Good old fashioned trauma surgery or The Incident with Danny Whiz Bang
As the weather cooled and Christmas approached, all the pubs filled steadily in the evening as men searched for warmth and comfort with good alcohol and company. Houses remained shuttered against the cold and firewood could be found on every corner. Grocers started selling spiced goods promising to ward against the cold. Etiene saw a sudden spike in her cliental as influenza and other infections took hold.
"Give your daughter this draught," Etiene handed over a tiny glass vial with a stopper to the young woman sitting across from her. The tiny girl was curled up in her arms, hardly two years of age and had a hacking, dry cough, "Just one drop, morning and night with warm milk."
This girl was about the tenth patient that day who had similar complaints, "Make sure to keep her away from the other children until she's completely well."
"Yes ma'am," the woman nodded gratefully, not in the least because she was looking forward to a good night's rest for her girl and for herself. The woman opened her purse and dropped a few shillings on the table, "I also baked you a fresh loaf of bread."
"Much appreciated," Etiene smiled at her and gladly accepted the loaf wrapped in paper. She saw her patients out, "Happy holidays." The waved back at her as they left. With her waiting room empty and a feeling of satisfaction about her, Etiene locked her door and went about her evening.
The Garrison was lively with factory workers, miners, and office boys of all sort gathered inside. Drinks were being poured at great pace and there was a thick plume of cigarette smoke hanging about. All things were as they should have been; Freddie Thorne and his communists had one table at one end of the garrison whilst the Shelby brothers sat in the snug not disturbing anyone else. It was then they heard an unmistakable shout.
"They're coming!" Danny Whiz Bang. They had all heard him screaming nonsense about Germans. It happened with enough frequency that the regulars at the pub had a routine. It essentially boiled down to staying the hell away while his old war mates got him under control.
"Fucking hell, Danny." Thomas whispered to himself already on his feet. He walked outside just in time to see a frightened copper cornered by an enraged Danny.
"You're not gonna get ME!" Danny hollered like a madman and wend charging the copper who in his panic discharged his weapon.
"Don't shoot!" the order left Thomas's mouth to late and the pellet landed squarely at Danny who fell back with the force. The next few minutes were a lot of shouting as Arthur and John ran at the copper who fled frightened like a mouse while Thomas fell to his knees beside Danny.
"Don't let'em get me!" he kept repeating as a handkerchief was pushed at his injury. The bullet hit him in the thigh, "Don't let them, Tommy. Tommy, help!"
"Inside!" Thomas yelled grabbing Danny's shoulders, "John, Arthur. Now!"
There was a bit more scurrying as Danny was yanked inside. They managed they get his trousers off and grabbed a pair of tongs from a rudimentary first aid kit the barman kept in the back for such emergencies. After pouring a liberal amount of whiskey on the instrument and Danny's leg, they began. It took both Arthur and John practically sitting on top of him to keep him still enough for Thomas to dig around for the bullet. Writhing in pain, Danny stopped screaming about German's but instead yowled like a wounded animal.
"That's a lot of blood, Tommy," John remarked worriedly, holding down Danny's legs. He'd seen a fair few bullet wounds during the war and sometimes, getting the bullet out was impossible. He'd seen good men die from the sheer blood loss of it. Tommy seemed to agree because he dropped the tongs and instead tried to stop the bleeding with a bit of gauze and a lot of pressure.
"John, go wake the good doctor," Tommy ordered over Danny's renewed screams. John nodded after a moment's hesitation, "We're coming right behind you."
Rushing out the door, John was at the office in a few minutes. Of course, for once it was locked. After banging at the door and screaming, he finally heard footsteps, "I'm coming!" Etiene got to the door, "Who is it?" She was not about to just open the door until she verified who was hammering on it.
"Open this door by order of the Peaky Blinders." The command came hotly from across the wood of the door. John was standing out of breath on the other side with blood on his hands and clothes, "Danny's been shot, the bullet is lodged in his thigh. Tommy's bringin' 'im"
Quickly, Doctor Schofield sprang into action, grabbing tools, gauze, antiseptic and the like while John stood in the doorway looking quite lost. Etiene spared him a single glance, "Get out of the doorway." She snapped at him quickly before continuing her work and to her slight surprise he obeyed and stood awkwardly in a corner.
