Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers and I mean no disrespect to the amazing men who served in the military.
AN: Any historical mistake I apologize for. I'm going to tweak factual events since this is a historical fiction.
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship-Casablanca
Colonel Sink flipped through some papers in front of him. A photo of me was paper clipped to the top of the stack. I smiled inwardly looking at the photo, my round face had lost all its baby fat; my almond shaped eyes were crinkled, a sign that I was smiling. My full shaped lips were curved upwards smiling warmly for the camera and a gentle crinkle in my slender nose.
"You were stationed in North Africa?" Colonel Sink asked in his rough southern drawl, looking up momentarily from the papers in front of him.
"Yes, sir. I enlisted with the British and I was part of Operation Crusader,"
"Impressive. Normally we wouldn't have an unmarried woman with a company full of young men, but you being a widower, you know how it is," Colonel Sink casually continued flipping through my folder. My body tensed up and my forest green irises widened as he mentioned it so casually.
Colonel Sink continued, "Henry Madison. Did he die in the war?"
My engagement ring on my left hand felt as if it was burning, my throat suddenly turned dry and I cleared my throat, "Um, yes, sir. He, uh..." I paused, taking a deep breath. "He was killed in the Pacific theater, sir,"
"I'm sure he died heroically," Colonel Sink offered me a small smile.
"Thank you, sir,"
Colonel Sink cleared his throat and folded his hands on the desk in front of him, "Lieutenant Giordano, you're an extremely smart woman, so you should understand the strange circumstances of this situation," Colonel Sink began.
I felt a small smile slip onto my lips as I nodded my head in agreement, "I'm very aware sir. This idea is almost unheard of in the States," I agreed, shifting in my seat slightly so I could be comfortable. "Some people might find it even stranger that I'm a surgeon and not just a nurse," I added, remembering the puzzled looks of the men when I exited the jeep that dropped me off.
Of course, I knew there would be issues I was a woman enlisted in the Army and was part of an even smaller number of women who had started to practice medicine. My papa, was an Army man himself back in The Great War. If it weren't for his stories about his time in the military, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Some of my friends back home told me that I was crazy or foolish, and sometimes both. I knew they'd never understand and I didn't even try to explain myself. I had heard it all before. It was ridiculous and unheard of that I attended medical school, but no one could ever deter me from it. My friends from college, on the other hand, were content to study to catch a husband and let them defend our country.
"This is new territory for the military, call it an experiment, if you will. You, along with five other nurses will be our first female field medics," Colonel Sink explained, just as a crisp knock resounded on the Colonel's office door. "Yes? Who is it?" Colonel Sink exhaled loudly, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
"Lieutenant Sobel, sir,"
"Ah, yes, come in Lieutenant," Colonel Sink called. A tall man briskly strode in and stood at attention before the Colonel. His nose was hooked â like some sort of hawk â and his black, clean-cut hair contrasted to his sallow skin. I rose from my seat and saluted him appropriately. "At ease. What is it Lieutenant?"
Sobel glanced haughtily over at me, with his dark, beady, piercing eyes and I stared back at him disinterestedly.
"He looks like a fun guy," I thought.
"Sir, I came to check on the status of the new soldier. I heard he was arriving today,"
"She, sir," I corrected, staring him straight in the eye, strength evident in my eyes.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Sobel asked, peering at me confused.
"Second Lieutenant Alessandra Giordano, sir," I introduced myself. "Lieutenant Sobel, I'm the new soldier,"
"She's going to be Easy Company's new surgeon, and I'll be damned if she's the best of the best. She's invaluable in the field," Colonel Sink complimented, and gave me a warm smile.
"Excuse me, sir?" Sobel spoke quickly in a panic. "I cannot have a woman in Easy Company...it's...unheard of. It would be disgrace to myself and to the whole company of Easy!"
"Making great friends already," I thought.
"This is an outrage!" Sobel cried, before giving me a glare.
