The sun was beginning to rise, pale light showing through the white curtain at the window. Shelagh Mannion remained in bed, leaning back against the wall. She watched the gray outlines of the unfamiliar room as they brightened into actual color with the sun's light. Last evening she had only given the room a cursory look, ascertaining the cleanliness of the establishment. She had never before been in a boarding house, and feared the worst, even as the kindly landlady, Mrs. Taylor, had showed her to the room. So far the fears had been for naught, as the room was well in order, almost as neat and as spare as the cell Shelagh had left behind at Nonnatus House.

Shelagh's heart skipped a beat at the thought of the home she had left. For so long she had been focused on the religious life and now that focus was gone. She was no longer bound to the rules and the order that Nonnatus had brought to her. It shamed her that she felt some relief to be free of the strict rules. It was strangely liberating to walk into the world of man, to wear her hair free, and to choose her own way in life. The larger part of her worried incessantly that she had made the wrong choice, that she had not listened to God's Will, but rather to her own desire.

Five years ago the only things Shelagh Mannion had wanted in life were to be a nurse and to be a nun. Now the calling to nursing was as strong as it had ever been and so too was her faith in God. Yet she no longer felt a religious vocation. Sometimes it seemed as if the two were conflated: her religion and nursing, as if she believed she could not have one without the other. And now she had neither, having given up her position as midwife in her exit of Nonnatus.

With a sigh, she turned to the small clock on the table next to the bed. It read half past five. Mrs. Taylor had assured her that a small breakfast would be served at six, 'on the dot, dear'.

Gathering her courage, Shelagh left the bed. She stood before the small mirror above the washbasin. Pouring water from the pitcher into the bowl, she dabbed a flannel into the water, raising it to her face. She narrowed her eyes to see more clearly in the mirror. A memory of standing in front of a mirror in the convent came to her then, and her stomach clenched. Have I doubted you, Lord? Shelagh closed her eyes and scrubbed at her face. Slightly refreshed, she donned her glasses and dressed, moving toward the window to look out into the street.

London was beginning to awaken, and the street was already filling with people headed out to begin their days, heading in directions known only to them. Shelagh watched as a woman exited the flat across from the boarding house, and set off down the road, sure in her step. For Shelagh the day stretched out, interminable. She was no longer on call, and had no offices to keep. Nonnatus House was in her past, and she must now look to her future. The only work she had was in making her way in this new and unfamiliar life. The task suddenly seemed daunting, and she almost wished to go back to the convent and into the familiar. Attempting to squash the fear she turned away from the window and knelt beside the bed. Folding her hands she searched her mind for a prayer, but found only a question: What next, Lord?

...

After breakfast Shelagh settled into the parlour with a few of the other boarders. Mrs. Taylor kept a small library of papers and books on the desk by the window, and encouraged the girls to use what items they needed. Shelagh paged idly through a magazine, noting the classifieds. She would have to go to the shops and find Midwives Chronicle and Nursing Notes to look for job openings. Her nursing and midwifery skills were top-notch, and would be valuable in any setting. She had only to find the setting.

"Would you like to switch?"

Shelagh looked at the young woman next to her, holding a folded newspaper. She looked down at the magazine she held, realizing she hadn't really been reading it. "Oh, of course!" She closed the pages and handed them over, smiling politely. The girl nodded in response and opened the magazine, while Shelagh looked down at the newspaper. She skimmed a few articles before turning to peruse the classifieds, wondering if any nursing positions would be listed. Her fingers itched for a fountain pen as she found a few possibilities, and she wondered if Mrs. Taylor would allow her to take the paper to her room to copy the interesting adverts into her notebook.

Running a finger down the page she stopped at the next nursing ad, taken in by its use of bold lettering.

ATTENTION! NURSE GRADUATES

With a sense of Adventure!

Your own horse

Your own dog

and a thousand miles of Kentucky Mountains to serve

Join my Nurses Brigade and help save children's lives

Write to M. Breckinridge, Hyden Kentucky USA

It was certainly an interesting advertisement in comparison to the others. S he vaguely remembered hearing of a Mary Breckinridge, an American nurse who had trained in England to become a nurse-midwife. Shelagh looked to the print again. Adventure, horses, dogs, saving children's lives...it was quite something out of a serial. Shelagh looked up from the paper for a moment, and tried to imagine what the ad promised. She found that she couldn't picture it, or herself in it. Her life so far had been comprised of order, obedience, structure. Adventure had never been something she had been attracted to. Especially not adventure an ocean away. She tried to picture America and where Kentucky might be, and found that she was unsure. She stood and walked to the desk, looking through the materials there for an atlas.

"Can I help you to find anything, dear?" Mrs. Taylor smiled at Shelagh, reaching out to neaten a stack of newspapers.

"Oh." Shelagh looked down at the advertisements in her hand. She held the paper up for Mrs. Taylor to see. "Might I take this back to my room? To copy the adverts of interest?"

"So long as you bring it back for the others to enjoy, too." Mrs. Taylor nodded toward the paper. "Did you find anything of note?"

Shelagh smiled faintly, unsure of speaking so freely to the landlady. "Perhaps a few opportunities. I was hoping to find an atlas, which is why I was looking so intently through the items here on the desk. I can always try the library, of course."

"Oh, there's no need for that. My Jas had quite a few reference books for his studies. I'll pop and see if there was an atlas. But whatever are you looking for? I'm sure that I can tell you about any road in the district, dear."

Looking down to hide a smile, Shelagh held the advertisements up again. "I know my way around fairly well, but this ad is a wee bit different, Mrs. Taylor. It's in America."

Mrs. Taylor's eyebrows rose. "So far away!" She took the ad and read it. "Riding on horseback through the country, a dog at your side? Very romantic."

Shelagh shifted uncomfortably. "It would be a …. Change."

"Indeed." Mrs. Taylor gave the ad back to Shelagh. "I'll get the book for you. Back in a jiffy."

...

Once back in her room, Shelagh copied the advertisement, comparing her copy with the newsprint to ensure its accuracy. She thumbed through the atlas until she found the world maps, and eyed the strange shapes of the American states until she found Kentucky. The vague description of the south-eastern part of the county gave her little information to go on, yet she found herself tracing the strange ridge at the top of the state with her finger. A river, she thought, unable to image anyone drawing a line of demarcation that was so completely jagged.

She looked again at the ad, and thought of what Mrs. Taylor had said, of the romantic notions of horse-riding and saving children. Shelagh had little idea of America, let alone of this mountainous area in need of nurses. ATTENTION NURSE GRADUATES With a Sense of Adventure …. Shelagh read the words again and again. She wasn't sure that she was the adventurous type, but being needed and providing care, those were things she was familiar with. What a change it would be, to leave everything behind, to try something new.

Shelagh bowed her head and began to pray. Some time later, when she raised her head, she took a crisp sheet of paper and began to write:

7 October 1934

M. Breckinridge

Hyden, Kentucky USA

Dear Madam,

I am writing to inquire as to your Nurses Brigade….

a/n: My new story, Coming Home, is an AU look at Turnadette, but specifically at Shelagh. Set in the 1930s, the story follows Shelagh as she works for the Frontier Nursing Service based in Hyden/Leslie County, Kentucky. I would like to thank my-little-yellowbird and fourteen-teacups for believing in me and this story so very much. Disclaimer: I do not own Call the Midwife nor the Frontier Nursing Service. I write this out of love and admiration.