My hands gripped the railing of the steamboat as we sailed into the Port de Plaisance de l'Arsenal, Paris, France. It was an arsenal marina on the northern side of the river Seine. I had been on this ship for weeks as we navigated through the English Channel and the Seine, which twisted and turned its way through the French countryside. From what I could see from the map, I knew I didn't want to have to be the one steering the boat. All I wanted to do was get off it, quite frankly.

The misty rain falling didn't bother me. I'd dealt with worse coming from New York to England, where the sea had stormed almost every day except the last. It wasn't that I didn't like water travel. It was perfectly acceptable. However, I did prefer traveling over land more. There was less risk, even though it could take longer.

Someone coughed behind me and I jerked my head back so I could see who it was. Just Piper. I sighed in relief. I wasn't in the mood to talk to any more frivolous nurses. I didn't question their credentials, but they were excited about meeting and caring for so many men. I rolled my eyes at their blind innocence. This was war. It wasn't going to be what they were expecting.

And what was I expecting?

I expected to be removing limbs that had been struck by flying shrapnel. I expected digging in someone's chest cavity for a well-placed bullet and sewing them up once I got it out. I expected death. And lots of it.

"What are you thinking about?" Piper asked, coming to stand beside me and put her hands on the railing too. Piper was the only friend I had yet to make besides Will. And we hadn't seen him because women and men were required not to see each other. One of the obvious ground rules was that no doctors or nurses should be courting each other. There wouldn't be a problem with Will though. He was decidedly younger than all of the women on the ship.

I answered Piper, "I'm thinking that most of the women on this ship are going to run for home as soon as the first round of patients get in."

We snickered at the image. It was going to be a shock for them. I had been caring for bullet and stab wounds since I was fourteen. Camp was a place for all misfits, especially the ones who got in trouble. The streets aren't always safe for kids, so I would always help fix them up.

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if most of them were doing this for the money." Piper proclaimed.

I nodded. The money was good. Not that either of us had a need for it. We'd had this conversation once before, and we'd both agreed on one thing: we were going to be doing this job until the war ended or we died.

"My father has enough money." Piper said.

"I wouldn't know about my father." I replied. "I received a letter a few months ago that he had remarried. They're already expecting a child as early as August."

"When was the last time you two talked?"

I shrugged. "I don't know…He knows where I've been living for most of my life, and I've received a handful of letters over the years. He asked me to come live with him a couple of times, but I have always declined. I wanted to further my education and not be in my father's shadow at some university. If they'd accept me, that is."

"No matter what I do I will be in my parent's shadows. I don't think that they even wanted me to begin with." Piper confided.

"What does your mother do?" I asked. She had already confirmed my theory of who her father was.

We were docking as Piper gave me her answer. "She is a clothing designer here. In Paris."

My eyebrows rose inquisitively and Piper rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She continued to say, "As soon as she had me, my parents separated and I was raised in an apartment in west Paris by a hired woman named Jane. She was always cross and cruel to me. I never have met my mother though."

"What's her name?"

"Aphrodite. I'm sure it was one she took just to seem more elegant and refined." Piper smiled sadly. "Anyway, as soon as I was sixteen I traveled to England and got an education in nursing, much to my father's dismay."

"Why would he be upset by that?" I wondered aloud.

"He has very old-fashioned plans for me. An arranged marriage, in fact, looms indefinitely at the end of this war." Her voice was bitter, and I didn't blame her in the least. "I had the choice of marrying before or after. So, of course, I chose after."

My face screwed up in disgust. "That's awful! It's the 20th century! You would think that men had started to learn that they cannot have absolute control over women."

"You're making that face again. You know, the one that portrays absolute repulsion at any male dominance." She laughed.

I scoffed, "I do not!"

We laughed together as the steamboat finished docking.

"I'm glad to have met you, Piper McLean." I told her.

"But of course, Dr. Chase. We were destined to be best friends!" She exclaimed, linking arms with me as we collected our trunks and made our way down the gangplank. Paris was an array of vibrant colors and noise. Everyone was going somewhere, not unlike Manhattan, which I was beginning to miss. There was urgency though. I could see the outlines of the shelled buildings. The Germans had started bombing this city in September. Because of that, people did their business quickly, then kept to the safety of the indoors.

I checked our tickets, "We're not supposed to board the train until a few hours. Suppose we could sit down and eat something?"

"I don't see why not." Piper acknowledged. "It may be the last well-prepared meal we get for a long time."

I smiled. Perhaps some time in this city could be fun. Piper stared at the street signs, reading, then said, "I think there is a café around the corner."

