" Growing up is about teaching yourself, not blaming yourself."

- poets

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Hazel and Joe together were a pair of childish kids basically.

The guys had to admit, it was nice seeing the hot-headed Joe Liebgott smile a bit more, laugh a bit more, fight a bit less with the young bundle of innocence around. She was a good balance for him, and a great friend as well. The two played footsie where ever they walked, or kicked stones as they moved from tent to tent, or Joe would flick her head and she'd punch his bicep and then they'd start shoving each other. Bill had to physically pull them apart before they burst into fits of laughs. It let Hazel's mind breath for a bit, without a worry of thinking about the war, just being able to be with her friends.

But in the afternoon, the mood simmered to a quiet, tense halt as they entered the huge hangar where the mass of Easy Company would be receiving instructions for their 'quickly-approaching' operation.

" Saint Marie Du Mont." Meehan said as he walked along the strip of platform laid before the group of Easy Company paratroopers, his loud voice, echoing within the hanger, louder than the rainstorm that thundered outside against the ground and roof.

" Causeway number 1, Causeway number 2. The ultimate field problem. The Estuary of the Douve River divides two beachheads-code-named Utah, here," Meehan pointed to a higher up portion of the map, " and Omaha, here." he stated pointing to the lower section.

" Seaborne infantry will hit these beaches in force at a date and time to be specified." Meehan stated. Hazel softly nibbled on her lip as she usually did. It distracted her, let her get her mind off things. Her soft, doe eyes concentrated on the map behind Meehan, sitting on the edge of the bench, with her hair let down in gentle curls. She had a headache after lunch and figured it was from the ponytail. Joe was beside her smoking, his cap a little crooked, a cigarette on his ear. Hazel was a little anxious, but it seemed everyone else was as they smoked chimneys around her.

" H-hour, D-Day." Meehan stated.

" Airborne's objective, ladies and gentlemen," Meehan said and turned to the latter who nodded with a smirk, " is to take the town of Carentan, thus linking Utah and Omaha into a single continuous beachhead. Each trooper will learn this operation by heart and know his or her and every other outfits' mission to the detail."

" Lieutenant Meehan." a voice called and Dukeman stood with a raised hand.

" Yes, Dukeman." Meehan said stepping up to the large board of the map of the operation.

" Sir, are we dropping tonight?" Dukeman asked and Hazel watched Catherine glanced at Dukeman with a grumble from her spot up on the stage beside Nixon. They had nothing prepared yet, why would they drop tonight?

" When it's time for you to know, we'll let you know." Meehan said back firmly.

" In the meantime, study these sand tables, maps and reconnaissance photos until you can draw a map of the area by memory. Now we will drop behind this Atlantic wall five hours before the 4th infantry lands at Utah. And between our assembly area and the Battalion's objective, there is a German garrison right here in this area- Saint Marie Du Mont. Easy Company will destroy that garrison." Lizzie glanced to Gene who was next to her and he looked over at her with a hardened facial expression, carefully analyzing the situation. She swallowed thickly and glanced back at the map.

" You're all dismissed." he called over the group. People shuffled around them to stand, getting to their feet, mumbling to each other and moving themselves towards the sand tables. If Hazel's brain cells could have personalities, they would all be having mini panic attacks, and possibly be cursing Hazel out.

" Hey," Joe said, placing a hand on her shoulder, " you ok?" Hazel forced a small smile.

" Yeah," Hazel said, " yeah." Joe raised a brow.

" I'm fine, come on, I wanna see what these sand tables look like." Hazel said. Joe gave her another slightly concerned look before giving in and following her. As Hazel approached the sand table, which was surrounded by a mass of Easy Company men, she noticed Catherine nearby at the larger map, looking up at the 5 beachheads. Hazel smiled softly, stepping past Joe and stepping past the men, struggling a bit to pull herself up onto the stage and clambering in beside Catherine.

" Hey, Mack." Hazel said and Catherine glanced her way with a grin.

