Disclaimer: I own nothing of Band of Brothers and the images I used, just my characters and story. In addition, I meant no disrespect to the real soldiers of Easy Company and I apologize for any mistakes whether it be historical inaccuracies or punctuation/grammar.
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Camp Toccoa, Georgia: 1942
After the break, Eliza was on her way to lecture for the medics, while the other men of Easy were to have a lecture on weaponry. From a distance, Eliza saw her fellow medics, Eugene Roe and Ralph Spina on their way so she ran to join them.
"Hey guys, wait up!"
"Well if it isn't Eliza Clark, here to grace us with her presence," Spina stated with mock amazement while Roe smiled at his comment.
"You're very welcome, Spina. But I'm just here to accompany you mere mortals to medic training." Eliza replied with a sarcastic smile.
"Clark, what happened to your knee?" Roe asked with worry as he saw the bandages tied to her knee.
"It's just a mere scrape. I tripped while running Currahee," Eliza reassured him.
"That ain't a small cut. You got gauze wrapped around your knee," Roe stated as he gave her a stern look.
"Don't worry about it, Gene. I got it all cleaned up."
From her words, the memory of Winters taking care of her, popped into her mind. And so Eliza's face began to blush.
"Eliza, why are ya turning red?" Spina questioned with interest.
"It's nothing! C'mon we're going to be late if we don't hurry." Eliza walked ahead of Roe and Spina, while both men shared a look of confusion, as they wondered what had caused Eliza's face to blush so suddenly.
During Lecture…
Eliza couldn't focus much on what the doctor was saying, which was a problem since she never had a hard time being attentive. However, on this particular day, her brain chose not to cooperate with her. Fortunately, Eliza was a nurse before she signed up as a medic, so she wouldn't suffer the consequences for her malfunctioning brain. Eliza realized that she wasn't focusing because her mind was drifting to a certain red-haired Lieutenant. With a smile, Eliza remembered the first time she met Richard Winters and the other men of Easy Company.
Camp Toccoa, Georgia: 1942
After a brief training on military protocol and manners, Eliza was on a train to Georgia for her official training as a medic. As she looked out of the window, Eliza saw the beautiful landscape. The sun was shining below, making the sky clear and the grass greener among the multitude of fields passing by. Eliza loved the picturesque scene in front of her since she rarely saw such a sight. In the country, it was tranquil; while the city was filled with bright lights and noisy streets. Don't get her wrong, Eliza loved San Francisco; but once in a while, she'd dreamed about settling somewhere quiet. As her thoughts drifted to her much-beloved city, Eliza couldn't help but miss her family and friend. She did receive letters from Evelyn, Daniel, and Jane stating how much they missed her and that they were fine. In return, Eliza wrote back about the training she endured and to not worry about her. However, letters would slightly relieve Eliza's homesickness since it wasn't the same as having them right by her side. Eliza then tried to clear her mind by looking at the scene in front of her since it wouldn't do good for her to dwell on missing her loved ones.
After the train ride, Eliza had to ride a bus which would then transport her to the camp. When Eliza entered the bus, seats were mostly taken by the nurses that would be the female medics. As she moved through the bus, there was an empty seat next to a blonde woman who looked to be about the age of Eliza.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?"
"Not at all, go right ahead!" The blonde woman replied with a sweet smile. From her response, Eliza placed her bag away and sat down.
"Thank you, my name is Eliza Clark," Eliza replied with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Eliza, my name is Alice Moore," replied Alice as she raised her hand for a handshake. When Eliza reciprocated her action, Alice grabbed it and shook it enthusiastically, her bright personality reminding Eliza of Evelyn. During the bus ride, the girls talked about themselves to past the time. Eliza learned that Alice was from Minneapolis and had a younger sister. From their bonding and similarities, they swiftly became friends.
When the bus halted, both Eliza and Alice grabbed their stuff and exited the bus. As Eliza stepped foot on the camp, she saw men in uniform completing drills and running courses. Some were walking and chatting. As her gaze drifted to Alice, Eliza saw the pretty blonde in a daze watching the scene in awe, so Eliza nudged her shoulder.
