I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends (3/?)
Fandom: Band of Brothers
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences (to be safe for the high school years)
Relationships: Babe Heffron/Eugene Roe, Joseph Liebgott/Kenyon Webster, Carwood Lipton/Ronald Speirs, Lewis Nixon/Richard Winters, Kitty Grogan/Harry Welsh, background Muck/Malarkey
Characters: George Luz, Buck Compton, Renee LeMaire, Bill Guarnere
Summary: Toccoa Lane was located in a small town just north of Rutherford, New Jersey. It was a rather long street, backing up to Currahee Park. The houses were large enough and well built, the neighborhood itself being fairly new to the town’s history. A different sort of history was waiting to be made there.
Chapter Summary: Babe just wanted to be friends with the coolest kid on the block, really.
Sorry Chapter 3 took so long. I've been a busy bee this week and typing up a million things, so I finally got this done and ready. It's still fairly short, but longer than the previous chapter. This is another just for fun chapter, some might get a bit more serious later on.
This one features our pals Babe and Roe!
Here's the AO3 link! All chapters are connected through that series.
For LJ, other chapters are: Basically Like A Beginning, and Something Like Sweethearts
Babe was seven years old and a klutz. It wasn’t that he purposefully got hurt, at least not usually, but it was mostly that he just couldn’t move his feet the way he wanted to. He would fumble, and fall, and cry until he got a nice sized bandage to patch up the ‘warrior wounds’, as his mother called them.
Somewhere around the time they moved onto Toccoa Lane, Babe began to show up at home with colorful bandages riddled all over his little body. When his mother asked where they came from, Babe simply answered “Gene is a doctor!”. She figured that maybe they were just playing doctor, like kids often do.
It started when he found out the secret to getting Eugene Roe’s attention. The boy lived four houses down, and Babe became somewhat enamored with him. He was a year older, a second grader!, and had black hair that seemed to have a mind of its own. Babe loved to mess with it, much to Gene’s dismay. Gene was gentle, and was a future doctor. It wasn’t even in question. He was dead set on becoming a doctor and saving the world.
In Babe’s mind, Gene could do absolutely anything. He was practically a superhero, if he’d ever agree to join the boys for their weekly rounds of the game “Superhero”. Instead, he opted to stay behind and talk with Renee LeMaire, the only other girl besides Kitty who lived on their street. It’s not that Babe was jealous of Renee or anything, it’s just that he wanted to be friends with Gene too. So, maybe he wasn’t a future doctor or whatever, but they could still be friends right?
He realized one Friday afternoon, walking home from school with the boys, when he discovered the key to getting little Gene’s attention: injuring himself.
He decided that everyone was being boring. Joe and David were lingering in the back of the group, swinging their hands together between them rather roughly. They were fighting over who was better at math, shooting back mathematical equations and trying to stump the other. Since they both were in the same class and neither of them was particularly brilliant at math, they were at a stalemate.
“What’s six divided by three?” David asked, proud that he knew the answer already.
“Two! Ha!” Joe pinched David’s nose. David gave out a small cry and poked Joe’s stomach.
“Why are we even holding hands? This is dumb.” Joe looked at their joined hands.
“That’s what boyfriends do, Joey. I asked Mommy and she knows everything.”
“She can’t know everything-”
Babe didn’t feel like staying around to see the rest of that fight play out.
“Gene-” He ran to the front of the group where Renee and Gene were in deep conversation, most likely about some stupid medical gumbo that Babe would never understand. But Renee gets to talk to Gene all the time. Didn’t she learn that ‘sharing is caring’? “Hey, Gene-”
Gene turned slightly, only to say, “Not now, Edward, I’m in the middle of a conversation.”
Edward. Gene always called him Edward, as if it made him seem more mature. Edward was what the ‘grown-ups’ called him. Gene wasn’t that much older than him, and he definitely wasn’t a grown-up.
“My name is Babe.” Babe huffed. This was ridiculous. He was almost positive Gene and Renee had begun to walk faster, so he sped up his stride as well. “Gene-”
“So what kind of bandages are best for just scrapes?”
“Well, you want to use a patch, never pile on the skinny ones-”
It was then that Babe tripped on an uneven crack in the sidewalk and landed horribly on his right arm. A sickening crack was could be heard by those who weren’t too into their conversations, but Gene and Renee didn’t seem to notice.
“OOOOWWW!” Babe howled. He tried to get up, but that was the exact wrong thing to do. Pain shot up his arm and he cried harder. Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned to look at where Babe was lying on the sidewalk, cradling his arm. His face was red and wet, and he was sobbing by this point. “It hurts!”
“GENE-Y! RENEE!” Everyone began to call. They turned from where they were half-way down the street, and immediately began to run back.
“Edward, what happened?” Gene asked, kneeling besides Babe. Much to everyone’s surprise, Babe just glared angrily at Gene.
