Chapter Two: The Unexpected Nurse

Driving back to her condo, Rosalyn picked up her cell phone and pressed the speed dial to the only person she could trust: Jacob.

Jacob dreamt that he was surfing on the hood of his beloved '67 Mustang 289, not caring to question how it stayed afloat nor how the color stayed so vibrant with all the salt water around. Just as he was reaching the crest of the wave, something jolted him off the Mustang and back to reality. Without looking up, he reached for his phone to answer.

"This better be a life-threatening emergency for you to wake me up at this ungodly hour, Rose," he said begrudgingly into the receiver. Only she would ever dare call him in the middle of the night.

"Why, good evening, dear stepbrother!" Rosalyn mockingly sucked up.

"What do you want? Jesus, it's 3:45 in the morning!" finally lifting up his head to glance at the alarm clock next to his bed. "Some people have to work, you know!"

"I need your help." Rosalyn bit her lip. She knew he'd be furious with her for picking up some stranger from the beach, but she also knew that there would be no way for her to bring the unconscious stranger in her home without some muscle.

His tone suddenly changed. "What's wrong?"

"It's actually a very funny story," she giggled nervously. "I was at the beach because I couldn't sleep when all of a sudden, there was a guy in the water! At first I thought he was dead because he didn't move, but I pulled him to shore anyway. He sort of woke up, well he woke up enough that I was able to walk him to my car. But now he's unconscious and I can't carry him into my apartment because he's like a foot taller than me, so I need your help! Please!" After getting all that off her chest, she finally remembered to breathe, not knowing what to expect.

Jacob groaned; he could never refuse his baby stepsister anything, especially when she asked for his help. "Give me an hour. If I get a speeding ticket, you're paying for it!" he finally answered.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" she said happily as she closed her phone and placed it in the cupholder of her car. "Now what will I do with you in the meantime?" she asked her silent passenger.

Finally on the driveway of her condo, she parked the car and popped the trunk open. Never knowing when she would feel like going to the beach, she always had a bag of towels and extra clothes in her trunk. She ran to it, taking out two large beach towels before opening the passenger seat and covering the man with both towels. Yikes! My car! There was sand everywhere, from the man's boots to his disheveled hair. My dad would kill me if he saw this mess!

Jacob arrived forty-five minutes after his conversation with Rosalyn, deeply thankful that there were fewer police officers on the road at this hour. He grinned at the sight that met him on the driveway. She was holding the man—presumably the one she spoke of—half out of her car, furiously sweeping over him with a towel trying to get the sand off his wet form.

"Still the neat freak, I see," he chuckled softly.

Rosalyn jumped at the sound of his voice and nearly dropped the man but luckily caught his shoulders in time. "You scared me! That was quicker than I thought!" She blushed with embarrassment that he had caught her in a moment of 'neat-freakness,' as he had dubbed it when they were younger.

"I take it, this is the man whose life you saved tonight. Why didn't you take him to a hospital?"

"I…I…" Why hadn't she gone to the hospital? She remembered seeing his face and how cruel people can be that she wouldn't have been able to stand it if the hospital refused him treatment because of how he looked. "I know how hospitals can be and I didn't know if I wanted to wait and go through all that bureaucratic shit," she lied. "Besides, I know a great doctor already!"

"I'm a plastic surgeon! I'm not qualified to do this! What if he's beyond my help?" His heart broke as he saw tears well up in her eyes. He hung his head and sighed, knowing she would not let him leave until he at least looked over the unconscious stranger. "Ok, go open the front door and leave it open." She did as he said. "Now, I'll take his arms and you take his feet. We'll carry him and place him on the floor near the bathroom, ok? I want to examine him on a hard surface in case his neck is hurt."

She nodded. Getting Erik into the house was difficult as he was also taller and more broad-shouldered than Jacob. With Rosalyn helping, it made the task easier, yet it wasn't without sweat and grunts. Finally succeeding in getting their new friend into her home, they dusted off their hands and stared at him. Rosalyn turned on every light in the living room and front hallway while Jacob returned to his car to retrieve his medical tools.

Rosalyn could only stand off to the side and watch as Jacob examined the man. So many thoughts were racing through her mind. Who is this man? Is he going to live? What was he doing in the ocean? Is he dangerous? Is someone looking for him? Slowly she realized that Jacob was talking to her, telling her what was wrong with the stranger.

"It doesn't look like he has pneumonia but he's definitely running a high fever. I want you to get some washcloths and dampen them to put against his forehead."

She returned quickly with the things he requested. "I think he hurt his left leg. He couldn't put his weight on it and it looked like he was walking with difficulty on it."

"No bones are broken but his left knee is swollen. It's sprained and when he wakes, make sure you keep him off his feet for at least a week. He'll be walking with a limp for at least another 2 weeks after it, but it should be fine after that. I'll leave you some gauze so you can re-wrap his knee after I leave. We should put him to bed. You haven't changed that guest room, have you?"

"No…" she said hesitantly, her cheeks blushing slightly. "It's a bit messy… but the bed should be fine."

"Why am I not surprised?" he chuckled. Again, Jacob grasped Erik's arms and torso while Rosalyn lifted his legs and they moved him to the bed in the guest room, careful to avoid the cardboard boxes strewn about the room. "How on earth did you accumulate so much stuff?" Jacob questioned after they had placed Erik on the bed.

"That's all of Dad's junk that he left here when I moved in!" she defended herself. "You forget that when this was our vacation home, we only ever came here a few weeks a year and it was always in the summertime!"

"Okay, okay," he replied, holding his arms up in an apologetic manner. "You reclaimed this place as your own. I got it." He suddenly lifted the sleeve of his left arm and gasped, "I should go. I want to have at least a short nap and shower before I see my first patient. It's not very professional to show up late at your own office!"

"But you're the boss! You can't fire yourself!" laughed Rosalyn.

"Touché, kiddo!" he grinned as his blue eyes sparkled in only the way Rosalyn could make them. "His fever should break by tonight but make sure you keep a wet cloth over his forehead." Kissing the top of her head, he said his farewells and walked out of the condo and into the cool night.

Sighing, Rosalyn closed the door and made her way back to the guest room. It's just you and me, buddy. She proceeded to look after her patient, all the while wondering who this strange man with an unfortunate face could be.