4.
~ Ariadne was enjoying the feel of fresh air. The make shift sick room for Fredrick was claustrophobic and she was getting to the point where she could no longer stand it.
Fredrick cried and complained unceasingly and he was never content for even a moment as the whole house hold was busy with the girls from the phone hub, as well as him.
As a result, Ariadne bore the burden of caring for the blind invalid herself. A task not made any easier since Fredrick couldn't seem to walk without being in constant pain.
His wounds drained constantly and she had to change his bandages, wash them, and re-wrap them again.
But there was no sign of infection yet, which pleased Lady Percy.
The scarring to his face was another matter. No matter if it was gas, or fire that did it, Fredrick's good looks were gone forever. His blue eyes were lost as well, as the gas turned that charming feature into glazed over grayness.
"Ariadne!" a sudden shout came from the housekeeper's sitting room.
She jumped and was pulled out of her stolen quite time to the real world again.
"What is it Fredrick?" she asked as she swiftly returned to his side.
"My legs hurt." he cried petulantly.
She let out a sigh.
"We can't give you any more laudanum. You've had your dose for the day." she told him. Lady Percy had strongly suspected the gas had destroyed his ability to metabolize pain medicine and Fredrick suffered from the discomfort of swelling and other maladies.
"God damn it, woman!" he cried. "Look at me! I'm in pain!"
"Fredrick-" she tried to reason with him.
"Get out!" he shouted. "Just leave if you hate me so much!"
Ariadne didn't have to be told twice. Fredrick acted more like a spoiled child these days then the real children in her care.
He had refused to allow his son, Harold, to come and see him. The child wasn't even told Fredrick was alive, let alone back at the house.
Lady Percy had tried to convince him to see his son, but Fredrick didn't want his son's last memory to be of a father so wounded and broken.
Ariadne made it to her conservatory, before she stated to cry.
Why had she been such a fool to marry Fredrick? She was now burdened with a blind and crippled husband who would no doubt find a way to live forever. Always needing care and complaining about everything. She not only had Fredrick to care for, but his son as well.
She should have just run off with Eames when he made the offer. They could have been happy. They always got along very well. Before things became so complicated.
"Missus?" came a small voice.
Ariadne looked up from her writing table. Very aware that she had been crying.
Maura stood there trembling.
"Missus? Are you alright?" she asked.
"Fine, Maura. Mr. Hays is just having a bad day." Ariadne said and tried to show some composure.
"Sorry to hear, Missus." Maura said.
"What is it, Maura?" Ariadne asked.
"Missus, there are some army men here to see you." the young maid said.
"About what?" Ariadne asked.
"They won't say. They tell me they will only talk to you." Maura told her.
Ariadne wiped the tears off her face and tried to brush back her hair.
"Show them in, Maura." she said a last.
The maid nodded and Ariadne wished she looked more presentable as two older officers came into her conservatory.
"Mrs. Ariadne Bradford?" one asked.
"Well, it's Mrs. Hays now, but yes." Ariadne told them.
"Were here about Captain Charles Ray Eames." he said.
Ariadne felt her world fall away.
'He's dead.' she thought. 'Prepare yourself for the worst. They are going to tell you that he's dead.'
"I thought you would send a telegram to his mother with his death, sir." she said stiffly.
The two officers looked at one another.
"Madam, captain Eames is very much alive. He's quite the war hero to." he said.
"I don't understand." Ariadne said. "Where is he? Why are you here?"
"He was wounded a month ago." the younger of the officers said. "Stepped on a land mine and almost died. He was at the field hospital and they were about to take his leg when he tried to kill the orderly who was going to take him to be amputated. He almost shot the man dead. The surgeon was so impressed, he managed to save Captain Eames' leg. Said a man with that much fight in him shouldn't be crippled."
"So, he's still in battle?" Ariadne asked.
"No, ma'am. He's at the cottage hospital here in the village. His wounds were such that he couldn't return to active duty." the officer told her.
"He's here?" Ariadne asked in disbelief. "Why didn't we know until now? His mother should have been informed. Why are you talking to me anyway? I'm not his wife."
"Ma'am, he has Ariadne Bradford listed as his next of kin. No other family members." the officer told her.
~ The cottage hospital was still small a cozy. Exactly as Ariadne remembered it from when Mrs. Abbot attacked her.
The clean little beds were lined up against the wall with the curtained dividers segregating each bed ridden patient.
She was taken to the end of the row by the two officers and couldn't help but be reminded of when she and Maggie went to retrieve him from Robert Fischer's hospital in White Chapel.
Then, her friend looked thin, pale and sickly. Now, she wondered how he was still alive.
She gasped at the shock of seeing him like this. Gone was his strong, well toned body. The person that lay in the bed at the end of the row was painfully thin. It was a wonder he was even sill alive. His eyes were sunken in and he looked like even breathing was painful.
He had small burns that peppered his face an hands. The blankets covering his other wounds.
"Eames?" she whispered as she knelt by his side.
Her friend slowly opened his eyes and looked confusedly back at her.
"They said I was going home." he said in a cracked and thirsty voice. "Is this Blue Rivers, or heaven?"
"None of your charms just now, sir." Ariadne scolded as she got him some water to drink.
His eyes never left her as he greedily drank all the water she gave him.
"I've a car out front. We're going home." she told him as she helped him to sit up.
"My isn't this familiar." Eames said with an impish little grin. "I don't want mother to know I'm home." he said suddenly.
"Why not? And why did you have me listed as your next of kin?" she asked as she stripped off his hospital gown and put a clean shirt on him.
"Because." he sighed. "I wanted you to be the first to know when I died." he admitted.
She glared at him.
"To punish me? For rejecting you and marring Fredrick?" she asked.
"No." he whispered. "To punish myself."

Thank you all for the awesome feedback. I'm not normally one who craves reviews, but I wanted to make sure I was writing the kind of story you wanted to read.
I want you all to know you guys light up my whole life and I don't want to think about a world without my writing or my readers.
On this story, I WILL have Arthur return to Blue Rivers. There WILL be A&E sexy time. (evil laughter).
One question was posed that I wanted to answer, yes, I have thought about self publishing. A LOT in fact, But I need a GREAT beta reader and I have a very short attention span sometimes. When I'm done with a story, I'm done with it. I don't know why.
I normally let the feedback from my readers dictate the direction the story will go. I also think my best work comes from fan requests, so shout them out. Even if you don't know what kind of story you want, I will try to make it work.