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mccall-muffin · 1 year

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Love vs. Hate - Part 21 // Joe Liebgott x OC

Summary: FREEZING HELL. That's all Liv can think about in these god-forsaken woods. Trying to keep the men up and help Lip manage the company somehow because their leader is an absolutely incompetent mick, she still mourning her sister. Can it get any worse?

Warnings: Language, War wounds, angst, mourn

A/N: Bastogne... *sigh* I think we all know what that means.

Here is my Masterlist

Taglist: @brassknucklespeirs, @liebgotts-lovergirl

December 23, 1944 - Bastogne, Belgium

Sitting by a tree on my helmet, I poke around in my food. Of course, I've tried to tuck thoughts of my sister away somewhere in the back of my mind, but that's easier said than done.

Of course, I noticed the pitying looks from the others because it was clear to me that George wasn't going to keep it to himself. Naturally, the first thing Skip did was also to tell Don, who immediately ran to me and gave me a big hug. Unsurprisingly, after that, everyone wanted to know what was going on, but no one addressed me directly, which was just fine with me.

I also sent Don away because I don't want to talk to him now. It's enough that I'm worried. The others don't have to be, too.

I leave my plate hanging and rub my eyes before getting up to put my plate down as Joe stands in front of me. As soon as I see his gaze, I turn away because I know what it means. "Liv," I hear him say, but I don't listen. I don't feel like another commiseration speech.

I take a few steps and move away from the group, but Joe follows me. "Liv," he says again, and now I turn to face him. "What?" I ask, annoyed, and also immediately see the slightly hurt expression in his eyes. He bites his lips and then looks at me again.

Then he sighs and hangs his head. "Liv... I... I heard about your sister," he says softly, then looks at me again. I press my lips together. "Oh yeah, I wouldn't have guessed." "Come on, Liv. I just want..." "What do you want?" I interrupt him briskly. "You do know you can't bring my sister back, right?"

"That's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to say that I want to look out for you." "Jesus Christ," I hiss. "How many times do I have to tell you? You don't need to look out for me! Nobody has to, don't you get that?! I'm a big girl, and I don't need you! Just back off, for fuck's sake!" Now Joe looks at me like I just smacked him.

"That's not fair, and you know it!"

I know it. And how I know it. And my inner self is screaming at me to apologize and hug Joe. But my outer self just stares at him. I feel my lips tremble, and my eyes start to burn. Then I snort and avert my gaze. "Just let it go," I say quietly before turning away from him again.

I take another few steps away from him, but now he doesn't follow me. I crouch down next to a tree and slap my hand over my mouth. Why am I doing this to him? Why am I being such an ass to him? I don't know it myself.

Putting my head back, I exhale deeply before taking out a smoke and lighting it.

"You know you shouldn't push him off you, right?" I stand up and turn around. Annoyed, I roll my eyes. "And neither should you push me away while we're at it." "Why can't you just leave me alone? Huh?"

"Because you're important to us, Liv! That's why! And we care about you. You haven't eaten since yesterday morning, you're not talking to anyone, and if I can be honest, you look like shit. We are worried." I squeeze my eyes shut for a second. "How nice. No one asked you to, though." "Well, that's the advantage of being friends. No one has to ask you to do it! Friends just do, and I know for a fact that if it were the other way around, you wouldn't react any differently."

"Don..."

"No, now you let me finish! Believe me; we get how you're feeling. We may not completely understand it, but we get that it must be frustrating that you can't do anything about it. We also get that you feel like you need to be strong, even if that's only partially true, Liv. But please let us be there for you. A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved, as they say, and some guys love you here, Liv, and would like to be there for you. Skip, Penk, George, Joe, and myself included. So please: stop pushing us away and let us be there for you!"

I look at Don. I can feel the warm tears running down my cheeks. Then I sob out, and Don immediately takes me in his arms. I put my arms around him as well and press myself against him. Only now do I realize how much I needed this.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Don," I say to my best friend in a shaky voice. "Hey, hey. It's okay," he whispers, gently stroking my back.

