Chapter 4
Colleen felt everyone get to their feet expectantly, before she'd even looked up. Closing the door softly, she turned, looking awkwardly between Jake and Matthew.
"We managed to stop the bleeding, they're just getting her changed and then we'll move her upstairs." She waited, time suddenly moving very slowly.
"Can I see her, please," Brian rushed up to Colleen trying to get past her.
"In a little while, Brian. What do you say we go find some gum drops for you?" Loren took the boy's hand, trying to pull him away.
"No! Please, let me stay. Please," he begged, squirming from Mr. Bray's grasp.
"So, what do we do now?" Matthew finally broke the silence, looking around at the solemn faces.
"I don't know. Wait, I suppose," the Reverend replied, idly running his fingers along the gold trimmed pages of the bible he carried in his right hand.
"Anyone fancy a drink while they're waiting," Hank had joined the group quietly, no-one aware of his presence until they heard his husky voice.
"You were told to leave us, Hank." Loren groused, gesturing with a wave of his arm for him to depart.
"Fine, if that's the way you feel about it. Ain't gonna stay where I'm not wanted. 'Sides more fun and games in the meadow, Custer's getting ready to finish off those injuns." Hank chuckled, seemingly surprised when he received everyone's immediate attention.
"What? You mean… Come on!" Jake ordered, heading quickly for the meadow, leaving Matthew, Colleen and Brian huddled together by the bench.
"You mean after everything that's happened he's still gonna go through with the hangings?" Colleen asked, her voice rich with utter disbelief.
"Looks like it. Come on, our place is inside," Matthew muttered, heading for the door, knocking lightly. Dorothy admitted them quickly, Brian racing immediately to Michaela's side.
"Ma?" he tugged on her arm lightly, disappointed when he didn't get a response.
"Brian, she's sleeping at the moment, just hold her hand, all right?" Grace stroked the top of the boy's head softly. Brian did as he was instructed.
"Matthew, can you carry her upstairs, we thought we might as well put her in a recovery room until Dr Cassidy gets here." Dorothy requested, sympathetic to how traumatic this must be for the children.
"Well, sure, but is it all right to move her?" He muttered, fidgeting with his hands in front of him nervously.
"We can't leave her down here for two days, besides the bleeding seems to have subsided. Just move her gently." Dorothy rested her hand supportively on his back, as Matthew drew a breath and went to Michaela's side, lifting her featherweight form from the table, crossing the room to the other door, as Brian retained his grasp on her hand.
X.O.X
Making their way rapidly down the main street towards the meadow, Jake and the other men watched as General Custer and his soldiers led four Indians up the stairs towards the gallows.
"Wait! This isn't necessary!" Jake yelled, quickly arriving at the General's side.
"Mind your own business, this is not your concern!" Custer brushed him off, pacing in front of the gallows, nodding with approval as the Indians were lined up over the trap doors.
"General, there really isn't any need for this, Dr Mike's been returned, we found her this morning. She's in the Clinic right now," the Reverend tried his best to sway the General from the course of action he seemed hell-bent on taking.
"Reverend, as I previously mentioned to you, I appreciate your religious objections, however these savages don't share them. Now, please leave me to get on with the task I'm here for." Custer did not seem to hear Timothy's words.
"But, you said if Dr Mike was returned, you'd call off the executions." Jake reminded him, not convinced he'd keep to his word. Custer paused, as if slowly stringing each of Jake's words together to form meaning.
"You found her?" He cleared his throat, almost not believing them.
"Yes. Early this morning. She's in the Clinic." Jake reiterated the Reverend's words.
"I see. You won't mind if I verify this for myself, I trust?" He smirked, crossing the meadow, the small group of men trailing behind him.
"Well, no, of course not," Jake finished, pausing to gather the men around him.
"Keep your mouths shut, right? He knows what really happened, and we've got a town full of dead women and children." Jake hissed, receiving silent agreement from the group, who quickly increased their pace to catch up with Custer.
X.O.X
"She's unconscious!" Custer bellowed, entering the upstairs recovery room looking between Michaela's body and the group of townspeople.
"Well, yes, but I assure you, she's perfectly fine. She was awake earlier weren't she, Dorothy. Dorothy?" Jake prodded, nudging the stunned woman slightly, communicating everything he needed to with a stern glare.
"Oh, oh, yes. Um, it seems she sustained a blow to the head. We've wired for the nearest doctor from Denver, but everything's under control." Dorothy glanced back at the General her facial expression never revealing the façade.
"Well, it appears you've no use for us after all." Custer retorted.
The few minutes that followed were tension-filled, as the General carefully eyeballed each person in the small room, before turning and swiftly exiting with an audible huff.
"Oh, thank God that worked! I thought for a minute he weren't going to believe," Jake trailed off, noticing Michaela's head move slightly.
"Ma!" Brian squealed, clutching her arm tighter, overjoyed. Nobody moved a muscle, all eyes oscillated between Brian and Michaela, the room deathly silent. Brian's was the only voice that could be heard, his determination eventually paying off.
"Ma, wake up, it's me, Brian. Please wake up!" He shook her arm, smiling when she eventually opened her eyes. The eight adults standing held their breath, not knowing where to look, fortunately once again, Brian handled the awkward moment.
"Hey Ma, it's me. Miss Dorothy and Miss Grace fixed you up, Colleen helped too. Everyone wants to make sure you're all right, I was real worried, but Matthew promised you'd be all right." He did not notice her disconcerted gaze at the sea of faces around her.
"I think we should leave," Robert E. murmured, the entire room seeming to jump at the sound of his voice. After most of the men cleared their throats in uneasiness, Loren, being closest to the door, left, everyone following until only Brian and Dorothy remained.
