River Deep, Mountain High
Standard disclaimers apply to this piece of Christy fan fiction.
This story continues where the TV series left off. Any similarities to other works of Christy fan fiction are purely coincidental.
Chapter 18
"I think it's nothing short of a miracle that Bird's-Eye has forgiven Dan," Christy stated happily.
She and Neil were walking in the clearing near the schoolyard, taking a break to enjoy some fresh air after they'd spent the last two hours thinking up some new and interesting topics to add to Neil's weekly science lectures once the children returned from the harvest break. Christy ambled besides Neil with her arms clasped behind her back as she talked about what happened with Bird's-Eye Taylor and Dan Scott. The ruffled neckline of her ecru blouse, tucked neatly into the waist of a maroon skirt, fluttered in the breeze from beneath the unbuttoned long black coat.
Christy glanced sidelong at Neil, trying to be inconspicuous. He looked dashing in a clean off-white shirt, tan plaid vest and brown riding breeches and brown boots that came to his mid-calf.
His lips curled in a wry smile as he responded. "I wouldn't exactly say they are friends, Christy."
"Perhaps not," Christy agreed. "But at least now there is mutual respect. And Dan doesn't have to fear Bird's-Eye's threats anymore. At least that's progress!"
"I cannot deny that," Neil said, with a flash of white teeth beneath his broad grin. "And more and more, my patients are beginning to accept Dan Scott when I bring him along on my visits." Seeing Christy's obvious excitement, he tried to temper it slightly. "I cannot say that all of them would necessarily let Dan perform treatment while not under my supervision, but I suppose that in a pinch, as with Bird's-Eye, they would reconsider."
Christy glowed almost triumphant at hearing those words from Neil. He had been so reluctant to accept Dan as an apprentice when he first arrived to Cutter Gap. Now the two men were nearly inseparable.
Neil and Christy continued to walk together in companionable silence, enjoying both the company and the brisk autumn weather. The familiar biting scent in the air was a clear signal that the more balmy autumn afternoons were going to be few and far between and the colder days of winter were not far away.
Even with the changing season, Christy felt warmth from the inside out being with Neil MacNeill. While neither had ever spoken of any long term attachments or coming to an understanding, as David had called it, they simply enjoyed each others' presence and friendship. Besides, Christy still was not sure how she felt about Neil, and she was even more uncertain of his feelings for her. Christy knew that Fairlight certainly seemed to think that Neil had special feelings for her, feelings deeper than mere friendship. But Christy always brushed aside Fairlight's comments, convincing herself that, even if it were true, it was still too soon after Margaret's death, and she didn't want to upset Miss Alice.
Most times, the hours Neil and Christy spent together were very pleasant indeed, even when they were debating in a lively fashion about something and remained polarized in their opinions, unable to come to an agreement. These times when she and Neil were arguing, Christy felt her blood boil, her passions flair. She felt alive. But then Neil could quickly be pulled into one of his moods when he'd had a bad day with a patient, or when he felt some other inner turmoil that he struggled to keep hidden. Neil would close himself off from others when he got into one of these states, retreating back into himself until he found release with his creel and fishing pole by the banks of the river.
The one thing that Christy was positively sure of: Doctor MacNeill remained an enigma to her still.
As they meandered through the clearing, Neil chewing on a blade of grass absently, Christy suddenly felt herself beginning to fall, her shoe grazing a rock on the ground. Neil reflexively moved to catch her before she landed on the cold green carpet, his hands quickly circling her tiny waist.
"Careful, Christy!" Neil sputtered, startled.
Christy looked down at her right shoe, Neil's hands still gripping her firmly, and saw that the heel had broken off when it clipped the small boulder. She shook her head in frustration, but then laughed at herself lightheartedly. "David always did hate my 'ice-pick shoes'," she sighed. "Vanity before practicality, I suppose." She bent down to pick up the heel.
"Or common sense," Neil chuckled. The two laughed at the situation, but then Neil's expression took on a hint of seriousness. "Are you sure you're not hurt, Christy?"
Christy tested her ankle by putting her weight on her foot. "I'm fine, Neil," she said with certainty. "The only thing damaged is my shoe…and maybe my pride." She smiled at him, and then averted her gaze for a moment, sensing his warmth as he was still holding onto her.
"I want to be sure there's no sprain or fracture," he told her, taking on that professional, doctor-like manner. "I'll help you over to that tree stump and examine you, just to be certain."
