Women of War - A Band of Brothers Story

The End of October

A/N: Hello everybody and welcome back to another chapter! I hope you like it, so let me know what you think.

Also, if you have any suggestions or ideas as to which of the women is going to die (and how) in Bastogne, feel free to leave me a comment or PM. I still haven't decided...

Just so you know, there won't be an update next week as I will be away. And afterwards, updates might get even more irregular than they already are because I'll start my internship.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Frances had her back leant against the stone bannister travelling up the steps in front of a small chapel. The autumn sun, dim through a slight haze of mist in the sky, tingled on her skin. A small blessing in the murky humdrum that was their life right now.

October was already drawing to a close and they were in another town with an unpronounceable name that looked just the same as the ones they had been stationed in before.

"Hey Frances, you alright?"

She looked up from the cards she had been frowning at. "Yeah, sure", she replied, scooting sideways so Jessica could sit down. "Just thinking."

"'bout what?" Jessica dug through her pockets and pulled out a chocolate bar, offering half to her friend.

The North Carolinian took it with a smile and shrugged. "About if we're ever gonna be taken off the line again."

"Yeah...I don't know", Jessica said with a snort around a mouthful of delicious sweetness. "Least we have a good commander again."

Flicking a card up, twirling it around in her fingers, Frances huffed a laugh. "You can say that again", she agreed, taking a bite of her chocolate. "Thank God that Welsh is a competent XO or we'd have been pretty lost."

Jessica nodded. "This whole operation is already enough of a mess, imagine how it would have been without Winters and the other Toccoa officers."

"I'd rather not", Frances retorted drily as she shuffled her deck with one hand.

***

Ana María joined them, flopping down with a groan and tilting her head this way and that to ease the stiffness of her neck and shoulder muscles.

"I don't know how the medics can stay hunched over their patients all day", she confided, wincing as something popped in her back. "My neck is as stiff as mamá's ironing board and all I did was fix the hand-held radio."

Her friends laughed and Jessica asked half-jokingly: "Need a massage?"

"Are you offering?", the Puerto Rican asked back.

She grinned. "Why not. Turn around."

Ana María didn't need to be told twice. She shrugged off her jacket and scooted backwards. Frances watched in amusement as Jessica started massaging Ana María's shoulders, the short Latina closing her eyes.

Putting away her cards because her fingers were still itching for something to do, Frances fished out her sewing kit from the bottom of her bag.

We're an odd bunch, she mused with a smile, threading the needle and smoothing out the leg of her pants so she could close the holes and small tears in the fabric. Maxine had had enough trouble getting the most urgent supplies for her squad, so Frances figured it was just easier to mend her ODs instead of requisitioning new ones.

"Hey, if you're done fixing your clothes, d'you want to do mine, too?", Jessica tossed over her shoulder, smirk tilting her mouth while her fingers worked to dissolve the knots in Ana María's shoulders.