" The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rate and beautiful of all."

- The Emperor, Mulan

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Liebgott was being pulled from the line and he was angry it was him and not the sick and crippled Hazel Parker.

Hazel never got the chance to say good bye when he left, because after the hug, he had gone to the aid station and Gene had come and been the one to tell Hazel he was being evacuated back to England to heal for a bit and Hazel felt her heart sag, knowing her best friend wasn't by her side. The days after the battle at Crossroads were growing shorter, colder and everyone was irritable and Hazel's sickness progression had taken quite the turn. She woke up hacking up mucus one night in the barn, and then proceeded to cough for the rest of the night every few seconds.

Hazel eventually stood up and walked outside the barn and sat her bottom down in the early morning, before the sun was even up and stared glumly out at the slightly dark, but slowly growing light sky. She slowly reached in to grab the Star of David and gently brushed against it's warm surface, heated up even more from the persistent fever and gently pressed her lips to it, as her bottom lip trembled.

No.

She refused to cry because she were miserable. She felt it was the numbness by now. Crying was too vulnerable and too weak for a war like this. In all her time of being sick and feeling horrible, she had refused to cry and put up the strong facade that she lived by. Hazel coughed again and then let out a tiny whimper, just wanting to stop coughing for 5 minutes.

" Thought I heard you out here." a voice said and Hazel looked over to see Lip there. She knew he'd be the one to follow her out here. He always was making sure she was ok.

" Hi, Lip." she said as he slowly moved over to sit down beside her up against the barn. Lip looked out at the sky which signaled the sun would be rising soon. He glanced over at Hazel who was struggling on too many levels right now.

He knew.

Everyone did.

War was horrible.

There was no way around it and he had seen her brave face through Normandy, but it seemed her breaking point was nearing. Between seeing Lizzie get injured, getting sick, going through Holland with low morale, watching her best friend get evacuated and now a turn on her sickness, she was miserable.

That's when she broke, and a tiny sob escaped her lips. She put a shaking hand to her lips and she let Lip pull her into his warm side in the darkness of the morning as she coughed again. Her cries were so weak sounding and she felt so ungodly horrible and upset. Lip's arm over her shoulder was warm and comforting and she had never felt more secure in his arms. Lip's tight squeezes made more tears well up in her eyes as she grasped onto the front of his ODs.

" I'm sorry, Lip." she sobbed out, as another whimper left her lips.

" It's okay, Hazel," Lip said softly, rubbing her shoulder, as she squeezed her eyes shut, " It'll be okay." Hazel nodded into his side, forcing herself to believe that. Lip had never seen any of the women of the Viragos cry, they always put up strong, brave faces and they were unwavering and determined and filled with passion and they were driven by an inspiring force. Emotions were part of being a human though.

" I know you miss them." Lip said softly, his gently hand, rubbing her shoulder and Hazel nodded against Lip, sniffling before coughing.

" I've always been with them." Hazel whispered, thinking back to all of Lizzie's smiles that seemed to light up her entire face, making her blue eyes look brighter than normal, the dimple on her left cheek more prominent. She thought of Joe's little smirk he only adorned when he looked her way, and the little chuckle that followed when he'd grin fully. She never knew she'd miss it that much.

" But they'll be back." Lip said and Hazel nodded, she knew they would. They were strong.

" My ma always said that you can't be strong all the time, you need to break sometimes to get back where you want." Lip said softly as Hazel leaned back a bit and looked up at him. Lip offered a gentle, compassionate smile. Hazel gently reached up to wipe a tear from her eye and smiled with a soft nod.

" Your mom sounds so nice, Lip." Hazel said as Lip gently reached up to brush some hairs that stuck to her face from her tears.

" She is," Lip said, " I miss her."

" I miss my mom, too." Hazel said softly, " But you remind me a lot of her, just the way you are." Lip smiled softly at her.

" I'm always here for you, Hazel, remember that." Lip said and Hazel nodded.

" Thank you." she whispered. Lip smiled softly at her. Then, they sat and watched the sunrise together, and Hazel felt herself feeling better, just watching what a new day can bring, what hope and light can offer in this dark world.

Sunrises were beautiful and so were new beginnings.

Easy continued to move closer to some of the smaller towns around Arnhem, bedding down in houses along the streets, or in barns and most dreadful of all foxholes. And they continued to send people on patrols.