Colonel Sink shook his head and spoke sternly, "You'll do what I tell you to do. Now, Lieutenant Giordano will be joining Easy Company, and that's an order, not a request, Lieutenant,"
Sobel's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed uneasily, "Y-yes, sir," Sobel shifted his gaze back over to me. "You've been overseas, Lieutenant?" Sobel asked, his voice a little strained.
"I worked five months in a field hospital in Africa. Sir," I answered.
"It is also worth mentioning that Lieutenant Giordano is fluent in German, French, and Italian. She's also a pretty good shot," Colonel Sink added.
"My former CO thought we should know basic knowledge of the most commonly used weapons," I explained, looking between the two men.
"She'll join up with the company for all training procedures and exercises," Colonel Sink stated, standing up and reached his hand out.
"Yes, sir! Giordano, come with me!" Sobel barked.
"Yes, sir! Thank you Colonel," I said, and shook Colonel's Sink outstretched hand firmly.
Sobel and I saluted Colonel Sink which he returned.
"And Lieutenant Giordano, your personal effects are already in Easy Company's barracks,"
"Thank you, sir,"
Obnoxious catcalls and wolf howls started from men in different companies when they got a look of me, but I ignored them and walked confidently keeping posture straight and tall with my head held high as I followed behind Sobel through the camp. Men. The little respect that I earned from some of my male peers in Europe has disappeared into thin air. Now that I'm back in the States, I'm just a woman who happens to be a doctor. I'm probably less than that, I'm just a skirt or broad. I'm back at square one for getting the respect I deserve.
Passing other cabins, we walk to the fifth one on the right and Sobel walked in, slamming the door open and the rowdy cabin immediately quiet and immediately all the men stood to attention as I walked in behind him.
"At ease," Sobel said. "Boys, you have a new member," Sobel gestured to me lazily, not even bothering to mention my rank. "We are under strict orders to treat her no different than any of the men," He ordered sternly. "Giordano, you have five minutes to familiarize yourself with the men then change into your PT gear. We're running Currahee," Sobel walked out the door, leaving me at the mercy of these men.
I could hear whispers and one distinct word within the mix, 'woman'.
"Jesus Christ, I never thought that the U.S. was this desperate," a man whispered.
"They're sending women to the war now?" someone else muttered.
I folded my arms across my chest and smiled slightly, masking the anger I felt inside, "Hello, everyone," I greeted, looking around. A few returned my greeting quietly, but otherwise, the group remained silent and looked at me. "Tough crowd," I joked trying to break the tense atmosphere, which had no affect.
It was quiet for a second before a voice boomed through the room, and the crowd began to part a bit as a man pushed his way through.
"C'mon, fellas, never seen a lady before?" a man with dark brown, messy hair and puppy dog eyes walked up to me, smiling apologetically. "I'm Luz. Friends call me George,"
"I'm Second Lieutenant Alessandra Giordano, I'm your new surgeon. Most people just call me Lessa for short," I stated, reintroducing myself. I noticed that some men briskly saluted me while others scoffed at my rank. "At ease. Were not in front of the brass,"
Most of the men went back to what they were doing, stealing glances at me with every chance they got, but five of them didn't.
A man with light skin and dark brown hair that could be mistaken for black stepped forward. His dark brown eyes matched his hair and to top it all off he had a set, defined jaw line. The man took my hand and kissed my knuckles, causing me to chuckle. He was handsome, there was no denying that.
"Well Lessa, this is Gonorrhea," George introduced.
I stopped laughing and my eyes widened, "That's...not your real name, is it?" I asked hesitantly, my eyes bouncing between them.
The man punched George in the stomach, "No, George just likes to think he's funny. The name's Bill Guarnere,"
When I heard his real last name I understood the joke, and smiled, "You from South Philly?" I asked curiously. His voice, there was an accent that meant he was surely from somewhere along the East coast.
"Yeah! That obvious?" He said with a wide smile.
"Very," I replied with a grin. "I have some family friends there. I could recognize that accent a mile away,"
"This bastard, is J-" Bill was cut off by the taller man.
