Hey guys! So...I'm still alive. I'm sorry for going off schedule, not updating last week and only posting something now. University and just life in general have gotten in the way. I haven't had much time to write because of all the other stuff I have to do (bachelor thesis, aaaaah!), but hopefully, I can get some writing done this weekend. Let's just hope my muse agrees...
Anyways, thank you all for your patience, for your reviews and just for reading this story. I hope you like this chapter :) And as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas for the story, let me know.
Luz grinned gleefully as Louise joined their little group where they were lounging in the sun, eating a wonderful hot meal that actually tasted halfway decent. The blonde's OD shirt was open, flapping in the light breeze and revealing a slightly less grimy T-shirt underneath. Bandages peeked out from underneath the collar and bunched under the blood stains on the front of the shoulder.
"They let you go then?", he teased.
She smiled at him, balancing a plate of food in her right hand as she sat down. "Yes", she responded, shifting to get comfortable without spilling anything. "It's all healing nicely and the bandages should come off in a week or so."
The men expressed their relief, mostly through nods, smiles or the occasional "That's good".
Bull, who sat on her other side, offered: "Glad to hear that. Shoulder injuries can be tricky."
"Yeah, so I've heard", Louise chortled, shovelling a bite of her meal into her mouth and sighing blissfully as she chewed.
Exhausted as they all were, there wasn't the usual level of rambunctious talk and loud merrymaking going on. Instead, everyone was just content to sit around, eat and let conversation flow at a trickle, a comment here and a joke there.
All too soon, their plates were empty and a different form of tiredness encompassed them. Heaving themselves to their feet – and sometimes helping each other – the group returned their dishes and then made their way towards the tents where Easy was bunked. Although they all wanted a shower, sleep had replaced food at the top of their priority list. And so they simply toppled onto the nearest free bunk, most of them asleep before their heads hit the pillows.
Morning found Theresa waking up more refreshed than she could remember being in a long time. She sat up and took a moment to just stretch, stifling a groan as vertebrae and joints popped and several aching muscles made themselves known. Judging by the dim, greyish light filtering in underneath the tent walls, it was still quite early.
Running a hand through her hair, Theresa pulled a face. Breakfast could wait. First, she needed a shower.
On her way to the showers, she ran into Esther Bowman from Dog Company.
"Morning", the other woman greeted. "Gonna get cleaned up?"
"Yeah. My uniform could probably stand on it's own, it's so dirty", Theresa replied, wrinkling her nose.
Esther laughed. "Mine too. I can't wait to get rid of all the mud and grime. And I think I still have pieces of brick wall in my hair."
They shared a look of silent commiseration, rounding the corner to the shower stalls.
"Hey, would you mind waiting for me?", Esther asked, biting her lip. "I promise I'll hurry."
"Sure, no problem. Take your time, Lord knows we gotta enjoy it whilst we can."
"True. Thanks." Esther smiled and slipped into the shower after checking that it was indeed empty.
.
Not five minutes later, Theresa was joined by Frances and a sleep-rumpled Audrey Maynard. The two women, who had fought together on D-Day, got along splendidly due to their similar easy-going natures.
"Good morning, Reese", Frances said, smiling brightly like the sun rising on the horizon.
Audrey mumbled something along the same lines, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Hi", Theresa replied, returning the smile. "Esther's already inside, so if you want to join her, I'll stand guard."
"Don't be silly", Frances waved off cheerfully, "go on, you two, I'll wait."
She wouldn't hear any of Theresa's protests and practically pushed the two women into the shower. "Hey Esther!", she called upon opening the door. "Don't worry, it's just Theresa and Audrey. I'll play lookout outside!"
The woman's melodious laughter wafted through the pattering of the shower as she called back: "Thanks for the heads up, Frances!"
.
To an outsider, it might have looked as if the women had planned it, but it really was pure coincidence. Esther had just finished and was getting settled outside to guard the showers when Ana María showed up.
"You can go in", Esther told her, running her comb through her wet hair in an effort to detangle the tight curls. "Theresa, Audrey and Frances are inside."
The Puerto Rican smiled, her white teeth gleaming in contrast to her dirt-smudged face, and thanked her before entering.
Esther chuckled to herself as she heard her announce her presence and the other women respond.
.
"Hi, Esther."
"Good morning, Esther."
