Love Like Ghosts - Band of Brothers

Chapter 12

BASTOGNE, BELGIUM
December, 1944

There was a time before all of this where she enjoyed the snow. Christmas time in Boston, where the crisp air and fluorescent lights were tranquil. Even the fall of snow was silent, it was calming, as Josephine believed it to be.

Yet, there she was, her hands covering her ears as much as they possibly could as the hailing of mortars blasted incessantly above ground. The ground shook violently- deep tremors that nearly took the breath out of her lungs. If she didn't die from frostbite out there, surely a heart attack could sneak up on her with all of this noise and brutality. She then thanked the gods as the violent booming ceased and provided some aid to her onset headache.

It had taken the troopers a day to get to Bastogne from Mourmelon, even longer from the lands of Holland. Jo, during that period of vagabond travelling with the men, wrote home as frequently as one could. Luz was so sure that every time he had seen her, she had ink on her fingers and a pen in her hand. In fact, there was something else he noticed - she had a smile on her face. It combatted the frigid environment that they were encroaching upon, her aura grew warmer, surprisingly.

But all of the blistering wind whipped away any smiles from Josephine's face. She wasn't sure if she could smile any more, granted that her face was frozen and stuck on one position...

Bernadette Hurst, who had also been stationed in Bastogne, thought about her friend. Birdie could keep her sanity in the warm and dry Church - a sanctuary for casualties, a plethora of people. Jo, on the other hand, was sure she could never see such a sight for feel such a warmth again.

"You're a sad sight." Guarnere jumped down into the foxhole and startled the girl.

"I know, I know. It's not like I can freshen up for you boys out 'ere." She mumbled, hugging herself tighter to keep warm.

"Jo, I could hear your damn teeth chattering from 3 holes away." He said jokingly.

"What d'ya want, Bill?" She smiled, ignoring his pestering.

"I- uh, I was hoping you could-" Guarnere began. His stature was uncertain and uncomfortable.

"What? Is something wrong?" Josephine turned to him with concern.

"No, well, yes. It's just... I need advice for something but I tried to talk to Roe and he wasn't any goddamn help."

Josephine nodded in understanding. Just when she thought she broke down Eugene Roe's walls, he just fortified them. Bastogne had already stated to chipped away at his composure- or, actually, his character. He had been too calm, too okay with this cold, but it was worrisome to Jo.

"What is it?" She asked the man next to her.

"It hurts to piss." He blurted.

Josephine's eyes widened and let out a simple 'oh.'

"Yeah." He tsked.

"Well, in that case, I'm probably not the best person for advising you on something like that." She stated. "I am a woman y'know?"

A deep sigh fell from his lips.

"But I do know that you should stay hydrated- and that doesn't mean eating snow." She added. "That should help, but I really would ask the other male medic from Fox Company."

"Thanks Doc, a man's gotta try, y'know?"

The girl laughed and patted his shoulder before he left the foxhole that she inhabited.

The mentioning of Fox Company tugged at her heart more than she was willing to admit. In the downtime and silence of the winter, her mind wandered to a particular person. Sure, it had been weeks since their last encounter - the lieutenant had given her his last spare ration before the battalion entered the forests of Bastogne. He had held out the stale food as if it were a mere and unimportant item, yet Josephine felt something behind the way he watched her reach out to him. There was so much more to Ronald Speirs and he occupied her thoughts nearly every goddamn minute.

She casted a smile at the thought of him. Her curiosity sparked a warmth in her that otherwise would give away had her hope not have been recuperated.

Bang!

The sound was foolproof enough for Jo's ears. No way was she questioning what it meant. Yet, she could only wonder, where was the yelling to accompany it? No medic?

She sat there idly with a heavy silence. Her breath was held so her sense of hearing could register something- anything.

"It's Hoobler! Help!"

As soon as those words pierced the air, Josephine popped out of her trench hole and crouch ran to the left flank of the front line where the commotion came from.

On bated breath, she stumbled to the white snowy ground beside the bleeding soldier. Her fingers made quick work to assess the wound on his leg. Compton, Lip, Hashey, and Perconte all surrounded her as she scrambled to try to be faster than the blood leaving his wound. Then, Hoobler's breath stilled and caught in his chest. Too late - she balled her fists and stood up watching as Perconte and Hashey lifted his body away.

"What happened? There was only one gun shot?"

"His luger went off." Lip answered her, also watching the scene before them.

"He finally got one." She murmured.

"Even when we have moments of peace, there's always something else." Compton added in and crossed his arms.

"Yet it's always us who pay the price." Josephine said.

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