A Soldier of No Importance [ Band of Brothers ] 1

ELEVEN

When she moved, her skin felt heavy. Alice couldn't describe it any other way. Her left side hurt as she tried to shuffle in her cot. A groan escaped her. "Son of a…" She hissed.

At her voice, she saw movement to her right. Eugene Roe rubbed his eyes. His yawn betrayed him. He'd been up for the better part of the night. "Bonjour! Ça va?"

"Comme ci, comme ça." She tried to sit up. Looking around, she found herself in the barracks. "How did I get here?" 

"The doctor said we could move you back in here this morning. You're now part of my training." 

She smiled despite the pain. "Glad to be of service."

Eugene flashed her another smile. He knelt down beside the cot and checked the bandage. "Looks good. Morphine's wearin' off though so that'll be the test. But there's only a little discharge and it don't look infected."

"How'd Sobel take the news?"

"The news that you're on bed rest?" Eugene glared at the door. "Bout as well as you'd think. If Sink didn't think havin' a Maquis contact was so important you'd probably be outta here. Sobel says it was your fault for wandering around after dark."

"It was stupid," she admitted.

Eugene scoffed. "Doesn't make it your fault. Those D Company men were beyond drunk. I saw Lieutenant Speirs eyeing them last night when the one you punched came in for treatment. I heard a rumour he shot them both after that."

"Speirs?"

Eugene shrugged. "Someone said that in officer training school, he'd threaten people under him."

"I didn't take you for a gossip, Gene." 

He shrugged, a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well. Not typically."

"So how long do I have to stay here." 

"The cut wasn't too bad. We'll keep it covered for about four days, and once you're not in too much pain, you can start taking walks." He looked at her pointedly. "Careful, slow walks. With someone else."

Her grimace was unintentional. Gene didn't miss it though. He raised an eyebrow. "Don't fancy spending lots of time with the other guys."

"It's not that."

Gene hummed. "They think you're nice, you know. They like you." He stood and moved back to the cot on her right, which usually held George. He sat on it and yawned again. "Don't look at me like that. Luz told me you'd fit right in with his six sisters. I heard Guarnere say you'd give his brother Henry a run for his money in determination." As he let the information sink in, he paused. Then he started up again. "One thing they all say is that you look lonely. And sad, even though you try to hide it."

"You really are quite the gossip," she muttered. Alice rested her head back into her pillow.

He shrugged. "I hear a lot. Might as well put it to good use, non?" Then he laughed. "It really frustrates Luz. He doesn't know what to do with you."

She'd never heard Gene say so much in one sitting. A small smile crept into her expression. She tried to suppress it, but the knowledge that George couldn't figure out a way to make her laugh and it bothered him was oddly amusing to her. She shook her head ever so slightly while lying back in the pillow.

"Do you want to sit up more?" Gene looked at her carefully. "They gave me extra blankets."

She said please, and he grabbed some off the floor. Slowly he tucked them behind her pillow. She sat straighter, Gene careful to make sure it didn't aggravate the wound by scrunching her stomach too much.