" Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle."

- Napoleon Hill

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The sun of Rhode Island on a blissful November afternoon was one of the most freeing feelings that Catherine ever felt within her body. The soft breeze was one of the last as late fall was quickly approaching, but for that moment, in the early afternoon by the bay.

George had made a show of taking his favorite quilt from the house and lying it out in the green grass under one of the oak trees in the park by the bay, grinning up at Catherine as he sat down on it and looked up at her with glowing eyes.

Of course, Catherine couldn't help but sit down beside him watching him softly lean in to press a soft kiss to her cheek and wrap an arm around her shoulder.

In recent days, George couldn't seem to stop talking about wanting to have kids - of course, Catherine was beyond excited to take him up on the discussion of kids. Seeing his eyes glow as he talked about showing his first son, possibly how to tie his shoe or ride his bike for the first time made her smile even more each time. She loved the way he got so excited, grinning like a kid on Christmas.

And now sitting beside him, she saw that same love glowing in his eyes again. With his coat wrapped around her shoulders, smelling like his favorite cologne, she couldn't help but smile softly to herself as she listened to George talk quietly against her ear, pressing gentle kisses every so often there, as their eyes stayed on the bay.

This was what she wanted, a life, a free life, a life where she felt simply just calm. Being with George, his jacket over her shoulders, his fingers intertwined with hers, she felt so peacefully calm.

" Hey, George?" she said softly, letting her eyes train on him for a moment as he looked up at her with a smile.

" Yeah?" he asked quietly, and he watched her smile softly.

" Nothing.." she said shyly, glancing down at their hands for a moment as the wind ruffled their hair for a moment, bringing a calm silence between the two as they sat there, " just thinking."

" About what?" George said, softly reaching up to place a piece of stray hair behind her ear with a soft smile. Catherine met his eyes for a moment and watched the soft brown of his eyes gently touch her blue.

" Just...." Catherine sighed," I know that you'll be a great father." George chuckled softly and watched her.

" I was hoping I would be." he said, watching as Catherine watched him softly for a brief moment and smile slowly.

" I was thinking that you could hope a bit more, in maybe 9 months?" Catherine asked him and George froze, his eyes the only thing moving on his face as he watched her.

" 9-9-9 m-months?" George stuttered out as he watched her, happy tears filling her eyes as George slowly piece by piece put together her words. Catherine softly placed her hands on George's slightly stubbled cheeks, brushing the pads of her thumbs against them, with a smile on her lips.

" 9 months, George." she whispered softly.

" We're going to be parents," he whispered, his eyes watching her, as she couldn't help but smile, sniffling briefly as she did so, " you're going to be a mom, Cath, and I'm going to be a dad." Catherine nodded, cracking a wide smile on her lips.

" Yeah, we are." George felt speechless as he sat there, watching the woman he loved, telling him she was pregnant with their child, someone he had seen at her lowest, now producing a new life with even more strength than she had ever had before. George softly placed a hand on her stomach through the dress. He knew there was nothing there now, barely a thing, but there would be soon enough, a tiny child.

" Cath..." George whispered, looking up at her as he could evidently see her trying to hold back the tears - he knew they were happy tears, she couldn't stop smiling that beautiful smile - and softly moved his hands to her cheeks which filled with tears.

" Hey, hey, hey..." he whispered, watching her close to sobs at this point.

Softly, he pressed his lips to her own, capturing her lips to his, as their own softly fluttered closed, so softly embracing one another, in the others comforting touch, words unable to describe the emotions that the other felt. It was more of a simple pure joy that couldn't even be explained by all the words of the dictionary. Gently pulling back George watched Catherine smile up at him.

" I love you so much," he whispered, the words playing on her lips as his warm breath touched her own, " and Cath, you...you and I created this. And you're going to carry this baby, our baby. I don't know how I can tell you how much I love you." Catherine watched him, her eyes shining.

