21st December 1944, Bastogne
The Bois Jacques at this time of year was like a verse from a Christmas carol. A veritable winter wonderland. Majestic trees decorated with crystal like icicles stood proudly upon a thick blanket of pure white snow, where they had stood for hundreds of years, their roots firmly grounded into the earth that sustained them through every season. The freezing cold gave an exaggerated performance as Jack Frost, biting at fingers and toes until they were so cold that they were numb. In between the dancing snowdrops falling to the ground there was the fog that cast an eerie feeling in the air.
It was early morning when Evelyn found her way to battalion CP where Winters and Nixon were sitting pouring over a map and the smell of coffee lingered in the frigid air. They looked up when they heard her approach, and Winters greeted her with a small smile. He was positively shaking and his teeth were chattering as he struggled to brace himself against the cold. He was completely clean shaven unlike his shabby looking counterpart. In fact, unlike the rest of all the men. She supposed that as their leader, Winters wanted to set a good example. But it still made Evelyn chuckle to think of him diligently shaving every last hair from his face in the middle of a forest that was constantly under attack from German shelling, and where the presentation of one's uniform and personal cleanliness was the least of anyone's worries. Judging by how cold he looked right now, it was a miracle that he hadn't managed to do himself a serious injury with his shaking hands in possession of such a sharp blade so close to the skin.
Evelyn was actually rather jealous of the men and their ability to grow facial hair because at least they would have something with which to keep their faces warm. When she had mentioned this to Malarkey, who was already sporting an auburn fuzz on his face, he had told her that his next door neighbour was an elderly woman who actually had quite a decent beard forming herself and that maybe Evelyn would be able to grow one eventually when she was that age. But, as she had pointed out, she hopefully would no longer be in the middle of freezing cold Europe where she would need a beard or particularly want one. Nonetheless, she thanked Malarkey for his positive outlook on her situation.
"Miss Guarnere, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company on this lovely morning?" Nixon grinned, knowing that his use of her title instead of her rank irritated her terribly. As predicted she narrowed her eyes at him and scowled.
"I ain't sure what's lovely about it," she muttered, taking the steaming hot cup that Winters was holding out to her. She blew on it gently before taking a sip.
"Joyful mood as ever I see," Nixon raised his eyebrows. "You manage to make your brother look about as happy as a children's entertainer."
"One day Nix, she'll hit you and I'll pretend I didn't see anything," Winters said with a small smirk when Nixon's remark was rewarded with the famous Guarnere glare. "Now, what can we do for you Evelyn? How are the men?"
"They're as well as they can be, Sir," she answered, sighing contentedly as the coffee warmed her stomach. "They're in remarkably good spirits for now. But we do have a big problem. I've come because we're seriously lacking medical supplies. Doc's headed out to third battalion now and I'm gonna look for Dog and Fox this afternoon to see what they can spare. But between the three of us we literally have four syrettes of morphine, five or six bandages, no plasma and no sulfa. We've scrounged as much as we can from the men but most of them had nothing or we've used what little they've been able to give us."
Medical supplies weren't the only thing Easy was lacking. They had no winter clothing, very little ammunition, and only a little more in the way of food. The situation was rather dire, but they were all trying to make the best of the terrible situation they had been put in.
"I'll see what I can do," Winters pursed his lips. "I've tried my best to get whatever I can but at the moment, we're completely surrounded and there's no way in or out of Bastogne. We're waiting on a drop for supplies but your guess is as good as mine when it comes to how long we might wait for that. Hopefully it will happen as soon as this incessant fog lifts but that could be days yet. I'll see what else I can do in the meantime, but I can't promise anything I'm afraid."
"I understand, Sir," she nodded, finishing the last of her coffee. "We'll do our best with what we've got and between me, Gene and Spina we'll see what else we can find. But there is actually one thing that might really help us out," she suddenly thought. "Without anything to clean the wounds out properly, even minor wounds are gonna run a higher risk of becoming infected, but say we were to maybe get hold of something to clean them out with that would really help to eliminate that problem somewhat."
"What exactly are you thinking?" Winters wondered, his brow furrowed.
"Oh I don't know," she shrugged, catching Nixon's eye as he listened. "Say if you might be able to get hold of some strong alcohol by any chance, that would really help."
Evelyn knew for an absolute fact that Captain Nixon had at least a few bottles of Vat 69 amongst his personal items. They all knew it, but she couldn't come right out with it and ask him for some. He was still her superior and she didn't think he would take too kindly to her basically accusing him of drinking on duty or being an alcoholic.
"What do you think Captain Nixon? Do you think we might be able to get hold of any?" Winters asked him. He obviously didn't want to just demand that Nixon hand over his own precious liquor, especially not in front of her so instead he was trying to be discreet in his questioning. But even so, Nixon looked uncomfortable. His expression reminded Evelyn of a child caught with their hands in a candy jar.
"I'm not sure," he shrugged, not quite meeting her gaze as he scratched his head awkwardly. "We'll see what we can do I guess."
