" She was everything real in a world of make-believe."

- Atticus

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Matilda had been right.

George had pulled off his Class-A coat, hanging it up on the nearby hanger and was walking around in his casual, beige button up, just like Catherine, making her mother laugh, the girls giggle excitedly, and telling some jokes in the process. But a voice had interrupted them.

" Catherine?" The voice had been one she hadn't heard in quite some time. Catherine softly turned and her eyes laid upon eyes similar to her very own.

Her father.

They watched each other from across the room, almost as if they were studying one another. She didn't fail to notice that her father's eyes moved over to George and looked at George standing there, plates and cups, ready to set the table in hand.

" Hi Dad." Catherine said - the tension was getting to her head, and the onslaught of tears that threatened to well in her eyes wasn't helping either. The look from her father, simply just looking at her, for the first time in years simply just proudly. And her father slowly dropped his work bags and took a few steps between where he stood and Catherine and engulfed her in a hug.

Catherine stood there, completely and utterly confused.

Why was he hugging her?

Why was he holding her in such a warm hug?

Why was he almost in tears?

What was going on?

Her father pulled back and looked down at her.

" I didn't think I'd see you again," he said and she heard his voice break a bit.

And the tears in Catherine's eyes were not from joy of seeing her father again, no she felt they'd never be.

After a childhood of being told you weren't good enough, and now this?

Acting like those years hadn't affected her in anyway and she was just supposed to stand there and hug him and act all sappy?

Is that what she was supposed to act like?

Catherine just nodded, slowly stepping back from him - she was afraid to open her mouth and let the tears roll down her face and then fully breakdown. She'd done that far too much in her past. She was stronger than that.

Catherine slowly stepped back and gently glanced towards George, placing a hand gently on his tensed back.

George knew about Catherine's father. He remembered a day in Austria, back under the sun, sitting by the lake with towel's wrapped around their shoulders, sun-tanned and glowing, when Catherine had fully told George about her father. She had broken down after that, but George just held her under the warm sun, kissed her head softly, and let her cuddle into him.

A simple gesture to let her know he was there, and he would never let her struggle alone like she did ever again. Bastogne had been far too rough for a woman like herself. Hazel's hit had been what broke her soul, but Bill, Joe and Buck as well as Skip and Penkala had only been adding to that as a lead up.

George hated seeing Catherine upset.

" This is George Luz, Dad, my boyfriend - from the Airborne." Catherine said as George put a genuine smile on his face. Catherine watched her father look towards George, almost like any Dad would and stick a hand out.

" It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." George said and Catherine had to smile the tiniest bit at the cute way George's eyes seemed to glow. He was so strong.

" It's nice to finally meet you, too." her dad said and Catherine watched her dad even SMILE the slightest bit.

Her dad?

Smiling?

And then her dad started cracking jokes, making a show of slapping George's shoulder when he laughed, leading him to a spot at the table, and to her anger, laughing and smiling and talking all through dinner, like nothing had ever happened. Like there had been no conflict before the war, absolutely nothing of the sort.

Catherine sat quietly across next to George, as her father continued to make joke after joke. Her mother faked her smiles, her laughs, Catherine could see the sadness in her eyes. Matilda was even a bit more subdue, but the triplets were too oblivious to understand the situation. It hurt, more than it probably should've, but it hurt a lot.

The only thing keeping Catherine mentally here at the dinner table, was George's hand on her thigh, his thumb softly brushing against the uniform skirt and calming her down, reminding her that he was sitting right there, he was always there.

He was her only anchor in this moment, as she watched this act being performed like it were some sort of show.

George's demeanor was more composed and concealed, and he held back a bit. But George's attention was on Catherine, and the way her eyes looked. They didn't look like the happy and bright 2nd Lieutenant from Easy Company that he remembered. If he could just hug her and hold her, and just softly let her fall asleep without a worry in the world he would. Any day of the week he would.

After dinner, George offered to help her mother with the dishes, after her father had poured a small thing of beer and started telling more jokes, as he wiped down the table.

Catherine by that point had retreated up to her room - she was tired of her father acting like everything was fine, tired of Matilda and her looks. All of it. This night was supposed to be relaxing, but all Catherine felt was anxious and tension, and pure anger.

And she had no release.

She lied in bed in the darkness, in George's PT shirt and her shorts, curled up on her side, listening to the lightly pouring rain outside. Catherine gently brought up George's shirt to her nose and softly brought in the scent of it - it smelled like home - a home that Catherine wanted, a new one.

Gently the door creaked open and Catherine slowly let her eyes shift towards the source and found George there, the light from the hallway reflecting around his entire being, body silhouetted, before he gently shut the door behind him again. Catherine felt his presence move closer and eventually climb on the bed beside her.

