Hello my dear readers!
As usual, a big thank you goes to my amazing reviewers: BatOutOfHell-Madness (Very glad you like the interaction between Dick and Lizzie, there's much more of that to come in the following chapters!), beth-rodrigues.77 (Hehe, you'll just have to wait and see how everything turns out with Lizzie, but she'll certainly be around. And I'm so happy you like this story so much!), ChocAndSnow19 (So glad you liked the comments and the washing scene, that was pure fun for me to write, so even better when it's fun for you to read, too. Yes, Nix will be around a bit more in this chapter and he'll certainly be in the chapters to come. Thanks for that lovely review, loved it! :)), FrankieAndHerTroubledTown (Welcome to the story and thanks for the nice review. Very happy here to hear that Lizzie is likable. She's a nurse, all nurses are fierce... :-))) and indifferentshell (Hey! Hehe, yeah, their little spat might have come as a bit of a surprise, but I just like to make everything a bit more difficult for my characters... :-))) How mean of me! Yeah, Dick the control freak is a bit stressed out, you're absolutely right there. Well, that thing with him maybe losing Easy... No, I won't say anything, you'll just have to wait and see. :-))) Lizzie and him will soon be on much friendlier terms, I promise!;-)).
Enjoy Chapter five!
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"Oh dear, is it really such a bother to wash your feet once in a while?", Lizzie commented with a sigh, wrinkling her nose while carefully rolling back the sock of her newest patient, a young private with a round face and reddish blonde hair, hardly twenty years old.
"Sweetie, if I had known it would be you patching me up, I would have scrubbed them thrice every day", the private answered, wincing and grinning at her at the same time. "And I would have brought chocolate and roses."
"Thanks, but washing them once a day would've been enough for me", she replied, winking at him. The sock came off and she could see that his ankle was badly swollen. "How did this happen? You kicked someone's ass?"
"I wish. My CO's ass, that would've been great", he replied longingly, giving her a quick smile, then looking down at his foot again. "We were playing basketball. In our free-time, mind you."
"Really?", she asked, pausing and staring at him disbelievingly. "Aren't you supposed to train for war and save us all from Hitler's maniacs?"
"Yeah, that too", he answered, shrugging his shoulders while Lizzie very carefully felt his ankle. The swelling was quite bad, but she could move the joint without him howling in pain or jumping out of his skin.
"You're lucky, I don't think it's broken, just badly sprained", she finally declared, starting to wrap up the injured foot tightly. "Stay off of it for the next two weeks, then come back again and we'll see if it has healed alright."
"That's it?", the young private asked, when Lizzie tied off the ends of the bandage and started to get up. "I can go? No morphine? No kiss to make it better?"
She snorted, raising her eyebrows and giving him a long glance.
"Nothing of those, but I have something else for you", she replied, then went to one of the cupboards and came back with crutches. "Here. And I repeat, stay off that foot."
"Crutches?", he asked, looking a bit crestfallen. "Come on, I thought it would be something good."
"That's it, Private Heffron, you're free to go", she said, watching him get up awkwardly.
"Call me Babe", he supplied huskily, leaning towards her on his crutches and trying to look seductive while looking deeply into her eyes.
Lizzie could not help herself, she burst out laughing.
"Maybe after you've done some growing up", she replied, still chuckling. "Until then I want you to stay out of trouble and out of basketball games, Private Heffron."
Feeling that he had tried everything and seeing that he was not succeeding in even getting close to get her to flirt with him, Heffron shrugged his shoulders and slowly hobbled towards the exit. Lizzie looked after him, grin still in place. These boys were really bold, none of them suffering from anything close to a small ego. Just as she was about to clean the examination table that had been used, Heffron suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Oh, I almost forgot", he said, hobbling back to her. "How is Lieutenant Winters? We've hardly heard anything of him in the last few days."
Lizzie could feel her good mood evaporating at even the mentioning of Winters.
"So you're one of his?", she asked back.
"Yeah", he answered, then corrected himself, "well, I'm not in his platoon, but he's still around most of the time. Don't tell anyone I said this, but he's a really good man and a good officer."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone", she reassured him, pursing her mouth. What was it about Winters that had everyone fawning over him? Were they all blinded by all this holier-than-thou nonsense he pulled off?
