Back to work! So let's make it work. Winters and Caroline have (kind of) started a "thing." We'll see where that "thing" takes them, but for now, let's get back to the story line. Which we totally are, with a little help from the book. Let's face it; the Mackall scenes in "Currahee" don't do much…all we see them doing is field exercises…

Thanks so much to everyone who favored Summers and Winters. A special thanks to my chapter six reviewers!

Jacobleah: THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm trying really hard to capture the essence that is Winters, and I'm glad you like Caroline! Please keep reading!

RHatch89: Thanks for the kind words, and keep reading!

Rainboweating: I am striving for accuracy, and the Ambrose book helps keeps the storyline straight, but even I make mistakes. I got Benning and Bragg flipped up, and ended up putting Benning in NC, when it is BRAGG that is in NC. Thank you for reading my story.

mngirl: I UPDATED! YAY! Thanks for sticking by me, and YES, from here on out, there will be romance, but of course, in true army/Winters fashion…they're going to have to be really careful…

Hope everyone enjoys chapter seven. I'm introducing another person, and his physical description kind of fits the name of this chapter. Let's see if you can guess…before he makes his appearance. The song is "Piel Canela," made popular by Eydie Gorme, one of my mom's favourite singers. Piel canela literally means "cinnamon skin," so a darker, tanned man. The other part of the chapter title, ojos negros, literally means black eyes, but the context of the lyric usage is that this character has dark eyes...

I think you JUST might know who this is now.

So here's seven. And NOW we're in North Carolina…

Currahee!

BB


7

"Ojos Negros, Piel Canela"
Fort Benning, GA & Camp Mackall, NC
May-July 1943


The 506th spent the first part of 1943 practicing more jumps at Benning, before moving out to Camp Mackall for more intensified jump training, complete with weapons in hand, as well as staged field exercises. From March through May, Easy Company spent hours in simulated combat situations led by a very inept Sobel. Caroline couldn't help but notice how frustrated the men would come back from these field exercises, especially Winters, who at least tried to assist in improving the company's scores in the drills. While the men trained to be killed in combat by Sobel, the nurses continued honing their own medical expertise, for Captain Edwards refused to believe that any of them was one-hundred percent perfect.

"We are always to strive for wanting to do better! Your goal is to try to save the life of the soldier to the best of your abilities, and therefore, no one, not even myself, can claim perfection, because I know we can always find room for improvement!" This was something that Edwards always seemed to be saying every time the nurses met for instruction. If it wasn't this exact speech, Caroline noticed, it was a variation of it. But Edwards did commend their work, and every now and then, said that the 506th would be in very capable hands come wartime.

Caroline's relationships with Holly and Ruth grew, as did their camaraderie with the men of Easy Company. Holly and Luz were practically inseparable, although there was never anything inappropriate they did for someone, like Annabelle, to report back to Edwards and Sobel. Although Caroline dearly wanted to spend more time with Winters, his schedule as "Sobel's bitch" (so bluntly termed by June in one of her letters to Caroline) made it impossible for her to talk to him…let alone even see him.

But she found herself spending time with Lipton, Guarnere and Grant whenever she had a spare moment. Lipton, especially, had become a close confidant to her, probably because he was married, and posed no threat to her and Winters whatsoever. Not that Guarnere and Grant would ever dare either, but she did notice that Winters was more visibly relaxed when he saw her walking around Mackall with Lipton.

One afternoon, she was walking around Mackall with Grant and Guarnere. She'd just finished her morning lessons with the nurses, and they had met up with her right after yet another failed field exercise ended. She was blushing at Guarnere's teasing.

"Come on, Emeralds. What do you see in Winters? It's obvious what he sees in you—"

"He's got a point," interjected Grant.

"But he is a good man, don't get me wrong."

"You two are crazy. Whatever goes on between the lieutenant and myself is my business, and I'll thank you, Gonorrhea, for keeping your nose out of it!" she joked, as she playfully shoved him. The trio laughed, but their chorus of guffawing was interrupted by the officer-in-question, who had run over to them with a panicked look on his face.

