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"You are so busted!"

"Penelope!" Caroline gasped, clutching her chest, "I didn't see the light; I thought the tent was empty."

"Would that have changed what I overheard out there?" Penelope's silken voice made Caroline wonder how she didn't see her friend's feline eyes glowing in the dark from her bed. "Somehow, I'm not surprised that it is you that has fallen into the arms of the naughty boy."

Busted, indeed.

"It's just - we have-"

"I'm the last person you have to explain yourself to. Now, I'm not going to press you for the gory details just yet, but let me leave you with this; there is no pride in waiting. None at all. It's clear what is happening between you two. I know I shouldn't have to remind you of what uncertainties tomorrow could bring, but I am."

While Caroline wasn't sure when Penelope had become the voice of experience in matters of the heart, her words rang true. There was no knowing what tomorrow could bring.

"You're a diligent student, my friend."

"I am a quick study," Penelope's twittering laugh carried out in the darkness.

"How about tomorrow over tea we talk about it more? I don't have to be up for breakfast."

"I look forward to it. Goodnight, darling girl."

Caroline wished she could talk more tonight, but by the time Penelope had finished speaking, her eyes were already closed, and she had fallen into a deep sleep that she didn't wake up from once.

—-

"Caroline! You need to wake up."

Caroline hadn't remembered needing someone to wake her up ever before; now, it had happened twice in as many days.

"Your shift starts in ten minutes!"

That was enough to bolt her awake to see Emily standing at the end of her bed, her eyes bogged down with deep purple bags.

"Oh my god! What time is it?"

"It's almost gone eleven in the morning!"

"Shit!" Caroline swore as she jumped out of bed, thankful that she had fallen asleep in her uniform so that it was one less thing to slow her down.

"Have you had a chance to check the assignments today?" Caroline asked as she did her best to fix her frizzy hair in the small mirror they shared even though it kept getting fogged up by her breath.

"I'm in theatre," Emily grimaced, "as if I haven't seen enough these past days."

"You're there for a reason. You're excellent at it." Caroline added, as she balanced on one foot on the dirt floor of their tent, rolling on her thick winter stockings.

"Nowhere near your level of capability."

"Oh hush, I take it then that I am in…"

"Post-Op."

Caroline could have laughed at her own joyful reaction. It's funny how it had only taken a month to turn her spirits around working in the post-operative ward; a dreaded bore no longer.

"I best be off then, no time like the present!" she said with a beaming smile.

"Did we just live the same four days?" Emily lamented.

"I just feel rested for the first time in months."

The sentiment was genuine. For once, Caroline had slept peacefully for twelve uninterrupted hours. She had gone so long without the luxury she almost forgot what it felt like to wake up feeling restored. What else could have possibly brightened her mood? As she walked to the post-operative ward, not even needing a cup of tea to add a pep to her step, a foreign lightness in her head rippled down her to her toes, and she practically skipped down the duckboards.

Her excellent mood carried through the first twenty minutes of her shift as she made her way through her transitional duties. Yet, the more times she was interrupted in her tasks, the more anxious energy surged through her. First, she found out that practically none of standard cleaning duties were completed. Then, she found out that half the men had yet to receive their breakfast. Even though that was a VAD duty and not her own, she needed to see to that critical part in the soldiers care before she could move onto anything else. It was a known fact that without steady, decently hot meals the entire hospital near fell into anarchy. Ever since the unexpected influx of patients due to the recent battle, all seasoned nurses were assigned to the busier and more precarious post-operative wards, leaving the most junior of VAD's to staff the wards of the men who were deemed most stable.

While Caroline had only had minimal, yet albeit meaningful interactions with Nurse Fagan, there was something about her that set her on edge. And when she saw that it was her responsible for seeing to this new ward over the past day, Caroline couldn't help be left with a bitter taste in her mouth once she saw the state of the ward left in the VAD's care. While she wanted nothing more than to collect John and take him to their meeting spot, she knew that, regrettably, that would have to wait. Which only mounted the frustration in multiple areas of her body.

By the time she had finally finished her must-do tasks, it was nearly 1:00 pm, and the clearheaded jubilence she had awoken with had almost evaporated under the strain of her workload. The ward was in such a state of disarray that Caroline knew Matron would have a stroke if she saw it in such disorganization. Had Nurse Fagan done anything to standard in the past couple of days? The amount of work Caroline had to do to get the ward functioning answered that question.

"I need you to sterilize every scrap of these," Caroline demanded as she passed Nurse Fagan sitting at the nurse's station. "I shall need them in thirty minutes."

