We Happy Few | Band of Brothers

Chapter 75: Every Scar

"And I only am escaped alone to tell thee," Margot read aloud the closing line of the book before slowly shutting it and setting it to the side. "I can't believe we finished it. It feels so weird to not have another chapter to look forward to."

"We can always pick up another book," Joe suggested, the look on Margot's face as she stared down at the book bringing a smile to his face. "I can't remember the last time I read a book from start to finish."

Margot nodded in agreement. "Me either. I'm kind of surprised I liked that book though, considering I used to hate reading." 

"Why did you used to hate reading?" Joe inquired as he shifted slightly on the couch and turned his body to face Margot.

"I have no idea." Margot shrugged as she tucked her legs up underneath herself and turned on the lamp beside herself, filling the dark room with a warm glow. "Maybe it was just because in school we were forced to read, and I was a kid who just didn't like being told what to do. I was kind of a little shit, to be completely honest."

Joe eyed Margot up, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. "Yeah, I can see that." 

"Rude," Margot deadpanned before letting a smile crack through her facade. "So you think we should get another book? What do you have in mind?"

"I haven't a clue." Joe shook his head. "Maybe we'll just have to go to the book store tomorrow and pick something out together."

Margot dramatically clasped her hand over her chest and gasped. "What's this? Is Joe Toye actually suggesting we leave the house? Without having to be persuaded? I must be dreaming."

"Shut up."

"I'm only joking." Margot chuckled softly. "I'm just glad to see that you're getting back to your old self. I missed the Joe Toye that wasn't afraid to call me on my bullshit and bicker back and forth with me about useless crap for hours on end."

"Yeah, I missed him too." Joe agreed, a sly smirk spreading onto his face as he thought back to one of his favourite memories. "Remember when you were covered in pine needles and you called yourself a tree?"

Margot's face lit up. "Yes, I do." She nodded. "I believe I was 'the smallest tree you had ever seen'."

"Nah." Joe waved Margot off. "More like the best tree I've ever seen." 

"I was the best tree." Margot tried her best not to think about what had happened right after the silly tree debate. "That was such a weird day. One second everything was fine and then ..."

"... nothing was fine."

Turning her attention to her bag that sat in the corner of the room, Margot exhaled. "It's so weird to think that my whole life fits inside of that one bag," she commented, more thinking out loud than anything. "I thought there would have been more stuff I would have wanted to take from the house but ... I guess it wasn't ever really my house—or at least, it hasn't been for a very long time. It's just a house now." 

"Hey, you have more than just that bag." Joe rested a hand on Margot's shoulder. "You have this place. This is your home now; that is, if you want it to be."

"Why wouldn't I want it to be?" 

Joe averted his gaze and stared down at his hands. "Well, you know, I just don't want you to feel like you have to stay here—that you're stuck here."

Margot cocked a single brow. "Stuck here?"

"I'm not dumb. I know that I can't offer you the life you want or, more importantly, deserve," Joe mumbled, his fingers pulling at one another. "I just don't want you to feel like you're stuck here with me and my ... disability."

"Oh, Joe." Margot tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head. "No, I could never feel stuck with you. I've thought about being with you again every single day since we were separated and these past weeks have been the happiest I have been in ages."

Joe slowly looked up again, his eyes meeting Margot's. "Really?"

Margot wished she could prove to Joe once and for all just how much she really meant what she said, but he was a broken man, and it was going to take more than a few nice words and kind gestures to put him back together again. There was only one thing Margot could think to try, and she hoped beyond hope that it would work.

Grabbing Joe's hand in hers, Margot pressed his fingertips against the scars on her face. "I got these in Haguenau, France during a late-night patrol across German lines. We were to capture German soldiers and bring them back across the river; Martin and I were leading the whole thing. Long story short, a younger paratrooper named Eugene Jackson was about to be blasted by his own grenade so I tried to shield him with my own body. I got these from the explosion fragments. Jackson wasn't so lucky, he died not long after."

"Margot-" Joe started, but Margot didn't let him finish.

"And this ..." Margot lifted her shirt and pressed Joe's hand to the large scar on her ribcage. "... this is the one I got on D-day. It feels horrible and it looks even worse. Do these scars change how you feel about me? Do my scars change who I am as a person?"

Joe's eyes were wide. "God, no. Margot, nothing could ever change how I feel about you."

"That's how I feel about you and your leg." Margot proved her point. "No amount of missing limbs could ever change how I feel about you. I love you for everything you are, not everything you aren't."

A blanket of silence was thrown over the room. Those three little words had been said and there was no taking them back now, not that Margot wanted to; it was how she felt, and she didn't want to hide anything from Joe. 

"You ... love me?" Joe stammered. 

Margot smiled sweetly. "I do, and I think I've known it for a while. Just, right now, at this moment, I truly feel it. But I don't want you to feel like you need to say it-"

"I love you too." Joe encapsulated Margot's face in his hands, pulled her close, and kissed her. After years of an unspoken connection that both Margot and Joe were too afraid to confront, all of the feelings were finally coming to light. The kiss was soft and gentle, and although electricity was running through their bodies, there was also a familiar sense present, almost like the two had kissed a hundred times before—or like they were always meant to end up together.

"I'm so glad I found you," Margot whispered against Joe's lips. "And I'm so glad you didn't slam the door in my face and I'm so glad you kept all of my letters. But most of all, I'm so glad that you love me too."

Joe pressed his lips to Margot's once more. "I've loved you for years, and by God, I want to love you for years more. Please, stay here with me."

"Are you asking me to move in?" Margot clarified, her breathing uneven from the kisses.

"Yes." Joe was firm on his answer. "Yes, I am asking you to move in. What do you say? You wanna have more than just a bag?"

"I say yes." Margot nodded enthusiastically as she wrapped her arms around Joe's neck and kissed him again. "Of course, I say yes." 

Slowly, Joe worked his mouth across Margot's jaw, down her neck, and onto her collarbone. With an airy moan, Margot tilted her head to the side to expose more of her neck. Not minutes before the two had been quietly sitting on the couch, reading a book, and now things were heating up much faster than either of them had ever anticipated. 

However, there were no nerves associated with the acts of intimacy. Just like the kiss, it felt right—it felt meant to be. 

Sitting up, Margot threw her leg over Joe's lap and straddled him, her hands resting on his cheeks. Whilst making direct eye contact, Joe grabbed the hem of Margot's shirt and slowly tugged it over her head. Then, Joe's eyes trailed over Margot's body, taking in every aspect of her—every freckle, every curve, and every scar. "I love you," Joe repeated, his raspy voice as soft and as warm as Margot had ever heard it. "I love all of you. Every. Single. Bit." 

"I love you too." Margot beamed. "One and a half legs and all."