Look After Her

1. Belfast (Prologue)

After it being a particularly late night last night, I woke up only because I heard some unfamiliar things. Was that a horn screeching somewhere? Momentarily foggy, I was asking myself what ship was I on when I picked up my purse. A card slipped out and it read Katrina Van Doren, Ship's Surgeon. There was a picture of me as well! What the hell was going on here? I focused in on the fine print.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: RMS Titanic

EDUCATION: London School of Medicine

YEARS IN PRACTICE: 5

A knock on the door sounded and I stole a glance at myself in the mirror. Not bad. My green eyes were the same, though my curly hair was longer, about to my shoulder blades. I was wearing a frilly nightgown and I spied a robe in the corner. Pulling it on, I tied the sash and opened up the door.

A ruddy-faced steward stood there and beamed at me. "Beggin' your pardon, Miss, but there's been a bit of an accident on the bridge. Can you come?"

"Of course. Let me throw on a dress and I'll be right there." I shut the door, stripped off the robe and nightgown, then pulled on a white shirt with a tartan skirt. Putting on the lace up boots women wore those days was a bit of a hassle, but my years of experience wearing all sorts of things on my feet served me well. I managed to trap the errant laces, tie them up neatly, then I picked up the medical bag and my greatcoat. I shut and locked my door, put the key on a chain around my neck, tucked it into my shirt neckline, then went with the steward to the bridge.

On the way, I tied my hair back into a simple ponytail and ascertained the fact that it was nighttime and we were in Belfast Lough for the sea trials. I saw the Irish coast, looking beguiling in all its green glory, and I had to smile for a minute as I walked past. I could smell the cedar and pine from the forests, I heard the birds chirping as they prepared to go to bed, and I saw a few ducks straggling about in front of the ship.

One quandry solved. We were at anchor in the Lough.

"In here, Miss," the steward led me into the bridge, opening up a pristine white door. I saw two men in black uniform standing beside another man in the same uniform, all had black hats on. The one man sitting down inbetween the two officers was gray-faced and he seemed to be in respiratory distress. He was emitting a few wheezes and was staring up at me with glassy eyes.

The other 2 officers looked at me somberly as I went over, set the bag down, and rifled through it. "How long has this been going on?" I found my stethoscope and hooked it onto my neck.

"He was fine when we came in about 10 minutes ago," a Scot answered me. That was Murdoch to be sure. "he just started to turn the wheel when it slipped and punched him right in the chest."

"Damn," I sympathized. Both of the officers looked scandalized that I'd swear but now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. The Edwardian era manners were very patronizing to women and I had no patience for them. "where did it hit you exactly?"

My patient looked at me uncomprehendingly for a moment-there was no doubt he was in a lot of pain-, then indicated vaguely.

"All right," I put the earpieces in. "I'm going to check your lung functions. Just breathe in and out deeply as you can when I tell you to." he did so and I did not hear any background noise like rales or anything else.

The chief officer Wilde said nothing throughout this whole scene. I knew it was him by the 3 bars on his jacket cuffs and the mustache he sported. He looked concerned enough though, like a father with his children. He did have 4 kids after all, I remembered. Murdoch looked at me a bit anxiously and when I was done auscultating, I listened to the officer's heart. This was Boxhall, I was sure. He had really good looks and it was little wonder that the women chased him when he was out at sea. His blue eyes lost their glassiness and he looked over at me silently as I checked his heart rate.

"No rales, rubs, your wheezes are going away," I got up painfully to my feet and Murdoch steadied me a bit. "thank you, sir. In short, Mr. Boxhall, you'll be fine. A bit sore mind you, you'll be bruised a bit, but absolutely fine otherwise."

"Thank you so much, ma'am," he stood up shakily. "gave me a nasty fright, it did."

"Don't I know it!" I giggled. "I had a similar experience once in a car accident." cars were not mainstream those days but they would be soon enough. The bridge looked hauntingly beautiful at night with all the stars so close it looked like you could pick one and put it on your wall. "If you start to feel more pain where you were hit, come to me immediately."

"Repercussions?" Wilde asked. It was the first time I heard him talk all through the little tableau and I had to be sure it was him I was hearing. "What sort?"

"More shortness of breath, wheezing, that general idea." I hedged, not wanting to tell of a hemothorax or anything unpleasant where I would have to open him up and sort him out. Those were nasty things and I did not want to instill any undue fear or possible hypochondria. "Odds are you won't face anything major so I'm content to leave it at that."

"We will see you tomorrow, then," Murdoch gave me a kind smile and I returned it. "officer's physicals you know."

"I do apologize for getting you up," Boxhall told me in his quiet tone of voice, standing up.

"No matter, sir. Accidents don't wait for a convenient time of day. Good night, gentlemen." I got up my gear and left the bridge.

As I shut the door, I heard Murdoch say, "I quite like her." I smirked and felt a faint flush approach my cheeks as I headed back to my quarters. The bridge crew were legendary and to hear one of them say that he liked me, well, I was overjoyed at that moment! Murdoch had always seemed to me calm and unflappable with a ready sense of humor. Lightoller was another one I was looking forward to meeting, as he'd had quite an adventurous life altogether.

I unlocked my quarters and left it unlocked in case I was needed during the night, then sprawled out on my bed. I went over their case histories that I had read a few days before in my had suffered malaria previously so I'd have to check for signs of a recurrence. Boxhall had been sickly on and off his own life, much like myself, and I'd be very careful with him. The others I knew nothing about health-wise and I would take complete family and social histories from them. All of them smoked at least once, and Lowe was the only one who didn't drink at all. Something about his religion, probably. Lightoller was one of those new-fangled Christian Scientists who would instantly refuse medicine as they were taught it was all in the mind, though I sincerely doubted any one of them would benefit by ironically refusing medicine that science itself taught us was healing.

Oh well. It was his choice and not mine. I thought the so-called religion was very self-deceiving but that was just my thought on it. I changed back into my nightdress and shivering slightly, I went back to sleep.