"Where should we put him?" Arthur demanded entering first. She had been able to here their approach, Danny was yelling in pain about Germans.
"Here." Etiene indicated to the metal table she had set out, "Take these and secure his arms and legs."
The men looked at the restraint's in Etiene's hands confused, "Now boys!"
Arthur and Thomas moved first and begrudgingly began tying Danny's arms down only worsening his panicked state.
"No stop!" Danny cried and cried thinking the German's had got him, "Stop it!"
Etiene took a piece of gauze and soaked it in chloroform whilst Danny was being secured. She whispered a quick apology and placed a cloth over this mouth and nose. At first, he struggled harder and screamed until he finally stilled, unconscious. Sighs of relief were exchanged at the quiet. Taking a second, Etiene surveyed her patient's wound. It was deep and oozing blood.
"Has someone been digging for treasure?" she looked at the gouges around the wound that had caused significant damage. Of course the old war boys considered themselves makeshift trauma surgeons.
"Did us fine in the tunnels," John murmured a little guiltily. Etiene didn't spare a glance, but instead picked up her scalpel. There was silence for a few minutes while she worked. Every time she glanced up at the Shelby brothers, she noticed something peculiar.
"Would you mind not staring like you're about to jump me." Etiene stopped mid cut and raised a stern eyebrow at the three of them. They were all watching her every move apprehensively, flinching whenever so touched him. It was unsettling.
"Go home," Thomas at least had some sense and shooed the other men away. They looked hesitant to leave. It was plain they did not trust her so Thomas added loudly for good measure, "The good doctor will do her work or suffer the Peaky Blinders."
Etiene's hand hesitated for a second at the threat on her life.
It took nearly an hour to safely remove the bullet, which lodged itself against Danny's femur. After which the damage done by both the bullet and the boys' rudimentary attempt at trauma surgery had to be repaired. Thomas had, at some point, seated himself and had also retrieved a bottle from her cupboard.
"I see you found whiskey," Etiene murmured absently at one point. He was drinking straight from the bottle; it seemed tonight's adventure had brought certain things closer to the surface than he liked.
Thomas toasted her gloomily and proceeded to light a cigarette, "For king and country."
Shaking her head, Etiene carried out with her ministrations. While he drank, Thomas watched her carefully. Whilst Etiene's clothing was fashionable enough, he noted that her hair was much longer than modern style dictated. There was also a certain amount of inelegance about her. She was surefooted, but not delicate like a dancer. She was dedicated however, every movement was precise and meaningful. It was soothing to watch.
Or perhaps it was whiskey. It was difficult to tell.
Sunlight filtered through the plumes of smoke Thomas created by the time the work was done.
"He'll need to stay here a few days," Etiene explained putting on a large pot of water.
"Are you making tea?" Thomas asked her accusatorially, watching her action like a hawk.
She sighed a tired, annoyed sigh and answered curtly, "No." she seemed to be doing her best not to call him an idiot. Admittedly, he could understand a little if her patience was wearing thin, "I need to clean him." 'you moron' was left unsaid. While she washed away the blood that covered Danny, Thomas felt a strange tiredness wash over him. He couldn't think of anything clever to say.
"Thank you." It was so quiet, she almost didn't heart Thomas say it. He was standing close to her, and judging by the smooth watery look in his glass eyes, Thomas was sincere.
"What happened to him?" Now that the shouting and the bleeding was over, Etiene was looking for an explanation, "He was screaming about Germans when you brought him in here."
Thomas almost shuddered remembering the tunnels and the dirt and the rot. He could almost hear the shovels against the wall. Thomas could hear his comrades dying. He shook his head, trying to shake the memory of the long darkness that underneath France.
"In his head, Danny is still in France sometimes." It was the only explanation he could give. Sometimes he heard it in his own head too.
Etiene didn't speak for a moment, thinking of her own experiences, "I suppose none of us came back in piece." Her voice was wistful.
They sat in silence for a few moments, watching Danny breathing and hoping he was having a peaceful slumber. Both of them were trying to shake memories they wished they hadn't remembered. Thomas was reckoning the pipe hidden underneath his pillow would be of use soon. With a glance at Etiene, he wondered how she coped with it.
