Evelyn's Tale

-Thirty Two-

"So, uh, you come from the hospital?" Jackson eyed him up and down.

"Yeah," Webster nodded, sitting down as the truck lurched and began moving again.

"Must have liked that hospital," Liebgott snarled. "'Cause, uh, we left Holland four months ago."

"Well I wasn't there the whole time," Webster answered. "There was rehabilitation and the replacement depot."

"Well, I'm sure you tried to bust out and help us in Bastogne, Web?" Liebgott sniffed.

"I don't know how I would have done that?" Webster said, with something close to a smirk.

Evelyn glanced across at Grant, who just shrugged. The animosity directed towards Webster seemed to be coming from everyone, but for some reason Evelyn felt bad on the guy. She didn't know why. She had always been the same. She didn't like to be mean to anyone, especially not someone who had trained with them in Toccoa. David Webster was the kind of man who followed the rules. In his opinion, rules were there for a reason. Whereas most of the other guys, and especially Lieb, believed that the majority of rules were made to be broken or at least bent in some way.

"That's funny because Popeye found a way. So did Alley, right, back in Holland?" He looked at Babe who nodded his agreement. "And Guarnere."

"Where is Guarnere? That brother of yours still platoon sergeant?" Webster smiled at her. "Or has he moved on to greener pastures?"

Evelyn felt his words like a punch to her chest. God knows he didn't have a clue what he was saying, but it hurt all the same. She couldn't even begin to form a reply. Liebgott rubbed her back and Babe peered into her face with concern. Thankfully the truck came to a stop once more and Evelyn jumped down without a second glance at any of them. Those who had been in Bastogne knew what had happened to Bill, so she'd never been forced to utter the words out loud before. Now that the time had come to do so, she found it was a lot harder than she ever expected it to be.

"No," Jackson gritted his teeth, as Liebgott jumped down after Evelyn. "He got hit."

"Yeah?" Webster grimaced.

"Yeah, Bill got hit," Babe scowled at him. "Blew his whole leg off."

Webster was left sitting in the truck feeling like an absolute chump (to quote one of Bill's favourite words). Across the street, he saw Liebgott put his arm around Evelyn, who looked to be trying her hardest not to cry. A few more men had gathered around her, and Liebgott must have explained what had happened because he felt a few glares coming his way. With a sigh, he jumped down from the truck. This really wasn't the welcome back he had been expecting.

When he caught up with the rest of the platoon, he was given the cold shoulder by most of them.

"Hold along this line until I figure out where we're going?" Malarkey ordered.

When an artillery shell exploded in the building in front of them, Webster dove onto the ground and covered his head while the rest of them barely blinked.

"What's the matter there, Webster? Nervous in the service?" Malarkey smirked.

"No, no, I'm fine Sarge," Webster said, getting up and looking around in almost astonishment that he was alive and well.

"Why don't you go talk to Captain Speirs? Make sure he wants you with us," Malarkey told him.

"Captain Speirs? What happened to Captain Winters?"

"He's running the whole battalion now," Malarkey answered.

"A lot of things have changed huh, Webster?" Evelyn walked over to him. She could feel Liebgott's scowl burning into her back, but she didn't care. She knew Webster hadn't meant to upset her and she certainly wasn't going to make him feel bad for it like everyone else apparently was. "I'm off to find Lipton anyway, so I'll walk over with you if you like?"