" I think saving me during the war was enough of a thank you," she managed out. George choked out a chuckle and couldn't help but press his lips to hers again. Pulling back George held her face in his hands, eyes shining, looking almost like he was unable to comprehend it.

" You're pregnant!" he called out, " I'm going to be a dad, holy shit." Catherine let out a laugh as George met her eyes again, a wide smile on her face as she laughed and laughed.

" You're going to be a great father," Catherine said softly, as George watched her with such loving eyes.

" Enough about me, you're going to be a mother, Cath!" George said, softly pulling her into his grasp," 9 months...." Catherine looked at George with a smile.

" I'm so excited." he whispered softly to her making her chuckle, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she did so. Her big blue eyes watched him softly, watching as he adored her right back.

" You make me so happy, you know that." Catherine whispered softly, watching George. George's smile fell a bit into a soft look on his face, as he looked at Catherine gently.

For that moment, Catherine felt like it was a time warp, back to when she was there, just looking across the bar to find George Luz staring at her with a stupid grin, offering her a drink from his glass, as she gladly took it it. It had been him. It had always been him. For years she never thought she'd be worthy of birthing a child, a new life into this world, and now she realized she was.

And becoming a family with George Luz was all she could have wanted and more.

Catherine softly kissed his lips, a gentle peck that made him close his eyes and then pulled back and watched him.

" What's your Mom going to say?" she asked and George let out a chuckle, taking her hands in his and softly brushing his fingers over them.

" Just wait until she hears, you won't stop being hugged by that woman as long as you live." George said with a chuckle, making Catherine let out a laugh of her own.

Love was patient and kind and filled with the unexpected wonders of a life shared with someone who loves you for you. It was vulnerable, and raw and real.

And sitting by George's side, she saw her future, the rest of her life spent with the man who had seen that side of her and loved her despite it all.

Catherine smiled, shutting her eyes for a moment as the sun soaked her skin - life was beautiful.

Grand Rapids, Michigan - January 25th, 1946

Elizabeth Elliot's grandmother had died on October 4th, 1945 - she had lost her battle.

For 4 months, Lizzie had been numb to it all, trying to not let it get to her head, especially after she had just fought a war, training since '42, watching her friends die, watching them suffer, watching grief, numbness and pain take them from her own eyes. She tried not to let it bother her, but by the first week of November, it seemed all she could do was break at the mere mention of her.

The hyperkinetic disorder wasn't helping - the stress, the overthinking, the inability to focus - all of it. Nothing was helping.

Sure, writing letters to her friends, especially the girls was nice.

Hazel and Joe, in their most recent letter, had sent out details about their wedding - they were engaged. Joe had popped the question to Hazel under the stars one night out by the Bay, and the wedding was quickly scheduled by the family. They had bought a little home by the Bay as well, Hazel getting back into her schooling and Joe earning his job back at the Cab Company.

And Lizzie was so happy to see them happy, to see them so joyful, to hear about what they were doing - the distraction was nice. And Lizzie was so excited to see them at their wedding - a couple Lizzie would forever admire.

Their selfless love for one another through a war even more so admirable.

Lizzie had seen them at Catherine and George's wedding, after Catherine had announced her pregnancy, and Lizzie had never felt happier to see the guys again, to be able to see the girls again, getting a big hug from Hazel and Joe both. It was comforting from the two because if she knew they were happy, that was all that mattered.

Catherine and George had settled in Rhode Island, by their own bay, with a house as well, and a new puppy - Catherine had said they called him Chip the second they got him and then, well, it sorta stuck. Catherine talked a lot about how when George went off to work, and recently, standing for too long hurt her back more than she would've wished, Chip liked to snuggle up on the couch beside her and act as a guardian until George would get home. Lizzie hoped to meet little Chip one day, possibly when the baby was born.

Knowing that the women who had turned into her sisters were happy, was the only thing keeping her somewhat sane at this point, when every little thing reminded her of her grandmother, the war, or her crippling mental state.

