" Be grateful for the wound that pushes you towards God."

- Unknown

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Hazel shifted a bit, and immediately let out a grimace at her side, at the pain that masked her again, but it was centered to that one area now. Hazel went to sit up but suddenly stopped at the feeling of a cot beneath her, and a blanket, an ounce of missed warmth.

Then there was a hand on her shoulder forcing her to lie back down. Hazel looked over and saw a nurse sitting by her side, in the darkness of the night, her eyes tired, with dark rings around them, looking right at her.

Hazel's first instinct was to cry.

Where was she?

" You're awake," the nurse said, turning to grab something from the ground and offer it to her. It was water from a canteen. Hazel laid still as the nurse gently brought it to Hazel's lips for her to sip from. Hazel sat with tired, pained eyes as she let herself swallow the liquid and then stare up at the roof of the medical tent.

" What happened?" Hazel whispered, her voice shaking.

" From the information I gathered from your company medics, they said you took a hit from the mortars and got shrapnel in your side. We removed it and we've sterilized you and cleaned you up." the nurse explained to her as Hazel looked towards her.

" When can I go back to the line?" Hazel asked her and the nurse smiled sadly.

" You're still severely wounded at the moment," the nurse said, " you can't go back to the line anytime soon." Hazel stared at her and her mind spiraled in fear as she then looked around.

The company.

What were they thinking?

She hoped they didn't think she was dead, when she was very much alive and kicking. She thought of Catherine and Lizzie first, almost automatically.

What were the two of them thinking? She thought of Joe and her heart tore from her chest, as she bit back her lip and shut her eyes. Then she thought of Shifty, George, Tab, Johnny, Lip, everyone. She thought of everyone still there. Her heart ached.

" It hurts," Hazel whispered softly, meeting the nurse's eyes again. The nurse's warm smile fell.

" You'll need pain meds daily until you start getting better, let me grab those for you." the nurse said slowly standing and hurrying away. Hazel stared at the ceiling, her heart rate picking up.

Then she heard it, the explosions, racking around in her brain and she squeezed her eyes shut. It was like a move scene playing out. She could envision the mortars going off around her, the way the trees exploded, caught in the crossfire of the shellings tour branches limb from limb. She remember the feeling of the shrapnel lodging into her side and her eyes shot open like a bullet. She was breathing heavy, her heart racing, her side aching.

" Here you are," the nurse said as she slowly sat down on the stool that was pulled up to Hazel's side. Hazel attempted to sit her weak body up, but she groaned and ended up falling back against the rough cot, a grimace leaving her lips.

" Here," the nurse said placing the medicine on the side table and then standing to slowly raise the sniper into sitting position, enough to take the pill. The pill was gently placed on her tongue and then Hazel took the water, with the slightest bit of difficulty, swallowing it down before letting out a soft groan.

" That should start working within the hour." the nurse told her. Hazel's face scrunched up in pain and she nodded, as her hand immediately went to the wound, in pain. She slowly let herself lie down again on the cot, and let out a shaky sigh.

" What's your name?" Hazel asked her. The nurse smiled.

" Amelia Beckett." the nurse said smiling at Hazel, " I have to get an IV set up on you." Hazel watched Amelia, pull over the IV, attached to what Hazel assumed was either blood and water or water and something else. Amelia pulled up Hazel's sleeve, and then cleaned the small indent of her elbow.

" There will be a slight prick." she said and then slowly slid it in. She attached a few pieces of surgical tap around the IV before knocking against the bags of water and blood and nodding in accomplishment.

Amelia was fairly tall Hazel thought, and she held a certain grace yet passion about herself, as she flicked the bag of water again. Just like waking up, Hazel could tell Amelia was stressed, the lines that seemed permanent against her facial features, were marks of fear and strain that the war provided daily, even away from the front lines. But Hazel liked her hair, it was almost a ginger color, but you could tell it was still a soft blonde, the ginger an underlying tone and she had bright green eyes, and a gentle smile.

" How did you end up in the Nurses' Corps?" Hazel asked Amelia. Amelia glanced towards her, with one final flick on the bag of water and then slowly sat down on the stool. Amelia laced her fingers together, leaning against her knees.

" I decided I wanted to do what I could and help people, help men who got hit on the front lines and make sure they knew that once they were in my care that I'd make sure they got home safely or that they got back to the frontlines safely." Amelia explained, " It's just something I've always believed in, that if you can't do anything, go and help someone." Hazel felt a tiny smile on her lips and she nodded.

" Then I heard about the Viragos actually, Operation Virago and it was really inspiring." Amelia said, nodding, and smiling, " A bunch of us signed up, but there were only a few from our group that got accepted. You women have been inspirational to all of us that couldn't participate in it." Hazel, despite the pain in her side, smiled. A genuine smile.

