" It's okay to be scared. Being scared means you're about to do something really, really brave."

- Unknown

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The men and women of the 101st loaded into their respective trucks to head off towards Upottery. They would be staying in the airfield until the time of the invasion finally did arrive, however long that would be.

Hazel slowly seated herself beside Liebgott, sweating in the heavy amount of gear she was lugging around. Summer in England was warm and humid and absolutely muggy outside whenever you headed out.

" They expect me to fight Germans wearing all this?" Hazel said as she glanced at Joe who was smirking beside her.

" Seems like it." he said, as she smiled softly, brushing some hair from face that was hanging down in her lose helmet.

" You said you cut hair, didn't ya, Joe?" Hazel asked him as Joe pulled a strap tighter and nodded.

" Yeah, yeah I do. Little side business when I drove cabs. I liked the extra cash." Joe said.

" Can you do women's?" Hazel asked softly with a shy smile his way. Joe glanced at her with a smirk.

" I got 4 sisters, 'course I can, Tiny." Joe said, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a soft smile to Hazel. She smiled, her two dimples appearing.

" Hey, mind cutting my hair too there Joe?" Malarkey said slamming in across from him with a smirk.

" Sure, princess." Joe muttered, giving a glare his way as Hazel laughed. Malarkey snickered. The truck drive was just odd, because there was a riled up anticipation of what was to come, but there was no time of when that was supposed to happen or occur and there was a pit deep in Hazel's stomach as she slowly started making the realizations she knew she would have to face as a soldier, a paratrooper in war now. Everyone was tense and overwhelmed.

Hazel glanced around the tiny truck filled with men of the company and sighed to herself. It felt like there was a rock lodged in her throat. She peaked out of the back of the truck to look towards the dreary, grey skies that lied over Upottery. They knew as paratroopers, and for the women as Viragos what this would mean, concerning the course of war. What a rather surprising invasion of Europe would eventually mean.

" 2nd platoon, listen up! I want the 1st squad and a-side tents right up there!" Compton called to the whole of 2nd platoon.

" 3rd squad, second row." Compton called again. It was a strange feeling, being in the presence of one of the biggest military invasions that was about to made in the whole of military history itself. There was a seriousness when the men went about their business heading to their respective tents with their equipment and weapons. You could hear the planes and their whirring engines as they moved around the airfield as well as hear every man walk through the mud that they trekked around the airfield. There were loud voices and some shouts of orders as well as chatting amongst the enlisted. Engines on vehicles revved around the base, and rattling noises echoed in the air.

Hazel followed the rest of 2nd to their tent they would all be in. Lizzie would be with 1st platoon while Catherine would remain the officers. Hazel walked beside Bill through the muggy atmosphere and the muddy ground, her eyes weary and exhausted the long ride on the trucks over. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of the jump they were supposed to experience in the future, and the future was scary.

" Home sweet home." she heard Liebgott call from in front of them as they approached the tent. Hazel quirked a tiny smile, as they came upon the tent. Hazel watched Joe step inside and then she followed in beside Bill to get inside the tent and sighed to herself looking around.

" I'd start making yourselves at home, don't know how long we'll be here." Bill said, as Hazel moved over towards a bed. Hazel slowly removed her helmet from her head with a sigh, before placing it beside her bags on the cot. She was exhausted and weary, but she'd been nervous coming to the airfield. In all her time of training, she had yet to feel nervous about really going to war, really being a part of it all, but now she was nervous and it had kept her up all night just thinking about it. She hated that. Hazel slowly turned to sit down and lie back against the bed, shutting her eyes for a moment in her gear, staring at the darkness of her lids.

" Someone's tired." a voice said and Hazel cracked open her eyes to see a blurry Floyd Talbert above her.

" I'm fine." Hazel said sitting up, blinking her eyes awake, forcing herself to not fall asleep. Tab looked at her with a raised brow.

" You sure, you didn't talk much the ride over." Tab said. Hazel glanced towards him and bit her lip, she nodded again though. Tab slowly sat down beside her and glanced towards her.

" What's going on, Tiny?" Tab asked her.

" I'm just nervous." Hazel answered honestly, " About it all."

" Well," Tab said, wrapping an arm over her shoulder and gently rubbing it, " I know of a pretty badass sniper." Hazel let out a tiny giggle.

" You know that's you right?" Tab said with a chuckle. Hazel giggled.

" Yeah, I know." Hazel said with a tiny smile.

" We're going to mess soon," Tab said and she nodded.

" Thanks for that, Tab." Hazel said with a small smile and a nod. Tab smiled.

" 'Course." Tab said, and he smiled gently at her. He had a nice smile. Tab slowly made his way back over to his bed as Hazel glanced at her equipment. Hazel slowly picked up her weapon and pulled it into her lap and began looking at it once again. She bit her lip. Hazel gently ran a hand over her face, in a stressed and worried way, before setting her chin in the palm of her hand and sitting there for a few moments, letting it sink in a bit.

