The next few days were busy as Ted and Sabrina set up his office. Paul and Marian helped as much as they could, but the waiting room stayed full, and they saw that Paul had been right when he said there was too much work for one doctor. Ted began seeing patients his first afternoon as Paul's partner, and soon proved to be very popular with the children. Part of his prescriptions were always "more play and fewer chores," something his youngest patients were happy to hear.
On Sunday the Bannings attended church with the Martins, and were welcomed from the pulpit. It was a different experience for them, but, since they recognized several members of the congregation from office visits paid earlier in the week, Ted didn't mind much. The minister, Dave Clayton, was calm and down to earth.
As they were leaving after the service, Joe Cartwright approached them with a large young man. "Dr. Banning, I'd like you to meet my brother, Hoss - well, his name is Eric, but everybody calls him Hoss. Hoss, this is Dr. Banning. He helped Dr. Martin with Shorty." Tears suddenly filled the boy's eyes, and Hoss placed a comforting hand on his younger brother's shoulder while reaching out to shake hands with Ted. "Welcome to Virginia City, Doc, ma'am. I appreciate you and Paul trying to help that day."
Ted shook hands with the young man and muttered some pleasantry. He considered death an adversary and hated losing to it.
After dinner Paul took Marian and Sabrina for a drive while Ted decided to finish setting up his office. He hung his diploma on the wall and stood back, looking at it. He heard someone open his office door and call out, "Doc? Doc! Help!" He hurried to the waiting room to find a young woman standing in the middle of the room. "Doc, we need help over at the Silver Dollar now!"
Thinking someone had been shot, Banning grabbed his bag and followed the girl back over to the saloon. Instead of going through the batwing doors, she led him into an alley and up steep stairs into the building. They entered a dark room, and Ted smelled blood - and something else. He spoke into the darkness. "I need light. Open the curtains and light some lamps now." He heard movement and blinked as the room was flooded with sunlight.
A young girl lay in a bed in the middle of the room. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and moaned. Banning sat down next to her, and spoke reassuringly. "It's going to be all right." He stood up and pulled the covers back. The girl lay in a pool of blood and her nightgown was sticking to her. He looked around the room to see a small man and several women. One woman held something sharp and long and dripping - what was it? He stared at it and realized it was a knitting needle, a bloody knitting needle. Oh, dear God, he thought, the child was in trouble and this ignorant cow had - he shut off his thoughts and said, "Bring me hot water and lots of it - now!" He took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, opened his bag, and went to work. It seemed to take hours to clean the child's wounds and stitch her up. When he finished, he stood up and washed his hands. "Put a clean gown on her and put her in a clean bed."
He looked down at the child again and anger nearly choked off his next words. "Who is responsible for this girl?"
The women didn't answer him, but the man stepped up pulled out his wallet and said, "I am. How much do I owe you?"
Ted didn't answer him for a minute. He continued to stare down at the girl, and asked, "How old is she?"
The man pulled out a fistful of bills and shoved them in Ted's direction. "Thirteen - I bought her off her daddy last year. How soon can she go back to work?"
Ted ignored the money and hit the man on the chin, knocking him completely off his feet. He wrapped his coat around the girl, picked up his bag, lifted her in his arms, and carried her out of the room. As they went down the stairs, Ted realized he was taking in deep gulps of air, trying to rid himself of the stench of the abortionist's room. As he walked across the street, he realized that someone was walking along beside him. Ted glanced and saw the badge. Was he in trouble with the law? Well, he thought, it wouldn't be the first time - at least now he had his degree and a license to practice medicine.
"Say, mister, where are you taking the girl?" the lawman asked.
"To my clinic where she'll be cared for properly." He opened the door of the office and walked through the recovery room. "Sabrina!" he shouted. There was no response. Ted put the girl down on the bed and looked around. "Don't be afraid," he patted her hand.
The lawman had followed him in. "Doc, if you need a woman to tend her, I can get my wife."
Ted turned and looked at him for the first time. He was a little shorter than Ted, barrel - chested with a handle-bar moustache. His face was ruddy, and his eyes were kind.
"That would be a help - thank you."
The man left and was back in less than five minutes with a small blonde woman. Ted had rummaged through a chest and found a clean nightgown. He handed it to the woman and left the room as soon as he heard her speak kindly to the girl.
The lawman was in the waiting room and Ted joined him there. He rolled a cigarette, and lit it. "I'm Sheriff Roy Coffee. You must be Dr. Banning, Paul's new partner."
Ted nodded. The anger that had flooded his body was leaving him now, and he realized his hands were shaking. The Sheriff was still talking. "We're real glad you decided to come to Virginia City, Doc. Paul's been pushed pretty hard the last couple of years to take care of everybody. I think you'll like the town. It's a pretty nice place."
Ted stared at him unbelieving. "A nice place? What kind of town allows its children to work in brothels?"
There was a noise outside and the door pushed open. A huge man stood in the doorway. Ted faced him, and saw the small man he'd hit push his way around the larger man. "That's him, Ape - that's the man who hit me and took Melissa away. God knows where she is now and what he's done to her."
Sheriff Coffee stepped between Ted and the man called Ape, his hand on the butt of his gun. "Hold on there, Ape. This is Dr. Banning, and he saved Melissa's life. He's brought her here to recover. My wife is back with her now."
Ape stared down at the Sheriff, looked Ted over, and then backed away. The small man pulled on his arm. "Don't listen to Coffee, Ape. He's-" Ape pushed him down and walked away. The pimp sat in the dirt and then stood up. He faced Ted, and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Sheriff Coffee said, "I understand that you worked a little girl in your place, Dan. People here don't take kindly to your putting a child there. You better shut up and move along."
Dan didn't say another word. He turned and walked back across the street to his whorehouse.
The Sheriff's wife came out from the back with the soiled gown. She smiled when she saw Ted. "I'm Mary Coffee, Roy's wife. I'll just get rid of this, and then I'll go back and sit with the child. I'm sorry you're getting such a welcome, but we're glad to have you here, Dr. Banning."