A/N: Reminder that I am not, in fact, an expert on what went on during WW2, so this is just my best attempt at a fun filler chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think :) also, enjoy the moodboard for Laura!
Sundays presented optional days and something different from the monotonous routine of the regular war-week. On Sunday, services were usually held by the men of different denominations in order to keep up with faith. And seeing as how their base only had a priest present, the only actual service that was being held was for the Catholics.
It was an interesting amalgamation—men from all over the country had gathered at Thorpe Abbotts to bring the war to Hitler's doorstep and then on Sundays, they took a rest day. Kathryn didn't think that the Nazi's did, but to each their own. At 0900 hours, everyone was dismissed for the day and things went back to normal at 1800 hours. It also signified the end of their leisure time for both Saturday and Sunday.
Seeing as how Kathryn wasn't much of a religious type, she generally had the day to herself. It was a nice day to relax—but again, idleness was a sin during the war. Most nurses took the time after services to write to their families, work on some sort of a knitting or sewing project, or found some time for a hobby.
Kathryn did, in fact, have plenty of hobbies. It's just that they weren't all that applicable here in England. She loved reading poetry—anything by Tennyson or Dickinson or Whitman was particularly endearing. Stargazing was another hobby—but this wasn't rural Wisconsin and she couldn't just go lay in a random field and try to stare at the stars.
No, with the bombings and air-raids that seemed to permeate every aspect of life here in England, that just wasn't on the table anymore. She still liked dancing as much as she did when she was younger, but dancing always seemed to leave the door open for unsavory types and for men to get the wrong kind of idea about her.
She missed choir, but she wasn't about to go singing out in the woods or try to sing at any of the parties held on the base. Besides, any singing was sure to convince her brother to give another attempt at vocals and that was one crime she was just fine without committing.
With all of that being said, Kathryn usually went back to bed on Sunday mornings and got an extra hour of sleep. She'd catch up on her journaling and faithfully write to her mother (since she knew that her brother was especially bad at writing to her anyway). This was all followed by a few necessary chores and getting some laundry of her own done, and then she'd take a walk.
This weekly ritual was one that brought some sense of normalcy back to her life. She particularly liked being able to take summer strolls through the flowers in the fields and imagine that she was back in Wisconsin and that life was not as grim as it really was.
Maybe it was romanticizing life a bit too much—but a woman only got through the war by holding onto a few good things in her life. And if that meant that Kathryn Egan was going to hold onto her Sunday morning walks, then that's exactly what she would do.
What Kathryn was completely unprepared for about life on Thorpe Abbott was the children that seemed to follow after her on Sunday mornings. After going to church with their parents, they always found Kathryn walking past their homes. There were two little boys that she had seen hanging around Lemmons and Winks a good half of the time.
For a minute along her path, Kathryn pretended that she didn't hear them giggling and following after her. Finally, she turned around, smiling at the two boys who stood frozen in the path. "I see I have a few fans. What are your names?"
The older one shifted slightly, leaning uncomfortably as he stared at her. "It's just that Lemmons said you're nice."
"Well I try. But I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am," Kathryn pointed out.
"Miss Kat!" The other one called out.
"Exactly!" Kathryn leaned down ever so slightly. "And Lemmons has told me all about you two as well. Troublemakers, the both of you."
Shy smiles seemed to cross both boys' features. "I'm Billy!"
"And I'm Sammy!"
"Well Billy and Sammy, it's a wonderful morning. Care to join me on a walk? I'm headed to the airfield," Kathryn said, gesturing ahead.
"Oh yes, please!" They both exclaimed at the same time.
Kathryn grinned as both of the boys fell in line with her walking pace. In no time at all, it seemed that the three of them were fast friends. "You boys want to work with the mechanics?"
"Oh yes! Lemmons promised we'd be able to light up the runway one of these times!" Billy admitted shyly.
"Well that sounds thrilling!" Kathryn gushed genuinely. "You'll both be brilliant at it!"
"You think so?" Sammy questioned, puffing up his chest a bit.
"Of course I do! You'll be showing those pilots how to really do their work in no time at all!" Kathryn insisted.
"Miss Kat," Sammy questioned, glancing up at her.
"Yes, Sammy?"
"How come you're not married?"
For a moment, both boys thought that they had offended her. Instead, Kathryn just let out a loud and hearty melodious laugh. "Oh you two are a riot!" She exclaimed. "Someone's gotta take care of these other boys, right?"
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"Somethin' going on down at the airfield? I wasn't aware the men had plans," Bucky said, staring over at the airfield.
"Not exactly, sir!" Crosby was hurrying past them, Bubbles hot on his heels.
Bucky just glanced over at Buck, hands on his hips. "We're missing something."
"I guess." Buck squinted in the distance. "That's quite a crowd that's gathering down there."
"Well it better not be a party." Bucky deadpanned.
