She was in pain. Eugene could see it in the way she kept squinting with every step she took or in the way she bit her lip to keep from crying out whenever she had to lift one of her arms above her head.
Eugene had a suspicion that Rose knew he was onto her because she had so far managed to go two without being caught anywhere near him. Plus, whenever she caught him looking at her, she'd glance away guilty; like a child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
Which was why Eugene had been forced to take drastic action and do something he wasn't particularly proud of.
Rose always showered late at night, when the other men were getting ready for bed or relaxing with a game of cards, and Eugene had been able to sneak into the shower block without her noticing. Rose's clothes were waiting outside of the curtained area that had been erected for her use in case of any other men showering at the same time, and Eugene had scooped them up into his arms, sitting down on the bench while he waited for her to finish. He could hear some uncomfortable grunting and grumbling but eventually the shower shut off.
"Jesus Christ, Doc!" Rose exclaimed when she saw him sitting there. "What the hell are you doing? And are those my clothes?"
"Yeah," he answered, completely unphased by her annoyance.
"Can I have them back please?" her tone was curt and the look on her face was anything but polite. "Unless you want me to walk back to barracks like this."
"That's up to you," he shrugged, trying not to focus on the way the towel clung to her body. "I'm happy to give you your clothes back just as soon as you tell me what you've done."
"What I've done?" she frowned. "Like today or in general?"
"Don't get smart with me, Parsons. I know you're injured and I just wanna make sure you're alright. In fact, it's my job to make sure you're alright."
"I'm fine, Doc," she rolled her eyes flippantly. "Me and George were messing around at the bar the other night– going crazy you know 'cause it was our first weekend pass in a hundred years– and I fell onto my side on our way back here and I bruised my rib."
"You bruised your rib?" it was Eugene's turn to frown. "And you know it's just bruised, do you? How about you let me take a look and I'll be the judge of that."
"Doc, is this an excuse to see me with my top off?" she smirked. "You could have just asked. In fact, Guarnere'd be livid if you saw me topless before he did, and I'd pay good money to see his face when he found out."
"Rose, shut up and let me look at your damned rib, please," Eugene eyed her pointedly. "Or do I need to tell Liebgott that it was you who told that nurse he had venereal disease?"
"You wouldn't," Rose narrowed her eyes.
"I might," Eugene shrugged.
"Fine," she sighed in resignation. "Let me at least put on my underwear and my trousers, yeah?"
"Oh, of course," Eugene blushed.
With a grin at how adorable Doc was when he was flustered, Rose stepped back behind the curtain and pulled on her clothes; doing her best not to make a single sound when she had to reach around to clip her bra.
"Right, let's get this out of the way," she appeared in front of him once more.
Ever the professional, Eugene didn't even give her chest area so much as a glance, his gaze falling immediately to the green blue and purple bruising on the side of her torso. Eyes flickering to hers briefly for permission, he gently reached out to palpate the area, brow furrowing when he saw the way Rose stiffened in pain.
"I'd say you've got two fractured ribs," he decided finally. "Just how hard did you fall?"
"Well, it wasn't that I fell hard exactly, it was more that I fell off the bonnet of Sobel's jeep… and landed on a crate."
"I'm gonna have to tell Winters about this. Your injury, not the jeep, I mean."
"Not a chance," Rose growled, her eyes flashing thunderously. "You tell Winters and he tells Sobel, and before you know it I'm outta the training programme 'cause the idiot's finally got a reason to get rid of me."
"That won't happen," Eugene tried to reassure her, even though he didn't entirely believe what he was saying.
"Course it will," she argued. "Gene, I'll be fine. You don't have to tell anyone. It'll heal up soon."
"Not if you keep on moving it, it won't?" Gene eyed her pointedly.
"Well it's not like I have a choice, is it?" Rose muttered. "Look, Gene, I promise I'll be ok."
"At least let me wrap it then?" he sighed. "Tight bandages will stop it from taking so much impact when you move and help it heal quicker hopefully."
"I can live with that I guess," Rose shrugged. "You wrap me up and then we don't mention it to anyone else, right?"
"Yeah," Eugene agreed with a small smile. "I know Sobel, and some of the men, have been a little tough on you since you started training with us but I hope you know I think you're gonna be a real asset to Easy when we get where we're going. And I for one know I feel honoured to serve with a woman as brave as you."
"Says the man who'll be running around the frontlines without a weapon," she smirked. "I'd say that for everything we've put up with from Sobel so far, and what's undoubtedly to come, we're all brave, Doc."
"I'd agree to that," Eugene smirked back. "Now let's get over to the aid station and fix you up, alright?"
"In a minute," she said, grinning when Eugene scowled at her. "But first I need you to help me with something else."
"Alright?" he frowned.
"Can you help me wash my hair?"
"You hair?"
"Yeah," she huffed out a laugh. "I can get my hair wet but I can't reach up to actually wash it, and it's so oily I'm afraid my helmet won't stay on."
Eugene laughed at that. A deep bellied laugh that sounded so strange coming from the usually quiet man, who did little more than chuckle to himself when he found something funny.
"You got yourself a deal, Rose."
(A/N: I know wrapping fractured/broken ribs isn't the done thing anymore but I believe it was still standard practice back then.)