Seeing that look in his sharp blue eyes, Christy knew there was no use arguing. "Anything you say, Doctor," she teased.
Neil helped her walk to the stump about 20 feet away, one arm around her waist and his other hand on her arm closest to him. Christy hobbled awkwardly, the height difference between the two legs at least 3 inches with only heel.
Christy took a seat on the old tree stump. Before she had a chance to do so herself, Neil already started unlacing the high-top shoe, carefully pulling it off her right foot. Christy felt slightly embarrassed when she saw the very pointed toe, such an outward sign of vanity and frivolity which was totally unnecessary in a place like Cutter Gap. But Neil was the image of professionalism when he inspected the ankle, somewhat alleviating her feelings of self-consciousness. He palpated around the bones and tendons for signs of swelling, and then he began to put pressure against the bottom of the foot, pressing upward. Christy was glad she was not overly ticklish.
"Do you feel any pain?" Neil asked her. She shook her head no.
Finally, he moved the foot around at all angles, checking the range of motion. Christy did not flinch, indicating that nothing hurt. She began to feel suddenly nervous and flushed under the gentle touch of Neil's hands on her foot and ankle. Even through the thick woolen stockings, she could sense the warmth from his long fingers on her skin. It sent strange shivers of delight up her spine. She only hoped that the chill in the air would cool the rush of blood she knew was flowing to her cheeks before he saw the pink bloom on her face.
Confirming that nothing seemed strained or fractured, Neil ended the examination and replaced the shoe on Christy's foot. "I'll help you back to the Mission, then," Neil told her. She nodded at him, finding her voice suddenly caught in her throat.
Since they were not far from the Mission, Neil assisted a hobbling Christy, staying close and occasionally putting another arm on her shoulder for support and balance.
From David's vantage point on top of the schoolhouse, he clearly saw Neil and Christy together. He'd been fixing a leak in the roof, but when he saw the pair walking in the nearby clearing, he found himself unable to concentrate on the task at hand. And then he saw what he interpreted as an embrace, and even worse, a foot massage! David continued to watch them as they walked up to the mission, arm-in-arm. His steely eyes were transfixed on Christy's smiling face; the laughter she shared with Neil was like that of two lovers sharing a secret joke. Such obvious flirting was enough to make David want to spit nails.
Despite the fact that he and Christy had mended their relationship after she refused his offer of marriage for a second time, David began to feel a sharp stab of pain in his chest when he observed her and Neil. Then, watching Christy wave goodbye on the porch, standing and waiting there until the doctor disappeared from view on his horse, David felt that lingering sense of rejection and loneliness swell into full-blown anger.
David attempted to wrangle in his feelings as he resumed his job of replacing the split, leaking board on the roof. Clenching the hammer in his fist, he brought it down hard on a nail, fighting to quiet the growing rage and drown it out beneath the rhythmic pounding of manual labor.
***
Chapter 19
Just when Christy thought the crises in Cutter Gap were finished for the year, another emergency managed to rear its ugly head. She had retreated to the quiet sanctuary of the schoolhouse working on the upcoming semester's lesson plans while school was still in recess for the harvest holiday, unwilling to deal with David's sudden and unexplained change of mood. She was roused from her work when Rob Allen stormed in through the double doors, red-faced and breathing heavily.
"Rob?" Christy called out from her desk, knowing something was dreadfully wrong.
Rob swallowed hard, trying to get the words out. "Miz Christy! Miz Christy, ya gotta come quick! It's Ma. She's powerful sick."
Without hesitation, Christy threw on her coat, and headed out of the schoolhouse with Rob. Entering into the barn, she saw Ruby Mae already working to saddle Prince for her. The red-headed girl quickly explained to Christy that Doc MacNeill sent Rob to fetch Miss Alice, since Dan Scott had gone to the train station in El Pano to pick up his fiancé, Cecile, who was visiting for the holidays. When she told him that Miss Alice recently left for Raven Gap, he rushed over to school to find Christy instead. In moments, she was mounted and ready to ride toward the Allen cabin, following Rob Allen who was on Doctor MacNeill's horse, Charlie.
Rob flung the door open to his family's cabin, Christy a step behind him. Doctor MacNeill's head whipped around when they entered, bringing a cold gust of wind along with them. Surprised to see Christy, he asked, "Where's Alice?"
"Ruby Mae said she's in Raven Gap. It's Jenny McKeith's time," Rob Allen told him. "I brung Miz Christy."
