All characters, except those not mentioned in the movie are the property of the Walt Disney Company and are used without permission. Even though I do believe that they deserve much better than what they get recently these days.
Chapter 1: Morning Fever
The temperatures in the Midwest had fallen down slowly below forty degrees since autumn season had been coming close to an end. First came the days of the falling leaves that lost their green color. And soon after a while, the rain transformed into snowflakes sprinkling everywhere in the west like a giant salt shaker. During the winter season, blizzards in the old west were often deadly and created dangerous obstacles for animals and pioneers; especially during traveling.
But today, the snowstorm was nowhere beyond catastrophic and never would be; at least not for another month. It was now in the middle of December where snowflakes covered the entire fields and rooftops on the Patch of Heaven farm. And it was only three days before Christmas Day; a time for giving and generosity.
"Wake up girls, today's the day we look for a Christmas tree," Pearl's voice boomed, opening the doors to the cows den that revealed the outside of the farm blanketed by three inches of snow. "Aren't we gonna have such fun." For winter garments, Pearl wore a green skirt down to her ankles, brown boots, a white shirt underneath her green shawl, light brown gloves and a green bonnet tied underneath her chin.
Maggie woke up with a start and rushed over to Pearl so that she would put on the earmuffs and gloves that she had handmade herself. The new bovine truly enjoyed the winter season for many fun reasons such as the snowball fights she once enjoyed back at her old home with Abner and the other cattle. But today was going to be different. She and the other two girls would take a walk out in the nearby forest to find out which tree would be best suited for decorating. Although it might sound a bit strange for three cows to follow a woman while chopping down a tree, the girls would never leave Pearl's side while doing this sort of activity in case something dangerous were to happen on the way.
"There, now go out and play safely," Pearl shooed Maggie out by giving her a friendly pat on the back. "Your turn Mrs. C."
Up on her four feet, Mrs. Calloway had walked up only halfway to be interrupted by intense coughing coming from the far corner in the back. Even Pearl noticed a shuffle hiding beneath the hay.
"Oh dear me, I wonder what's the matter."
Dropping the winter garments she had intended to put on Mrs. C, Pearl rushed over in haste and threw aside the hay to find that it was only Grace. Except this time, the sweet heifer started coughing harder as if she were engulfed in a thick cloud of breathless smoke. In a shock, Pearl found that her eyes were pink and watery. Tiny beads of sweat covered her face. Her eyes were open, but she could barely gaze up at Pearl as the elderly woman removed her gloves to feel her forehead. It was frightfully hot.
"Why Grace, you're burnin' with a fever!" Pearl shrieked. "This is awful. Stay there while I go fetch a blanket, then the doctor!"
And with that, she dashed out of the doors to run inside her house and come back in with a large blanket made of white wool. Throwing it over her body and up to her shoulders, Pearl turned to Mrs. Calloway before she started her way out the door.
"Mrs. C, please look after dear Grace for me," she urged. "I have to run to town to find the doctor. I'll be right back." With that, she zoomed out the door and onto the trail.
"For heavens sake Grace, how many times do I have to remind you to dry yourself off when you come in from the snow?" Mrs. C asked firmly. "Wet fur can attract any sort of terrible sickness at this time of year."
"I'm sorry Mrs. C," Grace said weakly, her voice sounded hoarse. "I guess I got too carried away with wanting to play outside a little while longer."
"Hey what's the holdup in here?" Maggie stood by the doors to check up on her two companions.
"Grace is not feeling well I'm afraid," Mrs. C responded, peering directly at Grace's eyes to see how terrible they looked. "And I don't think she'll be playing outside today. She'll need to stay in here, is that clear?"
"Yes," Grace said hoarsely, coughing intensely.
"And for goodness sake, cover your mouth when you cough," she reminded. "You don't want anyone else to catch cold."
"I know," Grace coughed, this time covering her mouth with her front legs.
