Tending to Jess (For the First Time)
By Yankee01754
As the smoke cleared from the gun battle with Colonel Brandon's outlaw bunch Slim Sherman cast a worried glance at his friend Jess Harper. Jess was looking mighty uncomfortable - and sick, as well as tired. With good reason. He had a bullet wound in his left shoulder that hadn't been tended to yet.
First things, first though. General William Tecumseh Sherman was coming through on a special stage run. They needed to get the bodies of Brandon, Whit Malone and the other dead men out of sight and tie up the remaining gunmen to hold for Zach McCord, the sheriff of Laramie to take into custody for the attempted assassination of General Sherman and the holding hostage of Slim, Jonesy and Andy as well as the shooting of Jess.
Slim absolutely forbid Jess to try and help with that little chore. His job was to guard, at gunpoint, the two remaining members of Brandon's bunch that remained alive. Period. End of discussion.
It was with great relief when, a few minutes later, General Sherman's stage rolled through. Jonesy assisted in the changing of the teams and soon the general, along his entourage, was on his way. The stage driver was given instructions to let the sheriff in Laramie know that Slim had some business for him. Without giving anything away, Slim knew that the driver would let Zack McCord know he was needed.
In the barn, Jess, pale and with his arm in a sling, was standing guard over their prisoners. Andy was with him. To all intents and purposes, as far as General Sherman was concerned, everything was peaceful and quiet. With luck, he'd never know how close he'd come to being killed at the Sherman ranch.
A couple of hours later Zach showed up with a deputy in tow rode into the yard. Slim was extremely happy to see him. He wanted to get Jess into the house, his shoulder tended to and into bed. Jonesy was itching to fix the young man up but they had to wait until Zak was on his way.
"They're all yours, Zach," Slim said as he handed the reins to the dead men's horses to him. "I'll come in tomorrow to give you my statement."
"Ok, Slim," the sheriff agreed. "Now get that boy into the house and take care of him."
Zach didn't like the way Jess looked. They needed to get him into the house and see about that wounded shoulder.
"I'll send the doc out to check him over once I get these would be assassins in jail."
"Thanks. We'll do what we can to at least make him comfortable but I'm afraid this may be beyond anything we can do "
The tall rancher waved the sheriff out of the yard and then went back into the barn. Jonesy and Andy were hovering over Jess who looked ready to keel over at any time. The dark haired cowboy was still sitting where he'd been when Slim went out to talk to Zach Jonesy was standing behind him and Andy was sitting next to him. The blood, from Jess' shoulder wound, was still seeping through his shirt and his jacket.
Reaching down, Slim took hold of Jess' good arm and helped him up. Jonesy supported him from the back.
"Come on, Jess. Let's get you in the house and see how bad that shoulder is."
Meekly, for he was really feeling pretty bad at this point, Jess gave in to the two older men. Andy, unbidden, ran ahead to turn down the covers on his own bed so that Jess wouldn't need to climb into the top bunk he usually slept in. It would be easier for Slim and Jonesy as well as for the doctor when he got there.
"Andy, get some water on to heat and get some of those old sheets, out of the cupboard, and cut 'em up for bandages," Jonesy ordered.
The boy hurried to comply. He wanted to stay with Jess but he also knew that they'd be needing the hot water, and bandages, to take care of Jess' shoulder.
Slim and Jonesy stayed close to Jess. The younger man was white, tight lipped and unsteady on his feet. Halfway across the yard his knees buckled. Slim caught him before he hit the ground and slipped a supporting arm around his friend's waist to ensure that he would make it to the house without any further difficulty.
Jonesy went ahead and got the front door open. Slim half carried Jess into the house and then into the bedroom. Both men noted, with approval, that Andy had turned down his own bed thus sparing everyone - doctor, friends and patient - the ordeal of settling him in the upper bunk.
Gently Slim laid Jess down on the bed. Jonesy helped strip him down to his long johns and took some of the clean cloths Andy brought them to try and staunch the bleeding from the wounded shoulder.
"He's already starting to run a fever," Slim noted with concern. "Sure hope the doc gets here soon. It's got to be because that slug is still in him."
"Doc'll be here as soon as he can be," Jonesy reassured him while wringing the cool water out of a small towel he then placed on the wounded man's forehead.
It was a tough couple of hours before the doctor did get to the ranch. Jess lay in the bed, hot from the fever and in pain from the wound. The doctor's ministrations did nothing to alleviate it except to get the bullet out and clean the wound before having Jonesy help him bandage the patient up.
"You can pay me next time you're in town," Doctor Thomas Hansen said. "Keep him warm and quiet. Cold compresses for the fever and as much water, and broth, as you can get him to take. I'm leaving some laudanum. Just a tablespoon every few hours if he really needs it. He's not to get out of bed except as necessary, for the next week. That slug was in pretty deep and he's lost a lot of blood. He'll be weak and feverish and he needs a lot of rest." Looking back at his patient he added, "He's going to be pretty miserable tonight and probably for a couple of nights. It might be a good idea for Andy to bunk in the main room. Youngster needs his sleep as much as my patient does."