"C'mon Alice, we gotta go. You can look at the men later," stated Eliza with a smirk.
"I wasn't looking at the men, I was just taking in the scenery," Alice said to defend herself, however, her blush told Eliza another thing.
Because of their chat, Eliza and Alice had lost their group and both women didn't know the location of the Colonel's office. While walking around, they both spotted two Lieutenants. With no other choice, Eliza decided to ask them. While Alice rushed to her side, Eliza then tapped the shoulder of the redheaded Lieutenant. When he turned, Eliza and Alice both gave a salute.
"Pardon for interrupting, but my friend and I lost our way, can you please direct us to Colonel Sink's office?" Eliza requested with a smile.
Being the gentleman that Winters was, he gave the women directions and Nixon, even asked the women if they wanted to show them the way. However, Eliza politely declined and stated that the directions were enough. From their uniforms, Winters concluded that the women would be the female medics joining the companies. After they saluted and expressed their appreciation, both women went on their way. However, Winters couldn't help but be intrigued by the brown-haired medic. From Nixon's standpoint, he knew that Winters had an interest in the brown haired women. With that notion, Nixon gave Winters a smirk.
"Nix, why are you smiling like that?" Winters questioned, pondering the fact that Nixon would surely ask him about the women they've recently met.
"It seems that you got your eye on the brunette," Nixon replied with a smirk.
"Don't be ridiculous Nix, we're training for war. Plus you were looking at the blonde," Winters replied with his own smirk.
"Touche," Nixon responded as he drank from his flask.
Meanwhile, Eliza and Alice neared the steps of the building that housed the Colonel's office. Eliza and Alice sighed in relief as they made it in time and quickly joined the group without catching the suspicion of others. When they entered, Colonel Sink greeted them and the women saluted. He briefed them about expectations, protocols, and punishments. In addition, Colonel Sink informed the women that they would be housed with the men to accustom them to their settings. After the meeting, the women went to their companies; Eliza was in Easy Company, while Alice was in Able Company.
The first time meeting the members of Easy Company was a memory that Eliza wouldn't forget.
A private had directed Eliza to Easy Company, who were in formation as they were being inspected by Lieutenant Sobel. She thanked the private, who hurriedly left to attend to other matters. Eliza stood still, while the Lieutenant took away the pass of a soldier.
Meanwhile, the presence of a woman had gained the men's attention. Nixon smiled since it was the same brunette that asked Winters and him for directions. Out of all companies that she would've been assigned, fate chooses her to be in Easy Company. His red-haired friend was sure lucky as hell.
After revoking a pass, Lieutenant Sobel went to the front of his company, however, halted as he saw a female in uniform standing in front of him. He knew that the woman would be a medic in his company since an experiment was being conducted to see how women would be in the army. At that thought, Sobel frowned because he believed that women would only fail since their only role was to be housewives.
As he stood in front of the female medic, Eliza saluted and addressed her situation in a clear voice.
"Good afternoon Lieutenant, my name is Eliza Clark. I'm the female medic for Easy Company."
"Private I don't care that you're the female medic for Easy Company. You're in my company for now on, which means that you'll follow my orders and if you don't, there will be serious punishments. Most importantly, I don't want you distracting my men. Understood Private?" Sobel announced with a scorn.
"Yes sir, " Eliza replied while trying to hide her anger. She didn't join the military to flirt, she had a job to do.
"Easy Company, Dismissed," Sobel shouted to the company and left, while the rest of the men went to spend their needed break.
After the incident, Winters went to welcome the brunette. When Eliza spotted Winters walking towards her, she smiled since it was nice to see someone familiar. She greeted him with a salute, while he saluted back.
