When Lucy and Rufus brought a drugged and injured Wyatt back home to the cabin, they did so with the understanding that it was most likely going to be a long road to recovery. They had no way of knowing exactly how serious his burns were given the limitations with which they were faced in the 18th century…and those limitations further prevented him from getting the care he so desperately needed. Still, even without knowing the full extent of his injuries, they had both received a pretty up close and personal view of his blistered side, and it was fairly clear, without the benefit of medical technology, that Wyatt's condition wasn't the most ideal.
And as it turned out, they were right.
Wyatt awoke the next morning groggy, sore…and understandably out of sorts. The laudanum had worked wonders for his pain the previous evening, but now in the light of morning, he was feeling the aftermath of his heroics and then some. Not only did his side throb and ache with a pain like he had never known, his head felt like it was about to split in two...making the sunlight currently pouring in through the window and Lucy's incessant humming, enemy number one. Cursing into the pillow he now had splayed over his face, he made it abundantly clear, albeit a bit muffled, exactly how he felt about his current situation.
Lucy who had, until that point, been humming and busily attempting to make a breakfast of porridge on the open hearth of the fire, quickly and loudly made her way over to him, knocking over a chair as she attempted to check on his condition, "Wyatt? How...how are you feeling?" she asked breathlessly, tugging at the covers.
"Just leave me alone' came the muffled response...but then, as if suddenly aware of his vulnerable situation, Wyatt sat up with a jerk, looking with some confusion at his bandaged side, before sneering and yanking at the strips of medicated cloth, "What the hell?" he gritted out, "You're not supposed to wrap a burn this tight…it needs to breathe. Now wonder it feel like my side is on fire." Cursing and hissing with pain as he continued to try to loosen his dressings, he continued ranting, "This is exactly why I shouldn't have had that laudanum last night…neither one of you knows a damn thing about first aid."
Affronted, Lucy bristled, "Well...look...I didn't...the doctor...you...you weren't making any complaints last night" she finally stammered out, but at Wyatt's incredulous gaze she amended, "okay…well, I guess that's not really fair…you were sort of out of it…but Wyatt, the doctor said..."
Ignoring her, Wyatt continued pulling at his bandages until he paused suddenly in disgust and pulled his hand away in confusion, "Why the hell am I so sticky?"
"That would be the honey." Lucy replied sheepishly as he breathed out another curse, "Honey is supposed to be really good for healing burns," she exclaimed defensively as pulled the book Mrs. Poe had gifted her out of her pocket. Opening it, she turned to a page she had marked, "Look, it says here that…" But Wyatt wasn't listening. He was hissing in pain as some of the bandages began to pull at his sensitive skin. "Don't…don't do that." Lucy admonished, grabbing a wash rag from the basin, "You're going to irritate your skin, Wyatt…"
"It's already irritated." he growled out, determined to take matters into his own hands…but it was no use, Lucy was already swabbing away at his side, gently pulling off the strips as she cleaned away the residue from the honey, sending shivers down his spine for more reasons than just the cold water.
Noticing how he tensed every time she touched him, Lucy narrowed her eyes at him in concern, "You're not going to start flailing again, are you?" she asked warily.
"That depends," Wyatt scoffed, "you're not going to douse me with vinegar again, are you?"
Shaking her head, Lucy sighed, "I was just following the doctor's orders, Wyatt " but at his derisive laugh, she conceded, "I know, I know…18th century medicine is more or less a…."
"A crock?" Wyatt grunted as she hit a particularly sensitive spot on his torso.
Lucy stilled for a moment, allowing him to breathe through the pain, before continuing with a sigh, "You know, vinegar actually is a good cleansing agent…"
"Yeah?" Wyatt replied sarcastically, "so is soap."
Ignoring him, Lucy continued, "…for this day and age it was a go-to to help prevent the spread of disease. Do you know that Abigail Adams scrubbed her entire house with vinegar when smallpox broke out during the early days of the Revolutionary War?"
Gritting his teeth as she continued to work the sponge over his inflamed and tender side, Wyatt gasped out, "Fascinating." Though Lucy knew he hardly meant it. Offering him a look of admonishment, she ceased her ministrations along his torso and made her way over to the open hearth of the fire…something Wyatt was immensely grateful for until she returned a few moments later with a steaming mug in her hands, "Here…drink this." she ordered.
Remembering that Lucy had all but forced him to take laudanum the previous evening, Wyatt eyed her suspiciously as he took it from her. "What the hell is this?" he asked gruffly, flinching away at the bitter stench emanating from the hot liquid inside.
