Pitschen ma en gamba - Small, but powerful [A Band of Brothers Story]

Training

The medical lessons were demanding, but Ella enjoyed them nonetheless. Her experience from helping out at the local clinic back home gave her a slight advantage as some of the medics had no medical background at all.

She got along great with Easy's other medic, Eugene Roe. Although Roe was quiet and liked to keep to himself, the two of them sometimes spent hours studying together, going through their manuals and playing round after round of 'How do you treat...?', 'What are the signs of...?' and 'What do you do when...?'

Roe opened up around her, asking about her family and telling her about himself in return. He even told her to call him Gene, saying that he liked that better. He had taken to calling her Ellie whenever it was just the two of them.

She loved working with him, he was level-headed and had a calming effect on people. Apparently, so did she. At least, that's what her friends told her.

"You got a gift with people, Shorty", Luz said one day while they were eating lunch. The nickname Toye had given her had stuck. "You just know what to say or do to make 'em feel better." He waved his fork at her in emphasis.

Gene, who had been listening quietly as usual, nodded. "It's true, Ellie", he spoke in his soothing Louisiana accent. Ella just blushed.

When they were helping at the infirmary, their days got a bit more hectic, but also a lot more interesting. Though some of the tasks were not exactly fun, Ella could think of worse things to do. She didn't even mind doing inventory as long as she could do it her way. The repetitive motions of counting, organising and cataloguing supplies gave her time to think.

If she was paired with Gene, they entertained themselves by teaching each other French and German respectively. Although Ella already spoke some French thanks to her mother, she was nowhere near as fluent as him, and Gene only knew a few basics of German. They figured it would come in handy if they were sent to Europe at some point. Plus, they both liked languages, so it was a good way to pass the time.

***

It was a day like any other. They were lined up and waiting in the heat of the Georgia summer for Sobel to arrive and revoke half the company's weekend passes.

"You people are at the position of attention!", he barked. Ella no longer jumped at his yelling. She simply wondered if he might have a problem with his hearing.

Sobel stalked down their lines and began his inspection. He found something to criticise on everybody and was revoking weekend passes left and right. He then stopped in front of her and looked her up and down with the same disgusted look he always wore with her. "Name."

"Sawyer, Ella."

"What are you still doing here, Sawyer? How can you think anybody even wants you here?"

Ouch. That had stung.

"I am their medic, sir." Did her voice tremble? No, she must have imagined it.

"And what makes you think you'll succeed? You're a woman."

Sobel really was in top form today, she thought to herself darkly. "I do what I do best, sir", Ella responded before she could stop herself.

His eyes narrowed and he glared at her. "And what would that be, Sawyer?", he spat.

"Being a medic, sir." Phew. That was close. It wouldn't have gone down well with him if she'd said 'being stubborn'.

Sobel scoffed. "As long as you don't get any of the men killed, girl. Make sure the men get everything they need?" He revoked her pass, claiming some hair had fallen out of her braid.