"No, it's not okay! I've been acting like a bitch! Especially to Joe," I say desperately, squeezing away from Don. "Jesus, he must hate me!" "Don't say that, Liv. Joe could never hate you, and you know it!" intervenes Don, and I look at him before wiping my tears with my sleeve.

"Anyway, I have to apologize..." I say and look at Don, who nods. "I'd recommend you do that."

I'm about to storm off when I stop and turn to Don again. "I don't deserve you; you know that," I say, smiling at him. "Oh, you don't say?" he grins, and I walk up to him again to hug him. "Love you, Don; I hope you know that." Don nods. "I know you do, sweetheart," he says, nudging me in one direction. "Now go on! Apologize to your boyfriend!"

I grin at him before turning back to the others. I quickly realize they've already left, but then Peacock walks up to me. "Liv. The men are back in their foxholes. Please make a round and see that they're all dug in." I nod at him. "Tom?" I ask, and he turns to me again. "Yeah?" "Any news on how things are going soon?" Peacock looks at me but then shakes his head. "No, I'm afraid not." I nod, wanting to move on. "And Liv?" "Yeah?" "Sorry about your sister." I nod my thanks to him and then join the others.

Keeping an eye out for Joe, I walk through the foxholes. I am greeted from different directions, but I just nod to each guy.

From a distance, I can see Alley looking up at me as he sees me coming toward him. In front of him, his back turned to me, sits someone else, and I'm almost sure it's Joe. I look at Alley for a moment, then at the soldier, then back at Alley, who nods at me, barely noticeably.

I take a deep breath before walking up to the two of them. "Hey," I say, and Alley smiles at me. "Hey, Liv. You okay?" he asks, and I nod. "Um, Joe? Can I talk to you for a sec?" I ask hesitantly. Joe still doesn't look at me but seems to find his fingernails extremely interesting. "I wouldn't know what about," he says indifferently, and Alley looks at me with raised eyebrows. "Please," I follow up and look at him. Finally, he lifts his eyes and looks at me. Then he sighs deeply.

"Oh, uh, I think I need to see Skinny for a minute," Alley says quickly and gets out of the foxhole. I give him a quick nod and then slide into the foxhole with Joe.

For a moment, we sit silently next to each other. He takes out his smokes and lights one. I'm surprised he doesn't offer me one, but I don't give it a second thought.

"I wanted to apologize," I say, and he looks up. "Uh-huh." "Yeah. I acted really awful, and I'm sorry about that. I know you only meant well, and I really don't know what got into me..." Joe looks at me without saying anything. "The thing with Cindy... My sister. It's bothering me more than it should right now," I admit. I look down at my hands and start kneading them.

"I was against her enlisting. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen. She just said that since I was in the Army, why shouldn't she join the Marines?" I have to smile myself when I think back on it. Then I rub my eyes. "I just didn't really worry about anything happening to my siblings... It... I didn't think it was possible. And now..." I sigh and close my eyes. "It's too real," Joe finally says, and I look at him before nodding.

"I still don't know how to deal with this, but I do know one thing. I don't want to push you away. And like I said, I'm so sorry for what I said to you."

Now Joe finally smiles. He takes out another smoke, lights it, and holds it to me. "Apology accepted." Surprised, I look at him. "That easy?" Joe smiles his familiar crooked smile, and his dimple appears. "I was never really angry, you know. I know you're miserable, but I didn't know how you'd react. I hate to admit it, but your words just... hurt me."

Hesitantly, I slide over to Joe before taking his hand in mine. "I'm sorry," I say again, looking at him from the side. "Okay, now stop apologizing. That's enough," he smiles before leaning down to me and pressing a kiss to my lips. "Thank you for being there for me," I whisper against his lips, and he smiles. "I will always be there for you, love."

Again Joe kisses me, and I can't help but smile against his lips. I'm just fortunate.