Most days, she stayed in her room, feeling like she were deteriorating, or letting her dinner go cold when her mother offered it. But no one understood, the pain, the fear, the guilt and grief. How internalized it all was, and how deep down Lizzie knew it'd stay in the pit of her chest forever.

Lizzie felt bad for her parents mostly - her siblings mostly didn't understand, why their big sister was so distant, so emotional - they always watched her like she was this unknown person, so fragile, so weak, like any second she'd break. And they had every right to.

But Lizzie more and more felt the weight of the world pulling her down to the ground. And it hurt, more than anything.

The wedding had been the only bright spot for a long while, but she had barely seen any of the guys, having trailed out pretty early on when her mind got too much for her to handle.

Gene had found her out on one of the back steps. And within seconds she couldn't believe she was having a breakdown at her best friend's wedding - that's when the guilt started even more. And it was a constant, ongoing cycle that was never ending.

Afterwards, when home became her only companion, she stayed in her room a lot, staring off, trying to settle her mind, something anything to control this, to get the weight that hurt her shoulders even if there was nothing there. To try and stop crying herself to sleep, anything that would get her mind set straight for once.

Hazel and Joe's wedding was in a week's time and Lizzie would have to head out to San Francisco in about 3 days to help with preparations.

But staring at herself in the mirror was a pain she could never get over, or seeing her Jump Wings, the Virago Medal, even her uniform, the medic satchel on the ground, even pictures - all of it triggered memories and emotions she was trying to escape. She wrote the girls daily, but Gene, Smokey and Shifty were near-constant. Malarkey and Joe Toye were others she never failed to write to, as well as Alton. She missed them more than anything.

She was surprised by the person who helped the most - Floyd Talbert.

Sitting on her bed, his letters lay scattered around her, as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. Lizzie softly reached up to wipe at the tear that crawled down her face and let out a shaky sigh.

Floyd's letters had helped the most out of anything - simply because even if he were a funny guy and the two cracked a joke or two, here and there, he was genuinely one of the most caring people Lizzie had gotten to know.

Before they had departed on the train, taking it out to the Midwest together, Floyd had given her one of the warmest hugs she had ever experienced, the two standing in the middle of the station, arms wrapped around one another. Lizzie still remembered the way his arms had wrapped around hers.

And for a moment, she regretted some of the slightly crude jokes that she had directed at him on D-Day. But being in the hot sun with no idea where you were exactly, enemies crawling around you like ants, she had a right to be pissed at everything.

But now all she wanted was him, to sit by her side, hold her close, tell her jokes until her tears turned from sad to happy again, anything. She felt human again with him. And maybe it was the gentle way he smiled at her, or the way his eyes would light up and ignite an entire room, but she wanted that more than anything.

He had been the one to consume her mind when the grief of her grandmother didn't. He had been the one that brought her a bit of joy as Lizzie tried to grasp onto each and every memory the two shared with one another.

Lizzie let out a shaky sigh as her throat clenched.

How was it possible to miss someone as much as she did now?

To feel your heart physically ache so much that it felt worse than anything else imaginable?

Why did it feel this way?

And holding the pillow against her chest, hearing the thumping beat of her heart against the fabric was enough to make her think that for a moment, it was Tab who was there on the other side, holding her so close to his own.

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WE MADE IT!! we have finally arrived at lizzie's postwar and to say i'm sad is an understatement - i'm so excited to finally reach this point - hazel and joe are getting married, catherine's pregnant, and lizzie....lizzie is struggling more than anything. but this means there's only 5 more chapters after this, and i'm keeping it for the moment, to a final, single, epilogue just because i don't want to keep it long winded at the moment :)

PLUS THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE!! <3 i'm emotional but so happy to see my story progress like this, i'm hoping to shoot out a few more double updates when i can to finish out my quarantine fic because it helped me more than anything, thank you all so much!