"Medicine." Lucy replied curtly, but at Wyatt's indignant glare, she assured, "It's not laudanum, okay? It's some sort of willow bark…thing." Again, she picked up the book of herbal remedies and flipped to a marked page, "See?" she pointed out, "white willow bark…it's got salicin in it…and Rufus says that means it's basically aspirin."
"What the hell does Rufus know?"
"Quite a bit, actually." the man himself answered as he descended down the ladder from the loft, "Good morning, by the way…who needs an alarm clock when I can wake up to all of this?" he grunted as he forewent the final rungs and landed deftly on the floor next to Lucy. "For your information, Wyatt, I took a biochemistry class at MIT with an entire lab devoted to medicinal compounds."
"Uh-huh…I thought you were an engineer?" Wyatt replied skeptically as he continued to frown at his mug.
"I am." Rufus assured with a meaningful nod, "But that doesn't mean I didn't have other interests…and by other interests," he added with a nod towards Lucy who was handing him a cup of tea, "I mean, a very fine young woman named La-kesha who just happened to be a Biochemistry major."
"This wouldn't be the same young woman who inspired your militant phase, would it?" Lucy asked with a teasing smile, as she turned to dish out a bowl of porridge…not noticing that Wyatt was now looking at the two of them growing curiosity.
Rufus, however, did notice.
Nodding to Lucy, he replied, "Yup, same one." before turning to Wyatt in short explanation, "See all the fun you missed out on in 1972?" When that earned him a reproving glare, he leaned forward with a devilish smirk and whispered, "You know how it is, though right? When you're trying to impress a girl you like? Especially if she has pretty eyes." he added meaningfully.
Wyatt gaped at him, not having the first clue as to what he meant by that comment and pretty damn sure he didn't want to know. Given that he was sure it had something to do with his laudanum induced stupor, however, he quickly set the mug down on the small nightstand and scooted away from it as if it were poison.
Chuckling at this, Rufus lifted the mug and handed it back to Wyatt, "If Lucy wanted to take advantage of you, she could've done it last night when you were flying high as a kite. Anyway," he added picking up Lucy's herbal remedy book, "This white willow bark stuff is the real deal…Lucy's right…salicin is basically aspirin…it'll help with your pain. Unless, of course," he said as a broad smile stretched across his face, "you want us to dig you up some more laudanum? It may be dangerous as hell…but it definitely made you more likable."
With that threat, Wyatt quickly downed his medicine…gasping and choking at the bitter taste as Lucy came back to his bedside with a bowl of lumpy porridge, "Are you hungry?" she asked handing it to him.
Eyeing the grey substance with a frown, Wyatt was going to absolutely refuse, but seeing the look of hopeful expectation on Lucy's face, he relented with a sigh…though he immediately regretted his decision the minute he took a bite. Swallowing hard and grimacing, Wyatt handed her back the bowl as he exchanged a glance with Rufus, "Uh…it's okay…I'm um…not that hungry."
"Wyatt," Lucy admonished, "you need to eat. How else do you expect to get better if you don't keep your strength up?" Nudging Rufus in the ribs, she added, "Tell him."
Rufus, who had been silently chuckling behind his hand, quickly cleared his throat in an attempt to muster up a somewhat serious response as he nodded solemnly, "Oh yeah…totally. You should eat that all up, Wyatt. In fact," he added as he began to put his coat on, "you should eat mine too…"
"Aren't you going to have breakfast?" Lucy asked, looking concerned.
"Who, me?" Rufus asked as he began backing his way out of the door, "Nah…I'm…I'm good. If I get hungry, I can always whip up some eggs or something over at the farm…probably need to get an early start anyway." he explained awkwardly, "lots of repairs that need to be made, after all."
With one last fleeting look towards a very much offended Wyatt, Rufus exited the cabin and made his way towards the farm leaving Lucy to shut the door behind him with a sigh, "Oh well, I guess I can always save the rest for tomorrow…" Turning back to Wyatt, she nudged his bowl at him again, urging, "Eat…it's probably best to have something in your stomach anyway…who knows what that willow bark stuff will do."
Begrudgingly, Wyatt dipped his spoon back into the porridge, grimacing in disgust at the concrete like consistency. "Don't we have any…butter…or syrup…or…bacon…or…anything else?" Wyatt asked hopefully.
