CHAPTER 3: The Clinic
You were dreading going back to the clinic, but you had said you would..."I'll just put it off until later, after all I just have to get there before 4pm, so I'll have time to get to work on the farm!" In reality you were just nervous to see him again because you found him so handsome, but you told yourself otherwise. Feeding the chicken, caring for the foal, and going toward the summit to try and gather herbs to ship for some quick cash. Once all that was finished it was already past 1pm, but you wanted to clear at least some of the weeds so you could plant some crops. "Damn these weeds," you cursed to yourself as you pulled, "It's like someone cemented them into the ground!" It was getting pretty late at this point, so you decided to pull one more weed before leaving for the clinic. Suddenly, something shot out from under the weeds and bit hard into your leg. You screamed in fear and pain, but being alone on this land, nobody heard you.
You collapsed to the ground holding your leg, and it wasn't long before you started feeling the nausea kick in. You knew it had been a snake, but you had no idea what kind it was, as it slithered away before you even hit the ground. You were getting very scared...what if the bite was life-threatening? Suddenly everything came up, and you started to vomit. Finally, after about 20 minutes, you lost consciousness, laying there amongst the weeds.
"Doctor," Elly asked, "did Claire come by today for her checkup? I haven't seen her yet." Elly seemed concerned by not seeing any trace of her today.
"No, she did not." The doctor paused for a moment, wondering if your fever had been worse than he'd expected and kept you in bed today. Then again, you were just barely beginning to work that farm, which would require quite a bit of work...had you collapsed from fatigue on your farm? The doctor did not want to take any chances, so he stood up from his desk and prepared to go to your farm, if only to be sure. "Elly, you can go home. I'm going to Claire's farm to make sure she's okay." Elly nodded in acceptance and bid the doctor a good evening. Always the quiet and stoic type, as he headed toward your farm he would not allow himself to think the worst. He was a professional, and whatever he'd find he would deal with it (if he even had to, of course). Finally he reached the farm and noticed all the lights were out, which was odd unless you were already in bed. When you didn't answer the door he peeked into the window to be sure you were okay...only to find nobody home. Pulling a flashlight out of his pocket, he looked around the overgrown land. It didn't take him long to find you, and he rushed to your side. Seeing that your leg was now quite swollen where you'd been bitten, he quickly looked around once more, hoping to find out what kind of snake had bitten you. Luckily he quickly noticed several snakes huddled together in the weeds, all the same species. "Copperheads," he mumbled to himself, "Thank Goddess...but she still needs treatment." He gently lifted you into his arms and made his way back to the clinic as fast as his legs could take him.
After reaching the clinic, the doctor was surprised to see Elly still there, waiting for his return. Apparently she'd been more concerned about you than she'd let on. "Elly," the doctor began, "I'm going to need your help with this." Shocked by this, as she was still just in training and learning bit by bit from the doctor, she put on a brave face and nodded, waiting for his instructions. "Thankfully her injuries are not life-threatening, but I need you to take her into the washroom and get her cleaned and put into a gown, she's completely covered in mud and dirt from being collapsed in that field. After that I'll get her into a bed and you can go home." He sat you down in the washroom himself and left so Elly could get you clean. While she was working with you, the doctor was searching for the antibacterial cleansing products he kept at the clinic at all times, so he could clean and dress the wound, but he was also looking for something he could apply to help the swelling, as it had gotten even worse as he carried you here. Finally finding everything he would need, the doctor heard Elly call out to him, to let him know you were cleaned and now wearing a gown. He placed all the bottles on his desk, going over to collect you from the washroom. After lifting you back into his arms, he looked back to Elly. "Thank you, Elly, for staying here late to help me. I can finish taking care of her alone, so you may go home. Be careful on your way." Elly began to protest this, however the doctor would not let her stay. "Elly, there is nothing more you can do here. I'm going to spend the night monitoring her, so just go home now. You'll need your full strength tomorrow to help me with other patients, Claire is going to need to rest here for about 24 hours." With Elly finally agreeing to leave, the doctor placed you into bed and sterilized the bite, then placed some ointment on it to help the swelling go down before finally bandaging your leg. He sat in the chair next to your bed, eventually nodding off.
