She was right about the timing. It took 2 hours exactly. Even though it was little before 9 o'clock the place buzzed with life and smelt of death. She jumped down and waited for him to dismount before walking into the building. It was an old school house that had recently been abandoned. He struggled to stand up as the stench added to his dizziness. She noticed and turned to support him but he stood up straighter and walked alongside her.

"Where are we going Miss- I don't know your last name." She rolled her eyes and continued.

"That's because I didn't tell you. We're going to the head nurses office. She needs to know what is going on. Besides, its Mrs." She pushed open a door and stepped aside automatically as a bed was wheeled past.

"Thank you-" one of the nurses stopped and let go of the bed. Another tutted and glanced at her. Her eyes widened. "Lottie." She looked at the man on the bed, he was in dire need of surgery, clearly where they were taking him, and gestured for them to continue as she pushed past them. Her shoes clicked against the floor as she walked around the many beds filled with the injured men and boys and the newly dead. She ignored the whispers that ignited the moment she stepped through the door.

"Is that Charlotte, an angel?"

"I thought she had died."

"Clearly not-" The door closed behind them as they entered a smaller room filled with high ranking officers. Two more nurses noticed their presence and the determination in both of their eyes. Another door was at the end of the room, a sign saying that it was the head nurses room, and she started towards it. She span around as he placed a hand on the wall.

"Dear lord, just let them treat you. Just because you're a captain and of the higher class does not mean that you are immortal. Stand down Captain." He looked about to protest but the pain in his chest must have said otherwise as he nodded and sat down on the nearest available bed. She opened the door as a younger nurse left, red hair in a tight bun.

"Why if it isn't Angel Lottie, did you know that of the 45 that were trained you're the last one, well no there is Susan but she went home last month." An older nurse stood by a sink, her once blonde hair greying, as she washed her hands.

"That bad huh? Well its about to get worse, the Germans' plan on attacking here in a week. Everyone needs to leave." The older nurse stilled and turned to face her properly.

"What has the war done to yer head lass? Why would they attack us?"

"To kill the moral. So that they can say that they killed wounded men and nurses and see the moral fall from the allies faces." She stepped forward and placed her hands on either side of the sink. The older nurse's face drained of colour as something else dawned on her.

"We can't get them all out in that amount of time, not with the equipment as well." She sighed and ran a hand trough her hair, still in a bun from dealing with Captain Nicholls's wounds.

"The next nearest is- 59 miles east. Through No Man's land. Looks like we are going to have to fight then. I believe you have a surgery to conduct, go, we'll discuss this more after." The older nurse, she recognised her as the one they had oh so affectionately named Scotty during training, nodded and left the room. She followed after her and stopped at the sight of the two nurses swooning over the Captain.

"Do you know if anyone from the clash 3 nights ago made it here?" They just ignored him and continued faffing with his jacket. She rolled her eyes and glared at them.

"He asked if any of his flying column made it here." She walked towards them and grabbed his jacket off of one of them and handed it back to him. The women processed this and one nodded, the one with red hair, and started towards another bed in the room.

" Sergeant Charlie Waverly, came in 3 days ago, went cold this morning." She could tell he recognised the name. His eyebrows furrowed as he stood up and started towards the bed. She walked in front of him and placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

"You don't want to." A strand of her brown hair fell in front of her grey eyes as she shook her head.

"What do they mean by went cold?" She could see in his eyes that he already knew what they meant.

"He died. That's what they meant." He glanced behind her and took in the dead body of his friend.

"He had a son. He'd just turned 3, he won't know his father." She shook her head and walked after him to the bed that held the sergeant.

"He will if you tell him, sit down and let them tend to your wounds, I have-"

"Angel Lottie, these men need you. Now." She span around and saw the young nurse from earlier standing at the door. Her hands were scrubbed raw and her apron was stained with blood. She turned back to the captain and gestured for him to sit back down as she left.

"Why do they call you an angel?" He asked as she was halfway across the room.

"Because I am part of the group trained specially to bring people back from the brink. That's how I saved you." She left and followed the nurse, unbuttoning her jacket and throwing it on the end of a bed as man after man was carried into the hospital.

It was just after midday when she got the break she had been promised an hour ago. She sat down heavily and took in a deep breath, trying to steady her shaking hands. Most of the men were stable now, the nurses had told her that they could handle the rest without her help and had dismissed her. She stretched and stood up to meander through the rooms. Scotty walked past her and pressed a water bottle in her hands, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled before unscrewing the cap and taking a drink, a small piece of paper crumpling in her hand. She walked through the main room and into the officers room, looking for Captain Nicholls. He was stood up now, all of the beds had been taken by the other soldiers that had come in, though he was leant against a wall.

"Where did the nurses go?" She asked as she walked over to him, checking the soldiers as she walked past them. He looked up at her and spoke.

" To bury him." he said as he held his hands in front of him. To her it was nothing, but it was becoming clear to her that he had never served before, he had seen nothing of war, this was the first man he had lost.

"Are you alright Captain?" she asked as she stepped closer and in front of him so he couldn't see the soldier that had replaced his friend. He looked at her, blue eyes full of unshed tears.

"Please don't call me Captain anymore. I don't want to be known by that anymore. I don't want to be known as it, people died because I held that title-" She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you want me to call you then?" He looked back up at her and paused before speaking.

"James, if I can call you Charlotte seeing as you won't give me a last name." She moved her hand from his shoulder and smiled.

"You didn't answer my question James, are you alright?" He nodded even though his hand creeped up to his stomach. "Sit down, or they'll discharge you and send you back out. Besides you can't be feeling that good." He sat down slowly on the nearest available seat.