"I can introduce myself, dumbass," the taller man smiled. He had tan skin with the same color hair and eyes as Bill. "I'm Joe Toye, nice ta meet cha," Joe greeted with a smile.
A smaller skinnier man came forward, his eyes were icy blue, it fit his stern expression. His skin was pale which is a feat in itself considering we're in Georgia, and he had black hair, "Hi ma'am, I'm Eugene Roe, one of the medics," Eugene stepped forward and shook my hand politely.
Another man stepped forward next to him, he was tall and more stout than Eugene. He had dark hair and nice eyes. "I'm Ralph Spina," he introduced grinning down at me a very handsome grin.
"Welcome to Easy. I'm Joe Liebgott," he smiled at me making his dimples prominent. He had a mop of thick, dark brown hair sat on top his head which was well kept and He was skinny, but not too skinny...more like born built skinny.
"As much as I would love to meet you all, we have to run something called Currahee," I began. "What is that by the way? Some type of obstacle course?"
"That mountain you saw coming into camp. That's Currahee, we run that constantly," George grimaced.
"I don't want to be cocky, but that's probably nothing, compared to running around in the blistering heat of Africa,"
"Just couldn't help but notice," Bill stated and I glanced at him. "Since you're a lady, where the hell are ya gonna change?" I looked around, realizing that there was no real private space for me to change into different clothes.
I sighed, "Of course there isn't. Sobel just shoved me in here, not giving a damn about my privacy," I reasoned, throwing my hands up and Bill snickered.
"I think I can help ya with that privacy problem there, although I don't think most of the men would mind," George gave me a sly glance before winking. I chuckled again.
"How the hell you gonna do that, Luz," Bill asked curiously.
"Put up a curtain in the corner, can probably get an extra blanket from Doc," George answered.
"Thanks, George. It's very kind of ya," I smiled and I see a smile spread across George's face.
"No problem, sweetie. Always here to do the right thing," George winked at me yet again and Bill gave a dry laugh before patting me on my back.
To say the PT shorts weren't short was an understatement, and while the boys wouldn't mind it I couldn't help but be annoyed, my curves were sticking out like sore thumbs. My once slender yet noticeable curvaceous, five-foot-five frame with some noticeable muscle had transformed during my time with the British Army. My arms and legs had become strong and toned. Even my sizable bust had gone from a D-Cup to a C-Cup. I walked out of tent that the boys had set up for me tugging the shorts to make them less shorter than they are.
"Jesus Lessa! What happened to your legs?" George asked, his eyes zeroing in on my thighs.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at my scarred legs making me slightly uncomfortable.
"I got the scars in North Africa when a hospital had been attacked in the second month of the campaign," I began, secretly wishing I was dressed in my skirt again. "I was attending to the wounded when a mortar had landed close by and peppered the backs of my legs,"
"What was your experience like in North Africa?" Liebgott questioned.
"That's a story for another day," I answered, as we walked out the barracks.
Sobel ordered for platoon formation and I fell in before starting my ascent of Currahee. Sobel was running ahead of the us taunting us. We kept running, and Sobel kept yelling as we progressed up the hill. I was intent not to fall behind I focused on my posture, my pace and my breathing. Sweat was pouring down my olive skin with golden undertones and beads were stuck in my thick black hair.
It wasn't long before the rest of the company and I started getting breathless as we neared the top of the hill. Sobel and Winters had beat us all there. Sobel was standing at the top with a watch shouting insults at everyone who touched the stone at the top, while a red headed lieutenant gave words of encouragement.
"We are coming on twenty-three minutes!" Sobel' yelled. "That might be good enough for the rest of the 506, but that is not good enough for Easy Company!"
I triumphantly slapped my hand on the stone and started the descent down the hill. When Easy Company got back to camp, the sun was already going down and we couldn't wait to be dismissed for supper. Still, the company had to fall in at attention once more so that Sobel could throw his final wave of insults at us before releasing us for the night.