She looked up and answered: "Morning Jessica, Maxine." Before she could tell them what she had already told Ana María a scant few minutes ago, the door to the showers opened and Audrey stepped outside, looking much more awake.
"G'morning", the New Zealander said, "go ahead, we'll stay here."
They didn't need to be told twice, both just as eager as the rest of them to enjoy the luxury of a nice, warm shower.
Audrey sat down and set about braiding her dark hair into a neat plait. "So", she asked, "who's left?"
Esther counted on her fingers, tallying up the women. "Only Louise, Mia and Catherine", she concluded.
.
She had to amend her headcount seventeen seconds later when they spotted Louise coming their way. The blonde sniper wished them a good morning and thanked them for standing guard before quickly heading into the showers, saying hello to Theresa and Frances who passed her on their way out.
"That leaves the two medics", Audrey stated.
"To do what?", Frances inquired, stretching with a happy groan while Theresa shook water out of her ears.
"To shower", the woman from Fox Company explained. "The rest of us ladies is here."
Mentally counting heads, Theresa agreed. "Hm, I haven't seen them since yesterday", she frowned.
Frances scratched her nose. "Come to think of it, me neither."
None of Easy's women had seen the two medics in the tents or anywhere else around camp.
"I don't think they've left the infirmary tents", Theresa ventured. "Because I haven't seen Roe or Pepping either."
Jessica clicked her tongue. "Well, let's go grab some food", she suggested. "Then we can worry about everything else."
Arriving at the mess tent, Audrey and Esther joined their friends from their respective companies. The rest of the women went to get breakfast, then looked for a free table where they could sit.
"Ah", Louise made, motioning towards the back of the large room with a jerk of her chin. "There they are."
Easy's combat medics were all slumped at a table, exhaustion etched into their forms to varying degrees.
Catherine yawned every few seconds and was obviously struggling to keep her eyes open as she ate with a single-minded focus. Roe had his head propped up on his hand and was pushing his food around on the plate. Pepping seemed the most awake of the group, but only by little. His movements were mechanical and lacklustre, his eyelids on half-mast, and Mia was clutching a cup of coffee in her hands, staring absently into the black beverage, her short hair even messier than usual.
Their consciousness blanketed in hazy, soft nothingness, they were content to just sit there and enjoy the quiet, not bothering to try and force too many thoughts to slowly, sluggishly make their way through the molasses of their over-tired minds.
.
"My my, ain't you the life of the party."
If they'd had the energy, the four medics would have rolled their eyes or groaned at the mention of just how wiped out they felt. Catherine flicked dark-ringed eyes up to see Jessica grinning at them, the rest of the women behind them wearing expressions ranging from amusement to concern.
"Like you'd look much better", Pepping grumbled.
The women laughed and claimed the free seats around them.
"Well, you aren't exactly a lively bunch, are you?", Luz proclaimed exactly twenty seconds later, sitting down in a clatter of cutlery, several of their friends following suit.
This time, two of the medics actually found the energy to groan. Pepping buried his head in his arms. George Luz' buoyant personality was just too much in the morning, especially when they hadn't slept a wink since getting off the trucks. Add that to the general lack of sleep they were suffering from after nearly a month in the field and so much cheer and energy was simply unnerving.
Maxine regarded the bone-weary medics critically before suggesting: "You should hit the hay when you're finished. You can surely use the rest."
"Mhm", Catherine hummed, making no move to stand up despite having cleared her plate.
Mia mumbled something under her breath that had Liebgott spluttering as coffee shot up his nose from laughing too hard. A tiny, drowsy smile ghosted across her face.
.
It took another ten minutes for the medics to scrape up enough energy to pull themselves to their feet, dispose of their dishes and shuffle off to bed. The regular soldiers watched them go before they looked at each other and simply nodded in an unspoken agreement. Their Docs were real troopers, in every sense of the word.
Even with the very valid and enticing option of sacking out and letting others do their work, they had stayed and helped patch up the countless wounded, sacrificing their own well-deserved, desperately needed rest.
And when Catherine and Mia approached Malarkey, Muck and Penkala six hours later, the former asking if one of them would mind standing guard in front of the showers to make sure nobody else walked in, the trio didn't hesitate for even a second.
"Anything for you guys", Malarkey said with a sincere smile.
Skip nodded and declared: "Anything for our medicos" while Penkala said: "That's right."