the women in the female branches of the military were giving, and advocate for a change to the military and show that they were just as equal to any man in the military.

Lieutenant Dyer was there early the following morning, 1100 as expected and ready to take the ladies to their embarkment dock on the Chateau Thierry. The women road in their Virago uniforms through New York City again, in the early afternoon light, watching people eat lunch in little open dinner sights along the street. They arrived at the docking sight with help from Lieutenant Dyer as he insisted that he carry their bags until they got checked in. The women were received by the Colonel working on the ship and that's where Lieutenant Dyer turned to them with a smile.

" I wish you luck ladies. Fight for America, remember that." he said as he shook each of their hands.

" Thank you, sir." the women chorused to him, as he gave them a quick salute and then hurried away. This would be the last time on American soil. Hazel let out a breath of air as she slowly descended up into the ship, as the group followed after the Colonel into the ship.

" We have an area for you ladies, up near where the Captain is staying, since there's only 3 of you and not a full company." he said.

" Thank you, sir." the women said to him and the Colonel smiled. He took them up into a hallway and down the hall to a dorm, opening up the door into a rather large bedroom, with 3 beds set up.

" If you want, you can head on down to the deck, get the last glimpse of Lady Liberty before she pulls away." the Colonel said to the trio, " Beautiful view."

" Thank you, sir." the women said and the Colonel nodded with a smile towards them before stepping out.

" This is beautiful." Lizzie said as he shut the door, and she walked over to the window, " All of it, I mean, 2 weeks on the ocean and Christmas here? I think I'll be fine."

" Yeah, yeah, it's nice." Catherine said as she peered out the window.

" I think we should go look at Lady Liberty." Hazel said as she adjusted her cap.

" Let's!" Lizzie said as she grabbed her gloves and the 3 women bustled down to a less crowded area of the deck.

The air was salty, and it was chilly as it was rather chilly standing against the railing. Hazel felt a nervousness in her stomach, a need to uphold what they were to do. It was an odd feeling, like a bittersweet homecoming; she didn't miss her home life much, but she missed her mother and couldn't imagine her mother sitting home alone by the fire, sipping her lukewarm soup.

As soon as the ship began to move, the last sight of America the troops got was the Statue of Liberty, standing tall and proudly, facing the troops as they pulled out to harbor. Hazel leaned against the railing next to Catherine as the wind gently hit her face, and the orange and yellow hues of the sunset lit up her eyes.

Lady Liberty was a proud woman, she had been ever since she arrived, but now in this dire moment of terror that the world was set in, she brought power and pride to the soldiers leaving their home, letting them know that some were never coming back.

Hazel sucked in a deep breath, as the sun dipped behind the horizon, and Lady Liberty disappeared into darkness as the troop ship moved toward Europe, toward England, toward the ever looming war that slowly crept in like a quiet nightmare.

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hey! last chapter today! my update schedule might be basically everywhere for the next month or two. i have a lot of free time, so i might just upload things when i feel, in large and small chunks of chapters, whichever i feel! :)

thank you all again, be on the lookout for more chapters coming up, as i am rapidly editing and feeling satisifed!