"Well, I'd really appreciate that," Evelyn smiled warmly. "Anyway, I'd best be off. Gotta make sure nobody's fingers or toes have dropped off yet. When I saw Skinny before I came here he was convinced he had frostbite on his nose and was moments away from losing it. I don't think he quite believed me when I told him that he and his nose weren't ready to part from each other anytime soon. If he's still whining when I get back, I might just cut it off and get it over with."
With even Nixon smirking at her attempt to make a joke, Evelyn turned and left, heading back towards the men. The cold wind blew and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to stave off the chill that bit through the thin material of her uniform. She tried to imagine that she was back in Toccoa, standing to attention in the blistering heat while Sobel berated them all one by one for the most minor of infractions. She tried to remember how it felt to be so hot that the sweat literally poured off of her without even barely having to move. Perhaps if she could imagine it vividly enough it might actually make her feel warmer. Anything was worth a try. She was so lost in her imaginings that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her and when a hand reached out to grab her shoulder, she yelped and as she spun around she managed to trip and land on her bottom with a thud.
"Sorry," Captain Nixon grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he gave Evelyn a helping hand. "Didn't mean to startle you."
"Don't worry about it," she said, dusting the snow off herself. "You all know by now what a clutz I am."
"You said it," Nixon wriggled his eyebrows in amusement, before thrusting a bottle of Vat 69 at her. "Just a bit of friendly advice; I probably would avoid drinking any of that. Don't want you injuring yourself, do we?"
"I ain't really one for drinking in all honesty," she answered, smiling gratefully as she took the bottle and tucked it safely into her satchel. "Thank you for this. Really, thank you."
"Don't mention it," Nixon said, lighting up a cigarette. "I'd offer you one but I'm going to take a wild guess that you haven't suddenly taken up the habit?"
"You would be correct," she smirked. Although given how cold it was, she couldn't say that she hadn't been tempted more than once in the last few days. Especially at night when the temperature would drop even more, and the only way to find even the slightest bit of warmth was to share the body heat of whoever was in the same foxhole with her. And then when it was time to leave the relative warmth of the foxhole and head out to check on the men, the cold seemed even worse. Sometimes the thought of puffing away on a red hot stick of paper and tobacco seemed rather inviting.
"So I hear you and Liebgott have had a bit of a falling out?" Nixon suddenly announced.
"Uh, yeah," she muttered, kicking at the snow with the toe of her boot, feeling uncomfortable with the direction that the conversation had gone. "He and Bill had a bit of a row about something and for once I happened to agree with my brother. Liebgott wasn't happy and we had a few cross words. It's not really a big deal and it'll probably blow over at some point," she lied casually. It was almost becoming second nature to her now. In actual fact, it strangely helped to tell herself that the lie she was telling everyone else was really the truth.
"Hopefully," Nixon nodded, watching her carefully. There was something in his tone and the way in which he was looking at her that made Evelyn think that he didn't quite believe that was all there was to the story, but he thankfully refrained from commenting further. Stubbing out his cigarette, he rubbed his hands together and exhaled as tiny snowdrops began to flutter down from the sky. "More damned snow," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Hey at least you've kind of got some cover," Evelyn teased. "Spare a thought for the rest of us while you're sipping coffee under your lean to, won't you? The only warmth I get is being stuck in a foxhole with George and Malarkey with a blanket over the top of us. And honestly, with the smell those two make, it's not pleasant."
"Yeah, I can imagine," Nixon grinned, his teeth as white as the snow falling to the floor. "Now move your ass and quit whining or I'll find something for you to whine for."
"Yes Sir," Evelyn mock saluted, and patted the bottle nestled safely in her satchel. "And thanks again for this. It's much appreciated."
"Anytime," Nixon waved her off. "No actually, I don't mean that. Oh, and Evelyn? Sometimes things aren't always as they seem on the surface, you know."
And with that he was gone, leaving Evelyn feeling perplexed. What the hell was that last comment supposed to mean? She shrugged to herself. She didn't have time to ponder on it now. There were supplies to find and men to check. There was no rest for the wicked.
… … …
Eugene never made it to third battalion. He managed to get lost and cross into German territory. Instead, Spina and Babe were going to try their luck at finding it. Evelyn had snorted when they had announced that they could find it no problem. Those two couldn't find a needle in a haystack. Tweedledum and Tweedledumber sprung to mind. Which was how Evelyn came to be walking along with them on her way to finding Dog and Fox. Eugene had curtly informed her that if she was so good with directions then she would have no problem in helping them for part of the way. Evelyn had just been about to stick out her tongue at him when he had turned back around and asked her to try and find him some scissors on her travels. Apparently he had lost his and no one else seemed to have any for him.
"You know who told me he's a virgin?" Babe announced as they walked, their boots sinking into the deep snow.
"Who?" Babe asked.
"The replacement in my foxhole. Julian," Babe answered.
