"Listen up!" I called out to the group of Easy men that stood in front of me. "You'll be working in groups of three. We need to get these men out of these huts and into the fresh air. I want you to check each and every man before you move them. No sense in moving a dead man, our focus is on the living right now." A murmur of assent tickled my ears as I continued. "The easiest place to check for a pulse is the jugular, here, or on the radial side of the wrist, here." I demonstrated each site on my own body and saw many of the men practice on themselves. "If you don't feel anything, move on to the next man. If you're not sure, get me or one of the other medics to double check.
"Now, respiratory infections are our biggest concern at the moment. That is why we are going to separate these men into three groups. Those who you are sure have respiratory infections over there." I pointed to an open space far away from the huts and tucked into a corner away from the main throughway of the camp and down wind. "Were looking for hacking coughs, wheezing or raspy breathing, fevers, golden or rust colored phlegm and shallow, rapid breathing. Any of these men show these signs, bring the right over and the medics or myself will take it from there.
"The second group will be those who possibly have an infection. If they have one of those signs or symptoms and you are not sure, then bring them over here," I again pointed out the spot, far enough away from the last place and once again away from the main throughway. "One of us will triage them and send them to the appropriate location.
"The final group will be those that have no signs or symptoms of infection. We are trying to stop the spread of infection. No one here should be at risk as our immune systems are fairly strong, but still keep an eye on yourselves and each other. We can get over a cold fairly easily, but anything that comes from us and transfers to them can mean death." I sighed deeply.
"Soft hands, gentlemen. If you're not sure about something, find me or one of the medics. Got it?" Nods and grunts of understanding answered my question. "Good. Let's move it!"
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I stood up and cracked my back before rubbing out the kinks and knots that had settled into my spine after what seemed like hours of stooping over patient after patient. I sighed as I looked over the men that littered the ground around me. Over half of those that we had rescued from the huts showed clear signs of respiratory infection and we still hadn't completely finished emptying the other huts. Progress was slow, there were just so many men, so many bodies that needed to be moved. It felt like a never ending task and I felt whatever hope I had start to dwindle and burn out like a candle at the end of its wick.
"Benny." I turned to Tab walking over to me and nodded a greeting. "Winters wants to see you."
"Lead the way." I sighed as I caught Gene's eye in passing. He looked as tired as I felt. "I'll be over there if you need me." I told him, pointing in the general direction in which the new Company First Sergeant was leading me. He nodded and continued his work as I passed him by. I casually slung the obsolete stethoscope around my neck, grabbing onto either end of it and letting my tired arms hang from it as we approached the group of officers.
"Gentlemen." I greeted before turning my attention to Winters. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes, Benny, this is Major Kent, the regimental surgeon." I nodded my head in the general direction of the major as something caught my eye.
"Nice to meet ya, sir." I said absentmindedly as my eyes trailed after one of the 'displaced persons' or DP as we called them in the army. "Where did that food come from?" I questioned as I knitted my eyebrows together.
"We gave it to them." Speirs answered.
"You should have checked with me first, sir." I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes in frustration.
"You didn't know about this, Sergeant?" The Major asked, looking over me with a critical eye.
"No, sir." I answered with a frown.
"What's so bad about feeding starving men?" Welsh asked.
"Sergeant." The Major turned the question over to me, almost as this were a classroom with he being the teacher and I the student he was testing.
"Because their stomachs can't handle it, sir." I answered Welsh before turning to address the rest of the group as well. "All the bacteria that aid in the breakdown, digestion and absorption of food are either dead or dying and there is very little acid left in their stomachs, not to mention the fact that their body has most likely shut down digestion completely in order to save what precious energy and resources it has left to keep the more vital organs running. Their bodies are craving nutrients, vitamins and minerals, fats, protein, all sorts of thing that they have been deprived too long. Without acid and bacteria in their stomachs, they won't be able to break down the food properly, or at all. Without absorbing nutrients, their bodies will continue to tell the brain to eat. With no impulse control, they will literally eat themselves to death before they will ever feel full."
"Jesus Christ." Nix murmured.
