Seawater lightly splashes Rose in the face once more as the ferry makes its way from the London port to the hook of Holland. The water's freezing, and the air is even worse as the sea breeze sends a chill through the night air. Still, she doesn't move from where she is leaning against the railing at the front of the boat. The breeze and the sound of the water are almost comforting as she stands lost in her thoughts, trying to think about what to do next.

     A few feet down the railing behind her stands Val and Trixie in the middle of hurling their lunch over the side of the boat, blissfully unaware of any real problems. They'd never been on a boat before, and it was showing. They'd been moaning about seasickness before the boat even left the port, much to the delight of Rose and Sarah who'd taken to teasing them right away. Sister Bernadette and Sister Winifred were seeking refuge from the restless waters in the inside of the ferry, but Val and Trixie needed the fresh air (and easy vomiting access) and Rose had too much on her mind to want to be trapped inside with the others.

     She thinks back to a week before, when she'd had to break the bad news to her mother.

     "Mum," Rose calls out into the little row house, closing the door behind her. She'd always loved this home; it was incredibly cosy. A tiny sitting room at the front with a tiny old kitchen in the back, filled with 19th century furnishings, worn-out couches, and family photos. Upstairs, there were just two rooms: her mother's and her own. It was enormous compared to what many people had; one of the advantages of living in a slightly smaller city. The only change she'd have wanted was a real indoor bathroom, like she'd heard many people had in American, and that some people were starting to get here. The loo was outside in a little hut in the back garden, like everyone else's. There was no bathtub or shower; they had to go to the local shower house once a week to have a wash. She was always determined that one day soon, she'd have a luxurious bathroom all to herself.

     "Oh, you're home!" Her mother, Cecelia (More often called Ciel), walks into the living room with a smile. She was a tall woman, unlike Rose, with the typically Jewish kinky black hair and longer, elegant face, with the same light-blue eyes as Rose. An incredibly sharp woman, any intelligence Rose had came from her. The two were incredibly close, and often spent as much time together as possible.

     "They found us again," Rose said flatly, wanting to get straight to the point. Her mother's face fell, and she lets her hand fall onto the chair in front of her, letting out a sigh.

     "We got assigned by Nonnatus to go to Hamburg for a bit to give a hand. We made a deal with Him to try to get him a club there so we wouldn't have to do...something worse."

     "What?!" Ciel exclaims. "How on earth do you expect to do that?"

      Rose shrugs. "I don't know. We'll figure it out there I guess. If we don't though, we have a plan."

      Ciel sighs again, sitting down to listen to her daughter. "And what plan is that then?"

     "Pack up the house. Not all at once, don't make it obvious. Leave some stuff out in the front room and kitchen so they don't think we're leaving if they come in. If in a few weeks things aren't going well, I'll either call here, Sarah'll call over at hers, or we'll call over at Nonnatus and have them give you the message. If you get a message saying 'I'll you back some sauerkraut soon', it means you need to leave immediately for Limoges. Zigzag on the way there so they have a harder time finding you."

     "You do like to amuse yourself with the most bizarre code phrases, don't you," her mother smiles.

     "Yes," Rose smiles back. "Yes I do. Now, do you need any money."

      "Oh no, love, I'll be fine."

      "I doubt that. Here, I'll leave you 15 pounds just in case."

      "15 pounds?! You won't have money left for yourself!"

      "I'm getting paid next week," Rose grins. "Just take it, alright? I gotta go now."

     "I love you," her mother hugs her.

     Rose hugs her back tightly. "I love you too, Mum."

    Rose is interrupted from her thoughts when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she sees that it's Sarah.

    "Stop worrying about it," she grins. "It'll be fine. It always is in the end."

    Rose nods, returning her grin and turning around. Shaking off her thoughts, she follows Sarah over to where Val and Trixie were hunched over the railing.

    "Still having a grand time, I see," she says. Glaring at her, Trixie and Val shakily stand up straight and turn around before suddenly grasping the rail again from being too weak to stand easily.

   "Shut up," Trixie groans, still glaring at the two prats snickering at them.

   "You might want to go inside and catch some sleep la, you can't be nauseous if you're unconscious," Sarah suggests.

    Wearily, they agree, allowing the two others to help them into the inside cabin bit where some beds were laid out for the passengers.

    "Just think," Val suddenly pipes up. "Soon we're gonna be in one of the most risqué cities in the world. And we'll be able to see the boys from the band again."

    This thought causes a smirk to finally grow across Trixie's green face. "Guess we'll be able to have lots of fun with them this go-around."

     "Wait, do we actually like them that much?" Rose asks, confused as always. "I thought they were random fun, like every other guy we talk to."

