Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ５４ － Ｓｔｅａｄｙ】

Chapter 54 - Steady

"Taaab?"

"Yeees?"

He drew out the vowel just as long as she did, and it made her laugh.

"Do you still love me?"

Talbert looked up from his conversation with Dukeman, and rolled his eyes at her.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

"Then can I have your dog?"

He had been wondering. Margaret hadn't stopped smiling at the dog once she'd seen it.

"I don't love you that much," he stuck his tongue out at her, before coming over to where she was with Luz and Captain Winters, and bringing the dog! She was just so besotted with him.

"The new guys givin' the replacements the what-for and why-is," he chuckled to himself. "I swear one of them has never shaved!"

"Yeah...kids."

He sounded a bit distracted.

But Margaret paid him little mind, as she and Luz fussed over the dog Tab had found.

"This is a hell of a dog, Tab."

That was an understatement. Margaret wasn't sure she'd ever loved something so much in all her life (obviously an exaggeration). Talbert threw a stick, and she whined as the dog went away from her. Luz and Talbert laughed at her pouting, Captain Winters shot her a smile that she easily returned from where she was sitting cross legged on the floor.

"What'd you call it, Tab?"

"Trigger."

She never would've thought to call it that, but Margaret couldn't make up her mind whether or not it was imaginative.

"That's good. I like that, Trigger."

Margaret got up off the floor and moved to sit on the bench with Luz, by his radio. He welcomed her with a smile, before going back to fiddling with the radio. Honestly, Margaret had no idea what he was doing. It probably wasn't fiddling, and at the very least had a proper technical term for whatever he was doing.

"Got anything on this?"

Margaret could answer that one. She'd been sat by Luz all evening. The answer was no. It was all quiet. And Luz told him so as the doors burst open and the barn was plunged into chaos.

Alley was brought up onto the table, and Boyle sent to fetch Eugene Roe. Margaret hung back, she'd only be in the way. Instead she readied her rifle, sure that they'd be going.

"Where was it?"

"Crossroads."

Liebgott looked exhausted. And just to add to it all, someone started blaming him for whatever happened. To be fair, Joe Liebgott did have a loud mouth, but she didn't for a second believe that he'd be stupid enough to not be quiet when it counted.

"Lesniewski! Send a runner for Lieutenant Welsh! Lipton, assemble me a squad."

"Yes sir," he thought for a moment, less than a second before shouting, "1st Squad, on your feet! Weapons and ammo only! Let's go, let's go!"

Winters caught her eye, seeing her ready to go.

"Stay here. Help out Doc."

"But I-"

"That's an order, Watkins."

She grumbled but threw down her stuff, though not before calling after him.

"You do know I don't take orders from you, right?"

Rolling her eyes, she dumped the last of her stuff before heading to the main table. Gene was in charge now. And he was giving orders like it was nobody's business.

"Get the boots off and elevate the leg. Liebgott, use the sulfa. Let's get this done quickly. We gotta move. Not too much." They were repositioning him on the table. "Hey, Alley. How y'doin'?

"Don't feel so good."

No wonder, there were too many holes and blood pouring from them.

"Watkins, how're y' hands?"

"How clean or how steady?"

"Both."

As she moved to stand beside him she pulled her hands from where they'd been shoved in her pockets and checked them over quickly.

"Steadiest you've ever seen and, well, just about as clean as everyone else's."

With a nod she was handed a pair of tweezers, and instructed to get as much shrapnel out as she could with what they had, but not to aggravate the wounds too much. The others were told to put pressure on all the ones Margaret and Doc weren't working on, and to hold Moe still. Then they got to work.

32.

There were 32 wounds.

But unfortunately, there was no way they could get all the grenade shrapnel out.

They'd done the best they could. Alley would be taken to hospital.