"Lieutenant Winters, sir, whatever is the matter?"

"Did you know? Lieutenant Summers, tell me. Did you know?!"

"Did I know what, sir?" she asked, genuinely confused at his questions.

"Really? You mean to tell me that you and Easy's nurses had no idea that the medics planned on faking an appendectomy on Sobel?! Lieutenant Summers, they anesthetized him!"

"I'll tell you honestly again, sir," she spat. "I don't know at all what you're talking about! I haven't been with the medics since last night, and I was not informed about this prank, and I have been with Grant and Guarnere since the end of my class today. They can vouch for me."

"Can you?" he ordered. Grant and Guarnere nodded their heads "yes," not daring to say a word to Winters.

"Of course they can. You're with them every day. Fine. I'll take your word, but he is clearly not pleased, and he is trying to find the culprits. No one knows which medics faked it. No one is going to own up to it, so I really hope you're not lying, Lieutenant Summers. Dismissed." Without looking back at them, Winters sharply turned on his heel and left.

He said this warning firmly. He didn't yell; no that wasn't in his nature, but Caroline felt more hurt at the fact that he deliberately seemed to not believe her. She felt her heart sink, and tried not to let the boys see her eyes water up with tears.

I will not be weak, I will not be weak, I will—

But Grant placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and they quietly accompanied her back to her barracks. She was about to go inside, but decided to see if she had any mail in the PX. Any sort of letter would be a comfort to her at the moment.

Oh, thank you Junebug! Her sister's familiar script greeted her, and she chose to sat down outside the PX and read it.

31 May 1943
Dearest Lina,

I'm not quite sure when it will happen, but I'll be in North Carolina with you and our esteemed uncle-colonel sooner than you think. My training here with the WAACs is starting to come to an end; now we're training the new recruits that come in. Uncle Bob wants me as his aide-de-camp ASAP, now that I have gone through the training…which means I'll get you keep a better eye on you. Just kidding.

Look, I am grateful that you told me Nix was married. Really. Best news ever, because you knew that I was rather infatuated with him after the New Year's party, but Caroline, you must tell him then to stop writing me such flirtatious letters! I do not mind being a pen-pal or a friend, but when he tells me that he'll be the Orson Welles to my Rita Hayworth…Caroline, really. This isn't fair to me. I don't want to be a fling! I refuse to be a fling. He is married. Unfortunately, that is the truth.

Write to me soon, Lina.

I miss you dearly.

Love,

June

Caroline cringed at the passage about Nixon. She couldn't believe he had the gall to be flirting with June! He was her friend, and she had warned him to back off once they'd returned to Benning after the furlough, even though Nixon had already exchanged addresses with June. Part of her wanted to stay out of his business; if he wanted to have an affair, so be it, but it would not be with her sister. She, forgetting about her sadness about Winters, hurriedly marched over to the officers' barracks, and barged in. The other officers of second battalion looked at her like if she was crazy, but she did not care or even seem to notice. Winters, luckily, was not there, but her target-to-kill was. Nixon was lazily lying in bed, to her horror, writing a letter. She angrily threw June's letter at him.

"Emeralds, what—"

"Read it," she hissed.

"Caroline—"

"NOW!"

"Alright, alright, calm down."

Nixon's dark brows furrowed as he carefully read June's mention of him, and quietly put the letter down. He, despite Caroline's protests, took her by her hand and pulled her outside.

"What is the matter with you, Nix? Can't you just leave her alone? She's my sister, and I won't let you break her heart! You're married! She doesn't deserve to be the other woman!"

Nixon ran a hand through his hair, and leaned against the barrack wall.

"Caroline, I'm sorry. And I'll write to apologize to your sister. But my marriage isn't really all it's cracked up to be, and—"

"I don't care if you're having marital problems. That doesn't give you a reason to have a clandestine affair with June. She's flirtatious, but she's not some whore that you can just fuck until you decide to go back with your wife, Nix!"