Dinner that night in the mess was quieter than it had been in the past.

So that night, Hazel sat outside the tents, staring at the stars. Inside, they were all playing card games and talking and just hanging out. Hazel preferred to head out to the stars and become encased in their safety. Hazel stared up at the dark sky, filled with the tiny dots called stars. Hazel looked at the bracelet on her wrist and gently touched it, thinking of Harry and Grace, back in Aldbourne. They were the closest things to parents that Hazel could get over here, and Hazel had a horrible gut wrenching feeling in the pit of her stomach that she'd never see them again. The bracelet on her wrist meant so much, especially since Grace had intended it for her first born daughter, but she wasn't able to have kids, and that had hurt Hazel inside. But Hazel resumed that duty where she could be that daughter figure.

Hazel then gently touched the Star of David which was around her neck, and took it from her collar, staring at the tiny symbol. Hazel never cried usually, and she most definitely hated crying in front of people. She felt that it was weak and that it was too vulnerable. So she always made sure she was alone in every sense. Because when she cried, whenever she tried to tell people her emotions, she couldn't even begin to start without completely breaking down into shambles. She only ever cried twice in front of people and that was with Lizzie and Catherine and then another time with Catherine, but she let no one else see her cry.

Hazel shut her eyes, as a tear crawled down her cheek, and her heart raced. She felt so ungodly anxious and so filled with unwanted fear, as her mind filled with irrational thoughts, even as she knew she was okay. Hazel gently let the Star of David drop from her hands as she put the palms of her hands to her eyes and forced herself to not cry; to not overthink even the stupidest things, she only felt worse when she did.

So she continued to suffer alone that night, as the stars looked down on her, watching the quiet, innocent sniper softly let out her emotions for only the stars to see.

When Hazel woke up the next morning, she was staring at the ceiling of the tent she was roomed in with the men. There was a gentle breeze that blew in from some of the open windows, and many of the men were still asleep, their exhausted snores ringing around the room.

Beside her in the cot to her left, Joe Liebgott, was sleeping peacefully, his hair falling over his eyes, as he slept with his arms over his chest, snoring softly. Hazel felt the corner of her mouth rise up in a smirking fashion.

Oh how she wanted to get him back for all the little pranks that he pulled on her or the bits of annoyance, and jump on top of him and scare him awake. But then that would wake the others, and she didn't want that.

On her other side was Chuck Grant, snoring, rather loudly, on his stomach, head shoved under his pillow. Hazel had come inside last night and gone straight to bed, to escape the demons that seemed to play a game of catch in her mind.

Hazel slowly sat up and swung her feet over the left side of her bed and sighed, putting her head in her hands. She looked down and pulled her boots on and then stood, grabbing her OD coat and pulling it over her PT gear.

Hazel walked out of the tent into the bright, morning sunshine of June 1st. Hazel looked around with squinted eyes and sighed. It was finally June, which could mean a whole new slew of opportunities for perfect jumping weather. She got coffee that morning and sat outside on a bench watching the bright early morning sky. As she looked to the sky, a shadow slowly crossed in front of her. She opened her half shut eyes and looked up and over to see it was Buck Compton; their newly assigned Lieutenant.

" Hi, sir." Hazel said as she sat up, moving over to give him space to sit down beside her.

" Morning," he said and glanced towards the sky where Hazel was currently looking towards with squinted, sleepy eyes, " mind if I take a seat?"

" Of course," Hazel said and she smiled softly, watching as Buck sat beside her and looked out towards the airfield with the early morning light of June to greet them. Hazel watched him curiously. She liked Buck Compton, everyone liked him, especially that of guys like George Luz, Joe Toye, Bull and Johnny and Bill. Buck also seemed like a trustworthy leader with a good head on his shoulders. Nothing he had done had made Hazel think otherwise. They had never really talked though, but then again Hazel wasn't labeled ideally as the talker in many circumstances.

" What'd you do before the war, Parker?" Buck asked her as he brought up the cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip before glancing at Hazel.

" I worked in groceries stores, when I was finishing up my schooling. Then I graduated early to join the WAC and then the Viragos." Hazel said to him and she noticed a smile on Buck's face.

" Ah yes," Buck said, " I was excited to hear I'd be joining a company with Viragos in it." Hazel smiled.

" Really?" she asked him.

" Oh yeah," Buck said with a nod looking at her, " Viragos were the talk of ROTC. We even had one who helped train us. She was tough that one. She got me to where I am today. her training was ruthless."

" What was her name?" Hazel asked him.

" Captain Molly Copeland." Buck said, sipping his drink, " She knew how to disarm a guy in seconds." Hazel let out a soft laugh.

