Ad Astra Per Aspera [2] - Band of Brothers

61 | home

" You feel like home and everywhere I've never been, all at once."

- butterflies rising

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The sun on her face was welcoming enough to nearly send her asleep by that point and the smooth rolling of the car down the long streets through the valleys below mountains was sure a sight to behold. 

Catherine softly smiled to herself and then turned and glanced briefly towards George who relaxed comfortably in the vehicle, one hand resting on the steering wheel loosely, as the other sported his shiny watch from Carentan that he liked to go on about, running through his hair every so often as he did so, a lazy smile on his face as he stared forward towards the horizon, in his own little world that Catherine managed to peak in on. 

Sighing softly to herself, Catherine leaned up against the window again and let her mind drift a bit, back to Haguneau, after the news of the patrol had been canceled officially and she was about to get a full night's rest, the first after a while. She had just clarified with Speirs before he had sent her off to rest, a small smile on his tired face, which signaled he needed sleep as well. 

Catherine had gone and visited Hazel, yes that was right. 

And Hazel had told Catherine, on that darkened bombed out balcony about her love for Joseph Liebgott. Catherine always had Hazel's innocently distraught face in her mind for days afterward, to see her so truly in love with Joe Liebgott and realizing the war was still going on and was still destroying the world around them. 

Love had prevailed. 

Catherine remembered standing out by the embankment that night, helmet pushed down over her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks, with her arms stiffly crossed over her chest, and her lip trembling. She remembered the cold that had bit at her fingertips and the icy way her cheeks were kissed by the wind. 

She had got into the CP late that night, her feet moving almost sluggishly across the ground as she entered the slightly darkened room, a small fire in the pot belly stove nearby glowing with as much might as it could the surrounding rooms. 

Catherine's glassy eyes slowly caught on the warmth and slowly picked her way towards it, briefly glancing over and seeing Captain Speirs passed out, looking pass exhausted at this point on the couch that Lip had previously occupied, on the opposite side of where the stove was. She smiled sadly. She had never seen their CO with his guard down and so vulnerable in a war like this. 

But sometimes even he remained strong for too long. 

Catherine slowly caught the blanket over the chair and brought it into her arms before glancing back towards the CO. She slowly took a few steps closer to him and then gently laid the blanket across his figure, before cuddling it up around his neck and tucking it in gently to make sure he was warm enough. He cared for the company so much that sometimes even he needed to be cared for.