Chapter 4: Doc Sam

Disclaimer: While I am borrowing many of the characters created by J.K. Rowling, all rights to those characters remain solely with her. I am neither receiving nor soliciting any monetary recompense for this story.

Severus woke again to the sound of voices in the hallway outside the room in which he was located. He recognized Sara's voice and the voice of the not yet seen Carmen, but there were two male voices as well. As the voices moved closer, he managed to comprehend what Sara was saying and realized that one of the male voices must belong to the man she referred to as 'Doc Sam.' "....woke up. He was chilled and still had a nasty headache. I covered him up with another blanket and got your concoction down his throat. Tried to get his name but he said he couldn't remember," Sara's voice got louder as she neared the room. "Was worried the concussion may have affected his memory though he doesn't seem disoriented." At those last words, Sara came into the room, followed by an older man with gray hair and an expression of fond amusement as he listened to Sara.

The man glanced over towards the bed in which Severus was lying, and realized he was awake and listening to the conversation. Giving Severus a wink, the man turned back to Sara. "Did you happen to think to check his clothing for any identification?" laughing at the exasperated expression on Sara's face. "Old goat," Sara muttered, walking quickly out of the room with the intent, Severus assumed, to search his clothing. "Brat" the man returned to the retreating back. The man turned back to Severus and smiled at him as he walked closer to the bed.

The man started talking as he pulled a chair up closer to the bed and sat down, opening up the black bag he had been carrying. "I've known Sara since the day she was born. She's a feisty thing and won't admit to a soul when she needs help but she has a heart as big as the world and has a hard time thinking badly of anyone. I'm Doctor Samuel Haynes; folks around here just call me Doc Sam. Sara said you were having a problem with your memory. When I examined you earlier, I was more worried at the time about the affect of the heat stress; you were darned close to heat stroke. Once we managed to get your temp down to a safer level, I found the concussion, but, at first glance, it didn't appear to be severe, certainly not bad enough to normally affect memory. How do you feel?"

When Severus opened his mouth to answer, he found it filled instead with a thermometer. Rolling his eyes, he went to remove the thermometer from his mouth, only to hear, a stern, "leave it be son" as the man firmly tapped his hand away.

Feeling like a reprimanded 5-year old, Severus glared silently at the Doctor, just managing to quell the flash of irritation and waited impatiently for the man to remove the thermometer so he could answer the man's question.

Once the thermometer was removed, Severus said, "as I started to say, my head still hurts but the pain is beginning to fade a bit. I'm, sore, a little tired, but otherwise I don't feel that badly."

The doctor flashed Severus a stern look, what Severus interpreted as a warning to watch the attitude, and said

"Your temp is still up a little, though nothing sleep won't take care of."

The doctor took out a small penlight and flicking it on, he stood up and leaned over the bed near Severus' head.

"Just hold your head still a moment," the man said almost gently. "I want to check your eyes."

Severus lay still as the doctor held his upper eyelid open slightly, but winced when the light hit his eye, sending a dart of pain to his still aching head.

"I know it must be a little uncomfortable; I won't be long," the doctor soothed.

Once the doctor flicked off the penlight and stepped back, Severus took a fortifying breath but couldn't help rubbing his temples in an attempt to ease the annoying ache.

"OK, without moving your head, I want you to follow my finger just with your eyes."

The doctor held up along finger about 2 inches from Severus' nose and slowly moved it to the right. Severus followed the motion, and continued to stare at the doctor's finger as it made a full circuit around and above Severus' head, before coming back in front. As a final exercise, the doctor moved his finger closer to Severus' nose, causing Severus to go cross eyed momentarily in order to keep visual contact.

Looking at Severus with a kind expression, the doctor sat back down and placed his bag on the floor next to his feet, then leaned forward to talk to Severus.

"I don't see any reason to believe that you are suffering complications from the concussion. All of your nerve responses look normal. It could be that you are subconsciously suppressing whatever happened to you. That headache you still have is a remnant due to the heat stress and the loss of water and electrolytes. While I would prefer to allow that headache to ease naturally as you rehydrate and rest, I am guessing you would prefer it to be gone," he smiled.

Severus just looked at him as though he had lost his mind; the doctor chuckled. Picking up his bag and opening it, the doctor withdrew a vial and needle, and proceeded to inject the liquid into Severus' arm. Once that was done, the doctor poured another cup of water from the pitcher on the night table, and helping Severus sit up slightly, he encouraged Severus to drink.

"There," the doctor said gently, patting Severus' arm, "give it about ten minutes and that headache should start to fade. That serum, however, is going to make you drowsy. Don't fight it, you need rest anyway" here the doctor paused and moving to the side table, he poured out another cup of water from the pitcher and helping Severus to sit up slightly, silently encouraged Severus to drink, before easing him back down. "I know it doesn't taste the best but the medication in the water will help you recover faster from the heat stress. It is important to drink as often as possible over the next day or two, although, you can go back to just plain water by tomorrow night. In the meantime, you need to stay in bed for at least the next few days while those ribs start to heal. I'll stop by in a couple of days to see how you are getting on, but Sara can call me if something comes to light in the meantime. As for your memory, I am guessing that once you are up and about again and active, your memory will return. It may come in bits and snatches at first but the important thing is not to force yourself to remember, let it come back naturally. If you force it, it may manifest itself into physical stress and cause headaches or vision issues."

Severus had closed his eyes as the doctor was talking, starting to drift as the injection the doctor had given him started to take effect. When the doctor was done with his instructions, Severus just nodded to acknowledge the fact he was listening. Chuckling again, the doctor patted Severus' arm again as he got to his feet and made to leave. "Sleep well," Severus heard as he drifted back into sleep.