I do not own Band of Brothers, and this is in no way meant any disrespect. It is based on the charatcers from the show. I only own my OC.

Hope i've uploaded this right- me and technology are not great friends. Excuse the title- it will change when I can think of a better one! Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter One

Camp Toccoa, August 1942

It was early evening and still light outside. The oppressive heat of the day was finally dissipating leaving behind a comfortable warmth in its place. Stepping out of the nurse's quarters, Evelyn Guarnere strode purposefully across camp in the direction of the mess hall. In just over an hour she would begin her first shift at the medical station since arriving at Toccoa the previous day, but before that she had a dinner date. Hurrying along the gravelled path, she put her head down trying to ignore the occasional whistles and catcalls that came her way. While she knew it was only harmless and good-natured flattery reserved not only for her but for all the females on camp, she still found it embarrassing. Upon reaching the mess hall five minutes later, she saw a familiar dark-haired figure leaning casually against the wall of the wooden building, smoking a cigarette. He grinned when he saw her approaching and flicked the half finished cigarette onto the floor by his polished boots.

"Well, well, look at what the cat dragged in," he spoke in a Philadelphia accent, even stronger than her own. "Getcha ass over here and give your big brother a hug."

Evelyn flung her arms around Bill's neck and giggled when he spun her around twice before setting her gently onto her feet. A trio of men walking past hooted but quickly shut up when they were shot one of Bill Guarnere's infamous glares.

"Jeez what have you been eatin'? You weigh a tonne," he teased. Evelyn scowled and punched him playfully on the arm.

"You ain't seen me in almost three months, and you're calling me fat? How rude," she sniffed indignantly. "Besides, it's not my fault if I have gained a few pounds. Blame Mom. The last two weeks at home before I came here, she was force feeding me constantly. And cryin'. Oh god, literally the slightest thing made her cry. I don't think she even cried that much when you left, or Henry for that matter. You would have thought I was going to the other side of the world, not like six states away or whatever it is."

"Ha, that sounds like Ma alright," Bill chuckled. "In all honesty I'm surprised she let you leave at all. When she wrote me to say her precious baby girl had joined the nurse corps and was coming here, there was splatters all over the page, and I could just imagine her sitting at the kitchen table cryin' her little heart out. You know she asked me to try and convince you to go back home once I seen ya here?"

"You'd best not be thinkin' about doing it, Bill," she narrowed her hazel green eyes at him. "If that's the reason you asked me to come eat with you, then I swear I will leave right now and avoid you like the plague forever. I will never ever speak to you again. I mean it, Bill, don't even try it."

"Calm down," he exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Jeez, and you say Mom's dramatic. Look, you want the truth? Am I happy you signed up? No. Am I happy you could get sent to God only knows where? No. Am I gonna try and talk you out of it? As much as I want to, no, I ain't. You might be the baby of our family but we all gotta accept that you're almost nineteen and we can't stop you. But don't think that means I aint gonna be watching out for you while you're here, especially with all these fellas about."

"Aw," she cooed pretending to wipe away tears from her eyes. "That's literally the nicest thing I think you've ever said to me."

"Shut up," he snickered tugging on the long ebony braid draped over her left shoulder. "Seriously though, it's nice to see you, kiddo."

"You too, Bill," she smiled, squeezing him tightly again. "Now can we go and get some food cause I'm starvin' and I gotta start my shift soon."

"Yeah, I suppose," Bill smirked. "I'd sure hate for you to waste away. Then again, fat chance of that happenin'. Ha, get it? Fat chance."

"Jackass," Evelyn muttered getting a short laugh out of her brother as she followed him into the crowded mess hall.

The first thing that Evelyn noticed upon entering the hall was the smell of onions and cigarette smoke. It was comforting. It reminded her of home, where her Mom would be in the kitchen cooking and her dad would sit at the table smoking a cigarette and reading his paper. The food line was thankfully short and within minutes, some variety of brown stew was being slopped unceremoniously onto her empty plate.

"You get used to it," her brother smirked seeing the grimace on her face.

"Hmm, I'll take your word for it," she replied dryly, her nose wrinkled up in distaste.

"Come on," he said receiving his own food.

Weaving through the tables, she let Bill lead them to the back of the hall where he stopped at one with a dozen or so men packed tightly around it eating and chattering animatedly.

"Fellas," he cleared his throat, taking both their plates and setting them on the table. The men all stopped what they were doing and looked up. Evelyn could feel herself blushing under their inquisitive stares. "Look who's finally here." He put an arm around her shoulders and grinned down at her proudly. "My baby sister, Evelyn."

"Guarnere, no way is this your sister. She looks too normal to be any kind of relation to you," a red head spoke first as he lit up a cigarette. Evelyn bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing with the rest of the guys at that comment.