Shifty was never happier to be paired with Hazel all the time, the two moved and worked well together like a circuit, seeming to think one step in front of the other and getting work done quickly.

It was a system that worked well.

George and Hazel spent many evenings side by side, finding even just the littlest things to talk about. George had always been a friend of Joe Liebgott since the beginning even back in Toccoa; even their beds had been beside each other and they'd start football games together or baseball games back there together.

He missed Joe too.

Then Malarkey would wander over with Skip and Penkala and the group would be the happiest of them all, laughing and joking, hoping to bring just a bit of light into the quiet barn. It made everything a bit easier to deal with.

On the 14th of October, Gene was giving Hazel her 4th penicillin injection since the end of September. But Hazel had never felt worse for the medics, watching the stress and worry tumble through his vision as he worked quickly to make sure he could get a move on. Medics dealt with much worse. There was sleep deprivation, and anger, and hunger, and exhaustion, and the overlying sicknesses.

With constant battles, that resulted in stalemate, no body ever knew where they would be sleeping, or whether they would get sleep. It felt more so a bigger mess created from that of Market-Garden and the horror that was. News spread quickly about Winters' being promoted to XO and Moose Heyliger becoming CO. It seemed people were a little upset not that Heyliger was going to be CO, but mainly because they would miss Winters in the field. He was always there for every man and woman in the company, and they were all used to him, coming from Toccoa as a 2nd Lieutenant who had led them through Sobel's hell.

Hazel's sickness was weeding off the best it possibly could at the moment, her fever had disappeared, but she was left with a stuffed up nose, a fuzzy head, and a slight cough and sneeze. But she'd been through the worst of it and Hazel thanked Joe Liebgott's Hershey bar.

Gene was giving Hazel her dose of penicillin, when a bright, cheery voice suddenly entered the station.

" Gene Roe looking dapper as usual." the voice called out and both Hazel and Gene looked over to see Lizzie, strolling in, a smile on her face, a slight limp in her leg, and a bright look in her eyes.

" Lizzie?" Gene asked as Hazel's eyes widened.

" Hey," Lizzie said and for the first time Hazel watched Gene not hesitate to hug someone. Hazel felt a smile tug onto her lips watching the two medics who held such a deep respect for each other hug the life out of one another. It was like there was a light that had been flipped on, shining brightly and continuing to try and reach the darkest corners of where they were. And it was Lizzie. Lizzie slowly pulled back from Gene and smiled a soft smile his way.

" How's your leg?" he asked almost immediately as his eyes darted down to it.

" It'll be fine, I had to go AWOL. Slight limp, but hey what else is new." she said and then noticed Hazel slowly hopping down from the counter she was on, looking weaker, smaller and paler than usual.

" Lizzie." Hazel said a smile on her face. As she spoke, her voice sounded clogged and congested.

" You feeling okay?" Lizzie automatically asked as she stepped closer.

" I got sick, just the flu, it's fine." Hazel said and Lizzie smirked with a slight laugh.

" First time I hear someone say the have the flu and they're fine." Lizzie said and Hazel giggled.

" C'mere." Lizzie said, and Hazel wrapped Lizzie in a hug.

" And don't you dare pull the I'm sick crap, I'm hugging you." Lizzie said and Hazel laughed in her ear. It was a soft and warm hug, and Hazel didn't realize in that moment how much she had missed Lizzie until now. Hazel stepped back and smiled up at Lizzie before both women turned to Gene.

" Want to finish up the penicillin?" Gene asked Hazel and Hazel nodded. Hazel slowly walked over to the counter and with a bit of help from Gene she sat on the counter again as he began inserting it. Lizzie watched Hazel with sad eyes.

How long had the girl been sick?

How long had she been dealing with that nightmare?

But she watched Hazel sit there, a soft smile on her face as she stared off, sniffling every so often from her wonderfully stuffed up nose. When Gene finished the insertion, he gently helped the girl jump down before setting her straight.

" Everyone's going to be excited to see you." Hazel said coming to Lizzie's side with wide, innocent eyes.

" I'll be back, Gene." Lizzie called over her shoulder before the two women headed off in search of the mass of Easy Company.

" Is that? Elizabeth!" a call came and the two turned to see Tab jobbing over from one of the nearby barns a smile on his face.