" How're you doing? With all this?" Catherine asked her, looking back up at the map of the mission.

" It's a little stressful, I'm not afraid to admit that." Hazel said with a shrug of her shoulders, and an innocent smile, " But I feel we're ready." Catherine smiled. Hazel grinned.

" You look like you want to explain it to someone," Hazel said, sitting down criss-cross applesauce like a child and staring up at the big map with curious eyes, " I'll visit the sand tables later." Catherine smiled at her, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

" You sure?" Catherine asked Hazel.

" You're my friend, of course." Hazel said.

So, Catherine began explaining things, going over little things, and Hazel felt better knowing Catherine, a Lieutenant, and someone who worked in college with this sort of stuff was explaining the mission specifically to her.

Catherine talked about the 3 main phases, the paratroopers made up of the 101st and 82nd for America and the 6th for the British, the bombings of B-26s from America would follow, and then the seaborne objective would ultimately follow with land troops and infantryman making the final mark in the operation and landing on the 5 beachheads divided between America, Britain and Canada. America would have Utah and Omaha, while Great Britain would had Gold and Sword, and the Canadians would have Juno.

If each stage went through successfully and was completed to where it needed to be, then the next stage could be set for completion, changing the war. The allies were currently in a struggle for Rome, and the battle sounded bloody and ruthless.

But it wasn't just the allies fighting the Germans in the occupied Italy; they were Italian partisans who were heroic in each and every way fighting against the Nazis, with their own magnificent minds and intelligent tactics that outwitted the Nazis to the highest degree, fighting for what was right.

Hazel admired them.

Catherine knew so much and Hazel was amazed at the amount of information stored in her brain. Eventually Lizzie wandered over and slid in beside Hazel and began listening to Catherine discuss the invasion in detail and enthusiasm. The two women sat side by side watching Catherine discuss the plans for the invasion intently.

When Catherine finished, she led Hazel and Lizzie to a sand table where not a lot of people were and began explaining different things to them, expressing her knowledge of land and geographical features to the two women with ease and confidence.

So, Hazel eventually found herself, sat in a corner, drawing out routes and different landmarks and different paths of roads of Normandy near Carentan, until her fingers grew number from doing so. She glanced up every so often, as any normal person would, and would give a glance around the room towards where other members of Easy had gone off to do the same.

Hazel was glad that night when she could finally lie down on the bed she had been assigned, for her head felt like someone was trying to break it with a brick. All the men were playing cards again and trading off smokes and talking, but Hazel's mind hurt too much for that. So she trekked to the mess hall, where there was usually a bit of extra food lying around.

Hazel walked through the warm night of June 1st, her anticipation of June 2nd, running high as well, as she made way for the mess hall. Hazel stepped inside and found that they were just beginning to clean up everything, with a few stragglers still standing around. Hazel sighed to herself and approached the area where you could get food and just asked for any leftovers they had, just a small bit.

" Hazel?" a voice asked as she sat down in a bench that hadn't been cleaned off yet. She didn't want the men cleaning to have to go back over a cleaned spot again. Hazel looked up and saw Lieutenant Winters there.

" Hi, sir." Hazel said, offering a small smile. Winters glanced towards the kitchen before taking a seat across from her and looking at her.

" What are you doing in here? Did you just get dinner?" Winters asked her, sounding genuinely concerned. Hazel smiled softly.

" No, I had dinner, but my head ached so I figured I'd come back here and just get some food and water in me, sir." Hazel said with a nod and a smile. Winters nodded, a tiny smile on his lips.

" Those sand tables and maps are putting you through it I'm guessing." Winters said to her and she nodded, tiredly.

" It's exhausting." she said, " But I'm determined to know it down to the last detail." Winters smiled at her, he could see that determination across her entire face.

" I saw Catherine talking to you and Lizzie about it today. I can tell it's things she likes to talk about." Winters said and Hazel smiled with a nod, as she stabbed her fork into a piece of chicken.