      "Are they just random fun to you," Val questions slyly.

     Rose shrugs. "I don't know. I don't think I talk to enough guys to be able to accurately answer this."

     "Oooh, let's pick one for Rosie," Trixie's eyes sparkle with glee.

    "Oh no, not this game again," Rose groans.

    "I have dibs on Paul, so she can't have her," Val starts.

    "Hey, don't you fancy Paul a bit, Sarah," Rose smirks turning to her. The others gasp in excitement. "You do?!"

    "I hate you," Sarah tells Rose, to which she only smiles.

    "Well?" Val presses.

    "A bit, I guess," Sarah concedes, turning a bit red.

    "Ooh she's blushing!" The others tease.

    "Okay, competition for Paul," Trixie concedes.

    "I would like to clarify that I would go for their drummer as well, though," Val chimes in.

    "Right, that sorts that out," Trixie grins. "You know, I know who Rosie probably likes, but she'll have me for competition then too."

    "Oh, I can't wait for this," Rose smiles, crossing her arms. "Better be good, I'm very picky."

    "Lennon, obviously."

    "What? No thank you," Rose exclaims.

     "He's hot and you know it!" Trixie argues.

     "No, I don't know it, apparently," Rose argues back. "Can I get in line for Paul please?"

     "You definitely like him, Rose, don't even try to lie. I've seen your little banter with him. It's cute shit. You've certainly got his attention," Val says.

     "Only trouble is we don't banter to flirt, we banter because we enjoy pissing each other off."

     "That's literally the same thing as flirting," Trixie states.

     Rose hesitates for a moment, stumped. "Though that might technically be somewhat true, it is not in this case!"

     "Alright, let's make this interesting," Val proposes. "Me and Sarah like Paul. Trixie and Rose like John. Let's wager who gets who first."

     "Well, clearly Trixie's getting John first because there's no competition there," she states. "I'll put a fiver on that."

     "I'll put a fiver you get him first," Trixie smirks as Rose gags at the thought.

     Sarah and Val wagered for each other as well to be nice.

     "Okay, hmmm. You both have an equal shot with Paul but Val's already made moves so I'll put the money on her," Rose says.

     "Okay, I'll put it on Sarah then," Trixie shakes on it.

      Val and Sarah then scrutinize them with malicious grins.

      "I say Trixie, she'll probably kiss him before he has a chance to do anything," Val decides.

     "I'll put it on John," Sarah says. "Those two seem to always bicker as soon as they're in the same vicinity, they seem to be drawn to each other like magnets. Seems inevitable."

...

      The bright lights in the nighttime sky nearly blind the group as the cab enters the Reeperbahn of the town. They had finally arrived in Hamburg after another whole day of taking the train from the Hook of Holland, but the fascination of their surroundings distracted them all from their weariness. In the streets, the girls watch the fascinating people roaming the streets and try their best to stifle their snickers at the many, unholy, acts that they witness from the cab windows. It's not too different from some of the scenes that they've been exposed to in the course of their work in Liverpool, but back there, they usually only see the results of a back alley shag, and not the shag in action.

     "Well, we've only been here twenty minutes, and I'd say we're already getting quite the education," Rose comments, looking out the window, to which everyone, including Sister Winifred laughed. Sister Bernadette, however, was not so amused.

     "Don't make such vulgar jokes, Nurse Linetsky," she chastises.

     "It's just a joke Sister, we're not planning on joining in once we get out the cab," Rose laughs.

     "Obviously we don't expect you to," Sister sighs. "But I must warn you all to stay away from the social life here. It's rather a slippery slope, the things they do in these parts. We expect you all to do your work and come back straight to the Hostel after. And stay with someone else at all times, there are all sorts of dangerous men here, some worse than what you see in Primrose Court."

     "Yes, Sister," the girls say, the excitement and amusement still not gone from their eyes.

     The cab soon stops in front of an old brick building that looked rather run-down, with pipes hanging loosely off of its walls. Everyone piles out, grabbing their suitcases, and spinning in slow circles as they take in everything around them. Following the Sisters into the building's narrow entrance, the girls are greeted with a middle-aged woman whose grey hair was tied up in a tight, wispy bun.

     "Guten tag," she greets us with a sharp expression. "The rooms 1 and 2 upstairs have beds free for you all," she continues in German, gesturing up the staircase.

      They thank her before going up. The staircase is an old wooden one that creaks wildly with every step taken and seems as though it will collapse at any moment. At the top is a small landing with two doors on either side. Entering the one marked with a 1, they find a somewhat large space with 4 sets of bunkbeds. Trixie, always one for luxury, shudders at the sight.