" Hey, Tab." Lizzie said as the man skidded to a halt in front of Lizzie. Hazel watched as Tab didn't hesitate to hug the medic and Lizzie laughed as she hugged Tab tightly. He pulled back.

" Could've sworn we wouldn't see you for a while. Thought you'd been having tea with the good Churchill himself." Tab said and the two girls laughed.

" Yeah, right, Tab," Lizzie said as Tab smirked.

" Do you know where everyone else is?" Hazel asked him.

" Yeah, most of the guys are hanging around the barn, c'mon." Tab said as he led them over towards the large barn that stood in the blistering day.

" Hey, guys!" Tab called as he opened the barn door, " You'll never believe it!"

" Lizzie!" cried Smokey, the first to notice the girl, and immediately people were racing over to see the medic that had saved some of their lives. Smokey got there first and pulled the girl into a tight hug, before Shifty pulled through and threw his arms around her.

Her little crew. Then George was there practically throwing himself into a hug around her as the two laughed at something he said. Then there was Perco and then Joe Toye and then others followed like Johnny, Malarkey, Skip, Penkala, Babe and Bull. Catherine was nowhere to be seen.

" Hey, Skip." Hazel called as the man stepped back to let Penkala see Lizzie, " Where's Mack?"

" She's with Battalion," Skip said. Hazel smiled.

" Great, she'll be back tonight and she can see Lizzie." Hazel said and Skip smiled at her.

" Yes, yes she can." Skip said and Hazel grinned.

And Catherine was there in a heartbeat.

Once she heard Lizzie was back, she almost knocked Ronald Speirs to the ground in Battalion Headquarters and almost broke the door as she flung it open. Lizzie was sitting beside Hazel and Malarkey that night, laughing in the barn

" Lizzie!" Catherine called running up to her and Lizzie turned to see the Lieutenant coming her way.

" Catherine!" Lizzie called before standing and launching each other into a fierce hug.

" I'm so glad you're ok," Catherine said as the two pulled back and glanced at the leg wound.

" Yeah, me too. It's healing up though, big time. It'll be good completely within a month." Lizzie said and Catherine smiled. And for a night, there was no low morale, or fear or sadness. There was light.

On the 15th, Easy was given the new they were moving out again, towards Schoonderlogt, Holland, which was close to Arnhem, in a smaller countryside village. Everyone packed up and the familiar sight and sound of marching began. They crossed the Waal River later in the afternoon before they reached the tiny town where towns people cowered in their homes, fearful of the Germans. Upon seeing their American arrivals though, the tension they had entered the town with dissipated. Lieutenants gave orders for where platoons would be bedding out, and when patrols were to be set. Every town was the same they moved to, without fail.

Lizzie stepped into the aid station and found the group of 5 medics she normally worked with, bustling about the station, prepping it. Which was nothing entirely new; Gene had filled her in last night. Each and every town they moved to and from, they had to pack everything up and move it and then set it all up again as patrols were sent out almost immediately and injury was prevalent.

" This is one of the last ones off the truck." Lizzie said as she heaved the box onto the shelf nearby with a sigh, freezing up for a moment, as her wound gave a strike of pain. It did that sometimes by now, something she was rather used to by this point.

" I'll get the last few boxes." Mampre said as he headed out, pushing his helmet to his head.

" Thanks," Lizzie said, knowing he had heard the slight groan leave her lips when she hefted the book up.

" Hey," a voice said and Lizzie glanced towards the source to find Gene beside her, looking towards her worriedly, " your leg okay?"

" Yeah," she said, nodding, a genuine smile forcing itself on her face this time, " yeah." Gene gave her a look, not entirely convinced but ended up nodding to her.

" Want to help me sort these bandages out? They got messed up from the drive over." Gene asked her and she nodded, following Gene over towards the area where the, agreeably, messy box filled with bandages was. The two stood side by side and began taking out the bandages one at a time each and folding them again.

" How was the hospital?" Gene asked her and Lizzie glanced his way and shrugged her shoulders.

" Okay, I guess, I would've rather stuck with you guys though." Lizzie told him, as she neatly folded another bandage up. Gene looked towards Lizzie who suddenly had grown quieter, his eyes downcast.

" Did something happen?" he asked her. Lizzie's eyes met his within seconds. Gene watched her eyes search his, as if the answer to her question was there. Lizzie looked back down at the bandages in her grasp and Gene watched as she clenched her hands together before nervously tapping them against the wood surface. She zoned out.