"Is my life still on the line?" Etiene threw him a half-amused look, decidedly changing the subject. Thomas's threat from earlier was something she had forgotten.
"Had to make sure you were properly motivated," Thomas merely stated it as a matter of fact, his eyes watching Danny's chest rise and fall as he breathed. It was plain from his words that he wasn't kidding. Threats of violence were just a business practice in his world.
"Excuse me?"
"Self-preservation motivates better than principles," Thomas replied with a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face. He did not realize, that while his business partner were used to his callousnesses, Etiene was not.
She felt a surge of annoyance, "I took an oath to do no harm, Thomas." She glared at him hotly. It was enough that they mocked her for gender and profession, enough that they patronized her, but to insinuate that she was anything less than devoted to her patients was the ultimate insult. She stood up suddenly, "I've been dealing with you Shelbys' and your shit for weeks, fucking Peaky Blinders!"
Thomas stood up surprised by her outburst and said dangerously, "Etiene, calm-"
"I do my best absolute best with all my patients, regardless of who they are, Mr. Shelby and as you are not one of them, I must ask you to leave." All trace of the friendly truce they had somehow achieved moments earlier was gone.
Thomas glanced at her once, her cheeks were red and her chocolate eyes bored holes into his very soul. He could guess by her anger that he had crossed a line. Thomas realized that perhaps he had been unkind and rude. She was not a 'business partner' or an enemy. Truly Etiene had done a wonderful job with Danny and so Thomas obliged her and put up no further argument, but before he left, he did offer one final comment:
"You shouldn't tie your hair like that, it makes you look like a pinched up governess."
He smirked as the door was slammed angrily shut in his face and it was only when he was nearly three blocks away that Thomas realized she had called him by his name for the first time.
The next morning, John and Thomas were at her door well past ten. John as about to knock but Thomas shook his head and instead tried turning the door knob. As he expected, the door opened invitingly for them.
"Is she daft?" John walked over the threshold tutting as he went about her irresponsibility. Thomas repressed a sigh, as John was a constant perpetrator of the same crime.
"Dr. Schofield?" Thomas called from the foyer, deciding against intruding further into her home. Footsteps clanked overhead she came bustling down stairs carrying a bag of supplies. A few of hours sleep and a bath seemed to have put her in a better mood than last night as evidenced by the fact that Etiene didn't immediately tear Thomas's head off.
"I see you let yourselves in," she shot, narrowing her eyes.
"You left the bloody door unlocked," John retorted defensively.
Sensing an argument about to break out, Thomas took over, "Where is Danny?" Their injured countryman was no longer in the make shift operating room they had left him in.
"I moved him to the side room when he woke up this morning," Etiene explained leading them down a narrow hallway past the kitchen. The room was probably meant to be used as servant's quarters, but was well furnished with a bed, a basin and a small closet. Danny was lying in the bed with leg elevated on several pillows.
"Oh Mr. Shelby, I'm so sorry," Danny made motions to move and Etiene quickly held him still.
"It's alright, Danny," Thomas soothed settling on the tiny settee that was beside the bed, "How're ye feelin'?"
"Not so rough," Danny replied, wincing a bit as Etiene prodded his bandages, checking to make sure her stitches were holding. He glanced at her uncertainly, apparently already acquainted with her ways, "Dr. Schofield has been kind." With a motherly smiled, Etiene left the room.
"Is there anything you need?" John asked eagerly, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Is she hurting you? Is she feeding you?"
"Like I said, the doctor's been good to me, but some food might do." Danny nodded and then in a lower tone, almost looking ashamed, "She's a 'orrible cook." He looked upset at being ungrateful, but then he remembered the stew she fed him this morning and shuddered.
"Really?" Thomas raised an inquisitive eyebrow and nodded at John, leaving them alone in the room, he headed back down the narrow hall and made his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a spoon, he approached the pot that sat innocently on the counter
Delicately, Thomas took a quick bite and nearly gagged, "shite. Absolute shite." He muttered to himself.
AN: Thanks for all your reviews! Your encouragement is greatly appreciated. Its been a while since I've written so I hope I can keep improving. I think instead of having this be a story with cohesive plot, I might make sort of like snapshots, oneshots or two-three chapter stories about the life of this character and how she falls in love with Thomas Shelby. Let me know what you think! Have a nice week everyone.