A/N: Here's the next chapter, it's short I know but they will get longer again once Erik appears which should be very soon. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 7: Job Wanted
By the end of 1861, Christine realized that this war wasn't going to end anytime soon. Battles were still happening, but Raoul was still alive. She had moved back up to her home in Virginia and Meg moved back down as well while her mother stayed in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Meg stayed with Christine so she wouldn't be alone and also to make her mother happy. Christine liked having her friend live with her; she enjoyed the company very much. They would spend most of their days inside the house since it wasn't safe to go outside or into town. With the winter approaching fast, Christine didn't mind having to stay inside. However, the fact that she'd be spending Christmas without her husband didn't make her happy.
Christmas Day came and gone and now it was closing in on the end of the year. Christine and Meg spend the holiday together with Martha at the house. They cooked a dinner and all sat by the warm fire afterwards until they couldn't stay awake any longer. Meg had gone into town with Martha to get food while Christine stayed home, knitting a scarf that she would send to Raoul after she was finished. She was sitting by the fire, knitting and humming a song. Meg and Martha had soon returned from town and Christine paused her knitting to help put the food away.
"Guess what I heard while I was in town." Meg said to Christine as they put some food away.
"What?" She asked.
"Well you know the hospital in Washington D.C.?" She nodded. "They need nurses to help tend to the wounded soldiers that come in and I was thinking we should join and work." Meg told her friend.
"I don't know how to be a nurse and nor do you."
"We'd get trained. We wouldn't be there when they operate on the soldiers, we'll only be helping the soldiers recover afterwards. Cleaning their wounds, feeding them, bathing them, and talking to them and just helping them recover before they either go home or back to the fighting." Meg told her friend. "We'd be safer there than here and plus, you'd be helping thousands of men."
"I don't know Meg, I don't think my husband would like me working with me and giving the bathes."
"Christine, you won't be having sex with them. You'll just be helping them while they recover like keeping them company. Many of them might not be able to leave the bed so having a person to talk to will be like a pray coming true. You could sing to them, I'm sure they'd love it." Meg tried to convince her friend. Christine could tell that Meg really wanted to do this and sitting in a home all day was getting a bit tiring for both of them.
"Can I think about it Meg?" She asked.
"Of course, they don't need people until after the new year so you have a few days." Meg answered. Christine nodded and finished putting food away. Once the food was put back, she headed into the living room to finish the scarf she was going to send to Raoul. As she knitted, she thought of the job Meg had talked about. It would give her something to do while Raoul is away and it would let her meet new people, even if they would be northern soldiers.
A few days later, Christine had sent the scarf and a letter to Raoul. She wrote about Meg's idea to become a nurse. She had thought about it over the few days and decided to do it with Meg and have Martha come with them as well. She didn't know how Raoul would react but she wanted to do this, especially if it meant they would be safer there than at their home in Virginia. She had written a letter to her parents, telling them that she'll be a nurse. After telling Meg that she'll do it, they started packing their bags to head to Washington D.C. They would living in the nurse's corridor at the hospital so they could be close to the patients. After the New Year, the three of them left Virginia and headed to Washington D.C. She knew this would change her life in some way, but she had no idea how much it would change her life.
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