" Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you."

- Misty Copeland

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When Hazel and Joe got back to Mourmelon-le-Grand, everyone was starting to arrive back from their trips to Paris or Reims or other French-famous towns with stories, gifts, and memories to last a lifetime.

Supposedly the group of Lizze, Tab, Shifty and Smokey, had gotten drunk in Paris and were nearly tripping over each other as they got into the hotel room. The retelling had to be the funniest story of the night and watching Lizzie looking so happy and so joyful brought a smile to many people's faces. She had been at her low in the hospital and even though Gene was the only one to know about her diagnoses, she didn't let on anymore about it. it was for the best. So being with the guys for a bit, brought some joy back and forgetting the war for a night was exactly what she had needed.

The days she felt started to blend together with Christmas being so different this year. They were in a completely different country, on an Army base, fighting a war that they didn't start. The days grew shorter and colder and Hazel found herself sleeping more and more, which she was happy about because she gratefully was taking Gene's advice, but she grew so exhausted from too much sleeping.

Hazel and Shifty grabbed their weapons and began heading towards the tent where they could clean their weapons. Virtually no one else was there, so they were able to move into a spot and start washing their weapons together, chatting quietly. Hazel grew concentrated on cleaning her weapon.

Since they predicted no action until mid-March, Hazel wanted to make sure that since her weapon wasn't going to be used, she didn't want it getting rusty and peeling. But Shifty was the same way with his own weapon, so that's why they worked well together. Tab eventually wandered in about 15 minutes later, and looking exhausted; everyone continually looked exhausted around camp today.

" You okay, Tab?" Hazel asked him, as he huffed sitting down next to her, pulling his weapon into his lap.

" Just peachy." he answered.

" You looked exhausted." Hazel said worriedly.

" I guess that's just my normal face." Tab answered exhaustedly.

" And sound more sarcastic than normal." Shifty said and Hazel giggled, as Tab let out a huff. He then placed his head on Hazel's shoulder and shut his eyes.

" If I can get two minutes of damn sleep, I'll be happier, promise." he said. Hazel looked down at him, almost asleep and raised a brow slightly confused, but Shifty just shrugged and went back to cleaning his weapon. Like that, Tab was out like a light, slightly snoring. Hazel looked down at Tab with sympathy, as his exhausted state continued on resting.

Everyone was exhausted, but as the days to Christmas grew closer, they started playing movies at night for the company to watch, and it started snowing every night. Everyone was finally starting to fall into a pattern where there was no war to fight and all they had to worry about was the football game on Christmas Day.

Catherine visited WInters and Nixon after the trip to Paris. She hurried up the walkway towards his office and then opened the door to his office, popping her head in with a smile.

" Hey," she said and noticed it was just Winters behind the desk.

" Hey, Catherine," Winters said, as Zelinski handed him another paper. Winters sighed, signing the paper again.

" What's up?" Winters asked her, not looking up as he signed yet another paper.

" How was Paris?" she asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat down in a chair nearby getting comfortable.

" It was nice." Winters said, as he sighed again signing another paper.

" Zelinski." Catherine said, the man and Winters looking up at her.

" Can you just give me a second?" she asked him. Zelinski nodded, before turning and walking out the door with a bundle of papers. Winters turned to look at her with soft eyes.

" What?" he asked as he looked back down at the papers.

" Paris! How was it?" she asked him.

" Well, had a drink near the Effiel Tower, enjoyed the views. Got a chair shoved into me as I was drinking that drink." Winters said, as he placed down his pen and sat back. Catherine raised a brow.

" Is that sarcasm?" she asked.

" Yeah, you and Nix have been a bit to influential." Winters said and Catherine smirked proudly.

" What about you? Where'd you go?" Winters asked her.

" Went with a few of the guys. It was nice to get away from the war for a little bit." Catherine said.

" I agree." Winters said.

" Do you think there won't be action until March?" Catherine asked Winters asked he sipped his coffee. Winters' shoulders sagged a bit and he seemed to shrug, like he was confused.