"But,"

"I haven't time to argue." Caroline quipped as she breezed past her on her way down the ward. Caroline was typically pleasant and willing to guide the junior nurses toward meeting standards. But seeing the most basic tasks that Nurse Fagan left undone was unacceptable in any situation. And now, this nurse's incompetence had prevented her from spending precious time with John.

Before reaching his bed, she glimpsed in a small mirror hanging on the flimsy wooden walls to check her cap and hair. If only they were allowed to wear a little lipstick; her complexion was so pale that she was surprised the patients didn't think her more sickly than them. In the end she settled for sucking on her lips a moment, trying to brighten them up, and she pinched her cheeks to revitalize them.

He must have been asleep, as when she walked closer he was still in bed with the sheets pulled up to his chin.

"Private Shelby," she whispered, "I'm here to check your wound. It's time to wake up." she prodded gently, walking closer to stand over him and gently tapping his shoulder. His eyes were closed, but something didn't feel right. for some reason

"Private Shelby?" She asked again, her voice peaking from her whisper.

A low moan escaped his lips, and his tired eyes cracked open slightly, looking at her.

"John!" She cried out desperately this time, all proprietary out the window as her fear spiked when she took in the sallow pallor of his sweat-dusted face.

"What's wrong? What hurts?" She pressed, giving him a quick once over before lifting the blanket that covered his wounded leg.

Her heart sank as soon as she saw it. Fiery red and green puss seeping out of the incision line. Dread soaked through her bones as she took in his infected leg, trying her best to understand how this could happen. All patients were to be checked on and redressed every four hours, no exceptions. There is no possible way this could happen.

"Doctor!" She screamed, with a little more panic in her voice than what was considered professional as she fell to her knees and clasped his hand. "Everything's all right, don't you worry. I'm going to take care of you," she said slowly, running her hand over his forehead, pushing back the hair that clung to his skin with sweat. His skin was like fire, but she could still feel his body tremble with chills, despite being burrowed in his blankets.

Where the fuck was he! Caroline swore, turning around and searching for the white coat-clad figure.

Doctor Wallace walked painfully slow down the aisle, and she happily could have murdered him if that wouldn't make the situation a hundred times worse.

"What is it, Nurse?" Doctor Wallace said lazily, tucking his clipboard under his arm and looking at her expectantly. "Has he put a dummy grenade under the beds again?"

"No, Sir," she said impatiently, "Look." She added tightly, lifting the blanket to reveal the infected leg.

The doctor's sly smile fell into a grimace as he silently examined the leg.

"It's bad. But not the worst I've seen. We may be able to save the leg though we must hurry. He needs to be admitted into the theatre immediately.

He could hardly finish his sentence before Caroline dragged the two orderlies over to his bedside with a stretcher in tow.

"Load him up!" She commanded before she leaned down to meet his bedside and clasped his weak hand in hers again.

"My leg…" he breathed, gently squeezing her hand.

"We'll do everything we can. Don't worry now; you're in good hands. I told you before that your unluckiest day was meeting me. I can fix anything. So don't go getting any ideas that you'll be heading to England soon." She managed to get out before he was placed on the stretcher and whisked away down the aisle to the surgical ward.

"Don't bloody do it, Emily," she fiercely prayed, "leave his damn leg where it is."

Caroline hated feeling helpless and for once she was angry that it couldn't be her in theatre today. As her mind flew to all different sorts of conclusions and what-if scenerios she began stripping his sweat-soaked sheets so fiercly that the cotton cracked in the air like a whip. How could this have happened? After everything that happened yesterday?

Remember, he will leave, he will be gone for good. She should have remindeed herself more of this outcome that she blindly stuffed away each time she giddily sought out his company.

She blinked hard, a lump rising in her throat that caused her to have to clear it loudly.

When would she be cut a God-dammed break?

"Damn him!" She whispered out loud over his bed as she quickly gathered all his sheets and hurried down the aisle towards the laundry.

Caroline waited practically the entire night, opting to volunteer for the most mundane of tasks on the ward after her shift just to ensure she had the opportunity to be there when news came of his operation. Once there was nothing left to organize or clean on the wards and still no sign of him, she meandered to the small anteroom of the theatre so she could pace there instead of the wards.

After what felt like a week of waiting, Emily emerged from the theatre, her eyes exhausted and her face drawn. Caroline tried not to accost her as soon as she went to discard her cap, blood-stained gown and gloves into an overflowing hamper in the corner.

"How are you, Emily? You look simply dead on your feet." Caroline started, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice.

"I don't think I'll ever look at a limb the same way again. I feel like a butcher." Emily said, her voice quavering as she sat down in the nearest wicker chair, her eyes welling with tears. Caroline went and crouched at her feet, taking her friend's hand in hers, sharing her grief. She remembered all too clearly after the Somme how she had been in theatre for what felt like days, seeing so many men in a row she nearly forgot that they were human beings anymore.