"Wait, are you sure it's a fever?" Maggie asked, hoping that the illness was not serious enough to be life threatening. "It could be something else like an allergic reaction." She stepped back from the doors in fear of catching whatever affected Grace.
"And since when does an allergic reaction leave her in this sort of condition?"
"Ugh…" Maggie was at a loss for words, rolling her eyes back. "I don't know." Truth was that she knew so little about the effects some allergic reactions would have on those with different allergies. Except that she knew if anyone was allergic to pollen, dust, or pepper, it would turn the nose red and cause hysterical sneezing.
"In there doc!"
The girls turned to see Pearl rush back with the town doctor, Dr. Ralph Smith running alongside of her with a black suitcase in his left hand. It was the same man who had come to check up on Grace the last time she went a little berserk to find out the cause for her behavior. Since he was the only doctor in town, his job was to inspect both people and animals whenever needed. Pearl was known to be a fast runner when it came to emergencies.
"Uh oh, town doctor coming through." Maggie moved aside and disappeared from the den.
His eyes widened in bewilderment to see how badly Grace appeared under the weather. Before getting started, he instructed Pearl to move Mrs. Calloway out of the den so that she wouldn't get in the way of observing or at risk of being sickened. Closing the doors from inside, Pearl watched anxiously as Dr. Smith looked into both her eyes and ears. What if Grace had really been sickened with an illness that was incurable and beyond a real doctor's help? Trying not to think of that, her fingernails dug into her palms to see the doctor peer down Grace's throat while holding her tongue down with a small stick. She wanted to move closer to Grace, but she dared not to interfere at this time until he let her know that it was alright. The heifer's throat was red inside as he mentioned. Next he took out a thermometer and carefully placed it underneath her tongue. The seconds seemed like hours as the doctor waited and checked his watch to see how long it would take to finish. After a while, he took it out and found that Grace had a high temperature of one hundred and two degrees.
"My goodness, that's a high temperature she's got!" Dr. Smith wailed, slapping his cheek. "I would advise you not to let her step one foot outside this den or the temperature will go higher."
Pearl nodded at his advice before he continued to check Grace for other serious symptoms. His fingers burned when he felt her forehead and noticed how hard she coughed. In his suitcase, he pulled out a needle preparing to give her a shot. Her eyes widening in horror, Grace attempted to move from her spot, yet the aches in her body preventing her from doing so.
"Easy now girl," Dr. Smith said earnestly. "A simple needle don't hurt that much. Just hold still."
Remaining calmly still, Grace flinched a bit the moment when the needle pricked at her right front shoulder. Although it didn't hurt too much, she still hated the touch of that needle.
"See that wasn't so bad now," assured Dr. Smith, rubbing her head and smiling. Reluctantly he stood up and asked for Pearl to talk with him outside.
Grace turned her aching head slowly and watched through her hurtful eyes as Pearl followed Dr. Smith outside and closed the doors behind. Unable to hear what the two were talking about, she let out a soft sigh soon followed by a cough.
"Oh what a day to spend the holiday season," she moaned under her breath. "Three days until Christmas and I'm stuck inside this den. It can't possibly be that bad."
Two days before this, Grace remembered when she thought her throat felt a little sore and her head became heavy while still playing with the piglets, Maggie, and Mrs. Calloway. But she reckoned that those conditions were from all the excitement and assumed to Mrs. Calloway that she was just tired when asked what was wrong. But Mrs. Calloway remained unconvinced. Sure she dried off every now and then, but not well enough to keep the cold air from seeping in her hide. Soon afterward, her nose became stuffy, and her throat turned sore. Every time she swallowed, her ears and neck ached terribly. In fact, every muscle in her body hurt too much for her to move her back legs as they were numb from a bit of coldness inside. Despite the warmth of the hay and wool blanket covering them, Grace felt them wobble a bit as if she were trapped in a pile of snow. Grace faced the wall to her right and coughed some more. Unable to remember the last time she came down with something, she was both curious and anxious to know what Dr. Smith was telling Pearl outside. But because of her aching ears, all she could make out was mumbling.
