" One of the most important things you can do on this Earth is to let people know they are not alone."
- Unknown
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Lizzie had long ago helped Gene get the man they aided to the side, before taking off again. She continued to help fallen soldiers to cover or the side, treating their wounds before moving on to the next person, wanting to help each and every one.
Lizzie picked her way carefully through the rubble, as spare bullet rounds occasionally whizzed past once and a while. Lizzie crouched beside a brick wall and glanced around the corner, digging into her medic satchel and taking inventory of what remained in her pack. As a bullet, which she had predicted to fly by at some point, flew by, she slowly stood, holding her helmet to her head as she crossed the street to the other side and slowly began making her way down another alley way.
She stopped at the sight in front of her that broke her already wounded heart.
" Lieb." she whispered, as her hand fell from her satchel and she slowly walked forward. Tipper was covered in blood and wounds, shaking in Liebgott's comforting arms. Tip had always been there, through all the training, all the moments with Sobel and his mixed up maps. But Lizzie trudged forward and gently approached the situation with a calming nature.
" Hey there, Tip." Lizzie whispered stepping forward and crouching in front of him, looking close at his one eye that was open wide and fearful. Lieb watched as Lizzie carefully assessed the wounds and gently talked to Tipper, calming him down with her voice and gentle touches the entire time. Lizzie watched as his entire body shook in fear as Joe held him so gently and comfortingly against his body. Lizzie gently brought up her hands to smooth some of the blood from his facial features, like his mouth and nose.
" There you go." Lizzie said, " You'll be okay, I promise." Tip let out a shaky breath as Joe watched her earnestly.
" I'm gonna get you evacuated safely, okay?" Lizzie said, bringing her hand to Tip's hand, and Tipper nodded.
" Help me move him, Joe." she said Joe nodded, shaken up as well from what she could tell. Lizzie stood on the other side as Joe lifted Tipper to his feet. Lizzie moved to wrap Tipper's other arm around her neck before they began walking him to where the sign hung for the suspected aid station, as bleak rounds came back from the retreating Germans that moved into the field, the marshes and the hedgerows around that of Carentan.
When the trio arrived at the aid station, Lizzie carefully, with help from Joe, lowered Tipper onto a bed, adjusting the pillow under his head as he did so.
" Hey, Tip, I'm going to grab a few things and then I'll be right with you, okay? You'll be okay." Lizzie said, gently leaning forward to brush some hair from his face.
" Thanks, Lizzie.' he said in a mumbled heap and Lizzie nodded. She looked up at Joe who watched Tip.
" Help me grab a few things?" Lizzie asked Joe watching him. Joe nodded slowly before turning and following Lizzie to where she had seen a bunch of boxes being stored, mostly of medical supplies. Lizzie arrived at a box and then turned to Joe.
" What happened, Joe?" Lizzie asked him.
" I shouldn't of left him in there, I though he was outside already." Joe said shaking his head as his face evidently paled and pure horror struck his features.
" Hey," Lizzie said, " hey, Joe, don't worry it's okay. Tip will be fine, now I'm just wondering if you will be too."
" I'll be fine, Doc," Joe told her meeting her eye, " it's just Tip, I thought he was out of the building."
" What happened?" she asked Joe, as she pulled out some bandages.
" We blew up to house because we thought no one was left inside when he still was." Joe said. Lizzie nodded gently.
" How about you go get some air, alright?" Lizzie said, " Tip will be fine here, I'll make sure of it." Joe watched her, and then he slowly nodded.
" Drink some water too." Lizzie called as Joe stepped out of the medic station. Lizzie turned and grabbed a few more things from the boxes before heading back over to Tip who lay quietly on the bed, groaning a bit with each movement. But what surprised Lizzie more was that Hazel and Tab were currently placing Lip down in the bed next to Lip.
" Lip?" Lizzie said as Hazel glanced her way, Tab's eyes following.
" He took a nasty hit right in the groin." Hazel confirmed, " We brought him here."
" Okay," Lizzie said, nodding," I'll get someone on him. Tip took a hit as well." Lizzie watched Hazel looked down and Tab follow and their expressions visibly saddened.
" Hey, Lip." Lizzie said as she approached him, to hopefully calm the NCO and the sniper.
" Let me just take a peak." she said and ripped open the hole a bit more to look at the groin wound.
" We'll get you taken care of, Lip." Lizzie said, rubbing his shoulder as Lip nodded, looking shell-shocked. Lizzie slowly stood wiping the blood from her finger tips.
" How about you two get some air? Lieb wasn't looking too good either." Lizzie said.
" What's wrong with Joe?" Hazel asked, taking a gentle step forward.
