Town Without Heart
Disclaimer I do not own the characters in this story. I wish the people who did would use them and create new series. I have just borrowed the characters.
A/N A story from a picture challenge. The first was of Olive holding Brian in her arms. The second was Michaela and Sully standing in front of the livery talking.
Miss Olive Davis staggered down the dirty street into the small frontier town of Colorado Springs. Held in her arms was her son who was extremely sick.
The wagon had lost a wheel miles back and she had carried the boy who was desperately sick needing help. She had settled here years ago accompanying her brother the store owner his wife and their daughter Abigail.
She had lived on the out-skirts of the town, settling out on a ranch she saved for and bought. It had been her deliberate choice to remain isolated rather than face the judgemental population and their condemnation of her state. Never was she afforded the privilege of being called *widow* Davis as Charlotte Cooper had after her cad of a husband had abandoned his family. No, she had remained *MISS*. Her brother had been one of the main instigators of this humiliation as she had a child out of wedlock and had never disclosed who the father of her boy was. He had been angry with her, trying to convince her to marry the father and threatened to kill the mongrel who had brought dishonour to the family. Loren Bray had influence in town, and many of the folk followed him blindly not wanting to upset him. Maud had been more understanding and had stood by her but was afraid of Loren's rage when he set his mind to something. This time the something was not to forgive his sister for bringing shame to the family, or what he thought had happened. Olive had loved the father and never considered she would finally fall pregnant. It had been a complete surprise for she didn't even know she was with child until she went into labour. She was much older than most and so it was a change-of-life love child. She had called the boy Bryan.
Now she had come into the town looking for help. The dangerous dash had been after the child had developed a fever that was only getting worse with each passing hour. They had nearly been tossed out of the wagon when the wheel had actually over taken them. Olive did not want to lose the only connection to Bryan's father. In her arms was the only tangible evidence she had been loved. Their love had been full of affection, devotion and overflowing with passion.
She had met a man who was the love of her life. They were to be married but he had had a tragic accident and died in her arms, and everything had changed in that moment. He died not knowing he was to be a father. Olive had grieved and could not disclose the truth to anyone and so she protected her child from being referred to as a bastard by separating them from the uptight community.
Standing in front of her brother she begged his help.
"Loren, please."
Standing on the porch of the mercantile he narrowed his eyes, his hands clenching the broom handle he snarled at her his own flesh and blood.
"Why should I?" he questioned.
"Loren, he is only a child. He needs help," she pleaded.
Maud who had watched her husband behaving as he had to their own daughter years before came out of the door. She looked from the man she had married to his sister and was appalled.
"Olive, take him to Doctor Mike over at the boarding house. She has a clinic there," she offered the distressed mother.
Olive looked into the compassionate eyes of her sister-in-law and nodded before wondering, "You have a doctor here now?"
Nodding Maud said, "Yes."
Turning on her heel Olive hastily went to the door of the clinic and pulled the rope to the bell. The door was opened by a young woman. Olive nearly fell through the opening as her burden was great.
"Put him on the examination table," the woman instantly instructed.
"Are you the Doctor? Please help him, he is all I have," Olive implored, finally allowing the tears to fall, relieved to have someone help.
Michaela already had her stethoscope out and was listening to the small child's chest, alarmed at the feel of his hot dry skin as she turned to the anxious mother.
"How long has he been sick?" she enquired of the other woman.
"A couple of days but he got sicker through the night." Olive offered. "What is wrong?"
Michaela took off the child's clothes and poured water into a bowl from the pitcher on the chest and began sponging him down. "Here, continue doing this." she told the mother as she went to her cabinets and mixed a small amount of powder into a glass.
Returning to the examination table she raised the boy's head and encouraged him to drink the medicine.
"He has pneumonia," she told the worried mother.
"Oh no, people die from that! Can you do something, anything? Don't let him die he is all I have." The distraught woman pleaded while tears continued to fall freely down the mother's face.
At that moment Sully came through the door and looked at the women and the sick boy on the table.
"Doctor Mike, Miss Olive," he said watching them both trying to cool the sick child.
"Anything I can do?" he volunteered.
Michaela looked at him and he saw in her eyes the desperate need for help. "Yes, I need some of that tea you gave me from Cloud Dancing when I had the influenza. Please hurry, Sully," she urged.
Turning around he was exiting the door straight away. "Sure, I'll get it as quick as I can." Then the door closed and he was gone.
The vigil by the worried mother and Doctor carried on into the long night.
"Well, I suppose you have heard of me," Olive commented as they sat at each side of the bed.
"No I haven't. Why?" Michaela asked. "I have not been here long and being a lady doctor the town has not taken to me, too. If you know what I mean."
Tenderly brushing the hair back off her son's brow Olive said, "Oh yes, I know what you mean…. because of the scandal I caused, having Bryan out of wedlock," Olive ventured, looking into the kind face of the doctor.
Michaela returned the gaze and smiled, "Well, this town has a problem then."
"Why's that?"
"Well Sully and I spent a few nights out in the wilderness looking for what caused the poison in the creek some weeks ago," Michaela admitted. "A single lady and a man out there alone, that should have become a scandal don't you think?"
Smiling the other woman nodded. "Yes, I think that would do it." She admitted. "My brother would be leading the charge."
"Your brother?"
"Loren Bray."
"Oh yes, you are right. But once we found the source he could not say anything as he and the others who came looking for us got lost," Michaela said, smiling as the picture of their rescuers in long johns came to mind.
As the night wore on Olive took the kind woman into her confidence and told her about the boy's father and their love for each other. That fate had been cruel and taken him from her when they were talking of marrying. That it was after he'd had the accident and died and she was in labour she realized she was having his love child. She did not name the father and said that Michaela could think what she liked, that she was not ashamed of her son and what life had dealt her. She just wished her son knew his father and that the dad could see his son.
Sully returned late in the night and they began giving the tea that made a difference to the child's fever.
The next couple of days the little boy improved and he began to get better. One day Michaela found him in his bed hugging Sully's wolf.
Olive was pleased. Finally she was able to take Bryan home and thanked the kind Doctor for her help.
"I can never say how happy I am to have met you Doctor Mike," she said as she stepped forward hugging the surprised doctor.
"Thanks Doctor Mike," the child offered. He sat in the back of the wagon when Olive flicked the reins and the wagon trundled out of town, past the Mercantile. Olive did not look at her brother who was sweeping the porch. His eyes followed the wagons progress though. Maud stood watching out the window and sighed.
Sully came up to Doctor Mike as she stood near the livery watching the receding wagon. "What are ya thinking?" he enquired.
"Nothing."
"Yes, ya are. Ya fretting about something," he insisted.
Looking at him Michaela admitted, "I cannot understand how people can be so condemning of others when they do not know the truth or the whole story."
"People will always sneer at what they do not know or are afraid of. Look at how they treat the Indians," he offered as an explaination.
"But to form an opinion about one of their own and when it affects a child this I find awful. I am a doctor and I cannot afford to pass judgment on my patients no matter what they have done," she said in a strong voice.
Leaning in as he looked into her eyes and said. "I know and that is why I like what ya do for people. Ya kind and understanding and ya don' judge people….me."
The end