The two of them had no sooner approached the gathering crowd of men that Biddick came stumbling over to them, still breathless and laughing. "Curt, what are we missing?" Buck questioned, patting him on the shoulder.
"The world's greatest and longest game of hopscotch!" Biddick exclaimed, hands going out in every which way.
Bucky wasn't even surprised when he pushed his way through the crowd to find Billy and Sammy, Laura, Lemmons, DeMarco, and his sister in the most heated game of hopscotch he had ever seen in his entire life. "What the actual hell?" Bucky mumbled, a grin spreading across his features.
"Why am I not even surprised?" Buck questioned. At the sight of a bunch of children swarming Kathryn, he shouldn't have even been surprised. But what really surprised him was the genuine determination in which she seemed to be approaching the game. There was a certain look of concentration on her face as she hopped on one foot and the children all screamed.
Kathryn dramatically leaned as if she were going to fall—only to switch at the last minute, making it to the last leg of the hopscotch game before being swarmed and nearly tackled to the ground by the children. Laura was laughing hysterically at the sight of her ever-serious coworker being tackled by the children.
Lemmons grabbed Kathryn's hand and tugged her out of their grasp. As soon as she was free from the children, Kathryn gave a large and dramatic bow. "I thank you for your time in the biggest game of hopscotch ever known to man! I will see you all next Sunday in the next round!"
Bucky glanced around at the men and he realized, quite fondly, that his sister had brought a lot of smiles to a group of men who didn't smile much. There was something really endearing about watching a bunch of kids in a time of war play a simple game of hopscotch.
Kathryn found DeMarco just grinning with Meatball at his side. "What?" She questioned.
"I didn't really see the resemblance until now. He puts on a show and you do it for the kids. It's nice." With that, DeMarco walked off.
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The hardest part of the day was having curlers pressed tightly into her head by none other than Tatty Spaatz. The nurses and the other women that were serving on base had agreed to do Ladies Nights , where they brushed up on their nails, and fixed up their hair.
Tatty tended to curl hair the tightest—and Becky had begged Kathryn to switch her. Kathryn wasn't all that bothered, considering that her sister had used to be the one to help her with her hair and she was anything but gentle.
"You'll have to include us in the next game of hopscotch," Helen stated, focused on the curls she was placing in Laura's hair.
"Oh I definitely will," Kathryn promised, a bright smile crossing her features.
"Yeah, you're making the rest of us church-gals look bad," Annika teased, wiggling her eyebrows at Kathryn. At the moment, Annika was painstakingly applying a fresh coat of Victory Red to her nails.
"Not my intention, Ani, I promise," Kathryn said.
"Well I know something," Laura announced, garnering attention from Tatty and Helen—and the rest of the nurses.
"And what's that, Laur?" Poppy questioned.
"Kath is going to have a whole gaggle of kids."
Giggles erupted in the bunkhouse. "I will throw this pillow, Laura Wilde!" Kathryn insisted. It was an empty threat and everyone present knew it.
"Well I only want one or two," Helen said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know if I could do the whole gaggle ."
"Me too," Tatty insisted, finishing up the last of the curls and smiling at Kathryn. "Though you could definitely do it."
"I want to have so many babies," Becky sighed dreamily, leaning onto her pillow.
"Well with that attitude, you're gonna have a lot." Laura said pointedly.
"That's the whole point!"
Poppy snickered. "You're just lovesick, Beck."
"Maybe—"
Becky didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. There was a knock on the door and all the women froze for just a moment, slight panic setting in. Kathryn moved faster than everyone, reaching the door in record time—just to find her brother on the other side.
They just stared at each other awkwardly for a moment and then his eyes landed on the amount of women in the bunkhouse. "Oh—"
She shoved him and shut the door behind her, crossing her arms. "You are absolutely incorrigible."
"You love me," Bucky snorted. "And nice curlers, sis."
"Oh shut up," Kathryn insisted, rolling her eyes at him. "Can I help you with something?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Doctor Adler wants to do some physicals in the morning and since I was in a meeting with the Colonel, he told me to pass it on to you nurses." Bucky informed her.
"Message received."
Bucky just rocked on his heels for a second. "Have fun today?"
"A bit. You should've joined. You were always much better at hopscotch than I was."
"Maybe next time I will. And I'll show you how it's done," he said, leaning down and poking at a curler.
She rolled her eyes yet again. "I'd like to see you try."
"Maybe we can actually get Buck to play."
"Him? Play a game? I don't think so."
"I'm telling him you said that."
"Go ahead."
Bucky was silent for a minute. "I think he likes you."
This time, Kathryn was left totally and completely speechless. "What—" Her voice broke off and she gave a frown. "Don't you dare go meddling."
"Me? A meddler? I would never ," Bucky placed a hand over his heart and made a crossing motion.
She just swiftly punched him in the arm. "I mean it, Johnny. Don't mess with things. He's just a friend."
Just a friend his ass .
"Right..."