" Hey, cutie." he whispered softly, cuddling right into her back and wrapping an arm around her, nose tickling the skin upon her neck.

" Hi, George." she whispered softly, her voice filled with sadness.

" You doing okay?" he asked her.

" No." she answered, " And I really want to say that I am...but I'm not." George's heart broke, and a sour feeling filled his chest. Catherine being upset always sent an ache filling his chest. He wished he could make it disappear.

" I'm sorry, Cath." George whispered softly kissing her neck, making her feel more relaxed than she had been in the darkness.

" I thought it'd be okay at least, but all I can think about is when we finally have our own little home together. This place doesn't even feel like home anymore." Catherine whispered. George only cuddled into her more, and held her close. That's what she needed - she just needed to be held, to be grounded, so that she knew someone was still there - that she wasn't alone in all of this.

" Can you tell me a story, George?" she whispered softly, " Any story?"

" Any story?" George asked softly, his voice excited - she could already hear the smile on his lips as he spoke. Catherine softly turned to face him and saw his eyes glowing in the darkness.

" Any story." she whispered. George grinned.

" Alright," he said sitting up, " c'mere." Catherine slowly sat up a bit and crawled right into his side, as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder and cuddled her closer.

" Which would you like to hear?' George asked her and Catherine softly glanced up towards George with shining eyes.

" A happy one, from Toccoa." she whispered softly, " Please?"

" Well since you asked so nicely." George said and Catherine softly laughed against him, " Ever hear about the spaghetti incident?" Catherine's eyes widened and she let out a laugh.

" What?" she asked laughing and George let out a laugh.

" C'mon the spaghetti incident, you gotta know this." George said through a laugh and Catherine shook her head giggling.

" Even if I did, could you still tell me?" Catherine said and George softly laughed, admiring the way her eyes looked innocent for a moment.

" Of course," he said," Once upon a time, long, long ago in Camp Toccoa, Georgia a striking young man, who just so happens to be your boyfriend, sat down to lunch as it rained cats and dogs outside." Catherine couldn't help but let out a giggle at the supposed storytelling of George Luz - and it made George smirk himself.

" Captain Sobel had just told us, 'Alright boys, you all have the afternoon off!'" George said in his impersonation of the man making Catherine laugh even more.

" Did he really?" Catherine asked, curious eyes watching George's.

" Yes, really, I remember standing at attention, foot of the bed, with Joe Liebgott on his 2nd cigarette of the morning, saying those words in that exact voice," George said with a chuckle as Catherine giggled.

" Then you know what happened after that handsome and dashing young man finally sat down at that table with his plate loaded with spaghetti?" George said.

" What?" Catherine asked excitedly, nuzzling closer.

" The evil, malicious Captain Dipshit makes his appearance." George said with a heroic look as Catherine giggled, " Stalking in his feet booming against the ground, voice echoing on the walls. But did that handsome young man squirm. Quite possibly. I still remember the words, 'Orders changed, get up. Easy's running Currahee. 3 miles up, 3 miles down.' I swear he thought he was the hero."

" Oh no," Catherine whispered, but George looked at her with a winning smirk.

" Never fear, Cath," he said, pulling her closer, gazing into her eyes, " this is where that handsome guy I was telling you about comes into play."

" Do tell," she said and George snickered.

" Well, we're going up the side of this mountain right, and there's people getting sick and stuff, and Sobel's going after people and once he started going after my friends, I said 'no'. To myself of course - and I started singing, you know those paratrooper songs, right. Loud and proud as a peacock I tell ya, and then the whole company was singing - one of my finest moments." George said and Catherine let out a laugh.

" I wish I could've seen that." she said with glowing eyes and George snickered.

" It was quite the sight going up that mountain," George said and Catherine laughed.

" You've always been quite the singer haven't you?" Catherine said looking up at him with shining eyes. George shrugged with a grin shaking his head.

" I mean ya know here and there when the time comes - Somewhere over the rainbow..." George sang mid sentence, and it sent Catherine into hysterics, laughs leaving her mouth as George cackled himself.

" You're too funny," Catherine said as George let out another laugh, brushing away those fake tears under his eyes.

" I'm all about making people laugh," George said and Catherine smiled up at him, softly reaching up to gently cup his cheek.

" I know you are, thank you." she whispered softly and George grinned at her.

" Can I tell you something?" George asked her and Catherine watched him.

" Hm?" she asked, leaning forward curiously.

" I don't know if you know this, I wouldn't expect you too, but uh, I actually had a crush on you." George said and Catherine watched him with a growing smile and softly blushing cheeks.

" What? George Luz, and you didn't tell me." she said with a smirk, slapping his shoulder lightly as he chuckled.