"Shut yer yap, Malarkey or I'll do it for ya," Bill scowled. "And move up, will ya?"

"The mick with the big mouth is Donald Malarkey," Bill introduced as the men all shifted down so the two of them could sit. He then proceeded to go around the table and introduce everyone else; Joe Toye, Denver 'Bull' Randleman, Darrell 'Shifty' Powers, Donald Hoobler, George Luz, Warren 'Skip' Muck, Alex Penkala, Frank Perconte, Robert 'Popeye' Wynn, Chuck Grant, Floyd Talbert, Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk, Joseph Liebgott, Edward Tipper, Johnny Martin, Carwood Lipton, Walter 'Smokey' Gordon, David Webster, Eugene 'Doc' Roe and Ralph Spina. By the end, Evelyn's head was spinning.

"I'm never gonna remember all of your names," she decided, prodding at the stew with her fork but not quite summoning up enough courage to taste it.

"Hey, if old Gonorrhoea can remember us all with his empty head, you will too eventually," George Luz said with a chuckle.

"Gonorrhoea?" she furrowed her brows in disgust glancing at her brother who was shovelling the food down his throat as though nothing odd had even been said. "Do I even wanna know?"

"It's the name," Luz explained taking a long drag on his cigarette. "You know, Guarnere sounds like Gonorrhoea?"

"Riiiight," she replied slowly, unsure whether to be amused or repulsed by the name. "Well, no offense gentlemen, but I'd rather not share the same nickname as my brother if it's all the same to you."

"Nah, don't worry, we'll think of something much nicer for you. A pretty gal like you needs a pretty nickname." Malarkey winked, and Evelyn blushed again.

Bill abruptly put down his fork and narrowed his eyes at Malarkey. The table quieted down a little and everyone glanced at each other in amusement, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

"Are you flirtin' with my little sister, Malark?" Bill asked.

"Uh," Malarkey swallowed nervously, the grin gone from his jovial face. He glanced at Skip beside him for help, but Skip just shrugged and took a drag of his cigarette, secretly enjoying his friend's turmoil. Don shook his head. "No, of course not, Bill."

"You sure?" he raised an eyebrow. "Cause it sure sounded to me like you were."

"Can a guy not comment that a girl looks pretty without it being construed as flirting?" Malarkey answered incredulously.

"Not when the guy's talkin' about my sister, no," Bill growled.

"Well I take it back then if it's that big of a deal."

"You take it back? So now you're sayin' my sister isn't pretty? Are you sayin' she's ugly?"

"Yes, I mean, no. I mean yes, I take it back but no I'm not saying she's ugly. But neither am I saying she is pretty, not that she isn't pretty but…oh hell," he stammered, getting himself flustered. He slammed his hands down on the table in defeat.

Evelyn, who had been watching the exchange with mild amusement snorted unable to hold in her mirth any longer, and suddenly the whole table erupted in laughter.

"You had me going for a minute there, Bill," Malarkey slapped Bill heartily on the back, as the men carried on their conversations.

"Who said I was jokin'?" Bill muttered to himself quietly, but loud enough that his sister heard him. She grinned and patted him affectionately on the cheek, and could see him trying hard not to grin himself.

"So, Miss Guarnere, will you be joining us tonight?" Bull Randleman spoke up. Evelyn was surprised that such a mountain of a man could have such a gentle voice.

"Yeah, you gotta come," George Luz said excitedly. "This is the first weekend pass we've had in five weeks, and it will be nice to spend it with an actual female. In a purely platonic way, of course," he added with a quick look at Bill. "Hey, and we might even take you for a little spin around the dancefloor."

"Well tough luck guys," Bill answered for her. "My little Evie has her first shift tonight so thankfully I won't have to spend the night keepin' you animals away from her."

"Don't worry, I heard the other nurses talking before I came here, and there's a fair few of them going out tonight, so you won't be lacking for female company. And I might even put in a good word for you," she winked at George much to her brother's chagrin.

"Stop encouraging him, Ev and eat your goddamned food," Bill barked.

"Sir, yes Sir," she mock saluted and finally took a taste of the unappetising stew. Surprisingly, it really was nowhere near as bad as she thought, and her stomach gurgled loudly as though encouraging her to eat more. Minutes later, the plate was all but empty.

"I take it back," Malarkey commented watching her with an expression that was both disgusted and awed at the same time. "After seeing the way you just shovelled that food down your throat, you most definitely must be some kind of relation to Gonorrhoea."

"What can I say?" she shrugged. Dipping her finger into the remaining juice on the plate, she licked it and grinned unashamedly. "I just have a healthy appetite. It's a family trait."

"Don't we know it," Luz chortled.

The rest of dinner passed rather quickly with Evelyn enjoying getting to know the men that her brother thought so highly of. It was easy to see why he liked them all so much and she was disappointed when it was time to leave for her shift. Bill offered to walk her to the medical station but she shook her head. She was nervous enough as it was, without her big brother taking her like he had when she first started school. No, this was something she wanted to do by herself.