" She's always loved geography, she went to college for it, sir, and she's really good at it. You should've seen her back at Camp Athene, she was always the best squad leader, she just knew the land and how to approach it in all senses." Hazel said, before putting the chicken in her mouth and savoring the taste.

" So I've heard," Winters said and Hazel smiled, " I'm just glad she's on our side. I know how much all of this means to her."

" She also majored in psychology, with the human mind, so I can't imagine how much she knows about that, if geography was just her major, sir." Hazel said, " She's really smart." Winters smiled at her.

" How you, you doing ok?" Winters asked her. He knew Catherine was at her highest peak at the moment, giving all the help she can, staying up late, hell she barely slept last night, going over maps at the desk in the officers tent. She saw Nixon force her to get rest at about 2 am, because the light was bothering him.

" Doing ok, sir." Hazel said nodding, " I just feel ready to finally, do it, I guess." Winters nodded. That was many of the mens' similar mindsets. They just wanted to get that jump done and over with, because then the could move on and focus on the war they had to be throng into.

" How's Lizzie?" Winters asked Hazel.

" She's doing well, her and Gene have been working really hard, making sure they know all possible outcomes of injury on the battlefield, things like that. But they're so closely bonded and they're such a strong pair that works together, I have no doubt that they'll succeed." Hazel said and Winters smiled.

He knew that the 3 women of Virago, even when separate a lot more now than they usually were, since Catherine stayed with Battalion, Lizzie was in the aid station and Hazel was with 2nd platoon, they still remained connected, even when not speaking to each other or seeing each other as much as they used to.

He thought it was beautiful.

" Right, well, I have to go make sure the boys are cleaning up well. You'll be ok here?" Winters asked her.

" Yep, I'm almost done anyway, sir." Hazel confirmed with a nod. Winters looked at the young woman for a moment. She was young, but strong, and humble. He admired her. Coming out to fight a war, under the cover of a secret operation, willing to die for a country that didn't even know about the operation yet, but still showing up. She was brave.

Many people had trouble sleeping that night simply because they were going over the map that was sitting in their heads, while figuring out the objectives of the men next to them. June 2nd was a pleasant morning without a cloud in the sky. The company went through even more preparation regarding the operation, going to each man and woman, making him or her go over the operation they were to know by now. Lizzie's mind was boggled with information, yet she managed to recite it perfectly to Meehan when he finally did come around and ask for the mission. Lizzie let out a quiet breath of air in relief watching as Hazel recited the same beside her, with ease and humbleness, making Meehan nod and move on. Hazel glanced up at Lizzie beside her and nodded.

" I didn't think my mind was capable of reciting such things." Lizzie said as the two women walked away from the hangar for lunch that afternoon. Hazel grinned.

" You're a medic, Lizzie, I'm pretty sure even if you didn't have the time you had, you still would've been able to memorize it efficiently." Hazel said and Lizzie smiled.

" It's just, you ever think about it all? What this entire invasion could mean?" Lizzie asked Hazel.

" All the time." Hazel said, " You know with the second-guessing and the doubts and the fear. All the time." Lizzie offered a small smile Hazel's way.

" You're not the only one." Lizzie said and Hazel noticed the worry in her eyes. Hazel knew medics were the most important soldiers out on that field; they saved your life if you went down. They were the barrier between life and death when you got hit.

" How are you and Gene doing?" Hazel asked with a soft smile.

" Gene's fine, he's actually be the one who's really kept me grounded, ya know?" Lizzie said with a tiny smile, " I've been stressed thinking about it all. It's nice to have a friend like him who's just there for reassurance."

" I know what you mean." Hazel said and Lizzie grinned.

" How is Mr. Joe Liebgott?" Lizzie asked her. Hazel grinned up at Lizzie.

" Fine, but I got him back for all the times he teased me last year and jumped on him, waking him up out of a dead sleep, don't know if he's happy about that or not." Hazel said and Lizzie let out a laugh.

