The Historians
Chapter 3
They made their way back to the hospital and Doc's bedside. He was still lying there motionless. It seemed that the fever had subsided. Kitty went over and lifted his hand, looking carefully at the needle going into his arm and the tube leading to it.
"What do you make of all this Matt?" she asked, gently stroking the frail hand.
Before he could reply, the door opened and a young woman in a white coat entered. She looked around the room at the occupants and smiled.
"You must be Matt and Kitty Dillon. Thomas – er Mr. Kedworth told me about you." From the way she said his name, Kitty thought there was something more than a working arrangement between the two doctors.
"Let me introduce myself, Jennifer Chaudri," she extends her hand to each in turn.
Kitty looks at this elegant woman who is probably a couple of years older than herself. She is dressed in a dark skirt that is barely long enough to reach her knees, she is wearing a light green blouse tucked into that and a white coat similar to the one Thomas was wearing. Her skin is a light coffee color and her eyes are brown with a few flecks of green. Her hair is so dark and shiny that it looks black, it would probably be shoulder length but she wore it held back to the nape of her neck by a decorative barrette. The name badge on her pocket reads Dr. Jennifer Chaudri.
She stands back and smiles at them both. "My grandfather was Indian," – she says, "oh not the kind of Indians from your country, my ancestors come from a different continent entirely." She laughs, an easy sound to listen to.
"I have been taking care of your uncle Kitty. He presented us with quite a problem. Lucky you arrived and found him when you did or he would not be alive today. I need to check him over and then I can talk to you some more."
They watched as she produced a stethoscope from her pocket, and then a small hammer.
It took her almost ten minutes to do all the listening and tapping. Finally she turned to Kitty. "He is much better now," she said pulling the bed covers back in place. "We will continue the antibiotics for a few more days, and I think about that time he will be ready to wake up. He had a bad case of meningitis, he must be a tough character."
"He's that alright," Matt agreed half laughing.
She gestured for them to be seated and perched herself on the edge of the bed. Dillon felt awkward sitting in a chair while she was still half standing. He offered her the chair but she waved it away. Things had certainly changed since his time. Women were Doctors, taking charge of the situation, telling him what to do, all very different.
The young woman looked towards Kitty.
"Thomas said the airlines lost your bags and asked me if I would take you shopping for some new clothes. He said you lived in a small town in Kansas and would get lost in London. I am free tomorrow afternoon and would be happy to do that, I enjoy going round the shops, it will be fun."
"Thank you." Kitty did not know what she meant by 'airlines' and had not even thought about the fact that all she had were the clothes she stood up in. "I will look forward to it."
They stayed with Doc for a while after Jennifer left.
Kitty sat by the bedside holding his hand and talking softly to him. Once she thought she felt him squeeze her fingers, but he never opened his eyes.
It was beginning to get dark by the time they decided to leave and return to the apartment. They negotiated the traffic, the streets, the lift and the door locks without too much difficulty.
Kitty felt tired but was intrigued by the shower she had found earlier. Hot water at the turn of a knob was intriguing. There were extra large towels, all fluffy and white folded and neatly stacked on a shelf, just waiting to be used.
0o0o0o0
Matt was sitting on the couch in the living room, once again looking at the gun he had been given. He heard his name called and went to the bedroom and the connecting bathroom off of it. There was Kitty under the shower, warm water dripping off of her body.
"Come on Matt, get those clothes off and come join me, there is room enough for two so we might as well enjoy this while we are here."
He looked at her through the glass. The steam had made it opaque in places, but he could see her outline easily.
"Matt," she called again, "hurry up." It amazed her how shy he was about removing his clothes. How many times in the last few years had they spent the night together in her room above the Long Branch? Even so she usually had to undo buttons and ease the shirt from his shoulders to get him started. She turned the water off and opened the glass door.
"I'm going to pull you in here, clothes and all in a minute."
She watches as he slowly throws shirt, pants and underclothes in a corner and steps into this fantastic device to enjoy the feel of the clean warm water falling over them. She hands him the soap.
"Wash my back," she instructs. Gingerly he begins to lather her skin with the delicate smelling soap. The water makes long rivers that course from her soft hair and cascade down her back. He cannot help but notice how they follow her curves and finally fall over like waterfalls to splash off of her legs.
"See that is not so difficult is it." She smiles, taking the soap from him. "Your turn." Using the soap in one hand and a washcloth in the other she rubs his chest and back. She sees the effect it is having on her lawman, and finally turns the water off and opens the door and reaches out to grab two of the large fluffy towels.
Together they dry most of the water from their skin and return to the bedroom where the half light of evening is coming through the shaded windows to make dark shadows fall across the bed.
He stretches down to move back the covers before the towels fall to the floor, then reaching for her he lies back on the bed pulling her down on top of him.
She smiles as her lips brush his. "Welcome to 2012 cowboy."
TBC