Chapter 6 Recovery

An eternity later, the sun peeked over the trees on the east edge of the field and a rooster crowed. Jeffrey had continued to call out for him throughout the night in a weak voice.

"It's okay, you're okay," Phineas whispered each time, and he hoped it was true. The kid seemed very weak. He had tried once, to move his arms up and around Bogg's neck, but though he had succeeded, he didn't have the strength to hold on for very long.

"What're you doing in there?" Sadie's voice interrupted his thoughts. She stood on the shore behind him.

Phineas glanced over his shoulder at her, "I thought it would help," he said tiredly.

Soon there were 20 cows lined up along the edge of the pond, loudly drinking their fill. The day had begun, and the pond was a focal point of the farm.

Phineas stayed in the water, continuing to cradle Jeff in his arms and keeping him submerged as much as he could to keep the fever down.

When the sun was high in the sky, a voice broke the silence.

"Are we in a lake?" Jeff asked. His voice was exhausted, but still held a tone of surprise and Bogg smiled.

"Yeah, 'fraid so," he answered in a quiet voice.

"That's kind of strange, isn't it?" Jeff whispered. He had not moved yet and it didn't look like he intended to.

Phineas pulled him closer and hugged him as he spoke, "yeah, I guess. How do you feel?"

"Like I could sleep for a week," was the soft reply.

"I've got just the place where you can do that," Phineas answered and stood up and carried him back to the tack room. He carefully set him down and handed him a cup of water.

Jeff drank it quickly and then lay back and rolled over. "Thanks Bogg," he murmured as he fell asleep.

Phineas stared at his back, a lump in his throat. He sat down heavily on the chair beside the bed. Jeff would be okay, and he didn't seem to be angry any more. And when smallpox struck the other families in this village, if they were still here, they would both be protected. It seemed so simple now, from this side of the experience, but he wouldn't repeat the ordeal of the past few days for anything. He shook his head and wondered if all parents felt this way sometimes. This might actually be the first time he had truly acted like a parent to Jeff and it had been a hard thing to do. He had made a decision about Jeff's life that the kid didn't agree with, and it had made him very sick. He hoped Jeff could forgive him when he woke up and was back to normal.

Jeffrey slept the rest of the day. Every few hours, Phineas roused him for a drink, but he easily slipped back into a sound sleep. That evening, he woke up on his own, feeling more like himself.

"I got this from down the track," Sadie said as she entered the tack room with a basket of bread and cheese.

"Why not from the farmhouse?" Bogg asked, motioning his head toward the large farmhouse across the yard.

"The master's down with the pox," she said in a hushed tone. "The doctor wants to talk to you."

Bogg looked up and then stood as a tall man with thick red hair entered.

"Ben Jesty," the man announced and held out his hand.

"Let's talk outside," Bogg answered, and ignoring his hand, motioned for them both to leave. Once they were out of the barn, Bogg explained. "The boy hasn't had the pox, you might be carrying it."

Ben lowered his hand. "I heard what you did to make him sick, my son hasn't had it either. I'm going to do the same thing."

They stood in silence staring at each other.

"Do it now," Bogg counseled.

"How did you do it?" Ben asked.

Bogg hesitated. Would it change history if he told him? He wasn't sure. "How long have you been thinking about doing this?"

"Since the first case hit Lancaster, last spring."

Bogg nodded slowly, "so why didn't you do it then?"

"I should've. I didn't want to hurt him." As he spoke, a boy of about eight slipped out from behind a wagon. He had red hair like his father, and freckles.

"So you already must have an idea of how to do it."

Ben Jesty looked him in the eye, then nodded. "I cut im an apply the pus," he said.

Bogg nodded, hoping his advice hadn't messed up history.

"Good luck with your son," Jesty said as he and the boy started toward the farm with the sick cows.

"You too." Then he turned and went back inside.

oOo

"Bogg, someone in the house has smallpox," Jeff said as he entered the storeroom.

"Yeah."

"What should we do?"

Bogg shrugged, "you should rest and I should keep trying to fix the omni."

oOo

The next day brought the news that the master had died and his wife had taken ill. Jeffrey spent the morning eating everything that was offered to him. In the afternoon he began pacing around the small tack room.

"When can I get out of here?" he asked Bogg repeatedly, but the answer was always the same.

"The only way we're leaving is to omni out."

"Are you any closer to fixing that Mickey Mouse watch of yours?"

"It's not a watch ."

Jeff sighed, "can I try?"

"And who in the world is Mickey Mouse?" Bogg asked, ignoring his question.

"Come on Bogg... Walt Disney? The Mickey Mouse Club? Donald Duck?"

"Donald Duck?" Bogg paused between the words, in mock surprise. He could hardly contain his happiness that Jeff was here joking around with him. He'd missed his smart mouth, though he'd probably never admit that to Jeff.

"Come on, you can tell me what to do, I just want to..."

Ding.

The sound surprised them both, and they stared at the omni in disbelief. Bogg quickly turned it over and opened it. "Green light," he announced and smiled as he turned it towards his partner.

"About time."

"Time to go," Bogg said as he turned to reach for his vest.

"Hey Bogg?"

"Yeah?" Phineas said as he put on his vest and adjusted it.

"What does an orange light mean?"

Bogg turned immediately toward him and took the omni, the light had changed to orange. He slid his finger over the left edge and he pushed two buttons on the back in sequence, "nothing good, that's for sure," he said in a tense voice.

Jeff watched open mouthed as Bogg hinged open the back of the omni again, this time to reveal a circular screen, similar to the one that had displayed their missions during the trial. Bogg stood staring at the screen and Jeff craned his neck over Bogg's arm to see it too.

"It's a code 2 recall," he paused, "first called 4 days ago, and just repeated."

"What does that mean?"

"It means were going to headquarters, hang on kid," and Jeff clutched Bogg's arm tightly as he hit the button.