" Sometimes you have to the accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be."
- unknown
***
Welsh was taken away by one of the Docs that was at a nearby aid station, and the two exhausted medics were led to a small mess hall where a cook was working behind the counter cooking some food. He looked up when he saw the two medics enter the mess hall, he hurried over to them.
" Have a seat, I'll get some tea, and food." he said to the two. Gene took Charlotte's shoulder and led her to sit down at a table. She slowly slid in and Gene took the seat across from her. He slowly pulled the helmet and medic satchel from his body. Charlotte sat with her arms across her chest, sniffling with a few stray tears on her cheeks. Gene leaned forward and gently pulled her helmet from her head and placed it next to her. She smiled weakly at Gene, then pulled her medic satchel over her shoulder and put it on the ground next to her feet. She wiped at her eyes, and sniffled before letting another cough rattle her throat.
" I'm sorry, Gene." she whispered. She wiped her eye again, and looked at the table.
" I'm a mess." she whispered. Gene reached forward and took her hand in his, and rubbed it gently.
" Hey, remember, cherie, you're my mess." he said with a small chuckle. She had to let out a small giggle his way. The cook arrived back with two cups of tea, and placed the steaming substances down in front of the two of them.
" Thank you." Gene said.
" Thanks." Charlotte whispered, bringing the small cup of liquid to her lips and letting it run down her parched throat. The tears almost snaked their way out again, at the warmth she finally felt inside. She glanced at her watch, it was sometime past 0200 in the morning, but everything suddenly sounded quiet and with a gentle atmosphere. Charlotte glanced at Gene. He was staring at the tea in front of him swirl in circles, but he looked warm, content and happy for once in the time they'd been out here and Charlotte couldn't feel anything but happy that the man was finally warm and happy after so long on the cold. Gene looked at up at her.
" You never really finished your story that other night with Spina." He said softly. She looked at him slightly confused.
" About why they picked you for a combat medic." He said sipping his own tea. Charlotte smiled gently towards Gene who looked genuinely interested in whatever she had to say.
" And I'm guessing you want to hear the entire story now?" She asked softly. Gene smiled.
" Did you think war was going to be like this?" He asked her.
" No." She whispered shaking her head. " I mean sure, we'd lose some guys, but after losing one others, that I never would've guessed, and now they're gone, just is sad." Gene knew she was thinking about Skinny and having to drive him to the aid station and leave him for God-knows how long. He knew she missed him... a lot. Sometimes throughout the day, he'd see her staring aimlessly where Perconte and Skinny's old foxhole was, and kinda just stare and then continue walking, or she'd actually go and sit by the edge and 'sort' through her medic satchel as she sat there. At first, he really thought that it was just because it was a close friend, but he was such a big brother figure to her, that him not here, was messing with her mind a bit.
" Do you miss him?" Gene asked. Charlotte looked at Gene and then at the table and then the tea. She slowly nodded, staring straight down.
" He's just...he's always been there...always. And the fact that now he's gone really sets in stone that not everybody who started in Toccoa will finish. Not everybody will make it. And it's just sad to see people who we think of as friends disappear and we may never see them again." She said softly again. Gene nodded, and the two looked up as two steaming bowls of soup were placed in front of them.
" Thank you so much!" Charlotte called to the cook slowly walking away.
" Your welcome, ma'am!" He called back. She turned to her food and stared it at.
" Warm food." She whispered softly. " We're gonna eat warm food." She whispered again. He smiled.
" So, the story?" Gene asked, hopeful.
" You know, MJ, right the one I talked about before?" Gene nodded.
" So, we both had been wanting to help the war effort and my two brothers were already joining the Marines and Army, and I felt like I needed to do something. So we both decided to sign up for the Nurse Corps. And so we did. I went with my ma to the recruitment station into the small room on the left and signed up, with all my interests and qualifications. I came home from school a week later and found a letter from the war department sitting on my kitchen table. They said they wanted me as a combat unit medic. That I'd be the first in history. And I was floored completely. I was in so much shock, and I didn't believe it at first. I went through my 8 weeks of basic training, and then got transferred to Easy after signing up for the paratroopers. That's how I ended up here." She explained, scooping up a large bit of chicken noodle. It was so warm on her throat and even though it burned it felt good to finally have something to cool the cough that wanted to emit.