"I'm afraid the poor girl has come down with a bad case o' the flu," answered Dr. Smith, rubbing his spectacles. "And winters the worst time o' year to be catchin' them. Especially round Christmas time."
"What can be done doc?" Pearl asked, adjusting her warm green shawl for better warmth over her shoulders.
"Well, the best way to care for her is to keep her indoors until she can move again," he replied, fishing into his black suitcase to pull out a large bottle. "You'll need to have her take this remedy at least twice a day; two spoonfuls to be exact. It'll help bring down the fever." He handed Pearl the bottle and a spare thermometer whenever she needed to check Grace's temperature. "Remember to keep the doors closed durin' the day or else the cold air will expose her to pneumonia. That's a real threat. Give her plenty o' sleep and check up on her every now and then to see any improvement in her health. And yah might wanna place a small wet cloth over her burnin' forehead."
"Thanks doctor, I'll do just that."
She shook hands with the doctor to thank him for his help and advice. But Dr. Smith had a few more words to say before he left and closed his suitcase.
"Feed her plenty o' healthy snacks and I'll come on by tomorrow to check up on her. And it's best to give those other two cows at least one spoonful o' that medicine so that they don't catch the flu. Do it each night until the girl is better. I could be wrong, but it seems she'll have to spend Christmas in bed. But who knows, maybe she'll be lucky by then."
Pearl thanked him once more before he finally headed back on the road leading to Chugwater. He couldn't stay any longer knowing that it was his job to be at the office in case some of the other folks in town got sick with the same flu that Grace did. Wintertime was definitely the worst of times to be catching them. He secretly hoped that there would not be too many patients to treat; especially when he was the one and only town doctor.
Her grateful smile faded when Pearl sighed sadly and decided to go back inside the den to break the disappointing news to Grace. And she thought it would be another exciting day. She kneeled down on one knee and stroked Grace's head slowly with a sad frown.
"I'm sorry Grace," she said softly. "But Dr. Smith says you can't come outside until the fever is gone. Otherwise you'll catch pneumonia. I know you were lookin' forward to the Christmas tree hunt, but you're way too sick to come along. It looks like only Maggie and Mrs. C will come with me today. Here, better take this medicine while we're out." Pouring the liquid onto a silver spoon, she brought it close to Grace's mouth. "Open wide now." Feeling too terrible to protest, Grace opened her mouth to allow Pearl to spoon in the medicine. Her eyes squinted at the unpleasant taste in her mouth, yet she still opened up to another spoon. The more she squinted, the more the pain built up in her burning head. "That should do. Try to rest now. We'll be back before dawn."
Grace rolled over with her back turned to Pearl. What could be worse to start the fun day only to have it delayed by morning fever? She thought sadly. Of course, she didn't mean to be rude to Pearl, yet Grace couldn't help feeling disappointed with not being able to go on the Christmas tree hunt. Not only that, but it felt as if Christmas might not feel so cheerful and merry after all. And she loved Christmas.
Noticing her form of movement, Pearl could only rub her gloved hand repeatedly on Grace behind the neck and shoulders. "I know you're feelin' disappointed right now," she whispered. "Don't take it so hard. Things like this just happen sometimes when you don't expect it. And I'm sorry it had to be today. But let me assure you that it won't be like this forever. Now get some rest." Then she got up and left the den. Grace kept her gaze directly on the wall while hearing the doors closed.
AN: This is my second HOTR Christmas story that I had in mind for many months now. I plan to put a few chapters up, even if it might be after Christmas. December can be a very busy month when you're trying to get everything ready by then, so that's why I haven't been able to upload this lately. But this story won't be as long as my other stories. Anyway, hope you all have a Merry Christmas this year.