𝙱𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝟎𝟎. 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭

After lunch, Joe and George left to join Easy in more physical training. Eugene explained to Dorothy the daily schedule for medics and how they juggled pt, medical training and basic paratrooper training. She soaked all the information up, knowing it'd take her a while to make it a habit.

"You feelin' better there Dorothy?" Eugene asked, grabbing their medic packs by the door. Dorothy nodded, standing up a little too quickly and having to balance on a nearby table. Eugene dropped the bags, running by her side, "Shit Lane."

She shooed him away, "I'm alright Gene, I promise. Just a little sore and I stood up too fast." Eugene nodded and let go of the arm he was holding. Her muscles shook from holding her up, she walked past him to grab the bag labeled Lane. "Is everything labeled here?" She rhetorically asked him, slightly struggling to pick her bag up.

He observed her from where he stood, he knew she wouldn't let him help her because she didn't want to be seen as weak. She had endured more physical activity in five hours than she had in her life, it'd take a toll on her that she didn't have time to recover from. "Yes," He answered honestly, finally heading over and grabbing his own bag.

They took a seat at the Easy table, waiting for the other medics to arrive. "You know, I never got to ask where you're from," Eugene started a conversation, placing his bag on his table space. Dorothy followed suit, thinking of what they were going to do.

"Warwick, Rhode Island," She responded nonchalantly, "I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. But when I was ten we moved." Eugene nodded, not saying much after because the cluster of medics flooded in on que.

Spina's smile widened when he saw the girl, "Miss Dorothy Lane, you've made quite an impression."

The other men had taken their seats at their designated company table, all turning their attention onto Dorothy. "In what way?" She asked. She knew what way, but she also didn't know if he meant the obvious or if something was happening behind the scenes.

"What do you mean by that? You got half the company's jaws hangin' three feet below their heads," He explained, plopping onto his single bench.

Her brows raised, "I didn't pay much attention to my company while Sobel was screaming in my ear."

"Yeah, but you sure took one for the team," Spina responded instantly, his voice was chippy and excited.

Tommy Hase, from D company chipped in, "Yeah, well she's gotten my 'ole company's jaw hangin' all cause she's a woman." He didn't sound too pleased by the idea, but he wasn't against her in any way. The scrawny blonde was just more so annoyed that his company can't focus if she's near.

No one could speak because Chris Martin from F jumped into conversation, "That's why women shouldn't be here, they raise too much ruckus."

"Maybe men shouldn't be here because they have no manners," Dorothy mumbled, only catching the ears of Eugene and Spina. The few medics who were against the idea of her shot up a fiery conversation, hating on her and calling her names all the while she sat there and pretended not to hear. Gene and Ralph kept giving her side glances, concerned for her.

All speaking came to a halt when they stood up abruptly at the entrance of a higher up medic. His rank was the same, but his respect wasn't. "At ease gent's, and so it seems I must add a ma'am to that. Welcome Medic Lane, I think you'll do just nicely," A kindly spoken man came in. His hair was neatly parted and he had a charming southern accent.

To Dorothy, all that mattered was her superiors accepted her and her peers trusted her. It seemed that the first was already achieved, the second was a work in progress. Eugene smiled at her, feeling a swelling of pride for her.