An Alternate Life AU
Chapter 14 The Last Piece of Beef Jerky
Jeff leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and stared at the floor. It had been only two hours since Bogg had been brought to the medical unit, but to Jeff it seemed like an eternity. Finally, Sid Bradshaw, a doctor that Jeff knew very well, walked through the door and approached.
Jeff stood up. "How is he?"
"He's tired, dehydrated and has a fever."
"What about the bullet?"
"It's been in there awhile, the wound is infected, but it's a small caliber slug and didn't hit any vital areas. Phineas was right, it's not a bad wound as bullet wounds go. I'll operate later tonight after he's had some fluids and antibiotics."
"He'll be all right then?"
"I think so."
"Can I see him?"
Jeff sat beside the bed and watched Phineas sleep. He knew that technically, Dan had been right and Bogg had been wrong. Their job had been to fix history, and the Guidebook had not mentioned the boy. But, Jeffrey also knew that his partner couldn't bear to leave someone in harm's way, especially a child. He knew from experience that Bogg had a very kind heart. He wiped his eyes and tried to think good thoughts.
Suddenly a memory flashed before his eyes. They were on a battlefield with an English soldier when they found out that a British princess had married a Russian and they knew they had to prevent that marriage. That scene would have been forgotten if not for the next thing that happened, because it was something that Jeffrey never forgot. He watched again in his mind's eye as Bogg handed his last piece of beef jerky to the soldier because he was hungry. Jeff had never asked Bogg about that, but he had thought about it a lot. He knew that the soldier would disappear soon because he was in a timeline that never would have happened. Bogg had given his only food to someone who would never need it. As he thought about this, Jeff felt sure that even if that boy had been in an alternate timeline, Bogg would have tried to help him too.
Another thought formed shortly afterward. That he was probably the only person alive who had seen Bogg do things like that. No one else could know Bogg the way he did and he suddenly felt very privileged to have been a witness to such acts of kindness.
"Hey," Bogg whispered softly.
Jeff looked up and saw his friend's eyes open. "Hi," Jeff whispered, "how ya doin?"
"Better, thanks."
"You're gonna be okay."
"I didn't wanna leave with us fighting, but I didn't have a choice."
Jeff shook his head, "like you said, nothing's changed between us. Just be okay, all right?"
"I know you think I'm overprotective, but I just…. I'm doing the best I can. You just gotta put up with me." He closed his eyes and sighed.
"You're doin okay," Jeff's voice broke.