All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

46: Family

Flanked by Johnny and Guarnere, Posey returned Teddy to the barracks before following the rest of Second Platoon to the mess hall. On the way there, she tried her best to liven herself up, if not in a bid to actually elevate her mood then to prevent the others from asking questions to which she didn't have sufficient answers. At any rate, she didn't want to discuss her unfortunate familial situation any further.

As always, the mess hall was alight with activity by the time they arrived. With Johnny in front of her and Guarnere behind, Posey slotted into the line for food and contented herself with people watching for the time being; after returning from Normandy queuing up for food had been a very quick process, though the arrival of the replacements had made it a much more drawn out affair.

There was an evident divide between veterans and replacements, as there always was, which mirrored, in some ways, the divide there had initially been between the platoons back in boot camp. As of yet, relations between the two groups were icy at best despite Posey's best efforts to warm them up, but the replacements, at least, had each other. Posey smiled sadly to recall when she hadn't had anyone, then laughed quietly to herself as Johnny made a comment which indirectly reminded her that she wasn't alone anymore. Much had changed since then.

Over at their usual table, Luz was already entertaining the masses. He gesticulated wildly as he recounted some story or other, his grin curling the edges of his words. Every now and again Skip would make a comment, and then so would Lieb or Tab from the next table over, and Luz would laugh uproariously before continuing on. Posey shook her head with a laugh as she watched on fondly, the noise of the room too loud for her to hear a word of what they were saying.

Her eyes slid over to some of the gathered tables of replacements, whose moods were significantly duller. Some of them watched the veterans interact with poorly concealed longing whilst others were engaged in conversations of their own, which were much quieter and less boisterous than the veterans'. Posey noticed Heffron sitting at a table of four, seeming deep in conversation with replacements she recognised as Garcia, Hashey, and Miller. She took the opportunity to turn back to Guarnere and point him out.

"Over there," she said, pointing at Heffron before checking to make sure Guarnere was following her gesture. "Red hair, on the table of four. That's Heffron. He's from South Philly, remember I told you?"

"Yeah," Guarnere confirmed, nodding as he studied the replacement, likely sizing him up. "I'll talk to him," he promised.

Posey nodded, "Good," before Johnny tapped her elbow to let her know they were finally at the front of the queue.

As always, the mess officer slopped the food unceremoniously onto each tray before moving onto the next, and whatever it was he was serving today, Posey had no idea. Still, it was warm and it wasn't a K-Ration, so that was good enough for her - the fussy eater in her had died the moment she'd set foot in Camp Toccoa, and, for better or for worse, it didn't seem likely to return anytime soon.

Johnny led their trio over to the table Luz was still holding court at and slotted himself in on the left side of the bench, so Posey took the right, beside Luz. Guarnere sat opposite her which made her roll her eyes, protective as he had become since France, but paid it little more mind. To Luz, she said, "What story are you telling today?"

Luz laughed. "I've been fillin' in Talbert here on what he missed."

From the table beside them, Tab spoke up, "Congratulations on the promotion, Duckie."

Posey grinned. "Thank you very much." Before she could say any more, a sharp crash just behind her had her attention drawn elsewhere. When she turned she found Smokey beginning to stand, though he'd knocked one of his crutches over in the process. Posey breathed a laugh and pressed a hand to her chest where her heart was racing. She stood to retrieve it for him.