"Thank you so much for understanding my canceling our last date, Ash," Rosie said. They were on their 'make-up' date. He was taking her for an afternoon picnic in Hyde Park.

"One can't help when duty calls," he replied good-naturedly. "One is just happy that you could slip away today."

"Very happy," she replied. "This week has been brutal. One does believe that every child in Poplar was born in the last three days."

Ash chuckled, "Does it always happen like that?"

"No. We stay busy, but there are days where no one needs the midwives and only our regulars need nursing care," she said.

"Regulars?"

"We also take care of the district nursing rota. Sister Evangelina is in charge of that," she said.

"Sister Evangelina?"

"The one who makes sure we come home on time," Rosie explained with a grin.

"Oh, her." Ash laughed. "I don't think she likes me very much."

"She doesn't like anyone very much," Rosie replied with a laugh. "But the patients love her. And we do too. All the Sisters, really. It isn't at all what I thought it would be like to live in a nunnery. They aren't nearly so strict as they seem. Sister Julienne is way better than a house matron at any hospital."

"Do you really like it there?" he asked.

Rosie nodded. "I thought it would be dreadful, and sometimes it is, but mostly it's great. I've learned loads and I just love delivering babies."

"And if you were to marry?"

"I guess it would depend on who I married and where we lived," she shrugged. "I mean, Chummy still works with us and Peter doesn't mind. East End is always short for nurses, but one supposes that if one lived in area without such a great need, one wouldn't continue to work."

"And do you have any prospective husbands?" he teased, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Loads," she teased back. "But no one is as cute as you."

"Really?" He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Truly," she smiled, allowing him the contact, happy to be away from the watchful eyes of East End.

"Does that mean you aren't going to marry some pathetic East Ender like Chummy did?"

She stopped smiling and tried to pull away. "That's a mean thing to say. Peter's not pathetic. He's nice. I quite like him." She struggled from his embrace. After a moment he let her go and not expecting it at that moment, she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground.

Ash was instantly apologetic. "Oh, Rose, I'm so sorry. One didn't mean for you to fall." He knelt beside her, examining her scraped hand. He wrapped his handkerchief around it and helped her to her feet. "Come on, let's get that cleaned up."

"I think I just want to go home, Asher," Rosie protested.

"No, please, no," he pleaded. "I'm sorry. Please don't go. I didn't mean anything against Chummy's husband and I certainly didn't mean for you to get hurt. Please stay."

Rosie finally relented.

Later that night, she was trying to clean her palm when Sister Evangelina saw her.

"What happened there?" Sister Evangelina asked, taking her hand and looking at it.

"I fell in the park. I cleaned it, but it's still bothering me," Rosie admitted.

"Eh…, there's still a pebble in it," Sister Evangelina answered. "Sit down and I'll get it out."

"Oh, that's okay…,"

"Nonsense," Evangelina interrupted. "We have to take care of ourselves as well as our patients." She retrieved a pair of tweezers and hydrogen peroxide. "Fell at the park, you said?"

"Yes ma'am. Tripped over one's on feet," she replied.

"And here I always thought it was your sister who was the clumsy one," Sister Evangelina observed.

"Rubbed off, I guess," she replied with a shrug.

"Indeed." She hoped she was wrong, but she had seen it too often. It pervaded every class, race, and religion. From the poorest East End slum to the highest aristocrat. The sorry excuses, the almost accidents, and in the end, the poor broken women. She smoothed a bandaged across the young woman's palm, saying a silent prayer that she was wrong. She wanted to say something, but she knew at this point with the girl so smitten and no real proof that it wasn't an accident, she would do better to talk to the wall. "There. Keep it clean and dry. Sign in desk tomorrow at clinic and no tending patients until it's healed. Can't have you out with an infection. Run along up to bed."

"Yes, Sister."

Sorry for the short chapter. Please review.