The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

95: Sunsets in the Alps

Floyd swam closer to the edge of the water, too. "Aw, come on," he called, grinning. "Just get in! We won't look."

"Sure you won't," Mabs answered him.

Floyd rolled his eyes and rose to his full height until he was standing waist-deep in the water. "Freckles, you trust me, don't you?"

"Uh..." Her hesitation wasn't in answer to his question but rather because her brain had decided to short circuit the instant her eyes landed on his bare torso. She'd seen it before, once, when he'd been stabbed in Normandy, but it had been dark in the tent and his abdomen had been largely concealed by a bandage and he'd been lying with a blanket half over him. Now, none of those things were true. With the way the water dripped off of his skin the light couldn't seem to stay away from him, not that she blamed it, and he seemed to glow golden in the sunshine. He was so nicely toned, so... muscular... that Charlie felt heat flood to her face in one great big gust. "Um..."

"Something wrong, Freckles?" Floyd asked, playing innocent in spite of the smug smirk on his face.

"I, um..."

"Charlie," Mabs said.

"Hm?"

"You're starin'," Mabs informed her in a whisper, leaning in so as not to be overheard. "Better stop before he gets any ideas," she advised.

Charlie nodded, straightening her posture and tearing her eyes away.

"Let's go get swimsuits," Boo suggested, turning away from where she'd been speaking quietly to George to face the other nurses. "We have the rest of the day off, right?"

Henry sighed. "Right," she confirmed.

"Then let's go!"

Charlie agreed immediately, if only to get some separation between herself and the ever-smirking Floyd still standing half exposed in the water, and the others followed soon after.

Locating a store in town which sold swimsuits, and then picking some out, and then trying them on, and then picking their favourites, and then buying them, and then walking back to the hotel took so long that by the time they returned the men had all left the lake. But the nurses still went, and they relished the privacy. While Charlie, Boo, Autumn, and Henry swam and played in the water, Mabs spent her time sunbathing on the pier with her legs dangling into the lake. It was all so peaceful, so casual, so calming that Charlie couldn't quite reconcile any of it with real life; it felt so much more like a dream.

Back at the hotel, Mabs let Charlie shower first, since she was soaking wet and dripping water all over the room, and the water pressure was, just as Mabs had said, perfect. Charlie could have lived in that shower. But eventually she decided it was time to get out - her skin had let her know in no uncertain terms that it didn't want to absorb any more water today - and Charlie waited for Mabs to finish showering while sitting out on the balcony in the light of early evening.

If every day they spent in Austria was like this, Charlie was certain she wouldn't mind the wait before going home at all. In fact, she was sure she'd love it.

They bought dinner in the hotel restaurant that night, sick of Army rations and still celebrating victory as they were, and were interrupted halfway through by a group of men from Easy who had spotted them through a window.

"Word on the street is you went for a swim without us," said Babe, approaching with Chuck, Lieb, and Garcia in tow. He was exaggerating an affronted expression which, when he saw it, made Chuck laugh.

"Word on the street is right," Autumn said with a smug smirk.

"Lotta people would pay a lotta money to see a show like that," Mabs drawled, smiling innocently, "so why should we be expected to give it to you boys for free?"

"Because of all the love you guys have for us in your hearts?" Garcia teased, taking a seat at the table next to them. The rest of the men quickly followed suit.

Autumn scoffed. "What love? We do this because we get paid. Don't go getting any ideas now."

"Oh, yeah," Lieb said, smirking as he leaned across the table, "'cause we all know how bad you need the money."

Autumn rolled her eyes and hid her smile behind a sip from her glass of water.

"Anyway," interrupted Chuck, cutting the bantering short, "there's gonna be a party tonight in the basement. Thought we should clue you guys in."

"Generous of you," acknowledged Mabs. "Who's goin'?"

"All of the enlisted," Garcia replied. "The officers don't know about it."

"Yeah, and you're not gonna tell 'em, Mabs," Lieb threatened pointedly.

Mabs downright cackled at this. "Oh, yeah. 'Cause I'm infamous for bein' such a terrible tattletale."

"All we're sayin' is what Speirs don't know won't hurt him," insisted Babe, leaning closer to her.

Mabs rolled her eyes. "I don't tell him everything."

"Glad to hear it."

So Babe was clearly still nursing a huge crush on Mabs. Charlie had been under the impression he'd left it behind in Bastogne but apparently not.

"What time's the party?" Boo wondered, still picking at her food.

"2000 hours," said Garcia.

"There gonna be drinks or do we bring our own?" This from Mabs.

"We've got some, but if you want anythin' special then you're gonna have to supply it yourselves," said Chuck.

"Alright," Mabs agreed. "I'll go."

The other nurses agreed as well and thus it was decided how they were going to be spending their first night in Austria.

It seemed a shame, Charlie thought upon reflection while she was getting ready later that evening, that they'd be spending their first sunset in such a beautiful place in a basement with no windows, but at least they'd all be together. And maybe she could just go late and stay up here for a while to watch it. Mabs had gone to see Speirs ahead of the party and had told Charlie she'd meet her there - she'd used the excuse that she had things she needed to pick up in town, which Charlie had recognised in an instant as a white lie - so it wasn't like she would be holding anyone up.

Charlie finished getting ready just as the sun was starting to set; the timing was so perfect she saw no reason to head downstairs and miss it all. She didn't know how much more time she'd have to gaze at sunsets in the Alps, after all, now that the war was over.

Charlie sat out on the balcony, dressed in her dress uniform with her hair perfectly styled and her makeup done, all except for her lipstick, which she always saved for last. She smiled as she watched warm light flood the sky. The very top of the sky was starting to turn a deep shade of purple, the very bottom still a bright yellow, and in between were every shade of orange, red, and pink that Charlie could imagine.

She was marvelling at how the centre of the sky seemed to be blushing when a knock came at the door.

"Come in!" she called, expecting Mabs.

The figure who entered was not, in fact, Mabs.