Catch Her If You Can | Band of Brothers

IX. Saturday, January 2nd, 1943. Norfolk, Virginia.

Saturday, January 2nd, 1943. Norfolk, Virginia.

The phone call from Major Strayer the night before had been a blessing in disguise. The man wasn't the best commander, and his voice was difficult to hear through the telephone, but Georgia got the gist. Colonel Sink wanted all regimental and battalion level officers back at Fort Benning as soon as possible. Georgia had a few ideas as to why, but she'd take any option to leave Norfolk as soon as it came her way.

Now, as the sun began to rise on the ocean horizon, she was hastily pulling on her dress uniform so she could make her way back to the train station and catch the earliest train ride back further south.

The dinner soiree the night of her arrival had gone about just as well as she'd expected. Men mooned over her, and her mother glossed over her Army service whenever she could. Georgia hadn't seen combat, but she was more than willing to bet that most of the eligible young servicemen in attendance would pale at the mere thought of jumping out of an airplane. Content with that thought, Georgia had been sure to consume enough alcohol and petit-fours that their grating humor didn't bother her anymore.

In moments like that, she missed Lew. His sense of humor matched hers perfectly, and he always had something to say that would make her laugh or smile. When they'd been younger, the two of them had always stuck together at social events. In that sense, they had been comrades-in-arms even before they joined the Airborne.

Tucking her last pair of spare socks into her rucksack, Georgia turned to the window behind her vanity and opened it. The cool, crisp, and salt-smelling air wafted in and washed over her. She stood there for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of the sun's rays dance across her skin as it emerged over the bay.

But the moment broke when she heard her father start to stir.

If she didn't leave now, she'd be stuck in Norfolk until mid-afternoon.

Sighing, Georgia stepped out of the golden light. She shut the window, gathered her things, and walked down the stairs. The chauffeur was waiting by the door, and she nodded to him as he gestured for her to exit first. He took her bag again and held the door for her.

As they approached the train station, Georgia felt her mood improving. She'd be even better when she was back at Benning, but this would do for now. At the station, she gathered her things and purchased another first-class ticket. She was alone, but she didn't need to be alone in a train car that didn't suit her expensive tastes.

Finding an empty cabin after about thirty seconds of walking down the train, Georgia stepped inside. She tossed her bag on the seat across from her, before crossing her legs and resting her feet there as well. As the train began to pull out of the station, Georgia lit a cigarette. She let her eyes drift close as she breathed in the smoke. She stayed awake for about half an hour, just long enough for her to finish her cigarette.

Georgia woke up several hours later with an ache in her neck in shoulders. Groaning, she removed her feet from the plush seat across from her as she stretched her arms and legs. When she glanced out the window, she saw the sign for Columbus just ahead. She let out a content sigh, safe in the knowledge that she was back. The mask she wore around her parents could come off, and her Army officers one could come back on.

Soon enough, she stepped off the train and onto the platform. Georgia stepped into one of the waiting taxis and began her trek back to Benning. As they drove, the landscape grew evermore familiar, and Georgia's mood grew evermore amicable - just as she'd predicted earlier that day.

The driver dropped her off at the gates of the fort, and she strolled back to her barracks leisurely. As she walked, the thought finally hit her.

"Happy twenty-second birthday to me," Georgia said quietly. She'd been so distracted that she'd managed to forget her birthday, but there wasn't anything to do. Her parents would've either ignored the occasion altogether or forced her to attend some horrid gathering in which she would be presented to many extremely wealthy young men. At least here at Fort Benning, the gatherings she had to attend were productive.