" First keep peace with yourself, then you can also bring peace to others."

- Thomas a Kempis

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July brought upon warm weather which meant that any free time allotted, it was spent swimming in lake Zell Am See, where the warm air was sweet, sticking to your skin, the water lapped gently against the dock or the rocks up against the soil, the breeze made the leaves brush together in a way that reminded Hazel of home, and little birds fluttered about everywhere as the crickets sometimes chirped even during the day. The bright sunlight streamed down from above reflecting onto the glistening water, as the sky had to be the brightest blue many had ever seen.

Just to hear the wind in the trees again as the sun kissed Hazel's face was exactly what she felt she needed, especially now, just being able to lie there on the dock and feel the sun on her face, warming up her body, reminding her how wonderful it was to be warm. She'd never take it for granted again. She got nightmares occasionally from Bastogne, from the wound, but she didn't let that get to her. She had learned she was in control of herself and no one else was or would ever be in control of her being.

She had the power to not let those negative thoughts affect her.

" Figured you'd be here," a voice said and Hazel slowly sat up from where she lay in the sun on the dock, her head swimming a bit. She glanced over her shoulder and found Joe swaggering towards her, his Raybands glinting underneath the sun, his hair looking extra fluffy, a smirk on his face, PT shorts, and his OD top unbuttoned, without that stupid white shirt. Her cheeks were already changing colors as he approached.

" Hi," she said innocently and Joe slowly let himself settle down to sit beside her before looking over at her. She gently reached forward pulled the sunglasses up so she could really see his eyes, not just through the sunglasses. She smiled when she saw they were glowing underneath.

" I just wanted to see your eyes." she said and Joe smirked at her. He softly lent forward and pressed a soft kiss on her lips and her heart might've skipped a beat.

She was still getting used to the fact that kissing each other was okay. They'd been friends for so long, practically in love without the other knowing it for months, that kissing Joe still managed to make her heart race in surprise and excitement all over again.

But they'd talk about it before - their love was more than just a kiss to them.

But she did love when he would sneak a kiss or two with her. Joe gently pulled back and brushed at the hair that was in her face.

" Catherine said you'd be here," Joe said, " and so I didn't hesitate to pull on the swim trunks." Hazel giggled.

" Your PT bottoms?" she said with a shy grin.

" Yes," he said with a smirk and Hazel just giggled again shaking her head.

" So," Joe said, " what do you say?" Hazel smiled at him and nodded. Pulling off her OD top to her white shirt was enough trouble in the sweat the covered her body, but the socks were hard too. She couldn't wait to just get in the water and cool off. Then she pulled off her shirt and then her pants, tripping a bit over her pant legs, because clumsy was basically her middle name. She heard Joe chuckling and stood and slapped his arm.

" I'm clumsy." she said with a shy giggle. Joe chuckled.

" Which I find adorable," Joe said and Hazel just laughed.

After he had pulled off his own OD top Hazel noticed his dog tags around his neck and realized she still had her dziadek's Star of David and her dog tags underneath. Her hand gently went to it and she softly grasped it, her heart aching for them suddenly. Hazel looked at the water and then squeezed her eyes shut.

The camps.

Those memories suddenly hit her mind like a bag of bricks.

But then there was a warmth.

Something blocking that out - Joe's hand.

" Hey," Joe said and Hazel looked up to meet his eyes, " you okay, you blanked out there for a second." Hazel looked back at the Star of David in her palm.

" Yeah, this just..." Hazel held it watching it, " brings back bad memories." Joe watched her softly and smiled.

" Well, hopefully with it now, we can create some new ones." Joe said and Hazel quirked a smile up at him, her eyes shining. She nodded. Joe gently took her hand in his and squeezed it with that little dorky grin.

" C'mon," he said and led her to the edge of the dock. The two paratroopers stood with their feet nearly curled over the edge, the water below them, lapping gently against the dock, soft crickets in the background, and the soft breeze arriving again. Hazel looked up towards Joe again with hopeful eyes.

Playful eyes.

" You ready?" she asked him. Joe smirked. But then Hazel let go of his hand and shoved him right plunging into the water. Hazel let out a joyous laugh as Joe surfaced in the water. His once fluffy hair deflated on his head as he looked up towards the laughing girl on the dock. He smirked.

" Two can play at this game, Parker." Joe said as he swam to the dock and she giggled running backwards. Joe hauled himself up, chasing her down the dock, as his dog tags jingled together as he hurried after Hazel.