"So, he's going to be fine, right?", Heffron asked again.
"Yes, he's better already and he'll recover", she answered rather curtly.
"You wouldn't know anything about when he's going to be back?", he asked hesitantly and suddenly even a bit self-consciously.
Lizzie sighed inwardly. They were a real match, Winters and his men. He could hardly wait to get out of hospital and his men in turn impatiently counted the minutes until he was back.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you", she answered him finally. It was true, she was not supposed to hand out any patient information. "But it'll be a while."
"Okay, thanks anyway", Heffron answered, giving her a last smile, then hobbling out out the hospital.
Lizzie watched him leave, then went back to work. There was not all that much to do at the moment, the whole ward presently containing only two more patients beside Winters, a dislocated shoulder that would be released tomorrow, and an early but quite severe case of flu. So she decided to put away the boxes with bandages and meds that had arrived this morning and stood in the entrance area since then.
When she walked through the patient's ward, she found her gaze inadvertently roaming to Winter's bed. The curtain was open, because he had been a bit on the bumpy side of recovery since they had removed the tubes yesterday. Lizzie had refused to go near him again and it had been young Jean, who had taken over watching him, for Betty would only return tomorrow and the remaining nurses were presently occupied in other wards or attending medical classes. Nevertheless, Lizzie had heard Jean talking about him not sleeping all that well since they had cut back on the morphine. And he slowly started to look it, Lizzie thought, when she glanced at him. His eyes were closed, but his pale and drawn face was far from relaxed, which made clear that he was not sleeping. Forcing herself to avert her eyes, Lizzie told herself that he was not her problem anymore. And if he really needed something, he could call out to her, she would never refuse treating a patient if it was needed.
She carried the first of three boxes from the entrance to the storage room and started to place in the bandages, neatly stacking them in a cupboard. Being done with that, she went back down to get the second box, again having to pass Winters on the way. He was still lying there exactly the way like before with the only exception that she could now make out a faint sheen of sweat on his face. He was in pain, that was obvious and if he were one of her altogether normal patients, she would go to him and try to help. But she was sure it would be in vain with him, he would anyway refuse any help she could give.
Still, when Lizzie went to fetch the last box, she could not hold herself back any longer, her professional aversion to suffering dictating her next move. Approaching his bed, she saw that Winters had by now pressed a hand to his face, his breathing more than just a little strained.
"Hey", she said softly, watching his bloodshot eyes crack open, "you need something?"
With all her willpower, Lizzie had managed to get it out totally neutrally. Ha, and Greta sometimes thought her too unforgiving!
"No", he answered slowly, reacting exactly in the stubborn and stuck-up way she had suspected. Jeez, one could think it would turn him into dust to admit that he felt any discomfort. "But thanks", he at least added, closing his eyes and trying to breathe more deeply, wincing to himself.
Lizzie was slowly starting to get annoyed again. What was it with this guy who somehow found all her hidden buttons and pushed them relentlessly? She knew she should probably just leave him alone, but she decided to make one last effort.
"Look", she said intently, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice, "you're not fine and I don't see who you want to impress with your heroic suffering, but it sure isn't me. You need more pain killers? Something to sleep? Just say the word and don't suffer all nobly by yourself, you'll have lots of chances to do exactly that when you actually go to war."
That came out a bit harsher than she had intended, her irritation shining through. First it seemed like he would just ignore her, then he slowly opened his eyes again.
"You said that it's time to reduce the doses of morphine", he stated reluctantly, frowning at her.
Now that surprised her a bit. Did he think that she had ordered him to be in pain?
"Yeah, I said that", she answered, now feeling a good portion of exasperation on top of her irritation. "But I didn't mean for you to just put up with the pain and stop sleeping because of it. If it doesn't work, then we'll postpone cutting back on the morphine for a few days, okay? So, you are in pain?"
He looked at her, pursing his lips, then finally admitted, "Yeah."
Alright, that was a start. He looked like the admission had cost the soul of his grandmother, but at least he had admitted it.
"You want something for it?", she asked again, this time more gently.
"No", he answered, making Lizzie want to scream in frustration, but then surprised her by adding, "But maybe you could help me sit up a bit. I think that would do some good." As an afterthought he then confessed rather self-consciously, "I couldn't do it by myself."