" I'm not sure, the war changes every day." Winters said, as he picked up a map and then handed it to the girl. She let her eyes look over it and realized it was new movements from the Germans who were operating close by to where they had previously evacuated from Holland.

" All that time spent there?" Catherine asked Winters, who nodded, " Shit."

" No one's really sure what might happen in the moment, but I've ordered the COs to keep quiet around the enlisted. Not to jump to conclusions about anything." Winters said.

" But just to have a sense of preparedness." Catherine said with an agreeing nod as Winters nodded.

" Anticipation's better than surprise." Catherine commented, as she handed the map back to Winters.

" Glad we fit Paris in then, just incase something happens." Catherine said.

" Yeah," Winters said, as he leaned back in the chair and glanced out the window.

" How's Dike been?" Winters asked her. She'd been assisting more with the company. Even though she was a Lieutenant, she was once intermixed with Easy Company, she was just assigned more jobs now in Battalion like writing reports. She stuck with Easy though mostly, staying by Peacock's side like a 2nd in command as well.

She got plenty of observation of Dike, enough to talk to Nixon about it everyday.

Dike had asked about the medics one day, and Lizzie and Gene and Spina had come running, but then Dike said he meant that he needed the mortar squad. He'd gotten his m's mixed up supposedly, but Lizzie was pissed and supposedly went off to Gene about it. Dike had asked for Catherine to come forward and address Easy, but she had to ask him about what to address the company with. He didn't have an answer, and Catherine had met Bull's eyes in the group and he had shaken his head. Dike had asked for Tab to march the company, he didn't give a where or when, so Tab had been pissed.

Dike had asked 'the sniper' to come forward, and when Hazel did, he asked who what she was doing. She had answered that she was the sniper and Dike seemed rather confused. He had questioned her authority as Hazel had stood there, clutching her rifle in her hands. Catherine had to hold Tab back from intervening with it, because the whole situation earlier had already pissed him off greatly.

" Interesting." Catherine answered, with a slow nod. Winters raised a brow.

" What happened?" he asked her, sitting up.

" Well," Catherine said, holding her coffee in her hands and drumming her fingers against the cup, " I've been 2nd in command to Peacock, and I've gotten to observe a few things."

" Peacock saying anything?" Winters asked her.

" We've discussed a few things, he's been a bit hesitant to really say anything about it because half the time Dike's up his ass about stuff, but Peacock usually has to fix things after Dike does it." Catherine explained. Winters visibly grimaced a bit.

" Dike tried telling Hazel she wasn't the sniper," Catherine said and Winters raised a brow, " Tab got pissed, went to Peacock afterwards. Peacock tried to tell Dike, but Dike was adamant that someone named Harold Parker was the sniper. He had misheard Peacock supposedly. I'm not sure, the entire thing was weird." Winters nodded, seemingly taking it in.

" Peacock, Buck, Shames and I get a bunch of stuff rolled down to us from him because he can't take care of it. Then it rolls to Lipton and Tab. It's kind of a mess, but the NCOs have been a great help, holding the group together as best they could." Catherine said.

" I agree, Catherine. The NCOs are Toccoa men and women, men and women who have been with Easy from the start, like Guarnere or Grant or Toye." Winters said and Catherine nodded.

" I talked to Joe, Joe Toye, the other day about it all," Catherine started, " and you know he's all about the company and making sure everyone's treated the same, stuff like that. He had to keep Dike from trying to reprimand one of the new replacements for no reason. Yapping about how the replacement showing up to the wrong formation even though it was the right one, stuff like that. Joe got him smiling though. It's just, they're trying their best with Dike. We all are."

" I know you all are, especially the NCOs and the men and women who have been there since the beginning. Dike just seems to be taking time to adjust to it." Winters said with a nod, and Catherine nodded knowing he was probably right.

" Yeah," Catherine said, " you're right."

After Joe's mental confession to himself as him and Hazel stood on top of the Effiel Tower, he attempted to remain as normal around her as he could and she suspected nothing. But he never failed to cast her a longing gaze as she laughed with Shifty, one of her closest friends, or when she was with the girls and the 3 women would be off playing some game with a ball which they learned at Camp Athene.

