From Marley, with Love.

Chapter 59: The green-eyed nurse

The one-eyed soldier lay comfortably on the improvised straw mattress, staring up at the ceiling of the train car. He heard the shuffling about of the nurses and doctors in the train car. In the distance, he heard the sounds of yelling and cheering in the distance. The soldiers were having a riot... and there he was, unable to even sit upright.

"You can have a little drink! Light up, little girlie!" a drunk soldier yelled, the door between the barracks and the infirmary opened and the nurse that had dragged him off the field ran in. Hands grasping her long black hair and her arms, trying to pull her back into the busy barracks. She pulled herself from their grasp and kicked a soldier in his groin. Getting him down to the ground, he puked on the straw floor. Another soldier leaped forward, trying to grab the young woman's face.

"Hands off, dirty old goat!" she screeched, dropping the linens she brought before grasping the bottle from the soldier's hand and smashing it over his head. A loud collective scream came from the soldiers, and cups and canteens started flying around the barracks. The soldier grabbed his head and disappeared into the crowd.

"Good god..." The nurse sighed shutting the door, hearing the banging of the cups against the solid sliding door.

"You all right? They're extremely grabby." A nurse asked, grabbing and folding the dropped linen.

"As if they didn't spend their money in one of the many whore houses..." the dark-haired nurse huffed. She noticed a canteen at her feet, which she picked up and screwed the lid off. Sniffing the contents.

"It's good bourbon..." she said, taking a small swig. She handed the canteen to her colleague who took a big gulp.

"Goodness." The dark-haired nurse gasped.

"I haven't had a proper drink in years..." the older nurse said matter of fact.

The dark-haired nurse left the canteen with her friend and started checking on the injured soldiers. She sat down with a crying soldier, he lay curled up in a ball his hands covering his ears and squeezing his eyes closed.

The nurse talked to him, soothing him and making sure he was not in any pain. After tucking the soldier in with a blanket, the man seemed to settle and go to sleep.

The one-eyed soldier propped himself up on his good arm.

"Hey." He greeted her.

"Hey." She responded, quietly walking over to him

"No sleeping?' she asked.

"Not yet." He nodded to the next train car where the volume became louder and louder.

"Yeah, they're too loud." She carefully sat down on the ground.

"What is your name?"

"Rosanna."

"You're a doctor here?"

"For the titan unit, yes. I am a nurse for the soldier infirmary."

The soldier nodded carefully.

"What is your name?"

The soldier looked at her, blinking before casting down his eyes.

"I...I don't remember." He stammered. Rosanna frowned.

"I am sorry to hear that." She looked down at her hands. "Is there any name you feel comfortable with?"

The soldier looked at her. his one eye seemed to glow, piercing into her soul and subconscious.

"Call me Kruger... for some reason that sticks well with me."

Rosanna nodded, "All right then." She said, standing up and patting the straw from her trousers. She then looked at the door to the Barracks, she still had to report the dead and injured...

"I have to go; did you need anything?"

Kruger laid back down and sighed deeply, "I'll be fine."

Rosanna turned to walk away.

"You have nice eyes." She heard him mumble.

She frowned, turning around.

"I might as well call you the green-eyed nurse."

Rosanna laughed aloud and walked away from him. Suppressing a blush.

"We should shut them up..." General Calvi groaned, rubbing his forehead with his pointer finger and thumb.

"Let them have this night, they'll be quiet once we are back in Liberio, sir," Magath said, folding his cards and taking his money from Koslow who cried about losing again. The entire room looked up as the sliding door opened and Rosanna entered. Everyone turned to look at her, Pieck sleepily lifted her hand as a greeting and made room in the booth. Rosanna stood straight and saluted both the general and the commander.

"Sirs."

"Bauer."

"Doctor Bauer."

Rosanna nodded to Koslow and walked on to the booth in the back of the wagon.

"Captain Yeager." She greeted Zeke, a slight smirk playing around her lips.

"Doctor Bauer."

Rosanna scooted her way into the booth, Pieck took her blanket and rested her head against Rosanna's shoulder.

Rosanna laid out her documents and started writing down the reports. How many are deceased, injured, permanently disabled, or mentally scarred? She thought about Kruger, she started flipping through the pages. They were in alphabetical order. She looked through the entire K-section. Not finding Kruger.

"That's odd..." she whispered, sighing and adding a note into the section.

"Kruger, Male, brown hair, green-blue eyes." She chewed on a nail, trying to place his age.

"Young adult." She put it down. She ripped off the chewed nail. Throwing it in the trash.

Pieck sleepily peered over Rosanna's shoulder.

"Unknown soldier?" she asked.

"Not registered." Rosanna replied, "He probably was one of the trench diggers." She looked up at Zeke. He seemed to sleep, but behind the glint of his glasses, she could notice his cracked-open eyes.

She jumped when she heard the other train carriage erupt in screaming. Followed by the following thumping boots and chanting.

"Gabi is in there?" Rosanna asked.

"Colt too," Pieck smirked.

Rosanna's surprised face turned into a serious look of suspicion.

"You got a play in this, don't you?"

Pieck shrugged.

"Colt wanted some of that Bourbon... he is eighteen he can have some."

Rosanna shook her head.

"You are shameful." Both Rosanna and Zeke groaned.

The two looked at each other quizzically before Rosanna looked back at her reports.

"You two sure are on one wavelength again," Pieck observed.

"We have to be if we want to work together," Rosanna said matter of fact.

"Exactly," Zeke murmured.

Rosanna looked up at Zeke, it never was a good thing when she could read him this well. The hard line around his mouth was gone and so were the wrinkles around his eyes. He seemed relaxed... too relaxed. He might be glad to go home...

But why was he keeping his eyes cracked open?