by Donna

Things were quiet at Dr. Helm’s surgery, so his young nurse occupied her time by poking through every nook and cranny of the building, inventorying any and all medical supplies that she found squirreled away in sometimes very surprising locations. Some of the things she found were several brand new lab coats for the doctor, and a box filled with surgical scrubs. But what really caught her eye was the box containing clothing for a nurse! There were two different types of uniforms. One was a long blue dress with a starched bib aprons made to wear over it. The other type was a one-piece fitted shirtwaist dress that would only come down to just below her knees. To complete the nurse’s uniform was a dark blue cape, a starched cap for her head, several pairs of white stockings and a pair of sensible and sturdy looking white shoes.

She went through the uniforms with all the glee of a child at Christmas. Right now her only clothing consisted of her novice’s habit and a nightgown that she had picked up at the mercantile. So, after holding it up to her and deciding it was close to her size, she carried it into a changing room. Humming softly to herself, she took off her habit and put on the blue dress and apron. Even though she liked the looks of the other style of uniform, it was way too short for her.

She couldn’t help smiling at the reflection in the mirror. It looked good. The blue dress complimented her coloring nicely, and fell to her mid calf. Her long strawberry blonde hair was neatly braided and wrapped into a bun on the back on her hair, and the nurse’s cap added to the complete picture. All in all, she now presented a very professional appearance. She hoped that Dr. Helm would be pleased at the transformation.

As she carefully folded her habit and but it aside, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret. Father Alec and Sarah Jo had spent many hours talking together during his convalescence at the clinic, discussing both of their situations. One of them things they talked about was that since there was no order of sisters on this new world, she was in sort of a limbo status.

What the two of them had decided, that since she had not taken her final vows, that she was basically now free to live a secular life if that is what she wished. But when she told him that the church meant too much for to give up entirely, the handsome young priest told her that he could most certainly be able to use her help in the mission as a *lay sister*.

Now, with the habit put aside and wearing a nurse’s uniform instead, Sarah Jo felt the breech widen between the life as a nun that she had been prepared to lead and the future that faced her here in Edan. But she wasn’t unhappy about it. Especially since the arrival of Katherine Dixon!

Sarah Jo smiled, remembering the emotional reunion between the two of them. It had only been a short time for Sarah Jo since she had last seen Katherine, but for the petite immortal, ninety years had passed since her young charge had disappeared without a trace in the wee hours of the morning of the day she had supposed to take her final vows. Finding her alive and well had brought a surge of joy and happiness back into Katherine’s life at a time when she desperately needed it.

The nursing sister had known Katherine almost all of her life. The Scotswoman had taken a position as a teacher in a remote one-room schoolhouse up in the Appalachians in the early spring of 1890, six months before she had even been born. When Sarah Jo McCants had been orphaned while still a toddler, Katherine had adopted her. Her childhood had been a very happy one, and Sarah Jo had dreamed of becoming a midwife or teacher like her adopted mother.

But all that was changed when Sarah Jo was *killed* by a stray bullet during a running feud between two rival clans. Katherine had sprinted her away, taking her to the convent to keep her safe until a teacher for her could be found to teach her the ways of an Immortal. But Sarah Jo had decided to stay in the convent, and the order has sent her to nursing school.

Katherine had moved in with Sarah Jo, telling her it wasn’t a good idea for her to live along in that house. The nurse was glad. With the disappearance of Phoenix, the house had seemed awfully big and lonely, especially at night. Katherine, whose main expertise over the centuries had been in the fields of midwiving and teaching, was keeping herself busy sewing up dresses and shirts for some of the people in town, and canning the abundant fruits and vegetables that very ripe for the picking.

Carrying Dr. Helm a lab coat, Sarah Jo went down the stairs and knocked on his office door. "Enter," he said gruffly, his nose buried in one of the medical journals that had been part of the huge collection of books in the library. Since their discovery, he had spent every spare moment pouring over them, adding to his own medical knowledge.

Hanging the lab coat on a hook, she told him that she had found it and other uniforms for them both. When he didn’t look up or reply, she shrugged and left the room, feeling a little let down.

"Vanity, oh foolish vanity," she mumbled to herself. Sarah Jo had hoped to get at least some sort of response from him. Or any man for that matter. For the most part, with her quiet mannerisms, she tended to fade into the background. Especially when wearing the loose fitting novice’s habit that with the veil, covered her from head to foot.

Smoothing down the front of her apron, she sighed and went back to her work.