“Thank you.” She smiled back at him. And as she left the plane with Pru to go back to their barracks, she knew she had made a friend. She hoped he did make it to medical school one day. She knew she never would, but he had everything it took to be an excellent doctor. With luck, maybe one day he could afford to go to medical school. As he left the plane with Charlie after they set up the beds for the next flight and restocked the supplies, he thought exactly the same thing about her.

Chapter 10

Emma wasn’t entirely convinced that she and Alex would get along when they started flying together in order to familiarize Alex with their procedures. Emma could see that Alex was a competent nurse from her reactions to the men and her assessments of their injuries, but she expected Alex to have an attitude with her, and was braced for her to express it when they were alone or working together. She was sure Alex would make some snide, snobbish comment, but much to Emma’s surprise, she never did. Instead, she was easygoing and respectful, and grateful for any advice Emma could give her about how to do the job better while they were in the air.

At the end of the first day, after their patients had all been removed to ambulances, Emma looked at Alex with surprise when Alex thanked her profusely for what an incredible day it had been. They had saved more than one life working together. And Emma had two very capable corpsmen to support her.

“You know, you’re so different than I thought you’d be,” Emma told Alex as they walked back to the barracks.

“In what way?” Alex asked her, surprised.

“You’re very modest, and open to advice, you’re a terrific team player, and a great nurse.”

“Wow! Thank you.” Alex was touched. “So are you. I loved working with you today. I hope they let me ride with you for a while. I have a lot to learn.”

“Less than you think. You would have done fine without me in any of those situations today, and the boys are very good.” The corpsmen she worked with were excellent.

“You’re all very good. Better than that, you’re amazing. All of you nurses here are like flying angels. Half of those boys wouldn’t be alive if they had tried to bring them back on the ground. The air evac really makes a difference. I can see that now. I was worried about there not being a doctor on the flight. But you don’t need one. Your knowledge and experience are way more advanced than that of most nurses.” Emma laughed in response.

“My experience,” Emma reminded her, “is as a midwife. And I’m probably losing my touch at that. I haven’t delivered a baby since I enlisted.”