" You are enough. A thousand times enough."

- Unknown

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When they arrived at the building, Dick opened the door as Catherine stepped inside before the two headed upstairs. The building was old and rustic, and smelled of oddly wet wood. Not the most pleasant smell. The two arrived at door, and Dick knocked.

" Nix?" he asked. There was no answer. Catherine glanced at Dick.

" Nix?" Dick tried again.

" In here." came the, rather exhausted sounding call. Dick pushed open the door as the two walked inside, heading towards the bedroom of the space Nixon had. Catherine saw Nixon walk by, through the doorway, before disappearing again, moving his suspenders off. Catherine raised a brow, as Dick picked up some bread from the complimentary food tray. Catherine walked in and sat against the trunk as Dick entered.

" Dog? Making combat jumps with the 17th?" Dick asked, " while I'm in supply briefings all morning." Nixon continued pulling off his boots, and webbing as Dick leaned up against the post of the bed.

" Yeah, lucky me." Nixon said, which caused Catherine to raise a brow, confused. He got to jump in with the 17th, another star on his uniform. Who would be upset about that?

" Well, congratulations. You're probably the only man in the 101st with three combat stars over his jump wings." Dick said, turning to walk out the door.

" Not bad for someone who's never fired his weapon in combat, huh?" Nixon called.

" Really?" Dick asked, " Really, you've never...?"

" No." came Nixon's quick response.

" Oh, not even with all the action we've seen?" Dick asked again.

" Not a round." Nixon said after throwing his boots to the side. Then Nixon stood, as Catherine met Dick's eyes. Dick slowly sat down beside her, as Nixon moved over towards a mirror with a few buckets around it, the quiet hum of some music playing in the background.

" So, uh," Dick started, as Nixon poured himself a drink, and Catherine turned off the radio behind them," how'd it go, this morning, the jump?" Nixon finally looked over and noticed Catherine sitting beside Dick, a small smile on her face. Nixon's far off look turned it to a frown.

" It was great, fantastic." Nixon said, before turning and moving towards the window, his voice devoid of all enthusiasm and instead replaced with a hollow, sarcastic sadness.

" We took a direct hit over the drop zone. I got out, two others got out." Nixon said, sipping his drink. Catherine bit her lip, and looked down to her interlaced fingers.

" The rest of the boys?" Winters asked.

" Well, they blew up over Germany somewhere." Nixon said turning to the two of them, " Boom." Catherine's heart stopped for a painful moment it felt as she grimaced. Dick nodded.

" Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry." Dick said.

" About what?" Nixon asked, and Catherine glanced to him.

" Well, tough situation for the--"

" Oh, yeah, the boys, yeah. It's terrible. Oh, well, wasn't me." Nixon said before finishing the cup of Vat 69 he had. Catherine bit her lip and looked away. Dick was quiet next to Catherine.

" There was a woman on that stick," Nixon said looking to Catherine who glanced at him, with already sad eyes, " she was a Lieutenant just like you, told me her name was Dorothy Freeman. She was dead before I jumped out." Catherine looked away.

Dorothy.

Dorothy Freeman.

The woman who trained with them - Catherine could remember her face exactly.

She was dead now.

A Virago member, a proud one.

Her heart ached. Dick watched Nixon.

" You know, the real tragedy is they also lost their CO, so," Nixon stopped when the Vat 69 bottle was empty, " guess who gets to write all the letters home?" Nixon started walking and threw the empty bottle into a bin.

" Goddamn nightmare." he muttered as he left the room quickly. Once the bottle hit the bin, Catherine jumped a bit. She let out a quiet sigh and then glanced at Dick slowly. Dick sighed. The Major and the Lieutenant stood and walked into the other room where Nixon was preparing for another drink.

" Got a visit from Colonel Sink this morning." Dick started.

" Mm?" Nixon asked as he poured himself another drink.

" And how is the good Colonel?" Nixon asked as he sat back in a chair at the fancy table. Catherine sighed; she didn't expect to find Nixon the way he was, and she supposed that neither had Dick.

" Concerned." came Dick's rather quick, honest response. Catherine slowly leaned against the chair as Dick paced a bit and walked towards her.

" Still drinking nothing but the Vat 69, huh?" Dick said.

" Only the finest for Mrs. Nixon's baby boy." he said sarcastically as he raised his cup in the air. Catherine smiled sadly.

" That a problem up at Regiment?" Dick asked him.