John Julian. A sweet dark haired boy from Alabama who was mild mannered and eager. He had joined Easy only a few days before they headed into Bastogne. He was well liked by most of the men. Well, as much as a replacement could be. They weren't exactly popular. It wasn't that people didn't want to like them, but when you watched men who you had trained with right from day one be killed or wounded in action, it seemed almost pointless to want to get to know the ones who were replacing them. Plus, they were so inexperienced that they were often wounded or killed not long after arriving. It was only thanks to Bill that Babe really became part of the tight knit group of men, otherwise he would have been cast out the same as the rest of the replacements. Maybe that was why Babe had taken to Julian so quickly. He knew how it felt to be an outsider, even for a brief time.
"Goddamn virgin," Babe shook his head. "Just a kid."
"The only virgin I know is the virgin Mary," Spina snorted, and Babe chuckled his agreement.
"Is it really that big a deal whether he is or isn't?" Evelyn wondered.
"Uh yeah," Spina looked at her like she was an idiot. "Course it is."
"Why?" Evelyn frowned. She really didn't understand why it mattered so much.
"'Cause it's just a big deal," Spina shrugged. "I mean the guy must be at least eighteen to even be here and he's never slept with a woman. Literally everyone I know has done it long before then. It just seems odd to me that someone his age is a virgin."
"For crying out loud, Ralph, he's eighteen not eighty," Evelyn exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "And not everyone you know has done it. I'm nearly four years older than Julian, so what does that say about me?"
"That's different," Ralph answered. "You're a girl and you ain't married. It's kind of expected that you ain't never done it, but for a guy it's odd. Especially considering where we are. Personally, the thought of any man dying without ever knowing the pleasure of being with a woman is pretty awful in my eyes."
"But if I die without ever having been with a man it wouldn't bother you?"
"It's different," Spina repeated, and Evelyn was beginning to think that he didn't actually have a real point to his argument. "Don't you agree, Heffron?"
"I guess," Babe answered uncomfortably, his reddening cheeks having nothing to do with the bitter cold.
He kind of felt awkward talking about sex with Evelyn. He probably would have felt awkward talking about it with any girl, but the fact of the matter was that she wasn't just any girl. She was his friend. But it just wasn't the same as talking about with a guy friend. And besides, all he could think back to was the time when he had been there when Bill had caught her and Liebgott together. Her hair had been all mussed up and her shirt buttons done up all wonky. If she really was a virgin, he doubted that would have been the case for much longer if they hadn't come across them that day. For some reason, the thought of Evelyn in a situation like that made him feel strangely embarrassed although he couldn't for the life of him think why. Before he could even begin to think further on it though, the snow he was walking on suddenly gave way and he landed with both feet on top of someone covered in a grey woollen blanket.
"Shit!" he hissed, scrambling his way out as soon as he realised that he had in fact fallen into an enemy foxhole.
"Hinkle?" a German voice called out, and Babe managed to clamber out of the whole just as a head popped out from underneath the blanket. "Scheisse!"
"Come on, come on," Babe yelled as they all began to run.
"Shit!" Evelyn yelped as a bullet whizzed right past her ear. "Keep running."
They ran and ran for a few more minutes until they were far enough away from the German, who it seemed wasn't in the mood for chasing them. He probably didn't want to leave the relative warmth of his foxhole to go running through the snow. Once they were sure it was safe, they came to a halt and with one glance at each other, burst into laughter.
"That was lucky," Babe shook his head in wonder.
"More than lucky," Evelyn snorted. "Only a dolt like you could manage to step right into a German foxhole. Do you think you'll manage to make it the rest of the way to third battalion without any more mishaps?"
"I hope so," Spina answered for him.
"Me too," Evelyn said. "Promise me one thing guys. Don't tell everyone else about this until I'm back too. I wanna be there when they hear what an idiot Babe is."
"Like they didn't already know it," Spina chortled to himself, ignoring a glare from Babe. "Is this where you're leaving us then?"
"Sure is," she nodded. Dog was somewhere towards the left of these trees if she wasn't mistaken. And Fox was somewhere nearby as well. If she had gotten her directions right, that was.
"You gonna be alright on your own?" Babe asked. He didn't like the thought of leaving her on her own out here in the fog, where there could be Germans lurking anywhere. "Maybe I should come with you and Spina can carry on up to third on his own?"
"Absolutely no way are you coming with me," Evelyn shook her head and grinned at him. "If I take you along, we'll end up getting lost or wandering into an enemy camp or something. I'd rather take my chances out here on my own if it's all the same to you."
"Oh, but you'll leave me stuck with him?" Spina raised an eyebrow at her. "Gee, that's awful kind of you, Ev."
"My pleasure," she winked. "Besides, we both know that these woods give you the heebie jeebies. At least with Babe around you can hide behind him when you hear a noise."
"Anyone tell you what a cow you are sometimes?" Spina gave her the middle finger.
"All the time," she smirked, blowing him a kiss. "Catch you guys later."