"Yeah, of course", she answered, releasing the pent up breath of frustration slowly. Maybe they could come up with some sort of truce, after all.
She very carefully supported his shoulders, feeling his warm and firm muscles beneath the thin hospital gown, and with his help slowly maneuvered him in a more sitting position. Her hands lingered a moment longer than necessary on his body, but he felt unexpectedly good to her touch and she was almost reluctant to let go of him.
"Better?", she asked him, maybe a tiny bit breathlessly, tearing her thoughts and hands away from his body.
He nodded, face still pinched with pain from the movement, but starting to relax in this position that seemed much more comfortable to him than lying flat on his back.
"I treated one of your men today", she found herself saying, before she even realized that she was making conversation with him, out of free will. "Private Heffron."
"Yeah?", he asked, his lips giving an almost imperceptible twitch. "He behaved, I hope?"
Lizzie could not help feeling taken aback. Was that a trace of humor or was he just displaying the attentive officer? The answer on the tip of her tongue, however, was that Heffron had behaved much better than Winters had, but that would drive him back on the barricades he had left only moments ago.
"Yes, he behaved alright", she decided to answer neutrally. "He twisted his ankle in a basketball game, but it's not too bad. He'll be back on his feet in no time at all."
"Thanks for telling me", he replied, giving her a nod.
Since he obviously made an effort to get along with her, she decided to give him some more details.
"He asked about you", she told him. "Seemed quite anxious about you staying on medical leave for a while."
He just nodded at this, his face suddenly impassive and not giving away if that meant anything to him. Lizzie then decided it was time to leave him alone. There was only so much progress they could make in one day.
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"The peritoneum was already badly inflamed when we split open your internal oblique muscle, the appendix vermiformis apparently having oozed pus for hours", Paul commented monotonously, taking a deep drag from his cigarette while keeping Winters upright and walking with his other arm. Lizzie was supporting Winters on his other side, an arm snug firmly around his hip. Paul had this morning decided that Winters needed to be up and moving to reduce the risk of him developing pneumonia or other conditions connected to being bed-ridden for a longer time.
"But there wasn't all that much left of your appendix that we could remove. Instead, bits and pieces were spread all over your peritoneum. It was quite a mess", Paul went on, very much matter-of-factly. Lizzie could see Winters struggling to keep the disgust from his face and at the same time strained to put one foot in front of the other. There was no doubt, Paul was one of the best surgeons she knew, but he had always seemed more interested in muscles and organs than in the patients as human beings. First, she had wondered what Greta saw in him, with his glasses and his thinning hair, but now that she knew him better, she came to value his friendship. There was no one else she could discuss her newest sci-fi novel with and he was quite the connoisseur when it came to classical music.
Just as Paul wanted to let Winters in on some more gory details of what he had found a week ago in his abdomen, Jean called from the emergency ward for him.
"Oh, I got to go", he remarked, disentangling himself from Winters. "Lizzie, can you bring him back to bed?"
He did not even wait for her answer, but rushed off and Lizzie was suddenly supporting a tiring Winters all by herself.
"Uff", she groaned a bit under the weight and led him a few paces forward to lean against the wall, then muttered to herself, "Yeah Paul, no problem, I take care of it."
"Sorry", Winters murmured to her, letting himself slouch against the wall. Lizzie watched him sigh softly and drag a hand across his damp brow, looking frustrated with himself. First, he had been in quite a good mood, displaying happiness at the prospect of exchanging the skimpy hospital gown for a set of long-sleeved and loose-fitting PT gear and finally being able to get up. However, his elation had slowly evaporated with the struggle of dragging his uncooperative feet forward, a pronounced limp accompanying his unsteady steps.
"You're doing fine", she tried to encourage him, although a bit hesitantly. Their truce still held, but it was a fledgling thing. She just could not figure him out and that made any approach to him difficult. At least she had given up her open refusal to treat him and as long as she stayed purely professional, they got along.
"I'm up for five minutes and my bed is not even fifty feet away, but it feels like I've run a marathon. That's not fine", he stated frowningly.
"What did you expect?", she asked, looking for a place to let him rest until he either found the strength to walk back with her support or someone came along to help her. "You were bedridden for a week and your body is only slowly overcoming the infection. It's a miracle you're already up and about, considering the shape you were in."