"Hello Private Clark, I'm Second Lieutenant Richard Winters, welcome to Easy Company. Pardon First Lieutenant Sobel for his greeting, but please be warned that some of the men will be indifferent to your presence," stated Winters, while they shook hands.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Winters, I've volunteered to be a medic, so I'm prepared for what comes my way," Eliza assured him.
In a distance, Nixon saw that Winters was chatting with Easy's new medic and since he was curious, Nixon made his presence known. At the sight of Nixon, Winters introduced him.
"Private Clark, this is Second Lieutenant Lewis Nixon."
"Please to meet you, Lieutenant Nixon." After her greeting, Eliza saluted the Lieutenant and received one in return.
"The pleasure is mine, Private Clark," Nixon said with a smirk.
After being shown the cabins and given time to settle down, Eliza sat down on her cot, located at the back of the room. Eliza preferred it since she only had one bed on the right side and it gave her more privacy. While she was putting away her belongings, most of the company entered to change out of their uniform to PT gear. Winters had told her that after the break, the company was to run Currahee, which Eliza was dreading from his explanation. From the group of men, Eliza spotted a familiar tall and skinny man with dark hair; the man also recognized her.
"Well, I'm not surprised you joined the war as a medic, Liz. I didn't notice you earlier without your short hair, red cap, and overalls." Joe Liebgott smiled at Eliza, a childhood friend he had lost touch with.
"Long time no see, Joe. It seems you haven't changed at all, you're still lanky." Eliza returned the smile with a twinkle in her eyes, as she remembered the memories of playing baseball with Liebgott.
"Joe, how'd ya know the dame?" Luz asked with curiosity, voicing the same thoughts of all the men.
"The dame has a name, it's Eliza and I knew this idiot when we were young. We used to play baseball together with kids in our neighborhood," Her statement had peaked the interest of the men, while Joe shot Eliza a glare.
Eliza befriended Joe when she asked to join his team to play baseball. However, he immediately refused since girls didn't play baseball. Her father came up to Joe and asked to give her a chance. Joe being a child, didn't want to get in trouble so he reluctantly allowed Eliza to join. When it was her time to bat, she scored a home run, which helped his team win. From that moment, he always picked Eliza since she was a great batter. However, when her mother died, Eliza rarely came to the park until she never came at all. Liebgott was curious to why Eliza stopped playing, tried to visit her. However, Eliza had moved out of the apartment she had lived since her father couldn't afford it anymore. Unfortunately, Liebgott never had a chance to say goodbye.
From the way she answered, the men knew Eliza wasn't like any gal they've met. However, the men thought it wouldn't be worth to know Eliza since she would quit from merely rigorous training. But in the few months to come, the men of Easy Company would be very wrong.
With the men gone, Eliza decided to quickly change out of her uniform to PT gear. While she was taking off her blouse, Winters decided to check if the men were ready and heading to formation. In a split second, Winters saw Eliza in an ivory camise. The mere sight of Eliza caused Winters's face to turn beet red. Eliza immediately put on a shirt with a flushed face.
"I apologize, Private Clark, I was just checking the cabins to see if the men were done changing." Winters stumbling due to embarrassment.
"It's okay Lieutenant Winters, I should've been more careful," respond Eliza.
From this incident, Eliza decided that she should create a screen from the curtains of her window. With a nod, Winters left Eliza to finish changing her clothes and both soldiers went to Currahee.
Eliza's first time running Currahee was horrendous because some of the men in her company insulted and pushed her. To ignore the harassment, Eliza paid attention to her breathing and sound of her foot pounding on the pavement as she took a step, helping her keep up with the men. However, it wasn't good enough for Lieutenant Sobel who shouted at her to speed up.
"Private, hurry it up. I don't know why they let you in the military when you can't even keep up."
Eliza wanted to shout back in anger but continued to focus on her breathing since she didn't want to be discharged.
Liebgott shot her a concerned look since Eliza was one of his best friends growing up. As it was her dream to be a nurse just like her mother, Eliza always tended to Liegott's wounds when he got injured playing baseball or in fights with other kids. It was now his turn to help her. From his concern, Eliza smiled to tell him that she was alright.