" What, this?" Nixon asked, showing the cup, not seeming entirely all concerned.

" Is that what he said?" Catherine watched Dick look down.

" No, I just don't like it up there." Nixon said.

" Good, so you'll be happy to hear that Sink is transferring you back down to Battalion S-3." Dick said. That was it. The news that Catherine expected a bit of a reaction from Nixon. But Nixon stared off, his mind seeming to barely register what Dick had ultimately just said. Her heart broke.

" What do you think I should write to these parents, Dick?" Nixon said. Catherine let out a shaky breath.

" Hear what I said, Nix? You've been demoted." Dick told him again.

" Yeah, demoted, got you. 'Cause I don't know how to tell them, their kids never even made it out of the goddamn plane." Nixon said, as Catherine looked down, her heart hammering inside her chest.

" You tell 'em what you always tell 'em, their sons and daughters died as heroes." Dick said.

" You really still believe that?" Nixon asked him. The two stared at each other.

" Yeah." Dick said, " Yeah, I do."

" Don't you?" Dick asked him. Nixon merely smirked with a breathy laugh from his nose. Nixon then looked away and sipped his drink slowly.

" Why are you here?" he asked Catherine who was leaning up against the chair. Catherine could tell his words had slurred for just a moment and that maybe he wasn't entirely focused.

" I wanted to see how the jump went for you." Catherine said quietly, with a small smile. Nixon stared at her.

" I missed you back with those maps, there's-"

" Well, you heard." Nixon said, and raised his glass. Catherine's mouth shut, as her eyes saddened slightly.

" Nix." Dick said, but Nixon looked at him. The two stared at each other. It was like a silent conversation, as Catherine's heart pounded inside her chest, staring at someone who most definitely wasn't the normal Nixon, or was maybe just him on the inside.

" You have a Current Events lecture to give." Dick told him, " Speirs has the clipboard in his office."

" What, this my job as the new S-3?" Nixon asked with a smirk. Dick stared at him, before nodding. Catherine gulped before Dick slowly moved backwards before turning and taking Catherine's arm to guide her out.

" What if that was me in that female Lieutenant's position?" Catherine asked turning to him. Nixon stared at her.

" What would you say then?" she asked him, her cold eyes staring at him, " Think on that." Then Catherine turned and walked out, leaving Dick behind. Dick nodded to Nixon before turning and following Catherine out. Catherine waited outside against the wall for Dick, her arms crossed as she did so. When Dick got outside he looked both ways for the girl before spotting her leaned against the wall.

" What was that?" Dick asked her.

" I gave him something to write about." Catherine told him, with sullen eyes, " If he can't write for strangers, he can write for me."

" You're not dead though," Dick told her. Catherine looked up at him.

" I know." she said. Dick watched her. Her eyes seemed lifeless almost. Catherine then looked towards the Captain.

" I have to go." she said and then brushed past him, anger rolling from her body. Dick watched her go, biting back his lip as he did so.

" You know, Gene," Lizzie said as she put a bobby pin into her braid crown, where she sat criss cross in front of the mirror on the counter, " these are some of the best bobby pins I've ever used." Gene was sitting next to her smoking a cigarette beside her, and swinging his feet off the counter.

" Lucky find." Gene said with a smirk her way as he blew out some smoke. Lizzie leaned back from her masterpiece and adjusted a few pieces of hair from her eyes.

" Still got the magic touch." Lizzie said, proud of herself.

" It looks nice." Gene said as he blew out another trail of smoke.

" My mom always did these for me as a kid. I loved them, thought I was Snow White." Lizzie said. Gene smiled at her. Lizzie glanced at the cigarette in his hand.

" All my time in war and I've never tried one." Lizzie said scrunching up her nose as she stared at the thing in his hand.

" I wouldn't if I were you." Gene said told her. Lizzie raised a brow at him.

" I'm a tough girl." she said, reaching out her hand.

" A tough girl who'll get lung disease if she tries it." Gene said pulling back.

" Then why are you smoking it?" Lizzie asked leaning forward with a smirk.

" It weeds off the stress." Gene told her, pushing it to his mouth again, but Lizzie quickly grabbing it from his hand and placed it on her lip. One puff and she was done, coughing and hacking on the smoke. She hated it.

" Told you. You're too pure for that." Gene told her and Lizzie glared at him.

" Not my issue that I have a trashy immune system." Lizzie said and Gene looked over at her.

" Really?"

