A Hollow Target by Lamadeleine (PG-13)

[likethesun2.livejournal.com]

Fandom: BAND OF BROTHERS
Pairing: Skinny/Liebgott
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read: "A Hollow Target" is another of the gems that came out of Berlin by Christmas 2004. It takes as its inspiration a scene from "Points" in which Liebgott tries to enact (vigilante) justice on the suspected CO of a German concentration camp. In the series, the drama in this scene derives mainly from the conflict between Liebgott and Webster, but Lamadeleine cleverly adds to its moral ambiguity by narrating from the perspective of Skinny Sisk--a young soldier who spends the story emulating both Liebgott and Webster as he tries to learn the meaning of war. What's special about this story is how, in a relatively small space, it manages to flesh out a character who barely speaks in the series, and does so in often very beautiful language that never feels inappropriate to its narrator or subject.

He sees the grass surrounding the little cabin sitting peacefully on the hill and thinks it must be spring for the grass to be this green but all he knows is he still feels the cold of Bastogne like little cobwebs in his joints. Tiny reminders of a past horror his brain and heart refuse to discard.

"Is it spring yet?" Skinny asks quietly when the hostility waging between Liebgott and Webster comes to a brief pause. Behind him Webster’s handsome face splits into a smile, while a warm breeze licks across their faces, as if adding to the hilarity of Skinny’s question. But beside Skinny, Liebgott does not laugh.

A Hollow Target