Lucy gaped at him and rubbed her hands on her apron nervously, "Well, we do have that goat…but I mean…I don't know how to…I guess I could try to…milk it?" though she looked like she would rather not. Biting her lip anxiously, she scanned the scant supplies they had on their shelves and gasped out in relief, "Oh, I do have honey…will that work?" Desperate for anything that would make his breakfast more palatable, Wyatt nodded, putting a heaping spoonful of the amber syrup into his bowl, doubtful that it would make much difference. "Don't use too much of that," Lucy called out as she bent over a roughly hewn bowl, putting drops of medicine into a paste, "I've got to use some for this salve for your burns."
"Lucy…." Wyatt tried to protest, but she shook her head at him determinedly.
"I know what you're going to say, Wyatt…but I've looked it up," she added with a nod towards her book, "they use honey all the time on wounds…and I'm pretty sure I remember reading something similar in 2016 that said that honey had anti-bacterial properties."
Much to his consternation, her fingers were soon back on his bare torso, tenderly caressing his inflamed skin with the salve that, to his immense surprise, did seem to offer some relief. That is until she hit a point where his skin was broken and bleeding. Hissing in pain, Wyatt flinched away, gripping onto the sheets causing her to mutter apologetically, "I'm sorry, Wyatt…I know it hurts….I know…this is nothing like what we have at home, but it's the best that we've got here." She sighed as she sat back from her work, lightly laying a few loose strips over the wounded area. "On the plus side," she observed with a smile as she wiped her hands clean on the wet washrag, "it doesn't look as red as it did yesterday…I think it might actually be helping."
That small bit of optimism served Lucy well all through the morning and afternoon, but by evening it was clear to her that something was not right. Wyatt, despite many attempts to humor her, had hardly eaten anything all day and was now in the middle of a fitful and restless sleep. Watching him anxiously, Lucy mentioned her concerns to Rufus the moment he walked in the door.
Though he was hardly as anxious as she was.
"No offense, Lucy," he retorted, "but you're aren't exactly the greatest cook in the world." he said with a shrug, earning him an eyeroll and a look of severe approbation, "I mean, it." Rufus maintained, "I didn't think you could screw up porridge but…damn."
"Well excuse me if I don't have anything that even comes close to resembling a modern kitchen around here." she hissed angrily, "I'm doing the best I can, okay?" She glared at him meaningfully, before redirecting his attention back to Wyatt, "But I'm telling you, Rufus…something is not right." she persisted, "he's…he's…just look at him, he wasn't in that much pain this morning. Something is wrong."
True enough, Wyatt was visibly restless…and sweaty. Not knowing what else to do, Lucy dipped a towel into a basin of water in a desperate attempt to soothe him, only to find, to her horror that he was burning up. Panicked, she looked to Rufus who looked about as helpless as she felt. Her mind racing, she urged him to hold Wyatt down while she removed the bandages to check his burn, "How can you tell if a burn is infected?" she gasped out anxiously.
"Do I look like a doctor to you?" Rufus asked with a bewildered shrug, "I don't know a damn thing about…" he picked up Lucy's remedy book and began flipping through pages, finally reading off, "what does his skin look like?"
"Red." Lucy answered shakily, "But burns are normally red, aren't they? That doesn't mean…"
"Um…is there anything coming out of it?" Rufus asked looking up from the book, "Like is it…oozing?"
Lucy shook her head, "I can't tell…but there…there are definitely blisters though…look at them," she pointed out anxiously, "they're all…yellow and swollen."
"That can't be good." Rufus muttered, quickly making his way to the bedside. He went back to looking through the book, "You think we should drain them…or…"
"I don't know," Lucy moaned, "what does the book say?"
"Leeches or blood-letting." Rufus replied dryly, "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we don't want to do that."
"Probably not." Lucy agreed, biting her lip before muttering, "Wyatt would know." She locked eyes with Rufus who nodded anxiously, "He knows all about first-aid…he said so." Desperate to know what to do, she began shaking him, "Wyatt, Wyatt…you have to wake up…"
Disoriented and definitely not in any mood to have his sleep disturbed, Wyatt blindly swatted Lucy's hands away, "What the hell?" he groaned as he attempted to move his body away from her, "Leave me alone"
"No, Wyatt." Lucy urged, now lightly smacking his face repeatedly, "Come on, you need to wake up…I need you to tell me what to do."
Opening one bleary eye, Wyatt breathed out a curse. "Dammit, Lucy…can't you see I'm sleeping?"
Ignoring his complaints, Lucy pressed anxiously, "Wyatt, it's your side…I think…I think it's getting infected. There are these yellow…Wyatt?" she shook him awake again, "yellow blisters all over your burn…"
"Ugh…S'normal" Wyatt mumbled, falling back to sleep, but Lucy again, shook him awake.
"Wyatt, no." she breathed out uneasily, "You also have a fever."