" Yep, no wonder that flu lasted like it did." Lizzie said, before jumping off the counter and to her feet. Gene sighed, before finishing the smoke.

" You wanna head over to the Current Event lecture?" Lizzie asked him, as Gene moved off the counter. Gene smirked at her.

" Yeah right." Gene told her as he picked up a box of bandages. Lizzie pouted.

" C'mon Gene," Lizzie said, " we can snicker quietly in the back as I attempt to make you laugh."

" I'm not gonna listen to Nixon drone on, when I can listen to silence instead." Gene told her.

" You make a good point, good sir." Lizzie said, holding out her hand for a shake.

" I'm glad I do, mademoiselle, I always do." Gene said shaking it with a slight smirk.

" Shut up." she muttered, " I'll just bring the news back to you."

" Thanks, I'll pack the rest of this up." Gene told her as she backed up with a mock salute his way, before turning and dashing out.

It was her and Gene's thing over the past month, to do weird little thing like they were old Englishmen in London grabbing tea, or they were commanders to each other, giving little salutes every so often.

It made them laugh.

Lizzie jogged towards the center square where Current Events were normally held. When she arrived Nixon had yet to even show up, and there were still people getting seats and chatting. As Lizzie approached she saw Hazel and Joe side by side passing a chocolate bar back and forth between them. Then George spotted her.

" Marlene!" George called as she rolled her eyes. George had started calling her Marlene Dietrich, but she had playfully punched his shoulder to annoy him.

" Shut up." Lizzie called to him as she sat down beside Johnny and Hazel, a smirk on her face as George turned back in his chair to continue in the card game that was being played. He smirked. She flipped him off. Then Nixon appeared and he stood in front of the group, looking rather exhausted, slightly drunk, slightly worn down, eyes squinted with a clipboard in hand.

" The co-operative for American Remittance to Europe, or care, has begun assembling food packages stateside to assist those European families in dire need. Which is presumably all of them." Nixon started, just then as Chuck and Catherine showed up, looking slightly warn and exhausted as well. Hazel watched Catherine sit down beside Chuck before he passed her a cigarette which she took gladly.

" So, uh, notes home to your family reminding them to donate whatever they can, it would be much appreciated." Nixon said.

" I'm sure that you'll be happy to know Oklahoma's still playing on Broadway." Nixon said.

" Ehhhh!" George called, as cheers swept the group.

" Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain," George started as others began singing with him, and Nixon sarcastically conducted, " and the waving wheat can sure smell sweat, when the wind comes-" George cut them all off, as O'Keefe, one of the newest replacements kept singing.

" Right behind the rain!" he sang with a rather interesting voice. Laughs echoed around the group as Hazel looked at him with a small, sympathetic smile.

" O'Keefe, were you sitting on your bayonet there?" Christenson asked him. George was having a field day as he cackled.

" Why don't you leave the singing to Luz?" Christenson offered, as Hazel giggled.

" Hey, unless you wanna do like, Surrey with the Fringe on Top, O'Keefe." George offered, but Nixon's voice powered over them.

" Ahhh, Rita Hayworth's getting married." Nixon said as the men groaned.

" That's so cute." Hazel whispered as she looked at Lizzie who squealed beside her.

" I wonder what her dress will look like." Lizzie said back.

" Whatever she picks out will be beautiful." Hazel sighed dreamily.

" Oh, Rita, say is isn't true," George called as the men groaned.

" Abbot and Costello..." Nixon trailed off, " Wartime News. Resistance in the Rhur Pocket's crumbling. It looks like there might be a breakout in Remagen." There were a few acknowledgments of cheers after that.

" Apparently the Krauts forgot to blow up on of their bridges when they headed back over the line. I guess the boys in the 17th Airborne did okay after all." Nixon said as he looked up towards the group.

" Ah, forget it, we'd be in Berlin by now, sir, if it was us instead of them, huh?" George called, as whoops and cheers exploded through Easy.

" That's right!" George called proudly. Nixon droned on for the rest of the time before he moved away and headed back to what seemed to be Battalion. Hazel looked towards Catherine who sat, beside Chuck, talking to him angrily about something. Hazel bit her lip as she watched her.

" Want the rest?" Liebgott asked her, holding the bar of unfinished chocolate in front of her.

" You can take it." she said, as she pulled her feet off the table from next to Joe's.

" Nah, come on you can have it." he said. Hazel smiled and took it before finishing it off.