December 24, 1944 - Bastogne, Belgium

Still freezing, I doze in my foxhole and somehow try to store the warmth in my body. I feel my feet aching and stretch them out again and again. Suddenly I hear footsteps next to me and look up. "Hey, Liv... You okay?" I nod, and Lip jumps into the foxhole with me. "Except for the cold, what are you going to do." "Can you take over for now? Stop by everyone's holes and see if everything's okay. I need to find Dike." "Sure. I think my feet will be happy to get some movement," I say, slowly standing up.

I get out of the foxhole and head toward the front. "Guys? You okay?" I ask when I get to George, Penk, and Muck. "What do you mean, sweetheart? Whether everything is still here, or whether we're really okay?" "Shut up, George," I grin as I kneel to them. "How are you?" Muck then asks, eyeing me. "It won't be long until I can't feel my damn feet anymore, but other than that... It's getting better, thank you. Hold the fort, boys. See you later," I then say and stand back up.

I walk a few more foxholes until I see Spina and Doc sitting in a foxhole. "Hey, you two," I say to them and sit in with them. "You guys know better than to sit in a foxhole together. If Dike sees that, he's going to freak." "We need to exchange our supplies. We're running on fumes right now, Liv," Doc tells me, smiling honestly at me. "I know... Unfortunately, I don't have any other information for you. Just make sure you guys split up when you're done, okay?" "Sure thing. Oh, and Sarge?" "Yeah?" "You got something to spare?" Doc asks me, and I check my pockets. I can find one syrette of morphine and some bandages. "Here you go." "Thanks! You got any scissors by chance?" I shake my head.

"What's that?" We hear someone shout, and Dike walks up to us. "Two medics in one hole? What happens if you get hit? Huh?" he asks, glaring at Doc and Spina. I also look briefly at Doc, who looks at me, and I shrug my shoulders with my lips pressed together. I told them so, that Dike would not be pleased. "Yes, sir," Doc then says.

Dike looks at him angrily. "First Sergeant Lipton?" he calls out, and I take that as a hint and turn around. "Sergeant Stark," Dike calls me back, and I stop. "Sir?" I ask, and at that moment, Lip arrives. He looks at me for a moment and at him determinedly. "First Sergeant, where's my foxhole?" Dike then asks, turning to Lip. "It's back here, sir. Maybe you missed it, huh? I'll walk you back. You're a bit close to the line here." "All right, Sergeant Stark, you're with me," he says, and I roll my eyes before following him.

"What can I do for you, sir?" I then ask as Lip shows Dike his foxhole, and he climbs in. Lip and I exchange a quick glance. "Didn't I tell you I didn't want two medics in a hole together? Why didn't you separate them right away?" he asks. I take a quick breath. "Well, sir, Doc Roe informed me that they were both very short on supplies, which is why they wanted to exchange some stuff. I gave them what I had as well." "And put yourself in danger, Sergeant! What do you think would have happened if the hole had been hit? You' d be dead, and we'd be down two medics and an assistant leader."

I bite my lips for a moment. "I think the two medics would certainly be the worse loss than I am, sir. But I'll keep an eye out for that in the future." Dike looks at me for a moment. "Good," he says, then turns away again. "That will be all. Report to Lieutenant Compton." "I, uh, I was actually just about to make my rounds, sir." Again Dike looks at me but says nothing. Then he nods wordlessly and turns away. I look briefly at Lip, still standing by, and say tonelessly, "Wow."

I walk a little further, where I find Joe and Alley. "Well, look who decided to finally show up," Joe says, grinning at me. "Yeah yeah, shut up. Dike just held me back." I wave it off and sit with the two of them in the foxhole. "You guys all right?" "Yeah, whereas, take a look at this, Sarge," Alley then says, extending his finger to me. He has a thick spike in his finger. "What the fuck, Alley? Make sure you have Doc take a look at that later. That doesn't look healthy." Joe, next to me, smirks. "Told you, Alley. What was that about Dike, Liv?" "Oh, nothing. I walked by Doc and Spina and told them he would freak if he saw them together. Well, now he freaked cause he saw the three of us together. 'Didn't I tell you I didn't want two medics in a hole together?'"

