Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ５１ － Ｎｕｅｎｅｎ】

Chapter 51 - Nuenen

Everyone was up bright and early, and onto the tanks.

But first, they sat for bit, because they could. It was mostly the guys waiting for Margaret to wake, they didn't want to have to wake her up themselves. Joe Liebgott's shoulder had soon gone to sleep, so Margaret had been repositioned.

She woke lying down, with her head in someone's lap, and bolted upright immediately. Confused and bleary, she blinked to clear the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning Princess."

"Morning Lieb," she mumbled back, "your shoulder is not comfy."

He laughed, and a hand came into her peripheral vision, so she took it.

Guarnere pulled her up, and tried to steady her as she swayed but didn't know where to put his hands. Smiling sleepily, she waved him off, she'd be ok.

"Don't suppose you guys have ever seen me in the morning before," then she frowned, held up a hand so no one talked, and then she continued. "I mean when I've just woken up."

Coffee was sent her way, if you could even call it that. Peering at it, Margaret then looked up at the guys.

"It's coffee, it'll help you wake up."

It didn't look like coffee.

"This looks like you watered down mud."

"We didn't promise you quality. Just drink it and then we can go, your chariots await, my lady."

Talbert's comment made her smile, and suck it up. Downing it, Margaret grimaced. It really was brown sludge. Watered down mud was an apt description. Shuddering, she waved the cup in front of her so the owner could take it from her. They did, and she collected up her stuff, and off they went.

Bull practically pulled her up onto the tank, and she sat beside him into his side. He lowered his voice to talk to her.

"Hey, how're y'feelin'? If ya need anythin', say, an' I'll do it."

With a smile, she patted his arm, and thanked him. He brought out a K-ration and began to inspect it.

"I hate eggs!"

Making grabby hands at him, Margaret acquired her breakfast. Someone offered him a replacement. It wasn't a pleasant breakfast, and she certainly couldn't tell that it was supposed to be or contain eggs.

A woman with baby was on the road.

Margaret flinched and buried her face into Bull's arm, trying to regulate her breathing. She felt guilty. She felt she should be standing up against such treatment, but what if it happened again, what if they knew?!

Bull moved his arm, and manoeuvred himself so she could hide her face with his back and it wouldn't look too suspicious. Perhaps she was just further back than him. He was too good for her.

Not too long later, Webster piped up.

"Hey, Vincent van Gogh was born in Nuenen!"

Margaret brought her face out of Bull's back, and frowned.

"Yeah? So what?"

Ugh, she'd forgotten Cobb was on the same tank as her.

"Sure teach a lot of useful stuff at Harvard."

She shouldn't have. It would've been best to keep her mouth shut.

"Who's Vincent van Gogh?"

There was a silence. Not a good one. She shifted and squirmed, feeling all their eyes on her. They couldn't believe she'd asked that. But she'd wanted to know. Now, she wasn't so sure.