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

Change in the ranks

A/N: Hey guys! So, I survived my finals for this semester, yay! Anyways, I just wanted to thank you all for reading this story, voting on it, fav'ing it and leaving comments. I'm glad you enjoy it :)

Predictably, the entire camp knew about Ella's pending promotion by the end of the week. So when the young medic was presented with her Technician Third Grade chevrons at the ceremony, she was swarmed by the boys as soon as the officers had offered their congratulations.

The small girl was nearly buried under the onslaught of pats, hugs and kisses on the cheek and head. Major Winters, promoted just as they had pulled out of Haguenau, Captains Nixon and Speirs, and Lieutenants Welsh and Lipton stood off to the side and watched the scene, looking a fair bit like proud parents or relatives.

In the evening, the guys insisted on dragging their favourite female combat medic along to a USO dance to celebrate. Not that she put up much of a fight. Ella loved dancing and spending time with her boys, so she quickly agreed.

While the men put on their new, perfectly fitted class A's for a second time, the brunette stood in front of the mirror, a pair of scissors in her hand. A haircut was long overdue and since she had a surprise planned for her friends, now was as good a time as any.

She studied her reflection as her fingers worked steadily to trim her locks.

The hollowness had left her features pretty much as soon as she had gotten decent food again. Her skin was no longer pale or flushed with fever, but had regained its healthy sun-tanned complexion. The scar on her temple was still a faint pink, the one on her forehead a white line interrupting her eyebrow.

***

Cleaning up and throwing away the cut hair, the ranking medic grinned at herself in the mirror, the crescent-shaped dimple appearing on her cheek. She couldn't wait to see her friends' faces.

Bull, who had offered to walk with her, wasn't easily baffled. True to his calm, usually mild-mannered nature, he looked at her in momentary surprise, then smiled widely. "Ya look gorgeous, kid", he complimented, standing up and offering his arm.

Ella gave him a radiant smile, blushing a little. "Thank you, Bull."

Reaching the large rec hall, the tall Arkansas native courteously held the door for his small friend. She thanked him with one of her sweet smiles and a little curtsy, making him chuckle.

"There you are!", Luz cried when he spotted her, pushing through the crowd to meet them. He beamed like a kid in a candy story, throwing an arm casually around her neck. "C'mon, lemme buy you a drink."

Ella listened as he chattered animatedly, relaying the latest gossip as they made their way to the bar.

"Soda?", he guessed, throwing her a questioning glance.

She nodded. "Please."

Suddenly, in the middle of ordering a beer for himself, he froze. His head whipped around as he did a double take, eyes wide as saucers and filled with sheer wonder.

"Holy shit!", he exclaimed, completely taken aback when his brain comprehended what he was seeing.

The men, who had all turned when they had heard him, gaped. Ella almost expected to hear the crashing sound of everybody's jaws hitting the floor. A few echoes of "holy shit" and whispered variations thereof drifted through the air.

The young girl shifted, feeling a bit self-conscious. The entire room had fallen silent and all eyes were on her as the guys stared at her, stunned. A cheeky grin lit up her features and she waved cheerfully. "Hi guys!"