This is a bonus story from The Unexpected AU world.
"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow, Ange. How am I going to survive without you?" Teddy moaned.
"I'll be back for Christmas. After the summer, you'll be buried in books at university. Plus with all the girls chasing you, you'll hardly miss me," Angela replied.
Angela continued packing as Teddy sat on her bed. She was going to miss her brother, but she was so excited.
Her mother came in and said, "Here's the new knickers all washed for you, dearest."
"Mum!"
Teddy said, "Oh my sister's knickers! How exciting."
"No cheek from you, young man. Come down to the kitchen and help me. Tim, Julie and the girls are coming for dinner."
"Mum, I'm saying goodbye to Thomas tonight," Angela reminded her mother.
"He can come round for you at seven then," her mum said, "Now finish packing."
Angela was going to miss her mum and dad and Teddy and Tim...well everyone, but still she was excited. She had been looking for an opportunity… something unique just for her. She had wanted to be a doctor since she was small, but ever since the search for her birth mother ended unsuccessfully, she had wanted to spread her wings a bit.
She was a Turner and wanted to be nothing more, but she wanted to experience something on her own instead of following in Tim's footprints with Teddy at her heels. She decided to spend half a year studying abroad. She was going to do an intern rotation, as it was called at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.
Her father supported her immediately. Her mum took some convincing, but Angela knew she was just nervous to have her so far away. "Just think about what she'll learn, Shelagh," her father had said.
"What about Thomas dearest?" her mum asked.
"He'll be here when I return," Angela said. She had been stepping out with Thomas for two years. He was from the neighborhood, but she hadn't noticed him back in grammar school. He said that he noticed her, but was too intimidated because she was so smart.
Thomas had a job at Selfridges in the office. It had something to do with analysing and predicting sales. It sounded boring, but he said that it was all right. She liked him and he was good looking, but he wasn't overly ambitious. Her mum was right, because the night she told Thomas she was going, he wasn't very happy. In fact, he whined like Teddy had done earlier.
She and Thomas had fun together, but she had too much training ahead of her to be worried about things like marriage. Thomas often complained about her being too busy with school. He also complained about something else… She didn't care if it was the 1980's; she was raised right in a religious family. She planned on waiting for her husband and, considering the few details they had of her own birth story, she didn't want to repeat the mistakes of her birth mother. Thomas would prefer that she shag him, but she was strong and knew her own mind.
The dinner was lovely, but saying goodbye to her brother and his family was hard. Then Thomas was at the door and they went to the pub. Neither had much to say. He didn't understand why she was leaving him and truthfully she thought that he would. She wondered if he'd even be waiting for her when she got back and she wasn't sure if she cared.
She left the next afternoon. Her father drove to Heathrow with her mum and Ted. Mum cried whilst dad and Ted looked sad. Secretly she knew her dad would love to come to see the American hospital and practises. She promised she'd find something special to bring home to him. She loved her dad. He was the best doctor and her role model. He was retired now, but still healthy. He got bored with mum working, so she said, "Ted, keep dad company until you go back to university next month especially while mum's working."
"I know otherwise he'll end up over at the surgery driving Tim bonkers," Ted laughed.
"I'm right here and I'm not so old that I don't know what's being said about me," Patrick said.
"They're just giving you cheek, dear. Pay no mind," Shelagh said.
"Goodbye daddy. I love you," Angela said with tears in her eyes.
"Come back and tell me about everything you've learned, my girl," her father said hugging her tight and kissing her head.
"Teddy, be good. Watch out for the girls," she said hugging her little brother and best friend, well most of the time.
"Love you Ange. Watch out for those yanks," Teddy said.
"I love you, mum," were the only words she could get out. They both were sobbing, but her mum straightened up and let her go. She walked down the jetway to board the plane, turning back once to wave. She didn't see it, but she suspected that her father would be comforting her mother.
Once she was in the air flying over the Atlantic, her sadness for leaving her family turned to excitement. She was headed on a new adventure. One in which she would experience things that she'd only seen on movie screens and the telly. She was sure Boston would be very different than London.
She found a taxi and gave the driver the address. She had exchanged money at the bank in London. The first thing she noticed was that Boston didn't look that different from the East End, aside from the fact they were driving on the wrong side of the road and the signs were different, but there was a mixture of old and new buildings with a river and an occasional park.
She arrived at her lodging where she was renting a room in a home. It was really a boarding house because Mrs. Curtin rented out multiple rooms to students. She was located close to hospitals and universities. Angela quickly learned that there were a lot of universities and colleges nearby. She also was informed that colleges were like universities with four year programmes.
Her first day, she met Heather who was studying to be a teacher. She was a few years younger than Angela, but invited her to go to dinner. They walked to a busy area bustling with young people and decided to go to a place that served Mexican food. Angela had never eaten this type of food, but she was here for the adventure.
Heather ordered a beer and Angela noticed that it was light in colour… lighter than ale. She ordered a CoCa-Cola because it seemed the American thing to do. Heather explained that all the girls drank Tab, because it had less calories. Angela thought, another thing to try. The food was delicious and spicy. She liked Indian food so she was used to spicy food.
Heather asked if she wanted to go to a bar, but she was too tired. It was already past midnight at home. She started a letter to her family, but couldn't keep her eyes open and went to sleep. The clock by her bed read eight-fifteen.
She woke early at four, but was able to roll over and sleep another hour and a half. Still five-thirty was early. She added more to her letter, but was dressed and ready much too soon. Still she left because she needed to find her way. When she arrive she saw the large buildings up and down the street were other hospitals. So many in such a small area was strange to her. She found a cafeteria and got a cup of tea. She let the bag steep until it was nice and strong and looked over her shoulder as if someone might notice before she added the milk last. She doubted that anyone around her would be concerned about the order in which she put her milk in.
She saw things she'd never seen before, but the most baffling was a silver urn with a placard that read, iced tea. Why would tea be iced? She sat and ate a blueberry muffin and drank her tea. She watched the people around her. Some she could tell worked there, but others were most likely family members of patients.
She reported to the specified location and found that she was with ten others who were started their obstetrics rotation. They were immediately assigned to a chief resident who took them on rounds. By the end of the day she had observed two births and examined multiple postnatal women. She quickly learned how to feel the uterus to ensure it was returning to its normal size.
When she dragged herself home, Heather and another girl Lynn asked if she wanted to go out. She thanked them, but said she was too tired. When she went to sleep her clock said eight-thirty. Over the course of her first week she managed to stay up later and sleep to a decent time. She also found her footing at hospital. Finally she had a day off a week and a half in on a Sunday. She rang home for the first time. They didn't talk long, but it was wonderful to hear her mum and dad's voices. Teddy was out probably having a kickabout with friends. Their conversation ended in I love you too.
She set out on her own exploring the city. She noticed as she read placards on buildings that the city took particular pride in the events that led to their independence from the crown. Obviously that was a long time ago and most people she met were intrigued by her, especially by her accent.
When she returned in the afternoon Heather and Lynn convinced her to go to a bar with them. She assumed it was like going to the pub...