And it seemed George Luz was the only member to notice the surprisingly love-sick Joe Liebgott and his puppy dog eyes staring at the 3 women.

" Earth to Mr. Liebgott," Joe heard a voice beside him say as if it were a robot. Joe narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head to look towards George who stood with a smirk on his face.

" Can I help you?" Joe muttered. Joe loved George like a brother, and George was a great companion when the cloudy days rolled in, but if Joe felt like he knew what George was doing, he wasn't happy that the conversation was about to start up right now.

" You look a little...." George trailed off watching Joe raise a brow at him, " love-sick?" Joe felt the top of his cheeks dust pink as he looked away back towards Hazel.

" Is it that obvious?" Joe grumbled out. He heard George laugh from beside him and throw an arm over his shoulder.

" Not too much, but just enough that I see those hearts in those deep dark eyes." George said. Joe sighed.

" Fuck." Joe mumbled. George frowned.

" Did something happen?" George asked him, mildly concerned.

" Yeah, cupid's stupid arrow hit me right in the heart, it fucking sucks." Joe said. George felt a smirk upturn the corner of his mouth as he squeezed Joe's shoulder tight.

" It's called love, Joe," George said.

" In the middle of a war though? I can't help but feel guilty." Joe said, sighing and shaking his head.

" Guilty that you love a beautiful girl like that, I mean c'mon Joe, the war's going to end at some point," George said as Joe met his eyes. Joe knew exactly what George was getting at with that notion.

" You know what they say, Joe, love's the most powerful force in the world." George commented, leaning against the railing beside Joe.

" Clearly," groaned Joe. It was hopeless. But he was willing to wait, if he had a chance at all, for the rest of the war, for the years after, if he even had the slightest chance with her. With a girl like Hazel Parker. George grinned.

" Have you told her?" George asked.

" No," Joe said quickly looking at him, " I can't. Not with the war." George smiled.

" I'm willing to wait as long as I can for her," Joe said, his eyes watching her be free and have fun for the moment. He smiled softly. George watched Joe smile as he watched the woman.

" I'm hopeless, George." Joe muttered shaking his head. George smiled.

" All good things are worth the wait, buddy." George said softly, " It seems this will be worth it in the end." Joe felt a smile quirk onto his face as he glanced at George. George met his eye and gave a soft smile.

" Trust me," George said. Joe had never seen George so, inspirational? So, welcoming to letting Joe tell him things and genuinely seem to not want to go and start spouting off everything under the sun?

" You won't tell anyone, right?" Joe pleaded. George saw the look in his eyes. Joe really cared for her, even more than a best friend would. And George was friends with Joe, and trusted him.

" No," George said, " I won't. I promise. It's....it's your little love filled heart. I wouldn't want to destroy it." Joe glanced over at him.

" Really?" Joe asked, mildly surprised.

" Yeah," George said, honestly.

" Thanks for that, George, I uh, I appreciate it, a lot." Joe said and George smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

" I can tell you like her Joe, and if you really do, I know you're willing to wait for her. I may be annoying, but I'm not an idiot." George said and Joe snickered.

" Nah, you're Easy's annoying idiot, we'll keep ya around." Joe said as George laughed, placing a smoke on his lip and passing it to Joe after he gave out a puff. Joe took it and let a puff roll out of his mouth.

What would he do without George Luz?

And so it was to be George Luz would know about Joe's little known confession that had been pulling at his heart too much in the past few months, after seeing Hazel through the sickness, through the pain, through the moments where she doubted herself or where she looked to the stars.

He would wait an eternity for her, if it meant she got to be happy.

He just wanted her happy in the end of this.

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AHHHH! ok so hazel and joe, adorable, his little lovesick heart and puppy dog eyes, but george being the king he is, makes me soft. i feel they have an underappreciated friendship and i've hoped to write more about that in this book, i truly love them :) thanks for reading!!