" Serves him right." Lizzie said as Hazel giggled, squeezing her eyes shut. When the two girls entered the mess hall, they got their food and picked their way over towards where Malarkey and Skip were sitting, talking about God-Knows-What.

" Hey," Lizzie said as she sat down and Hazel followed with a tiny smile.

" Hey you two," Skip said, sipping his water, " looking rather adorable today." Hazel and Lizzie both grinned.

Skip was just like that.

In a way, he had grown to making sure the women were always feeling ok, that they weren't having worries and if so, he always managed the dorkiest compliments because he always felt a woman deserved a little comment each day about how important they were or how beautiful they were, especially the 3 Viragos they had. Skip knew each woman had their own worries about battle, so a little comment always seemed to make their days.

" We try." Lizzie said as she sipped her own water and Skip grinned. Hazel just blushed. She knew Skip by now, she never grew used to the compliments though, even if she appreciated each and everyone.

" Hey, you two hear? One of these next days, we're supposed to be getting some big, feast of food." Malarkey said leaning forward as both girls looked at him with wide eyes.

" You just had to use the word feast?" Skip said as Malarkey shoved his shoulder.

" Anyways, I heard stuff like turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, supposedly ice cream. Catherine was the one that managed information from Battalion, mostly from Nixon." Malarkey said.

" It's true, Catherine and I were walking around together and Nixon came running up and told her something quickly. Told me later there was a 'feast' in Don's words, being planned, before the day of the jump." Skip said. Skip and Catherine had become close friends really through Bill and Joe Toye, and they were hilarious together, bouncing off each other's comments. They were a nice duo.

" I'm excited for the ice cream part." Hazel said innocently and Lizzie swore she saw Don's and Skip's eyes turn soft. But who was she kidding, everyone's eyes in the company went soft whenever Hazel spoke or did anything. She was so innocent.

" I swear you are the cutest lil' thing." Skip said, " Wish this guy could be cuter."

" I'll show you cuter, Warren." Don threatened Skip as Skip laughed out loud.

" Hey, gingers are cute, don't worry Don." Lizzie said, giving him a reassuring glance, and Don smirked proudly.

" See, Skip, Lizzie thinks I'm cute." Don said proudly, but Lizzie just smirked and shook her head.

" But that Shelly back in Astoria sure didn't." Skip said, " Poor thing. You were too good for her." Don grumbled.

" Shelly?" Hazel asked softly.

" This girl from my high school, who I talked to before the war, lost touch a bit." Don said and Lizzie frowned a bit at Don.

" Hey, she's missing out ok, Don, you're a good person. Don't forget that." Lizzie reassured and Don nodded smiling at her. She was going to make a great medic.

" So, you got a thing for red-heads." Skip started in on Lizzie, who glanced at him, with her fork half-raised to her lips, " I'm guessing you're a huge Lieutenant Richard Winters fan." Lizzie snickered.

" 'Course, I am, who isn't?" Lizzie said, as her cheeks blushed a bit. It was no secret that Lieutenant Richard Winters was the gentleman he was, he'd always been kind to the 3 Viragos and he'd been intelligent in the practice field, there was no shying away from possibly even the smallest crush each girl had on the Lieutenant, but they figured many people felt that looking at the Ginger-Haired Lieutenant.

" He is a gentleman." Hazel offered, " Unlike half these guys." Skip snickered.

" She's got us beat." Skip said, " And she's right."

" Ok, ok wait, I gave you 4 portions of my K-ration out in the field sometimes when we practiced back in Aldbourne, Lizzie. I mean that's a fairly gentleman thing to do." Don said looking at the blonde-haired medic. Lizzie smirked.

" You did do that for me, so thank you." Lizzie said with a chuckle, as she swirled her fork around a bit. They spent the rest of lunch talking and laughing before they had to get back and continuing reviewing maps, a mellowing switch from the funny conversation with Skip and Don.

June 3rd was the day that even more preparations were made, like signing their GI Life Insurance Policy, insuring that if they died, their family would receive $10,000 for their death. Hazel hated to think that, but she knew it would help her mother if she ended up being taken from this world.