… … …
The fog seemed to thicken the further Evelyn walked. It was eerily quiet with the only sound being that of the snow crunching beneath her feet. Every so often the virgin white snow would be marred by patches of crimson red and Evelyn felt herself tense up subconsciously each time, wondering whether it was the blood of one of their own or of the enemy. It was hard to tell considering the fact that the lines on both sides were spread so thin that the Germans often ended up crossing into their territory and vice versa. The truth was that it didn't matter which side you were on; blood ran the same colour wherever you were from.
When Evelyn suddenly heard a twig snap behind her, she prayed she wasn't about to come face to face with the enemy. With no weapon she wouldn't exactly stand a good chance of fighting them off. She was relieved when she saw a khaki uniform, the same as her own.
"You gentlemen with Dog or Fox companies?" she asked, as the two men stepped closer.
"Dog," one of them answered, looking her up and down. "You're the medic from Easy, right?"
"One of them, yeah," she smiled. "Can you help me find any of your medics? Or your surgeon? I need supplies. We have basically nothing."
"And what makes you think we do?" the other questioned.
"Well I don't," Evelyn shrugged, feeling uncomfortable under their close scrutiny. "But it never hurts to ask, right?"
"Pretty dangerous for a girl to be walking around here on her own, don't you think?" the taller one of the two commented.
"I'd say it's pretty dangerous for anyone, wouldn't you?" Evelyn spoke firmly. Were they trying to intimidate her? She had to admit it was working, but she absolutely was not going to let them see that. "Now are you gonna help me or are you gonna just carry on interrogating me until we all freeze?"
"Now, an attitude like that isn't the way to get help, is it?" the taller one looked at his friend.
"I'd say not," the other agreed with a smirk, eyeing Evelyn almost hungrily. "What I'd like to know is what's in it for us? Say we help you, then what do we get in return?"
"How about you get to keep all your teeth?" Evelyn growled, thinking back to Aldbourne. She had been caught unaware then, but this time she would fight. What was it with the men in the other companies? Were they all animals? In any case, she sort of wished she had taken Babe up on his offer to accompany her after all.
"That's some pretty big talk for a little lady," the shorter of the two chuckled. "Let's see how tough you really are, shall we?"
"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" a voice questioned.
As the looming figure of Lieutenant Speirs appeared through the mist, the soldiers quickly stood up straight and tried to act as though nothing was amiss. Evelyn let out a breath that she hadn't even realised she had been holding. She genuinely had never thought she would be so relieved to see Lieutenant Speirs, not after all of the rumours she had heard about him.
"We were just about to help this medic from Easy find some supplies," the tall soldier stammered.
Speirs narrowed his eyes at the pair of them, who seemed to shrink uncomfortably under his intense gaze. Evelyn felt herself tense up too and he wasn't even looking at her. But there was something so commanding, and slightly terrifying, about Captain Speirs. He had an aura about him that just oozed authority and intensity. Had he really shot twenty German prisoners on D-Day after offering them all cigarettes? Or one of his own men for being drunk on duty? There were all kinds of stories flying around about Spiers, yet nobody had ever witnessed them first hand. They had always heard them from someone else who claimed to have heard them from someone else. But seeing the man up close right now, she could quite easily believe them to be true.
"Is that right?" Speirs said. Whether or not he believed his men, he gave no outward indication. He just continued to stare as though he was undecided about what to do with them. Suddenly he turned to look at Evelyn and she felt a small shiver of anticipation shoot down her spine. "These men are on patrol, but I'll be happy to help you, Corporal."
"Uh thank you, Sir," she mumbled, feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter. The idea of going anywhere alone with Speirs wasn't appealing in the slightest, but then she shuddered to think of what might have happened if he hadn't arrived when he did. Perhaps he was the lesser of two evils? At least she hoped he was anyway.
They had been walking in uncomfortable silence for what felt like hours but in reality had only been a few minutes. The fog was thickening and if Evelyn was being honest with herself, she had no idea where on earth they were. Lieutenant Speirs, however, was striding along purposefully as if he could see right through the fog with no trouble at all.
"Cigarette?" he offered, and she shook her head hurriedly.
"No thanks. I don't smoke," she added quickly in case he thought she was being rude. The last thing she wanted to do was get on his bad side.
With a shrug, he lit a cigarette for himself and took a long drag before exhaling the smoke slowly. His stride was a lot longer than hers and she found herself almost running to keep up with him. When he realised this, he slowed down a little and she swore she could almost see a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. But then she decided that her eyes were most likely playing tricks on her. The Lieutenant Speirs she had heard about wasn't one to find something amusing.
"So how does it feel to be famous?" Speirs suddenly spoke.
"Huh?" Evelyn frowned before remembering she was talking to a superior officer. "Uh, famous Sir? I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean."
"As the US military's first female combat medic, you're quite the talk of my men, Corporal," he explained.
"Still? You would think that after two years I would be old news," she blurted out.
