Notes:
He has been so many things already: King, pirate, policeman, thief, mechanic, alpha, werewolf, cat, vampire, chef, security guard, admiral etc. But one thing is still missing.
A doctor.
I'm nursing this idea for a while now and thanks to heatherpeters' help and advice this story came out.
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The blizzard was a severe one.
The snow that had begun during the night had steadily increased and weather forecasts warned of a storm that might bring a thirty-inch snowfall later in the afternoon.
School bus driver Elizabeth Keen had started this morning on her established route through winding suburbs and packed urban areas in Washington D.C. to pick up children and safely drop them off at the front door of designated schools. However, she reversed the morning routine and returned the children back to their homes.
She had three more stops before the final drop-off, but with the large, heavy flakes being driven against her windshield by the wind and with the street already buried under more than a foot of new snow, she would be fortunate to make the trip in under a half hour.
The snow was wet and clumping at the windshield wipers. She sighed and leaned forward over the steering wheel, struggling to see her way. Driving had become extremely difficult in the past hour.
She was unable to share the enthusiasm of the children when it came to the storm. Their keen chatter concerning sledding and snowball fights echoed through the bus and made her long for her warm bed even more.
She didn't feel well. Two mornings ago she'd awakened with a sore throat and headache, which had only become worse. Today, she was burning up with fever as well, and couldn't wait for the end of shift. Thank god it was Friday and she would have the weekend off.
By the time Elizabeth reached the bus yard and parked the bus in the garage, the snow had increased in intensity, and accumulating at a rapid rate. She zipped up her jacket and pulled her hood over her hair, shivering.
She quickly headed to the driver's office to return the bus keys.
She was greeted by her manager, Donald Ressler.
"I'm glad to see you made it back in one piece. Weather conditions stink, and it promises to get worse – a lot worse," he grumbled.
"All roads are in poor condition. People are advised to stay home, and extra snowplows were ordered by the mayor. You need to get home, quick, Liz."
"I will, thanks Don."
She handed him the keys and turned to leave.
He looked at her, concern filling his eyes.
"You look like shit, Keen. Are you alright?"
Elizabeth gave him an unhappy grin and nodded.
"I think I'm coming down with a stupid cold, maybe that's why."
"Better rest on the weekend then."
"Yeah, I will…. Bye Don."
"Bye Liz, hope you feel better soon."
She left the office and trudged through the deep snow to her car. Thank God she didn't live too far away. Her drive home should be a short one.
She started the engine and put the heater on full blast, but it didn't do any good. She still felt chilled to the bone. Her throat ached and when she swallowed, it felt like liquid fire going down.
Elizabeth groaned, gathering the last of her strength as she started her homeward journey.
Relieved to be off the roads, she finally entered her red-brick, two-story, semi-detached house.
She longed for a hot shower, so she went straight into the bathroom after hanging up her jacket, stripped off her bus uniform and turned on the jets.
She stood under the nozzle for a long time, until she felt dizzy from the heat and the overpowering fatigue in both mind and body.
After toweling dry, she managed to don clean panties and a shirt before curling up under a blanket on her soft sofa in the living room. Almost instantly, she fell into an exhausted sleep.
Two hours later Elizabeth woke up coughing. She was drenched in sweat, aching all over and felt shaky and weak. She was burning with fever and her head pounded from a raging headache.
She struggled to sit up in order to take full inventory of her current state. She shivered, suddenly cold, as she gingerly reached for the blanket to cover herself.
Her gaze fell on her half naked form and her breath caught in her throat.
She was shocked to discover raised red bumps covering her arms and legs. Slowly, the reason for her sickness began to dawn on her.
It wasn't a simple cold like she had hoped. There were several cases of chicken pox among the school kids in the past weeks and it had probably passed on to her.
She'd always thought she was vaccinated… apparently not.
What should she do now? The high fever had her worried.
Looking through the terrace doors into the garden and seeing the snow accumulation, she knew it was impossible for her to leave the house in order to seek medical attention, especially in her frail condition.
If anything, medical help needed to come to her.
She carefully rose from the couch to find her smartphone. Every step seemed an effort; she was feeling nauseated and very ill. The spots on her skin started itching and she just knew this was only the beginning of her suffering.
Elizabeth searched online and found a "Doctor's To You" service for the Washington area. They offered medical house calls: Physicians who make house calls for patients with acute illnesses.
She dialed their number and was connected to an assistant at the main office.
"May I help you?" a friendly voice asked.
"Yes, I need medical assistance," Liz croaked.
"What seems to be the problem, Ma'am?"
"I think I have the chicken pox."
There was a pause, then the voice asked: "What are your symptoms please?"
Liz took a breath.
"I have the chills, high fever, a sore throat, I'm coughing, and I have many itching marks on my arms and legs."
"Have you recently been exposed to the chickenpox virus?"
"Yes, I'm a school bus driver and some of the children had it."
"What is your name, age and address please?"
"My name is Elizabeth Keen and I'm 35. The address is 8123, 12th street", she answered, giving the requested information.
"Hold on please, Miss Keen."
Liz held on for several moments. She was placed into the waiting line and listened to some random music.
"Miss Keen? Are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm here."
"Due to the weather none of our doctors can reach you at this time."
"I was afraid you would say that," Liz stated miserably.
"Not to worry, Miss Keen. As luck will have it, one of our physicians happens to be in your neighborhood on a house call right now. I will contact Dr. Reddington and send him to your home to have a look at you. He should still be able to get to you."
"That would be great."
Liz was immensely relieved that help was on the way.
"Thank you so much."
"Please have your credit card and health insurance available. Dr. Reddington will write down the information."
"Ok."
"I hope you get better soon, Miss Keen."
"Thank you."
Liz hung up and carefully settled back on the sofa.
The black Mercedes sedan dozed through the drabness of winter, ploughed through the snow and slush on the arctic roads. The snow storm hit full force by now and it was almost impossible to drive.
Vision was severely diminished by the swirling whiteness, and the howling of the wind suppressed everything else.
Dr. Raymond Reddington sighed. He was an experienced driver and his noble car spoiled him with a certain amount of security, but he knew he'd never make it home, that much was clear.
With any luck he'd make it to his next patient, located only two blocks away: A woman with chickenpox. While common among children, the disease was more serious in adults. He sincerely hoped she wasn't pregnant.
He took a final left turn, lost in thought, when a gust of wind blew his car practically across the street. He turned the wheel, driving into the skid, but the vehicle kept skidding sideways, then came to a grinding halt, half buried in a snowdrift.
Raymond sat unmoving for a moment to gather his bearings, then he rubbed his right knee, which had been jammed against the console at impact. It hurt but he assumed it was just bruised.
The Mercedes however had no such luck. The right headlight was smashed, and the front fender was dented. He wondered if his insurance would take care of it.
He put the vehicle in reverse, then listened to the tires spin; he couldn't get free.
Resigned, he switched off the ignition and clumsily climbed out of the car on the passenger seat as his door was stuck in the snow as well.
Opening the backseat door, he retrieved his black doctor's bag, then locked the car and slowly made his way through the snow to Miss Keen's house.
When the doorbell rang, it took her a while to answer. She managed to open the door, then felt her world spin as her knees buckled. She closed her eyes and nearly collapsed in a heap.
Dr. Reddington rushed forward and caught her, his strong arms wrapping around her before she hit the ground.
TBC