Collaboration with @silmarilz1701
Svetlana knew how to play the game. She'd been caught in the political drama of Stalin's inner circle since birth. The only child of one of Stalin's closest friends, she grew up in the limelight, scrutinized by frie...
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True to his word, Winters did his best, which seemed to be enough. Zhanna was discharged the following day. Her return to Easy was a joyous one, if not overdue. She had attempted to find Winters after she had been released, to thank him for his help but he was nowhere to be found. And while she would have liked to hunt him down, Buck, Skip, and Malarkey seemed keen to make up for lost time and Zhanna didn't have a chance.
Skip and Malarkey took her to the pub on her first night back, determined to recreate their first trip together. Before Normandy. "The good old days," as Skip called it. She was more careful this time, never reaching the point of inebriation that she had that first night. They were a little disappointed that the giggling Zhanna didn't make an appearance but Skip just seemed happy to have her back.
Buck had kept her rifle in his possession, refusing to return it to Sveta for safe keeping. He insisted on returning it to Zhanna herself. When she finally ran her hands over the smooth wood, she found it freshly cleaned. While Buck's hands, much larger than her own, had struggled with the finer cleaning Zhanna usually gave the gun, the gesture still touched her. Sveta seemed to have enjoyed a wild adventure while Zhanna was in the hospital. The men of Easy Company were thrilled to retell the motorcycle thieving that had taken place and Malarkey was seen zooming across camp in the vehicle on more than one occasion. He offered to take Zhanna in the sidecar but she didn't seek the adrenaline thrill quite like he did and graciously declined.
While Zhanna may have left the hospital behind, her injury hadn't loosened its grip on her. Her left arm remained weakened, trembling when lifting even the lightest loads. Zhanna's rifle was a struggle to lift to the shoulder, let alone holding it steady. She knew that she would have to strengthen the muscles to bring back the peak condition that had been lost.
Buck had joined her for several physical training sessions, assisting her in hand to hand combat in the attempt to rebuild the muscle. While he was easily double her height and weight, Zhanna refused to give in. Soon it became a comical spectator event among the enlisted to watch Lieutenant Casmirovna and Lieutenant Compton sparring in that sand box. Skip joked that they should have sold tickets.
Though small, Zhanna had learned hand to hand combat in Sniper training as well as a refresher course in her time with the Airborne. She was no stranger to throwing a punch and her opponents were usually larger than her. Buck was at first hesitant.
"Don't go easy on me," she had warned.
"I won't," he had said. Within a few heartbeats, he was flat on his back, gasping for air.
He quickly learned his lesson and while Buck could never be accused of going easy on her, he wasn't trying his hardest. Zhanna quickly gained confidence and regained some of her strength and the enlisted began to rise to the challenge. She took down Skip, Tab, and Christenson before the others admitted that the odds weren't in their favor. Bull Randleman refused to take part but liked to watch the show, a loyal spectator with his cigar. Captain Winters would wander by the training ground, on occasion and before Zhanna could thank him for freeing her from the prison of the hospital, the enlisted would start egging him to join.
