Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ６９ － Ｃｌｏｓｅ】

Chapter 69 - Close

Bill had tried to convince Peggy that she needed to eat and so should get off of him so they could go down to the mess for dinner. But she didn't want to eat. He figured he could get something later. So he stayed.

At one point he'd brought her feet around from behind his back to take her boots off. They landed with a thud next to his.

It began to get a little bit chilly as night fell, but neither felt particularly cold.

Peggy had cried a lot. Everything that had happened. That had come to light. It was all so much, so overwhelming.

Her mother had been training her from the beginning. The languages, the not calling her by her name for days at a time to get her to learn to not respond to her real name when undercover. All of it made sense now and she hated it.

Lots of heavy footsteps were coming up the creaky old wooden stairs. The only sign she'd even heard at all was her tensing slightly. Bill continued to trace patterns on her back in an attempt to soothe her.

A bunch of guys came in, a mix from all three platoons, with someone shouting about a poker game. But Muck – at the front – stopped just in the doorway. Penkala and Malarkey peered over his shoulders and complaints could be heard all the way down the stairs.

Muck raised a suggestive eyebrow at Bill, who rolled his eyes. That was not what was happening.

Someone successfully shoved hard enough to get Muck moving and people came spilling into the room. Upon seeing Bill with Peggy in his arms, they began to sit on beds or stand in a sort of semi circle around them. They wanted to know what was up.

"Hey, Peg," he murmured, "some of the guys are here. Want me t' take this?"

She nodded as she turned her head to the side, now able to see those that had gathered with one eye. They could see the tears and the red puffiness around her eye. That made their concern grow.

"So ya know how Peg's ma left when she was 15?" There were nods from some, but confusion from others. "Well...it turned out that..." he sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Her ma was behind her trainin' programme, behind all them letters she got, her orders. Everythin'. Found out today."

There was deathly silence. No one could bring themselves to say anything, no one knew what to say either. How could they?

Peggy fiddled around for another Lucky Strike and Bill frowned.

"Doll, I think ya've had enough of those. Gonna make yaself sick."

She grumbled at him, but continued to get one out, which he then snatched from her and threw at someone else. Peggy huffed at him, and turned away from Bill, reorientsting herself so that her back was against his chest. Then, in defiance, she pulled out another and got as far as pulling out the lighter before Bill snatched both from her.

"Enough! Ya can't have anymore. Ya smoked half a pack in the space of a couple hours."

No one said anything, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was happening. Most went about setting up the big poker game they'd talked about, a few remained.

"How're y' holdin' up?"

Leaning back a little bit into Bill, she sighed before closing her eyes. Bill started to run his hand through her hair, freezing when Peggy tensed and her breath hitched. But with a whispered assurance that it was just Bill, she relaxed and let him play with her hair.

"I'm doing fine Bull, thank you."

"No Margaret, you aren't fi-"

"Don't call me that," she snarled. It earned her a hey from Bill. Peggy mumbled a sorry to Luz, but it was now abundantly clear that she didn't like being called Margaret anymore.

It was so weird, because she wasn't like this. Never ever. Yes she'd been rude and snippy in Normandy, people knew that was Genesis. But here she was, relaxing into Bill – someone she hadn't gotten along with for the longest time, he was the last to warm to her – attempting to smoke, and being a tad short with those she was closest to. Crazy.

Something was clearly wrong.

The way she was acting was just so opposite to everything they knew.

It was unsettling.

And of course they worried for her.

"I'm being introduced to Dike once Captain Winters is back from Paris. So make sure you're around for that."

They all had a very low opinion of him. Of Dike. And everyone knew about her views on him, she had been quite vocal in Holland. So all present understood what went unsaid.

Make sure you're around, I might punch him. You don't want to miss that.

No one knew what to do when the tears sprang out again. At first, Peggy wasn't even aware it was happening. But then they dripped from her face and she clocked it. Luz awkwardly opened his arms in case she wanted a hug.

She dived at him, barrelling into him and knocking him over, so the pair were lying across the rickety bed. He let out a yelp as she crashed into him and held him tight.

And so the next twenty minutes were spent by Peggy hugging the few that were there.

Luz.

Lieb.

Penk – the only one of the trio to remain. The others had figured she'd want her space rather than to be surrounded by them. They were wrong.

Grant – she surprised him, he hadn't expected her to hug him, as he didn't think they were close enough for that.

Martin.

And finally, Bull. She stayed with him the longest, he gave excellent hugs.

The seven guys there promised they'd never do anything like her mother had, never ever.

That was something she needed to hear.

Peggy needed to know she was loved, that people did care for her.

And she was, and they did.