His dark eyes widened at her accusations...and her choice of profanity...

"Now, Caroline, stop it! I never thought of her as such, and I'm—"

"Fine. But don't try to make her one. She does not deserve that. Be her friend. She's fine with that. Nothing more. Not while you're married. Please," begged Caroline.

"Of course. I promise."

"That's all I ask. That's all June asks. I'm sorry for yelling."

They fell into step as they walked around the army base.

"I'll say. I've never heard you get so upset before, Emeralds. I have a feeling it's not just because of me. What's going on?"

"Winters. He thinks I may have had a hand in Sobel's fake appendectomy, but it was honestly news to me when he told me about it." Nixon laughed at "Sobel's fake appendectomy" but was surprised that Winters had accused her of not being honest.

"I'll say this though, Lina. Sobel's been on his ass these past few weeks. It's been rough for him. I'm not trying to make excuses either, but he is probably tired of Sobel's constant need to berate him, even though Sobel's the one who keeps messing up in the field."

"I can understand that. I haven't seen him much these days. I know he's busy; it's not that at all. I just hope he has some faith in me, Nix. I mean, we kissed at my family's party…we're not really just friends anymore. Not that we're together, but there's the basis for a potential relationship, and this—"

Nixon put his hand up to silence her.

"Caroline. Stop rambling. I get it. You want him to trust you, especially because you hope that you two can develop a relationship when things aren't so err…by the books. You've got your uncle looking after you, you've got Sobel breathing down Winters's back, and even your mother has her reservations. Breathe, Caroline. Take a deep breath, let Winters cool off, and tell him what is on your mind. Believe me, he has faith in you. I think it was just a bad moment for him. Sobel really let him have it about the appendectomy and blamed him for letting the medics get away with it."

"He blamed Rich—Lieutenant Winters?"

Nixon nodded.

"Well, Nix, I'll give him time to himself until he is ready to talk. You know…you do give good advice."

"So kill me for trying to be a nice guy, Lina. Give him a few days. It'll be okay. Alright?"

"Alright."

He smirked at her, and offered a gentlemanly arm.

"C'mon, let's go eat. I'm starved," he said, as he led them over to the mess hall.

"You're that desperate to eat army-grade food?"

"Details, Lina. Details."


So Caroline took Nixon's advice, and chose not to seek Winters out. She opted to give him his space, and spent time with Holly and Ruth when the nurses weren't in training or lecture. She forced Nixon to write an apology letter to June, and looked it over before she sent it to Des Moines. She also made sure not to mention to Nixon that June, sooner or later, would be joining the 506th. Spring turned into summer at Mackall, and she didn't even realize that she hadn't seen him in almost a month! Easy's time was spent out on the field. When they weren't on the field, they were in classroom lecture, and Sobel had only become more tyrannical since the fake appendectomy incident. None of the medics owned up to it, so the incident would go forgotten about, much to Sobel's displeasure, but Winters did find out that the nurses, indeed, had no idea about the prank.

He felt awful. He clearly remembered Caroline's hurt face that day he accused her of playing a hand in it, and since the revelation had been made, he did not go searching for her. He felt as though he'd failed her; as though he did not have an ounce of faith in her. That, he knew, was far from the truth. He had plenty of faith in her; he was tired of Sobel, but he knew that his disrespect for Sobel could not excuse his accusations towards Caroline.

Caroline went to the PX for her mail one evening, and groaned when she saw a letter addressed to her from Evelyn. She'd been hoping for a missive from June; less than a week ago she'd written to wish her sister a "congratulations" on the fact that the WAACs had been renamed to the Women's Army Corps on 1 July 1943. They were, in effect, an official branch of the United States Army, and Caroline had wanted more details about their new status. She reluctantly opened Evelyn's letter, and read it outside.

