Title: Ashes & Wine
Pairing: Eventual Babe/OFC (unless my muse changes her mind, which she's known to do frequently. I think she does it just to piss me off)

Alright, this is my first attempt at a BoB fanfiction. Well, first attempt that I'm posting. I'll warn you now it's not always going to be 100% accurate because, despite the fact that I'm at war history buff, I'm also human and my knowledge only goes so far. Also, there are going to be times when I just plum change the facts to fit into my plot. This is fan fiction so I'm allowing myself *some* liberties (like making this a Nixon's little sister fic) Okay, enough with my blabbering.

Disclaimer: This is based on the mini series, Band of Brothers and the way that I interpreted their personalities, not the actual soldiers. I have nothing but respect for what they did. This is just for entertainment purposes.

Chapter One

"Tell her she can't go." Lewis Nixon demanded. His father, Stanhope, regarded him coolly.

"She is 18 and has made her decision."

"But you're her father!"

"And you're her brother. She's far closer to you than me. If anyone had a shot at convincing her not to go, it was you."

"I'm at boot camp! I can't just take off because my sister has suddenly lost her mind and joined the army!"

"She's going to be a nurse, Lewis, not a soldier." Doris reminded him gently. Lewis huffed. "Besides you're a large part of the reason she decided to join."

"Me?!" Lewis exclaimed indignantly. Doris nodded, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"She's worried about you and she felt that by becoming a nurse and volunteering to go to England, she might be able to help you, though God forbid you should ever need help like that."

"This is ridiculous." Lewis muttered with a shake of his head. "She's going to get hurt."

"She'll be in England, not continental Europe."

"The Germans are bombing England nearly every day!"

"It's done, Lewis." Stanhope said, his tone calm but final. "She left on the Queen Mary this morning."

"But the letter said she was leaving next week." Lewis said, confused.

"She dated it wrong on purpose. She knew you'd try to stop her." Doris explained.

"She's too headstrong." Lewis muttered bitterly.

"She's a Nixon." Stanhope said proudly.

"I have to go. My train leaves in an hour." Lewis turned on his heel to go. Doris called his name and walked forward to join him at the door.

"If...when...you see her in England, should they send you there, please keep an eye on her." Lewis sighed. Eve was the only "innocent" Nixon; the only Nixon who could lay claim to being a good human being. It was only natural that their mother would worry over her. He nodded.

"Of course." In a rare display of affection, he placed a kiss on his mother's forehead and left the study.

Aldbourne, England

Though she hadn't expected to be shipped off so soon, Eve Nixon was none-the-less ready for whatever the British Military had in store for her. She was the only American nurse who had volunteered to go to England. The rest of her fellow nurses had chosen to remain in the States, at least until they were shipped out. As far as Eve knew, they were being sent to Georgia. They had all laughed when she had shared her decision to go to England. It was cold and rainy; Georgia was warm and sunny. But Eve had chosen to go to England because it was there she could make a difference. It was also somewhat familiar territory for her, since her and her family had traveled there before the war. That and Lewis was at boot camp in Georgia. He would be furious at her and drag her home. No, England had been the right choice.

"Are you Eve Nixon?" Eve looked up, saw a young man in a uniform standing in front of her as she sat on a bench outside the train station.

"Yes."

"Welcome to Aldbourne. I'm Sergeant Carlton Laurie. I'm supposed to bring you to where you'll be staying."

"Oh. Okay." Eve got to her feet and reached for her suitcase but Sgt Laurie got to it first. He flashed her a smile.

"I can take that miss." Eve smiled gratefully.

"Thank you." She followed him to his jeep.

"You'll like Aldbourne, Miss Nixon. It's a lovely town." Sgt Laurie said conversationally as they drove along.

"I'm sure I will." Eve agreed.

"If you don't mind me asking, where in the States are you from?"

"New York, more or less."

"Ah. I've always wanted to go to New York."

"You should get there. It's unlike any city in the world." Eve replied, tossing Sgt Laurie a smile.

"It'll be my first stop as soon as the war is over. May I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"What made you decide to come to England? I'm sure America has places for nurses."

"They do. I chose to come here because this war has been going on for years over here and this is where I believe I can make the most difference."

"Are all American girls like you?"

"I believe most are but maybe just not as vocal about it." They shared another smile as Sgt Laurie pulled the jeep to a stop out a large house that had a Red Cross flag flying over it.

"Here we are, Miss Nixon." They both climbed from the jeep. Sgt Laurie escorted her to the door, handing her her bag at the last moment. "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to come find me at Battalion Headquarters." Eve smiled.

"Will do. Thank you Sergeant." He tipped his hat to her with a smile and then returned to the jeep. Eve watched him drive away before taking a deep breath and entering the hospital. There was a woman at a desk in a nurse's uniform so Eve headed straight for her. "Excuse me?" The nurse looked up, a small, friendly smile on her face.

"Yes?"

"I'm Eve Nixon. I'm the--"

"American nurse!" The woman said, abruptly getting to her feet. She came around the desk and began walking, waving for Eve to follow. Eve rushed after her. "Welcome to Aldbourne. I'm Beatrice Stevens. We'll be bunkmates when you're in town. Lieutenant Wilcox-she's the nurse in charge-gave me explicit orders to get you into a uniform and bring you to her right away."

"Is everything alright?"

"This is war, Miss Nixon. Alright is a very relative term. But I know what you meant and the answer is this, the main hospital in London was bombed this morning and a dozen or so nurses were killed. We've been ordered to send replacements. Lieutenant Wilcox is sending you along with Sergeant Marie Potter and several other nurses to London tomorrow morning."

"But I only just came from London!"

"Such is the delight of war. Now, what size are you?"

A/N: And such ends the first chapter of Ashes & Wine. I'm aware it's a bit chaotic and jumpy but that's going to be a small part of the first few chapters. Hope it was enjoyable for someone. My muse enjoys reviews (she has a bit of an ego) and I personally hate flames. If you don't like it, don't continue reading it is how I look at that. Thank you!!