His blue eyes were narrowing when he looked down at her. Lizzie had been a bit surprised to see how tall he was when standing upright, she only reached up to his shoulders, which did not make her supporting of him any easier. The stormy look on his face told her enough about his mood, but he suppressed any comment that might have been on his tongue. Seemed like he valued their truce as much as Lizzie did.
When she tore her gaze away from him, she saw Winter's dark haired friend enter the patient's ward, probably coming for a visit.
"Lieutenant Nixon!", she called out, feeling Winters slipping slowly from her grasp and steadying him with her other hand as well. "Could you quickly lend me a hand, please?"
Nixon strolled over, not at all alarmed that his friend was in danger of making rather graceless contact with the hospital floor. Lizzie could even make out a lazy smile on his face, when he came closer. Just when she was sure her strength would give out, Nixon appeared on Winter's other side, relieving her of most of the weight.
"Thanks", she said rather breathlessly, slowly guiding Winters back towards his bed. "Glad you didn't decide to take a coffee break in the middle."
"Charming as always", Nixon replied, flashing her a smile. "A wonder you don't need a gun license for that sharp tongue of yours."
"A wonder you don't need a chain to keep your tongue from wagging constantly, Lieutenant Casanova", she retorted pointedly.
"Ah, you didn't forget that first day", Nixon replied, trying to look rueful, but failing miserably. "Now you probably won't ever believe what a great guy I am."
This was said with a big, lazy grin and such a conviction, that Lizzie almost could not believe his arrogance.
"Lew, leave it", Winters ground out breathlessly from in between them.
"Hey Dick", Nixon now turned his head to his friend. "I hope she isn't too tough on you." Then he added in a mock-conspirative voice to Lizzie, "You should be easy on him, female company tends to make him feel a bit uncomfortable."
Winters of course had heard him very well, his cheeks reddening slightly. It was quite endearing, when Lizzie thought of it. He was a grown man and he certainly did not lack self confidence, but his old-fashioned sense of what was proper and what not was rather endearing. When she thought on it, maybe quite a bit of their initial strife had been born from a misunderstanding. What she had first thought to be him behaving like an uptight jerk might have actually been his way of dealing with situations that had made him feel uncomfortable. And yes, she had certainly made him feel uncomfortable more than once, which must have felt for him like she was tab-dancing on his dignity.
"Nix, please, just shut up", Winters replied, giving his friend an exasperated look. Lizzie suddenly had to bite on her lips to keep herself from smiling. Old married couple came to her head when she glanced at them. It reminded her of a few days back, when she had seen Nixon keeping watch at Winters' bed. He had not been the arrogant playboy he liked so much to display in front of her. He had been worried and upset, staying at his friend's side as often as he was able to. They were close, she could see that, and it seemed to be a special friendship, considering their obvious disparity of character. There was one similarity, however, they both seemed to possess more layers than she had first thought them to have.
"Alright, here we are again", she commented as they arrived back at his bed. Winters looked more than ready to collapse onto the mattress. With Nixon's help she carefully lowered him down onto the bed. The short walk had taxed his strength already and she could see that moving around was painful for him, but she had not lied when she had said that he was greatly improved. He was recovering quickly, although he had made it clear that it was still much too slow for him.
"Would you like some water?", she asked him when he was settled in.
"Yes, please", he answered exhaustedly, a hand pressed to his right side.
"And some painkillers?", she tried carefully. They had weaned him from morphine this morning, his stomach finally tolerating water and meds again. They might even try eating by tomorrow.
"No, just water", he answered, not at all to her surprise.
She went to fetch a glass of water and when she came back, Winters and Nixon were already deep in discussion.
"... Sobel was of course pissed off, but Sink just ignored him. Jeez, Sobel really hates you, Dick", Nixon was just saying when she returned, then looked up to her from where he was sitting beside Winter's bed and remained silent.
"Go on, just pretend I don't exist", she prompted them, the revelation of someone hating Winters peaking her interest. And here she thought everyone regarded him as poster boy for everything concerning military business.
"I'm sorry, but it's better this information stays among Lieutenant Nixon and me", Winters decided, looking at her a bit apologetically. The fortress Winters was closed again.
"Lizzie!", Paul called from the emergency ward. "Could you come? I need your help."