" Where did your parents come from?" Gene asked scooping up the soup on his spoon.
" France. A little town of Roscoff, a port town on the Atlantic Ocean. My parents were both born in Paris, then my oldest brother Leroy was born in Reims on their vacation there. But then my brother and I were born in Roscoff, until we came to America and had my sister and younger brother." She explained.
" You?" She asked him, spooning the hot broth down her throat again.
" I'm of Cajun decent. My grandma, the traiteurs, brought us to the Louisiana region where I was born and brought up with my family. But I have the French and Cajun blood." He explained. Charlotte smiled at the man.
" I like this Gene." She said scooping another spoonful up.
" You didn't like the other one?" He scoffed with a smirk.
" I like happy Gene, not stressed Gene." She said looking at him pointedly.
" I like happy Charlie, not sad Charlie." Gene said back with a raised brow and she had to giggle. Here they were, the medics of Easy at 2 in the morning, cackling about nothing, even though they had just been through one of the worst experiences of their lives. But here they were, alive and sharing a late Christmas meal together with the only family they had at the moment. With the soup bowls and tea cups finally empty, the medics packed up their gear and decided to return to Easy. They thanked the cook who had made the food and tea and he waved with a small smile at the two. The medics were immediately greeted with a cold blast of air, and the chilling night time that devoured them. The jeep driver dropped them off at the edge and then walked the rest of the way into the forest toward their foxholes, in the darkness. Their feet crunched against the thick snow, and their heavy breathing layered the empty sound that rang in the forest. The snow began to gently fall as the two medics arrived back in Easy's area, and the foxholes of men started to appear. It was well past 0330 in the morning by this point, and the exhaustion covered both their faces. Two men were awake, standing side by side as the two medics walked forward, past Winter's foxhole, who looked up at them, as if he were waiting for them in his sleep. Once the two medics reached their foxhole, Gene turned to her suddenly.
" I have to go do something, can you try and grab a foxhole with someone else for the night?" he asked softly, and to his relief she nodded with a smile.
" Merry Christmas, Gene." she whispered, and he smiled with a small nod back at him. Then with that, she turned, and hurried through the rows of foxholes, peaking in at each one to make sure the boys were fast asleep. She finally arrived at the last foxhole and slipped inside, and was greeted with a gentle warm blast, seeing Liebgott and Alley next to each other with their blankets fast asleep. The sudden sound of her arrival woke Liebgott from his sleep and he did a double take when he saw the girl crawling into the foxhole, shivering.
" Sunshine?" He whispered to her petite figure. He hadn't seen her in so long so it was kinda a shock to his system.
" Lieb." She mumbled out, her teeth chattering.
" Hey, hey, hey, you're freezing. Come here." he said gently to the girl, as she crawled over with her medic satchel and slowly crawled under the blanket as well, right next to Liebgott. It was warmer than what she'd just been in, not amazingly warm, but just warm enough for what she needed.
" Thanks Lieb." she whispered softly against him, nestling her head into his chest and pulling the blanket up and around her neck and chin for warmth as well. She let out a wheezing cough that startled Liebgott, but left the girl only finishing up and cuddling closer to Lieb for warmth.
" You're shaking." Liebgott whispered to the girl, pulling her closer, as his hot breathe warmed her nose.
" It's so cold." she whispered back, sniffling, and trying to cuddle closer to Liebgott. The girl clutched his jacket OD top tightly in her palm and eventually found the dog tags around his neck. She grasped the cold objects in her fingers, and to comfort herself on this Christmas Day early morning, she kissed the metal lightly. Liebgott smiled down at the girl, softly, at her childlike comforting system, but he found it adorable. He brought his hand up and clasped it over the girl's which gripped the dog tags, and the sleepy girl looked up at him with a small smile. Liebgott leant down and lightly kissed the girl's forehead. She sighed and instantly curled up against one of her best friends out here.
" Thank you." she whispered, yawning. She already felt warmer. A few Germans across the way were still singing their Christmas renditions of Silent Night and their peaceful voices, made her gently fall asleep as she thought of church at Christmas and the amazing choir singers and their soft, calming voices.
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thanks for reading!