Lieutenant Sparky

"They depended on each other. And the world depended on them."- Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Band of Brothers

She had managed to get through the training with Currahee and the one in England before getting placed on the front lines as a Paratrooper. It may not seem like every woman's ideal job but she had learnt long ago that she had nothing in common with them except for her feminine appearance. She enjoyed her time with Easy Company, her brothers but she knew that it wasn't just a load of laughter and jokes - this was war and she had a duty to her country.

Now she felt awkward, she could put up with lack of privacy and crude jokes but the Lieutenant sitting next to her made her muscles cramp and her chest still as they sat in the darkness alone. They had been paired with Dog Company; she didn't know why - she was simply following orders. There couldn't be a bigger difference between the two companies. Dog had this rough edge to them and always had even from the beginning. She was constantly thanking Colonel Sink for placing her in Easy Company, they had their good and bad moments like everyone and Sobel had given them an ass booting with Currahee, however it was worth it at the end making them grow as a team and strengthen them physically and somewhat mentally for what was to come. She knew that without a doubt if the man beside you was a Paratrooper and from Easy that you could depend on them. What did she want to know - why she was the one put with the Lieutenant? She didn't know what was running through Winters' head when he paired them up, maybe it was because he didn't trust any of the Dog company soldiers to keep to themselves. She had heard the rumours like everyone else in the army - killing twenty Nazi POWs after offering them cigarettes and then shotting a drunken Sergeant. And Ronald Speirs never denied it.

She moved her eyes from the front line to the man sitting next to her in the foxhole, he was motionless while his whole body screamed to keep away. There was something more that drew her, whether it was his features or the strength that surrounded him as the fabric of their uniformed brushed at the shoulders. She wasn't sure, but curiosity killed the cat. "Did you really do it?" It seemed her unfiltered mouth was filled with stupidity. He showed no sign of answering except for the flicker of his eyes in her direction. "Asshole." She muttered under her breath and she didn't except the reply to it.

"Women are meant to be seen, not heard." She might have deserved that but she didn't like the dig at her sexuality, it always hit a nerve.

"And you're meant to be a gentleman." She hissed the word out and kept her eyes in front watching the darkness.

"How did you manage to get here? And still be alive?" His tone didn't seem to change through the whole exchange and that pissed her off even more.

"Well, I don't know how you kept your strips." She should have kept her words to herself as she felt the burning of his eyes staring at her, she didn't dare look in his direction - what if he offered her a smoke?

"Do you always take what you hear for truth?" This time there was a hint of something in his voice and she took the chance to look at him. He had his head turned slightly in her direction with his gun ready in his hands if needed; making a shiver run down her back. "I never confirmed it." When he didn't get a response Speirs continued. "The guy that told you says he was there, but when you're asking what it was like...he will say he heard it from another guy." Did that mean the rumours were simply rumours? Or was he taking another dig at her again? His words were pushing her mind into circles of truths, lies and questions.

"Soo...you-" She wasn't sure what the right word would be to confirm the answer.

"Rumours." Once again there were questions - why would he be telling her this? They didn't know each other until today and their conversation only minutes ago didn't seem to hit off as one would take as a life-changing friendship. Maybe it was the simple fact that everyone needed to talk to someone at some point. Christ, it had been a year since the rumours started.

"Why not just tell them that?"

"Respect." It was one of the many ways of respect, enough that people didn't confront you or disobey orders because there was always the unknown factor to how the Lieutenant would react; simply like she had been acting moments ago.

"Gosh, you fellas are worse than the women back home." She rolled her eyes at the memories of the small town who knew every detail from the largest to the smallest situation and men pointed the finger at them for being worse!

A silence fell upon them as she huddled further into the shallow foxhole and rubbed her fingers to get the blood flowing in them again, she wasn't sure if she had somehow overstepped the invisible line between them as the wind howled through the forest and nipped at their flesh.

"Don't say a word to anyone, or I'll kill ya." Her eyes flickered to the Lieutenant, his motionless face. She couldn't tell whether he was pulling her leg or being serious as she turned her attention back in front of them and keeping tabs on his movements - the man sure did have a strange way of making friends.

"Crystal clear Sparky."

Authors Note: I don't mean any disrespect to the soldiers who fought the war, simply writing a fan fiction because I enjoyed the TV show so much. And I'm working on a list of the characters and writing one-shots for them if anyone is interested in reading more.

Revised: 20/04/18