Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

19: To Hear the Birds Sing

She didn't let herself think too much on the night ahead of her whilst she showered, instead focusing on the task at hand and wondering on what to wear. A lot of her dresses were either way too formal or way too casual for the occasion, having been given to her for missions, though she had to admit that she wasn't entirely certain of the dress code. She ended up picking an off-the-shoulder black dress that cinched in at the waist nicely before flaring out into a voluminous skirt. She got to work on her makeup immediately after; her mother had always told her that one could never go too far astray with a little black dress and some red lipstick, and that was advice she called on more often than she cared to admit.

After Juliette added the finishing touches to her makeup, capping her mascara and pouting her lips to check for gaps in the lipstick, she stepped back from the bathroom mirror and sighed. She missed her mother dearly, and it was times like these, when she caught herself doing the completely mundane, that she was overcome with the longing for home. At her age she was supposed to be getting ready to go out dancing, her mum debating with her over different dresses and how to do her hair. How many rites of passage had she missed in the years she'd been in the field? Would her mother even recognise her by the end of the war, if she lived that long? Was her mother even alive?

Juliette forced the thoughts away and pulled on a smile to brighten her spirits. She may not be at home with her real family, but she was in her home country, which was more than many could say. And she was surrounded by a group of men who were her brothers in every way except blood. They were family to her now, and they were trying so hard to make her forget about what ailed her. She owed them her brightest smiles and her warmest laughs, so that was what she would give them.

She owed them everything, really.

Juliette quickly got to work on her hair, opting for the typical brush out look, and made sure her curls were adequately styled away from her face before nodding to herself once and exiting the bathroom. She made quick work of putting her dress and shoes on, spraying a few spritzes of perfume before making her way downstairs to the cacophony of groans and calls for her to hurry up.

"Christ, what takes you so long?" Tom complained when she finally rounded the corner from the stairs. She found them all gathered in the living room, including, much to her surprise, Alexis.

"Looking presentable takes time, Thomas, though I wouldn't expect you to know."

Thomas imitated her childishly and gave her the obscene two fingered salute whilst Will handed her a glass of what was probably whiskey, given that that was the only type of alcohol that seemed to be stocked in the house - not that they could complain. They hadn't paid for it.

Will, Tom, Martin, and Juliette all clinked glassed before knocking them back, and when Will came up coughing they all laughed.

"What did we say?" Tom heckled, nudging him lightly. Will only shook his head with a smile which they accepted as his formal surrender.

"You lot be careful," Alexis cut in from his place in the armchair, looking up from the newspaper he'd been reading. "Don't let anything slip, and remember to use fake names at all times. And keep an eye out for Juliette."

"I'll be fine," Juliette replied indignantly.

Alexis rolled his eyes, keeping them on the three men. "Watch out for her."

"Aye, aye, cap'n," Tom said, saluting him before leading them out.

"We'll have her home by eight," Will commented, even though it was already nine. Juliette giggled as she followed him out of the door, Martin right behind her.

The walk to the pub the paratroopers apparently frequented was passed with the group messing around and joking with each other, knocking each other about and cracking jokes. Juliette grinned broadly as she watched Martin and Thomas shove Will between them, pushing him back and forth to each other until he was stumbling around like a drunk. Times like these, where they didn't have to watch their backs for snipers or have a hand on their guns in case of suspicious Nazis, were priceless. To see them laugh and to laugh along with them was such a precious commodity she knew she had made the right decision in allowing them to drag her along with them tonight. Moments like these reminded her of why she kept on going, in spite of it all.