Groaning, Wyatt rubbed a rough hand across his face, trying, but failing to sit up, until he finally sighed in resignation and did his best to reassure her, "Lucy…my whole side looks and feels like it's been beaten with a damn branding iron…that's gonna take a toll, okay?" She swallowed hard and nodded, blinking back tears as Wyatt, who could see she was hardly convinced, continued, "Look, I've seen it a lot of times in the field. Guys would end up getting burned…and a lot of times they'd have a fever…but no infection, okay? It's just the body natural response to…to your skin being on fire…okay? It's trying to heal itself." He patted her hand reassuringly and attempted to get comfortable again, but once again, Lucy shook him awake.
"But Wyatt," she breathed out, 'what about these blisters? They look…they look bad. Like worse than they did yesterday, bad. Should we drain out the pus? Or…"
"No!" Wyatt exclaimed, lifting his head off the pillow and looking really awake for the first time since she first tried to rouse him. "That's one sure way to get an infection…just…just leave them alone, okay?" Lucy made to argue, but Wyatt silenced her with a shake of his head, "Lucy, the best thing for me right now is to get some sleep, alright? Stop worrying…and just…just leave me alone."
Lucy sat back, anxiously biting her fingernails intermittently exchanging nervous glances with Rufus and looking at Wyatt's sleeping but ever restless figure. "What if he's wrong, Rufus?" she whispered, "What if it is an infection?" She got up and began pacing the floor in front of the bed, watching as Wyatt grimaced in his sleep. "What if he goes septic? He could die, Rufus - there are no antibiotics…"
"Hey, hey," Rufus soothed, jumping up from the bed and putting an arm around her, "Lucy, it's gonna be okay, alright? Remember what Wyatt said? This is normal…we just have to trust that he knows what he's talking about."
Lucy nodded, "Yeah…yeah…okay…you're right." she acknowledged with a half a smile, "Maybe…maybe things will be better tomorrow."
But they weren't.
The next day, Wyatt's fever persisted throughout the day, even after taking the willow bark tea…and while his burns didn't look any worse than they had the night before, they didn't look any better either. Poring over her book, Lucy was sitting at the table making a list of different herbs she was determined to try in an effort to help him, when Rufus came bounding through the door with a loaf of bread and a basket of different bottles, "I got those herbs you asked for," he said with a sigh, as he started emptying the baskets contents on the table, "Milk thistle, ginger, garlic….dried onion…" he paused, narrowing his eyes, "What the hell are you planning on making with all of this?"
"They're for Wyatt." Lucy murmured, still looking over her book.
"Lucy," Rufus muttered softly, "look, I get that you're worried about him…hell, I am too…but I think maybe you should try to relax…"
"Relax?" she asked with an incredulous laugh, explaining to Rufus that once again, Wyatt had hardly touched his food all day…and okay, maybe she burned the bread she had tried to make but he hadn't even touched his eggs.
"You mean these things?" Rufus asked dubiously holding up two brown discs that looked like…well…"actual crap, Lucy…they look like actual pieces of crap." he added meaningfully as he threw them back down on the plate, "Can you really blame the guy?"
Rufus was just teasing…Lucy knew that…but after being alone with Wyatt for days, seeing him suffer and get sicker with each passing day, despite everything she had tried, her nerves were about as raw as the blistered skin on Wyatt's torso. "Fine. I can't cook, alright? I don't know the first thing about burns or infections…or herbal medicine." she sobbed, "I'm not…" she stopped, catching herself. She had almost said Jessica, realizing that in these quiet, anxious moments – alone with Wyatt, her mind had inexplicably wandered to his first marriage. She wondered if Jessica had ever sat by his bedside and took care of him when he was sick? If he would have eaten the food she had prepared? If she knew more about first aid…or was she just as clueless as Lucy was when it came to…all of this?
It had begun as an innocent musing, more out of curiosity than anything else…but then it had grown and festered until Lucy had built Jessica up to be an almost superhuman figure, capable of eradicating disease, whipping up a gourmet dish and knowing exactly what to do in any type of emergency situation. Because really, as Wyatt's wife, she would have to be something really special, wouldn't she? Was it any wonder then, that her purely speculative supposings made her feel like a complete failure in comparison to the phantom woman whom, she knew, would always be first in Wyatt's heart and mind?
Not that she could begrudge him for that…it wasn't like she was really married to him, after all.
Still, her emotions were in tatters…the anxiety over Wyatt and the constant reminder that she wasn't up to the challenge of this role of wife and caretaker leaving her on the brink of a complete and total breakdown. Shaking her head as tears began to spill out of her eyes, she made a mad dash for her shawl, "I can't do this anymore." she gasped, "I'm going to get the doctor."
