All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

40: Foxhole

"We're headin' east," Guarnere said once he was close enough to be heard. Posey breathed a sigh of relief when she realised he was addressing Johnny, NCO to NCO. "Goin' for higher ground to avoid a counterattack."

Johnny nodded. "Right."

Guarnere nodded back before turning to Posey. "Listen, you gonna be alright walkin' with that wound?"

Posey made a show of rolling her eyes and shot him a scowl. "Do. Not. Coddle. Me." Johnny laughed but Guarnere narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a child," she went on. "And I faired just fine in Carentan, woman and all. Just because you know now doesn't change anything about the fact that I've been capable all along."

Guarnere scoffed. "Fuckin' Christ, give me time to breathe. I'm just makin' sure you ain't gonna collapse on the trip over."

"I'm not."

"Good."

"Wonderful." She shot him a saccharine sweet smile. "Bye, now."

Guarnere huffed and walked away, likely in search of the other NCOs in Second Platoon to inform them of their new orders. Posey watched him leave for a few moments before turning back around and slumping back where she sat, leaning on her hands. To Johnny, she said, "I hate that he knows."

She watched Johnny shrug in her periphery. "They're all gonna find out eventually."

"No they aren't," Posey protested. "They can't. I'll be in so much trouble. Dear God, I will actually be in so much trouble." She'd known this before but only after seeing combat for herself could she truly understand the gravitas of her actions. She was trespassing in a warzone. She had gotten herself into occupied territory under false pretences, was being paid by the army to do a job she wasn't allowed to do, and, on top of all of this, she wasn't even American. The others could definitely not find out.

"I don't see how you'll be able to hide it forever."

"Imagine if Luz finds out!" Posey exclaimed, unable to keep the thought inside once it had hit her. "No one has a bigger mouth than that man!" She shook her head adamantly. "The war has to end before they all find out, or at least before Luz finds out. Either that or I die first."

"You ain't gonna die, Wells. I told ya that."

"I'm just saying," Posey said, brushing him aside.

The entirety of Second Battalion moved out of Carentan a small while later and, much like Guarnere had predicted, walking was a bigger problem than Posey had hoped it would be. The terrain was uneven, making rolled ankles and tripping a frequent occurrence, and even with evening falling upon them the humidity was still stifling. Posey could feel her bandages getting damp with sweat and her second round of morphine wearing off. She didn't know whether she'd be allowed a third.

Then it started to rain.

"Fuck's sake," she grumbled, not realising she'd said it aloud until Bull shot her a curious glance.

"You alright?"

She nodded through a tight smile. "Wet bandages," she explained, and left it at that. After all, the bandages were visible through the huge tear in her ODs. She shifted her rifle to her shoulder to free up her hands and pulled the mangled fabric of her ODs together in the hopes of protecting her wound a little bit more.

"Need me to call the doc?" Bull asked.

Posey shook her head. "It's not gonna stop raining anytime soon. Even if he changed the bandage now it'd still get wet."

"Get it changed as soon as it stops," he told her, offering a nod and a kind smile.

Posey nodded and smiled back before ducking her head. Maybe the rim of her helmet would help to keep her dry. It was worth a try.