After we were dismissed, a tall man with flaming red hair, crystal blue eyes like the ocean, and brown freckles sprinkled across his serious face approached me.
"I'm Second Lieutenant Dick Winters," he said as he held out his hand.
"Second Lieutenant Alessandra Giordano. I'm you're new surgeon," I shook his hand firmly before letting go.
"And I'm Second Lieutenant Lewis Nixon," a voice said behind me. "You'll learn that Dick here has no vices, rarely gripes, what you wouldn't expect from an officer in the Airborne. Winters is a pretty easy read,"
"Please, don't listen to him," Dick advised, lightly laughing.
I turned around to see a dark haired man whose eyebrow seemed permanently raised. The thickness of his eyebrows kind of impressed me. He was slightly shorter than Winters, and carried an amused expression on his handsome face. Nixon gave me a flirtatious smile as he held his hand out and I shook it.
"Second Lieutenant Alessandra Giordano. The new surgeon,"
His eyes widen in a humorous manner, "So you're the famous surgeon that I heard so much about," Nixon chuckled.
"Only good things, I hope," I responded, arching an eyebrow.
The three of us began walking away from the platoon and further into camp, I was stuck in the middle while Lewis was on my right and Dick on my left.
"Of course," He assured. "From what I heard, Colonel Sink couldn't stop boasting about how good you are," Nixon continued. "You're really that good, huh?" Nixon asked, a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, I don't want toot my own horn, but yes I am really that good," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders slightly. "Colonel Sink wouldn't have asked for me if I wasn't,"
That night after showers I entered the dining hall which was loud full of men talking and laughing. I approached the food line and a private placed food on my tray as Liebgott approached me.
"Hey, Lessa, we're sitting at a table in the back, come sit with us,"
I smiled and left with Liebgott, balancing my tray as I made my way to the table. On the way back to barracks I could tell Liebgott was a complete smooth talker, but could have a fierce temper when he got angry.
As we moved closer to the table no one saw us and I could distinctly hear a South Philly accent as he spoke to the men around him.
"And Christ, she looks like my cousin Luca with a set of tits," Bill commented, tapping two fingers on the table and lifted his head up when he saw Liebgott and I approaching. "Hey, there she is!" Bill greeted happily as I sat across from him, in between George and Joe.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" I reprimanded, arching an eyebrow, making it obvious that I heard his crude comment. A chorus of ohs and laughter came from all the men near us. Bill just wore a shocked an expression, silently trying to figure out how I heard him. "I happen to have excellent hearing," I explained, answering his unspoken question.
"Point taken," Bill conceded, and threw his hands up in mock surrender.
"Lessa, let me introduce to the rest of Easy Company," Liebgott said. Liebgott pointed to the man next to George. "Floyd Talbert,"
"Delighted to make your acquaintance," I greeted, he seemed about as old as me if not a few years older and had brown hair and dark eyes.
"You too," Floyd responded, with a confident smile.
Liebgott continued his introductions, "Don Malarkey or Malark," he named pointing to Don. Don had the reddest hair I had ever seen beside from Dick. Don had promised to stick with me most of the night, making sure none of the other men tried to make any moves on me. A true gentlemen. "And Warren Muck,"
"Skip," he corrected quickly. "Just...call me Skip,"
"Last is Charles Grant,"
"Call me Chuck," he corrected.
"Hey, Lessa," George called, getting my attention. "Let's get you acquainted with more of the other fellas," He winked at me, and then turned in his seat to point at certain men across the mess.
George introduced me to Frank Perconte, a short man of Italian descent, a boy known as Shifty claimed by the other men to be the best shot in the whole battalion. Don Hoobler, David Webster "college boy," George added slyly. Then there was Bull Randleman, a giant of a man, with the kindest heart a human could have. Johnny Martin, Carwood Lipton, was considered the closest thing the company had to a dad, and he was extremely kind, coming to no surprise to me that he was already married. Next was Smokey Gordon, Sisk, Christenson, Popeye, Tipper, Penkala, and then there was Cobb; I had the misfortune of being introduced to him, he quietly made a snide comment about my gender.
