Out of Time (Book 1)

1943

July

"How long till we get there again? I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Mary groaned, looking green.

Betty had to agree that the journey in the back of the transport wasn't pleasant. The bench seats were hard, and the terrain was rough, jolting her team around in the back, and the hot, Italian sun was beating down on the dark green canvas cover, making the inside of the transport a sauna. She was more impatient than most to get to their destination. Of all the regiments that they could have been sent to, she was gobsmacked to find out it would be the 107th. She couldn't wait to see the look on Bucky's face when they turned up at camp. She was heading into a warzone but felt like the luckiest person in the world.

"I'm not bothered if you get sick Mary, I'm more worried about how the supplies are faring being roughed around like this. If all of the glassware survives, I'll be amazed." Betty replied, although she rubbed her friend's back in sympathy.

"Shouldn't be too long now, Ma'am" a voice from the front of the vehicle. "we're about five miles out."

"Thanks Corporal" Betty shouted back and then, to the girls in the back, "if we can make it that long."

A few snickers came from her team. They were a fantastic group of nurses and Betty was proud to lead them. They had really gelled as a team these past few weeks, especially during the arduous journey across Europe. Mary, her curly red hair matching her fiery temper, was by far the best of them at diagnosing unusual ailments and, with her large Irish family, treated them all like the sisters she had left behind. Ruth, brown-haired and hazel-eyed, with a small stature that belied her strength and determination, was Betty's second in command. Betty relied on Ruth's non-nonsense attitude and the woman was an absolute genius when it came to field surgery. The tall and willowy Marie was Betty's ocean of calm in the chaos of the field, always having some level-headed, sage advice to give. And then there was Irene, the flirty, fashion-conscious blonde, who never failed to keep the rest of the girls' spirits up, whilst making sure that there was always clean bandages, bedding, and uniforms. Giving a small sigh, Betty settled back against the hard bench and closed her eyes, rocking in counterpoint to the jolting of the vehicle.

"Hey Sarge, don't forget we're getting a delivery today." One of the soldiers shouted across the space between the tents to where Bucky was sat looking over some paperwork.

Bucky looked up "yeah, we could really do with some more medical supplies, we're runnin' low."

The soldier laughed "I was talking about the new nurses!"

Bucky smirked in response and went back to his files.

"Barnes." The Lieutenant walked over to where Bucky sat

Bucky scrambled to his feet and saluted. "Yes, Sir?"

"When the delivery arrives, along with the new staff, I want you to show Lieutenant Rogers the lay of the camp, make sure they know where everything is, sort out the paperwork. Understood?"

"Yes Sir, of course."

"Excellent Sergeant. Looks like they're on their way in now. Grab a couple of men and get to it."

"On my way Sir." Replied Bucky, with another salute, as the Lieutenant walked off. Looking around, Bucky spied a couple of guys he thought would be most useful and went over to task them with helping the newcomers.

As the small convoy pulled up at the camp, Betty started issuing orders to her team.

"Right, Irene and Marie, sort out directin' the stock to our medical tent. I'm sure you can manage to commandeer a couple of soldiers to help you. Ruth, Mary, I want you to go to the Quartermaster and make sure that they have an up-to-date stock list of what's already here, and make sure we've got enough kit and sleepin' spaces allocated for ourselves. I'll spy out an officer and get all the paperwork sorted for the new equipment. You know how much I love that!" Her eyes rolled as her team stifled giggles but gave affirmative responses to her orders.