" Whatever happened with Tip's got him real shaken up." Lizzie said, with a nod, " I think you should just check up on him and make sure he's okay. I told him to drink but he was in a different world."
" I will." Hazel said with a nod, as she scratched her head.
" You'll be okay with these two?" Tab asked Lizzie.
" Yeah, yeah," Lizzie said, " I'll be fine, you two head out. I'm sure the men need rounding up."
" Yeah," Tab said and placed a hand on Hazel's shoulder, " c'mon Hazel." Hazel gave a glance back at Lip and Tip and gave a small smile before Tab lead her out of the med station. Lizzie turned to Lip and gently wiped the layer of nervous sweat collecting on his forehead.
" Hey!" Lizzie called turning towards some of the medics milling about, " Can I get someone to start cleaning him up?"
" Yes, ma'am." one of the medics from the 502nd called. He was the youngest out of them all, and when Lizzie first met him, albeit, skittish and a bit jumpy, but he meant well and Lizzie trusted his instinct.
" Groin wound," Lizzie informed when the man came over to her, with bandages in his grasp and some cream in the other. The medic nodded before getting to work. Lizzie went over to Tip again and gently pulled up and stool with the water bucket and wet cloth to begin working on the wound of his face, wiping off the blood, cleaning the bits of open flesh that scattered across his facial features. Then suddenly she heard a crash behind her and watched as Albert Blithe slid off the arm of Skip.
" Buddy, c'mon." Skip said, trying to adjust him.
" Hey," Lizzie said coming forward, " what's going on?"
" Lizzie, oh thank god," Skip said, " Al says he can't see." Lizzie offered a curious gaze.
" Can't see?"
" Yep. Can't see nothing." Skip confirmed. Lizzie slowly crouched in front of Albert and waved a gentle hand in front of his facial features. His pupils made no move of registering something in front of them.
" Thanks, Skip." Lizzie said with a nod to him and he smiled with a nod before heading out again.
" Hey, Al, it's me. Lizzie." Lizzie said, sitting criss-cross applesauce beside him.
' Lizzie." Albert said quietly, " I can't see."
" I know." Lizzie said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, " How about you sit in here for a bit? It's probably just hysterical blindness." She'd read up on that a while ago, and always thought it was a rather curious thing to acquire, but it seemed Albert had stumbled upon it.
" Okay," Albert said nodding, as a few tears spiked his eyes. She figured she'd leave him alone to gather his emotions. She slowly stood and turned only before Gene caught her arm.
" He okay?" Gene asked nodding to Albert as Lizzie wiped her hands.
" Says he can't see." Lizzie said quietly, " Hysterical blindness." Gene nodded.
" We'll keep an eye on him, let him sit for a bit." Lizzie offered, " See if it wards off a bit." Gene nodded. Lizzie smiled softly and then left him to head back over to Tip and Lip, where the medic from the 502nd was working diligently on Lip.
" Sorry, Tip," Lizzie said as she gently wiped around his puffy eye.
" It's okay, Lizzie." Tip said, still shaking quite a bit.
" I'm going to make sure you get evacuated safely, okay?" Lizzie said, as she brushed more blood from his neck and chin. He nodded. That's all she ever wanted for the men she aided. For evacuation to be the easy part and not the part they were to worry about.
Once Hazel stepped outside, she glanced at Tab who looked around at the mess of the battlefield. Parts of the road still smoking from explosions that had rattled the city, little fires in different places, the hot sun casting a sort of warm blanket over the group in the form of hot wind.
" I'm going to try and find Joe." Hazel said to Tab.
" Yeah you do that, I'm going to try and find some of the NCOs." Tab said to her and she nodded, before heading off in search of her friend, whom was now worrying her.
From what Lizzie had told her, she knew Joe would be upset because he and Tipper were friends. She couldn't imagine what Joe was feeling, but in a way she could. Hazel couldn't fathom Catherine and her injury and the pain it was to be taken from the battle like that. Hazel continued to walk through the little town of Carentan searching for Joe, her worry spiking for him.
Hazel found him sat outside of a building on a lone street where dust and wind slowly crept down the alley, blowing a stray piece of paper through. Hazel stared at him, her heart racing, as he sat with his head in his hands.
" Joe?" Hazel asked quietly. Joe didn't move like he usually did at the sound of her voice, instead it was like he was frozen in a trance.
" Joe?" Hazel tried again taking a step forward toward him.
" Hazel, I'm fine." Joe said back, his voice coming out in more of a shaky gasp. Hazel stopped in her tracks looking at him, her heart in her throat. Joe was her friend, one of her best friends and it hurt seeing him like this, for she never saw him like this. He hid it if he was.