I smacked George's hand away from my food as I finally took a bite of it. We went back and forth, joking around with each other as if I had been with the men for weeks rather than hours. George could make you piss yourself from the constant jokes that he uttered.
"So where are you from, doll?" Bill asked, me before shoveling a spoonful of corn into his mouth.
"Well, right now, my home is Brooklyn, New York,"
"I knew I heard a Brooklyn accent," George commented.
"Casa dolce casa," I stated wistfully.
"You're Italian then?" Bill asked.
"No, I just happen to speak in Italian when I think of home," I remarked sarcastically.
The men around me laughed at my sarcastic comment.
"Bill, we have another fellow Italian," Perconte stated with a goofy grin as he took a seat at the table.
Bill continued his questioning. "How old are ya?"
"I'll turn twenty-four on December 20th,"
"Where'd you learn to be a medic?" Webster asked curiously.
"I was finishing med school but after Pearl Harbor...I learned my oldest brother Franco died in the attack. I knew then that I had to do something to help. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. A British Army Major came to hospital I worked at, he needed volunteers, so I raised my hand,"
"Jeez Lessa, I'm real sorry about your brother," Bill apologized sincerely.
"Got any more siblings?" Liebgott asked.
"I have four brothers and a younger sister. Leonardo is the second oldest at twenty-eight, he joined the Marines," I paused momentarily and I wondered if he was still alive or even staying away from the dangers from the Japanese. "Raphael is the third oldest at twenty-six, he joined the Air Force, my twin brother Dominick, he joined the Army Rangers, Marco is thirteen and Francis is nine, so they can't fight, obviously," I listed, using my fingers to count off my siblings.
"Ya know," Bill began, a slight grin spreading across his face. "The boys and I been wondering what a pretty skir..." I lifted my eyebrow again and Bill corrected himself. "Ehm, a pretty lady like you, didn't become a nurse? I mean you aren't pulling our legs now, are ya? Your a real surgeon?" Bill asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice.
I held in the scoff that I wanted to let out, at Bill's skepticism that a woman could be a "real" surgeon. I don't know what I expected, new environment with new faces and new personalities and the same old bullshit, men questioning and being skeptical of me being a doctor and not a nurse. It just comes with the territory, and soon you learn to ignore it; or at least don't make a scene about it. I masked my anger women and smiled, it's something I've done all too often.
"Top of the class," I answered with a smile. "Plus, I think Doctor Giordano has a better ring to it than Nurse Giordano, don't you think?" I joked, slightly tilting my head eliciting light laughter from some of the men. "Anyways, all my friends were volunteering or being drafted and I felt left out. I thought with me being a doctor maybe I could be of use at some point," I shrugged.
"Well, here you are...you'll certainly be of use now," George chimed in.
"I surely hope so," I smiled at him, and I pushed a stray piece of hair out of my face with my left hand and Floyd's eyes widened.
"Who's the lucky man?" Floyd asked pointing to the thin gold band on my finger.
I looked down at it, "More like who was the lucky man," I corrected solemnly, and began twisting the band on my finger.
"Who broke things off, you or him?" Liebgott asked.
"He would be a fool to break things off with you," George joked and some of the people at the table chuckled and agreed.
"Neither of us. The war did that for us," I paused. "He was killed fighting in the Pacific theater,"
Everyone at the table went dead silent.
"I'm sorry, I didn'tâ" Floyd began.
"It's fine. You didn't know," I interrupted him. "Can we talk about something else? Please,"
"Yeah of course," Bill answered and changed the subject to a more lighter topic.
I looked around at the men as they carried on with their own conversations. I'd only been with them for barely 24 hours, yet I could already feel unbreakable ties binding me to each of them.
Casa dolce casa= Home sweet home
AN: Hope you liked it. Reviews would be great! I hope I didn't make my character Mary-sue.
