"Yes, what is it now?" This new nurse had arrived during one of her rare weekends off and she knew she had received the standard orientation. She'd sought her out when she arrived on the floor and introduced herself and promised her that as soon as she'd caught up on the paperwork, she'd give her the more 'specialized' orientation. But, in retrospect, it might have been a mistake not attending to that right away.

"I've just been down to ward six."

Each word had been clipped and the tone was disapproving. There was a pause, inviting her to ask just what had been wrong with ward six….which she didn't.

"There's only one patient listed as being in that room, but the beds are fully made up and there are three other people in there using them!"

To illustrate her claim a single chart was tossed on the front edge of the desk where she was working. She glanced at it without moving her head or her hands, she didn't want to give the woman the satisfaction of seeing that she'd disrupted her workflow. She continued working on the file at hand until she reached the end and signed off on it, then she looked up at the 'new girl'… "Yes?"

"Well, what am I to do about the rest of them?"

"Do you have charts on them? Do you have orders for them?" She did her best to keep her voice neutral, but as well as knowing the new girl had arrived, she'd already heard from the people who'd had to deal with this person over the last two days and she didn't see how she'd be working out unless she could change her attitude.

"Of course not!"

"Then I suggest that you do nothing about them. As I told you at the beginning of the shift, we'll go over how the service is handled on this floor when I finish up here." Taking another file out of her 'In' basket she tried to get back to work.

"But what am I to do about them? What if the beds are required by incoming patients?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it slowly escape through pursed lips she looked up from her work. "You are to do nothing about them. And if the beds are required by incoming patients, then they will in all probably strip and remake the beds they've used themselves. And, if you give them half a chance, they'll help you settle any incoming wounded so you won't have to call on an orderly."

"But, but…"

Setting her work aside she rose from her chair and stepped around the desk. Linking arms with the frustrated new girl she started walking her down the hall. "This floor doesn't keep the strict rules you may be used to. We find that it is better for our patients to have their team members and friends around them when they first arrive. In fact, many of those men have been specially trained to attend to injuries out in the field and may know more about what's wrong with the patient than you do. If you let them, they can be a great deal of help to you."

They had arrived at the door to ward six as she talked and she disengaged and placed her hand on the door, quietly opening it for a look inside. She'd seen the the name on the case file that had been tossed on her desk, but she'd also seen the census report before that, so she knew the patient, but not the circumstances that brought him here.

Because of the previous run-in with the new girl everyone but the patient was awake, and two of them had gotten to their feet to stand between the occupied bed and the door… ready to hustle anyone who was bent on being disruptive right back out into the hallway. When they saw her all of them relaxed, until they saw who was standing behind her, then their guard went back up again. She turned and invited the woman inside with her, and then closed the door.

"This is Vera," she said quietly. "She came in while I was off duty and hasn't had the insider's orientation yet so I'm afraid she doesn't know how we do things." She ignored the huffing behind her. "Is everything alright?"

"It will be if you keep that dame in line."

"No need t'be rude, mate. It'll all get sorted now Sister Rose is back on the job."

Turning to the oldest man in the room she explained, "I haven't had a chance to go through the chart yet. Will you give me a run down?" And then she quietly listened to a synopsis of the case which included the cause of the injury, the care that was rendered in the field, a summary of the care that had been received onboard the ship that brought them back, as well as what had been done here on the ward right down to the pertinent lab results. While this was going on she heard derisive snorts of disbelief from the person behind her.

"Do you foresee any difficulties with the projected treatment plan?"

"Only in keeping him here the length of time the doctor feels is necessary." The opinion was delivered with a heart melting smile.

She smiled in return. "Yes, well, we'll do our best." Then she looked around the room, studying the occupants. "Is there anything any of you need?" Before the wiry blonde opened his mouth, she assured him. "It's too late for a hot supper but I'll have the kitchen make up sandwiches to send up, extra for you as usual, and I have a tin of biscuits at my desk if you need something to tide you over." Reaching back, she pulled the new girl away from the door so he could make his run down the hall.

"But there's only four of you tonight….?"

Seeing her concern Actor reassured her, "He returned with us, but he's been held behind at headquarters to provide the additional details they seem to require."

"Then," relieved, she checked the condition of the beds and saw that they'd all been made up and that someone had been down to the supply cupboard for extra blankets. "We'll expect him later tonight?"

"Knowing those guys, it'll probably be tomorrow before they turn him loose."

Clucking her tongue in agreement she moved up to the side of the bed to check on the only patient in the room. He seemed to be resting comfortably and was well positioned in the bed. The bandages were clean and secure, and she decided there was no need to disturb him at this time. The door opened to admit the English member of the team. He had a cache of biscuits in a paper napkin, and the tin tucked under his arm. Making his way around the room he offered to share his bounty…even with her. She noticed the new girl had refused his kindness, so she selected two biscuits and handed one of the morsels over with a stern look.

"I'll have to come down later to get the 'official' record for the chart, but I'll try not to bother you." She checked her watch before she continued. "In about an hour I'll call and see if I can liberate the Lieutenant from his meeting." And she left, towing the other woman out with her, to their murmurs of thanks and one opinion that her effort would be in vain.