5 July 1943
Dear Caroline,

I wish you would correspond with the same amount of fervor you give your father's letters when you write back to me! I understand that you're still upset about the events of the New Year's party, but I am your mother! I am merely looking out for your best interests. I am sure this Winters fellow is a nice person, but he can't give you the lifestyle you—

Here Caroline angrily tore up the letter. She threw the pieces into the air. She did not want to hear her mother's broken record advice, and she most certainly did not want to think about Winters. She was so content with thrusting the pieces of the letter into the ground that she did not notice a black haired officer staring amusedly at the scene before him.

"You alright there, Lieutenant?" he asked. Caroline's head shot up at the mysterious voice, and eyed the officer in front of her warily.

Who the hell is that?

He was a handsome one, and she swore she'd seen him around Toccoa and Benning, but didn't know his name. He, she knew, was in an entirely different company, and she had enough problems remembering the names of the men in Easy!

"I—I suppose so, sir."

The officer's sharp, dark eyes studied her for a moment as he took a drag from his cigarette. He came closer to her without breaking his intense gaze for a second, bent down, and picked up a fallen fragment of her mother's letter.

"You sure?" he asked, waving the piece of paper in his hand.

She nodded. His stare still did not waver. Caroline, though, met him directly in his eyes.

"Yes sir," she reaffirmed.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with his toe.

"Carry on, then," he said, turning his back on her. Caroline was about to skedaddle, but the officer's authoritative voice sounded once more, and she stopped dead in her tracks when he practically barked at her to give him her name.

"Caroline Summers, sir."

He nodded, and took off himself, but Caroline couldn't resist.

"And yours, sir?"

This time, he turned back, and with the slightest ghost of a grin, responded to her.

"Lieutenant Speirs."


"Lieutenant Speirs? No, Lina. Can't say I've met him," said Holly, as Caroline finished recounting the tale of her encounter with the mysterious, broody officer to the girls over breakfast the next morning. Caroline was about to change the subject, but Ruth chose to speak.

"I know him."

"YOU DO?" they chorused.

"Yes! I was out on a walk a couple of weeks ago, and he was having a smoke, but apparently, had left his lighter in his barracks. He asked if I, perchance, had one, before he ran back to retrieve his. I had mine, so I lit him, and chatted for a few minutes while we smoked. He's in Dog Company, by the way."

"So what did you think of him?" asked Holly.

Ruth shrugged as she sipped her coffee.

"I don't know. He acted just like how Lina described him. Quiet, aloof, but with a definite air of authority. That's how I felt about him when I talked to him."

"Hmm, well, let's not dwell on it anymore. I doubt we'll cross paths again," said Caroline.

She spoke too hastily. Caroline, by the end of the week, was exhausted, and the nurses had been granted weekend passes. The girls opted to go into the town of Hoffman and indulge in a drink (or two) just to have some time away from Mackall. They went to the bar that Easy frequented, and to their delight, some of the boys were there. Holly spend her time with Luz, while Ruth played darts with Guarnere, Grant and Toye. They'd asked Caroline to play, but she politely declined on account of her being "absolutely terrible." She contentedly watched her friends as she sipped on her hard cider. She didn't even notice someone slip into the empty barstool next to her.

"Would you like another drink?"

That voice. Surely, no.

Indeed, it was. Caroline looked into the face of Speirs, and back into her empty glass.

"Uh…sure."

Speirs ordered the cider, and a whisky, neat, for himself. Caroline felt a blush creep on her cheeks, but it wasn't because she was pleased to have Speirs's attentions on her. The bartender set their libations on the counter, and she took the glass before guzzling a good sip of it down.

"Whoa, easy there, Caroline."

She shuddered at him calling her Caroline. He didn't even know her, she thought. This situation felt so wrong. Speirs seemed alright, but he was not Winters, and she didn't like the fact that Speirs was sitting where Winters should have been sitting.

One man shows an interest (so she thinks) in her, and she immediately felt guilty because it was not her man. Then Caroline began to wonder, as she drank the second pint, if she could really call Winters her man, and then felt sick with herself knowing that she was sort of betraying Winters's trust.

