Rating: PG
Warnings: flashbacks to an incident that leaves a man blinded
A/N: This is my first published Laramie story - I know this show has a pretty small fan base, but it's a really quality show with well-developed characters, so I hope any Laramie fans out there enjoy this story! It's an idea I've been toying with for a bit, and I finally got enough to write a few bits, so if you like it, I'll keep working at it!
Chapter One
The explosion was white-hot; a blinding ball of fire.
"Blinding." Slim muttered the word harshly under his breath, clenching his jaw against the bitter taste it left on his tongue. Yet he couldn't think of another word to describe the bright, deadly flames that had burst from nothing... then disappeared almost as quickly, leaving nothing but charred rock and grass behind.
"Jess!" Slim was almost surprised to hear the word tear from his throat with such desperation. Never in his life had he sounded or felt as helpless as he did in that moment, watching his best friend disappear in a lethal flash of light.
It was painfully fitting that 'blinding' be the only word Slim could find to define the explosion. Reliving the awful incident in his mind yet again, Slim's own eyes began to burn as he remembered the flames subsiding, and seeing Jess on his knees, hands covering his face.
"Jess!" The second cry was even more heart-wrenching than the first, now that Slim could see his friend. The dark-haired man held one gloved and one bare hand against his face, muffling his cry of pain. "Are you alright? Talk to me!" Slim dropped to his knees in front of Jess, gripping his shoulders firmly. "Doggone it, say something!"
"Hurts," Jess choked out, curling up against the hot earth. "Hurts, Slim."
"Jess, you've gotta move your hands!" Slim lightly grasped his partner's wrists and tried to pry his hands away. "What hurts?"
"Everything," Jess groaned, teeth chattering against the pain as he weakly let his hands fall.
"Jess..." Slim's mouth fell open in shock at the sight of the shorter man's burned face. "Please, Jess, can you..." His voice cracked and he swallowed hard. "Can you open your eyes?"
Jess's eyes cracked open, then blinked shut again, accompanied by a hiss of pain. "Slim, I can't-"
"No! That was good, Jess! You can do it!" Slim gripped his shoulders and nodded encouragingly, though his partner's eyes were tightly closed. Relief flooded through him. Jess was okay.
Slim was inwardly kicking himself for assuming all was well. He had spoken too soon. He laughed once, a choked sort of sobbing laugh, at the terrible irony as the scene played out in his mind.
"No, Slim." Jess shook his head, cradling his burned hand with his gloved one. "Slim... I can't see."
Blinding.
Fiery, blazing, blinding-
With an anguished, animal roar, Slim launched himself from his chair, temper and patience drawn thin to their breaking point. The chair fell back, and through the red haze he saw, more than felt, his hands grip the table before him and throw it across the room, books scattering everywhere. His mouth moved, opening and closing furiously, but he was too angry to form coherent words.
His best friend was blind. He'd watched it happen. He'd been absolutely helpless.
"And I thought Jess was the one with the temper." The doctor's words were joking, but his tone was somber.
Slim whipped around, shoulders heaving, fists clenched tightly. "Doc... I'm sorry. How's Jess?"
The doctor nodded, offering Slim a consoling smile. "He's doing alright, Slim. I gave him a little something to put him under a while so I can examine him better. I need you to fill me in on the details of the incident, though."
"Sure." Slim nodded, righting his chair and taking a seat. "What do you need to know?"
"Well, what caused the explosion?"
"Nitro," replied the blond rancher, the word coming out more spitefully than he meant for. "We were transporting a load of nitroglycerin to an army camp just north of Laramie. The wagon got stuck in a rut, I unloaded the stuff as a precaution, and Jess pushed the wagon out of the ditch..." Slim rested his elbows on his knees, and his head firmly in his hands. "There was one little box left when the horses finally pulled out of the ditch. The wagon jolted, the box was bumped..." He trailed off for a moment, running a tired hand over his face. After a long pause, he continued, "The horses came loose of the wagon as soon as the wagon made it from the ditch. Faulty harness, I guess. The whole thing went up in smoke and flames, and it threw Jess back a good ways... when I finally caught sight of him again, he had his hands over his face like it hurt somethin' awful." A comforting hand was laid on Slim's shoulder, and he looked up gratefully. "How are his eyes, doc? Will he... I mean, is he..." The helplessness in his eyes conveyed his unspoken words.
Doc Hansen's face softened and he gave Slim's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He's doing fine. His face is pretty badly burned, and his left hand is also injured. Lucky he had the one glove on his gun hand, or I'd be seriously concerned about his ability to draw and handle a gun in the future."
"He can't handle a gun if he can't see," Slim reminded the doctor urgently.
"I'm getting to that, boy. Be patient." The silence was painful for Slim as he waited for the doctor's diagnosis. Finally, the old man took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Well, there's no way around it. For the present, I'm afraid Jess is blind."
"Blind," Slim echoed softly, suddenly feeling light-headed. He had known, deep down, as soon as his friend had spoken the words "I can't see" that it was true... but he'd held onto that little ray of hope, that little voice in his head that said Jess's blindness was short-lived, sort of a flash-burn. The few minutes after the incident seemed surreal, as Slim waited the maximum time possible for a flash-burn to wear off; by the time they pulled up in front of Doc Hansen's office, and Jess lifted the wet handkerchief that had been soothing and cooling his burned face, Slim's ray of hope was drawn thin.
"I know this is sudden, and Jess is very young to be dealing with an impairment of this nature, but-"
"Wait." As if suddenly registering the doctor's statement for the second time, Slim's eyes fixed on the older man solemnly. "You said 'for the present' Jess is blind. You mean this might not be permanent?"
"Now, don't go getting your hopes up, boy," the doctor warned, "but there's a definite possibility Jess's sight will return, in time."
"In time?" Slim's voice rose and he stood abruptly. "When? How long?"
"Patience! You can't rush things like this, or put a number of days or weeks on the recovery. If Jess's sight is to return, there are certain measures you must take-"
"Anything," Slim promised immediately. "Whatever it takes, doc."
"As I was saying," Doc Hansen continued, dismissing Slim's interruption, "You'll have to keep his eyes bandaged constantly, except for when cleaning his face, so no infection sets and makes the blindness permanent. He'll need plenty of rest. These next few weeks will be critical for him if he wants to see again, so don't let him go and do anything foolish. Keep him in bed for a while."
"It'd be easier to keep water in a leaky bucket than to keep Jess in bed, doc," Slim joked, allowing a small smile. "I'll do my best. Can I see him now?"
The older man held up a hand. "Soon. He's still out, but he should be coming around in about a half hour. I'll call you then, alright?"
Slim nodded, and the doctor returned to his patient. "Sure, doc," he called quietly to the closing door. "Sure."
Suddenly Slim was exhausted. The initial shock and rush of the whole incident was finally wearing off, and the blond man felt his eyes begin to close as he lay back in his chair.
Bright, white-hot flames engulfed the wagon, and thick, black smoke obscured his partner from Slim's view.
Blue eyes shot open, and Slim sat rigidly upright. No. He couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, there was an explosion. It was so real, he could feel the heat on his face, burning his cheeks.
He couldn't rest. Not now. As the scene played out in his mind again, Slim knew the vividness of the memory would never fade, not as long as he lived.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'd appreciate it greatly! I hope everyone enjoyed so far :)