Days went by and nothing changed. The men continued to ignore her, except for Liebgott and the Second Lieutenants. Liebgott even tried talking to the guys that Eliza was a fine medic, however, his words weren't enough. Furthermore, Eliza faced verbal harassment from Sobel and other soldiers who didn't accept females in the military. It was getting hard to continue, which was why most of the women left including Alice, but Eliza was determined to stay.
While running a course on Currahee, a soldier decided to trip her by sticking his foot out. Eliza was focused on running that she didn't notice and tripped. On the ground, Eliza's face was unnoticeable since it was covered from the strands of hair, although it was clear that she couldn't take it anymore. As she kept her head down, Eliza saw that a shadow towering over her, and when she looked up, Eliza saw Winters with his hand reaching out towards her.
"I know you want to quit, but quitting would only prove that Lieutenant Sobel was right," Winters stated with a small smile.
"Thank you," replied Eliza; thanking him for not only helping her stand but for the words that helped her keep going.
Eliza ignored her injured knee and kept running, finishing Currahee with a limp. The men knew that she fell, but the fact she stood up and ran with an injury conveyed that she was here to stay. Soon, Easy Company accepted Eliza Clark as one of their own.
Roe looked at his side and saw that Eliza wasn't paying attention, so he decided to poke her shoulder.
"Are ya sure you're okay?" Roe whispered since they were in the middle of a lecture.
"Yeah, just tired from all of the running we did earlier," Eliza replied with a smile.
Roe smiled back and continue to pay attention to the lecture. He thought of Eliza as one of his friends. Hell, every man of Easy thought the same, except for a certain Lieutenant. Even though he kept a distance from the men, it was difficult not to befriend Eliza with her selfless and caring personality. There were times when he needed more information about medical terms or procedures, and Eliza was always there to help him even if she was tired from training. And for that, Roe would always be grateful to Eliza. When the lecture ended, Roe left with Eliza and Spina for more physical training, which the trio dreaded.
After a hard day of training and lectures, Easy Company was ordered by Sobel to march in formation with their uniform and equipment on, in the dark of night. In formation, Eliza was stationed between Randleman and Luz.
"I'm gonna say something," expressed Randleman in the midst of the sounds of their footsteps.
"To who?" Luz questioned, while Eliza gave him a curious look. However, Randleman knowingly looked back at her.
"Lieutenant Winters," exclaimed Randleman, satisfying Eliza's and Luz's curiosity.
"What is it?" Lieutenant Winters responded, looking back at his soldier.
"Permission to speak, sir."
"Permission granted."
"Sir, we've got nine companies, sir."
"We do."
"How come we're the only company marching every Friday night, 12 miles, full-packed uniform, in the pitch dark?" questioned Randleman, which Eliza nodded her head in agreement.
"Why do you think, Private Randleman?"
"Lieutenant Sobel hates us, sir." At Randleman's answer, Eliza smiled.
"Lieutenant Sobel does not hate Easy Company, Private Randleman. He just hates you," Winters joked, which was rare for the Lieutenant who did everything by the book.
At his joke, the men snickered, including Eliza.
"Thank you, sir," Randleman responded with a straight face, but it was clear from Eliza's view that he also found Winters's answer to be amusing.
"He hates him back," Muck shouted at the back.
"He hates you, too, Muck. But he hates Eliza the most," Luz replied with a laugh.
"No shit Luz," Eliza answered, playfully hitting Luz's shoulder for stating the obvious.
At the end of the march, Easy Company stopped in formation and waited for the Lieutenant's order.
"Lieutenant Winters, I want canteens out of belts with the caps unscrewed," Sobel stated while inspecting the men as they stood in formation, exhausted and miserable.
"Easy Company, canteens out and open," Winters reiterated Sobel's order to the company.
"On my command, they will pour the contents onto the ground."
"Under CO's order, you will open your canteen."
"Now, Lieutenant."
"Pour them!"