I laugh, and Joe and Alley join in. Then I peek out of the foxhole for a moment and see that Don and Bill are only a few feet away from Joe and Alley. I give Joe's hand a quick squeeze before standing up. "I'll be back later," I say to them, and I see Joe looking after me. As I walk toward Bill and Don, Don is already raising his head and grinning at me. Before I reach them, however, I hear the old familiar flying sound above me. My gaze turns serious, and I see the panic in Don's look as well.

"Fuck! Incoming!" I shout and start running. "Goddamnit, Liv! Where are you going?" Don calls after me, but I keep running. "Take cover! Stay in your foxholes!" I shout and run through the soldiers while the trees explode around me. "Liv!" I keep hearing voices calling. I run in a circle to ensure all the men are safe.

A few meters in front of me, I see Joe and Alley's foxhole again, which I run towards, but I slip on the frozen ground and fall. "Liv!" I hear them scream again, but I don't know if it's Don or Joe. I quickly push myself back to my feet and try to keep running. Suddenly, something explodes in front of me, and I am swept off my feet. I feel a sharp pain in my left cheek. The shock wave knocks me backward and tears my helmet off my head. My body hits the ground hard, and my head crashes to the frozen floor. Sideways, with pain all over my body, I remain lying, my vision blurred. I groan briefly. In the distance, I can make out voices, but then everything goes black.

Joe's POV:

The trees around us explode. Shocked, I look at Liv, who is running back and forth between the foxholes. "Liv," I call out desperately. "Damn it! Liv!" She finally has us in sight and runs toward us. "Come here!" Alley and I shout. Suddenly, something explodes in front of our foxhole. "Shit! Liv! No!" I call, trying to spot her in the rubble. "There!" Alley then shouts, and then I see her too. She is lying motionless on the ground. Her helmet is a few feet away. I can hear her moaning in pain. "Liv!" I call and try to climb out of the foxhole, but Alley pulls me back. "Are you insane?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he yells at me and pushes me down. "But Liv!" "Sorry, Joe, but this will have to wait!" he says firmly as explosions go off around us again.

Frantically, I join Alley in looking at Liv, who is still lying in the middle of it all. Everything is exploding around her: trees, the ground... My gaze briefly wanders to Malarkey, who is also sitting tensely in his hole and is being held back by Guarnere.

"Shit Alley! She's completely exposed there!" "Yeah, and I pray she survives, but it won't do us shit if you both get hit!"

With trembling lips and hands, I finally wait for it to be over, and I'm praying that Liv is all right. The second the bombing dies, I don't wait longer, jumping out of my foxhole and running over to her. Malarkey follows me immediately. "Shit! Liv! Hey," I say and kneel next to her. Her eyes are closed. There's a splinter under her left eye, which just barely missed it. She is bleeding from her head and probably other parts of her body. Her pants are soaked with blood.

"Fuck! Liv! Come on!" I say desperately and take her head in my lap. Malarkey has dropped to his knees beside me and is also looking at Liv. "Medic!" he then shouts. "We need a fucking Medic!" I duck down to her face, watching to see if she's breathing. "She's still breathing," I tell Malarkey, who looks at me with relief. He takes her hand in his, and his face shows in horror. "Goddammit, Liv," he murmurs.

It takes a few short minutes for Doc to finally show up. "About fucking time!" I yell at him, but Doc ignores me and slithers next to Liv. He checks her pulse. "I need a flashlight," he says, and Malarkey reaches into his pocket before handing him his. Doc holds open Liv's eye and shines a light into it. "She's unconscious. Probably from the blow to the head, but we need to get her away from the front." Malarkey and I nod immediately, and I carefully lift her up and gently place her head against my chest, and then Lipton joins us.