"Indeed," Speirs grinned openly now, completely changing the dynamic of his face. Gone was the fierce, intimidating man instead replaced by some handsome and almost approachable. "But I think the reason that you are still the subject of much discussion is because many of the men, myself included, were shocked that you've made it this far. To complete the training was a feat enough in itself, but to be out here day after day, doing the same as the men is truly remarkable."
"I think what you mean is that you're all surprised I've not managed to get myself killed yet?" she snorted, feeling a lot more at ease.
"Your words not mine, Corporal," he smirked.
"Please, call me Evelyn," she smiled, and Speirs nodded sharply. "And you wanna know something, Sir? I'm kind of surprised myself that I've made it this far, coming from a girl who only managed to last two weeks in girl scouts."
With Speirs' short laugh ringing through the quiet forest, Evelyn was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't as bad as people said.
At their fast pace, it wasn't long until they reached Dog company's camp area. A few of the men turned to look in her direction, and one or two even whistled but they were quickly silenced with one single look from their superior. Speirs led her to a clearing between some trees and jumped down into a foxhole where he began rooting through bags and crates. He filled one of the bags up quickly before passing it up to her. Inside it was crammed full with bandages, a few bottles of plasma and some syrettes of morphine.
"Will that do?" Speirs asked, climbing out of the hole effortlessly.
"Absolutely," Evelyn nodded. "Are you sure you can spare all of this?"
"I'm sure," he answered.
"Well, thank you Sir. This really is a great help," she smiled warmly.
"Not a problem. Now, let's get you back to your men before it gets dark."
"That's alright, Sir, I can find my own way back," she told him.
It might have been a great big fat lie but for some reason she didn't want him to think he had to take her back to Easy. She was a soldier just the same as the rest of them, and she was pretty sure he wouldn't have offered to do the same to one of the men. It was bad enough that he had already come to her aid once already. She didn't need him to think she was some weak woman who needed babysitting.
"I don't doubt you can, Corporal. But if it's all the same to you I would prefer to see you back safely," he answered in a tone that brokered no negotiation. "Let's go."
… … …
By the time Evelyn arrived back at camp, night time was slowly starting to creep in. She found Eugene resting upon a tree stump at the edge of the camp. That was typical of Eugene. He much preferred to be on the outside where he could observe everyone else.
"How did you get on?" he asked her as she crouched down beside him.
"Well, unfortunately I didn't find any sizzuhs," she told him, ignoring the glare he gave her when she mimicked the way in which he said the word. She just couldn't help herself though. "But, I got us a few more bandages and some morphine, and…" she opened the bag wide for Eugene to see inside and grinned. "…There's one whole bottle of plasma for me, you and Spina each. Don't say I never give you anything. In fact, think of it as an early Christmas present if you will."
"So generous," Eugene smirked. "It really puts that diamond necklace I bought you to shame."
Evelyn giggled and put her arm around Eugene's shoulder before kissing him on the cheek. He tensed up slightly but she didn't care. She knew that Eugene was feeling a lot of weight on his shoulders being head medic of the company, and as a result he had been far too serious over the last few days. She was so happy to see him relaxed and light hearted even just for a moment.
"Evelyn, get off me. Your breath stinks," Eugene frowned.
"It does not!" Evelyn exclaimed, breathing onto her hand and smelling it. Unlike Perconte, Evelyn didn't spend every waking hour brushing her teeth. She brushed them the usual amount like every other human being, but now she was paranoid that she had been walking around her entire life offending everyone with her odious breath. "And you know what? Even if it does, I bet it won't be any worse than yours. In fact, breathe on me right now and I'll tell you how bad yours smells."
"I'm not breathing on you," Eugene refused, looking at her like she had gone stark raving mad.
"Yes you are," Evelyn was adamant to prove a point now. "You only have to breathe on me a little bit. In fact, just open your mouth and I'll sniff right in there."
Pushing her away when she all but shoved her nose in his mouth, Eugene shook his head unsure whether to be amused or disgusted by her behaviour. "What on earth is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? I'm supposed to be your friend. In fact, I spent hours and hours trekking through the fog and snow this afternoon to find supplies, and I bring you back precious gifts in the form of medical supplies and this is how you repay me? By telling me my breath stinks when I try to give you a hug? I mean, could you be any more rude?"
"Evelyn, you were gone for an hour at most," Eugene commented. "And would you rather that I didn't tell you about your bad breath?"
"Well you could have just found a bit of a nicer way to say it maybe?" she decided, unwilling to admit that she would of course rather he tell her. "Imagine how Vera would feel if someone said that to her the way that you just did to me. How do you think she would feel?"
"Vera's breath doesn't smell so nobody would say it," Eugene shrugged, and Evelyn was ready to swing for him. Rifling around her satchel until she found her toothbrush and tiny tube of toothpaste, she pulled them out and gave Eugene a triumphant grin.
"Ev! Get over here!" Babe shouted from a small huddle made up of himself, Skip, Malarkey, Julian and Penkala. "It's story time."
"You actually waited for me?" Evelyn grinned back at him.
