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

Revelations and Discoveries

That night, they were billeted in German houses. Ella hated the way the men burst into the homes of these families, forcing them out for the night. She knew what it felt like to have strangers storm into the place that was supposed to feel safe.

She could relate and she vehemently disapproved of the way Captain Speirs handled the situation. He gave the civilians five minutes to get out, not particularly caring if they understood the deadline or not. When the five minutes were up and they weren't ready, the men would push them out of the building, their weapons at the ready.

Speirs barged into a room, the brunette hot on his heels.

A woman rushed to pick up her infant daughter from the high chair, sheltering the child from the invaders. "Was machen Sie hier?", she asked, fear and confusion in her tone.

"Tell her she's got five minutes", the CO told the young medic.

She had half a mind to protest. Instead, she settled on giving him a mutinous look and calmly explaining to the frightened woman that she would have to relinquish her home to the soldiers for one night.

The poor mother stared at her, then at Speirs. "Wo sollen wir denn hin?", she questioned, helplessness coming out as desperate anger.

"You got four minutes!", the Captain barked at the woman when Ella translated the question.

Glaring at him, she took a breath to calm her own anger before refocusing on the woman, inquiring if any of their neighbours would be willing to put her and her daughter up. The baby started crying, overwhelmed by the sudden entrance of the Allied soldiers and the subsequent shouting.

"Tell her to hurry up", Speirs snapped impatiently, raising his voice to be heard over the bawling of the child. "She won't get more than four minutes!"

The ranking medic whirled around, her fierce Look hitting the CO, its force magnified by the pure rage flashing in her eyes. "I'll handle it", she snarled. Turning back to the civilian, her demeanour instantly switched back to understanding and sympathetic. The woman was frightened enough as it was.

The captain stalked out of the room, ostensibly to check on the progress of the rest of the men.

***

The small girl sighed heavily and rubbed a hand down her forehead in an effort to keep her temper in check.

"Können Sie meine Tochter halten? Bitte?", the woman asked tiredly, heading for her bedroom.

Ella nodded and carefully took the infant, gently bouncing the whimpering child while the mother bustled around the room, packing clothes and jewellery. She probably knew that anything left behind was up for grabs.

Moving through the house, the mother quickly gathered some of the valuables, including a photo album. Based on the purposefulness with which the German woman moved, the ranking medic determined that she was only taking the things that had memories and emotions attached to them.

Glancing at her watch, Ella softly told the mother: "Wir müssen gehen."

The woman nodded in resignation and looked between her daughter and the bag, indecision flickering on her features.

"Ich werde Ihnen mit dem Tragen helfen", she offered.

A tiny, grateful smile ghosted over the woman's lips. "Danke", she sniffled, grabbing the bag.

They left the house, the brunette carrying the now quiet infant, the woman next to her. The mother led the way down the street, stopping in front of another building and knocking on the door. She set down the bag and reached out for her daughter.