She set down the glass of water on Winter's night-stand and went over to the emergency ward.
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"Hey, I have good news for you", Nix said as soon as Lizzie was out of earshot to fetch a glass of water. Dick was still breathless from the walking, and the sharp throbbing in his side had yet to abate. "They were discussing the outcome of your maneuver today, Sink, Horton and Sobel. They were quite impressed with your excellent results... well, not Sobel, but Sink and Horton. And here it comes: they will accredit the exercise as a success, you won't have to repeat it. They argued that it was nowhere stated clearly that the utilization of motor vehicles in the course of the maneuver is forbidden, and they felt that despite you returning early, you deserve the accreditation, with all the effort you put into it to see it through successfully. Sobel was of course pissed off, but Sink just ignored him. Jeez, Sobel really hates you, Dick."
Lizzie came back and Nix stopped talking for which Dick was grateful. They were discussing internal matters that were not meant to be overheard by anyone else. Dick noticed the curious look she gave him.
"Go on, just pretend I don't exist", she said, looking eager to hear more about it.
"I'm sorry, but it's better this information stays among Nixon and me", Dick replied, trying to make it sound neither as a reprimand, nor as a vote of distrust. However, he did not miss the look of something akin to... disappointment?... on her face. Before he had a chance to say anything else, she was called away by the doctor.
Nix glanced after her, then to Dick, but stayed silent, shrugging his shoulders to himself.
"Lew?", Dick asked after a short silence. "Do you think you could smuggle in some paperwork for me? There's still the report I have to write for the maneuver and maybe I can get a head start on the theory classes."
"You sure you're up to that?", Nix inquired doubtfully. "I don't think you're supposed to do any work just yet. You should focus on resting and getting better."
"I am resting, I haven't done anything else for the past seven days", Dick answered impatiently. Who would have thought that his friend was actually a mother hen, somewhere deep down? "And I am getting better. But there is just nothing to do around here."
"That's the whole point of resting", Nix put in sarcastically, lighting himself a cigarette. "If you're getting bored, I could smuggle in a less strenuous lecture, maybe some... magazines, you know."
The gleam in his friend's eyes told Dick exactly what kind of magazines Nix was thinking of.
"No, Nix", he answered long-sufferingly. "Keep the magazines to yourself, all I'm asking of you is to bring me some paperwork. It'll be enough when I can look at it for an hour or two a day, I won't overdo it. I don't want to lag behind more than I absolutely have to."
"I'll see what I can do", Nix finally promised, then added with a wink, "At least assuming I'm brave enough to defy that barb-tongued nurse of yours. She is quite protective of you."
"Lizzie?", Dick asked disbelievingly. "Oh no, you're wrong there, she can't stand me. But it's not her fault, I think I was a bit too harsh on her."
"Well, let's just say that she was always swarming around you in the first 24 hours of your stay", Nix told him, giving Dick a meaningful look.
"Yeah, that's probably because she is a nurse and I was quite sick", Dick supplied ironically.
"No, it's more than that", Nix replied, not letting himself be dissuaded from his point of view.
"Look", Dick tried to explain, "whatever kind-hearted feelings there might have been – and I don't say there have ever been any in the first place – they aren't there anymore. I was unfair and irritated, and she was maybe a bit too openmouthed. We settled it in a nonaggression pact, but that's as far as it goes."
"We'll see", Nix just commented, prompting Dick to shake his head in exasperation. He really regretted the bad turn his relationship with Lizzie had taken, most of all seeing that she had been hurt by his comment. Her tongue was sharp, without a doubt, but he had to confess that he had been wrong when thinking her uncaring. In the last few days she had made an effort to be kind to him and he felt bad about chastising her, she was not one of his soldiers after all. He could not even pinpoint what exactly had set off his reprimand, probably just the frustrating situation he had found himself in. However, she seemed to be a good nurse, very dedicated to what she was doing, and he highly respected the effort she put into her work. It was her hands, really, they were so devoted to relieve pain and give comfort. It was a bit strange, Dick had never given so much thought about something like hands before.
"Hey, are you still there?", Nix asked, waving a hand in front of his eyes.
"Yeah, where else should I be?", Dick replied quickly, forcefully tearing his thoughts back to the present.