"Of course I did," Babe answered incredulously, as though he was almost offended that she would think otherwise. "I had a brush with death today, I didn't fancy risking it a second time by angering you."
"It was hardly a brush with death," Evelyn tittered, rolling her eyes at Babe's dramatics. "Just give me two minutes and I'll be right over."
When Babe carried on chatting with the others, Evelyn began furiously brushing her teeth, eyeballing Eugene as she did. Once she was satisfied she had adequately cleaned every enamel crevice, she rinsed her mouth out with some water and smiled widely at Eugene. Well, smile was perhaps the wrong word to describe it; a grimace was probably a more accurate description.
"Why are you looking at me like you've been possessed?" Eugene furrowed his brow.
"I'm trying to show you how pearly white my teeth are now," she answered.
"I never said anything about your teeth," Eugene said calmly. "It was just your breath I had an issue with."
"You're just being pedantic now," Evelyn huffed, stuffing her toothbrush back into her bag and standing up. "Are you coming over?"
"You actually want me to?"
"Well no, not really," Evelyn replied honestly. "But unlike some people I could mention, I actually have manners. So are you coming?"
"Nah," he shook his head. When he saw Evelyn's hesitation at leaving him he smiled reassuringly. "I just fancy sitting on my own for a while. And I'm hardly going to miss the story given how loud you are. They'll probably be able to hear you back home. And besides, if I'm all the way over here I won't be able to smell you. Then again, maybe I will."
"Jackass," Evelyn muttered, leaving behind a chuckling Eugene.
"Hey Ev," Skip grinned as she sat down in between him and Malarkey.
"Gentlemen," she smiled. When she met Heffron's gaze, she smiled wider. "Can I tell them the story or do you wanna?"
"Be my guest."
By the time Evelyn had finished regaling them with the tale of Babe and Hinkle, the men were in hysterics. Skip had actual tears pouring from his eyes and Malarkey was red in the face. When Joe Domingus came around with their evening meal- if it could be called that- they were all still laughing about it.
"These smell like my armpit!" Malarkey commented, holding up the offensive food item.
"At least your armpit's warm," Skip declared.
"You want syrup with that?"
"Be honest Joe, what's in these things anyway, huh?" Malarkey asked. He still was dubious about eating it. Evelyn wasn't ashamed that she had already wolfed hers down. She was so hungry that she would have eaten just about anything.
"Nothing you won't eat Malarkey," Joe answered.
"I won't eat Malarkey," Skip piped up.
"Hey, maybe Hinkle'd like your share?" Julian chuckled, amused at his own joke.
"I should have shot him when I had the chance," Babe muttered.
"You were running backwards, Babe?" Penkala teased.
"Very funny," Babe said sarcastically, before motioning to Evelyn with his head. "She wasn't exactly sticking around either."
"She has a name," Evelyn scowled at Babe. "And also, of course I wasn't sticking around you moron. I don't even have a weapon."
"Has anyone seen Lieutenant Dike?" Lieutenant Peacock came rushing up to them.
"Try batallion CP, Sir," Malarkey suggested.
"Try Paris," Muck added once Peacock had gone.
"Try Hinkle," Julian chortled, garnering a laugh from them all.
"Hinkle sweety, I'm home," Penkala fluttered his eyelashes.
"Hey Gene," Babe shouted at him. "Lieutenant Dike's got a full aid kit. Have either of you tried him?"
That was actually a rather good idea. Of course, Dike had a full aid kit because he was never around when there was a situation that called for the use of any of the items in said aid kit. Dike was never anywhere to be seen.
"Yeah I'm sure he's not using his," Malarkey commented.
"Maybe Hinkle's got a syrette for you," Julian said.
"Eat your strudel," Penkala told him with mock sternness.
"Hinkle vinkle, eat ze armpit ja," Malarkey put on his best German accent, which was actually pretty good.
Needless to say that at least for the rest of the evening, the story of Babe and Hinkle was never going to get old.
… … …
That night
Nestled tightly in a foxhole with George and Malarkey, Evelyn looked up, mesmerised by the forest around her. The night sky was clear and a light dusting of stars were sprinkled in the gaps between the trees.
"Why the hell aren't you asleep?" George croaked from beside her. "I can hear your brain ticking from over here. I mean, if anything it's made me somewhat relieved to know that you actually have one, but you should be sleeping. It's the middle of the night for crying out loud."
"I can't sleep," she answered, oblivious to the snow falling on her long eyelashes. "Besides, I'm fine. I'm just watching the trees."
"Watching the trees?" George frowned at the almost dreamy expression on Evelyn's face, before he started nudging Malarkey who was snoring soundly. "Malark, wake up, quick. Evelyn's lost her frigging mind."
"Go away," Malarkey mumbled sleepily, pulling his blanket tighter around him to try and stave off the biting cold. With no winter clothing, they were cold all the time. No, actually they were freezing. Already many of the men were showing the early signs of frostbite in their fingers and toes. Ev, Eugene and Spina were constantly reminding them all to loosen their boots and to tuck their hands under their armpits to stop their digits getting so frostbitten that they would lose all blood flow to the areas.
