A new medic

Chapter 2

Bile rose up Jess' throat; her hands shook and her stomach felt as though a thousand caterpillars had turned into butterflies  and were now flying havoc. She had never felt so nervous before except for her wedding day. Joining the paratroopers as a new medic was one thing. Joining as a woman was seemingly unthinkable yet here she was, following Colonel Sink as he led her to the company she would be assigned to. She could just make them out in the distance. They seemed to be stood at attention waiting for something or someone to appear. 'Oh God,' thought Jess. 'They're probably waiting for me.' With that thought in mind she swallowed her fears, nerves, unease and worries. 'I must put up a strong appearance. That's the only way they'll accept me. If they sense weakness there won't be any reason in trying.' Jess was so preoccupied that she almost didn't realise Sink had stopped walking and was now observing the men from a short distance away. As Jess stopped next to him, she witnessed a man start yelling at the stationary men for reasons so minute she almost couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Dick was many things. He was bored. He was sweaty. He was dirty. He was tired and above all, he was fed up. Sobel just couldn't take a break. There was always some minor issue that had to be fixed or some infraction that needed to be punished. Despite all of this, Dick remained loyal and outwardly a calm figure who could always be relied on in a moment of panic to smooth things over and lessen the blow from Sobel. Due to this, the men of Easy Company easily preferred their serious, quiet, fair Lieutenant to their (quite frankly) mad one. Dick knew he always had to keep a strict composure no matter what was happening around him. The arrival of Easy's new medic however was a shock so great that Dick couldn't help but stare in horror but also admiralty when he saw exactly who was stood beside Colonel Sink, observing Sobel yell at various men for various reasons.

Jess could feel a trickle of sweat run down the side of her face as the Georgian sun beat down on her. Sink remained still watching as the loud voiced officer stood in front of his Company and reprimanded them all. Just then Jess sensed a pair of eyes on her and moved her head slightly until her gaze met a familiar pair of emerald eyes. Jess could've sworn her heart stopped for a second. Sure, she knew when she volunteered to go on this one woman crusade that she would end up at the same camp as her husband, but to be in the same Company as him? Her heart began to beat again but faster and faster as Jess felt a flood of apprehension but also love surge through her blood. It had been almost a year since she had last laid eyes on her husband although it felt like a century. Now she would have to explain to him why she was here, a conversation which Jess was dreading.

"Lieutenant Sobel," Colonel Sink's voice rang sharply through the air. The loud officer turned and instantly sprung into a salute upon seeing the superior officer. His eyes, Jess noticed, seemed to be two endless tunnels of darkness and hardened when they set their gaze upon her. "At ease Lieutenant, hello Easy Company," greeted Sink to the group of men still stood in formation before him. The soldiers yelled their response and Sink turned back to Sobel. "This is the new medic I was talking about Sobel. She's to join your Company and be trained in the same skills as your men alongside her medical training." Sobel nodded in response, his eyes never left Jess' face and she felt as though he was trying to see past her, to some inkling of soldier that he was used to. "Well then Jess," Sink turned so that he was facing her direction. "I'll leave you to Lieutenant Sobel and his XO Lieutenant Winters' command. Remember, if you have any troubles to report it to myself." Jess offered her thanks and then she and Sobel saluted before Sink headed away.

"Well Private it certainly was not my idea to have a pathetic woman in the airborne but I want you to know that any fraternizing with my men will have you kicked out for sure." Sobel shoved as much contempt into his voice as he could when he turned to address Jess. She looked up at him and had to fight the urge to smash her fist into his smug face. "Yes sir, understood," she said through gritted teeth. "I promise not fraternize with your men sir but that shouldn't be a problem given that I am married," she added whilst taking a deep breath out to calm her anger. Sobel arched an eyebrow at that comment and flicked his eyes up and down her body in contempt. "What is your name Private?" he asked and Jess felt a small smile tug in the corners of her mouth as she answered. "Jessica Winters sir." She could almost see the cogs of Sobel's brain whirring as he digested the new information. "Well then Private Winters how do you explain the dust along your trouser cuffs?" demanded the angry CO.

"No excuse sir," Jess replied, still looking into Sobel's eyes with a fire she had never felt before. She didn't care how bad Sobel treated her, she'd heard enough stories about him from her dear friend Lew. What Jess was infuriated by was the way Sobel pronounced her surname as though it was rash. It was an insult not just to her but her husband as well and Jess had been told by Lew the rivalry between Sobel and his XO. She was adamantly on her husband's side and any remark against him made her blood boil.

"Well then Private. You should know that just because you belong to this company's XO does not mean you are going to get any special treatment. Now go and stand in formation." Sobel smirked at her but Jess refused to rise to the bait. Instead she saluted and walked over to stand next to a man whose name she read as Guarnere. Lew caught her eye and winked. Jess gave a small smile in return before focusing her attention back to Sobel who was instructing them to change into PT gear. "We're running Currahee."

"Second Platoon fall out," Dick instructed and the men headed to their barracks. Nix remained by Dick's side and the two men watched as Jess started a conversation with Guarnere who seemed to take her defiance towards Sobel as a good enough reason to befriend her. "She'll be fine," commented Lewis as he saw the concern plastered on his friend's face. Dick merely nodded and turned towards their barrack to prepare for Currahee.