The men poured their canteens, emptying the beloved water that would satisfy their thirst. Meanwhile, Eliza prayed that none of the men didn't drink from their canteens to avoid the Lieutenant's wrath. From a distance, she saw the stream of Pat Christenson's canteen ending earlier than the rest of them. Now, she prayed that Sobel wouldn't notice. However, tonight her prayers wouldn't be answered.
"Who is this!" Sobel shouted, stomping to the private.
"Christenson! Why is there no water in your canteen? You drank from your canteen, didn't you?" Sobel questioned with disdain.
"Sir, I-" Christenson began to defend himself, however, he was cut off by Eliza.
"Sir, Private Christenson was only looking out for himself. As a nurse and medic for Easy Company, I recommended Private Christenson to drink from his canteen since he was dehydrated. If there is anyone to be at fault for his action, it would be me," Eliza stated with a clear voice, she wasn't going let Sobel punish a man who drank water since he was dehydrated.
"Lieutenant Winters!" Sobel shouted, ignoring Eliza's statement.
"Yes, sir?"
"Was this man ordered to not drink from his canteen during the Friday night march?"
"He was, sir."
"Private Christenson, you have disobeyed a direct order. You will fill your canteen and repeat all 12 miles of the march immediately! And Private, since you ordered him to drink from his canteen, you will be doing the same," Sobel shouted at their faces.
"Yes sir," responded Christenson and Eliza, at the same time.
"Fall out!" With that order, Eliza and Christenson ran to fulfill Sobel's order. However, she saw that Sobel went to speak with Winters and from the looks of it, Eliza knew that Sobel was blaming Winters for their actions, especially hers.
Before they were to start the march, Christenson decided to ask why Eliza defended him, even though he knew for sure that Eliza didn't notice him drinking from his canteen.
"Hey Eliza, why'd you tell Sobel it was your fault?"
"Because you shouldn't punish a man who was only looking out for himself. Plus it was fun to piss him off."
"You're something else, Stardust."
"Of course Pat, now let's get this shit over."
At the end of the trail, Winters stood waiting, since he had to verify that Eliza and Christenson finished the march and emptied their canteens. When both soldiers did what they were required to do, Winters dismissed them. However, Eliza didn't move and Winters knew she had something to say.
"What is it, Eliza?"
"Did Sobel blame you for not having Private Christenson and I follow protocol?" Eliza asked with worry.
"No, he just asked me to give six men infractions and disciplinary recommendations," responded Winters.
"I can be one of the men, it was my fault anyway," Eliza immediately stated.
"No, you already had to march again with Private Christenson. I knew you didn't recommend him to drink from his canteen since you weren't stationed near him."
Winters knew how selfless Eliza was, it wasn't a surprise she defended Christenson. However, Winters was worried since Eliza looked like she was to collapse from exhaustion. At his response, Eliza gave him a pointed look since he was ignoring her request.
"Don't worry, Eliza. I decided on McDonald, Toye, Perconte, Lipton, Muck, and Guarnere. It's their turn for latrine duty anyway," Winters reasoned.
"Fine."
Eliza gave up since she was extremely tired and so Winters told her to get some rest. However, the night sky was so beautiful that sleep would have to wait. So Eliza sat on a nearby rock, took off her helmet and let her hair freely flow. Winters noticed that she wasn't moving, so he questioned her.
"Eliza, you need to rest. You can look at the stars at another night, they're not going away," Winters stated as he smiled at her, she smiled back.
"It's just really pretty. Since I got here, I never had the chance to admire it. You don't get to see the stars from San Francisco because of the bright city lights."
So Winters sat next to Eliza, who was attentively looking at the stars. However, the beauty of the stars didn't compare to the woman sitting next to him. The light from the moon and stars gave a glow to her face, which was framed with her soft brown hair, slightly tousled from the wind blowing. While her green eyes twinkled among the stars as she gazed into the night sky. The sight of her almost left him breathless because it was perfect.
*Edited on May 23, 2018.