Ad Astra Per Aspera [2] - Band of Brothers

41 | the little prince

" Sometimes we need someone to simply be there...not to fix anything or do anything in particular, but just to let us feel we are supported and cared about."

- Unknown

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By candlelight that night, Hazel wrote, even into the early hours of the morning, each and every piece of her mind, her experience in war, each and every bit of it. And not once did she use the regiment she were in, her name, the names of any of the men, or her gender. She described it as any normal soldier of man in the military would. And she would send it into the New York Times, across the ocean, praying it would be published, and then truly see how people would react to a story like that.

An anonymous story with no gender, the only indication of it could be a man and watch as people fawn over the tough experiences faced.

Only to realize it were in fact a woman.

It would be the sweetest treat.

By the time Hazel had walked into APO the following morning in early July, she had delivered the letter to Vest, handing it into his grasp before giving him a smile and leaving. A proud smile. A proud smile hadn't met her face in quite some time.

As she headed out of the APO, she watched as on a jeep, driven by Skinny, drove by with Catherine, Joe and Webster inside. Hazel watched the jeep roll by down the Austrian streets, gently stepping out into the road to watch as dust moved up behind the car as it zipped through, before leaving the small town on the road out to where the farmers on the outskirts usually lived.

Hazel watched curiously, before biting back her lip and wiping her sweaty hands against the skirt she wore, turning and walking down the lonely road, her tiny braids on both sides of her head, limp underneath the bright sunlight.

Liebgott had said it was orders from Speirs, Catherine knew better than to believe Speirs would give such an order, but Catherine, for the one moment the word level-headed left her mind, decided to join in with Joe on the rampage - she had been angry for weeks, this would be something to get her mind off it, and she knew, she just knew if George found out he wouldn't be too happy either, but the man had been apart of the people who had made the world so cruel, he had been just one small part, but still apart of it, which hurt.

The jeep drove through the countryside outside of Zell Am See, along some of the hills, some of the mountain passes, going farther and farther from the town.

No one would hear the gunshot.

Web was beside her, and anxious as he was, Catherine still respected him after the verbal brawl the two had which she took as her fault. Catherine glanced over towards Web who looked like he was staring bullets at the back of Joe's head who sat in front of him, his jaw clenched.