" She was the most beautiful, complicated thing I'd ever seen. A tangled mess of silky string. And all I wanted of life, was to sit down cross-legged and untie her knots."

- Atticus

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Catherine stood beside her mom at the pot of simmering water, as her mother stirred in pasta, glancing out into the living room where George sat with the trio of Peggy, Molly and Eleanor all cuddled around him, all laughing and giggling together.

" They love him." Marley said and Catherine softly glanced back towards her mother with a soft smile and nodded.

" And I know you do, too." Marley whispered and Catherine smiled sadly.

" Matilda.....mom...she's just..." Catherine whispered, but ended up stopping and shaking her head.

" Honey, she's just...her life started before yours, she didn't get the experience you had, finding a man like George Luz. I'm sure she's just jealous." Marley said softly but Catherine watched her mother.

" She stared at George as if he were not allowed in the home, Mom." Catherine said softly, looking back over towards George, " I don't want her looking at him like that again. George saved my life more times than I could even count out there and having her look at him the way she did upsets me." Marley looked up at her daughter, watching her fighting down the evident tears of frustration.

Catherine had wanted this to be a warm reception but Matilda had to be the one to mess it all up, to take out jealousy and anger on Catherine and George. Putting up that fake mask in front of them.

" Have you talked to her?" Marley asked Catherine and Catherine sighed shaking her head.

" I don't know if I want to, Mom," Catherine said with a sigh, putting a hand to her face, as George's chuckle was followed by the trio of little girls' own.

" Where's James and Helen?" Catherine asked her Mom - Matilda's husband and daughter.

" At home I believe - they didn't know you'd be home today." Marley said but Catherine just let out a sigh and shook her head.

" James just doesn't like that I was in the military." she muttered, cramming her fingers together in front of her body with a shaky sigh, shaking her head.

" Hey, honey, no, don't think that." Marley said wrapping an arm around Catherine, but Catherine just sighed.

" Let me go talk to her," Catherine said - she didn't want to have this conversation - not yet.

" She should be outside, on the back porch." Marley said and Catherine just sighed as she moved towards the door that led to outback.

Catherine slowly opened it up and stepped outside, immediately seeing Matilda sitting in a chair, all proper and prim. Her eyes slowly met Catherine's and almost immediately Catherine felt like she wanted to break.

" Catherine," she said before turning and looking out again towards where the golf course was.

" Matilda, can we talk?" Catherine asked her stepping forward.

" About what?" Matilda snapped as she stood and Catherine narrowed her eyes, " The fact you were a woman in the military. You bring home a military man?"

" Those are not your words," Catherine said, her voice even - she was not going to get angry over this, she refused.

" Damn right they are." Matilda snapped. Catherine looked at her.

" You were always jealous," Catherine said, " yet you were treated like a princess."

" I am not jealous - losing a part of myself in this world - not me!" Matilda called and Catherine watched her.

" Matilda please, I am your sister, if there's something wrong you can tell me." Catherine said, trying to keep her words from exploding at the lips. Matilda watched her.

" Since when were you so sentimental?" Matilda grumbled, narrowing her eyes at her.

" I've always been sentimental you've just been too busy to notice." Catherine said, eyes preying on Matilda's own. Matilda finally broke it seemed.

" You've had the perfect life Catherine!" Matilda snapped, her eyes growing filled with an unearthed sort of sadness that Catherine had never in her life seen in her sister's eyes, " And the reason Dad was hard on you was simply because he knew you'd turn into something great - and being so hard on you with everything, he knew it would bring you someplace good in the end. They didn't care about me, the airhead, the dumb older sister, the one who slid by in life, got drunk when she could, partied throughout college. Yep that was me! And look who you show up with! A handsome military man, who cares about you so much, and we all can see it. It doesn't take a genius not to see it! And who do I have? James! A business man who works more than is ever home to see me or my daughter - I don't even think love was what he even married for. And I thought I had the perfect life - I've always been jealous - I mean look at you! A Lieutenant? In the military? Part of Operation Virago? With a group of men who won't ever stop being your brothers? How am I not supposed to be jealous?" Matilda said as tears streaked down her cheeks.

Catherine watched her sister with tear filled eyes, biting back the trembling lip that fought to shake consistently.

" Dad always believed in you, even if he didn't show it. He was hard on you because he knew you'd get somewhere great in the future. And no one knew besides me. Jack, Clark, MOM! They were all oblivious to it all! They thought he was mentally hurting you all along but it was me that got hurt. This isn't the life I wanted - everyone thought I wanted this but I didn't. I was capable of more, but I was put down too much to think I wasn't. And now look at me." Matilda said shaking her head, her cries escaping in gasping chokes, " A mere house wife." Catherine watched Matilda, really watched her.

Catherine's hands were shaking, filled with sweat, filled with anger, filled with confusion - too many emotions that continued to conflict one another.

" Don't believe me - don't. See what happens when Daddy walks through that door and sees how successful you've become - it'll be a complete different person. Just watch and wait." Matilda said as she ran a hand under her eye.

" I'm going upstairs," she said and then stepped past Catherine, wiping her finger under her eye and carefully stepping into the house again.

Catherine finally let out a shuttering breath, completely taken back. Sucking in a bit of the cool breeze to calm her entire being, Catherine looked out towards the sky. It was too much to comprehend, to even try to take it, to even try and put pieces together.

Catherine slowly wiped her finger under her eye to rid them of the evident tear that had escape and sighed, letting out another shaky breath. She sniffled, leaning against the railing.

Why was family so hard?

Why did it have to be so complicated?

Why did even in a family of people who loved one another, did there have to be jealousy and competition?

Why can't they just love each other for who they are?

