Timeless

Chapter 13

A/N: Little Women and Beth dying IS IN FACT relevant to the plot haha. Double update yet again!

September 1943

John Egan's birthday represented a turning point for the nurses in the war. The day before his birthday, the new nurse—Barbara Keating—arrived. She was a sharp woman with a no-nonsense attitude, red hair, and already looked to be dismayed at the sight of the other nurses. And truth be told, not a single other nurse knew what to make of her.

The fact of the matter was that they liked Becky. And though she had gotten herself knocked up, she was their friend. They had been in the whole thing together—and they hadn't ever dreamed that there would be a time when any one of them wouldn't be there. It was immediately clear to each of them that Barbara had heard rumors surrounding the nurses at Thorpe Abbotts.

She had a certain look on her face as she glanced between the four of them, almost certainly suspicious. Still, Kathryn gave her a smile and stepped forward. "It's wonderful to have you here—"

Barbara held up a hand, stopping Kathryn in her tracks. "Just show me to my station. I'm here to work."

Kathryn was almost speechless at Barbara's words. She couldn't say she entirely blamed her for the reaction and frosty reception. But it was still rather rude to not even say hello. Kathryn exchanged the same glance with Laura before moving with Barbara and showing her to her station.

The entire day, Kathryn was certain she had never heard the hospital wing so silent. It wasn't that Becky was a chatterbox, but working in silence tended to be maddening for the nurses. They'd chat about occasional things, or find some common ground with the patients laid up in bed—and Barbara seemed no more interested in conversing with the nurses than she seemed interested in making polite small talk with anyone else.

Any closeness that the nurses had felt before felt stifled behind a wall that Barbara had put up—and shrewd looks of warning that she gave them any time they so much as chatted. That alone was enough to make Kathryn Egan curious as to the reputation of the nurses on Thorpe Abbotts. And if there was one person who was going to give it to her straight, it was going to be Helen.

As soon as the lunch break had arrived, Kathryn made her way over to the table of Red-Cross volunteers. Helen was chatting with Tatty, a grin on her face as she took a sip of her coffee. At the sigh of Kathryn, Helen visibly brightened. "Kitty! How are you?" Helen chirped, giving Kathryn a light hug.

"Oh I'm just fine!" Kathryn answered, sliding into the seat beside Helen. "And yourself?"

"Well Tatty here was just telling me about the upcoming recruits that should be flying in. They have quite the reputation," Helen gave a wink at Tatty, who just rolled her eyes.

"Good to know," Kathryn murmured. "You wouldn't have happened to overheard some of the rumors about us nurses?" She questioned, looking between the two of them.

Tatty gave an awkward cough, gaze immediately locking onto the wood of the table. "I'm not sure you want to know, Kat."

"Oh nonsense," Kathryn insisted. "It's that new girl, Barbara. She doesn't like us and I just want to know why."

A slightly worried and guilty expression crossed between Tatty and Helen as they looked at each other. "Well," Helen said, wringing out her hands. "It's not very nice."

"It never is."

"They say that the nurses here are easy," Tatty said in a low tone. "Probably Becky and Poppy's fault, honestly."