"No…Lucy!" Rufus hissed, grabbing her by the elbow, "What the hell is he going to do? You know better than any of us – these 18th century doctors are basically glorified butchers."
"He can at least let me know if this burn is infected or not." she responded hotly, "and then, I don't know…maybe we can try to think of something…maybe Mrs. Poe has some other herbs…something I've missed…" she muttered mindlessly as she wrapped the shawl around her shoulders.
"You can't go out there by yourself." Rufus reasoned, "Wyatt will kick my ass if…"
Lucy rounded on him,"We have to know what we're dealing with, Rufus. I can't just sit here and do nothing while Wyatt…"she fought back tears as she explained in a quavering voice, "if I do nothing and he dies…I'll…I'll never be able to forgive myself."
Rufus turned back to look at Wyatt – he was clearly suffering, just as she had said…and even if he was desperately trying to be optimistic about his friend's condition, Lucy was right, if he really was dying and they did nothing…how could they ever forgive themselves? Giving a resigned sigh, he released Lucy's elbow, "Alright, fine…just…just be careful, okay?" he replied, "I mean it, if anything happens to you, Wyatt will never forgive me."
"Just try and keep him comfortable." Lucy said with a determined nod, "I'll be back as soon as I can." Rufus watched her go with more than a little trepidation. After being witness to the French ambush, he wasn't naïve enough to think something like that couldn't happen again. It wasn't a very far walk to John Fraser's farm…but in the growing dark of evening he couldn't help but keep his eye on Lucy's retreating figure with a growing sense of dread until she finally disappeared over the ridge line.
Turning back to a sleeping Wyatt, he shrugged and muttered with a sheepish smile, "Don't blame me…she's your wife, man."
When Lucy had arrived at the farm, she found, much to her consternation that the surgeon had taken off for Fort Cumberland that morning with a whole cart full of the severely injured soldiers in search of much needed supplies. Upon seeing Lucy, so desperate and anxious, Mrs. Poe volunteered her own services, having, by her own admission, "nursed many a sick and injured back to health."
Even though Lucy knew that she already had her hands full with Mr. Fraser and the other wounded at the farm, Lucy was grateful to receive any help…especially since Mrs. Poe, with her cool and collected manner seemed to dispel all of her fears and anxiety over Wyatt's condition with her mere presence and her assurances that she could help.
However, it wasn't long before she had regretted ever making the trek…
"Why did you not come to me sooner?" Mrs. Poe asked with a disapproving frown as she peered with disgust into the pot of porridge still hanging over the fire. "I knew ye were a bit off-footed when it came to domestic matters, but I didn't know ye were this deficient."
Rufus was too late in hiding the laugh that escaped him at that assessment, causing Lucy to glare at him angrily as Mrs. Poe continued with a sigh, "The key to a good porridge, my dear is butter…and it appears you have none." Shaking her head in disapproval, she threw her hands up in exasperation, "No matter, that can be amended…you," she said pointing to Rufus, "I'll need you to run back to the farm and fetch some…just find Margaret, she'll help you. But before you go," she added with a solemn frown, "let's see what can be done about your Master, here."
Mrs. Poe gently lifted the dressings lying loosely along Wyatt's side, peering over her spectacles at the blisters peppered all over his burn. "I see what you mean, dear…it certainly turns ones stomach." She pressed lightly along his side and Lucy noted with horror, a bit of blood and pus oozing from one of the more affected areas of his torso. "We need to draw out the toxins…" she murmured, as she pulled out a small knife from her apron and began puncturing Wyatt's blisters.
Panicked, Lucy threw herself in front of Wyatt, "No! What are you doing?"
"Did you or did you not come to me asking for help?" Mrs. Poe asked with more than a little impatience as Lucy stammered her rebuttal. Talking over her, the housekeeper sighed, "We need to draw out the toxins or they will just sit there and fester…trust me, my dear I've lived longer than you have and have dealt with far worse cases than this." Walking over to the table, Mrs. Poe pulled out a few jars from her basket, waving her free hand dismissively as she explained, "Just a wee bit of wheatgerm, lard and some plaister…should do the trick…be a dear and go dish me out a bit of water from the cistern."
