Catch Her If You Can | Band of Brothers

II. Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Mid-November 1942

POV: Dick Winters

"Lieutenant Sobel!"

Dick turned to find the source of the call, as did Lew. Major Strayer's runner hurried towards them. What does Strayer want this late on a Friday? Shouldn't he be on his way to Atlanta to meet up with his wife?

"Sir, you still need to discuss the upcoming march to Atlanta with Major Horton and Major Strayer at Regimental HQ," the runner said. "They're waiting, along with Colonel Sink."

Ah yes, the march to Atlanta. Captain Fenley had briefed Dick, Nix, and all the other officers in 2d Battalion about a week earlier. Sobel, rather than attend that briefing, had elected to scream at the men while they ran Currahee. Without meaning to, Dick found himself thinking about her. For someone who only got promoted a month ago, she's doing well. In the time that had passed since his first encounter with Captain Georgia Fenley, Dick had only caught fleeting glimpses of her outside of meetings. Well, there was the Officers' Club a few weeks back.

Easy Company had miraculously managed to land a Saturday night off, and Nix had dragged him to the aforementioned club for something that was very far away from Dick's definition of fun. But she was there! In that same green dress when she first walked with them on a night march, that same jeweled comb in her hair - which Nix had informed him was, in fact, made entirely of real diamonds - and that it had been imported especially from France.

"Understood, but tell the Majors it'll have to wait. I need to lead Easy on their night march."

A movement caught Dick's eye. Peering into the darkness, he captured a few details. Captain's bars on an overseas cap, Lucky Strikes in hand, red hair pinned neatly up. Speak of the devil and he - well, she, in this case - shall appear.

"I can handle the men if you'd like Captain. I'm finished with all my duties for the day and could use the fresh air," the Captain said.

The crickets chirped gently as Easy Company stood at attention. The sun had long since set, and it had been a cloudless day. Without that cover, the heat of the day had quickly dissipated, leaving a cool breeze in its wake. As they stood in front of Easy's barracks, Dick held a small hope that the weather would be this pleasant for the upcoming march. Maybe a little cooler during the day? Especially since we have to carry all our extra gear that's normally in the barracks during these night marches.

Dick and Nix looked at each other. The latter furrowed his brow and looked back at Captain Fenley.

"Well," Sobel hesitated, "all right." He nodded to her and sat in the passenger side of the jeep. She nodded in return.

Dick looked at Captain Fenley again. Even if she and Nix did grow up together, he still must have noticed how pretty she is. Georgia Fenley truly was gorgeous. A near lookalike for Rita Hayworth, she had doe-like brown eyes and bright auburn hair. Dark fire. Growing up, Dick's mother had always described the bright orange curls of his hair as "pale fire." Captain Fenley's hair, by comparison, was like a bonfire standing out against a clear night sky. So was she, in a sense. Fierce, untamable, and all alone.

" ... mile circuit around the outside of the camp?"

"Excuse me?" Dick was shaken from his reverie by the subject of his thoughts giving him a look that could be described as judgemental intrigue. Like she was sizing him up, but she hadn't made up her mind on him yet.

"You do a 12 mile circuit around the outside of the camp every Friday night, if I'm recalling things correctly?" Captain Fenley asked.

"Every Friday," Nix grumbled.