"Hanging Around"
A Rat Patrol Fanfic by Vintage55
(First paragraph only is a sequel, of sorts, to SuzyB's story "False Bottom.")
At the Allied field hospital at Ras Tanura, Tully Pettigrew once again woke up in serious pain. A week before, he had been hospitalized after the Rat Patrol had escaped from a German camp where they had been held as prisoners. It wasn't the first time that something of this sort had happened; it wasn't even the first time that members of the Rat Patrol had been interrogated and tortured – it went with the territory for special forces troops. But, this time, the German officer had selected Tully to be the sole recipient of the beatings, and had brought the other three Rats in individually to witness Tully's agony, as he hung from the ceiling by his handcuffed wrists and was beaten and clubbed unmercifully. Somehow, Tully survived, only collapsing when Troy had opened the handcuffs and lowered Tully's body to the floor.
Finally, the Rat Patrol had escaped from the German camp. Tully didn't really remember much of the escape itself, but he had all too many memories of the pain that had been inflicted on his body for many hours by the German guards. The jeep ride to the hospital was a continuation of the agony. Tully had a vague memory of Hitch riding in the back of the jeep with him, gently washing his face and wiping away the blood he had just vomited while pleading with him to "Hang on, Tully! We're almost back to base, and the hospital knows you're coming."
Tully had surgery to repair his shattered left kneecap, to repair his lacerated stomach and liver, and to stabilize broken ribs on his left side and cracked vertebrae on his back. His broken nose was repaired, wrists stitched up, and his dislocated shoulders repaired. Tully was unconscious for seven days after the surgery, under heavy doses of morphine and sedatives.
When he finally did wake up, Hitch was at his bedside, joined an hour later by Troy and Moffitt. Tully was glad to see them, but not really up for much conversation yet. The two surgeons, Drs. Morehead and Knox, who had operated on him also stopped by to give him a better idea of what had needed repair and to see how he was doing.
"So, by the sound of it, I'm pretty lucky to be alive," Tully said. "I feel like crap now, but when will I be able to get out of bed and at least sit up for a while?"
Dr. Morehead answered, "We'll try to get you up in a wheelchair in another couple of days. If you tolerate an hour or so, we'll gradually extend the time out of bed. You have multiple fractures and incisions, so it's going to be pretty uncomfortable for a while. Hell, you've made it this far, and we really didn't think you would, but you're doing OK, considering the extent and severity of your injuries. We almost decided to send you back stateside to Walter Reed Hospital, but you're right on the edge. We're supposed to send anyone who can't be back in action within six months stateside for advanced treatment and rehab, but you seem to be making some steady progress. Your biggest risk now is infection, so if something starts hurting worse or if you feel feverish, let the nurses know right away – don't try to be a hero and gut your way through it. Nurse Vicki mentioned that when you've been here before, you tend to deny your pain.
Tully smiled slightly, "Right now, I'm real grateful for the morphine, don't worry. I don't think I'd be sleeping much at night without it."
The next morning, Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch visited at Tully's bedside, noticing right away that Tully had improved a lot in the past two days. He wasn't as pale as he had been, and his sense of humor had returned.
"Hey, did I tell you guys about the fight we had here last night? Two guys on the other side of the ward got into an argument over whose girlfriend was prettier. One of the guys mentioned that the other's girlfriend looked familiar – said he remembered her from a whorehouse back at Fort Benning! Next thing you know, they're throwing their dishes and even their urinals at each other. It was pretty funny, but the nurses came running in with hypodermics – must have been sedatives, because both guys were snoring five minutes later. This morning, they're best buddies again." Tully shook his head with a smile. "Broke up the monotony, that's for sure!"
Troy laughed, "Well, if you're getting bored, that's a good sign! Anything else we can bring you? We'll be leaving soon on another mission; there's a rumor that the Germans are installing new heavy artillery units, so we're going to check it out and then see what we can do. Probably be four or five days until we get back."
"Well," Tully said, "You will all be in my thoughts and prayers. Be careful out there, and thanks again for getting me out of that place. I really thought I was going to die there. I'm still having nightmares about the whole thing, and that's never happened to me before when I've been wounded. Doc, can you drop off a couple of books and maybe a newspaper before you leave? I'll see you all whenever you get back. I wish I was going with you. I hate just laying here. Too much time to think…"
Moffitt smiled, "We wish you were coming, too, but I think I can say for all of us that we're very relieved to see you doing so much better. Why don't you talk with someone about the nightmares, Tully? What you went through was pretty horrible; I'm amazed you held it together for as long as you did."