" Lizzie." Gene said, and she met his eyes again. She bit back her lip and glanced over her shoulder back towards where the other medics were. She then looked back at Gene and her mind crumbled. She didn't want him to think differently of her.

" There was a special doctor there," Lizzie whispered softly as Gene began to watch her hands tremble with the bandage in her grasp, " He told me there was something wrong with my brain." Gene's gaze narrowed. Lizzie couldn't even meet his eyes, she couldn't bare to. It was an embarrassment.

" He told me that when I came through, for inspection and stuff like that, that he noticed I wasn't...normal?" Lizzie said and Gene watched her like he couldn't even comprehend what she was saying.

" He told me I had something called hyperkinetic impulse disorder, not exactly something severe, but enough to interfere with my life." Lizzie said quietly. She expected Gene to step back, look at her, disown her. Hyperkinetic impulse disorder was looked at as if it were a disease, a mutation; all issues where your brain wasn't functioning as a normal human were looked at right now as if you were a problem as if you weren't human. The doctor had told her all about it. And she had only felt worse about herself.

" It's why I wasn't sleeping well, or why I was so focused and would drone out everything else, why when you spoke to me sometimes I couldn't focus on you. It's why I can't just be." Lizzie whispered softly, not even willing to look at Gene. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and met Gene's eyes.

" You don't hate me?" she whispered softly, her voice breaking. The news had broke her and she had been a mess in the hospital. She had cried most of her days there, which had only made her hyperkinetic impulse disorder worse and she couldn't even get the usual prescribed medication. She had been a mess and it seemed others in the hospital had known. She had been looked upon as if she were a different species.

" I could never hate you." Gene said softly, his accent thicker than when he first asked her. Lizzie felt her lip quiver a bit but she forced the cry down her throat that wanted to explode. She had felt worthless in the hospital, she had felt like something was wrong with her. Lizzie bit back her lip as she met Gene's eyes again.

" Everyone at the hospital; they looked at me like I was a disease because of it." Lizzie told Gene and she watched his gaze harden, as he clenched his jaw.

Gene watched Lizzie, a girl he'd come to know as one of his closest friends here, become torn up because of her hyperkinetic impulse disorder diagnose. That didn't change her kind and caring soul, or her loving personality. It didn't change an ounce of it at least for Gene. And he knew none of the guys wouldn't think of it for a second or let it bother them.

They loved Lizzie for Lizzie and that's all that mattered. You loved people, even when they were a bit broken, a bit sad, a bit unhappy with life. You showed them that. Putting them down because they were different wasn't a way to solve problems.

Lizzie was human, they all were, and Lizzie was a human with the warmest soul Gene had ever seen on a person; he would never think of her differently because of her hyperkinetic impulse disorder. He would never think of it as something that was supposed to bring people down.

" Don't listen to them, Lizzie," Gene said gently, his warm hand on her shoulder a comfort she didn't know she needed, " you already know this, but that doesn't change your soul, or the comfort you bring people, or how you hold yourself. And the people that truly love you would never think any different of you." Lizzie watched Gene as tears filled her eyes. She hastily sniffled and watched him.

A small smile was on his lips. He didn't even have to say anything else, because Lizzie knew what he meant, just with those words. She sniffled again as she brushed away the tear that crawled down her cheek. She nodded and smiled at him softly. She didn't know how much she had needed to hear that when she could barely tell herself that.

" I just hoped people wouldn't think of me any different just because I was diagnosed with it, because I'm still me." Lizzie said, as she sniffled, feeling her throat tighten. Gene smiled softly at her.

" You are still you, you'll always be." Gene said gently. Lizzie met his eyes, which wanted to make her breakdown then and there in front of him, as she hit her wall. Gene watched her with the most truthful, loyal and caring eyes. They were like the eyes of a doe, soft, fragile and gentle. They weren't judging, they were just watching you, making sure you were okay.

" Thanks, Gene." Lizzie whispered softly, as her voice cracked at the end of it.

Thank you for accepting who I truly was, she thought softly. Gene gently rubbed her shoulder and nodded to her, his eyes said it all.

They always did.

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hey! i'm posting another chapter after this, i'm just feeling it :) thank you all for the support you've given this book. i have had so much fun writing it and i just love being able to write this and be filled with so much joy!! thank you!!