Yes, I understand, she killed people, manipulated many others, and all her actions are orchestrated for selfish purposes. She is, in a sense, a bad person. But have you considered the aspects of trauma, beauty, and the fact that I love her very much?
I actually have two very predictable character types. Like if there is a character in one of these types they are almost certainly going to be my favorite. Those types being:
Sad red head
For example: Genya Safin, Wanda Maximoff, Greta Gill, Willow Rosenberg, Natasha Romanoff, Poison Ivy, Ragatha, Hetty Woodstone, Pearl (from Steven universe, her hair is pinkish so it counts)
And the "evil" or "mean" dark-haired girls that are also secretly sad
For example: Lena Luthor, Abigail Jameson-Caine, Regina Mills, Asami Sato, Mildred Ratched (from the Netflix series specifically), Zoya Nazyalensky, Agatha Harkness, Catra, Carol Struka (she's blonde but I think she should still count)
There are probably more examples I just can’t think of any right now. Btw those aren't in any specific order
Summary: Mildred tells Gwendolyn about the woman who captured her heard during her time in the war.
Word count: 1.7k
Warnings: WarNurse!Reader, Vague description of injury, Mentions of blood and death, Angst?, Mildred and Gwen are just gay friends
Mildred and Gwendolyn were sitting in the break room a bit after lunchtime, chatting together. While Mildred accepted the dinner invitation, when they arrived at that women's bar, she declined politely and let Gwen drive her home.
"So, if you came to that restaurant... why not the bar? Pardon me if I assumed wrong, but you are... like us, no?" They spoke in whispers, just in case anyone was nearby.
"It was most kind of you to invite me, however... call me foolish, but there was once a girl... and I'm not sure I could ever feel the same way as I once did for her." Mildred sighs, thoughtful.
"Oh?" Gwendolyn leans forward, clearly eager to hear the story. Mildred takes a deep breath, takes a moment to gather her thoughts, then starts.
"I'm not sure I told you, but I used to be a military nurse before coming here. I served during the world war. As a nurse, we always stayed in camp, tending to soldiers."
Mildred walks through camp carrying a variety of stuff in her arms, handing them out to other nurses she passes by with brief instructions.
"Nurse Ratched! Over here, please!" With a small sigh, she walks over to the doctor calling for her.
"Could you wrap him up for me? Quickly." He instructs, pointing to the soldier laying in the bed with a missing leg, bleeding heavily and moaning in pain.
Before she could respond, the doctor handed her some wraps, patted her shoulder, and moved on to a different bed, leaving her alone. Without protest, she starts wrapping up his leg, uncaring for the sounds of pain. "I know.. but it needs to be done."
"My superiors claimed I performed well, so I got sent to a different camp; one that needed higher maintenance. She was head nurse there.. that's how we met."
"Mildred Ratched." She accepts her handshake with a nod, their formal greeting.
"Great to meet you, Mildred. I have no time to explain anything right now; go tend to anyone you see that isn't getting care. Let's hope we get some peace at night and talk then." And with a final smile, she walks off to her patients.
Mildred is left standing there by herself, frozen. She watches the nurse until she is out of sight, and even then she stays there for a moment, contemplating.
The sounds of pain catching up to her is what snaps her out of her haze, and she looks around the beds until she decides to make herself useful and approach one.
"For a while, we were just that; nurse and her superior. As time passed, things calmed for a while... so we spent most nights together."
The first time it happened, the head nurse called her aside to get to know eachother. After that, they met up almost every other night.
Despite the short while that Mildred's been here, they became friends extremely fast. No wonder they became extremely soon.
On one important evening, they were sitting in the storage closet, telling stories and laughing in hushed whispers.
"Good Lord, Mildred... I'm so glad you're here. You make this dark situation a lot brighter for me." She slowly inches closer and takes her hand.
Mildred freezes up, as she's never held hands with anyone besides Edmund. But once she processes it, she laces their fingers together and holds on tight. "I don't think I've ever been so glad for a transfer before..."
They sit close together, appreciating the silence for a minute, before the woman speaks up again. "I... like you a lot, Nurse Ratched. As more than a colleague."
The words land heavy on her heart, making her pause. "I like you too, Head Nurse. A lot."
"And you never got caught?" Gwen asks, leaning forward in increased interest.
"Not like that." Mildred immediately cuts back, scolding. "We talked. Sat together under the starry sky. Shared secrets nobody else has heard."
They sat right by the entrance of the tent, as they managed to convince the guard for the night to go inside, as they'd be out watching anyways.
"The general told me he's satisfied with you." She comments, trying to start a conversation, even if laying in silence with her head on Mildred's lap is peaceful.
"That's so strange to hear. You know... I'm not even a nurse." Mildred shares with a small smile. She's nervous for her colleague's reaction, but she's assuming they're close enough that she won't mind.
