Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Triage

By Suzie2b

Tully had been injured when he had been slammed into a boulder during some hand-to-hand combat he and Moffitt had gotten into with some German soldiers. Luckily it wasn't too bad—a dislocated shoulder. Moffitt had carefully put his arm in a sling and secured it to his chest with an elastic bandage before getting him to the nearest field hospital.

Now Tully was sitting in the surgical tent's triage waiting for a doctor to fix him up. Unfortunately, the first infantry division was taking heavy casualties and this field hospital was their closest medical help. This constantly kept him at the end of the line to see a doctor.

Tully had sat quietly in a corner, hearing ambulances pull up outside and watching the wounded being brought in on stretchers. And occasionally a stretcher left the tent with a covered body on it. The blood, groans, and cries of the injured were all around him.

After a short time Moffitt walked in to check on Tully. He sat down next to him and said, "I got through to Troy on the radio. He and Hitch are on the way." He looked around at the wounded. "Has a doctor seen you yet?"

Tully shook his head and grimaced at the pain it caused in his shoulder. "Not yet. They're pretty busy right now."

"Yes, I can see that. Are you in much pain, Tully?"

"It hurts some … but I'm okay as long as I don't move too much." Tully looked at Moffitt, who sported a black eye. "How 'bout you?"

Moffitt smiled. "I'm fine, thanks."

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After more than two hours Moffitt could see that the pain in Tully's shoulder and what was happening around them was beginning to wear on the young private. "I'll be right back, Tully. Don't go anywhere." Moffitt walked over to a nurse and said, "I realize that you're all quite busy, but Private Pettigrew has been waiting for nearly three hours to get his shoulder taken care of. If nothing else could you at least give him something for the pain?"

The nurse looked over her shoulder at Tully. "Yes, of course. I'll take care of it myself."

Moffitt went back to sit with Tully and said, "She's going to bring you something for the pain."

Tully nodded slowly. "Thanks."

Less than a minute later the nurse walked up. "I'm sorry, but we're nearly out of morphine." She handed Tully two tablets and a glass of water.

Tully swallowed the pills without looking at her.

Moffitt asked, "What did you give him?"

"Codeine. He'll feel a bit better in fifteen minutes or so."

"Can I take him outside to get a little air?"

The nurse shook her head. "He should stay here. As soon as a doctor is free he'll be seen."

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Another hour passed and Troy and Hitch showed up. Troy knelt next to Tully's chair. "How're you doing?"

Tully didn't look at the sergeant. "I'm fine."

Troy stood and signaled Moffitt to follow him outside. "Stay with him, Hitch."

"Right, sarge."

Outside Troy said, "What's going on? You said he just had a dislocated shoulder. He looks shell-shocked."

Moffitt nodded. "He's sat there for the past four hours watching the wounded come in and the dead go out. I tried to get them to let me bring him outside to wait, but the nurse wouldn't hear of it. They've given him codeine for the pain. It doesn't seem to be working very well for him though."

Troy was incredulous. "Four hours! That's ridiculous!"

Moffitt shrugged. "Tully is the least severely wounded of those that have been brought in. Those with less serious wounds are being taken directly to a hospital fifty miles from here. I thought about taking him there, but I didn't think he would do well on the drive in the jeep."

Troy nodded and stared out at the desert.

The stream of patients had finally slacked and Hitch joined the sergeants outside. "A nurse just took Tully in for x-rays and to see a doctor."

Troy sighed. "Well, it's about time."

"You know … he doesn't look too good."

"If you saw what he's seen in the past four hours, you wouldn't look too good either."

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An hour later Tully walked out with his arm in a sling and met Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch. Moffitt asked, "Shoulder taken care of?"

Tully nodded.

Hitch asked, "They give you something for pain?"

Tully handed him a bottle of pills. "The doctor wanted to give me a shot of morphine … but they don't have much left so I turned it down. He gave me the pills instead."

Moffitt looked into Tully's dull, sunken eyes. "You haven't eaten today, Tully. Why don't we go to the mess tent?"

"I'd rather just lay down … if that's okay."

Troy frowned at Tully's pale, expressionless face. "All right. Let's get a tent assignment. You can rest and we'll bring you something to eat later."

##########################

Tully laid down on one of the cots without even taking his boots off. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the faces of the wounded and the bodies of the dead. He had seen wounded soldiers before. He had seen death before. But never on the scale he'd seen that day. His shoulder throbbed with pain, but he was afraid the pain pills would make him sleep.

When Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch returned from the mess tent, Tully pretended to be asleep. He heard Hitch ask, "Should we wake him up so he can eat something?"

Moffitt replied, "Let's let him sleep."

When Tully did sleep that night he had nightmares. He woke up twice, after losing the fight to stay awake, gasping and sweating. Finally, he gave up and quietly left the tent. He walked aimlessly around camp, avoiding the sentries who would no doubt question his being up and about at such an hour.

Tully passed the medical tent twice. The second time he stopped and stared at the closed tent flap. For a reason he couldn't fathom, Tully went inside. Most of the wounded were either sleeping or unconscious. A few were awake and restless.

The doctor that had fixed his shoulder stepped up next to Tully. "Can I help you, private?"

Tully sighed. "How do you do it, doc?"

"Do what?"

"How do you keep from going crazy? How do you keep going?"

The doctor smiled faintly. "Come with me. Let's have a talk."

##########################

Moffitt woke at first light and immediately noticed that Tully was missing. He dressed and left Troy and Hitch to sleep a bit longer. He was hoping to find Tully in the mess tent.

As Moffitt passed the medical tent he saw a doctor sitting outside having a cigarette. He gave the sergeant a wave and said, "Looking for Private Pettigrew?"

Moffitt nodded. "As a matter of fact I am."

With his thumb the doctor pointed to the tent behind him. "He's in there."

Moffitt frowned. "Is he all right?"

"He's doing better. He came in at about two this morning. He wanted to know how we, as doctors and nurses, keep from losing our minds seeing so much pain and death."

"You were rather busy yesterday."

The doctor nodded. "Luckily that wasn't a typical day. But we get wounded coming through here daily. Some make it … some don't."

Moffitt asked, "So, what did you tell Tully?"

The doctor put his cigarette out and stood up. He reached into a pocket of his long white lab coat and came out with a stack of envelopes, all sealed and addressed. "The way we do it here is by concentrating on the living. When things start to get too much, we spend extra time with the wounded. Talking, smiling, writing letters home for those that can't … anything to keep their spirits up." The doctor held up the ten or so letters. "Private Pettigrew spent several hours writing these for those who were awake. He gave them hope and listened to their stories. And in return they gave him a reason to keep doing his job."

Moffitt smiled. "Can I see him?"

"Sure. Come on." The doctor led him inside and to a cot at the far end of the tent. A pair of boots were on the floor next to it. "I finally got him to lay down an hour or so ago. He told me he was having nightmares, which is why he was out wandering the camp at 2 o'clock. I told him if he went to sleep and had another nightmare, I could give him a light sedative that would keep the dreams at bay. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow and hasn't stirred since."

Moffitt looked down at Tully's relaxed face and smiled. "Can he stay here and sleep for a while?"i

The doctor nodded. "No problem. He's not taking a bed from anyone."

Moffitt shook the doctor's hand. "Thanks so much."

As he left the medical tent, he ran into Troy and Hitch. Troy said, "I was hoping Tully would be with you."

Moffitt said, "He's inside."

Hitch looked concerned. "What happened? Is he all right?"

"He's sleeping peacefully." Moffitt smiled at his two friends quizzical looks. "Let's go get some breakfast and I'll tell you what I know."