Christy's eyes leapt to the bed where Mary Allen was lying, clutching her abdomen in pain. She was as white as a sheet, and she shuddered violently in pain. The expression on Neil's face was one of absolute gravity, and Christy immediately understood the situation was dire. Neil turned back to his patient briefly and placed a cold compress on her head. Then he rose from the stool by her bedside and crossed the small room to where Christy stood. He took her by the arm, and led her back outside to speak with her in private.
"Neil, what is it?" Christy asked, her voice hushed to prevent alarm.
Neil shook his head, his hand reaching to tug at the hairs that hung at the back of his neck, the way he did when he was nervous or unsure. "I don't know exactly," he confessed with a sigh. "But I do know that I need to operate."
Christy felt the breath catch in her throat at the unspoken meaning in his words and the look in his eye.
"I need your help, Christy," Neil stated, finally saying the words that Christy dreaded. She felt his grip tightening on her arm slightly and his eyes were now boring into hers with a powerful need – an urgent pleading – that she could not deny. Finding her voice gone, she gave a weak nod and followed the doctor back into the cabin to begin the preparations for the surgery. She prayed once more for the strength to stand by Neil's side and not faint.
After Neil explained that to Mary, Rob, and Bob Allen what he planned to do, consent to perform the operation was given despite the fact that he admitted not knowing exactly what was wrong with her. Mary had sent for him complaining of stomach pain so extreme that she could not manage to walk, or even stand. She was doubled over in pain when Neil arrived.
Mary had explained that she began to feel pain a week or two before, but it was minor and always passed quickly. In addition to some abdominal swelling, she noticed her monthly courses had ceased, so she came to the logical conclusion that she was pregnant with her seventh child. A quick examination by Doctor MacNeill dispelled that notion. Instead, he thought perhaps she had an intestinal blockage based on some of the other symptoms Mary described. A tumor was another possibility. He could not be sure, but either way, he knew she would have to be opened up to find out what was wrong.
Rob Allen was instructed to take the children to their aunt and uncle's house, the Spencers, so they would not be underfoot. Before he left, Little Burl told his mama not to worry, and that "Doc would fix ye up right good, jes' like he fixed me."
The children gone, Christy and Neil prepared the cabin and sterilized the surgical instruments for the operation. They mustered all the lamps they could find and set them up to surround the table where the operation would be performed. Neil and Bob helped Mary onto the table.
With a nod from Neil, Bob Allen held the cloth soaked with ether over his wife's mouth, clutching Mary's hand in his other one until he felt it grow slack once the anesthesia had taken effect. She lay so still except the slow, steady rise and fall of her breathing, the lamplight casting an eerie glow on her pale skin. Bob kissed Mary's forehead, his chin quivering with the attempt to repress his emotion, and then he went to wait on the front porch, not feeling capable of watching the operation. Doctor MacNeill promised to call for him if anything happened.
The sickly sweet aroma of the ether still permeated the air around the kitchen counter that was serving makeshift operating table, ticking Christy's senses. Neil saw her nose twitch involuntarily as she fought the urge to surrender to its tempting perfume.
"Are you ready, Christy?" he asked, looking down at the young woman beside him. Here eyes had been closed in silent prayer. She opened them slowly, gazing up into Neil's eyes and nodded, the soothing lilt of his Scotish brogue and gently reassuring expression helping to quell the anxiety that had built in her chest.
Then he turned to make the first incision. He drew the scalpel in a straight line across the lower part of Mary's stomach, where the swelling was isolated. He cut carefully through muscle and tissue, his brow furrowed as he examined the area for infection or anything unusual. Neil's face momentarily darkened when he spotted the massive growth, about the size of a baseball or man's fist, in Mary's abdominal cavity. He quickly regained his composure and resumed a steady, professional countenance to avoid causing unnecessary alarm.
Christy, now thankfully desensitized to the sight of the blood and internal organs, saw the look on Neil's face. "What is it, Neil?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"It's an ovarian cyst," he told her. Anticipating the question, Neil continued to explain. "It's a tumor, Christy. A growth on the right ovary."
Neil examined the mass in more detail. At least he had identified the source of the problem, he thought with mild relief. "It appears that the fallopian tube got twisted and turned about on itself, causing the ovary to fill with blood and fluid. It appears to be benign, though." He glanced at Christy with a slight smile of encouragement. "That means it is not dangerous, but," his voice suddenly turned serious once more, "the ovary and cyst have to come out, as will the rest of her reproductive organs."