" We vowed not to tell a soul, because we want it to succeed, we want this to be the opening to allowing women into wars. Into allowing men and women to fight together side by side. We've always believed in that." Amelia said and a smirk crawled onto her face, " We figured, hell, if we got the right to vote in 1920, then what's next for us? Equal pay?" Hazel laughed lightly, but stopped as her stomach clenched and her hand shot towards it in seconds. Amelia looked at her sadly and then looked at the bandage.

" Sorry about that," she said, " humors been the only thing to help us through in here, and even then it's pretty rare, especially with how this has all been going."

" I appreciate it when it does show." Hazel said with a small nod. Amelia smiled.

" Where were you before the Viragos?" Amelia asked her.

" The WAC," Hazel said with a nod, " and then when that was sent out, I just knew I had to sign up. My mom always told me that I could do anything, no matter what was said, what was expected. You can always go above and beyond, and you can always do more than you initially think." Amelia smiled.

" Your mom sounds like a nice person," Amelia said and Hazel grinned.

" I miss her," Hazel said softly, " but she's doing okay, since my last letter, I just can't imagine when I finally tell her about this." Hazel said and Amelia gave a small smile.

" She's your mom, she'll always worry no matter what." Amelia said and Hazel smiled with a nod.

" What was Camp Athene like?" Amelia asked, " We heard it was real top secret, 15 weeks of training, no off base during that time, you couldn't even get out to bars and stuff." Hazel nodded.

" 15 weeks straight of training, especially on the weekdays, and the weekends were filled with classes for 8 hours a day. You never really had breaks," Hazel said, " but it's how we got where we did. I think if we didn't have the type of training provided, we wouldn't have made it where we did."

" Were the guys....receptive of it?" Amelia asked, " I don't know how to word it." Hazel smiled softly, remembering the day fondly, back in Aldbourne.

" I'd say they were, a bit surprised, but receptive. Now they're like my family." Hazel said and Amelia smiled gently.

" Tell me you were doing something badass that made their eyes shoot out of their heads." Amelia said. Hazel smirked.

" I had special training in England for my position as sniper and I was doing practice shots on a target and that's when our Lieutenants and NCOs showed up. They thought I was a boy at first. It was pretty funny to see their reactions." Hazel said with a slight laugh, she remembered that moment so vividly. That moment had been before the horror of war, before the tragedy of it all had pierced their hearts.

" That's great," Amelia said, " I bet you showed them up." Hazel laughed lightly, her side squeezing again a bit and she groaned slightly before adjusting.

" Sure did." Hazel said with a small smile.

" 2 of your medics delivered you and one of them was a girl, is she another Virago?" Amelia asked. Hazel smiled at the mere mention of the two medics.

" Eugene Roe and Lizzie Elliot, yes," Hazel said nodding, " Lizzie was the 3rd Virago of the company. We have a Lieutenant, Catherine McCown who runs between our Battalion and our company, mostly working with the NCOs to lead where she can. They're two of the strongest women I know." Amelia smiled.

" It seemed you all had a real bond, she looked distraught, I felt horrible." Amelia said, " Just seeing the looks the medics have on their faces when they come in especially, I always feel so bad." Hazel's heart dropped into a pit in her chest and she let out a shaky sigh.

" They're my brothers and sisters." Hazel said softly, her heart suddenly having a dull ache deep set in it, " They were the best thing to happen to me even in the middle of all this war." Amelia felt her heart swell smiling at the woman.

That was true friendship and love.

True bonds.

" Everything I did with them, even the saddest moments I've ever experienced, was with them and I have no regrets, just because they were there." Hazel said, and she felt tears well in her eyes. Amelia gently leaned forward and placed a hand on Hazel's shoulder and rubbed it. Hazel looked at her with tear filled eyes. She already missed each and every one of them.

" My best friend," Hazel said, wiping at her eyes with a slight grimace as she moved her arm slowly, " I can't even imagine what he might be thinking." Amelia smiled.

" Tell me about him. Tell me about all of them." Amelia said. Hazel watched her.

" Really?" Hazel asked her.

" I have time." Amelia said with a small smirk. Hazel felt a smile fall onto her lips.

" Joe Liebgott, he's one of my best friends." Hazel said and Amelia smiled, " Even when I first met him back in England, we just bonded so easily. And he's completely different from me, you would've never thought." Amelia smiled softly at her.

" But he was always looking out for me, and he's always there, even when I was sick, and he just, he was just the best friend you would've never seen coming." Hazel said, smiling softly, as her thoughts went to the bracelet he wore on his wrist still, " Of course, he teased me relentlessly, but I wouldn't expect any less." And Amelia laughed lightly with a nod, a smile on her lips.

