Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

36: A Mysterious Attraction

"There is a mysterious attraction between us and heaven. God wants us, and we want God. I don't know what bird this is that keeps flying about my head. I hear it almost without seeing it; it is dark." - Eugénie de Guérin, Journal of Eugénie de Guérin

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The flickering of dull lights. The muffled sound of vibrant chatter and music. Sitting around a table amongst her closest friends in the world. Counting down the final ten seconds in a whisper as opposed to a cheer, but feeling the same thrill of excitement regardless.

"Happy new year!"

It was different to how she thought she'd be seeing in her twenty-second birthday, but also the same. It was as though this very moment had been whispered to her in dreams, hinted at in the stars she gazed at even as a child. It was one of those rare moments that told you you were right where you were supposed to be, even if that wasn't where you expected.

It was like being on fire, but instead of feeling the burning, she only felt the warmth.

"Happy birthday, Jules!"

She was pulled into a fierce hug by Thomas, but soon all of them had bundled in. This was her family. She was blessed to be seeing in another year with them. They had only been hidden away in the dingy basement of the bar in La Rochelle for a few hours, but for those few seconds it felt like home.

"I love you all very dearly," Juliette told them when they had each sat back down again. She took care to lock eyes with each of them in turn so they'd know she was sincere.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get all soft on us now, Jules," Martin joked, shoving her gently by the shoulder. "It doesn't become you."

She laughed. "Hey, it's my birthday. You legally have to be nice to me today."

"Legally?"

"It's an international holiday," she quipped back, her smile growing as she watched him roll his eyes.

"Not because of you, it isn't."

Jules shrugged. "That's by the by."

"It quite literally isn't."

They spent the next few hours of New Year's Day in much the same way, laughing and joking around with each other and allowing themselves to forget for a little while that later in the day they were being sent out again. After having stolen a radio, Will had contacted HQ to let them know that they were alive. Instead of sending them back to Aldbourne, however, their superiors thought it would be a more efficient use of their resources to send them straight back into circulation again. After all, they were already behind enemy lines, and there was no use dropping another team in in their stead when they were there and waiting for orders.

For the moment, however, they weren't spies, and they weren't undercover. They were just young and themselves, and that was the best they could manage to be.

Alex shut down the party at around three in the morning, telling them all that they needed to get some sleep before being sent back to Paris. The journey would be long but they would have to be split up on the train, and they couldn't afford to fall asleep. Additionally, they had to meet a courier at 0800 in order to receive their new identification papers and a fresh change of clothes, considering they had been wearing the same ones since leaving Aldbourne.

At the very least, however, Paris meant safe houses and safe houses meant showers. They just had to trust that they wouldn't be betrayed again.

Juliette had a rather unsettled night's sleep, worrying at the prospect of having to use another safe house and having to trust another stranger. She tried to remind herself that it hadn't been a problem before Brigitte, but the fact that she had known Brigitte and Brigitte had known her had only made the betrayal worse, and thus her anxiety along with it. She didn't like to be caught off guard.