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

Rumours and disrespect

By next morning, several other Easy Company members had heard the rumours. A few of them were inclined to sock the mouthy replacements in the face. They kept themselves in check, though, knowing full well that Ella would not be happy if they got into a fight with those dumb kids.

Lipton was aware of the replacements' attitudes towards their female medic. He advised the men to stay calm and give their girl a chance to take care of it. "She can handle herself, boys. You know that", he said.

Toye, who was looking especially murderous, sighed and nodded, trying to rein in his anger. He hated it, hearing these kids talking about Shorty as if she was some sort of trashy wench.

Ella had overheard her fair share of the slander. Most of the replacements involved didn't notice that she had caught their whispered conversations, but a few of them deliberately spoke loud enough for her to hear. She ignored them, walking by as if they weren't there. But it hurt.

When Leelan, one of the bolder guys, insolently asked during class if, since she was a girl and bound to have them, she treated gunshot wounds with tampons, she froze.

Thankfully, Gene stepped in and gave the kid a stiff talking to while Ella distracted herself by answering Private Jackson's question about why shrapnel should not be pulled out immediately.

That afternoon, it was her turn to do inventory at the infirmary and she was glad for it. The question about the tampons had rattled her more than she cared to admit. So, she used the boring, mind-numbing task to soothe her frayed nerves.

Little did she know that her friends were planning to put the replacements in their place.

"Lip!", Bill called, hurrying to catch up to the man.

"What is it?", Lipton asked.

"Did ya hear what happened this morning? Doc yelled at one of 'em replacements." Trust Bill to know all the gossip and share it with anyone in the vicinity.

"What happened?" Lipton knew Doc Roe as an even-tempered, quiet man. It seemed rather out of character for the level-headed medic to lose his cool.

Guarnere's expression turned to a scowl. "Fuckin' replacement said something nasty to Shorty. What I heard she was really upset. Didn't let it show of course, but you know..."

Lipton frowned as they reached the mess hall. Sitting down at a table with his food, he asked Bill to tell him exactly what he knew.

When Buck sat down next to them a few moments later, he immediately joined in, having heard many rumours and disparaging comments about Easy's girl himself. He suggested discussing the issue with the rest of the NCOs.

They held an impromptu meeting after dinner, before another scheduled drill. They unanimously agreed that something had to be done.

Lipton cautioned that any direct interference on their part might make matters worse since it would give off the impression that Ella couldn't handle the problem herself.

They turned it over and over in their minds, trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't undermine their girl's authority.

***

The drill was scheduled from 1930 to 2200. It was hand to hand combat training and the non-coms knew exactly who would be supervising the disrespectful replacements.

The Toccoa veterans kept glancing over to them as Ella let the new guys grouse and cuss at her, seemingly impassive. They all saw the sharp edge behind her patient smile, but the replacements were completely unaware of the gathering storm.