" Yeah, I mean I didn't think anything would happen. You were a beautiful woman, I figured I didn't have a chance." George said as Catherine pouted at him, reaching her hand up to run it gently through his soft hair, making him smile.

" Aw, George," she said, " but look where you are now."

" Yeah, yeah, look where we are now." he said and Catherine grinned, " You know when it might've been though?"

" When?" Catherine asked, leaning closer to him, on the bed a smile on her lips.

" That time you and Bill had a drinking contest, you downed all those drinks and beat him to a pulp really, it was awesome really, sure impressed me. Guess that's where you can say I got it." he said and Catherine giggled softly, as George began noticing her reddening cheeks.

" You blushing?" George said and she giggled shaking her head.

" You're making me blush, remember that." she said patting his arm as George chuckled.

" But you want to know something else?" George asked her and she watched him and nodded.

" I told myself I'd marry you someday, too." George said and Catherine's breath caught in her throat, as she watched George, eyes refusing to move from his own.

" Marry me?" she whispered and George nodded.

" Ever since I came up to you and asked you to watch Seven Sinners with me - I knew you'd put up with my bullshit, Lieutenant." George said, before Catherine watched his hand reach towards his pocket, pulling out a tiny little velvet box in his grasp, his shining eyes slowly making their way up towards hers again.

" George..." she whispered, tears suddenly making another appearance into her vision.

" With you, I can tell I'm a happier person, Catherine. Always, whenever I'm around you, or simply just get to be with you, I know I'm happier. Even back in Austria, sitting on the bed talking about a life together, I was happier, because we were by each other's sides, and I've always wanted that, especially with someone like you." George said, slowly opening up the ring box in front of him towards her with shining eyes, " Will you marry me, Catherine Mae McCown?"

Catherine's eyes filled with tears. She never thought she'd get a moment like this, where the man she loved, whomever that man was, would ask her to marry her, to be partners in life, husband and wife.

As a young teenage girl she never thought she'd get this - but sitting here with George, watching him, his entire beautiful being, hold up such a delicate and beautiful ring in front of her, in the soft darkness, in a quiet and intimate moment between the two of them, she couldn't help but break, the tears streaming down her face.

With George, she didn't have to be someone she wasn't, and now she got to spend the rest of her life with him, and it made her cry harder - happy tears though, always happy tears.

" Yes!" she cried out, " Always, George." George let out a choked chuckle, a few tears now in his own eyes.

" You scared me there for a second, Cath, I wasn't sure if they were happy tears are not." George said and Catherine laughed through her choked up facade.

" Always happy tears," she said as George softly slide the ring up and onto her ring finer. Catherine sniffled, wiping her eye with a smile on her face as she held up her hand towards her face and let out a giggle.

" George it's beautiful," she said, softly gazing at it before meeting his eyes. George watched her lovingly, that handsome smirk on his face as there were practically hearts in his eyes. Catherine couldn't help but lean forward and cuddle him right into a hug, and George promptly pulled her right into his lap, holding her there, hugging her close.

Sitting there in the dark, wrapped up in George's arm, sent more tears streaming down her cheeks, as she looked at the ring on her finger over his shoulder. It was such a beautiful ring.

" Catherine Luz." she whispered on her tongue and she heard George chuckle before shoving his head further into her neck, his warm breath almost ticklish. George smelled so good as she shoved her own head into his shoulder, just trying to relish a moment like this with him, where it was just the two of them in this world and no one else.

No war, no grief, no sadness, just pure joy.

It's all she had ever wanted for him, for the two of them.

Catherine softly pulled back and gently cupped George's face in her hands, taking in his beauty that night. His smile was too pure for this world, Catherine thought, as she memorized each and every curve of it.

" I love you," she whispered softly, watching as his eyes grew in size, simply just watching her. George didn't hesitate to kiss her then and there, bringing her closer in his arms, as close as he could bring her, loving her, holding her and simply being with her in that moment - it is all the two of them would've wanted.

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! this is me just purely screaming because these two babies finally got what they deserved. i'm sorry, i'm too emotional for something like this, this early in the morning, the only thing being coffee in my system. i'm just....after writing this story through quarantine, seeing it slowly coming to a close like this is, about maybe 10 or so chapters from the end, i'm spreading it out as much as i can to keep this story going because i just can't let go of it yet!! if you could imagine LOL :) this story has meant so much to me, so that's really why updates are so spread out at the current moment, this story means too much to just rush the updates for me!! and this chapter, especially for catherine and george has meant more than anything ever. they deserve happiness :)

ps - you'll find out more with catherine and her father and that dynamic next chapter - i'm sure there's still a bit of confusion, but it will all be cleared up!! it's a complicated dynamic, but one that is prevalent in many households (not my own, so i don't write from experience) but one i feel is important since so many people feel this way <3

thank you all so much! see you in the next update!! :)