Catherine's mind went to Easy - Easy had never judged each other, no matter what experiences each and every one of them went through. And this was where she knew everyone would struggle. Each and every fighter of war.

Easy Company had been a family who never judged you for a thing - in this horrid war - they never would, you didn't judge people you went through a traumatic experience like that - you didn't. But at home, they had never experienced a life like that - and they probably never would - and now Catherine would have to adjust back to people who would possibly judge your every move, who would never understand the war from your own perspective.

None of it.

And it sucked.

Catherine's bond with Easy was one of the most important aspects of her life, that they had started to become more of a family than anything in this world.

But that was gone now.

And she hated to even believe it.

But she missed the war, and the bonds she had during it - why the hell did she miss war? She would never know, but some day she hoped she never would miss war like she did now.

Catherine slowly turned and moved back inside and saw George look up with the trio, smiles on their faces and Catherine managed a quiet forced smile as she shut the door behind her.

Peggy, Molly and Eleanor couldn't recognize that forced smile yet but George did and almost immediately sent her a look. Catherine slowly trailed towards the group of 4.

" Hey," she said and George watched her closely.

" Hey girls, mind making room for Cath?" George asked the trio.

" Yeah, yeah, c'mon Cath! You can listen to George's stories with us!" squealed Molly, as she pulled Peggy back a bit. Catherine smiled, a small smile and let herself fall onto the couch, right beside George, and Catherine didn't hesitate to melt right into his embrace when he wrapped his arm over her shoulder, letting her head rest against him, her body begging for his warmth.

" Are you okay, Cathy?" Eleanor asked softly leaning forward from the other side of George's embrace.

" Yeah," Catherine said nodding, " I'm okay."

" Just okay?" Peggy asked, leaning forward to look at her sister, " You don't seem okay." Catherine watched Peggy's innocent eyes look at her own - a child who hadn't seen the war, take and take and take.

" How about you girls go and help Mom? I know she must have to set all the dishes out." Catherine said her voice quiet. The three girls looked at each other slightly confused.

" Yeah, I bet your Mom needs a lot of help and needs a lot of big, strong muscles as well." George said and the girls all giggled.

" I have the strongest!" called Molly as she ran in front of the other two, straight out of the room and into the kitchen.

The second their little footsteps had disappeared, Catherine wrapped her arms around George's neck, loosely and snuggled her head right into his neck, inhaling the soft scent of his cologne he always wore. The scent she loved.

" Hey," George said, pulling back a bit to get a good look at her and brush the hair from her eyes, " what's going on, you don't seem you."

George's hand was so warm and welcoming and it made her physically just want to break, but she vowed she wouldn't create a scene again.

" Family's crazy." she whispered, her voice breaking a bit by the end, softly reaching up to brush her hand through George's fluffy hair to calm herself, " Matilda just... she unloaded a lot on me I guess, I'm not handling it well." George softly watched her with those big, brown eyes that seemed to go on forever and it made her heart pulse a bit more, a soft, gentle pulse.

" I'm sorry about that Cath," George said softly, " you wanna talk about it?" Catherine watched his soft eyes and then nodded. She trusted George with every aspect of her emotions, more than anything and George never failed to always understand each and every aspect of those emotions. She was grateful for him every single day.

" Matilda just..." Catherine started, as George brought her closer against him, watching her eyes, watching the way her lips moved briefly as she talked to him, her downcast eyes, focusing on the way she softly prodded at a piece on his collared shirt, " said some stuff, about my Dad, about our life, before the war."

Catherine's voice was like a gentle whisper, and practically nothing more, in the dim light from the nearby lamp in the family room, the tiny fire in the large fireplace, close to dwindling and George and Catherine's faces watching each other's every intimate move. It was close, personal and so gentle. Exactly what they both needed. It was a moment of peace.

" She just said that my Dad pushed me because he knew I was going places, I don't know, and said he didn't push Matilda because he knew she wouldn't. I mean, George, I can't handle it, all of this, it's too much too fast," she whispered, her eyes filled with pain, " why can't they just be grateful I'm alive and not bring up all of this? And she said she was jealous, George!" Her voice was a quiet whisper.

" She said she was jealous because of the way she doesn't have a relationship like you and I, that her and James are barely even in love. And George...I just..." Catherine shook her head, " I don't even know anymore." George watched her, holding her close as her eyes met his.

" I'm still fighting and we're not even in a war anymore." she whispered and George watched her gaze.

" I'm sorry," she whispered, " for the way she acted. I didn't like the way she looked at you - at all."

" Hey, look at me, Cath," George said and Catherine softly met his eyes, biting back her slightly trembling lip, " it's family, alright, and the war, we went through, we can't expect anyone to understand. People may just act like nothing happened, but we'll always get one another alright? You're not alone on this, and I want you to know that." Catherine watched him softly and nodded.

" Alright?" George whispered. Catherine smiled softly, looking down with a tiny nod. " Hey," George said, putting a finger under her chin as she watched him with gentle eyes, " I'll always be here." Catherine couldn't help but let a genuine smile cross her lips.

Catherine softly closed the little gap between them and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. George's lips were so gentle and it genuinely calmed her down to just to be in such a soft, intimate moment with the man she loved.

Softly pulling apart, George reached up to gently brush some hair from her eyes.

" Always." he whispered and Catherine couldn't help but giggle at his smile.

Damn, she loved him.

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hey!! another catherine x george chapter for all of us, i swear these two makes me so soft, they were just made for each other, and they just need each other :) i just love writing them sm!!! especially after the war, i feel they need some joy soon <3

REMINDER

landslide's first update is 3 DAYS AWAY on October 2nd!! preview + prologue are all up and out, and i'm super excited to get that story rolling after this :)

thank you all!!! <3