" Catherine ok?" he asked Hazel. Hazel glanced towards Catherine again, she was using hand motions to talk, you knew she was angry when she did that.

" I'm going to talk to her later, let her cool off. Her and Chuck walked in a bit late though." Hazel said with a shrug. She looked back towards Catherine, worry filling her system.

Later that day, news broke that President Roosevelt had died.

Roosevelt was the President who had really gotten America out of the Depression and gotten the economy running again and now he was dead.

That night, as Hazel lie awake, she stared out the window of the building her and 2nd platoon were currently bunked in. It was raining, there were no stars to look at, except for the gentle drum of rain down on top of the building. The rain was peaceful in many ways; it sounded like it did back home. She was surprised that she even remembered what it sounded like. Hazel slowly grabbed her dog tags and looked at them in the darkness.

Had it all been worth it?

To come out here and fight the enemy?

Had all of it been worth the pain and memories that overwhelmed her?

She would probably never know.

Hazel eventually decided to fall asleep to the gentle snoring that filled the room, it was the only thing that helped her sleep anymore. Because she knew she wasn't alone.

Catherine sat alone in her office, staring coldly at the bit of wood on the desk, her eyes narrowed on the spot, like the hot head she currently was, aggravated and frustrated.

" Knock, knock," a voice said and Catherine sighed.

" Who is it?" she asked softly.

" The one and only," the voice answered back and Catherine sighed.

" Come in," she called and just noticed Luz's figure slowly entering the office.

" Hey," she said quietly, and picked at the piece of wood on the table, the pile of reports she had to do lying in a messy pile.

" You doing okay?" George asked her. Catherine let out another soft sigh and then glanced up towards him.

" I'll be okay," she said softly with a nod and a small smile, " what's up? Bull start taunting Perco's height again?" George watched her. Sarcasm. Sarcasm. Sarcasm. Sarcasm. She was hurting.

" I was gonna ask if you wanted to go grab a drink, but I figure I better stay here instead," he said watching her.

" No, George, please, it's fine," Catherine said, " I'm fine." Catherine didn't know how many times in her life she said she were fine, even just sitting at the dinner table at home, watching the clock tick by as her older sister talked about her new boy toy. Her mind had remained filled with the 100 she got on her physics test. She didn't get a single word in.

" I said you can go grab some coffee, George, I'm okay." Catherine said, avoiding his eyes that were burning through her skull.

George, well, he knew Catherine wasn't alright, she hadn't been okay for a while and after seeing her break like she did after Bill and Joe and Buck being pulled and the two broke down together, he felt bonded to her, stronger than he had before. George didn't cry in front of others, but he had cried in front of Catherine. Catherine knew his vulnerability, the only other people who had seen that vulnerability were his family.

" No," George answered and slowly pulled a chair across from her desk up and leaned against the table, hands interlaced. Catherine looked up at him and met his soft, brown eyes and she watched them through his long, dark eyelashes. Catherine stared tight-lipped.

" I have a full novel of things that are wrong in my brain, George," she said, voice short, " I just wish I could sort it out."

" First it was the family," Catherine said quietly, picking at a spot of wood on her desk, " then maybe it was high school, then college after that. And all those mini bonus chapters that no one bothers to read." Catherine shook her head. George watched her.

" I'll take a read." George said, before sitting back and meeting her equally tense gaze. He wasn't playing around. The girls were the only other ones that knew about her parents, her past, all of it.

" Chapter 5 my birth," Catherine said, " since Day one I heard about how I had to grow up to be like Matilda McCown, my big sister who already at a peak young age seems to have her life figured out." Catherine shook her head.

" Don't get me wrong, George, I love my siblings, but when you're the only one that's different and it is a constant reminder throughout the day, it builds up." Catherine said and sighed, " It was always Matilda this, Matilda that. She's got her first boyfriend in 6th grade, she's had her first kiss by the end of 6th, she's going on dates with the third guy she's swooned over, they're going strong through high school, she goes to the parties, the football games, every sports event, she wins Homecoming Queen, she's in the top 3 for Prom Queen, she gets straight A's without having to work hard, and she didn't even work her job through high school. And by college she was this angel it seemed, moving away to a big name college, just to end up partying the entire time and meeting her future husband. She comes home, tells us she's getting married and then they have a kid. And I love them. I do. But all my life it was like I was expected to live up to this." Catherine glanced at George who watched her.