" And then there's George Luz, he's one of the funniest people I've ever met," Hazel said softly with a sad smile, " but he knew when you were upset, it was like some magic ability he had within him. He knows when you're sad or upset, everything."

" And Shifty," Hazel said her heart giving a sad ache, " Shifty Powers, his name's Darrell, but we all call him Shifty." Amelia looked at her with a raised brow.

" He's quick on his feet," Hazel said watching Amelia smile, " we've been foxhole partners for a while, and he's like my counterpart for sharpshooting, he just, he gets me, we get each other."

" Floyd Talbert," Hazel said with a slight laugh, " biggest flirt there was, but also one of the most caring people I've ever met. He took care of a dog in Holland and called him Trigger, it was adorable."

" Then you have Donald Malarkey," Hazel said, her heart dropping, she wouldn't dare mention how he lost his 5 best friends, " the sweetest ginger you'll ever meet besides our Captain and one of our other members Babe Heffron." Amelia smiled softly.

" Gingers are the best." she said and Hazel grinned with a small laugh.

" He went through a lot, but he still is so strong, I've always admired him," Hazel said, " And Babe, he's lost a few friends, close ones, but he still manages to put a smile on my face. He's always there too, he made sure Lizzie survived when a tree fell on a foxhole in one of those shellings." Hazel smiled fondly.

" And our Captain, his name's Richard Winters and he's one of the most respectful people, kind and caring yet he's one of the best leaders we've ever had," Hazel said, " and I can't forget about Lip, Sergeant Lipton, sorry, he's our First Sergeant, but more of a CO than anyone." Amelia smiled gently.

" It sounds like these boys treat you ladies well," Amelia said with a warm smile. Hazel felt her eyes well with tears as she nodded and bit back her lip.

" It's why I miss them so much," Hazel said as Amelia gave her a soft smile. Amelia gently touched Hazel's shoulder.

" I'll give you a minute, breakfast is soon." Amelia said, " And I'm sure you'll want something in your stomach." Hazel nodded. Amelia gave a blissful smile before slowly standing and tucking the stool in beside her cot. Hazel watched Amelia go, before slowly lying back against the bed and once again staring at the ceiling that lie overtop of the cot she lie in. She let out a shaky breath.

Hazel remember when her, Catherine and Lizzie had all been in London together back in March 1943. She remembered the smiles on their faces, the way their eyes lit up like Christmas trees, as those dashing young British soldiers offered them drinks at the nearby pubs. She remembered running through the streets along the river to see Big Ben.

Hazel remembered her and Joe, in Paris, slowly dancing to the soft Christmas music that filled their ears. The soft hum of his heart in her ear as he held her so close and so comfortably. Hazel had never felt she trusted Joe more than in that moment to lead her in even just the swaying motions of dancing.

Hazel remembered when her and George had sat on the bed together, without having to say a word to each other, in the quiet of the barrack in Mourmelon.

Or the time when her and Shifty had talked about home in the OP in the Ardennes; Shifty had looked so at ease.

Or the time when Johnny taught her darts, or when Bill lead them through the tiny town of Aldbourne and Joe Toye had scared the life out of a few civilians. Hazel giggled a bit at the memory.

She thought of Winters showing up on Christmas Day with chocolate and a warm regard for the holiday in the home of the Burnett's.

Grace and Harry, the two people Hazel adored and missed so much.

Hazel remembered her and Perconte putting a betting game on George and Catherine as the two participated in a drinking game and then they walked home after, laughing, almost in tears.

She remembered her and Tab on the night patrol back on the outskirts of Carentan where they found Harry Welsh drunk as a skunk, going off about Kitty Grogan the love of his life. It was adorable.

Hazel remembered the times her and Bull would practice leading small squads of people with Skinny cursing up a storm behind them in the rainstorms, and finding it to be some of the funniest memories Hazel would ever hold.

Hazel remembered praying with Gene, praying for everyone's safety, especially Catherine's.

She remembered Skip and Penkala and Malarkey and the meals she shared with them, the funniest conversations she felt she'd ever have.

Or even the moment where she broke in front of Lip and he'd held her tightly and so securely in his arms.

She remembered meeting Babe, sitting there with Chuck as they all talked and the two Philly men strode up with big grins on their faces.

A small tear leaked out of Hazel's eye, trailing down the side of her face. Hazel hoped they'd be okay, that when they finally did attack Foy, that they realized that Hazel had every ounce of hope, support and love in her heart that they'd do good, that whatever they'd go through, they'd be one step closer to ending this war. Hazel smiled softly to herself as she sucked in a shaky breath.

She'd be okay, they all would.

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hi! yes hazel is okay!! the beginning of this i feel is heavily important for her character especially and i hope you all appreciate this because i've never seen this done before at least :) thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and reading and commenting and voting!! <3