“My name is Babe.” He said angrily. “And I was jus’ tryin’ to talk to you! And you keep ignoring me because you’re stupid!”
The boys gasped. Renee ignored the situation and focused on the important things. She pulled out the emergency phone her parents gave her, glad she could use it for once. She called the Heffrons, explaining what happened and that they should get here immediately. She read off the street name and sat beside Babe, trying to talk him through it to no avail.
“Your parents will be here soon, it’ll be okay-” Renee was gentle; she was always gentle. Babe didn’t want gentle. He just wanted to go home.
“No! You’re stupid too! I want to go home!” He sniffled.
“Babe, you’re being mean.” Buck said simply from the back of the group. “Renee isn’t stupid. She’s the smartest ever! She has to be because she’s afifth grader!”
Babe couldn’t really argue with that logic so he just muttered an apology, but refused to look at Gene or Renee.
“Edward-”
“MY NAME IS BABE!” He screamed.
Everyone fell silent. No one had ever seen Babe this upset before. No one was sure what to do about it. Renee just continuously pet his head until a familiar red car pulled up besides the group of boys. Mrs. Heffron turned off the car and jumped out in a rush and knelt by her son.
“Babe, are you okay, honey? Here, get in the car we’re taking you to the hospital.” She carefully helped Babe stand and turned to Renee before rushing off. “Thank you so much, Renee.”
And just like that Babe was out of sight and the boys solemnly began the rest of their trek home.
Gene was in a slight state of shock over the events that just unfolded. He’d never been yelled at by anyone before, and was certainly never deemed ‘stupid’. For Babe to be the first one to do either of these things...well, Gene admitted it hurt.
His mother noticed his saddened state just as soon as he walked through the door. He sighed heavily, dropped his backpack by the door, and took a seat on the barstools in the kitchen. Eleanor was just cleaning up the kitchen, enjoying her rare day off of work, when she heard him amble in.
“One glass of milk, please.” Gene put his elbows on the bar and rested his head on his hands. “Two squirts of chocolate syrup.”
“You drinkin’ your sorrows away, cher?” Eleanor smiled. Gene was one of the quietest of her three kids, but when he was upset it was rather obvious.
“Edward yelled at me today.”
Eleanor was genuinely taken aback by this. Babe always adored Gene, had since they met. Of all the children on the street, she figured that Joe would be the most likely to yell at her Gene. Babe wasn’t exactly quiet mannered, but he wasn’t mean in the slightest.
“Oh, Gene.” Eleanor slid the glass of chocolate milk towards him. He caught it in his hand with ease. “Tell me what happened.”
“Well, I was talking to Renee because she’s really cool and knows a lot of stuff about doctors ‘cos her Papa is a doctor. And Edward came up and was sayin’ my name but I was talkin’ to Renee, so I was nice and said so but he just got mad cos I called him Edward and kept tryn’a talk to me but I was a meanie and I ignored him beacuse I was talkin’ to Renee and then he broked his arm. And then I was tryn’a help him and make sure he was okay, but then he just yelled at me worse cos I called him Edward again.” Gene took in a deep breath. “I don’t want Edward to be mad at me, Mama.”
“Well, honey, sounds like you’ve got quite a dilemma.” Eleanor smiled again, amusement in her eyes at the simple problems of young children. “I think first of all, you should start callin’ Babe by Babe. He sure doesn’t seen to like it when anyone calls him Edward.”
“But everyone calls him Babe! I don’t want him to think I’m just like everyone else!”
“Why not?”
“‘Cos I want him to be like my bestest friend...and bestest friends have to have special names for each other.”
Eleanor ran her hands through Gene’s hair gently. “Oh, that’s not true. You can be best friends without having to call each other special names.”
Gene looked solemnly into his glass. “Well, not anymore. I don’t think he likes me very much. Everyone says its my fault his arm is brokened.”
“He’ll alway like you, Gene, no matter what.”
He took a long swig of milk and then looked hopefully at his mother. “You think so?”
“Why don’t you go over and talk to him when he gets back from getting a cast on, huh? I’m sure he’d love some company.”
Gene considered this for a moment. Then, he perked up. “I could bring some bandages for extra protection!”
“Sure!” Eleanor laughed. “You go do your homework now. I’ve got to finish cleaning up Margaux’s mess in the playroom. God bless her soul, she’s like a five year old hurricane.”
Gene jumped off of the stool and grabbed his homework, intent on trying to pass time quickly until Babe got home.
Gene had drifted off to sleep around eight o’clock, the weight of the days events tiring him out. He was awoken by his mother around nine thirty.
“Mrs. Heffron just called, Gene. Babe’s home. You want to visit?” She whispered. Gene woke slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He nodded enthusiastically.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” Eleanor assured, picking up Gene so he wouldn’t stumble around the halls.
“Wait, Mama! I need my band-aids!” He reached down for the first-aid kit lying on his dresser. Eleanor picked it up with her other hand, feeling quite like a power mother at that point.
