The Way Back

- 8 -

A/N - I literally don't know how to spell chérie, and for that I'm so so sorry. Ive seen it before in other fanfics and just had to incorporate it here so if it was spelled wrong please tell me and I will fix it <3 

Weeks passed by without word of another drop. The men in Aldbourne grew comfortable with the town. Still, the pressing nerve that they could be sanctioned to drop at any point set everyone on edge. 

Rushed footfalls pounded into the stone streets of Aldbourne. Lia Creed quickly made her way down to the aid station, leaving Leibgott at her front door without so much as a 'hello'. Word got around to her from the pair that Piper had gone a bit too far on drinks tonight and had tripped herself up at one of the bars in town. She knocked her head on one of the tables and blacked out. 

Lia pushed open the tent flaps and rushed inside. Eugene Roe stood on the far end of the tent, glancing up to the noise. Her eyes caught onto her friend asleep on one of the various cots, chest rising and falling in a steady pace. 

"She'll be alright." Roe spoke softly as he walked up to the lieutenant. "Killer headache when she wakes up, though." 

Lia nodded her head, thankful her friend was okay. She could see the small jagged cut that ran down her temple and the slight bruise forming around it. Roe pulled up a chair for her in front of Piper, motioning for her to sit. She gave him a small smile in thanks and dropped down into the chair. 

Roe had gone back to checking the inventory, whilst Lia sat beside her friend and watched the steady breaths. She knew it was just a clumsy hit to the head, but anytime Piper was hurt worried Lia to the bone. The young girl did not deserve any type of pain. She had been through enough of it already. 

Roe came up beside Piper, sitting down on a cot next to her and facing Lia. "Lieutenant. If you don't mind me asking, what was the medics name?" 

Lia brought her head up slowly to look at him. Remembering her medic was painful, and she hadn't expected Roe to even remember their last conversation. "Doug. Doug Whitlock." 

Roe nodded his head absently, looking down to the ground. 

"He was a lot like you." The medic brought his gaze back up, staring at Lia curiously. "Gentle, the accent. He always called me chérie." 

"I apologize for calling you that." Roe spoke quietly. "I didn't know what it meant to you." 

Lia smiled just slightly, shaking her head. "Don't apologize for things you didn't know. Besides, it was nice hearing it again." 

Silence filled the room around them. Only the steady breaths emitting from Piper cutting through. 

"You said you didn't know what happened to him." He trailed off, edging at her to open up. 

Lia swallowed. She didn't know if she wanted to talk about him, or if she didn't. She bit the inside of her lip as she sank into thought. Roe sat patiently as several minutes passed before the lieutenant decided to let it out. It would be good to get it off her chest. 

"He was killed while I was a POW. When I came back, I found out he was gone. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the details of his death, so I just never asked how it happened." 

Lia was often curious about it; how he was killed. If it was a mortar or tank. If it was a bullet or sickness. She never had the courage to ask and didn't know if she could handle knowing. 

"He was the first friend I made in the airborne." She paused, thinking on her words. "I don't make friends, clearly, but he was an exception. I can't tell if I regret it or just miss him."