Still hovering over Wyatt's still form, Lucy shook her head as she tried to remember what plaister and wheatgerm were used for. "Plaister? What's….what's…"
"Never you mind, m'dear." Mrs. Poe dismissed, "If you want your husband set right, then I'm going to need you to fetch me that water." As Lucy begrudgingly did as she was told, Mrs. Poe turned to Rufus with her empty basket, "And you - go fetch us that butter, some more oats, a flask of bone broth, a bushel of peas and a slab of ham." She shook her head and muttered, "No use patching him up if he's just going to starve to death…oh and young man?" she called after a retreating Rufus, "Have Margaret send you back with three or four loaves of bread and some cheese – that will set your stores right."
"Oh...well, Rufus picked up some bread from the farm earlier," Lucy explained weakly, "and I...well I made..."
Mrs. Poe cast her a withering glare, "This?" she asked as she picked up the blackened loaf, "this isn't bread and that?" she added, pointing to the loaf Rufus had brought with him earlier, "That has turned, I'm afraid...though, I don't expect you'd know the difference, would you?"
Lucy huffed out a silent, but indignant breath as she turned on her heel and marched out onto the porch, followed by an equally indignant Rufus who accosted her the minute the door shut behind them, "What the hell, Lucy?" he hissed at her as she made her way to the cistern, "Didn't Wyatt specifically say not to drain those blisters?"
"I know, I know!" Lucy she spat out in frustration, "It just….it happened so fast. I didn't think she was just gonna start cutting them open…who does that?" She let out an anxious breath as she ran a hand through her hair, "What are we going to do now?"
"We?" Rufus chuckled darkly, "You mean, YOU. I didn't go running off to get the advice of some 18th century Neanderthal." He shook his head and pointed at her meaningfully, "No, no…that was all you. I told you not to go messing around with these people. Besides," he added as he lifted the basket and began walking down the path, "I've got errands to run…so you know, have fun with that."
"Rufus!" she hissed after him, but he didn't so much as turn to glance her direction as he marched resolutely towards the farm. With a heavy sigh, Lucy stomped towards the cistern and dished out a bowl of water, only to find upon returning to the cabin that Mrs. Poe was now scraping her ruined porridge from earlier into a trough along with what was left of her burned bread. "That can go to your goats." she said with a meaningful nod to Lucy, "though I don't think it's even fit for their consumption." Taking the water from Lucy, she poured it into a small bowl and mixed it with a powdery substance and a slab of lard and began warming it over the fire.
"Um...what exactly is that?" Lucy asked, flinching away from the stench of melting animal fat.
"Just something my mother taught me years ago, mark my words, this is the quickest way to draw out the bad blood." she insisted as she stirred the concoction into a thick, glossy, and slightly sweet-smelling paste. "Once this cools," she explained after taking it from the fire and setting it on the table, "it'll need to be spread over his burn liberally…and you'll want to leave this on for a few hours so that it can draw out the inflammation.
Hardly comforting her, Lucy watched helplessly - about a half an hour later, as Mrs. Poe took the wheatgerm concoction and carefully spread it over Wyatt's split and bleeding skin. His muscles twitched, but otherwise, he did not stir from her ministrations…something that both worried and comforted Lucy. The fact that Wyatt hardly noticed or cared that the most sensitive spot on his torso was now being lathered with yet another paste had, of course, unnerved her….but she was also grateful that these attentions went unnoticed because she was not prepared, either emotionally or physically, to hold him down again.
Now," Mrs. Poe said as she wiped her hands on her apron, "let's get you situated."
She stayed for hours, even after Rufus returned, teaching Lucy how to bake bread over the hearth fire, how to make cheese and butter from goat's milk, and even how to make a decent pot of porridge. When she finally did take her leave, she nodded to the tureen of bone broth and stated seriously, "You make sure you feed him that broth at least four times a day…spoon feed it to him if you must, but make sure he takes it. Nothing better to strengthen up the constitution."
When the door finally closed behind her, Lucy let out a ragged breath as Rufus gaped at Lucy, "I don't want to sound ungrateful for you know…her feeding us and all, but seriously, I thought you were bossy…you've got nothing on that woman."
"Gee, thanks Rufus." Lucy grunted as she slumped down on one of the stools around the table. "I guess I just needed some reassurance." she admitted as she covered her face in her hands, "I don't know what I'm doing, Rufus…and this," she added motioning to Wyatt, "this is so beyond anything I've ever dealt with. It's one thing to wrap people's burns and give them water…but this?"
"I know." Rufus muttered softly. "And you know, she may be a bit…much, but you know, she really did seem to know what she was doing. I think you made the right call." he added with a serious nod.
"Really?" Lucy asked hopefully, dropping her hands from her face.
"Yeah, really." Rufus assured her, "I mean, I really wish she hadn't messed with Wyatt's blisters like that...but who knows? Maybe that really was the right thing to do...and at least we're all set for food for the next few days, right?"