"They need to rebuild the that acid and bacteria. Yogurt, sauerkraut, fermented milk, whatever we can get that can aid with bacterial growth will be the first things that we should feed them. It needs to be rationed out until their stomachs are turned back on, so to speak, enough to handle the breakdown of other foods." I sighed and scratched the back of my head before continuing. "Not to forget the risk of diarrhea, which will further dehydrate these men even more than they already are and that will kill them faster than anything." I finished.
"Impressive." Major Kent nodded. I forced a small smile as I unconsciously started to fiddle with my stethoscope, catching the Major's eye. "Where the hell did you get that?" He nodded to the instrument.
"Captain Speirs found it for me, sir." I answered. He looked me over with a critical, calculating eye before finally speaking once more.
"I'll get you a real one." He finally nodded. "Do you need anything else?"
"Besides the obvious, sir?" I asked.
"Of course, I'll work on water, food, morphine and antibiotics." He nodded.
"Tent's, sir." I answered. "At least six or more… and bedrolls or blankets." I explained my infection control techniques to him.
"Very good, Sergeant," a small smile crept across his lips. "I'll get you your tents and as many bedrolls, cots and blankets as I can. I'll also send you some relief as soon as I can round some up." He looked me over once more. "You're the Sergeant that treated all those men in Bastogne, aren't you?"
"Yes sir." I answered with a slight grimace and subconsciously scratch the back out my head. "That was me." He was quiet for a moment.
"I treated some of those men that you were able to evacuate. Without you, a lot of them would have never made it to my table."
"I uh… I don't know about that, sir."I raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I hate false modesty, Benally." He rolled his eyes.
"I don't think it's false modesty, Doctor." Winters interjected. "I don't think that Sergeant Benally knows just how invaluable he really is." He clapped me on the shoulder and I bit my lip, not sure if the praise was really warranted.
"Well, in that case, I'm a real fan of your work Sergeant." The Major nodded. "I'll get you what you need. And as far as I'm concerned, you are in charge of anything medical here. I'll let my doctors know they're to report to you."
"I don't think that will go over too well, sir." I hesitated.
"Bull shit." He grunted. "They need to be knocked down a peg or two anyway." He grinned and I forced a small smile back. "I'll get you what I can."
He stuck out his hand and I only hesitated slightly before taking it. He gave my hand to firm pumps that were liable to rip my shoulder from its socket.
"Keep up the good work," he added before dropping my hand and turning to address the officers. "Gentlemen."
He nodded in farewell before walking over and jumping into his jeep and speeding off down the road. Once he was out of sight I turned back to Winters and the other officers and excused myself.
I thought about what the major had said, about the men I operated on. I wondered how many of them had survived, how many of them were able to go back home to their families, hug their mothers, kiss their sweethearts. During those weeks in Bastogne I had never been more in doubt of my skills as a doctor before in all my life. I worried that my skills were too dependent on the technology of my time and that the next patient would present me with something that I couldn't fix without those machines. But with each patient, I was able to dredge up things I never remembered learning and some things I knew we never went over in medical school because the techniques were so obsolete. I racked my brain, trying to remember where I learned them, but just when I got a grasp on the location of those memories, they drifted through my fingers like smoke.
"Jo?" Gene gently laid his hand on my shoulder. I blink several times as my mind finally focused on the present. "You a'right? You're starin' off inta space."
"Yeah." I nodded "I'm fine… just thinking." I waited for the smartass retort I had grown so used to from George and Buck, 'Don't strain yourself,' but it never came. He just nodded and squeezed my shoulder before going back to his work. I watched his hands as he gently laid them on the cheek of a man who was gasping for breath. The man instantly calmed his breathing as Gene set to checking the man. His hands ghosted over the emaciated form as the man stared at him in something akin to awe. It wasn't everyone that had hands like him, hands that could calm and ease the soul.
"Jo, could you take a look at this guy?" Spina asked. I tore my eyes away from Gene's hands before settling them on the other medic.
"Sure." I said tiredly before following the medic over to a man who was laid in the fetal position.
"It's ok." I whispered as I gently touched his shoulder. "I'm going to help you." He uncurled himself as I set to work checking him over.