      "Eh, we've slept in stranger places," Sarah shrugs as she and Rose fling themselves casually onto two top bunks that lay directly across from each other, stretching out on the beds.

      Trixie pats the mattress beneath Rose cautiously. "What if there are bed bugs or something?"

     "Best not be," Val says, the others agreeing fervently.

      Sister Bernadette comes back from placing her things in the room across the hall. "Best follow their example," she nods towards the two girls who seemed ready for a kip with their arms behind their heads. "We start appointments bright and early the next morning."

     All four girls plus Sister Winifred groan, and Sister Bernadette gives them a reproachful look. "And we'll have none of that complaining. We have lots to do, and the mothers here have no time for our laziness!"

     "Yes, Sister," they all echo back tiredly.

...

     Rose follows Sister Winifred down the odd-smelling street. There was hardly anyone up and about at 8 in the morning in the Reeperbahn, giving the mad area a strangely peaceful feeling. Their bike-ride to their first appointment of their stay was a rather refreshing one, the morning breeze waking their still very tired selves up. A few strange, homeless-looking men watched as they rode past, as well as the odd weary woman in showpiece clothing trudging back home for the day.

     Sister Winifred stops outside of a grey, run-down building. Leaving their bikes against the wall, they grab their bags and walk up the outside stairs onto the balcony of the upper level before Sister knocks.

      "What d'you want?" A gruff voice call in German from inside. A tired looking woman with messy hair answers the door. "Are you the midwives then?"

      "Yes," Sister answers. "Are you Frau Erica Schwartz?"

      "Yea," the woman says frowning. "Funny accent you got. You English?"

      "Yes, we are," Sister says, smiling. "May we come in?"

      "Sure," the woman sighs, stepping aside.

      Several small children play on the floor of the slightly dirty one-room flat. It was clear that Frau Schwartz had difficulties keeping up with everything.

      "Now, if the notes are correct, I believe you need some injections to treat your case of syphilis?"

      "Yeah, that's right," she replies roughly. "Let's get on with it then. Arm or arse?"

      Sister looks to Rose, and she realizes it's her cue to answer. "Arse, I'm afraid," she gives a week smile.

     "Right then," Frau Schwartz says simply before turning around and dropping her knickers. A little surprised, Rose and Sister Winifred look at each other before Sister nudges Rose, who sighs before preparing the injection.

...

     "Funny woman, she was," Sister comments after they leave.

      "Lots of people back in Liverpool are like that too," Rose shrugs. "People in those types of positions stop caring about a lot pretty early on. Usually a bit apprehensive of our sort, unfortunately. It's gonna be fun trying to win these people over."

...

      "Shhh," Sarah hisses at the other three, who were on the brink of giggling uncontrollably. "You're gonna get us caught before we even go out!"

      They were doing the final touches on their make-up before leaving for the Indra Club a few streets away. Trixie, naturally, had been writing to John since he left, and he had given her the name of the club that they were playing at. Just over a week into their stay, the group finally had a night off, and so they were determined to experience Hamburg properly. The four of them had pretended to go to bed when they came back back from their rounds at about ten-thirty and and they got ready to go out as they waited for the Sisters to finish Compline and go to sleep. Finally, at about 11 o'clock, it was safe to go. Grabbing their purses, they follow Rose out of the door. She had already memorized which steps were the creaky ones, and they were under strict instructions to do exactly what she did as to not make noise.

      Once they safely made it to the bottom, they quietly slip out of the front door. The hostel, ever a typically sexist venue, had a curfew of ten o'clock, of which they were only exempt from if they were on call. Because of this, the front door was locked after ten o'clock at night, and they had no key in order to make sure they followed the rules. Rose and Sarah, therefore, had left the window to their room open. There was, conveniently, a fire-escape not too far from the window, and so as long as they were quiet, they should be able to easily make it back in.

      As they race down the steps and down the streets, they begin to let out the pent-up laughter and excitement over going to such a raunchy club for the first time. By the time they arrive at the building with the cheap and cheesy sign, they resemble much of the drunken crowd filling the streets. Technically, Rose was still underage, her birthday being in September, but it didn't seem as though there was a bouncer who would give them trouble. Walking into the club, the horrid stench of cigarette smoke, beer, and sweat nearly make them cough, but they manage to keep their composure. They hear the music before they even see it: the familiar sound of the four English boys who were currently putting on a ridiculous show for the audience. Drinking beer while playing, smoking, and lazing about on stage, it was an amusingly unprofessional performance.