"Why won't you tell me your last name?" he asked as she turned to one of the officers and set about fixing their bandages. She cast him a glance over her shoulder.

"I should have guessed how inquisitive you would be, your lot often are about my sort. I wouldn't tell you my name because the whole notion is very-" she paused when she turned around and saw the hurt look on his face. "What?"

"What did you mean by my lot?" She let out a sigh and leant against the bed.

"I meant an officer. A member of the higher class. Don't give me that look, you are clearly educated and well spoken, used to getting your way and never having to see the consequences. That's why you were so saddened by the death of your friend. If you had lived my life or perhaps even his, you wouldn't be so saddened by death. The naivety of the upper classes." She turned back around and started towards the next bed as he struggled to stand up. He winced and she turned quickly at the noise. "Sit down, your wounds still aren't healed."

"I'm not like them, technically I am but I don't want to be." He stood up straight and walked towards her. "Tell me, Charlotte, about yourself. You already know a lot about me from saving my life, could you perhaps tell me about yourself as you clearly hold a grudge against the upper class." She glared at him but he had got her in a metaphorical corner. If she didn't tell him he wouldn't trust her and would constantly be asking her, but if she did she would have told him her life story. She relented and sighed.

"Fine. I was born to the lower class in 1887 to a poor, illiterate family. They could tell I was smart so they got me books to read. As I grew I started to read up on medicine and how to cure people. In 1898 my brother fell ill with a common disease that had killed many poor. I had read up on it and knew the cure so I made some up and gave it to him, he got better. Soon I became the village nurse and when I was 20 I moved to London with my brother and husband, sealing my move to the middle class. I fell pregnant with twins 3 years ago and gave birth to a healthy boy and girl. 5 months ago my husband was conscripted and I went with him to war, as a nurse obviously. The children went to my mother, we thought we would be back by Christmas." She let out a small breath and clenched her fists.

"We all though it would be over by then." he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"2 months ago I got a letter that he had died in the war, but I already knew. I had held his hand as he had gone cold. My children have no father and barely know their mother. They were barely 2 when I left them." Her strong facade cracked and he wrapped her in a hug, even though she protested, her hands resting on his chest.

"I shouldn't have asked should I Charlotte?" She shook her head and stepped away from him, wiping her eyes and putting the facade back up.

"You are right, you shouldn't have, but I can't blame you. You've just lost everyone you trusted and I wouldn't tell you my last name. I'm sorry James, I should have told you that you could trust me at least." He flinched as he straightened up and she saw the blood seeping through the bandages again. "Dear lord James, stop moving so much." she said as she pushed him back onto the crate at the end of one of the soldiers beds and grabbed a new bandage for the wound. The two nurses that had gone to bury the dead, including his friend, came back and he looked away from them.

"I promised that if he died I would be there to see him buried." he said in a shaky voice. She looked up from the bandage and saw the tears in his eyes making her still in her work. She gently turned his face to her, his blue eyes flicking to hers then out the window high above them.

"You did the best you could James. You tried your best but you were too inured to see him laid to rest. But at least now his son will have closure. Now you can tell him that his father died with someone by his side." He looked at her, confused by her words.

"What do you mean I can tell him?" She looked up and smiled slightly.

"You're going home, once you're all healed up. Scotty handed me a note during my break. You get to tell him yourself James." His eyes widened further and she smiled slightly, though her face fell when the door slammed open.

"Lottie. We need a translator, he only speaks French." She tied off his bandage and left the room quickly following the other nurse. There were a few nurses gathered around even fewer soldiers and the nurse she was following lead her to an older soldier. Clearly their C.O.

"Mademoiselle-" she cut him off.

"Madame." He blinked slowly and nodded before continuing with an obvious slur.

"Madame, je ne peux pas sentir mon visage. Ils ont nous gazes." He took a deep breath as she relayed what he said to the other nurses. Mrs, I can't feel my face. We were gassed. In an instant the nurses started to move around, grabbing things from trays and walking in and out of the room to grab more equipment. She turned around and saw Scotty stood in the door way, gesturing for her to follow. She quickly excused herself as soon as she could move her hand from the man's gaping wound and followed after her.

"Call your soldier friend in, will ya Lottie?" She nodded and walked out of Scotty's office and was about to yell for James to get of his bum and get in the office, but then she saw him laying down on one of the crates and relented. Instead she walked over to him and gently shook his shoulder, careful of the wound just below his arm. He opened his eyes slowly and furrowed his eyebrows when the light started to creep in.

"Charlotte?" She smiled and grabbed his hand to help him up.

"Come on James, were talking about the attack on the hospital and we need you." He stood slowly and leant on her for support, finally starting to listen to her advice of not moving to much. He stood to attention when he entered the room, though he did so slowly under her glare.

"Lottie, tell me about this attack." Scotty said as she leant against her desk which had gone unused for a few days. She stepped forward and started to speak.

"Last night I heard a German soldier mention a planned attack on the field hospital, namely this one. I know this to be true because, until that night they didn't know I was there and the man I heard it from was of a high enough rank to be in the know." Scotty turned to him then.

"How high a rank would they have to be to be in the know of such things?" He pondered this as he looked between the 2 women.

"Probably lieutenant or sergeant. It really depends on how they are a part of it." Scotty turned to Lottie with a raised eyebrow.

"He was a sergeant, definitely the leader of the group. I had seen him walk that way before on duty. He would need to know such things." She flushed in anger as her hands curled into fists.

"Alright then. We need to prepare for this attack then. Sorry for doubting you Lottie."