Women of War - A Band of Brothers Story

In Threes: Mia, Louise and Theresa

A/N: Three months on the dot since I last updated... unbelievable. Time flies like crazy. Honestly, it was mid-August, then I blinked and now it's suddenly October. And the weather seemingly also just realised "OH, WAIT, IT'S AUTUMN NOW" and in the span of two weeks, we went from 28 °C to 7 °C.

We're slowly but surely coming to the end of this fic. Two more chapters are still to come, maybe three. When? I have no idea. Hopefully before the end of the year, but I make no promises. If you have any suggestions for what you want to see as the women return to civilian life, feel free to leave a comment or send me a PM.

As always, a big thank you to all of you, thank you for reading, leaving comments and being so patient and kind.

***

In the first days of October, three women stepped back onto US soil for the first time in two years. They moved with the crush of troops flooding off the ship, fought their way out of the crowds and looked at each other, unsure of what to say or do.

"Should we go and see when the trains leave?", Mia suggested quietly.

They hoisted up their bags and started making their way towards the station.

"When I get home, I'm going to take a long, hot bath", Theresa said. She wrinkled her nose at herself. "I can't wait to get the troop ship smell off me."

Louise laughed. "You'd have to use up all the hot water."

"I'm happy to use up the hot water of a city block."

Grand Central Station was a madhouse; hundreds of people wanting to buy tickets or get information or rushing to catch a train. A large cluster of returning soldiers was crowded in front of the ticket counter, all desperate to get home – or at least a step closer to it – as soon as possible. The three had to plant their feet and make liberal use of their elbows to keep their spots in the line and Louise had no qualms threatening a corporal who tried cutting in front of them.

"If you try that again, I'll be very unhappy and you'll find that extremely unpleasant", she told him, flashing a smile that showed just a few too many teeth.

Theresa and Mia chuckled, thinking of the numerous instances where she'd thoroughly and vehemently expressed her unhappiness.

Glaring at them, the corporal opened his mouth to snap back when his gaze skimmed over the ribbons, badges and jump wings on their uniforms. His jaws snapped shut as he changed his mind and grudgingly stepped back.

Once they finally reached the front of the line, it took no time at all to get their tickets. Mia would return to Vermont via Boston while Louise and Theresa wouldn't part ways until Chicago, from where Louise would travel north to Wisconsin and Theresa further west to Nebraska.

Since they still had a few hours to kill before Louise and Theresa's train left, they decided to find a restaurant and have a late lunch.

"'A German, a Brit and an American walk into a restaurant'. Sounds like the opening line of a joke, doesn't it?", Louise remarked off-handedly as they waited to be seated.

"What's the punchline?", asked Theresa.

"No clue."

"Probably something about all three wearing the same uniform", Mia said, making them all snort.

After some deliberation over the menu – there were so many dishes to choose from and the prices gave them pause, even though their last month's pay was more than enough to cover the expenses –, they ordered and were soon enjoying the fine meal, savouring the variety of flavours and textures. Conversation trickled along as they ate, but the finality of their fast-approaching parting left them a bit subdued.