She looked at Speirs. The dim lighting of the bar made his eyes look even darker and more sensual than she remembered. She gulped down more cider as she berated herself for staring at Speirs. No, this isn't fair to Richard!

But the proverbial devil on her shoulder at the moment, told her to ignore the angel, and promptly reminded her that Winters hasn't reached out to hr at all since his unfair accu—

The room was spinning. She felt dizzy. She stood up too quickly, she felt her heel slip…Speirs was calling out for her, and suddenly, everything went black.


When Caroline woke up, she could make out a very familiar head of bright red hair.

"Caroline."

That's the right voice. That sounded just right, in fact. Honey sweetness laced with concern ringing effortlessly in her ears. She tried to get up, but Winters gently told her to rise slowly. His hands assisted her in sitting up, and soon, she was propped up on a pillow. She looked outside the window; it was still dark outside, and she realized that she was in the medical barracks. Caroline looked back to the sight that was Richard Winters. To her relief, he was smiling at her.

"Speirs brought you back. Said he'd bought you a drink, and not five minutes after, you had passed out on the floor."

"I wasn't drunk, I swear! And I didn't ask him out! I was with the girls…they were with some of the men from Easy, and all of a sudden he's next to me, and I'm accepting his offer for a drink, then I felt guilty, and—"

"Felt guilty? Why? Because I've been a fool, Lina?"

She certainly wasn't expecting him to say that. Not at all.

"What?"

He sighed, and ruffled a hand through his hair.

"Speirs told me he eyed you, but that you looked uncomfortable the entire five minutes you were on this "date" with him. And Caroline, after how I've treated you, sweetheart, you should not have felt guilty about tonight. I should have had some faith in you. I have no idea what happened with Sobel, but I do know now that the nurses weren't involved. I am sorry for not believing your word, and I do promise to have faith in you from here on out."

Her heart swelled at his promise.

"I believe you. And I talked to Nix. I know Sobel's been putting way too much pressure on you, so under Nix's good counsel, I waited for you to come to me. And I am glad you did."

"Sobel's behavior is no excuse for my behavior. If I ever take out my frustrations on you again, feel free to give me a good slap on my face."

"Duly noted."

"Speirs has fine taste if he was interested in you," teased Winters.

"I suppose he does. But Richard?"

"Yes, Lina?"

"He's not you. This night has made me realize that, as of now, if it's not you, then I'm not interested. I…I missed you."

He gently kissed her brow.

"I missed you too. And I'll try to see you more often."

"Good. You can't let Sobel beat you. You have what he doesn't. The respect of this company. He's threatened by that. Don't. Let. Him. Win. You hear me?"

"Easier said than done. But I am trying. And with your confidencethen Sobel's just a footnote to me."

She grazed his cheek with her hand, and he allowed her to caress it for a few moments, grateful for the private time they'd had. Winters looked down at his field watch.

"It's 2130. Half-hour til curfew. Let me see you back to your barracks, please?"

"Of course," she said, allowing him to help her out of the bed. He steadied her around her waist with his arm, and did not let go until they were situated outside of the nurses' barracks.

"Good night, Lina. I'll…I'll see you soon."

"Indeed you will. Thank you for taking care of me."

There was no one around. Winters took the opportunity to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Sleep well, sweetheart," he murmured in her ear.

"Good night, Richard."

She watched his retreating form disappear, and slipped inside. As Winters walked to his barracks, he knew his heart felt lighter now that he'd resolved everything with Caroline. But he sure did not mind the new flutter it produced with the knowledge that she was as much, dare he think it, in love with him as he was with her.

Caroline may not have vocalized the sentiment, but her actions around Speirs…despite her ending up in the medical barracks…confirmed that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

And he was perfectly fine with that.


EIGHT IS NEXT! To Aldbourne…or bust. What to expect next on Summers and Winters: the permanent return of June and the adjustments of life in "Fortress Europa." Stay tuned!