"You aren't? How did that happen?" She chuckles, amused by the thought of how she managed to slip through the background checks.
"I have no education... but I really wanted to be a nurse. So, I lied about my qualifications... and they just never checked if it was true." She shrugged, still hoping for no judgement.
The woman laughed out loud, quickly covering her mouth when she realised the time. "You're crazy..." She stares upwards, smiling at Mildred with the fondest eyes she's ever seen in her lifetime.
"You know, you sure are good for someone who never went to school. All our superiors are satisfied with your performance."
"Despite this... small inconvenience, I've worked hard to be where I am now." She defends, even though nothing bad was said.
"I know, darling. And I'm very proud of you, Mildred. I think, after the war... someday, you'll have your own hospital that you lead. I'm sure of it."
"She couldn't have been more right. Beside Nurse Bucket, you basically run this place."
"I suppose. And it was all going well, too... After months... I couldn't take it. Despite how many times people said I'm a great nurse... I just couldn't take it anymore."
"Everyone was in pain, and we weren't allowed to let them die. They were begging for death, and nobody did a thing..."
"And so?"
"And so... I showed them mercy."
Mildred stood cleaning a body off of a bed, cleaning the sheets for a new patient to come, when a familiar voice called out. "Nurse Ratched! May I speak with you? Privately."
She hurries over to the head nurse, who leads them to a corner.
"What the hell are you thinking? I saw you murder that man, Mildred. And I'm not mad because he's dead; I know it's better for him this way. But you know we aren't allowed to let them die— keep this up and you'll get in serious trouble."
She scolds more like she's concerned than upset at her actions. But Mildred cannot listen reason right know; all she knows is the pain of the dying soldiers that must be put to an end.
"Do not reprimand me for doing what is right. These people are suffering... is it so bad to give them what they want?"
"Yes, it is. Please, Mildred, stop this before someone higher up than I notices." She grabs her hands, trying to shake some sense into her.
With a sigh, Mildred nods. "Alright... for you, I will."
"I lied to her. I said I would stop... and I tried to restrain myself for as long as I could, but I did it again. And again, and again. Eventually, the general found out."
"Ratched! Get over here." The general calls out to her. She makes her way over, her heart beating out of her chest.
"Yes, sir?" She stands as straight as she can, but doesn't dare to look the man in the eyes.
"Explain to me why an increasing amount of my men under your care have been dying of asphyxiation." He crosses his arms, demanding answers.
"Sir, I—"
"I know what you're doing, bitch. You have exactly five seconds to get out of my sight, you're done here." He doesn't wait for her excuse, he just sends her away, and Mildred doesn't hesitate to flee.
She gathers her few belongings, but before she leaves, she goes to find her head nurse. She finds her digging through the familiar supply closet.
At her arrival, she looks up with a smile, but her face quickly turns serious when she sees Mildred holding all her things.
"Nurse Ratched?" She turns to face her, confused.
"I was dismissed. I have to go." She puts her things down on the ground, and with a glance around the room to make sure it's empty, she takes her hands.
"You didn't listen to me, did you..." She looks at Mildred with deep disappointment in her eyes, but she holds onto her hands anyways, knowing this is the last time she gets to.
"I'm sorry, nurse. But I still have to go... I wish you the best, truly. And I'm sincerely sorry." She pulls her hands back slowly, clearly not wanting to, but feeling the increasing pressure to do so.
Before she could leave, the woman grabs her face and kisses her, pouring every drop of her love into it. Mildred holds onto her wrist and kisses back, showing her reciprocation, but again she pulls back not long after.
"I'm truly sorry, I really must go." She gathers her stuff in her arms once more and takes a step back. "I hope to see you once you return. Until then, I wish you well."
"Farewell, Mildred..." She watches as her favourite nurse departs, leaving the tent without bearing to look back, lest she get caught up in her feelings.
"And what happened? Why isn't she here with you?"
"After I returned home, I could barely hold down a job. I remember quite well; I was a server in a restaurant, when I heard the news on the radio."
"War was over..."
"Yes, exactly that. I think it wasn't more than a few days that I called in to the government to ask about her." Mildred pauses for a bit, staring at the table like it holds all of her feeling; the immense love she felt for that woman, the grief of leaving her behind.
"...they said she wasn't on the list of survivors."
A/N: Hey guyss! So I threw this together today, case yesterday I watched a movie about Hungarians rescuing other Hungarians from Afganistan, and the most important person on the list was a nurse, and I remembered Mildred was also a military nurse, and yeah. I really hate the picture cause the colours don't match, but they just fit the story so good ughhh oh well. I really like this, and it's the first kinda said piece I wrote, so I hooe you all enjoy aswell. Thank you for reading!