When you first regained consciousness and just slightly opened your eyes, for a moment you thought for sure you were dead. All you saw was a bright light above you and white all around you. Rubbing your eyes and taking it all in, you quickly realize you're in the clinic...but how did you get here? You quickly notice the doctor right next to you, still asleep. Had he stayed with you all night? Then you noticed you were clean and...in a gown? Where were your clothes? Oh, no...did...did he see you...NAKED?! As you begin to panic over this, the doctor stirs very quickly and attempts to calm you down.
"Good morning, Claire. It's good to see you finally awake. Please, calm down and let me explain things." The doctor knew you were probably panicking over where you were, so he ran through everything. "I wanted to be sure you were in fact healthy again, so I came to your farm to check on you after you did not come to our clinic. I found you collapsed and bitten by a snake in your fields. I noticed a large family of copperheads nearby, and I took you back here to treat you. Elly was here as well, and she washed and changed you so I could sterilize your wound. While a copperhead bite is not fatal, it is very painful and can have several bad side effects. Do you have any questions for me so far?"
"Um...my entire leg is in a lot of pain...is that one of those side effects?" You were very nervous just being near him, yet you felt that strange feeling deep inside, like you wanted to somehow get to know him more. "And...did you stay with me all night?"
"As for your pain, yes, as I said before, copperhead bites can be extremely painful. I'll give you some painkillers as soon as we're done here. And yes, I wanted to be here in case there was any chance of something happening. You'll need to rest here for the rest of the day."
"But...my foal! And my chicken needs feeding! I can't stay here all day!"
Suddenly, the doctor gave you a very stern look. "You will stay here the rest of the day to recover. Honestly, Claire, what did you think you were doing out there? When I found you passed out you were wearing city girl clothes! Didn't it even cross your mind for a SECOND that maybe, just maybe there could be snakes living amongst all those overgrown weeds?! And what about wild dogs that come out from the mountain at night? If I hadn't found you they certainly would have, and you might even be dead right now! Don't you remember your childhood here? Didn't you notice your grandpa wore the same thing every day he had to work? Boots, gloves, overalls and a hat on his head! That wasn't a fashion statement, Claire, it was protection from wild animals and the elements! If you're going to seriously attempt to bring that farm back, at LEAST get yourself a pair of gloves and boots!"
You sat there frozen. You couldn't believe how brutally honest the doctor had been with you...but you had to admit, everything he'd said was right. You weren't in the city anymore, you were in the countryside working as a farmer. And thinking about it, the fact you hadn't taken the idea of snakes into account just made you feel like a complete idiot. And he was definitely right about wild dogs...if he hadn't found you and those dogs had, they would've mauled you for sure. You looked at the doctor once more and realized that he very well may have saved your life, and everything he said was out of concern for you, not hatred. "Um...could I use the phone here to call someone? I can't just leave my chicken unfed." You paused for a moment, and looked at the doctor again. "And...you're right. What I did was really stupid...I'm sorry you had to deal with all of it."
"I'm a physician, it's my job to help people who are sick or injured. So don't bother apologizing. And yes, I will get you the phone and some painkillers for that leg. Just don't try to move too much, or put pressure on it. I finally got the swelling completely down around 4am, and I don't want it acting up again." He walked off to his office and came back with plenty of equipment. "Before I give you this painkiller, let me check your blood pressure and heartrate. Copperhead bites can cause low blood pressure and an increased heartrate, so I need to check you. Give me your arm first." You silently nodded as you gave him your arm. "Just a moment...okay, 120/80. Very good, nothing to worry about there. Now just let me check your heartrate." He pulled out his stethoscope and listened, his expression seemingly emotionless. "A little bit high, but nothing to worry about. But let me know if you experience nausea again. When I found you you were laying just next to a large puddle of your own sick." He handed you what looked like some very powerful painkillers, and instructed you to drink the entire cup of water with them. He then began to head back to his office to give you privacy on the phone.
