Tomorrow When The World Is Free (OutlawQueen)

April 1941

A/N: The WWII AU no one asked for. Starting this was inspired by Alfie Boe's performance of the song quoted below at Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday celebration but my brain ran away from the original idea a bit; it's still shorter than my previous multi-chapters and all written, so hopefully I should get one or two up a week. I admit I took some liberties with the timings of certain events, like the Berkeley Square bombing (for example the entirety of Mayfair was hit very badly within the first week of the Blitz but I've set it nearer the end of the raids) and details of other events. Hope you enjoy!

"I may be right, I may be wrong,

But I'm perfectly willing to swear

That when you turned and smiled at me

A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square"

~'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square' by Vera Lynn

It was a full moon that night. She'd noticed the moon, how it frowned down at the Nazi planes ravaging her beloved city and the grass-covered humps in back gardens, the beams of light searching out the offending birds as she helped pull survivors from the wreckage of 30 Berkeley Square. Her nurse's cloak was flung back over her shoulders to reveal the red lining that told people she was a trained nurse, and her white uniform was soon covered once again in plaster dust and blood as she yanked a heap of what used to be a green wall off a small girl lying unconscious in the rubble. After ascertaining that she was alive, if only just, she picked her up carefully in her arms and took her over to the waiting ambulance, loaded her onto the last stretcher and watched the vehicle drive carefully off in the red light of its headlights to the nearest hospital, where on-shift nurses and doctors would be rushed off their feet already, more injured bodies arriving than beds available.

More leaving dead than alive, no matter what they did.

Taking a breath before she turned back to help the other passers-by who'd seen the bomb fall, grounding herself and wiping her hands ineffectually down her skirt, she glanced around the square. It was all but empty, the only occupants being those who were cobbling together to help the strangers affected, no one daring to think that the favour might be returned if ever it were needed. All the ambulances that she'd managed to flag down had gone, full of too many bodies; the shouts of triumph and grunts of effort had slowed behind her.

"Nurse?" She turned, forcing herself back into focus. "I think that's all we can find."

"Any others?" Her meaning went unspoken: anyone whose families would need to be told? The men and women shook their heads, adrenaline now rubbing off. One woman was crying, another consoling her. The men had removed their hats in respect for the fallen, and the many more who would fall tonight.

"Thank you for your help," she mustered, as the only trained person there she had become the unofficial leader of the rescue. "Are everyone's hands all right?" After some quick application of the salve she kept in her bag for such purposes and instructions on how to keep the scrapes clean until they healed, she took a deep breath, looked each one in the eye in turn. "You can go home if you wish. Hug your children, kiss your wives and above all, be safe. May God help us all." She crossed herself just as a fresh wave of air raid sirens rang out and everyone ran to the nearest shelter, each for their own skins now. Regina stalled for a moment in the centre of the square, looking around for non-damaged shelters to run to. A cloud had drifted across the moon, and for now, the night was almost soothing, if she blocked out the raid sirens and bomb blasts. The April air was warm from the fires now raging across the city, though the day had been relatively cool. She'd only kept warm because every ward was crammed full of as many beds as they could fit in, and weaving around them all without knocking injuries kept everyone on their toes.