Once they were about halfway down the hall back towards her desk she stopped and turned to face the other woman. "This ward generally takes care of members of clandestine teams that work over on the continent. That's why you had to go through a security check before being assigned here. As you may have noticed, not all of them are members of the military." She saw the lip curl and the mouth open but didn't wait for any sound to come out of it. "We have found that the patients do much better if they are attended by the men that they work with," she explained again in a much firmer tone of voice. "Most of them have had advanced first aid and some, like the one I spoke to in that room, have had prior medical training. We have found that they are better able to reassure the patient and get them to submit to treatment than we are. If you can accept that, they can make your work on this ward very much easier." She took one step closer and looked the new girl in the eye. "But if you cannot, then all of the other wards in this hospital are short handed so there will be no difficulty in finding you another position." She linked arms with her again and started them walking towards the lift. "In fact," she reached out and stabbed the 'down' button with a stiffened finger. "I think that would be better for all involved." The lift doors opened, and she sent the stuttering newcomer inside with a firm hand on her back. "Please report to the Director of Nursing on level one in the morning. You are relieved. Have a pleasant evening."

After watching the doors close and seeing that the indicator over them was going the proper direction she turned on her heel and walked back to her desk. The census was light, she could handle the ward on her own with no trouble. She also knew she could call on the man in ward six if she needed to. Once settled in her chair she reached out for the phone…It wouldn't hurt to leave the Director a message though.

g

She was just at the end of the last file that needed her attention when she heard steps in the hall and looked up to see him trudging towards her.

"Welcome back, Lieutenant." She made a point of glancing at her watch. "Another five minutes and I would have been on the phone trying to get you released into our custody." She'd worked with this team before and knew some of the inside jokes.

He gave a chuckle as he let the large duffle bag he was carrying slip off his shoulder and slide to the floor. "Thanks, but I managed to breakout on my own this time. How are things going here? How's Chief?"

She'd reviewed the young man's chart as soon as she'd returned to her desk, and then done a thorough check when she'd gone done for vitals, so she was able to give a detailed report on him first.

"And the rest of them?"

"Oh, they've been quiet as church mice," setting the last file in the 'out' box she looked back up and met his gaze. "They decided to wait on their dinner in hopes you'd get back in time to join them, so why don't you go down while I arrange things with the kitchen. It will be sandwiches, I'm afraid. But there will be a good supply of them." She indicated the proper direction with the tip of her head. "You've got ward six tonight."

''They waited to eat? I think the doctor better have a look at Goniff!"

This time it was her turn to chuckle. "No need. He's made do with a tin of my biscuits. Besides, the doctor has already seen them all. Aside from being cold and tired, but for Chief, they are all quite well."

She noticed the slight wince as he picked the duffle up again. "Which may not be able to be said for you. Do I need to get the doctor up to look at that arm?"

Settling the strap on his shoulder and holding it in pace with his right hand he shook his head. "No, let him sleep. It's just pulled a muscle that's had a chance to stiffen up during that meeting at HQ. I'm fine."

And she'd worked with this team before and knew that claim for what it was, a classic. She reached out for the phone and called after him as he headed down the hall. "Yes, well, we'll see about that once you've eaten."

g

Thirty minutes later an orderly rolled a cart with sandwiches and milk off the lift near the desk. She told him to leave it. She knew they'd be cleaning down in the kitchens and getting things ready to start cooking for breakfast soon. She'd done the official evaluation on the patient and made her chart entries before the group's leader had joined them. She wanted to go down and check on the men in ward six again though, and make sure he'd settled in and this would give her a good excuse.

The room was quiet when she opened the door. Reading lights near two of the beds were on, four of the beds occupied. When the cart appeared on the threshold three of the men got up to help her bring it in. Voices were low as they examined her offering and complimented the kitchen staff's efforts.

She walked across to check on the patient who still appeared to be resting comfortably, though he was a bit more active. They'd probably see him awake about the time the sun came up. Turning to the other occupied bed she found the Lieutenant sound asleep, his uniform folded neatly over the foot board. A quick look showed bruises along the side of his neck and creeping from under the sleeve of his T-shirt and down his left arm. As expected, a little more than just 'a pulled muscle.'

Actor stepped up alongside. "He caught Chief when he was hit. We were scaling a cliff face at the time." He presented her with a tin he held in his right hand. "From the Lieutenant, with his complements."

The decorated container held her favorite brand of biscuits, the same as she'd turned over to them earlier in the evening. "How did he ever come up with these in the middle of the night?"

The tall man standing with her laughed quietly. "Knowing how kind you are about sharing them, and the effect Goniff can have on your supply, I believe he has a store laid up at headquarters for just such a situation as this."

"Well," she laughed along with him. "You may as well keep them. It will save Goniff a trip down the hall looking for his dessert."

Actor gently nudge her hand back towards her and directed her gaze with a tip of his head. When she turned to look there was a tin, already open, on the table next to the bed the little Englishman was using. "As you can see the Warden brought him is own supply." Leaning in close he dropped his voice. "And there are two more in the duffle to get him through the night. I believe your stores may be safe for now."

She cleared her throat to stifle the laugh that threatened to give the secret plot away and disturb the sleeping men. Leaning in herself she said quietly, "Thank him for me in the morning when he wakes up. But tell him the bribe didn't work. And there's no point in trying to get out early to escape to HQ. I'm calling them now and telling them he's on the injured list." She winked at the older man. "The doctor will evaluate him in the morning when he comes to check on Chief." Accepting a quick kiss on the cheek she started towards the door.

"Hey, Limey!" Went with her to the door, and "Actor's makin' a move on your girl," followed her out into the hall.