Cold Spell

Chapter 13

"Joe, we need to re-locate that shoulder," Frank said as he finished securing the eye pads over the bite using the pink elastic bands. Worried about possible constriction, he just needed them to hold the makeshift bandages in place while they reset Joe's shoulder.

Then he could move his brother back to camp and take a better look at the bite.

Joe didn't open his eyes but gave a little nod of his head, indicating that he'd heard and understood. The pain was making him nauseous and he just wanted it over with!

"'k-k-kay," he whispered after a moment, and then opened his eyes, blazing blue in his pale face. He was still shivering although Frank had already hauled the tattered woolen blanket over and draped it around his brother's shoulders – he was hoping Joe's chill was coming from the cold ground he was lying on, but had no way to remedy it until he could get his brother standing up….Either way, they had to take care of the shoulder first.

"H-h-hit m-m-me," the blond boy stuttered from the cold, and felt his brother's fingers pause in their work even as Frank said, his voice incredulous and loud in the strange quiet that was surrounding them.

"What?"

"H-h-hit m-m-me," Joe tried again, as he fought to stay awake. Exhaustion coupled with his injuries and intense pain from the dislocation were threatening him, and he doubted he'd remain conscious much longer. "K-n-n-ock sh-sh-sh-oulder in…in…in p-p-plac-c-e."

The younger boy couldn't think of any other way to do it. He didn't have the strength to find something to run into, and a hospital room was out of the question! He'd seen enough dislocated shoulders while playing football and skiing to know there weren't a lot of options when it came to re-locating it. And no matter what, it was going to be painful!

"No," Frank said bluntly.

"F-F-Frank p-p-p-lease—" The older boy put his fingers over his brother's mouth to silence him as he continued.

"No Joe. I'm not going to hit you. You can do this yourself….I'll help you, kiddo, but not like that."

Joe closed his eyes in resignation. He'd just have to somehow get to his feet and find something to run into. But then he felt his brother's warm fingers caress his cheek and heard his voice, gentle but reassuring at the same time.

He opened his eyes again and looked at his brother.

"Remember when Tony put his shoulder out last year and I took him to the ER?" Frank smiled down into the weary blue eyes. He didn't wait for Joe to respond, he just continued, "The doc told him a technique Ton could use if it happened again and we weren't near a hospital or anything. And I think you can do it. In fact I know you can!"

Joe did remember the incident all too well. He, Biff Hooper, Tony Prito, and Frank had gone camping about an hour outside Bayport.

Tony and Frank, the early risers of the campers, had decided to take a hike to the top of a bluff while they were waiting for Joe and Biff to welcome the day. But Tony slipped on the trail and ended up head over heels at the bottom. He was incredibly lucky though, and a dislocated shoulder had been his worst injury.

Frank had helped Tony back to camp and then drove him to Bayport while Joe and Biff stayed behind to pack up, their enthusiasm being lost in light of their friend's injury. Biff had driven himself and Joe back later that same morning.

"H-h-how?" Joe asked, desperate for some relief.

"Okay," Frank started, and the younger boy smiled in spite of himself as he heard his brother slip into, what Joe secretly called "Frank's Boss Voice." It was a clipped, all-business; no-fooling-around tone that made you automatically sit up and take notice, instilling intense confidence that he knew exactly what he was doing.

And for some reason it overwhelmed Joe with a sense of relief to hear it right now when he felt like the pain was going to swallow him.

"First we need to sit you up," Frank gently slipped his arm around his brother's waist and helped him sit up. They moved slowly so it wouldn't jar his shoulder, and then the older boy gave Joe a few minutes to recover from the movement.

"N-n-next," Joe shivered, feeling lightheaded and needing this over with, now!

"Okay," Frank said, "I'm going to bend your left knee up so that it's at a 90-degree angle….Hold on. Just relax, you don't have to do anything, I'll move it…."

Joe felt his brother put his knee in position – so far, so good.

"Now comes the harder part," Frank admitted, frowning as he knew this was going to hurt – Joe needed to move his injured arm, just a little bit, but right now even a little bit would be agony.