Lucy let out a mirthless chuckle, "Yeah…don't get too excited." she warned. "You are looking at the woman who can barely use a microwave...much less nurse anyone back to health."
"Come on, Lucy." he urged, "if I can learn to be a blacksmith...which, by the way is the hardest thing I have ever had to learn in my entire life...you can learn to cook like an honest to God pioneer woman." Lucy offered him a slight smile before shaking her head despondently. "I mean, it Lucy," Rufus insisted, "you're one of the smartest people I know...and yeah, you might not be the best cook right now...but that doesn't mean, after some practice you won't be able to get the hang of it."
"I know." Lucy answered with a nod as she rubbed her temples, "but without Mrs. Poe standing right beside me, barking out instructions..."
"You don't need Mrs. Poe," Rufus insisted, "sure, she's great for advice...but Lucy, you're the one who made it...you just have to trust that you can do it again."
"Yeah, well, cooking is one thing." Lucy replied glumly, "I just…I just hope whatever she did for Wyatt actually helps...because I really don't know what else to do."
"What did she put on him anyway?" Rufus asked.
"I don't know." Lucy breathed out as she pulled her book towards her, "She called it plaister…but I'm not seeing anything like that listed under the "p's." She bit her lip in thought, "But I know I've seen it somewhere in here…"
As Lucy continued to flip through the pages, Rufus cut himself off a thick slab of bread, "Well, she may not be much of a doctor, but the woman can cook…even if this bread's a little on the stale side."
"That's the one she said was moldy." Lucy reminded him, not looking up from her book, "Remember?" she added with marked annoyance, "She said I wouldn't know the difference?"
"Oh yeah." Rufus chuckled as he discarded the slice he had been eating and moved to a different loaf, "Just ignore it, Lucy...you're not that bad...the pea thing you made tonight was pretty damn good."
"Hmmm...yeah that pease pudding. It reminded me of pea soup." she added with a grimace, "Not the biggest fan, but as we are well aware, beggars can't be choosers."
"That's for sure." Rufus agreed, "But given that we started out in this century scrounging for berries in the middle of the woods? I'd say we are a hell of a lot better off now than where we were...and once you get that goat milking down? I know you don't want to do it," Rufus added as Lucy looked up from her book and glared at him, "but I'm not even going to lie, I cannot wait for that to happen...and not just because it's going to be freaking hilarious. Homemade butter? Cheese? Being able to have a nice glass of milk instead of...nasty ass water and alcohol? That's gonna be…"
"Oh my God!" Lucy gasped, throwing the book down and stumbling towards the dry sink, "Rufus, we need to get that paste off of Wyatt."
"Wha…why? What is it?" he asked completely bewildered as she gracelessly dunked a rag into the wash basin and tossed it to Rufus, who was standing closer to him
"It's lead." she sobbed, "It's white lead plaister…they used it as a cure-all…"
"Holy shit!" Rufus exclaimed, "You mean…?" Ripping back the covers, Rufus pulled away the bandages and as quickly as he could, wiping away the paste frantically, but it was clear…the damage had already been done. Wyatt's skin was even more blistered and far angrier looking than it had been before. Wyatt, too, was groaning miserably in his sleep, his face contorted in pain as Rufus worked to clean away any traces of the plaister. "Why the hell would you use lead as a cure-all?"
"I don't know." Lucy sobbed as she brought forth another rag to cleanse Wyatt's torso. "They used it in all sorts of things…paint, makeup...medicine...Oh my God, what have I done?"
"As much as I'd like to say I told you so," Rufus replied with a grave look of concern, "I…won't.." He swallowed hard as he took in the reality of Wyatt's scalded torso, "you…you couldn't know what she would do, Lucy."
"Yes, I could." Lucy gasped out through tears of frustration and despair, "You said it youself...I know more than anyone what these people were capable of in terms of medical knowledge...I should have listened to you…I should have listened to Wyatt." She let out a helpless cry of despair as she muttered with a shake of her head, "He's worse and it's all my fault."
Rufus couldn't really argue with her there. Whatever anyone wanted to say about the situation, it was decidedly worse than it had been. Not only were Wyatt's blisters now open, exposed and vulnerable to infection…he now had possible lead poisoning to contend with. Almost hating to even ask the question, Rufus winced as he turned to Lucy, "How long was that stuff on him?"
"A couple of hours." she replied shakily.