" It was never Catherine this, Catherine that. No. Sure, I had friends, I had people who followed me, ya know, leadership material, but I wasn't like Matilda. I wasn't someone who used looks for everything in life. I used my hard work, my intelligence, my knowledge and when I told people things like that, they stared as if I was a monster. They thought I was cheating all the time, thought I was sleeping around to get as good as I did. But I didn't go out to parties, I figured why waste time when I can start working instead?" Catherine said, " And a smart woman? They chewed it up like it were candy." Catherine sat back and shook her head.

" Matilda has a husband, a child and another one the way, and she's got this beautiful house. Beautiful, absolutely stunning. And she's a stay-at-home mom as her husband makes it big in the city. And she always is so pristine, never seems to have a single issue in her life, always acting like things are okay. She was spoiled and I watched it happen." Catherine said.

" I'm almost 25 and I'm not married, with no child, no house, nothing. Things my parents would've expected by now from me." Catherine said. George continued to watch her.

" It sucks," she said, shrugging a bit to herself, " but what else can you do except get used to it? 24 years of my life." George could see the tears in Catherine's eyes that were begging to fall.

" I was never enough." Catherine whispered shaking her head, " My parents always said they loved me, but compared to Matilda, I was nothing."

" Of course, that's my dad speaking," Catherine said and sighed," Mom was the best. She's a mom, what can I say, they always care for their children. But my dad, he always asked the questions, always said how great Matilda was. All of it." Catherine slowly stood and walked over weakly to the light switch on the doorway.

" He would think Matilda flipped it more graceful than I did," Catherine said meeting George's eyes. She then turned and walked towards the filing cabinet.

" Even if mine was in order, alphabetically, with pristine labels, she'd still do it better." Catherine said and slammed the filing cabinet shut. Catherine sighed.

" This entire war, I've tried my hardest not to let anyone down, but at the moment, it feels like that's the only thing I'm good at doing." Catherine said quietly. George slowly looked up at her. She let out a sigh and looked away. George slowly stood up, adjusting the flaps of his coat and approached Catherine. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, before turning her to face him, as she looked up towards him. She watched him with sad eyes.

" You haven't let anyone down," George said, watching her eyes.

" It feels like it though," Catherine whispered. George watched her softly.

" I know the feeling," George said as Catherine let out a shaky sigh.

" Does it go away?" she asked him.

" Eventually," he said, " but for a while it stays there; it's not fun." Catherine bit back her lip and then nodded softly. He was right.

" Thanks, George." she said softly and George smiled gently towards her.

" I would never compare you to anyone else, Cath, you're you." George said and Catherine actually felt a smile fan across her face. And the look in his eyes signified he meant it.

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ahhh hello!! i am officially back and i am SO SORRY! these chapters were meant to come out SOOOO much earlier, but i got caught up writing OF COURSE LOL so these are my 2 announcements below>>

created by the wonderful @wecomrades she created a beautiful picture of hazel parker and joe liebgott that i fawned over and i can't thank her enough for her hard work, her dedication, her fantastic art skills and her love for simply creating wonderful art. linda you are wonderful and never change my friend!!



my second announcement comes out slowly per say. over the past few months, i have yearned to complete a sort of trilogy for my women of easy company books. we have sunshine soldier with charlotte tarvers, the soldier of stars with hazel, catherine and lizzie and now i am happy to announce my 3rd and final band of brothers book titled LANDSLIDE, which focuses around a Polish Resistance Fighter by the name of Natia Filipski, who has been fighting for Poland's liberation ever since September 1st, 1939. It is her story as a Resistance Fighter in World War 2 where she will eventually have to be in contact with easy company!! the reason i went for the polish resistance group was because i have yet to see a polish fighter on here yet, and i have people in my life that have polish routes actually and i feel this is a way to honor it. i am so so excited to tell you all more about it when this story finally comes to it's thrilling end. be on the look out for it in late fall 2020!! you won't want to miss it :) she is based upon the real life Polish Resistance Fighter and SOE member Krystyna Skarbek, and i am so excited to share natia filipski's story with the fandom. she also has two badass siblings by the names of klimek and ryszhard filipski and the trio of brother and sisters are some of the top resistance movement leaders. i am so so excited to reveal it, but we'll have to wait until then! and yes it is based off the fleetwood mac song, landslide, which holds a tender spot in my heart. here is the cover below!!



thank you all for the love and support and i hope you all have a lovely evening! <3