Curse her tiny legs as she felt his wet arms wrap around her and haul her up.

" Joe!" she cried as her back became soaked from his chest and she saw the water getting closer and closer. Next thing she knew she was in the water and when she resurfaced she was laughing so gleefully, so joyously out loud, pure happiness on her face as she blinked away all the water in her eyes, wiping at them. Joe gently slid into the water next before swimming towards her as she smiled brightly at him, as if she were a small child.

" Two can play at that game?" she said as he chuckled.

" I got you in the water didn't I?" Joe said and Hazel laughed. But then he splashed her and she giggled, splashing him back, before the two of them, like children were splashing one another back and forth, their laughs echoing around the lake, so happily, so joyously, so freely.

Hazel knew she could just be herself and have fun with Joe whenever there was a spare moment. She was so grateful for the fun he brought to her life. They talked about everything, her mom's farm market, Daisy, how good Hershey Bars were, and how drunk Alton More could get - the answer? Very drunk. But he was a funny drunk.

Times like this were the ones Hazel relished and cherished and wished she could hold onto forever. She'd strive her hardest to keep a hold on them.

After their little swim, Hazel almost immediately wrapped herself in a towel as the breeze hit her skin, sending chills up her arms. Hazel watched Joe climb out of the water and giggled as he shivered at the cold breeze, shaking out his hair a bit to keep it orderly. Hazel picked up the towel and gently lent it forward to him as he took it with a smile.

" I knew I needed someone to keep me together." Joe said as he wrapped the towel around himself, continuing to shake out his hair. Hazel giggled lightly as Joe stood in front of her, looking down at her. Hazel smiled softly up at him.

" I'm so happy here with you, Hazel, I hope you know." Joe said as he reached up to put a strand of her wet hair behind her ear and Hazel gently looked up at him.

" You know I never knew I had that affect on people," Hazel said and Joe smiled.

" You have that affect on me, Parker." Joe said and Hazel swallowed the blush that fought to rise. Hazel giggled slightly. She looked up at him, her eyes shining, so innocent, so soft and shy, it was like she didn't have a kill tally of 94 sitting back in her barrack hunk. But Joe's eyes were that soft brown that just drew her in and made her forget about it all.

" Can I kiss you?" she whispered, her voice so pure, like a little angel bell in Joe's ears. Joe smirked at her.

" You're too cute," Joe whispered before Hazel stood up on her tiptoes and softly pressed a kiss to his lips, gentle and tender, but very much a Hazel kiss - innocent and pure. Hazel had found such a pure love with Joe, one she felt she may never find. But with Joe, love was simply just love, no lies, no pain, nothing - she felt loved, so loved by him.

Hazel loved Joe endlessly.

The following day, Hazel received a letter from Shifty. Shifty Powers. Her heart ached for him, for the pain he must've felt, all of it. Her heart broke for him.

Hazel!

I am so glad the nurses have finally cleared me to start doing things again like writing you a letter! I've written my parents one after a telemark was already sent to them, but I knew I needed to send one to you as well, you're one of my best friends after all. After the hit, they took me to a hospital and I wasn't in a good enough headspace to have a nurse sit by my side and write everything down as I spoke. I couldn't gather my thoughts together well enough for that and it's too personal to say it to one of the nurses, even if they are some of the nicest ladies here. I think I'm just missing the company though!

They say I might be able to finally get out of the hospital soon, but they can't be for certain, I can barely go to the bathroom without having to be helped. It hurts a lot. Eating things is pretty hard to, a nurse has to feed me, and I appreciate it all, but I fought in a war, I know I can feed myself. It's just frustrating you know? Not being able to do things you once did. And the mental part of it is even worse. Just constantly struggling with figuring out everything, why I did take better safety measures, if the truck hadn't swiveled right into us. Just too many things that I'm trying to understand and comprehend. I can't imagine Tab and Lizzie though - another member of our D-Day group's gone. First it was Smokey, now me, I just hope those two are doing okay, but they have each other and all of you guys. I miss them, they made me laugh, more than I thought I could.

But I miss you a lot too, mainly because you were one of the ones to understand my personality. Now, I know both of us are more on the quiet side of things, but we just have a lot going on in our brains, we're Southern people, we take a lot into account of appreciating the little things, like the way flowers grow or something, and even if someone's doing alright. We always take that into account, it's our thing. I hope you're doing well though, Hazel, I really miss being able to just talk with you. You were one of my closest friends, I feel we just really understood one another out there.