"Alright then." I followed her diligently through the crowded streets, sidestepping all sorts of things, like people, moving carts, and animals. As soon as we moved into the warm little café, the strong smell of coffee filled my lungs. There were some things you just couldn't go wrong on, and one of them was the smell of coffee.

Feeling better already, we ordered and sat down at a small table in the back corner. I shuffled my large trunk so that it was up against the dingy brick wall. I didn't mind that the place was unclean. It didn't matter, really.

Feeling the need to make conversation, I said, "So, what sort of equipment or instruments did you bring with you?"

Piper blushed. "I'm afraid not very much. I left in a hurry."

"Well, I'm sure they will provide most things, and we can always share what I've brought along." I promised. "I was hoping that you would like to be my personal nurse throughout the duration of our stay. Every doctor has one, and I just thought…"

I was rambling now. I hoped she would say yes. It would make things so much easier once we had arrived.

"Of course!" Piper exclaimed, a smile once again gracing her features. I sighed in relief. I didn't know what I was worried about. Of course we would work together.

Piper and I spent the remainder of our time talking about pointless things, our topic never venturing into any subject that wasn't polite. It was nice to not have to try and be nice to her. Our natural friendship just happened. Before long, we had to get moving again. The train ride would be about two days long, and I was hoping to sleep through most of it. A full night's rest in your own compartment was going to be luxury compared to the cramped boarding of the Central Clearing Station.

The train pulled away from the platform, heading directly to my new home: Boisleux-au-Mont. It was pronounced 'boy-lou-a-mon'. French names were always pronounced in a weird manner.

Suddenly someone knocked on my compartment door. I slid it open to see another girl. She was younger than me, with darker skin and curly cinnamon-brown hair. But her eyes where what caught me. They were gold. Not even dull in the slightest. It was very rare. I tilted my head as if to ask her why she had knocked.

"I have your uniforms, ma'am." Golden-eyes said. I nodded to her and took the two boxes out of her hands. It was heavy from the weight of so much clothing.

"Thank you, Miss—?" I asked, depositing the boxes on the floor of my compartment.

"Levesque." She provided.

I held out my hand, "Pleased to meet you. I am Doctor Annabeth Chase."

I loved the way 'doctor' sounded in front of my name. It was a dignified title. One that I would forever have now. I was proud, yes. And who wouldn't be?

"I know ma'am." Levesque told me. "Everyone does. You're one of the few female doctors working for the Entente Cordiale. Every other woman is a nurse."

I rose my eyebrows. I was already a bit well known, just for being an achieving woman. I wanted to earn that though. To prove myself even more. I shook myself out of my reverie, saying, "I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts there for a moment. What's your first name?"

"Hazel, ma'am." She replied and I smiled. It was a nice name for her. "I do small jobs for the British Red Cross. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my shift."

I nodded and she moved on down the narrow train hallway. I shut the door to my compartment. Hazel Levesque seemed like a very sweet girl, but I could tell that there was something she was wary about; something she didn't want people knowing about her.

I sighed at the box of clothes. My uniforms. I didn't know what they were going to give me. Doctors wore different attire than nurses so that they could be seen easily among the mass of white-uniformed nurses. But they might not want to make a women's doctor uniform. Especially if there were only three of us.

I lifted off the lid of the bigger box of the two, fully expecting to see the stark white regalia of a nurse's red cross apron. I was familiar with that garb, worn over a black or grey dress. But to my surprise, it was not white! It was a dark, charcoal grey dress that buttoned down the front, with a wide belt that was meant to loop around my waist. Around the left arm was a red band of fabric, stitched perfectly with a white symbol of the nurse's symbol: a cross. Whenever I had seen that marking as a child, I had thought it was a 'plus' sign, like the one you used in addition.

After a few more layers of the same uniform I came across the only white one, meant to be worn specifically on proper occasions. It had a high waisted skirt that draped all the way down to my ankles. My other uniforms only reached a little lower than my knees. All the 'dignified' ladies of the world would be horrified. I smirked at the thought. Worn over the skirt was a matching white blazer with brass buttons and blue insignia on the arms. It looked exactly like a man's best uniform, except fitted for a woman. The thought of this almost made me giddy.

After placing all of the clothes back safely in their box, I opened the other. Shoes and hats. There was a pair of charcoal boots and classical working heels that were laced and tied at the top. The last pair were the white ones, meant to match the dress uniform. I always thought it was rather stupid to have white shoes. You could only get them dirty. The hats matched each uniform to a tee, the little cross sewn into the top of each. I repackaged all of my new belongings.

Yawning at the time, which had regularly escaped me before, I changed into my nightclothes and crawled into bed, glad that 'sleeping cars' had been invented long before I had been born. The rattling of the tracks lulled me to sleep.