His stomach churned as he stared at the fresh wound on her chest. He prized himself on his ability to deal with the wounded calmly and efficiently, but seeing the girl before him, helpless and weak he felt as if all he could do was stare in fear. He took a few steps towards her until he stood in front of her shuddering body.
He heard his name come from her lips and her eyes roll back in her head before he reached out to catch her as her knees buckled and she fainted dead away in his arms. He scooped her up and called her name softly before decided it was the blood loss that had rid her of consciousness.
He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where the nearest doctor's was and the only doctor he knew of in Paris was too far away to make it with Eponine in the state she was. He had no idea where her family lived so he couldn't take her back to give her to their care. He believed his best option of medical help was Joly but he was afraid Joly would cringe at the bacteria that clung to Eponine being spread about his home. It's not as if he would turn them away, he was too nice for that but he would certainly be terrified of the dirt that clung to her. Enjolras decided that she would have to rest in his apartment and he would have to rush and get Joly to treat her.
He straightened up. She was feather light. It was terrifying.
He moved as fast as he could without damaging the fragile body he held. In his panicked state he took a wrong turn and had to take the long way back to his home. The longer it took the more exasperated he became with himself and when he eventually reached the boarding house his apartment was in, because of the unconscious girl in his arms he could not open the door, he cried out in anger.
He had to gently place her down on the ground beside the door so he could open it. She did not stir. He then picked her back up and climbed the stairs to his third flaw apartment. She was then again placed beside the door so he could retrieve his key and open the door. It was only until after he had gently lowered her onto his bed did her eyes flutter open. He saw this and stopped her before she could say anything.
"Shh! It's ok. Don't try and speak. You fainted from the blood loss out of your wound so I took you back to my apartment."
She looked down at her chest and whimpered. "Shh...I've got to go get help. You've got to stay here and try to rest. You've lost a lot of blood. I'll only be ten minutes, I promise." She looked at him, nodded and promptly fainted again of exhaustion. He watched her for a moment with a pained expression on his face before setting off at a run for Joly's home.
...
When he arrived he loudly banged on the door to wake his sleepy friend. He waited and the door opened to reveal a tired Joly in his night clothes with a confused look on his face.
"My God Enjolras, what the hell are you doing here at this time of night?"
"Get your clothes on and come with me. It's Eponine, she's hurt. She's resting at my place."
Joly's eyes widened and Enjolras groaned in annoyance, "Hurry!" Joly nodded and rushed back into his apartment, re-emerging two minutes later fully dressed with his medical equipment in his hands. "Let's go" he shut the door behind him.
They set off at a run back to Enjolras' apartment. A thousand questions were whirling around Joly's head that he would think tactless to voice in their current situation; what had happened to Eponine? Why was she wondering around the streets in the middle of the night? How had Enjolras found her?
They arrived back in Enjolras' apartment to find her exactly how he had left her, unconscious and unmoved. The horror of the state of the girl caused Joly to inhale sharply. After a moment's hesitation he moved to the bed side and bent down to examine the wound. "It's bad. There is a long cut across her chest and it seems quite deep. She is losing a lot of blood. I need to staunch the flow and bandage the wound. I need water and cloth." Enjolras had to admire his calm demeanour when all it seemed he could do was panic.
After Enjolras had rushed to his kitchen to get the water and had ripped up one of his shirts as he had no other cloth, Joly began to meticulously clean the wound. "If the wound was made with an unclean instrument it has to be sterilised. Bring the brown bottle and bandages from my bag."
"What is that?" Enjolras said after he had passed the items, gesturing at the brown bottle.
"It's an alcoholic ointment that will clear the wound. You may want to step out for a while, Enjolras."
"Why?"
Joly sighed impatiently. "Well for starters I will be having to remove her bodice to get at the cut and I hope that you wish to preserve her modesty by vacating the vicinity, also the application of the ointment will be very painful for her and you may not wish to see her in that state."
"Oh, I understand. Just...call me if you need me, alright?" Joly nodded and turned to Eponine so Enjolras left the room to sit down on his chaise and rest his eyes; he had been up all night and exhaustion was creeping in.
He was settled down to rest went Eponine's screams roused him. Ear splitting screams that conveyed excruciating pain. Enjolras ran to the door to his room but stopped himself before entering. He remembered Joly's words- "the application of the ointment will be very painful for her...". The pain must have been so bad that it roused her from her weak state. Enjolras took two deep breaths before moving back to the chaise as he tried to block out the sounds of agony that came from behind the closed door.
He was sure she had woken his neighbours and was attempting to devise an explanation for the morning. What time was it? Maybe it was morning already and he hadn't slept at all and he doubted he would get any now. He thought that if he went out to buy food and supplies Joly might not have his aid if he needed it in his absence.
He sat down and put his head in his hands. This would be a long day.
I didn't want to be lazy and skip over the medical bit...so there you are. Reviews are craved.
Don't stay silent. Mistress Vantassel