"Hey, what choice did I have, really? All I was concentrating on was helping us get out of there, and that I really did have lots of reasons to try to stay alive – friends like you guys, Charlie, my family back home, and I just didn't want to die at twenty-two! Maybe I got just angry enough to find some extra energy to keep on breathing, I don't know," said Tully, with tears in his eyes.
Moffitt gently patted Tully's shoulder, "You're a strong young man, but none of us are invincible, not even you. Get some rest, and get better. We miss you. And yes, we depend on you, too. None of us can cook worth a damn!."
As the three other Rats walked toward the hospital's exits, Troy decided to ask one of Tully's doctors to talk with him about the continuing nightmares. Troy had also seen other soldiers have nervous breakdowns after such horrible experiences; he did not want that to happen to Tully if there was any chance it could be prevented. After Tully had been hung by his wrists and beaten for two days, Troy figured the nightmares were a normal reaction to the prolonged torture, but he did not want to see Tully survive the physical injuries only to fall apart mentally. He left a note with the nurses asking them to make sure Tully's doctors were aware of the continuing nightmares he was having.
Troy was all too aware of Tully's tendency to minimize his own pain, but Tully was also the first to make sure the other Rats were okay after each mission, the first to hand out coffee and tea, and the first to make a meal for everyone. Troy smiled to himself; he knew Tully was the eldest of seven children and had a way with kids; a very kind, humorous, and nurturing guy when he controlled his temper and wasn't in combat situations, and would probably be a great dad himself someday.
The Rat Patrol finally found the site of the new German long-range artillery after driving for a day and a half. The new guns were well hidden in the midst of rolling hills and rocks, and from the size of the new artillery guns, had a much longer range than what the Germans in North Africa had used initially. Moffitt and Hitch were quite sure that the new shells could reach most of the Allied bases, including Ras Tanura. Troy wanted to keep radio silence until the Rats were close to home, as he did not want to advertise that the Allies now knew about these guns. The guns were too large to be blown up by the modest amounts of explosives that the Rat Patrol had in their jeeps; destroying these guns would be a job for the bombers of the Army Air Corps.
Back at the base hospital at Ras Tanura, Tully had some unexpected visitors: Major Stanley Wiseman, an Army psychiatrist and Rev. Henry Holloway, one of the Protestant chaplains. They had each introduced themselves and were immediately honest about the reason for their visit.
Major Wiseman started the conversation by telling Tully that his friends were concerned that he was having nightmares after his traumatic experience at the German prison camp. Tully readily admitted that he was still having them every night, usually around 2 or 3 AM.
Chaplain Holloway gently asked Tully, "How did you get through it?"
Tully thought carefully, the pain in his eyes revealing the suffering he was still feeling, both physically and mentally. "At the beginning, I was just concentrating on toughing it out, but as the pain got worse, and the guards kept hitting me hard and screaming in my ears, I kept remembering the 23rd Psalm, where it says 'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.' I just kept thinking those words and I kept reminding myself of all the other good reasons I had not to give up...but when I was unconscious, I guess I was just hanging around," Tully said with a wry smile.
Both Major Wiseman and Chaplain Holloway sensed that Tully needed to rest for a while. Both promised to visit again soon, "We want to help you get through this, Private. You okay with that?"
"Sure, I can use the help right now," Tully said. "Thanks."
That night, Tully did not have any nightmares. When Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch returned to base the next day, they reported to Captain Boggs' office, but were told that the Captain was at the base hospital.
"Well," said Troy, "we might as well visit Tully."
When they arrived at Tully's bedside, Tully was sitting in a wheelchair, playing poker with Captain Boggs, Major Wiseman, and Chaplain Holloway.
"Occupational therapy," said Major Wiseman, with a straight face. "Private Pettigrew is doing much better. Now that you gentlemen have returned, perhaps the three of us can get back to work! He's winning, by the way. He's got quite the lead in matchsticks!"
Tully laughed, "Thank you, Sirs. I know this has been good for me, but I'm thinking that this has been good for all of us!"
With a sly wink, Major Wiseman and the two other officers went back to more pressing but considerably less enjoyable duties. "Very astute observation, Private, you're pretty sharp! See you later."
_THE END_