Taking the Town

"Stand up, lift up. Let's go. Listen up!"

"It'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline from here on. No talking, no smoking.No playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz." Winters said as he then moved off with Luz.

"I wonder where we're going" Flo asked, "Looks like the whole division is moving"

Then Luz came back over, "Right men and Floss, we're taking Carentan. The Germans wanna keep it cause it's the only place that Utah and Omah artillery can link up, so lets move"

"1st Platoon, fall in behind Fox Company. You people from 2nd and 3rd Platoon, follow us." Winters shouted.

"Oh now we're just the people from 2nd platoon, gee thanks sir" Penk complained from next to her. She smiled and gave his arm a pat.

A few hours later, they were halted for about the 4th time.

"Oh my giddy aunt, we've stopped again?" Flo whispered to Gene

"We've lost Fox company again" Harry commented from in front of her

"Guess Sobel actually taught us something" smiled Chuck

Hoobs and Blithe from 1st platoon went out to find Fox company. While they were waiting Flo held her daisy necklace and started playing with the button on her med satchel.

She could hear Luz impersonating General Taylor ""'Remember boys, maybe three days and three nights of rough fightin', and you will be relieved!'". She rolled her eyes but smiled.

They found F company and started moving again, soon enough it was morning and they were approaching Carentan.

"This place looks a barrel of laughs" Flo sighed

The Winters motioned for 2nd and 3rd platoon to fall in behind him. Flo followed and crouched next to Bill, who patted her on the arm.

Winters then signaled for Harry to lead in 1st and then 2nd and 3rd would follow with Winters leading.

Go, Winters gave the order. Flo and Gene looked uneasily at each other. It was too quiet.

Suddenly a German MG started mowing men in 1st down. Flo didn't hesitate and sprint crawled forwards with Gene next to her, while most of the men were shouting for them to be careful as they ran to ditches on the side of the road.

Flo saw that Harry and Luz had made it through and she could hear Harry shouting "Where the fuck did everybody go?".

She couldn't worry about them now, through the gunfire she just focused on her patients, one had been hit in the leg but luckily it hadn't gone through his artery, she poured sulpha on the wound and bandaged it tightly before dragging him to cover.

She saw Gene do the same with his man and then she took stock of what was around her. First, she noticed Winters and Buck pulling men up and over the ditch, in particular, Winters was having words with Blithe. While watching Shifty behind a chicken pen she heard "MEDIC" being screamed.

Gene ran to the voice while dodging the sniper, while she watched her boys take down German guns with grenades. She watched as Shifty killed the sniper with one bullet. She watched as Harry charged at a gun and took it down with a grenade. She watched as Tipper and Lieb destroy another gun with a bazooka. She watched as a German comes out, but Lieb fatally shoots him with his pistol. Then she heard another cry of "MEDIC"

She knew that voice, it was Lip. As she went to get up she noticed artillery was attacking them and a voice was calling them to get off the street, but the voice was becoming more panicked. Before she knew what she was doing Flo ran out into the road, weaving as the artillery fired around her. She could hear the men shouting "Fizz, what the fuck are you doing? Get off the street" but she kept running. She dodged and collapsed next to Lip.

"Hey Lip, I'm here, where you hit?" she asked while scanning her eyes over him.

He had been knocked back by a shell and had shrapnel on his face and hand, but what concerned Flo was that there was a lot of blood around his lower waist. Tab came over, glanced at Flo then looked at the damage for her.

"Don't worry Lip, everything's right where it should be" Tab said as Lip groaned in relief.

Flo almost laughed then set to work removing the shrapnel and preventing infection. She told Tab to stuff bandages into the wound area and hold them in place while she wrapped a bandage round the cotton and tied it tightly. She then administered morphine and told Tab to take Lip to cover and they would get him out of there.

She noticed Lieb scream for Tip, she ran over there to find Tip with blood pouring everywhere and his face unrecognizable with his legs that looked broken and Lieb holding him. She slowly walked over and gently gave him morphine, she nodded to Lieb and then he handed Tip over to her as she walked, more like dragged him over to a building and sat him down as she started working on him, using sulpha and bandages to staunch the bleeding.

"Am I gonna die Fizz?" he asked shakily

"No Tip, your gonna be fine sweets, from the look of your right eye though I don't think you'll be seeing much, but your legs should heal, they are broken but they should heal" she smiled softly at him. "You'll be going home mind" she said.

"Not a bad deal then" Tip slightly laughed as she finished up and held his hand tightly.

From what she could gauge the battle was over and the jerry's were retreating. Gene found her and they set up an aid station in the building Flo had taken Tip into.

As she walked around checking the boy's that had come in, she noticed Blithe sat there.

"Hey Albert, how are you doing?" she asked gently

"I can't see Fizz" he replied

"Can't see? When did this happen?" she asked confused

"I was sat in an alley and then things just suddenly went black on me" he replied

"Okay sweets don't worry, we'll get you out here and back to England, we can't risk that happening again, don't wanna put your life more on the line than it already is," she said softly to him. She then patted his arm and walked over to Gene who was treating Winters.

"Hi sir, what happened to you?" she asked smiling

"Well Fizz, sniper ricochet in the ankle" he replied

"Nice, you've got to try and stay off it as much as possible I know it'll be hard but..." she said looking at Gene's hands as he bandaged it.

"Floss I have tried to explain that, but looks like it's gonna be impossible, we're moving again," Gene said

"What's wrong with Blithe?" Winters asked

"Nothing except he can't see" Gene replied

"He can't see?"

"So he says."

"It's odd, but I don't want to not send him to safety and then it happens again in battle and he's killed because of it" Flo said to Winters, who nodded his head and said "Don't worry Fizz, I'll talk to him and send him back"

Flo smiled at winters and went to the back of the building to treat the walking wounded.

"Lets go Easy company, lets move it out" Harry started shouting

Flo picked up her med satchel and helmet and walked out with Gene who had his arm draped lazily around her shoulders.

"Tactical column, flankers up, that means you Blithe" Luz shouted

Flo looked at Gene confused and whispered "I thought blithe was going home?"

"I don't know I guess he can see now" he whispered back

Flo was thinking 'I'm gonna have to keep an eye on him'. They started marching, she was stood next to Muck and Malark so between them, they managed to keep her very entertained.

They were marching along quite happily, she was silently laughing at perco and Luz's conversation,

"Hey, Luz?"

"What?"

"How far we going?"

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Frank, I don't know."

"Until they tell us to stop."

"Why is Easy Company the only company that's either at the front of an advance or, like now exposed at the far edge of the line?"

"To keep you on your toes." At this reply Flo let a little giggle come from her mouth and Muck jokingly put his hand over her mouth till she bit him.

"Owww, Fizz" he whispered

"I've said it before, I'll say it again you shouldn't take her on Skip" Malark whisper laughed. Before they focused again on frank and Luz's conversation.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, I'm saying that we're never in the middle. And we're the fifth of nine companies of this regiment. Able through Item. Think about it" Perco was saying.

But before anyone could answer they got the "Incoming" shout and they all dived towards a trench on the roadside.