Christy shuddered with understanding, the irony of the situation striking her with a powerful blow that nearly left her winded. Mary had thought she was pregnant, when all along, the mysterious ailment was precipitating the end to her childbearing years. Even though Christy had cringed at the thought of another mouth to feed and another body to shelter within the cramped quarters of the Allen cabin, the notion of Mary being unable to conceive any more children, of being barren, left her heartbroken.
"How do we tell Mr. Allen," Christy wondered.
***
Chapter 20
In terms that Bob could comprehend, Neil told him about Mary's cyst and explained that she needed a hysterectomy. As delicately and sympathetically as possible, he informed Bob that this meant Mary would not be able to give him any more children.
The mountain man pondered the doctor's words for a minute before speaking. "I reckon we got us more 'n' enough young'uns already. You jes' do whatcha gotta do an' make her well, Doc. Bring my Mary back to me. Please. I cain't rightly do without her," he said earnestly, the depth of his emotion clearly written on his face.
Seeing the heartfelt and unabashed revelation of true and abiding love, something that mountain men were often loath to do, particularly in front of others, Doctor MacNeill patted Bob Allen reassuringly on the arm and went back into the cabin to resume the surgery.
The operation lasted many long hours, but the pure adrenaline kept Christy going as she worked side-by-side with Doctor MacNeill, blocking out the fatigue and tightness building in her legs from standing still for so long without a chance to rest or stretch them. As Neil completed the final steps of the hysterectomy and began closing the abdominal cavity with sutures, Christy scanned the room for the first time, noticing the darkness outside behind the glass window panes. It must be long past nightfall, she thought to herself. Christy became aware of pangs of hunger in her belly, and as if on cue, her stomach let out an audible growl.
"We're nearly finished, Miss Huddleston," Neil said plainly, not bothering to look up from his task of stitching the incisions closed.
Christy felt mortified, until Neil glanced over at her, his lips curled up in a smile and a small chuckle escaping. Christy tried to stifle her own giggle but was unable to. Instantly, the air of heaviness in the room seemed to lighten.
The surgery was complete, and Doctor Neil was pleased with the outcome. There had been no complications, and Mary appeared to be in stable condition. Neil called Bob back into the cabin to sit with his wife until she effects of the anesthesia wore off. In the meantime, he and Christy went outside to wash up and scrub the blood from their hands.
Christy felt her legs nearly buckle beneath the weight of her own body when she walked down the steps of the porch to the rain bucket beneath a metal downspout. She and Neil began to wash up in silence, both feeling utterly drained from the stress of the day. Christy had not realized she let a loud sigh escape her lips. It was as if she was finally releasing her breath for the first time in hours.
Scrubbing his arms with the bar of lye soap, Neil looked down at Christy through the purplish tint of night and smiled at her. "You did very well today, Christy," he told her, the sincerity obvious in his tone and manner. "I'm proud of you."
"Thank you, Neil," she replied, a little sheepishly. Christy instinctively averted her eyes from his, though she didn't know why. Perhaps it was the way he spoke to her, or the look on his face. She felt especially close to Neil at this moment after what they had been through together, but the feelings that began to stir deep in her body began to make her feel oddly ill at ease…and maybe a little frightened.
"I really mean it, Christy. I knew you could do it," Neil said firmly, "even if you didn't believe it yourself."
Astonished, Christy wondered at how it was that Neil MacNeill always had the power to see straight through her, into her soul and down to the very core of her doubts and insecurities.
"You once told me that you wished I believed in myself as much as you believed in me," Neil said. "Now I am going to tell you the same thing. Believe in yourself, Christy. For I surely do."
Even through the cloak of darkness, Christy could see Neil's eyes glistening at her with an inexplicable expression that seemed to cast her fears and doubts to the wind, leaving her feeling breathless and warm. Her hand moved reflexively to brush aside that stubborn curl that always found its way in front of his face. Christy's hand lingered on Neil's cheek, as if drawn by the same magnetic force that held her eyes firmly affixed to his. Neil reached up and covered her hand with his, pressing it more securely against his face to feel the heat of her skin against his.
Like glass shattering into a million pieces, the enchantment was broken as Bob Allen cried loudly, "Doc! Miz Christy! It's Mary! She's come to!"
***
TO BE CONTINUED