….

It was a little after midnight and all was quiet and calm. There had been a few patients throughout the night with minor injuries but at that moment, the medical station was vacant. Matron was in her office and Evelyn found herself cleaning bedpans, while the two other nurses she was on duty with completed inventory and paperwork.

"It's so unfair," one of the nurses, Laura complained for the third time that night. "I always get put on the Saturday night shift. While everyone else is out jitterbugging and jiving with cute soldiers, I'm stuck here counting aspirins and bandages with you guys. How riveting."

"Oh, give it a rest," Annie, the other nurse rolled her eyes. Eyes laden with so much mascara that Evelyn had spent most of the night wondering how she managed to even keep them open. "Why are you even bothered? You have a fiancé in case you'd forgotten, because let me tell you, the rest of us haven't. You never stop talking about him. Steven this, Steven that. Let me ask you this, if Steven is so great, why would you wanna go out dancing with anyone else anyway?"

Evelyn glanced up waiting to hear the answer, and Annie gave her a small wink.

"Just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I can't go out and have fun," Laura sighed putting her hands on her hips. "And just because I can appreciate a good looking man, doesn't mean I would do anything. I love my Stevie, and as soon as this stupid war is over, we'll be getting married. You know Annie, you're just jealous because you haven't even got a boyfriend."

"Me, jealous?" Annie raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow. "Honey, I could have a boyfriend with the click of my fingers, but I'm young, and I have no wish to be tied down. I prefer to keep my options open."

"That isn't all you keep open," Laura muttered.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" Annie exclaimed, narrowing her eyes.

"You heard me," Laura smirked.

Evelyn turned off the tap and set down the bedpan she was cleaning.

"Girls," she interrupted walking towards them. "Let's just calm dow-"

"-Well at least I didn't send my fiancé off to England without even putting out a little," Annie spat. "He's probably over there screwing some British girl as we speak, and who can blame him?"

Evelyn gasped at the sound of the slap that sent Annie's face sharply turning to the side. Annie put a hand to the reddening mark on her face and glared at Laura, who looked both proud of herself but also as though she knew she had made a huge mistake. The tension in the room was palpable, and before Evelyn could try to stop anything further from happening, Annie let out a screech and launched herself at Laura, yanking hard on her auburn hair, sending it tumbling out of the bun it had been confined in. Suddenly, the two girls were slapping each other and pulling each other's hair like two wild animals. If she hadn't have been so horrified to see two grown women arguing over something so pathetic in the middle of a medical station, she might have laughed. After all, she'd grown up in South Philly and she'd seen small kids on her street fight better than this.

"Girls, break it up," she begged desperately, trying to get in between the pair and swiftly missing a hand slapping at her head. "Come on, someone's gonna hear. Annie, Laura, come on."

"What on earth is happening in here?" Matron's voice bellowed suddenly. Annie and Laura instantly sprung apart, their hair and uniforms skewwhiff and their breathing heavy. "Well? I'm waiting?"

Evelyn looked at the floor, unsure what to do or say. She didn't want to blame the other two but nor did she want to get into trouble for something she had tried her best to stop, especially not on her first shift.

"It was Laura's fault, Matron," Annie finally spoke, trying to fix her hair back into a bun. "She hit me first."

"Is this true, Nurse Oakes?" Matron questioned curtly.

"Yes Matron," Laura mumbled, fixing her hat back onto her head. "However, Nurse Routledge made some very upsetting remarks and-"

"-A simple yes or no was sufficient, Nurse Oakes," Matron cut her off in a clipped tone. She turned to Evelyn, who felt her palms begin to sweat with nerves. "Nurse Guarnere, let me assure you that I do not tolerate this kind of behaviour in my medical station, it is wholly unacceptable. From what I could see you were trying to break up the argument, and for that I applaud you. However, if an occasion like this should ever arise again, you will come and inform me immediately. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes Matron," she answered quietly, meeting the stern woman's dark gaze.

"Good. Now, there is a patient just arrived in triage with a possible broken hand. I've put him in bay one and I should like for you to attend to him, while I speak to Nurses Oakes and Routledge in my office," Matron informed her, glancing warningly at the other two women. Evelyn nodded and with one last glance at the two women who were still glaring venomously at one another, she eagerly hurried from the room.

Triage was just a side room off the entrance to the medical station, with three beds separated by movable partitions for privacy, where they could treat minor injuries and assess those who might need to be transferred to the main ward for further treatment or care. Moving the partition to bay one, Evelyn stepped inside and was surprised to see two of the men from her brother's company.

"Oh, hello again," she smiled tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Private Liebgott, isn't it?" she asked the lanky dark haired one sat on the bed. She hadn't really spoken to him during dinner, but she remembered he had been sat at the far end of the table so there hadn't been much opportunity to do so.