"You looked a bit zoned out", his friend remarked. "Hey, would you feel comfortable with Lipton, Roe and Guarnere visiting you? They asked me this morning about it."
"Guarnere wants to visit me?", Dick asked disbelievingly. "Shames must be really hard on them."
"You have no idea", Nix replied, smiling wryly. "All I hear from the boys is how good the times were when you were with them. You get the impression that it has been years ago, not just a week. Wait another week and your memory will have become legend."
Although this was said jokingly, Dick could not help the twinge of concern he suddenly felt. He needed to be back with his men, his long leave was doing them no good at all. Hopefully Shames would not bring down all his work with the men, ruining their trust in their superiors and damaging the team spirit that defined Easy Company. All of a sudden he realized that it was vital that he upheld his ties with the Easy men during his recovery, he must not risk their connection breaking off.
"Tell them it's absolutely fine if they want to come for a visit", Dick replied emphatically. "I'm looking forward to it. And tell them that I'll be back as soon as I can."
"You had me tell them that already, remember?", Nix remarked, looking at him thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I know, but tell them again", Dick insisted.
"Okay, I will", his friend promised and got up. "And I'll bring you some of your much loved paperwork tomorrow."
"Thanks, Lew", Dick replied and watched Nix wave a hand, then leave the ward.
All of the afternoon, Dick mulled over in his head his situation with Easy Company. He tried to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes he saw Shames bellowing at his men, the picture making him toss restlessly in bed. Sighing, he gave up, staring at the ceiling. Why had he not listened to Roe? This was all his fault, there was no one else to blame. If only there was a possibility to change the past, he would be back with his men already, instead of lounging around worthlessly.
If only he could do something, staying still for so long made him more than just slightly restless. There was nothing to read anywhere in reach, he would have been desperate enough to devour a telephone book, if only it would have helped him keep his mind from circling about the same bleak thoughts endlessly. A kingdom for that paperwork Nix had promised him! This would also have had the nice side effect of making him feel slightly less useless.
In the evening it was Jean who took care of him and settled him in for the night. She was a very young girl, maybe eighteen or nineteen years old, and so small that Dick was always remembered of a child when he saw her. Her demeanor and appearance had something mousy to itself, she seemed hesitant about everything she did, hardly speaking a word more than necessary. Dick suspected that she was very new to the medical profession and he frankly could not picture her in the chaos that would be this ward in a few months. But there was no doubt that she was kind-hearted and after she had changed his bandage, he could not even bring himself to refuse the painkillers, because he was a bit worried about her breaking into tears if he did.
At least the painkillers helped him sleep for two or three hours, but when he woke up again, it was not even midnight. With some awkward twisting and stemming of his arms he managed to sit up a bit in bed, although his abdomen was complaining heavily against it. He would have never guessed until now that almost all movements of his body required at least some participation of his stomach muscles and that it was really hard to sit up without using them.
It was all dark in the ward, so he decided to switch on the light on his night-stand. He was not in the mood for staring into the dark for hours at an end, if he could not sleep, then he at least wanted some light. For a moment he played with the thought of getting up, because he was sure some walking would help to quiet down his mind, but then decided against it. This day had shown him in what bad physical shape he still was and he was not at all sure he would be fit enough to heave himself on his feet, let alone move around on his own. And the prospect of Lizzie having to pick him up from the floor, if he did not make it back, was less than thrilling.
The thought of her somehow seemed to draw her near, because the curtain was opened and a bleary-eyed Lizzie stepped up to his bed.
"Hey", she said, suppressing a yawn, "you can't sleep?"
She looked like she had just woken up. Her appearance, dark hair sticking in every direction and lids drooping, all of a sudden brought a smile onto Dick's face. She looked downright adorable, all that was missing was a teddy bear in one hand and a blanket in the other. He felt his mood immediately lifting at the sight, his worries pushed to the back of his mind.
"Yeah", he answered lightly, struggling for a straight face. "You on the other hand seem quite ready to sleep where you stand."
She rubbed her eyes, then suddenly took a double look at him, eyeing him suspiciously.
"You're quite cheery for an insomniac with a fresh eight-inch-scar on his belly", she remarked cautiously, a faint smile breaking through. "To explain myself, I have a 12-hour-shift behind me and am now required to do the nightshift as well. Not everyone of us can lounge around all day in bed."