" I can believe it, she was one of the best self-defense fights in the Viragos. Clearly she still is." Hazel said and Buck laughed, a hearty laugh.

" What about you, sir?" Hazel asked him. Buck let out a smile.

" I lived in Los Angeles and went to UCLA for baseball, played in the Rose Bowl in the beginning of 1943, then went to ROTC." Buck explained.

" You went to college?" Hazel asked him and Buck nodded with a smile.

" Some of the best years of my life."

" What was it like, sir?" Hazel asked him curiously as she sipped her coffee and let it burn her throat a bit.

" Well, since I went for baseball there's all the excitement surrounding that." Buck said as Hazel giggled as she knew where he was going with it.

" You got the ladies I'm assuming is what you're saying." Hazel said and Buck let out a laugh.

" If that's what you want to call it, Parker, then we'll call it that." Buck said and Hazel grinned at him, " What about you?"

" No, I had to help make sure we had money for the house and all and plus I graduated a few days before I left for the WAC." Hazel explained, " But I'm hoping I can possibly go when this war is over." Buck smiled at her.

" What are you thinking of going for?"

" Math." Hazel said and Buck nodded to her, " Mostly because I think it can get me closer to the stars."

" That's quite the ambition, Parker." Buck said and Hazel nodded with a smile.

" It is, isn't it?" she said and Buck grinned at her.

" Sometimes the biggest ambitions come from the tiniest seed, Parker." Buck said and Hazel smiled at him. She didn't know what is was, but having a conversation that wasn't in anyway war oriented had calmed her down and settled her anxious nerves that seemed to want to go into overdrive.

After talking with Buck, she knew why everyone liked him as much as they did; he was easy to talk to, a relatable and funny guy and someone who seemed could talk about anything and make it interesting.

Hazel stepped into the tent that morning and found most of the guys were still lazily passed out and asleep. Chuck's snoring was loud, but mixed with the rest of the guys it was even louder and elevated. Hazel just smirked and headed back towards her bed and sat down on the edge, removing her boots again and OD coat as it was growing warm again. She then sat on her bed again and slowly braided up her thin, wavy curls into 2 braids just until Joe would be able to give it a good cut. Hazel slowly looped each strand of hair, just as her mother had taught her to, bringing each piece, one over the next, until she reached the end and was able to tie it off. Then she did the same to the other side, as silent snores continued to fill the room. It was oddly peaceful.

She glanced towards Liebgott again thinking of her innocent little plan from this morning. She grinned to herself, before slowly bringing her socked feet over the edge to touch the ground. She slowly stood, with her outstretched hands in front of her, tip-toeing towards the sleeping man in his bed. She wanted to get him back after almost a year of the playful teasing she endured from him. And plus, they were friends, she had every right to wake him from a peaceful sleep. Hazel watched Joe shift a bit in his bed and then resume snoring again. Hazel smirked to herself.

Then she acted.

She jumped lightly onto him, right next to his ear, and had to let out a laugh before saying a quick boo in his ear.

Joe shot awake underneath her, and it seemed his first instinct was to latch onto her, shoving her to his side, down into the bed, his eyes wide, breathing heavy. But all he saw was Hazel, beside him, small giggles leaving her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut, laughing. Joe tried to be mad at the girl for waking him up, but he felt he couldn't be mad at her. She was too innocent to be remotely upset for waking him up.

" Well, good morning to you, too." Joe muttered out as Hazel managed to let out one final laugh, before looking at him.

" That's for those months of teasing me." Hazel said as she giggled again. Joe couldn't keep the smirk that crawled onto his face off, as Hazel laughed.

" You're gonna get it, Parker." Joe said as Hazel just laughed, turning to roll off the bed to her socked feet again, a smile on her face.

" Sure," Hazel said, as she turned to him, with innocent eyes, and then frowned, " but why would you do that to me?" Joe bit his lip.

" Those puppy dog eyes don't work on me anymore, Parker." Joe said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, " Only when you were sick and that was it." Hazel giggled.

" Can you two shut up?" a voice groaned and the two looked towards Chuck who's body hadn't moved as the voice crept out from around the pillow.

" Yeah Hazel." Joe said childishly as Hazel scoffed.

" You shut up." Hazel said, swinging her foot out towards his bed like a kid. " No you." Joe argued.

" How about you both shut your yaps!" Bill yelled as he lied on his side across the barrack, his voice annoyed. Hazel couldn't help but look away and let a giggle past her lips childishly as Joe smirked at her.

They were just kids.

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hello! i'm back with a few chapters, that quite possibly might take us up until the end of episode one and the invasion of normandy! i'm so happy to finally have reached this point of the story with the introduction of war into the life of these soldiers. especially in the lives of hazel, catherine and lizzie.

once again, thank you for all your love and support on this story, i've truly enjoyed writing this so much!! :)