"Okay…okay." Rufus replied in a voice of forced calm, "Let me think…people get lead poisoning all the time…I mean, not as much as they used to, but it still happens. It doesn't necessarily mean he's gonna die from it." At Lucy's whimper, Rufus continued quickly, "I think….I mean, I can't be sure…because it's been a few years since I took chemistry…but I seem to remember my Professor saying that you could fight the effects of lead poisoning with iron and calcium….so cheese." he said as he lifted up the block he had retrieved from John Fraser's farm. "And you can get milk from the goats…"
"Okay." Lucy nodded anxiously, "but what about everything else?"
"We're just going to have keep doing what we've been doing, Lucy…and just hope for the best."
But as the night wore on, Wyatt's fever spiked and the way he was shivering even wrapped as he was in the quilt had Lucy in near hysterics. "He's getting worse, Rufus. He's getting worse." She caressed Wyatt's sweaty brow as she gritted out through angry tears, "Flynn really did know what he was doing when he stranded us here didn't he? No parts to fix the LifeBoat, hundreds of miles away from any city, there are no real medicines for disease, no antibiotics…Wyatt was right," she said with a shaky sigh, "it's 1754…if we make a mistake, we die." She let out a shaky sigh as she muttered quietly, "He's going to die, isn't he? He's going to die because of me."
For a long while, Rufus said nothing, his gaze fixed on the table in front of him. But as Lucy let out a strangled sob as she pressed a wet cloth to Wyatt's forehead, he suddenly turned to her with a look of realization on his face, "Not necessarily." he said slowly as Lucy lifted her tear stained eyes towards him, "It's 1754...antibiotics won't be officially discovered until 1928."
Lucy let out an almost maniacal laugh, "What do you think I've been saying for the past few hours, Rufus? We're totally screw…"
"No." Rufus interrupted, slowly shaking his head at her as he lifted the moldy loaf of bread, "they haven't been discovered yet…doesn't mean they don't exist."
It took a few seconds for Lucy to register exactly what it was that Rufus was saying, but when it finally did click into place, she scrambled away from Wyatt and wrenched the bread from Rufus' hand, "Oh my God, of course! Why didn't I think of this before? Even the Ancient Egyptians…" she began, but she shook her head at Rufus anxiously, "But Rufus are you sure you can..."
"We did this in my medical compounds lab," he replied with frantic nod, "it's really not that difficult…if you know what you're doing." At Lucy's anxious glance, he assured, "And I know what I'm doing…believe me, I really wanted to impress that girl." Picking up a damp rag, he carefully wrapped the moldy loaf and placed it in a warm alcove above the fireplace, before turning to Lucy with a smile, "Move over, Alexander Fleming…we just invented penicillin."
Notes:
Sorry for taking so long to update this...I actually had this chapter DONE and ready to go last week...and then I went to proof it and I hated the way it was set up. The first part of what will be the NEXT chapter was originally the opener for this one with all of this chapter serving as a flashback...and it just didn't work. Because of the changes and rewrites I had to make, it pushed me back in getting this updated for you...but the good news is, I've got most of the next chapter already written (97%)...so you won't have to wait long for the next update! (YAY)
I have been up to my eyeballs in reading all about 18th century remedies. Yes, they used white lead as a cure-all...and as some of you know they used it in makeup - it's what made QEI go bald and gave her skin that oh so healthy white chalky glow. You CAN make your own penicillin and the Ancient Egyptians actually would put moldy pieces of bread on wounds to heal them...isn't that the craziest thing? It took thousands of years for Western Civilization to catch up to what the ancients already knew. Blows my mind.
White Willow Bark actually is like a natural aspirin...and I thought it would be a good fit for Rufus (who is a scientist after all) to sort of be a bit of a know it all when it comes to these compounds - more so than Lucy who would only be concerned with the historical aspect of it...so anyway, I brought in his militant crush to sort of round out college experience a bit. (shrug).
Also, Wyatt's burns...a lot of burn victims do have fevers that manifest about 16 hours after injury...as well as blisters and things..and it's as Wyatt said, it's the body's natural response to being burned...just try to regulate itself. So yes, Lucy kind of over-reacted, but you really can't blame her. It's the 18th century after all.
I'm going to work this week on finishing up the next chapter of Stranded and the next chapter of Once Upon a Highway. I only have two more chapter updates for that fic before it's finished and then I'll go back to working out the rest of WHMB. That one only has 2 or 3 more chapters left in it as well (one that is and has been 90% finished for a LONG WHILE now), but it's just a complicated ending and needs more attention than I have to spare for it right now with these two other fics in the works...there's just not enough time in the day.
With all of that said, I hope you enjoyed this update. It was more Lufus than Lyatt...I know...but I promise, it's coming.
Thank you for reading!