"What happened?" "Liv almost got blown up," Malarkey says quickly, and Lipton looks at her with concern. He can see the blood stains on her legs and the blood that runs from her head. "We need to get her away from the front, Lip." Lipton nods before looking from Malarkey to me. "Sorry, Malark, we need you here. Liebgott, you and Doc get Liv to the CP." I nod in relief that Lip is letting me go, but Malarkey's clearly having a hard time letting his best friend go like this. "Take care of her, Lieb," he says, and I nod.

Quickly Doc and I take Liv to the CP, where Winters looks right up. "What happened?" he asks quickly, and we lay Liv down on the blanket he just put down. "Mortar," I say. "Almost hit her." Doc immediately begins to examine her properly. "Some splinters are stuck in her legs and one under her eye. I'm going to have to stitch that up. I'll have to look at the others after." His gaze travels over her legs. "She's going to need a new pair of pants." I follow Doc's gaze and see the holes burned into Liv's pants.

I take hold of Liv's hand and gently stroke it. "Liebgott, I think Doc has this covered," Winters says, and I look up. "Please, sir, I just want to make sure she's okay," I say quickly, and Winters eyes me. Then he nods briefly, and I look at him thankfully. "That's good; I can probably use a little help," Doc says, pulling out his tweezers. "Here," he says and presses a packet of sulfa into my hand. "As soon as I get the splinter out, you'll drizzle that on the wound. After that, I can stitch it up."

As Doc instructed, I drizzle the powder on the wound as he finally removes the splinter. "That's going to leave a scar," Doc mumbles to himself before sealing up the damage. "Here," he says, pressing a gauze into my hand. "You can clean the wound on her head." As Doc instructs me, I dab Liv's head wound and wipe away the blood that has also flowed into her hair. The contrast with her otherwise light blonde hair is enormous. When Doc is finished with the wound under her eye, he turns to her legs.

"We need to get her pants off," Doc says, looking me in the eye. "Are you crazy? She's going to freeze to death!" "And if I can't clean her wounds, she'll die of infection. Same result Liebgott." Suddenly Winters is standing next to us again, looking down at Liv. "Here, Doc. Pants. They should fit," he says, turning away again as he sees Doc unzip Liv's old pants. "Doc..." I say sternly and look at him. He lifts his eyes and then looks from Liv to me and back down again before taking his hands away and nodding. Carefully, I unzip the pants before pulling them down and somehow trying to maintain Liv's dignity with the spare pants.

Liv's legs are blue from the cold, and she has some wounds with splinters everywhere, as well as small lacerations, which Doc carefully tends to one by one and applies Sulfa to. When he's done, we put the new pants back on as quickly as possible, and I take off my coat to spread it over her. Briefly, we both sit next to her as Winters joins us again. "How is she?" he asks, looking at Doc.

"She's still unconscious, so we should keep an eye on her. We don't want her body to get into shock or something." "Okay," Winters says, then looks at me. "Joe... I need you to go back to the front, and I bet you needed too Doc. Sorry." "But, sir... Liv..." "We'll keep an eye on her and send someone if she wakes up." I look again briefly at Liv and then at Winters. "Sir," I say, then reluctantly return to the front.

Sure enough, Malarkey comes rushing right at me. "How is she?" "I don't know. Doc patched her up. But she's still unconscious." "Then what are you doing here? We have to watch her," Malarkey immediately shouts, but I stop him. "Winters is watching her. He sent me back here and said he'd let us know if there was any change in her condition." "God damn it! Why does she have to run around out there!" "You know how she is." "I know, but still. That's so stupid." "Well, she's going to get some scars out of it; maybe she'll learn from it," I say, but I don't even believe my own words. Malarkey looks at me and chuckles.

"Yeah, right, because she's always so insightful."

#Band of Brothers #Joe Liebgott x OC #Joe Liebgott #Band of Brothers fanfic #Joe Liebgott fanfic #Don Malarkey #bob edit #bob #hbo war #hbo series #Olivia Stark #my OC #Bastogne

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