"Yes Ma'am, Joseph Liebgott. And you probably don't remember Skinny, uh Wayne Sisk, I mean," he indicated the younger man stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "He's not very memorable."

"Asshole," Skinny muttered and then scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh, sorry Miss."

"I've heard worse, Private," she chuckled, filling out a few details on the clipboard hanging on the end of the bed. "My brother's language is pretty colourful in case you hadn't noticed."

"Yeah Wild Bill don't mince his words," Skinny chortled.

"So, Private Sisk, are you injured too?"

"Me, no," he shook his head and winked cheekily. "I just came with Joe, you know, to lend some moral support. He's a bit of a baby, but don't tell him I told you."

"I'm right here, you dumbass," Joe scowled.

"I'm surprised Matron let you stay," Evelyn commented, putting down the clipboard on the side and stepping closer to the bed.

"She didn't," Joe snorted. "She was in the middle of telling him he had to leave when we heard all this screeching and she just disappeared saying she would be back in a minute."

"You guys heard that all the way over here?" Evelyn let out a small laugh and shook her head. "This has been a first shift I certainly won't forget."

"You aint gonna tell us anymore than that?" Joe wondered.

"I probably shouldn't."

"Aw c'mon," Skinny begged, pouting playfully. "We swear we won't say nothin', will we Joe?"

"Cross our hearts," Joe agreed as the two of them mimicked doing just that.

Evelyn bit her lip, unsure what to do. It wasn't very professional of her to tell them but the looks on their faces wore her down easily.

"Damn, I wouldn't wanna be either of those right now," Joe declared once she had finished regaling them with the tale.

"Me neither," she acquiesced. "Now can I please get on with my job and have a look at your hand?"

"Yeah, I guess if you aint got any more gossip for us then sure," Joe replied, his dark brown eyes twinkling with mirth. They are very nice eyes, Evelyn thought to herself. Where the hell did that come from?

"Thanks so much," she said sarcastically grabbing hold of his hand.

"Uh, it's the other one, Ma'am."

"Oh right, yeah," she blushed picking up his other hand. The one that was quite clearly swollen and had little cuts on the knuckles. Get a grip Guarnere, she told herself sternly. It's not like you've never seen a handsome guy before. Liebgott smirked as Evelyn took hold of his hand and started to bend the fingers. With her focus on her work, he could get a good look at her without it seeming like he was leering. Aside from the dark hair, she looked nothing at all like her brother. Her skin was like porcelain, all creamy and white while her pert little nose and almond shaped eyes were set perfectly in a heart shaped face. She really was very pretty. Joe found himself thinking it was a shame she was Guarnere's sister.

"So how did you this?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts. "It looks like you've hit something."

"Yeah, a wall," he grunted as she made a fist with his hand.

"That's strange," the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "Because I had a guy from Able Company in a couple of hours ago with a broken nose. And when I asked him what happened, he said he hit it on a wall too."

"And?" Joe's dark brown eyes met hers challengingly and she was taken aback at how angry he suddenly looked.

"Oh nothing," she said waving a hand casually. "I just think you guys need to be a little bit more careful is all. I mean, if you're all having this many accidents around camp, heaven forbid what could happen when they actually let you jump out of airplanes."

Skinny snorted and the tension dissipated as Joe and Evelyn grinned at one another.

"You gonna say anything?" Joe asked.

"About what? You hitting a wall? God no," Evelyn shook her head. "I don't want you getting kicked out of the training programme for being such a clutz. Besides," she whispered loudly with a very inconspicuous glance at Skinny. "I think your buddy here would miss you."

"Yeah, he aint got many friends." Joe smirked. "He would be pretty lost without me."

"Shut up, Joe. I only pretend to be your friend because everyone else thinks you're a jerk."

"Jeez Skinny, you're breaking my heart," Joe said snarkily.

"Alright you two, calm down. I've already tried to break up one fight tonight, I don't wanna have to break up another. Must be a full moon or something," Evelyn joked as she strapped Joe's hand up tightly in a bandage. "You're free to go, Private. You'll be pleased to know it's just a sprain. Try not to use it too much over the next few days and uh, take some aspirin for the pain."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Liebgott smiled standing up from the bed. "And thank you for not saying anything about, uh, well, you know."

"I know," she smiled back. "Just try to be careful in future, huh?"

"Sure thing, Ma'am."

The rest of the night passed uneventfully with Laura and Annie being kept apart by Matron for the rest of the shift. Evelyn was more than happy when the day shift nurses arrived at eight am sharp, some of them looking a little worse for wear. When she arrived back at her bunk, she didn't even bother changing. She just about managed to kick off her shoes before flopping onto the rickety cot bed and falling into a deep sleep.