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

Aldbourne

In the middle of September, 1943, Easy Company set up camp in Aldbourne, England.

Ella ended up being billeted together with Johnny Martin. Their host was Mrs Elaine Morris, a motherly woman in her late thirties whose husband was away at war. She was quite baffled to see that one of her guests was a young woman. Somebody – most likely Sobel – had neglected to inform her of that fact.

That they had to share a room wasn't a problem for Ella and Martin. After all, they had been sleeping in the same barrack from over a year now. Sleeping in the same bed didn't bother them either. Johnny was married and Ella's family was poor, so she had shared a bed with her brother for a long time.

"Well, in that case, I'll let you get settled", Elaine, as she insisted they call her, said. She showed them to their room. It was small, but tidy and bright. There was even a bathroom right next door, only for them. Ella beamed at that luxury.

"Why don't you come down afterwards and have some tea with me?", Elaine offered, smiling at the young girl's joy.

"That sounds great, Elaine, thank you", Martin said.

Ella nodded. "We'd love to."

When Elaine had gone back downstairs, Ella looked at the bed. It was easily big enough for three people and there were two separate blankets. "Which side do you want?", she asked. Johnny shrugged. "I don't care. Left?" It was the side closer to the door.

"Okay." She bounced a little on 'her' side, then flopped backwards and let out a content sigh. "This is great", she declared, still grinning blissfully. "A huge bed? A heated bedroom? A bathroom inside the bedroom? This is paradise."

Johnny chuckled, clearly amused by her excitement.

***

That night, Ella took her first real shower in ages. The water was hot, even after Johnny had taken his own lengthy shower. There was soap and shampoo. Two toothbrushes.

Grinning like an idiot, she even took the opportunity to shave. While she had been blessed with only very little body hair, Ella just felt more comfortable without it. Washing herself and lathering her hair, the girl quietly sang a lullaby her mother liked while rinsing the suds out of her locks.

On the other side of the door, Johnny smiled to himself as he listened to Ella's singing. She had a beautiful voice. He didn't recognise the language, but the melody was soothing. Soon, the water stopped and a few minutes later, the door opened and Ella leant against the doorway, dressed in her sleep clothes, happily humming around the toothbrush in her mouth.

She leant out of sight, spat and rinsed her mouth, turned off the light and crossed the room, running nimble fingers through her damp locks. Yawning, the girl crawled onto her side of the bed, snuggled into the blanket and blinked owlishly.

"G'night, Johnny", she mumbled, eyes already closing.

"Night, Ella", he said, getting into bed as well.

***

Their training was now all about realism, preparing them for the upcoming invasion of Europe. The medics still trained with the rest of the soldiers to some extent when it came to hand to hand combat or digging trenches and foxholes. Sure, they could fire a gun if need be, but they were medics first, riflemen second. So, while the others were at the shooting range, they were busy at the infirmary, getting further training from Army nurses and doctors.

Ella, as the highest ranking and most experienced medic in their company, even had the honour of teaching the men about first-aid. She was extremely nervous about speaking in front of so many people. Thankfully, Gene was there to help her out during the lectures and the practice lessons, so she wasn't entirely alone.