“Be quiet, now. Daddy’s sleepin’ and he has to get up to work tomorrow.”
“Are we gon’ have a nanny again? Can’t Kitty and Harry just babysit?”
Eleanor laughed. “They can’t babysit all the time.”
“Can’t we just spend the day at the Heffrons? Edward’s mama is always home!” Gene insisted. He didn’t really like the nanny his mother always had on call for when both she and Oliver were working. She was old, and smelled like moldy cardboard.
“We’ll see, cher. Right now, let’s go check up on Babe, huh?”
Gene nodded, burying his face into his mother’s shoulder.
The walk down was fairly short, seeing as it was just four houses down. Gene grew antsy waiting for the door to open, and his mother let him down to stand. He shuffled back and forth on his feet, trying to calm his nerves.
“Babe, look who’s here!” Jenna Heffron exclaimed. Babe was hiding behind his mother’s legs.
“Can I see your cast?” Gene asked, peering in the door nervously.
Babe’s hold on his mother’s legs tightened. “No.”
“I have some band-aids and markers and I thought I could write you a message!” Gene kept his optimistic disposition up. Julian and Billy had already seemed to have written their names. They were written incredibly large, as if they were telling everyone that Babe was their best friend and no one else could have him. Especially boys named Gene. Gene thought morosely.
“I don’t want you to write a message. You’re gonna write somethin’ mean!”
Jenna and Eleanor exchanged glances, almost knowing between them that if they didn’t step in this could turn nasty fast.
“Sweetie, why don’t you take Gene to your room? I’ll make you two some cocoa.” Jenna said, peeling his small hands from her legs. He frowned, studying his green cast carefully.
“Fine. But you can’t touch anything and you can’t sit down.” Babe narrowed his eyes at Gene, who was standing wide-eyed and frightened in the doorway.
“Okay...” Gene peered up at his mother, almost asking for help but not quite needing it. Eleanor urged him forward. He followed Babe warily up the stairs as the mothers made their way to the kitchen.
Babe closed the door and sat on his dark blue bedsheets. “They said it was a hairline frac-a-ture.” He sighed seriously. “They said I was lucky.”
“I’m sorry, Edward!”
Babe glared at Gene. “My name. Is. Babe.”
A tense silence followed, making Gene highly regret most of the decisions he made that day.
Babe began to play around with his toy cars, every once in a while glaring up at Gene who was still standing by the door way, clutching his med-kit.
“Owie!” He cried suddenly, grabbing the hand on his non-broken arm.
“What’s wrong?” Gene stepped forward.
“I pinched my finger on the car!” He cried out. He held his hand out to Gene. “Fix it, Gene!”
Gene rushed forward grabbing Babe’s hand. It wasn’t that bad, a little bit of blood but that was it. He pulled out a large roll of bandage that Renee had given him earlier that week. Staring at it curiously, he briefly wondered if it was the right tool to use. But he decided that it didn’t matter; Babe needed his help and any bandage would do.
“Ow, not so tight!”
“Sorry, Babe...just hold on, I’m almost done.”
Babe froze, looking at Gene carefully, as if analyzing him. Then, his face broke out in a wide smile. “You called me ‘Babe’!”
Gene finished wrapping Babe’s finger messily, using some Scotch tape to keep it there. “Well, it’s your name, isn’t it?”
“You never called me Babe before.” Babe looked at his finger. “Hey! This means we can be best friends, right?”
“I thought we were always best friends?”
Babe considered this for a moment. “Well, yeah, but now it’s official!”
Gene smiled a mile wide.
Just then, Jenna and Eleanor entered bearing cocoa and cookies.
“Is everything alright in here?” Eleanor asked, noting the open med-kit on Babe’s bed.
“It’s okay now, Mrs. Roe. Gene-y and I are best friends, we’ve decided. I have a lot of best friends, don't I?” Babe said seriously.
Jenna and Eleanor exchanged knowing glances. Jenna patted Babe’s hair.
“We’re so happy for you two. Now, you finish up that cocoa and then Gene’s gotta go on home, okay?”
“Can’t Gene-y stay the night, Mommy? Georgie is always having sleepovers and I never get to have sleepovers.” Babe pouted.
“Well...”
“Please?” Gene and Babe said in unison.
“Well, I can’t argue to that. As long as Mrs. Roe agrees, alright?”
The boys turned their eyes to Eleanor. “I’ll bring by some extra clothes and a sleeping bag, okay?”
Babe and Gene cheered. As Eleanor and Jenna left them alone, Babe was going on and on about some television show they just had to watch tonight and all the games they should play that were fun even though they weren’t doctor games. Gene assured him that he liked games even if they weren’t medical.
Later, when it was well past one in the morning, Jenna turned off the light in the game room downstairs and smiled at the boys who were sleeping soundly, collapsed on top of each other. She left them to their peace and decided to talk to Babe later about drooling on your friends.