If you can believe it the food's actually good here, not that Army stuff they thought was good enough for breakfast, no, no, this is the real good stuff, with actual taste and color, and seasoning, sorta like Mama's. But nothing can compare to Mama's. And the nurses are some of the nicest women, always caring for us, making sure we get help where we need, we take any medication we need. I actually met a nurse Amelia Beckett, who said she knew you, she says you actually made her feel happy in that dark hospital in Bastogne. She seems like one of the nicest people, truly. And she helps me out more than I can imagine. You have the nicest friends Hazel :) Now, if you don't mind telling Tab for me, I hide a few cigarettes in his Class A pocket back on D-Day plus 1, so just tell him if he doesn't figure it out sooner or later, you know him. And Lizzie, I left some of her favorite chocolates for her. She probably found them a while ago, but just let her know, I wanted to leave them both something before I left. And I left one more thing for you, at the bottom of your sack, just a little something that I know you'd like.

I miss you and the Company more than I can imagine. Just not being with all the guys. I expected to be home by now, not in a hospital. Maybe I'd have a different perspective. I don't know what it is, but I hate to say it, but missing war? It is possible to miss a war this horrid. Not the war itself, no, but the friendships I made while I was there quite possibly, are the thing I miss. The brotherhood, the Viragos who were like my sisters, the outstanding leadership we had, besides a select few, just the feeling of where you belonged, every man was important, you were involved. You were also important. Now, sitting here, I don't quite feel that anymore, but I suspect going back into civilian life that is something I'll have to get used to I suppose. But Easy, the experiences there, with everyone, I won't forget what that company did for me, what memories we created, all of it. I'm grateful for it all and I wouldn't change a thing looking back on it now. Because sometimes you find light in the darkness. It was hard to understand that sorta concept, but understanding is better than ignorance. I've always believed that.

I hope you continue to stay you, Hazel. You're one of my best friends, and you were always so genuine, so truthful, so kind, so loving, and so wise in everything you did for this company. Your motives, your smiles, all of it. I hope you never change from who you are. We need more people in the world like Hazel Parker.

Say hello to everyone for me, I hope you're all doing well. I wish I could be there instead of in this hospital, training for this Pacific, but I know you're the best sharpshooter in Easy, Hazel, we all always knew that. Please know you can always write back, it might be the only thing to keep me sane back here.

Love,

Shifty

Hazel squeezed her eyes shut, just at his signature. She missed Shifty more than anything. He had been one of her closest friends.

The only softness that formed was the mention of Amelia's name.

Amelia Beckett's name.

The Amelia Beckett who had saved Hazel's life.

Hazel softly leaned back in her bed, holding the letter against her heart, fighting the tears.

Fighting the emotion and the pain, the voices screaming, ravaging her mind, crumbling, falling, shattering into oblivion. This war had created so much pain, that they all would have to deal with. It hurt.

Hazel slowly looked over towards where her sack usually sat and sniffled slightly before taking to the floor and pulling her sack in front of her. Hazel slowly dug through it, cautiously inspecting all the clothing items until she found one final thing at the bottom. Reaching down into the satchel she slowly pulled out the object and saw it was the tiny Doe figurine, with a small note attached to it. Hazel slowly, tentatively, reached her hand forward and picked up the note.

Never stop reaching for the stars, Hazel- Shifty

Hazel felt her bottom lip quiver.

The young girl sat alone in that moment, curled into herself between the two bunks on the floor, the letter, the figurine, and the note at her feet.

Why did the worst things have to happen to the best people?

But, she was determined to never stop reaching for the stars she always saw above her. She would never stop, reaching for hope, goodness, happiness, joy, she would never stop and this war would never stop her either.

Hazel told Tab about the cigarettes - Tab had known almost instantly. Shifty had left 6, for the amount of letters in his little nickname and he had left 6 chocolates for Lizzie - Lizzie had known instantly too. Only Shifty and the girls knew those were her favorite.

Hazel kept the figurine by her nightstand in the barracks, because usually whenever she jumped awake from a nightmare or two it was there.

A doe, so gentle, graceful, dotting, brought her some peace.

She no longer thought of the German on D-Day with the bright green eyes - he wasn't worthy of her time anymore.

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hi!! i'm so excited to bring out these few chapters today!! but i'm so sad because we're so close to the end, it HURTS!! but i know with postwar, then hazel, catherine and lizzie's story will finally be complete. i've been rooting for these strong women and they deserve to see a good end to their stories :)