All's Fare in Love and War
Chapter 2:
Day #1
Zatanna was up bright and early to check in on her patient. Dick was awake also and writing in that book again.
"Good morning, Private Grayson, how are you feeling today?" she asked, trying to be pleasant despite the fact he was very irritating.
"Îngrozitor," he said, begrudgingly "I mean... awful,"
Zatanna looked at him in a funny way for a second. Was that his native tongue? She had suspected he wasn't natively American but she didn't think he'd offhandedly switch languages. Zatanna had to watch what she said or she'd speak in Italian by mistake.
"O...kay," she said, looking at his chart "I'll just be checking your stitches and changing your bandages,"
"Whatever, I've been through it before," Dick said, a foreign accent slipping off the end of his sentence.
Zatanna pulled his blanket up to reveal his right leg was bandaged up with a slint in place to keep it still. She undid the leather streps to open up the splint and gently lifted his leg out. Dick hissed in pain and bit down on the spine of his book when Zatanna peeled off the bandages that were stuck on with blood.
"I'll have to wash this blood away to check your wounds. It may hurt a bit," she warned him as she took a wet cloth from a basin of water.
Dick hissed as she tried to wash away the blood as gently as possible. The black stitches were shabbily sawn but they seemed secure... for now. Zatanna did the standard tests to see if he was regaining any mobility but Dick didn't seem to be even trying to move his legs.
"Just give up, I'll be bedbound for the rest of my life," he said.
Zatanna saw the dark look in his eyes when he said that and stopped trying to provoke movement out of him. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him with concern after redoing his bandages. His face was stern with a rageful look but it was replaced with a gasp when Zatanna put her hand over his clenched fist. Dick couldn't help but notice how soft her hand was over his pale knuckles.
"Private Grayson, whatever's going on, don't lose hope. A part of a successful recovery is your will to get better. I don't want to give you false hope but it would help if you'd be at least open to the idea of getting better," she said.
A blush nearly crept onto his cheeks but Dick pulled his hand away and opened his book again. Zatanna sighed, turning away, but turned back to look at him and found herself catching the first caption on the page.
Dear Bruce, Selina, Jason, Tim, Helena and Alfred
Who were these people? His family? He didn't refer to any of them as "mother" or "father". Unknowingly, she read on.
Life at Stinson Manour is terrible. I can't even speak Romanian without criticism from my fellow soldiers. I just want to come home to Gotham but they won't let me.
"Ever heard of privacy, you nosey-parker?"
Zatanna looked up and blushed at the realization she'd been reading a private letter home. With a blush still evident on her face, she got to her feet (muttering apologies) and left the room. Dick leaned back against the propped up pillow and looked back at the pages of unsent letters to his family back in America. He wanted to contact them but he didn't trust a single soul in the place to post it for him.
Zatanna couldn't believe she just did that! Reading an injured soldier's letter home? What was she thinking?! She wasn't thinking, that was the problem. Zatanna went outside and put her face in her hands. She took a seat on a bench by the kitchen door and took out of her apron her notebook. Needing to get her feelings out, Zatanna took out her mechanical pencil and began to write in her native language.
Caro Padre,
Il mio primo giorno non sta andando molto bene. Il mio paziente è un privato riprendendo da un intervento chirurgico per rimuovere le schegge di bomba gamba ed inferiore della colonna vertebrale. Egli sembra aver rinunciato a recuperare la sua mobilità e è sconvolgente vedere qualcuno in un tale stato. Ho voluto essere un infermiere per tanto tempo e so che mi aiuterà nel mio curriculum ma è difficile vedere che molta sofferenza. Ho davvero bisogno di sentire le tue parole incoraggiamento così scrivere tornare presto.
Con amore,
Zatanna
Zatanna closed her notebook up and curled up on the bench to sob. The war was hard on all but, being natively Italian and an American citizen, it was the worst.
As we all know, when you translate through Google Translate and then translate it back into English, it's usually not the same thing. So, here's Zatanna's letter in English as I originally wrote it:
Dear Father,
My first day hasn't been going very well. My patient is a private recovering from surgery to remove bomb shrapnel from his leg and lower spine. He seems to have given up on regaining his mobility and it's upsetting to see someone in such a state. I've wanted to be a nurse for so long and I know it'll help me on my resumé but it's hard to see that much suffering. I really need to hear your words of encouragement so write back soon.
With love,
Zatanna
