The anger swells in my guts
And I won't feel these slices and cuts
I want so much to open your eyes
'Cause I need you to look into mine
-Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol

Betty let out a sigh of relief when the orderly pushed Kate's gurney through the double doors that led from the surgical wing. She, Gladys and Vera all stood as the bed rolled towards them with Dr. Patel and Sheila following close behind. The three of them had come straight to the hospital while everyone else stayed behind to deal with the battered factory and those lost on that terrible day.

Seeing Marco and Leon carry Kate out of the destruction alive had been one of the best moments of Betty's life. Followed by one of her worst moments as she saw the state the other girl had been in when they pulled her out. She was lying so impossibly still on the stretcher, completely covered in blood, bruises, and dirt. Her clothes were ripped to shreds and Betty couldn't get over how haunted she looked even as she laid unconscious and oblivious to the world around them. Now, as she rolled past them, Betty once again couldn't get over how pale and gaunt she still looked even after all the blood and dirt had been washed away.

"You're friend is very lucky we retrieved her when we did," Dr. Patel said, coming up to them as they watched the orderly push Kate's bed into a room. "I'm certain she wouldn't have made it much longer with the amount of blood lost she sustained."

Betty felt like her heart was in her throat. "How is she?"

"We removed a large piece of shrapnel from her lower back and replenished the blood she lost from it. She's bruised up rather badly and may also have a terrible concussion from her head wound, but I believe she will make a full recovery in due time."

"Oh, thank goodness," Gladys said in relief.

Betty let out another sigh of relief and felt light headed as the words "full recovery" floated through her. She felt Gladys' hand slip under her arm as if she could sense the need to keep her standing.

"You know, Ms. Andrews is special around here as she has been known to serenade the soldiers back to health, but we didn't know she was quite the handy little hero as well," Dr. Patel said as they all stood outside of Kate's room and watched Shelia take various vital signs from the girl lying unconscious. "What she did inside that rubble was nothing short of heroic. We could have used her on the hospital staff long ago."

"What do you mean, Doc?" Vera asked.

"With access only to a poorly supplied first-aid kit, she gave quality medical care to her co-workers. I was very surprised to discover them so well taken care. The wounds that she could take care of were cleaned, bandaged, and some even stitched. She made quite the effort."

"Our Kate did all that?" Gladys asked, amazed as they turned to the doctor describing Kate's heroic efforts.

"Yes, however, I'm afraid her efforts were futile. The internal injuries her trapped co-workers suffered from were extensive and irreversible. Her battle was lost long before she stormed the beaches."

"Pardon?" Gladys asked, uncertain what the young doctor meant in his metaphor.

"He means that she did all that she could to save them, but she still had to sit there and watch her efforts fail," Vera said, her tone was low and reflective.

Betty turned back towards the room in front of them and looked at the girl who still seemed so far away. With a sickening feeling, she realized the terrible truth Vera and Dr. Patel were getting at. Kate had tried her best to save them, but she still had to watch them perish.

"When I said she would recover earlier, I meant physically. We see soldiers come in after experiencing such horrific trauma and sometimes their physical ailments heal long before they can recover mentally. They call it battle fatigue. It's where the stresses of war dispense an immeasurable toll on a soldier's peace of mind. Some take to it better and adapt, while others experience memory lost, anger, and personality alternations for some time, and then there are those who never recover. So I must warn you, our dear friend may never be the same after this."

How could she? Betty wanted to demand. After all that she had been through. How anyone could still be standing after everything Kate had seen in her lifetime was beyond her. This doctor was talking about soldiers coming home from war, when Kate had seen more conflicts before she'd even hit puberty than most soldiers had seen in the whole war so far. Most didn't know that the ghosts of Kate's wars haunted her like a shadow already. Now she would have this day to bear as well.

Betty thought about how she had been on the outskirts of danger the whole day as she waited for news of Kate's fate inside the factory and now she stood just as helplessly in the crowded hospital hallway. It left her feeling drained and hopeless. All she wanted to do was to see Kate open her eyes and look at her. She would give anything to make that happen.

"Oh, dear," Vera finally sighed, relaying the gravity of the situation as they wondered how Kate would fair in the long run.

"We'll help her get through it. However, she reacts to it," Gladys promised, solemnly. "She won't be alone, right Bets?"

Betty could only nod as she slowly made her way towards Kate's room. Vera and Gladys followed as Dr. Patel turned and left to make the rest of his rounds.

As they entered the room, they watched as Shelia checked the bandage wrapped around Kate's forehead. Betty found herself holding her breath once again as she slowly approached the side of Kate's bed. She watched as Kate's chest rose and fell with each breath and took comfort in the sight. She felt like she could almost find faith in that small feat alone.

"Dr. Patel will take good care of her," Shelia said as she rounded the bed and began making notes in a chart at the end of Kate's bed. "He's very found of everyone at my Mother's factory, calls you all the work horse who will win this war. But I think Kate is special to us all since she spent so much time here singing to the soldiers. She's cheered up many a gloomy gusses during her visits."

"Now that sounds like the Kate I know," Vera said, quietly. She and Gladys stood at the foot of the bed, just on the fringe of the scene before them. They both knew this moment belong to Betty.

Betty stood at Kate's side and reached out with a shaky hand to carefully brushed back some of Kate's hair that had fallen out of place. It seemed even her normally vibrant locks weren't as luminous as they usually were. Like they had lost their reason to shine. She let her hand softly land on her shoulder and allowed the solid feel and warmth of Kate's skin settle her soul.

Kate sighed out heavily and began to stir from her slumber.

"Is she waking up?" Gladys asked, hopefully.

"Well, it looks like sleeping beauty may be returning to you," Shelia said, smiling to Betty as she looked up from the chart in hand. "Although, keep in mind, she may be a little loopy or hazy after the anesthesia that was given to relax her for the surgery. Ether has been known to make a few a little whacky."

Kate's eyes fluttered open and Betty thought her heart would burst right then and there.

"Kate?" Gladys cheerfully called out from her spot at the end of the bed.

Kate blinked her eyes as she tried to focus on the bright room around her. She looked over to the side where her name had come from and smiled weakly at the sight of her friends standing at the end of the bed where they let out a collective sigh of relief.

Kate looked at both Gladys and Vera with eyes that were heavily subdued and slowly turned her head, stopping when she found Betty by her side and sighed happily at the sight.

"Hey, you." Betty whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

Kate held her eyes for a moment before a soft smile rose on her face and she blinked heavily.

"I wanna marry you," She called out whimsically, just before the heavy sedation pulled her back under the cloak of slumber.

Everyone stood stock still for a long beat as the words hung heavily in the air. Vera and Gladys mouths dropped open as they looked over to Betty standing frozen in place with wide eyes as she looked down at the sleeping girl in front of her. With much trepidation, they all slowly turned towards Shelia, who was still standing at the end of the bed with Kate's chart in hand.

"Well, heavens to bits!" Shelia blurted as she flipped through her chart. "How much Ether did we give her?"