"k-k-kay," the younger boy managed, dreading the next part as he suddenly got a very good idea of what was coming.

"You need to clasp that knee with both your hands….I can help you with your left—"

"N-NO!" The word came out sharper than Joe intended, but Frank took no offense, knowing it was the pain. "I-I-I'll d-d-do it-t-t!"

Slowly and with great effort, Joe moved his left hand to his knee, biting his lip to keep from screaming as he did so. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat, and he had to take a few minutes to get his breathing under control before he could do anything else.

Frank waited as he gently rubbed his brother's back to help him calm down.

"You need to relax for this to work," he cautioned softly, and grimaced at the look Joe shot him. "I know that sounds impossible…but try…if not, then you might have to try it again. It can take up to three attempts according to that ER doctor."

"Y-y-you're n-n-n-ot h-h-helping-g-g," the younger boy shivered.

"Sorry," Frank said, and then watched as Joe tried to take deeper steadying breaths. Slowly he felt some of the tension going out of his brother's back. He continued to rub it in soothing circles until Joe finally said he was ready to do this.

Please let this work on the first try, Frank prayed, even as he said, "Extend your neck…yeah, like that. And now lean backwards – letting your arms straighten out!"

Joe gave a sharp cry of pain as Frank heard a sluggish pop, and then he just collapsed!

"Joe!" Frank cried, leaning over the prone boy and shaking his good shoulder gently for some response, but there wasn't any.

"Damn," he muttered, "Did it go back in?" Gingerly, he checked his brother's shoulder and then let out a sigh of relief – it had. "Thank goodness!" Now that Joe was out cold, Frank wasn't sure how he would have done it if the shoulder had still been dislocated

But with Joe unconscious, Frank could work a bit faster, and quickly wrapped the blanket around his brother, stuffed a few of the first aid items into his pockets, and then gently lifted Joe up.

He staggered under the weight, his own body weakened by hunger and exhaustion, and waited for a moment to shift Joe into a better position before he headed back to the burrow.

"It's okay, little brother, you just take it easy," he murmured, although he knew the other boy couldn't hear him. "I'll come back for the rest of this stuff after you're taken care of."

Slowly, he made his way across the terrain and back to the burrow. His mind was already occupied with what he had to do once he got Joe back there, and he was just glad that he had some water already boiled and cooled down – he was going to need it.

The bite needed to be cleaned and dressed first, and then the shoulder, although back in place now, would still need to be immobilized in a sling for a couple of weeks.

So he'd have to make some sort of sling. Actually that part of it didn't concern him very much – he had more than one idea on making a sling…without that stupid first aid kit.

He was, however, very concerned about two other things:

Cleaning the wound properly so it didn't get infected; as they had nothing to treat an infection with, and…

Rabies.

Either way, he already knew he wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight!

Glancing one more time at the bright night sky, Frank said a heartfelt prayer that they'd be found soon, and then moved Joe into the burrow.

"Welcome home, kiddo," he whispered as he gently laid his brother down on one of the cushions. He heard a soft groan in response, and was surprised to see Joe slowly open his eyes, blink and then look around until finally coming to rest on Frank.

His lips moved but Frank couldn't hear what he was saying. Leaning down to pick up the faint words, the older boy felt a lump stick in the back of his throat.

"I w-w-wan' g-g-go h-h-h-ome."

"Oh baby brother," he whispered through blurring vision as he reached out and stroked the pale, cold cheek, "you will…soon. I promise."

That was good enough for Joe.

The younger boy closed his eyes and let himself fade out again. His big brother was here and he knew Frank would take care of things…he wanted to help, but he was just too tired.

So he slept.

And in his dreams, an ash blond with warm gray eyes smiled at him and whispered, "The best gift you can bring me back from Greenland…is you…."

Special thanks to JD for her advice on this chapter! I know Frank really appreciates it, as he wasn't too impressed with the other proposed techniques for resetting that arm! LOL!