"Don't worry 'bout nothin'." I heard Spina's voice as he talked to the man. "Jo here will fix you up."
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True to his word, the Major sent along tents, blankets, bedrolls, cots, medicine, water and food rich in live cultures along with a brand new stethoscope worth what I estimated to be at least three times my monthly earnings. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, silver plated, binaural and worked so well that I could clearly hear the crackling of the tiny infected bronchi of my patients without trying to mentally drown out the background noise like I did with the pilfered one.
I delegated tasks to all the medics, everything from caring for the patients to passing out rationed food, water and medicine. Once the large tents were constructed, we set about the monumental task of carefully moving each of the bedridden patients into them while keeping the spread of infection to a minimum. After what seemed like too many hours to possibly fit into one day, each patient had at the least their own blanket to curl up in if not a bedroll or cot as well.
"Gene." I called over to the medic, my voice heavily laden with absolute exhaustion.
"Yeah, Jo?" He answered, his face mirroring the exhaustion that I myself felt.
"Take the rest of the medics and whatever Easy men are still here and go back to town. Y'all need to get some rest." I ordered as a jeep full of fresh faced medical personnel finally pulled up to the camp.
"What 'bout you?"He asked as his brow creased.
"I'll be here for a while longer. I gotta get the new guys up to speed before I leave." I answered.
"I stay wit ya." He replied.
"No," I shook my head.
"Jo-"
"Gene, I'm going to need you well rested for tomorrow." I said, cutting him off before he could protest.
"But-"
"No buts, please." I almost pleaded in my exhaustion, too tired to try and argue. Gene sighed deeply and rubbed his hand across his forehead.
"A'right, Jo." He relented. "Don' stay here too long." He squeezed my shoulder. I nodded to him before he turned and went off to do as I asked. I contemplated the big hearted Cajun as I watched his dark head bob off into the crowd to relay my orders to the rest of the men. I thought about all the lives that had been saved because he was here, about how my life had been saved because he was here.
"Where do ya want me?" an all too chipper voice broke me from my thoughts.
"Coop." I answered in surprise. "What are you doing here, I thought you had been transferred to a different regiment?"
"I was, but when I heard you needed help, I jump at the chance." He smiled at me.
"I'm glad you came." I forced a small, tired smile as I looked behind him at the fresh medical personnel that were milling about. Their eyes held a horror to them just like ours had when we first came upon the sight that we now had become somewhat accustomed to.
I briefed the group on what we had set up and the layout of the camp before assigning them to their tasks.
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"The next wave is here." Coop said as he stood up from the patient we were working on together. Night had fallen hours ago on what had to be one of the longest days of my life.
"Good." I nodded. "Gather the rest of the men and hop onto one of those trucks." I ordered as I stretched my aching back.
"What about you?" He asked in concern. "You've been here all day."
"I'm waiting for a doctor. I won't feel comfortable enough to leave and get some shut eye until one shows up, this isn't like what the medics have dealt with during battle," I answered with a weary sigh.
"Alright," he nodded with a jaw-cracking yawn. I forced a smile as he gathered the men and herded them onto the trucks. I walked over to meet the new group of medics.
"Are you Sergeant Benally?" a man with Captain bars and a caduceus displayed on his lapels asked.
"Yes, sir." I answered.
"Major Kent said I was to… report to you." He barely suppressed a sneer as the words poured from his mouth like a bad taste. I was too tired to care anymore, so I briefed him and the group before having the Captain follow me around as I explained everything I had done and what else needed to be done.
I stayed for a couple hours more until I was sure that the Captain would follow my direction, which he did so albeit begrudgingly.
"You did a good job here, Sergeant." He sighed as he and I finished checking out one of the DPs that had a severe infection.
"Thank you, sir." I nodded as I stifled a yawn.
"Go get some sleep." He nudged me in the direction of a waiting jeep. I nodded to him and made my way over to the vehicle, finally comfortable enough to leave him on his own until the morning… or at least until later that morning. I jumped into the waiting jeep and the driver took off, speeding deep into the night towards the town that I had left just the morning before but felt like I hadn't seen in a week.
