𝙱𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝟎𝟎. 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑. 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

The sun was beginning to rise, a pale purple painted the sky and allowed one to see more than ten feet ahead of them. Dorothy had made the mistake of resting her eyes soon after she arrived at the supposed meeting place. There was another bench at the bus station that she had sprawled herself, in the most lady-like way.

A man cleared his throat, his voice firm and authoritative but kind and soft all at once, "Miss. Lane?" He asked, keeping a smile from forming on his face when the younger girl jumped back alive. Her gentle eyes were glossed over with exhaustion, he slightly felt sympathy for her due to the hour and the fact she had been traveling for close to a day.

After gaining a faded vision, she jumped up in alarm. "Yes, sir, that's me, sir," She replied, standing tall. He stood ten inches taller than her, her eyes leveled lower than his shoulders. He looked down at her, and she wasn't ever paying attention to her height but the feeling of him towering over her made her realize just how short she was.

He gave her a soft smile and held his hand out, "Lieutenant Richard Winters." Dorothy was bewildered as she looked at his rough hand, but shook it nevertheless. "I will be taking you the rest of the way to camp," He motioned to his beige truck that held a canopy over the back end.

Dorothy nodded, picking up her bag and following Winters to the car. Like a gentleman, he held the door open for her to which she thanked him and climbed in. The ride was only ten minutes from their meeting place, and they were comfortable with the silence that surrounded them. Winters' thumb tapped the wheel as he drove, keeping to a familiar jazz beat.

"Who am I to be assigned with?" Dottie asked him, cutting the silence. His thumbs stopped hitting the wheel as he turned down a dirt road.

He turned to look at her, his eyes lingered on the road before meeting the brown eyes of Dorothy Lane. "I was going to announce that at camp, but since you asked. You'll be assigned to the second platoon in Easy Company, of the 506th Infantry Regiment. Which I am currently your First Lieutenant," He explained, watching recognition click through her mind and quickly focusing back on the road. He didn't care for ranks though, a complete humble man, all that was needed was respect and for whomever to listen.

She remained silent, without anything to say by his answer and he only took it as an opportunity to inquire about her. "It is my understanding that you're a doctor?" He stated, but it sounded more like a question.

"Oh, no, not at all. I've studied medicine since I was a child, in my free time that is. You could say I am technically qualified for the role of a doctor or nurse, just without the fancy papers," She corrected him, putting her hand out the window. The cooling wind felt nice on her bare hand, the smell of pine and grass filled the air as she found a peace in the nature God had given.

Winters nodded, "How is it that you were given this position?" He had fully asked, not rude by all means, but rather in curiosity. The truth of it was, to his knowledge, that she was firstly a woman, without any degree or written training. There was of course the nurse corps, where most women with medical minds went to aid the war effort. But, somehow Dorothy Lane landed the role of being not only a medic in a platoon, but being a combat medic. It just hadn't been done before, and he hadn't a clue as to what triggered this new change.

Dorothy nodded at the thought of the letter, "I interned with Dr. Thompson for a while, and he wrote Colonel Sink about me. I helped him perform surgeries, stitch people up, mend broken bones, all that terrible illness curing stuff. At the departure of a previous medic, Thompson persuaded Colonel Sink to give me a chance. And well, here we are."

He laughed breathily at her ending summary. "And how old were you when you started to study medicine?"

She thought for a moment, recounting the years in her head. "It was after my grandma died so, I believe I was eleven," She answered, opening the car door after Winters came to a stop. He followed suit, meeting Dorothy at the front of the truck.

Richard put his hands on his hips, his brows furrowed as he noticed the pure look of awe on Dottie's face. She could feel his puzzled eyes on her, but she couldn't help but look up at the tall brick building that would forever be the first mark of her changed life.

"So young? And why use your talents for the army and not an actual hospital?" He asked her, looking up at the beautiful building she stared at so admirably.

Dottie smiled slightly, "To help of course. Well, that and because becoming medically licensed takes way too long." The whole response was a joke and Winters knew that, in truth, she just wanted to help. Her twin had gone to war in the pacific, she felt the need to do her job and make him proud. As well reach her older brother somewhere in Germany, but no one needed to know that.

She began her way into the building, Winters smiled at her humor. "And, how old are you now exactly?" He asked, confused by her mentions of how long everything would take and the fact that she had been studying medicine at that young of an age to not look over twenty. '

The brunette stopped just at the door, "Eighteen."