The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

78: Favourite Pastime

The freckles, she knew, were still there. She could always tell when Floyd was looking at them and had watched him attempt to count them more than once during their time in Belgium. So, at the very least, she still deserved the nickname he'd given her, which she'd hated at first and now loved because it reminded her of a happier time, and an easier one, too.

There were no towels to use to dry off and the air was much too cold to stand around and wait to get dry, so Charlie had to content herself with trying to use her hands to rub off as much of the water lingering on her skin as she could before pulling on her new ODs.

Never before had she thought of fatigues as soft - in fact, the general consensus was that they were rather itchy, especially brand new - but compared to her old ones, which had been stiff with everything that stained them and had cracked when she moved, the new ones were like sheep's wool.

As she emerged from the shower tent at long last, twisting her hair up to scrunch beneath her helmet to prevent it from dripping down her back, Charlie felt like a new person. When had she last been able to move her face so easily without feeling some dried liquid or other itch as it cracked and flaked, when had she smelt so clean?

Their rations were rudimentary but even those were a gift. To no longer have to eat long-since stale K-rations was more than Charlie could even ask for in terms of food. They'd been running out for so long she'd forgotten what it was like to not have to ration. Now they'd be able to eat full, proper meals again.

Charlie's mood was only dampened when she returned to the CP to check on Lip and was reminded of the patrol.

Lip was sitting on the same couch he'd been on the entirety of yesterday before Charlie had had to take him by the arm and physically haul him up out of it and to one of the beds reserved for the officers in the back of the house. Now, she rolled her eyes when she saw him but refrained from saying anything, instead choosing to stand by the door and wait for him to finish speaking to Floyd. Whatever they were discussing looked serious and she presumed it was about the patrol, however after a few more exchanged words both of them started to smile.

Lip glanced up and caught Charlie's eye. Floyd turned and immediately smiled.

"Hi," she greeted, walking a few steps further into the room. "Came to see how you were, Lip. Wondered if you needed someone to drag you back to bed again and apparently you do."

Lip laughed weakly. "I'm alright, Charlie. Just helping get things ready for the patrol tonight, then I'll head back to bed."

Charlie hummed dubiously. "Well, I need to take your temperature anyway, plus we've got a supply of penicillin again which I can give you. How are your symptoms?"

Floyd stepped aside to allow Charlie to sit on the edge of Lip's couch. "I love watching you play doctor," he teased as she stuck a thermometer in Lip's mouth.

Charlie cut her eyes at him and scoffed. "I'm not 'playing' doctor, Floyd. That's like saying that I love watching you 'play soldier'."

"Aw, do you, Freckles?" His grin widened. "Then you're in luck, 'cause I'm being promoted."

"You are?" She glanced up at him after reading the number on the thermometer, then looked back down as she noted it down.

"Lip's getting a battlefield commission to second lieutenant, so I'm the new Easy Company first sergeant."

"What?!" She'd only been half-listening before but now she was all ears. When she turned to look at him he was smiling proudly and her heart just about melted. "Yay," she said softly, mirroring his smile. "That's amazing. Congratulations."