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"Sergeant Benally." A voice called out to me as the jeep that brought me back to town sped off into the night. I looked towards the voice, the streets dark except for the slow burn of a cigarette as it briefly lit up the face of Captain Speirs.
"Sir," I answered as I made my way over to him with a weary sigh. He scrutinized me for a moment, started to say something, then decided against it and took another long drag from his cigarette.
"We moved your things into OP 1 with Doc Roe." He announced.
"Thank you, sir."I nodded as he looked me over a moment longer. My eyes finally adjusted enough to see his slim form in the moonlight. He reached into his pocket and produced a cigarette which he handed over to me. I took the cancer stick with a grateful smile and placed it between my chapped lips. He whipped out a lighter that he no doubt 'procured' from one of the homes and lit it. We stood in companionable silence as I drew deep from the cigarette, letting the hot nicotine burn away at some of the stress the day had left weighing heavy on my shoulders.
The night was clear and beautiful. Stars twinkled down at us a little too merrily and I was reminded of the night in Bastogne, the first one I spent alone in my foxhole without Buck there. I glared up at the stars, wishing them to dim and reflect the mood of the world around me. But despite my best efforts, they continued to twinkle brightly and happily down at me, mocking me in their cheerful existence, rubbing in the fact that they had not a care in the world while I had to stand day in and day out in this hell.
I sighed as I felt the familiar burn at my fingers indicating the eminent death of my nicotine filled coping device. I dropped the butt and watched it burn quietly in the road before snuffing its life out with the tip of my scuffed boot.
"Get some sleep, Jo." Speirs ordered in a voice much softer than I had ever heard come from the imposing Captain.
"Yes, sir." I answered and made my way over to OP 1. I climbed up the stairs to a smallish room marked with a make-shift paper red cross. The gesture brought a tiny smile to my lips as I quietly pushed open the door and slipped inside.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the low light that was streaming through the uncurtained window, allowing me to see the sleeping form of Gene curled up in one of the two beds. I sighed in exhaustion as I dropped onto the opposite one. I removed my boots, socks and uniform before slipping into the PT shorts that I so often slept in and that someone had so kindly left out for me. I made a mental note to thank George in the morning as I stood and pulled the covers back. I suppressed a moan as I crawled into the soft mattress and wrapped the covers around my worn and weary form.
"G'night Jo." Gene's sleepy voice called to me as my mind danced on the edge of consciousness.
"G'night Gene." I whispered back as I took the plunge and dropped into the blessed darkness of sleep.
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Thank you so much to all my reviews! achillies-eel, gothique4, Azrael's Darkest Secrets, EmmyMK, britt, Lift the Wings, CP2girls, loveonspeedial, LittlestSweetheart, Kelly Belle, Ashlynn, and to my newest reviewers, the everchanging, BoB, and Liliesshadow. You guys are the greatest!
britt- I'm glad you liked it. It took a long time for me to figure out how I wanted to start the chapter, so I'm glad you think it was alright. I try to keep this story as something that is not just my story, but something that is integrated into the actual plot line of the series, I want the readers to be able to see Jo and how she would fit into the series as they are watching it. I'm so glad that I can keep you coming back! Thank you so much for your reviews! They always brighten my day!
BoB- Welcome to my story! I'm so happy to hear that I have sucked in another reader! I'm glad you liked it! Everyone seems to have their favorite romantic pair, but I'm still keeping that a secret for now. Thank you so much for the review!
LittlestSweetheart- Speirs is fun to write, in the series it shows him piling stuff into his helmet and so I thought I would keep that little bit in there for a smile. I'm glad you liked the camp part. It took me a long time to get it close to how I wanted it. I'm not sure where you can see a full size of the avatar, I think I did a google image search for Doc Roe and found it. Thank you so much for the review!
Ashlynn- I so glad you liked how I handled this part. It took me a long time to get out because I couldn't get it right. I'm sorry I almost made you cry! Thank you so much for your review!
As for everyone else who has read the story and not reviewed, thank you for reading and please let me know what you think of this story! Good, bad, not so bad, just let me know what you like or don't and any suggestions for improvement you may have!
Please take the time to leave me a review, it is always greatly appreciated!
Amanda
Edited 8/7/17