" Joe-"
" Hazel, I said I'm fine." Joe snapped looking up at her with grief stricken eyes. Hazel narrowed her eyes at him, and stepped closer. She could tell something was wrong. And if she let him alone, it would grow worse. Joe stared up at her.
" I don't care if I have to sit by your side and not say a word, but I'm your friend, Joe." Hazel said,
" And I trust you, and I'm not going to leave you alone to suffer. Because I let that happen to me and it broke me. I won't watch my friend go through that." Joe watched as Hazel then walked over and sat down next to him and stared forward, eyes narrowed and alert.
" I heard about Tipper," Hazel whispered, her voice suddenly gentle again. She looked up at Joe sadly, " I'm sorry." Joe watched her eyes. They were calming. And they were eyes he trusted.
" I didn't mean to snap at you." Joe said in a shaky voice, looking at her.
" I know," Hazel said, and gently rubbed his arm with a small smile.
Truth be told, Joe Liebgott for her was nothing to fear. He had outbursts, but he was human. Hazel understood that. Her father was human, but his outbursts destroyed the family instead. Joe had a right to be upset, her father was suffering like everyone else, but couldn't deal with it, even though Hazel and her mother could.
" It's ok to be upset." Hazel said to him, " Even in war." Joe watched her and bit his lip.
" I shouldn't have let him go in that house alone, Tiny." Joe said to her shaking his head, and running a hand through his chocolate locks. Hazel looked at him, and offered a small smile.
" You did what you could, Joe." Hazel said softly, " We can't prevent all that happens in war." Joe looked at her.
" I couldn't have left him in the house, I could've made sure he left the house with me." Joe muttered out. Hazel looked at him.
" But you were there for him Joe after, and he'll be safely evacuated because of you." Hazel said softly. Joe looked at her and nodded. She was right.
" Thanks, Hazel." Joe said quietly, " For not leaving my side." Hazel smiled at him.
" What are best friends for?" Hazel said softly to him and Hazel smiled when she saw the smile on his own face appear.
Lizzie was sitting by Lip's side as the medic from the 502nd was writing out the paper work. Lizzie had just said her farewell to Tipper, whom she knew she would miss, just because Tipper was just always there for a smile and a good time and a good laugh. Lizzie would miss him. Lizzie looked at Lip, who wasn't as knocked out as he had been before hand and smiled at him sadly as he glanced over at her.
" I'm getting evacuated aren't I?" he asked her and Lizzie nodded, grasping his hand.
" Yeah, I'm sorry, Lip." she said as Lip smiled at her.
" It's war, Lizzie." he said, " It was going to happen at some point."
" How's Hazel? She looked pale." Lip asked Lizzie.
" I think she's ok. She went in search of Liebgott actually, after what happened." Lizzie explained. Lip smiled.
" Two peas in a pod, those two are." Lip said and Lizzie laughed a bit, as she leaned back and grabbed some painkillers.
" When do you think I'll get back?" he asked her.
" Maybe a month or so, depends on how long your wound takes to heal." Lizzie said as the medic looked up at her with a nod.
" He's good to go." the medic said and walked away.
" You're going to heal up real good, Lip, I know it." she said and squeezed his hand extra tight and Lip smiled.
" Thank you again Lizzie." he said and squeezed her hand back. Then he nodded to behind her.
" Make sure Doc Roe keeps eating, he looks a bit worn." Lip told her.
" Always." Lizzie said and squeezed his hand extra tight. Gene was a little stress ball sometimes, and Lizzie always tried to take that stress off him whenever she could and dutifully remain by his side. Lizzie stepped back and watched as Lip was taken away before looking over towards Gene, who was working on, surprisingly, Lieutenant Winters. Lizzie raised a concerned brow and then grabbed a rag to wipe her hands, as she began walking over.
" Sir," Lizzie said walking over as she wiped her hands. Winters looked towards her.
" Hey, Lizzie." Winters said then grimaced. Lizzie offered a tiny smile towards the Lieutenant.
" There she is." Gene said, pulling the 'bullet' it looked like from the wound with tweezers.
" You're lucky it was a ricochet." Gene said as Winters leaned forward for Gene to put the little piece in a tin. " You just caught a piece of it."
" Stupid." Winters told himself, making Lizzie and Gene look up, even at the mere mention of Winters remotely saying anything negative.
" What?" Gene asked with soft yet alert eyes. Winters shook his head.
" Now, you gonna be able to stay off it?" Gene asked him, cleaning the wound.
" Doesn't look that way." Winters said.
