Band of Brothers - Sunshine Solider

chapter 76: innocence

" My silence is just another word for my pain."

- unknown

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( a/n ) french to english conversation translation at the body. inspriation from multiple books on here for the ending of the chapter, and no gifs once again out of respect for the seriousness of the episode.

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Charlotte followed Anna toward the back to the end of the camp, following her into a dark hut where light was barely able to reach any of the corners inside. She pulled the tiny pocket light from her pocket and flashed it up, as she inhaled the terrible scent these women had to sleep through. A bead of sweat dropped down her forehead as she continued to follow Anna. They came to a portion of the bunks where women surrounded a younger looking sick woman. Blood was everywhere, splattered in about a 3 foot vicinity everywhere, and her breathing was labored and rather heavy, and there was a bloodied baby wrapped in a dirty rag in another woman's lap. Charlotte's heart shattered. She had a soft spot for babies and new mothers. Charlotte stepped forward pushing a stray hair behind her ear as she stepped forward with Anna toward the new mother.

" Demandez-lui si elle a mal." Charlotte urged. Anna talked slowly to the new mother gently grasping her hand. Anna began speaking back to Charlotte in rushed French, stating how the woman felt pain in her vaginal area still and her uterus. Charlotte sucked in a breath noticing how the blood continued to seep from her vaginal area. Charlotte feared the worst. That a part of her uterus has been obstructed and she was having severe bleeding issues. Charlotte thought of so many ways that she could have severe bleeding, like a tear in the uterus, blood clotting or that the placenta has not completely delivered. In the conditions thought, it could mean anything. Charlotte noticed that the woman was faint and short of breath and knew the signs, she'd studied them in her Grey's Anatomy book. She looked pale and cold, and if they didn't stop the blood flow or keep her warm she could die. Charlotte acted quickly, speaking to Anna as Anna turned and instructed women to gather blankets as much as they could to warm the new mother. Charlotte asked Anna to translate as she asked to take a look at her vaginal area. The woman faintly nodded. Charlotte saw so much blood, that she couldn't even find the main cause, she would have to cut above her uterus to close the tear. Charlotte backed away and went to check on the pulse of the woman, and it was so faint she thought it was fading. She began without even knowing it speaking in rushed French trying to keep the new mother's eyes awake as Anna translated quickly to the German woman. But hope was lost. She couldn't close her eyes or they might never open again. The bleeding was getting too heavy, her breathing to shallow as Charlotte stood and watched the mother die in front of her. Then Charlotte's English started getting mixed with her french as she pleaded for the woman to keep her eyes open. But she slowly saw the light fade from her eyes, as if an angel descended upon the new mother and took her to heaven. Her body was cold, her pulse gone, her entire body unmoving. But then the baby started crying. Charlotte's head turned from the now-dead mother and toward the baby she'd just birthed.

" Shit." she cursed under her breath. The baby was covered in blood and other bodily fluids, and it's wailed signaled one thing. It couldn't breath properly. It would die. Charlotte sucked up her breath and grabbed a towel and began wiping the baby's face clean. It was suffering, it's tiny throat had something blocking it and in that moment, there was nothing Charlotte could do as the baby suffered. Her heart shattered further and further as the baby struggled to stay alive and all the women could do was watch the young baby die in the young medic's arms. Charlotte cooed to the baby, cradling it further into her body as she whispered soft words to it.