"Leave him alone, George," Evelyn hissed, pinching George's arm hard. "The poor guy's fast asleep'."
"Well at least that makes one of us," George muttered, rubbing his arm with a scowl.
"George Luz, nobody forced you to wake up and start annoying me," Evelyn tutted, lifting his arm up and putting it around her shoulders while she huddled into his side for warmth. "But now you are awake you can make yourself useful at least."
"As what?" George smirked, lighting the cigarette now dangling out of his mouth. "A human blanket?"
"Yeah, something like that," Ev grinned.
"So, uh, what is it exactly you were finding so fascinating about these trees then? And I swear if you tell me they were talking to you or some other bullshit, I'm gonna have you committed to an asylum."
"They're just beautiful," Evelyn answered honestly, ignoring George's last statement. "I love the way they're all so different. It's like they each have their own personalities. Some are straight while others are more bent; some have twists and knots while some are completely plain. It's kind of like the ones with all the knots and dents are the ones that have withstood the most. It's as though their imperfections on the outside are manifestations of the hurt they feel on the inside. Their imperfections and the pain they've gone through strangely make them more beautiful, don't you think?"
George kissed the top of Evelyn's head. He'd never before heard anyone talk with such feeling about trees but she strangely had a point. They were all beautiful and unique. Well, until they were all being blown to smithereens by mortar shells. But he didn't think she'd appreciate that comment right now. She seemed in an almost sombre mood and he didn't want to rock the boat and upset her, especially seeing as he had a habit of doing that without meaning to.
"I think I'm gonna go and check the line," Evelyn announced suddenly.
"I don't think so," George shook his head and kept her pressed against his side. "Doc said he'd come and get you when it was your turn. Best thing you can do is get some sleep or at least go back to staring at your trees so your body is rested. You'll be good to no one otherwise, and if Doc catches you he'll only give you an earful. And me."
"But I can't rest," Evelyn explained, even though she knew George was totally correct. If Eugene so much as caught a glimpse of her out of the foxhole, she would be in for it. "I feel constantly on edge waiting for the next-"
Suddenly the ground around them exploded as whistling shells fell from the sky. The earth shook and the sky flashed bright white as the noise of the explosions deafened them. Without thinking, George flung himself on top of Evelyn, trying to protect her from the flying debris while they waited for the barrage to end. Less than two minutes later and the air was quiet and still. Only the sound of their heavy breathing could be heard inside the foxhole as they waited to see what would happen next. Sometimes the Germans would wait a few minutes to try and draw them out before launching their next assault.
"Nice wake up call, eh Malark?" Ev teased.
"I've had worse," Malarkey answered, and Evelyn really couldn't tell whether or not he was joking. She liked to think he was. After all, she'd had some pretty bad wake up calls herself, like the time her brother, Earnest, had come home late from the pub with his friends. He had been so drunk that he didn't really have his faculties about him, and Evelyn woke up to feel something wet on her hair. She'd sat up with a start and screamed blue murder when she realised that in his drunken stupor, her brother was actually peeing on her hair. As wake up calls go, that was pretty dire but even she had to admit that this would have topped them all had she been asleep when it happened.
"Medic!" a voice shouted in the distance.
"Medic!" came another from the opposite direction.
Pushing George off her, Evelyn scrambled out of the foxhole and spotted Eugene disappearing through the trees. As fast as her legs could carry her, she turned to run the other way.
"Medic!" the voice came closer. It sounded like Talbert.
"Tab?" she shouted, following the sound of the voice through the fog.
"Ev, in here!" he yelled back. She slid down into the foxhole to find Talbert and Shifty watching Grant with some concern.
"You alright, Chuck?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Grant grimaced and motioned to his thigh, where a huge chunk of tree bark was sticking out of it. There was barely any bleeding, but that was most likely because the bark embedded in his thigh was acting as a kind of a plug. The second she pulled it out, it would start bleeding. "Is it the artery?"
"I don't think so," she squinted trying to get a better look at it in the dark. She needed to know whether the giant splinter was inside the leg or whether the opposite end had come right through the other side of Grant's thigh. "A few inches higher and it would have hit it. You're one lucky guy."
"If you say so," Grant moaned, his eyes squeezed shut.
"Can you get it out?" Tab asked, concern etched on his face.
"I'm not sure yet," Evelyn answered, ripping open the fabric around the wound to get a better look. "Right now, the splinter is stopping any bleeding but as soon as I pull it out that's gonna change real quick. Alright, here's what we're gonna do," she decided, after a quick assessment showed her that the splinter had not come out the other side.
"I'm gonna pull it out because if I don't it could get infected. If you're lucky the bleeding won't be too bad and I'll be able to handle it here."
"And if not?" Chuck grimaced.