So that afternoon afterwards, after equipment had been distributed, Hazel asked Joe to finally cut her hair. Over the past few days, she'd begun contemplating where she wanted it cut, how long she wanted to keep it, things like that. But instead, she just went to Joe, hoping that he had a clue of what would be best as a barber himself who had done his sisters' hair 'plenty of times' as he had said. Hazel found Joe reading a comic on his bed, the late afternoon sun streaming in, making a soft golden glow in the tent. She had just finished a shower, so her hair was wet, perfect for cutting hair she knew.

" Hey, Joe," Hazel said as she approached him, " can you do my hair now?" Joe looked up at her with a smile.

" 'Course." he said, closing the Flash Gordon comic in his hands, and leaning down next to his bags to pull out a tiny case. Hazel looked at him confused as Joe stood and turned to her. He smirked at her expression and zipped open the case.

" Scissors and other such equipment." Joe said with a grin and Hazel nodded with a small smile.

" C'mon." Joe said as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder, the two heading outside again into the late afternoon gold that the sun tended to give off now that summer was in full swing.

" Where do you usually do your haircuts?" Hazel asked him.

" They got this little tent set up, for guys to cut their hair different things like that. I don't think anyone will be in there now. They got mirrors, water bins, stuff like that." Joe explained and Hazel nodded. They entered the tent and it seemed to be exactly how Joe had described it to her.

" Have a seat." Joe said pointing to the chair that was near the mirror, as he placed his tiny pack of scissors on a table that he brought over to the side of the chair where Hazel sat. The other 2 girls had gotten Joe to cut their hair and Hazel agreed that he'd done a great job with it all. Catherine's hair was shorter now, just a bit past her shoulders and so was Lizzie's, but it looked really good. Joe brushed through her hair, getting any last minute tangles out before pulling out his scissors.

" How short ya thinking, Tiny?" Joe asked her, leaning against the back of the chair as she stared at herself in the mirror. She bit her lip.

" Maybe just a little past my shoulders?" Hazel asked him with a small smile, looking back at him. Joe smiled at her.

" Gotcha." he said and began getting to work cutting her hair. Hazel had to admit, Joe was good. He remained concentrated the entire time, with the bit of his tongue poking out of his lip the entire time, moving around the chair as he made cuts. It was quiet in the tent, except for the sound of Joe cutting her hair, but it was peaceful. Hazel needed that to rest her extremely loud that didn't seem to shut up. When Joe finished, he stepped back.

" Take a look." he said. Hazel slowly stood up and out of the chair and approached the mirror, running her fingers through the slowly drying hair, and loving the length of it.

" Thank you, Joe." Hazel said turning and looking at him with a wide smile. Joe smirked at her with a nod as she turned back to run her hands through her hair again.

" It looks so good." Hazel said, as she brushed through the ends of her hair which were actually healthy. She loved it. Joe smirked at her as he packed up his things. Hazel loved her hair, it looked clean and healthy and not straggly and dead. When the two got inside the tent for 2nd platoon, Malarkey, Skip and Penkala were the first 3 to notice her haircut, with rather extravagant excitement.

" If I was a girl and needed my haircut, I'd definitely be showing up to you, Joe." Skip said as he touched Hazel's hair, " I never knew you could actually cut hair well."
" You never asked, Skip." Joe said.

" It looks good." Malarkey said and Hazel grinned at him.

" Yeah I agree, I'm surprised Joe." Penkala said as Hazel laughed. Joe just smirked.

" Don't expect me to come sauntering in when you need one." Joe said moving back over to his bed, laughing to himself.

Hazel felt a change already, even if she only had a tiny haircut happen.

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hey! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! i sure did! i'm thinking at the moment, possibly one or two more chapters, depending on how everything lays out, but i'm very excited! normandy is quickly approaching, and i'm very excited to finally reach episode 2!

thank you all for everything! i just want you all to know i appreciate you all :)