"You're nothing of the sort. Without you, these men would be far worse off. You are saving their lives."

"Right now, I don't feel like I deserve such kindness."

"Yet you'll receive it all the same." Caroline leaned in and hugged her friend tight, her anxieties seeming to drain slightly the harder she pulled Emily in. "Did your last patient…" Caroline now prompted, needing to hear the worst.

"Private Shelby? We were all surprised to see him, hadn't he come along so well?"

Caroline bit her lip, trying not to conjure up the image of his face as she got right to the point.

"How did he fare?"

Emily was infuriatingly silent, but Caroline could tell she was mulling over the surgery in her mind, trying to recall the facts.

"After five minutes, the doctor felt that it would be easier to remove the leg before the infection spread."

Caroline's heart sank, and she closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that swum angrily behind her eyes.

"However, I convinced him to spend a little more time. Eventually, we think we cleaned it thoroughly enough and removed any excess infected skin."

Caroline jumped to her feet and gathered Emily in her arms, squealing a sigh of relief in her ear.

"You are simply wonderful!" Caroline cheered, the colour reappearing on her face. "Has he been returned to the ward yet?"

"The orderlies were getting him sorted when I finished disinfecting the surgical tables and tools. He was quick to wake up from the anesthetic."

Before Emily could finish the sentence, Caroline was up on her feet, thanking her friend profusely and was off on the way back to the postoperative ward.

She could tell where he was based on the location of the full coverage curtains around his bed that were given to patients most recently recovering from a serious surgery.

All she wanted to do was poke her head in and just see his face. Most likely, he would be sleeping anyway, so any hopes for more were indeed off the table.

Before entering the curtain, she ensured no one else was inside. Even though it was perfectly acceptable for her to be in there with him alone, she still searched around, ensuring that none of the doctors or fellow nurses saw her enter. Her intentions for visiting were far outside the boundaries of nursing, and she tried not to feel guilty for it.

She was surprised that when she finally built up the courage to slip past the entryway, he was awake, his eyes staring at the ceiling. At the sound of the rustling of the sheets around him, his eyes slipped down and even in his post-surgical state gave her a small smile.

"I overheard I was getting close to discharge. I didn't want to leave yet," his voice was hoarse and small.

"You gave me quite the scare."

"I promise I didn't do it on purpose."

"No, I don't even think you could pull the wool over all our eyes with a stunt like that," she replied, walking closer before crouching to meet his level.

"Thank you for coming to see me." he said as his head turned to face her, the innocence in his voice making her grab his hand and clutch it between her own.

"I haven't figured out why I keep coming back."

"You're the best part of my day; everyday, mo stór." he said, and she squeezed his hand harder, her fingers caressing across his the soft skin as she gazed into his sleepy blue eyes.

Needing to be closer to him, she slowly released one of her hands and brought it up to his face, pressing her palm against his cheek. The touch unlocked something within her that she had held onto all day. He is here, he is alive. He is yours. He closed his eyes against the feel of her touch, leaning into her as if trying to eliminate all the space that existed between their bodies. Matching his deep breaths, she closed her eyes too, listening to the sounds of his relaxed breath allowed her body to relax so fully she was worried she could break out in tears any moment.

The sound of a doctor's voice close to the bed awoke her out of her spell and she slowly removed her hand from his face, reluctant to lose his warmth. Even though she thought he maybe had fallen asleep, as soon as her skin left his he opened his eyes and looked at her with longing. When she looked down and met his gaze the piece inside her heart that had settled so happily these past days, effortlessly slipped back into place. Right where it belonged.

Tentatively, she bent down closer to him, engulfed in his hypnotic scent.

There is no guarantee of a tomorrow.

The world around her stopped spinning as she closed the space between them, crash landing to a halt in the centre of her world. No longer was she being pulled through the swirling chaos of gravitational pull that she was swept up in since she first laid eyes on him. In a desperate plea to anchor herself to him, to this newfound steadiness, she lowered her lips towards his and captured his mouth in a tender kiss.

It was a kiss that made her forget every hardship she had endured in recent memory; it was a kiss that shrunk her world to a size where nothing else mattered but the man in front of her. It was through this kiss that she found her home.

As she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his while she lightly brushed the soft skin of his lips with her thumb, trying to memorize his feel.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She whispered. "Sleep well, John," she added, a mere breath from his lips, her eyes still closed. Caroline took a deep breath and sat up before pushing back a piece of hair from his eyes. Her lips burned with the feel of him but before he could say anything else, she stood and slipped behind the curtain, her heart pounding in her chest and ears but with the most radiant smile on her face.