Dick deemed it safe enough to return her smile. He had not seen that smile on her face since the night of his first stay. Had she not been his guardian angel then? He vaguely remembered feeling so glad to see her, she had helped him so much that night, her smile promising that everything was going to be fine. And it was a beautiful smile, brightening her whole face and making her eyes dance merrily.
"Hey", she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows in mock-surprise, "who would have guessed that? You can actually smile!"
Her tone of teasing was gentle and Dick suddenly was not so sure anymore why he had reacted in such a touchy manner to her banter beforehand. She obviously meant no harm.
"I deserved that, huh?", he replied somewhere between rueful and wry. "I know I've been harsh on you and I apologize for it. Your work is very much appreciated, by everyone, and I never wanted to question that."
The look of bafflement on her face made him smile again.
"Well... I accept your apology, of course, but I don't think it was needed", she slowly replied, still eyeing him closely. "You know, I realize we somehow got off on the wrong foot. And I'm also sorry for... I don't know... being obnoxious, I guess."
"No offence taken", he replied immediately, then stretched out a hand. "Let's just start this anew. I'm Dick."
"Well, I'm still Lizzie", she answered grinningly, but shook his hand all the same. "Pleasure to meet you, First Lieutenant Dick."
He groaned at that, but her peal of laughter made his heart beat slightly faster.
"You won't let me live this down, will you?", he asked her, rolling his eyes, but all the while smiling. "Let's just say as a condition of our fresh start, you won't mention it again."
She made a show of scratching her chin in thought, then finally nodded.
"Alright, I'll do my best to forget", Lizzie promised, eyes twinkling.
The short silence that followed was more relaxed than ever before. Dick saw that she had dimples when she gave him another smile, he had never noticed that until now. She tried to pat down her hair into something at least closely resembling a hairstyle, then with a sigh dropped into the visitor's chair, propping her feet up on his bed.
"So", she said slowly, "what are we going to do with you if you can't sleep? I have this hunch that you won't accept any meds that would help with it."
"Yeah, I don't like them", he explained, feeling slightly self-conscious when he admitted, "They make me feel all woozy, for hours on an end. And they burn in my stomach."
"Oh", she answered, demeanor turning more serious. "I didn't know that. But yes, that's to be expected, your stomach is still getting used to functioning again. It'll be better soon."
"It's no problem", Dick quickly reassured her, not intending to worry her or make the slight discomfort more important than it was. "I just like to do without them, whenever possible. Makes me feel more like myself again."
Lizzie just nodded, resting her head on the back of the chair and staring tiredly into space.
"You don't have to stay up with me, I'm fine", he told her, feeling bad he kept her awake and at his side, since she seemed too dutiful to just leave him alone to find his own rest. "You seem to have a stressful day behind you and as you pointed out, you won't be the one lounging in bed tomorrow."
"I don't mind staying up with you for a little while", she replied, then hid a yawn. "But you're right, it was a stressful day. Some idiots from a ranger battalion crashed their car. Drove into a ditch, don't ask me how they did that. All four of them are injured, a sergeant and three privates. It's not that bad, just a few broken bones and some bruises, but judging from their moaning, you could get the impression they were about to die. I was hurrying back and forth between them all day."
"Yes, I know, whiny soldiers can get on your nerves quite fast", he replied sympathetically, thinking back to all the complaints he had heard from his men when they had to get up early. Thinking of Easy brought a fond smile to his face.
"Although the stoic kind can give you a hard time, too", she said meaningfully, sobering him up instantly. Of course, he should have seen that one coming.
"Look, I already apologized", he answered, giving her a long look.
"I know. I should stop teasing you", Lizzie said, suddenly opting for an earnest tone and shrugging her shoulders. "It's a habit of mine, the teasing. I found that this works best for my patients, they don't want to talk all day about the shitty condition they're in. But then, it doesn't work with you. You're an exception, you know."
Dick found himself looking at her intently. Now that she was serious, for once neither teasing nor holding a grudge, she looked quite small and vulnerable. And somehow very young and delicate. He noticed the shadows under her eyes and the long worry lines on her forehead. She had seemed so lively and cheerful at first sight, as if there was not one worry in her life, but Dick guessed that it was more a rehearsed role she played for her patients than her actual persona. Her job was a very tough one, and he had been wrong when he had thought her naive about them going to war and what it meant for all of them. She knew it only too well and she had already started raising her shields to not let just anything come close to her. Good, that was probably the only way to get through this madness of pain and blood mentally sane.