      Making their way to the bar, they decided to get a round of beers in the spirit of being in Germany. The club was packed, filled with an odd mixture of drunken sailors and young couples, and they had to push their way through several random couples before they managed to find a table to sit at.

     "Quite the scene here," Sarah says, looking at the sailor who had just fallen on the floor next to her.

      "I must say it's rather interesting," Rose agrees, looking over to a couple nearly shagging against the wall. "Such fascinating people."

      "Cheers to our first seedy club," Val raises her glass, and they all cheer before taking a drink.

     "God, I always forget how awful beer tastes," Rose says grimacing.

     "Do you wanna finish it?" Sarah asks.

     "I have to. Cost me 10 pence."

     While waiting for the boys' set to end, they order another round of drinks (getting better things than beer this time) and get up to dance, despite the gross feeling they were getting from the men around them.

     At 11:30, the band's set ends, and John and Paul immediately jump off the stage to greet Trixie and Val.

    Rose smiles as George approaches her and Sarah. "Figured I should say hi so we don't just have to stand here while they have a group snog session," he grins, nodding over to the two couples who had already managed to start swallowing each other.

    "Much appreciated," Sarah smiles.

    "Since when were you lot coming to Hamburg?" He asks. Apparently John had been keeping his letters to himself.

      "Since we got assigned here by Nonnatus," Rose answers. "Their short of midwives around here so we got sent here to help. This is the first night we've managed to get away though."

     "Yeah?" He grins mischievously. "And how are you liking the dirty city so far?"

      "Well, we haven't done anything dirty yet, but the music's good I suppose," Rose winks, making George smile happily.

      "What about you, have you been taking part of the sinful culture?" Sarah teases him.

      George tries to shrug casually. "A bit, I guess. The others have been going crazy though. I swear they're bringing back birds every other night!"

     "Well they won't be bringing back those two," Sarah gestures again to the snog group. "We gotta be back in a couple hours, else we'll be dead."

     "We're breaking the rules, you see," Rose giggles, imitating a gleeful child, before switching to a posh voice. "We're not supposed to be out after ten, and certainly not at such an uncivilized establishment."

     "And I'm guessing it's against the rules to have a drink with a few lads too?"

     "Absolutely," Sarah grins.

      George laughs, before leading them to a table where Pete and Stu were already sat. Drinking and chatting with the three boys proved to be rather nice, and Rose and Sarah let the third drink wash away any stressors as the fooled around and flirted with their friends. Everything was splendid until Rose had to get up to go to the loo. She had just about made it to the door when all of a sudden, someone crashes into her, nearly knocking her to the ground.

      "Oh sorry!" She cries out at the same time that the figure snaps, "Oi, watch where you're going!"

      Looking up, she rolls her eyes. "Of course, it's Mr. Attitude Problem. You're the one who ran into me, smart one, so maybe you're the one who needs to watch where you're going."

      "Ah, if it isn't Miss Smart-Mouth. It's been so long, I was almost starting to miss your annoying voice," he grins.

       She sighs, looking past him. "As lovely as it is to see your deformed face again, I need to take a piss, so if you'd just excuse me..."

       But he doesn't move. "I forgot just how charming your sweet talk is. Guys must never be able to resist you with lines like that, huh?"

      Rose gives a fake smile. "No, I save that kind of talk just for you," she pokes him in the chest.

     "Oooh, I'm so flattered," he bats his eyelashes, and she can't help but laugh. She tries once more to get past him, but once again, he moves in front of her. She lets out an annoyed sigh, her smile vanishing. "Do you ever get tired of spending every waking moment being a pest to everyone?"

     His irritating grin stays plastered on his face. "Nope."

     "What do you want? I have a mars bar in here, if I give it to you, will you leave?"

     "Why do you wanna leave so soon, Rosie we've only just been reacquainted!"

     She pushes past him, rolling her eyes again. "Yes, and I need to take my five minute break from you!" She shouts back before disappearing inside the restroom.

...

     That was thankfully the only real encounter Rose had with John that night, by the time she got back from the loo, the boys had gone back on stage to start their next set. In between sets, she had continued hanging out with George and Stu, who she found were a rather grand time. She danced with George a few times, and they spent the night joking around together. Sometimes Sarah joined them, but not when she got the chance to chat up Paul. Now that the night was wrapping up, Rose couldn't help but wonder what John was doing earlier. He almost seemed happy to see her again, but yet he stayed glued to Trixie the rest of the night.

     "Why do you even care?" She chides herself in her head as they leave the club. "It's good he ignored you. Saves you a headache. Right?"

Sorry I took a bit to get this up. Please let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone reading this 💛