The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

32: We've Got A While

The wounded Charlie saw to after the battle the next morning were somehow both not as bad and much worse than those she'd seen to after the Battle of Carentan. Which was to say: there weren't as many of them, but those she did see were downright mangled. It was a good bit of luck that the wounded were being delivered to the evac hospital almost immediately afterwards, because beyond the immediate help they'd gotten, the field hospital simply didn't have the facilities to care for them any further.

It was unfortunate, however, that Floyd was going with them. If his watch had been that night instead of the one before then Charlie likely would have been taking care of him for days yet until they could get another vehicle out to transport the wounded.

It was simply bad timing. Or good timing, really, if Charlie was being unselfish. He needed the evac hospital, and at least there he'd be safe and out of the firing line.

In spite of General Taylor's promise to the Airborne that they'd only be needed in France for three days and three nights, time wore on relentlessly without so much as a whisper that they might be going back to England soon. The line pushed forward, the nurses moved the field hospital, they slept in foxholes, they treated the wounded. Days bled into nights bled into days, each of them almost exactly the same as the last.

It wasn't often that the men of the company got the chance to go and see the nurses. As time wore on, so did hostility with the Germans and the amount of patrols being sent out. The nurses only ever saw one of the men when they came in with a wound that needed seeing to. As such, it was better not to see them.

More and more of them were being sent to the evac hospital as the days went by.

Charlie was sitting in her foxhole alone as Mabs took inventory of supplies with Autumn back in the tent. They were running low by now, since they'd been supplied under the impression they wouldn't be overseas for very long.

Charlie was glad she hadn't been put on inventory today; she felt she was better off not knowing how badly they needed more supplies. Instead, she sat back against the wall of her foxhole in blissful somewhat-ignorance and stared at the sky as the blue of day slowly became lilac, the world preparing for evening.

When Boo slipped into the foxhole silently, Charlie didn't need to turn to know it was her. Not simply because Mabs and Autumn were working, but because she was the only one of the girls who didn't announce herself or start speaking the moment she was within earshot of someone else. By contrast, Boo liked to sit in silence and think for a while before speaking, so Charlie sent her a small smile, which Boo returned, and the pair of them enjoyed the quiet and the slow transition of colour across the sky together.

Eventually, Boo spoke up quietly, "How are you doing?"

Charlie hummed in acknowledgement of the question and shrugged one shoulder. "I'm okay. How are you doing?"

Boo sighed, but when Charlie glanced at her she was smiling a little. "Alright, I guess." She paused, considering her next words, then went on, "Are you missing Floyd?"

Charlie looked over at her again with raised eyebrows, caught off guard by the question.

Boo laughed. "I'm only asking because I think all of this would be a whole lot harder if I didn't have George so close by when I need him."

Charlie's expression faded from confusion to something softer. She was glad Boo had George, and vice versa. The two of them together had shocked her as much as it had shocked everyone else, but as opposite as the two of them were, they were good for each other.

Smiling, Charlie nudged Boo gently with her elbow. "You two are getting along well."

Boo blushed and turned her eyes on the sky to avoid having to look at Charlie as she spoke. "Yeah."