"It's fine", he found himself replying and really meant it. "You don't have to be different around me."
She gave him an odd look under her thick lashes, then one of her white hands started playing with a dark strand of hair that always fell back in her face. She remained silent, seemingly absorbed by her hair, and if Dick had not known better, he would have said that she looked all of a sudden uneasy. Then she seemed to realize that the silence had stretched slightly too long and cleared her throat, pushing her hair out of her face.
"Well", she said, mask and smile firmly back in place. "What are we going to do? Shall I read a bedtime story to you?"
"A bedtime story?", he asked skeptically, but feeling the tug of a smile on his lips again. "Don't you think I'm too old for that?"
"No, you're never too old for a good bedtime story", she replied cheerily, then got up from her chair. "I'll be right back. Don't go away."
"As if I could", he answered quietly, shaking his head to himself, but she probably had not heard him. She was only gone for a minute or two, then came back with a magazine in her hand.
"Do you like horror and science fiction?", Lizzie asked, a big grin on her face, while showing him the cover of the magazine. There was some half-naked caveman on it, riding on an elephant while shooting at a saber-toothed tiger. 'Weird Tales' was written in big letters and the magazine looked old and very well-thumbed.
"I'm not sure that's really to my taste", he answered slowly, watching her for a reaction, still hoping she was only joking. "And how will hearing a horror story contribute to me sleeping more soundly?"
"Come on, give it a chance, the tales are fun. And if you have nightmares, blame it on me", she said cheerily, sitting down on the chair again and looking much more awake than some minutes ago. "I'll read something to you from H. P. Lovecraft."
"Okay", he relented slowly, obviously not having any choice. At least the view of Lizzie excited like a little girl on her birthday party made up for whatever nonsense she was going to read to him. And it would take off his mind of his more worrying thoughts. Everything was better than going back to brooding.
"It's called 'The Whisperer in Darkness'", she announced dramatically, her sparkling eyes wide open. Her big, dimpled smile was so infectious that Dick just had to smile along with her. She cleared her throat loudly, just for effect, then started reading.
"Bear in mind closely that I did not see any actual visual horror at the end. To say that a mental shock was the cause of what I inferred—that last straw which sent me racing out of the lonely Akeley farmhouse and through the wild domed hills of Vermont in a commandeered motor at night—is to ignore the plainest facts of my final experience. Notwithstanding the deep..."
While she read the story out loud to him, Dick found himself more interested in watching her than actually following the plot. It was something about aliens, looking like giant lobsters and dogs getting killed in the middle of the night, he really did not listen all that closely. Her hands were intriguing, how they held the magazine, and he also found himself liking to hear her talking. She modulated her voice dramatically with the story, and the way her face scrunched up when things got tense told him enough about her fascination with these stories. Every once in a while she lifted her brown eyes to meet his, maybe only checking if he was still listening. But as the story progressed and became more suspenseful, she fully dove into the tale, probably not even realizing he was there anymore. Her voice had a mesmerizing quality to itself, being rather deep for a woman's voice and slightly husky, and he found himself closing his eyes to listen to it more intently. She recounted something about brains going to space and other strange things...
Something nudging his leg made him snap up his head. He opened his eyes and was met with a frowning Lizzie, the magazine closed on her lap.
"You fell asleep", she stated accusingly.
"Wasn't that the whole point of it?", he asked with a yawn, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah... well... yeah", she reluctantly acknowledged. "But it's a horror story! You can't just sleep through a horror story. And you missed the ending."
"It was something about brains flying into space", he told her, giving her a wry smile that she tentatively returned.
"Alright, I give up", she finally declared, throwing up her hands and getting up. "Great, now I'm all riled up and probably won't be able to sleep for hours."
Dick only chuckled at her antics, then slowly maneuvered himself back down to lie on his back. At least he was sure he could sleep now, stifling another yawn.
"Good night, Lizzie", he softly called out to her.
"Good night, Dick", she replied, giving him a last smile before closing the curtain.
-tbc-