That's the way it was that night. Jonesy and Slim, together, fixed up a bed for Andy in the main room by taking the mattress off of one of the bunks and giving him a couple of quilts for blankets.
"You'd better get to sleep now, Andy," the elder Sherman brother said. "It's been a long, traumatic day and we still have chores to do in the morning."
Andy pleaded, "But Slim, I want to help you with Jess."
"No, Andy. If his fever runs too high tonight he's apt to be delirious and that means you won't be able to handle him." Slim tousled his brother's hair. "We'll take care of him tonight and you can visit with him in the morning."
Slim's prediction was on the mark. Jess' fever did go up. His sleep was troubled by nightmares of his friends being killed while he watched helplessly.
"No! Leave him be! Don't hurt him! Slim! No!" Jess cried out in his delirium.
"Easy Jess," Slim laid a cool compress on his friend's head and talked to him soothingly. "I'm right here. I'm fine."
"Andy! Run! Run Andy!" Jess' head whipped back and forth on the pillow.
"Calm down Jess. Andy's fine. He's asleep in the other room." Slim talked quietly and reassuringly.
Caught up in the fever induced nightmares, Jess sat straight up and tried to get out of bed. it took the combined efforts of Slim, and Jonesy who had roused when he heard the voices, to settle the young man back in the bed.
It took the two of them quite a while to settle the Texan down. Jess' eyes opened briefly but slid shut again after a couple of seconds.
"I reckon he'll settle down now," Jonesy said. "His fever's not that high. I think it's just memories of what happened and thoughts of what could have been. On top of having been hurt himself he was worried about all of us."
"And exhausted," Slim added. "Think of it Jonesy. He rode away from here with your warning and headed for town to get help.. He got several miles, I think, before he was shot. Then he walked back here to let me know he was alive so I could let you and Andy know. Then helped me try to warn the general."
Smoothing Jess' bangs back under the pretense of checking for fever the tall blond rancher added, "He walked all the way back here with that bullet in his shoulder and then started whitewashing the warning on the barn even though that shoulder had to be really hurting him."
"He's young and he's strong, Slim," Jonesy put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "He'll get through this. We'll pull him through and have him back on his feet in no time."
"I hope so Jonesy."
"You go lie down on your bunk for a while. I'll sit with him for a spell."
Thoroughly exhausted, Slim didn't even take time to remove his boots but threw himself down on the bed. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. When he awoke, the next morning, the sun was shining through the windows. He looked around and found Jess still in the other bunk but sleeping soundly. Jonesy wasn't in sight but he could hear noises from the kitchen that indicated that the old man was up and in the process of making breakfast.
Stretching, and yawning, he splashed water on his face, checked on Jess and went out to the main room. He glanced at the couch under the window and noticed that Andy was already up and gone. Jonesy heard him and forestalled his questions.
"Andy's outside tending to the stock and gathering the eggs."
"What about Jess? He seems better this morning."
"He had kind of a rough night but I think he's fine now. It'll take a while for that shoulder to heal and he's bound to get restless not bein' able to do much." Jonesy took a pan of biscuits and placed it in the oven. "Doc'll be back this afternoon to check on him but I think last night was more stress than anything."
"Where's Andy?"
"Doing his chores and gathering the eggs. I let him peek in at Jess since our patient was sleeping peacefully when he got up."
As they spoke Andy came in through the kitchen door with a basket containing two dozen eggs.
"Here are the eggs Jonesy? When will breakfast be ready?"
"In a few minutes. As soon as the biscuits are ready."
"While we're waitin', Andy, get your school books together so you'll be ready to leave as soon as we eat."
"Aw, Slim, I want to stay home with Jess!"
"You can see him before you leave," Slim told him, "if he's awake. Otherwise you can see him when you get home, for a couple of minutes, before you do your chores. He needs to rest."
When Andy opened his mouth to protest again his brother was adamant.
"Andy, Jess suffered a terrible shock yesterday. Bullet wound, the feeling of being helpless to stop Brandon and his bunch and thinking we were all going to die. It doesn't matter about himself but the thought of the three of us - it was all too much for his system. Now he'll be fine, but right now he needs to rest. You can bring him his supper tonight. Okay?"
The boy sighed. "Okay.'
So it went for the next few days. Jess slept, ate, slept some more. Slim, and Jonesy, tended to him at night when his fever went up as they were wont to do. It was a thinner, pale faced Jess that was allowed out of bed that weekend. He found it hard to put into words what he felt.
"Slim, I..."
"No need to say anything Jess. You're part of this outfit and we take care of our own." Slim grinned. "The sooner you get well the happier I'll be. I'm gettin' tired of tending to you at night and keeping Andy from disturbing your sleep."
"You just want me to get better so you don't have to work so hard!" Jess retorted.
"That too."
The laughter, that erupted from both young men was music to Jonesy/'s ears. Jess was on the mend if that banter he heard was any indication. He started planning his next shopping list making sure that he tripled the order. He had a recuperating Texan to take care and that boy ate as much as any other three men!