" Well, you gotta try, huh?" Gene asked as Buck appeared at Lizzie's and Winters' side.
" What have you got planned, chief?" Buck asked.
" Well, we expect a counterattack." Winters said, " Carentan's as important to them as it is to us."
" Any idea when?" Buck asked, as Lizzie looked down at her slightly red, bloodied hands.
" We're not waiting around to find out." Winters said.
" Battalion wants us to head east toward high ground, set up a defensive position. With all the flooded fields, it's the only direction they could approach from." Winters stated.
" Yeah." Buck said glancing at where Gene was working on the wound.
" You gonna be alright?" Buck asked him.
" Yep." Winters answered quickly. " Yeah."
" Good." Buck said, then turning and leaving. Gene continued working on his wound as Lizzie stood there with a concerned face, looking at Winters.
" What's wrong with Blithe?" Winters asked Gene. Gene looked up at Winters and then over to the man who Lizzie noticed was sitting on the floor, staring off into a different dimension.
" Well, nothing, except he can't see." Gene said, dabbing at Winters' leg again.
" He can't see?" Winters asked quietly.
" So he says." Gene said.
" Hysterical blindness." Lizzie said quietly, looking at Winters with a sad smile. Gene went to go back to cleaning the wound, but Winters gave him a look, and Gene nodded, as Winters struggled to get to his feet, and limp over to Blithe. Lizzie turned her head ever so slightly and watched as Winters slowly knelt down in front of Blithe, attempting his best to try and talk to him. Lizzie glanced towards Gene, who was getting more medical bandages prepared for WInters.
" How're you doing, Lizzie?" Gene asked her as he began wiping his hands.
" Okay," she said with a tiny smile, " Lip's being evacuated. He told me to watch out for you." Gene smiled at her.
" I think I should be the one doing that instead." Gene told her as Lizzie smiled at him. The company always worried for the medics the most; they saw the most war that the rest of them would ever see. They had to carry that scars of the dead and the wounds of the barely alive and witness it first hand. That's when the two noticed Winters stood up, and was making his way back towards the two.
" Sir," suddenly came Blithe's voice. Winters turned to look at Blithe as well as Lizzie and Gene's head turned as well.
" Yeah, what it is?" Winters asked him. Lizzie glanced at Gene as she watched Blithe look up to Winters.
" Thank you, sir." Blithe said. Winters stared at him, straight faced and a little confused.
" I'm okay." Blithe said as he moved to get to his feet, squeezing his eyes open and closed again.
" Yeah, I'm okay." Blithe said, stepping forward as Gene slowly stood to his feet looking outside.
" I'm okay." Blithe repeated as Lizzie, the shortest of the 3 men, stepped into the little square of them, looking towards Blithe.
" I think I'm okay." Blithe said, reassuring himself as he looked at the trio staring at him.
" You can see?" Winters asked him.
" God," Blithe said, rubbing his eye, " I don't know what happened. I think I, I think I'm okay." Winters glanced at Gene, who was looking at Blithe.
" Alright." Winters said. " Uh, well, stay here a little while longer...and uh, make sure. And then you can report back to your platoon." Blithe looked up and nodded.
" Yes, sir," he said quietly before slowly moving past Winters and the other two. Lizzie and Winters turned as Blithe slowly walked away and out of the med station. Winters glanced towards Gene, as if he had the answer, but Gene just raised his eyebrows with a shake of the head. Winters looked back to where Blithe had gone as Lizzie bit her lip.
" Now, can we get that bandage on?" Gene asked Winters.
" Yeah." Winters said before turning and moving to sit back down. Winters looked over at the exhausted blonde haired medic, as she looked around with tired eyes, before bending down to pick up a dirty bandage.
" You okay, Doc?" Winters asked her as Gene began wrapping up the wound on his lower leg.
" Yes, sir." Lizzie affirmed with a small smile, " Just making sure everyone's okay." Winters nodded.
" Ma'am?" a voice called and Lizzie looked at the back door to see another man being hauled inside.
" Excuse me, sir." Lizzie said as she hurried over towards them. Winters watched her go and met Gene's eyes. Gene gave him a shortened smile before focusing back on the leg.
Medics and their duties.
They went hand in hand.
And damn they were good at their jobs.
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hey! last chapter updated for the day, but as i've said, carentan holds a place close to my heart, and this episode i feel really focuses on the harsh realities of war as well as the bonds of friendship and what the truly means in a war based setting and i've tried to really portray that with the war and friendship aspect, i really love it :)
thank you for all your love and support!! there may or may not be an update tomorrow, i'm not sure yet with the editing i have to do, but i'm hoping i can still get one out even if it is later in the day!!