"Doctor? Uhm...I'm still really new here so I don't have anybody's numbers...could you dial it for me? I'd like to call Popuri...I'm hoping she'll have time to feed my chicken for me for just one day." The doctor nodded, knowing their number well considering Popuri's mother, Lillia, was a frequent patient of his. Handing the phone back to you, he left once more.
*Ring...Ring...Ring...Ring...*
"I've got it!" Popuri grabbed the phone off the wall and happily declared "Hello and thank you for calling PoPoultry farm, your source of chickens, angora rabbits, and chicken and rabbit feed! My name is Popuri, how may I help you today?" Obviously Popuri was shocked to hear your voice, and even more shocked by what happened. "Claire, you...how did...so now you're...so you're okay, right? Okay...thank Goddess...of course, I'll take care of it right now, don't you worry! Please get better soon, and I'll be there to visit you later, okay? See you soon!" She hung up the phone and put on her boots, quickly explaining to her mother that you'd been sent to the clinic and your chicken needed feeding. When she reached your farm, she noticed that there were definitely a lot of snakes hanging around here. After feeding your chicken and placing its egg into the shipping bin, she went straight toward the forest to see if she could catch Gotts, because if he knew how to forage and live peacefully on the mountain, surely he had some information about getting rid of snakes.
After banging hard on the door to his cabin, Gotts finally answered. "Damnit all, who the hell is pounding so hard on my damn door?!" He looked and saw Popuri there, surprised she was here in the first place. "Popuri, what the hell are you doin' out here?"
"Mr. Gotts, there's a big snake infestation on Claire's farm, and I was hoping you knew how to get rid of them. She already got bitten and sent to the clinic!"
"Claire...isn't that the new girl on that old man's farm? Damn...I thought I'd been seein' fewer snakes than usual on the mountain, should've known they'd seek out all that overgrowth on the old farm." Popuri continued to wait for an answer. Did he even know how to get rid of them? "Yeah, don't worry, I can take care of it. I got the best snake repellant in the world here, tons of it. I'll send them snakes out of her farm by the end of the day, so don't be worryin'. She'll come home without havin' ta worry." Popuri was so delighted she suddenly gave Gotts a bear hug before running back towards town, leaving the man waving after her.
Finally, Popuri reached the clinic. She was met by Elly, who explained that the doctor was checking on you at the moment, so she'd have to wait to see you. Of course it didn't take long, and she was able to see you. "Oh, Claire, I've been so worried about you! When I went to your farm there were snakes everywhere! But, guess what? You don't have to worry about a thing! I went to Mr. Gotts' cabin and he said he'd get rid of all those snakes hanging out on your land! He said they should mostly be gone by the end of today!"
You were surprised to say the least at how much Popuri had done for you. You barely knew her, yet she not only fed your chicken for you, she even found someone to get rid of your snake infestation and now here she was visiting you in the clinic. "Popuri, I...I don't know what to say. Thank you so much for everything. How can I ever repay what you've done?"
"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Popuri smiled at you happily. "Say, how did the snake get you anyways?"
"Yeah, I was stupid...I went out there in my city clothes. I'm going to have to save up to buy a pair of boots and gloves, because I don't have any. I came here ready to start my life as a farmer, but I guess I wasn't as ready as I thought. I guess it'll take some time before I can clear that land, but I won't give up. Grandpa chose me for a reason. I was meant to come back here." As you gave her a weak smile, the doctor came and shooed her out, as it was getting very late and he'd agreed to release you first thing the next morning, as long as all your vitals were fine and you still were not experiencing any nausea or dizziness. You took the medicine he gave you, and quickly fell asleep.
