“They’re back!!! They’re back!!” People came running. Lizzie threw her arms around them, and within minutes, nurses poured out of the barracks. Emma and Pru reported to their commanding officer, looking as though they had been shipwrecked, and smelling of dead fish. They had walked across a good part of France and been smuggled across the channel in a small fishing boat by a boy and his father. The farmer had given them a ride to the base from the coast.

“What happened?” Everyone wanted to know.

“We had a few disagreements about the map,” Pru said with a grin, glancing at Emma, who looked sheepish. “Don’t ever bail out of a plane with a girl from the East End. She’s never been out of the city.”

“I’m a midwife, not a bloody explorer,” Emma said defensively, but they had made it back to the base safely, with no harm done. They were hungry, tired, and filthy, with scratches on their faces and hands from the bushes they had walked through and hidden under. Someone brought them each a plate of food, and they were ravenous. They went back to their barracks afterwards to shower, as the two women looked at each other and grinned, and their friends hovered around them.

“I thought we were as good as dead for a while there,” Pru admitted. “There were more German patrols out than taxis in Leicester Square, but the gods must have been with us, because they never saw us. We spent a lot of time lying under bushes and sitting in thickets, but we made it.” They hadn’t eaten in two days, but they knew enough not to overeat when they first got back. They both slept for fourteen hours after everyone left them in their room to recover from their ordeal. And Ed had cried in Lizzie’s arms, in relief that they’d made it back safely.

It was one of those experiences both women knew they would never forget. It had been terrifying, but Pru had never lost her head, nor had Emma. They just kept on plugging away and walking until they got to the coast, and then got on the fishing boat. Until then, they both expected to be shot at any moment.

They were as calm as though nothing had happened when they both reported for their missions the next day.

Ed beamed when he saw them. They were scheduled to fly together, and they had a fighter escort again.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get on with it,” Pru said matter-of-factly as Reggie grinned and shook his head. They locked the doors, strapped in, and taxied down the runway. They had twenty-four injured men to pick up, and everything went smoothly. Pru grinned at Emma after they landed safely back on base with their precious cargo.

“Better flight than last time, eh, Em?” she asked her, and Emma shrugged coolly.