"You let me worry about that," she smiled, patting his cheek. Rifling around her satchel, she pulled out a bottle of alcohol and grinned when she saw their amused faces. "We're all out of sulfa, but luckily I have something just as good. Let's just say there's a dark haired intelligence officer who has some pretty good contacts when it comes to getting hold of liquor in the middle of war torn Europe. And apparently it turns out that I'm pretty good at persuading this certain officer into giving me a bottle of his precious liquor."
"You mean you fluttered them eyelashes and he couldn't resist?" Tab snorted.
"Something like that," Evelyn chuckled, pulling out a syrette of morphine.
"No, save the morphine," Grant put a hand on her arm and shook his head. "Just give me a sip out of the bottle and that'll do."
"Are you sure?" Ev frowned, pulling out the cork from the bottle. "It's gonna hurt when I pull it out."
"I know," Grant nodded, taking a large swig and grimacing at the strong taste. "But save it for someone who really needs it Ev."
She nodded and popped the syrette back into her satchel. Taking the bottle back, she poured some of the liquor onto Chuck's thigh causing him to hiss as it stung.
"Tab, will you hold his leg down so that it doesn't move?"
Once Tab was in place, Evelyn took one look at Chuck who had turned pale and was a little woozy from the alcohol and without another thought began to pull. She didn't want to remove the splinter too fast but nor did she want to prolong Chuck's discomfort. The bark came out cleanly and when the wound started to bleed, she was relieved to see that it was only minimal bleeding. Well, as minimal as it could have been considering the wound. She poured a little more alcohol into the wound and tried her best to ensure that there were no pieces of wood still inside, and then she began to wrap it tightly with a bandage. It would need changing daily to keep infection away, but how was she supposed to do that with so few supplies? With Spina and Babe having had no luck at third battalion, the bandages she had acquired from Lieutenant Speirs were spread thinly between the three medics and needed to be used sparingly.
"All done," she smiled. "But we do have one problem. Ideally, you need to stay off of this leg for at least a few days, and it needs to be cleaned frequently. That's gonna be hard to do here but I can try my best. Or the other option is to try and get you into Bastogne to the aid station?"
"I don't need to go to any station," Grant decided. "I'll try and stay off this as much as I can and we'll take it from there."
"Sounds good to me," Ev agreed. This was most definitely the better idea. It was hard to get transport into Bastogne, and she knew they didn't have much in the way of supplies or space there either. But the second it looks like it might be getting infected I'll have to pull you off the line."
"Sure thing," Grant nodded.
"Now try and get some rest," Ev smiled, putting the liquor back into her satchel and gathering the remainder of her things.
She clambered out of the foxhole and began walking around the rest of the men, making sure everyone was alright. There seemed to just be a few minor cuts but that was all. Everyone had been lucky on this occasion.
Walking back towards her own foxhole, she was on the lookout for anyone else who might have been wounded when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Ev, wait up a minute."
She tensed up when she heard Liebgott call out her name, and immediately she was torn. Part of her wanted to turn around and punch him, just so he could feel the pain that she felt constantly. Another part of her wanted to throw her arms around him and breathe in his musky scent that made her feel lightheaded and giddy. She wanted to feel his lips against her own, his breath mingling with hers. She felt betrayed by her body. How could she still have feelings for someone who had treated her the way he had? She was confused by her own emotions. One minute she was angry with him, the next she was hurt, and then she found herself missing him and craving his touch. She hated herself for feeling so weak. She hated herself for the slight little leap her heart had made when he had spoken her name. She despised that a tiny part of her was hoping that he would tell her that he wanted to give them another chance, despite what he had said to her only days before. But then those heartless words came flooding back and felt the familiar prickle of pure unadulterated anger course through her veins.
"What do you want?" she snapped, turning around.
"I, uh, you dropped these," Lieb muttered, holding out a pair of scissors that had fallen out of her satchel. She snatched them off him and shoved them hastily into her bag before turning to storm off. Lieb held out a hand and grabbed her gently by the arm. "Evelyn, wait. Can we talk?"
"I've got nothing to say to you, Liebgott," she glared, snatching her arm away. "And what could you possibly have left to say to me? Don't you think you've said enough already?"
"Listen Ev, I get that you're still a little upset about-"
"- A little upset? Upset doesn't even begin to describe how I feel," she growled.
"I'm sorry," Liebgott shrugged. "It's just that I thought seeing as how you haven't told everyone else the truth about why we'd fallen out, I just kind of presumed that it meant you had calmed down about the whole thing."
"The only reason I made up that stupid lie was because I wasn't gonna let myself get kicked out of the airborne, something I worked damn hard to get into, because of a bastard like you," she told him, her eyes blazing with fury. "I feel like you've literally torn out my heart and stamped all over it. So don't ever make the mistake of thinking that I'm not upset. I will never forgive you for the way you've treated me. Ever."
Without another word, she turned and marched off, tears pouring down her face. Tears of anger, tears of hurt. The freezing cold temperature was enough to turn her tears to ice on her cheeks and with every part of her being, she wished it could do the same to her heart so that she wouldn't have to feel this pain any longer. She would never let anyone make her feel like this ever again.