"Brian… come on, your ma needs her rest," Dorothy attempted to usher the boy from the room, but he wasn't moving, merely leaning in closer, carefully inspecting the various cuts and bruises on Michaela's face.
"Does your face hurt, Ma? I remember when I fell outa the tree and hurt my head. That was really bad," he trailed off, as she moved her head again.
"Brian," Michaela whispered her voice low but clear.
"Yeah, Ma, it's me," he beamed, crawling onto the edge of the bed.
"I," Michaela couldn't get the words out, feeling tears once again fall from her eyes, as she tenderly stroked the boy's fine, blond hair.
"Ma, why you crying? You can come home with us now," Brian looked bewilderedly between Michaela and Dorothy.
"I, I'm just happy to see you," Michaela whispered, not expecting the young boy to engulf her in a tight hug.
"I sure missed ya, Ma," Brian wrapped his arms around her waist snugly, not spotting the look of anguish cross her face.
"Brian, no!" Dorothy called, reaching forward and pulling the young boy back, startling him.
"But I was just," he looked mortified, noticing Michaela's eyes fall closed once again. Dorothy heaved him off the bed.
"It's all right, just wait outside for a moment, dear." She led him to the door, closing it quickly behind him.
"Michaela, I'm sorry, are you all right?" Dorothy reached for her hand, dismayed when the woman did not respond.
"Michaela?" She tried once again, however to no avail. Sighing, Dorothy left the room, finding Brian halfway down the corridor slumped on the floor against the wall.
"I'm sorry," he sobbed, his voice choked up.
"Oh, it's not your fault, Brian. You weren't to know not to hug her. It's just, well her stomach's sore at the moment, and I was just a little worried you'd hurt her." Dorothy helped the child to his feet, pulling a handkerchief from her sleeve, wiping his tear-stained face.
"I, didn't know." He stopped crying, his jaw trembling slightly. Dorothy thought it wise to change the subject for awhile.
"I'm sorry everyone seemed to forget about your birthday, Brian," she consoled.
"That's ok. I got everything I wanted," Brian smiled.
"You did?" Dorothy asked, forcing a smile.
"Yeah. I got my Ma back," he replied without missing a beat. She bent down to the little boy, engulfing him in a hug.
"You are a very thoughtful, unselfish boy, Brian. Your Ma's lucky to have a son like you." Dorothy squeezed his arm affectionately, noticing him look towards the recovery room.
"Miss Dorothy, is she gonna get better?" Brian whispered, staring down at the floor.
"I hope so, Brian. We just gotta pray that Dr Cassidy gets here as soon as he can." Dorothy sighed, tidying up the boy's misplaced hair.
"So he can make her stop bleeding?" Brian continued.
"That's right." Dorothy paused, knowing that Michaela's physical ordeal was only going to play a small part in her complete recovery.
"Miss Dorothy, why can't Colleen fix her? Or Jake, he used to fix everyone before Ma came." Brian frowned.
"Because she needs a proper doctor, Brian. She has to have an operation to stop the bleeding." Dorothy felt awkward discussing this with the young boy, just talking about it made her remember all the blood she'd seen.
"Miss Dorothy, what did Jake mean before? What's violetted?" Brian reached into his pocket and found some taffy, popping it into his mouth as he waited for a response.
"You mean violated, Brian?" She cleared her throat awkwardly, hoping that someone would come into the corridor and distract them.
"Yeah, what Jake said happened to Ma. Is that why she had all the blood on her hands?" He questioned, finishing off his piece of candy.
"Well, ah, Brian," she hesitated, knowing that given the circumstances, this was something he was only going to hear more about over the upcoming weeks.
"Brian, did your ma tell you ah, about the birds and the bees?" Dorothy waited, kneeling down in front of the young boy.
"No, but I know where babies come from. What's that got to do with Ma?" He queried.
"Well, ah, tell me what you know." Dorothy ran her hand through her hair, wishing she didn't have to have this conversation. Brian looked away, scuffing his feet on the ground.
"Ermm, I don't wanna, it's, it's embarrassin'." He refused to look to her.
"No, it's all right, you can talk about it with me." Dorothy smiled, nodding affirmatively.
"Well, it's like with animals. When the ma and pa get married, they sleep in the same bed and they hug and kiss, and well, you know; the pa puts the baby into the ma, " Brian trailed off looking thoroughly uncomfortable, however managing to convince Dorothy that he understood.
"Well, now Brian, sometimes men do that with a woman when they're not married." She held his hands tightly, watching him take in her words.
"You mean like Hank's girls at the Saloon? The entertainin'?" Brian quickly replied, interested, however still not sure what this had to do with his Ma.
"Exactly. And well, sometimes, sometimes bad things can happen to women, Brian. Sometimes men do that to a woman when she doesn't want to. That's called rape, Brian. And when a woman's been raped, people say she's been violated." Dorothy's voice lowered, trying to come to terms with what her best friend must have endured.
Brian remained silent, digging his hands into his pockets, looking between the floor and Dorothy.
"Oh." Brian looked suitably concerned, although was not able to come close to fully understanding the emotional significance of Dorothy's words. She reached out to embrace the young boy tightly.
"It'll be all right, Brian. Dr Cassidy will get here and he'll make her better. And then, we just all gotta be there for her, to help her get through what happened." Dorothy felt the tears well up in her eyes, as she tightened her grip around the boy.
"What do you say we go sit with your ma for awhile, Brian?" Dorothy smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Brian nodded firmly, taking her hand.
They stepped into the room where Michaela lay sleeping. Brian carefully approached the bed, and brushed the hair back off his mother's face, very careful not to actually touch the bed again.
"It'll be all right, Ma, you'll see," Brian spoke softly to her, beginning to hum several bars of his favorite lullaby.