Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ８４ － Ｊｏｎｅｓ】

Chapter 84 - Jones

Peggy liked OP-2. It was nice. They had beds. Real beds. Creaky and uncomfortable beds, but beds all the same. They had a roof too.

As she drifted in, looking a little lost, McClung called out to her. He'd saved a bunk. A bottom bunk, he'd sat himself on it to stop anyone else pinching it.

She set her things down, smiling at him in thanks – only a small one but it made him grin back. Then Peggy floated over to Don, and wrapped her arms around him. He was looking out the window, and tensed slightly at someone hugging from behind. But then he knew who it was, and his shoulders sagged completely and he sighed.

"Lip's gonna get some rest or so help me I'll drag him to a bed and lock him in."

"You tell him that?"

She chuckled, and he felt it at his nape.

"No, I should've done. I'll go check on him later."

Malarkey gently rubbed his thumbs over her hands. This was nice. For both of them. She needed it as reassurance that he was still there, and he needed it because it helped convince him he wasn't entirely alone now. He knew he wasn't alone, he only had to look around the room and see his brothers. But sometimes it was good to have physical reassurance.

She didn't let him go, instead resting her forehead on the nape of his neck. He joked about him smelling, which she rebutted with we all smell.

She didn't let him go when a Lieutenant Jones was introduced. And Malarkey felt her breathe a laugh at Jones congratulating him on his Battlefield commission. He had to suppress his own smirk.

Jones hadn't noticed Peggy's arms yet.

It wasn't until he started talking about the patrol that he noticed.

He stopped talking and openly stared.

"Uh, Private, do you need to be here?" Peggy didn't register it immediately, and so didn't respond right away. "Fratinization is illegal, you are aware of that Sergeant?"

Everyone was silent.

Malarkey tensed and gritted his teeth. What exactly did Jones think was going on here?! Well, actually, it was very clear what he was thinking. The question really was why?

And that was when Peggy's brain finally processed what was going on.

"It's Agent to you, Lieutenant." Don mumbled hey, be nice over his shoulder at her. "I am nice, when am I not nice?" she muttered back.

Jones could hardly compute what was going on, and he was acutely aware of everyone watching this interaction. He'd clocked she was British.

"You're a Brit. What're you doing here?"

Then she lifted her head up and rested it on Don Malarkey's shoulder so he could see her. His eyes went wide as she smirked and looking him up and down. Clean and green. Young too. Ugh.

"And a woman too, a dead one walking mind you, but yes I am. Why I am here, however, is classified – and, love, this is not what fraternisation looks like."

She'd never called anyone love before. She was playing into the British image.

No one liked the dead woman walking comment.

Peggy was on thin ice, she could see it all over Jones' face, but thankfully she knew how to skate.

Unwrapping her arms from Malarkey's waist, she stepped out from behind him and shrugged.

"If you've got a problem talk to Speirs or Winters, I don't know what else to say."

Then she walked away to sit on her bed by One Lung. Jones watched her for a bit longer as she began to talk to the men before turning back to Malarkey to discuss the patrol.

"That was brave."

"No it wasn't, it was stupid."

Peggy whispered ding ding ding while grinning at Chuck Grant who'd got it right.

"I just don't really care enough anymore, because, like, I'm gonna die if I go home. Treason and all that. Not that I've committed High Treason, or even Low Treason. But hey."

She shrugged again and everyone just looked at her. Maybe that was too much information. Peggy was literally too tired to care or to even filter what she was saying.

The conversation soon reverted back to what it had been before, pressuring Webster into spilling who was going to be on the patrol that evening.

Peggy was willing to bet money that she wouldn't be on it.

So far, it was Babe, McClung and Ramierez.

Malarkey went to tell them, but they already knew.

Then the most glorious news.

"The PX rations just came in. Including winter shoe packs."

Peggy rolled her eyes.

"Good of 'em, now that we're in a nice warm house."

"And the thing is, this is actually warmer than the house I grew up in, dryer too."

It was true. Her house was fucking freezing and damp in the winter months.

"Also we get showers."

"Yes! I can finally feel like a human again!"

The others shared her sentiments.

"Sorry Peggy, but you've got to wait, being a woman and all."

"Fuck right off. No. I actually do not care enough and I don't even look like a woman anymore cuz I've lost so much, nor have I worn a bra for the last month because they were killing me."

Everyone was chuckling, leaving Webster and Jones feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"You've lost a lot of weight 'cause you've hardly eaten since November."

"That's because the food would be better going to you guys because you wouldn't throw it back up again."

As they started to leave, Babe put an arm around her shoulder and asked if she was tired. She was only ever this oversharing when exhausted.

"You betcha!"

A shell came over and they were scrambling to get downstairs, staying as low as possible.

But once it was over, it was almost funny, and the guys were in hysterics. Peggy jogged back upstairs to leave her personal effects; the lighter, the scarf, the letter, the helmet, the watch, the beret.

Once back with the others in the queue, a couple of the guys started joking about how awkward it would be.

"Hey, it doesn't bother me."

And it didn't.

It was a bit weird showering in the same space as all the guys but skivvies stayed on, making it so much less awkward than it could've been. Peggy wasn't kidding about the weight loss. But again, it really didn't bother her.

Afterwards there was a fair bit of "I can't believe you did that" but like Peggy, the people that really really mattered to her also didn't care all that much. It didn't make a difference to them. As long as they got clean. And they did. Even got clean uniforms.

_

I left it deliberately ambiguous as to who was speaking to Peggy in the last bit, but it was many people (basically I wrote this over a year ago and do not remember who I had in mind, nor have I watched BoB in a while, so I'll leave it up to you. Also, I was lazy and didn't want Peggy to have to wait around for a shower because she'd be showering in cold water if she waited for everyone to be done first.