Chapter 11: Jack and Phryne: Back to GlenRowan
They arrive at the Warrington house in GlenRowan late in the day. Jack and Silvia are exhausted. Jack is in pain, his many stitches and healing wounds protesting the long drive. The house is still in a shambles, but they have food packed for the journey and all they really need are beds. After seating Silvia and Jack on the couch in the parlor, David and Phryne quickly make sure that there are beds for everyone and that they have sheets and blankets. They agree that Phryne will make a bed on the chaise lounge in the room Jack will use just in case he has a difficult night. She will not be able to hear him otherwise. The bedroom is very pleasant and has a private bathroom which will allow for the cleaning of his wounds in privacy. They decide to get Jack and Silvia into bed and then feed everyone. Dot, Hugh and Dr. Taylor arrive to add to the chaos of attempting to get settled. Dot takes over preparing their meal and Dr. Taylor helps Phryne get Jack upstairs. Hugh helps David with Silvia.
As soon as Jack gets to the room and sees the chaise made up, he gives an embarrassed start murmuring, "Dr. Taylor, you don't need to stay with me tonight. I'll be fine on my own." Dr. Taylor smiling indulgently says, "I am not staying with you Jack, your nurse is staying with you." Jack's face blanches, "Miss Fisher, you mean?" Dr. Taylor just grins at Jack, "Yes, Jack. Miss Fisher is your nurse. It is imperative that she stay where she can hear you. What if you need to get up in the night? I can't take a chance that you will fall and split open any of these wounds. Also, you will allow her to bathe you and make sure the wounds are clean and freshly bandaged. I will not be surprised if we don't find some seepage caused by the trip," Dr. Taylor says authoritatively, "And Jack, please don't try to ravish your nurse tonight. It would be a most unwise decision."
"Me, try to ravish her," Jack splutters incredulously, "Have you met Miss Fisher, Dr. Taylor?" Phryne is, of course, the picture of innocence, looking at the men. "I have Jack. She is one of the best nurses I have worked with in my career, and I don't want you upsetting her," Dr. Taylor informs him. At these words, Jack glances at Phryne and observes the Cheshire cat grin and sparkling eyes that Dr. Taylor completely misses. Jack harrumphs under his breath, "Just like all the rest, under her spell, should have known." Dr. Taylor also misses this comment as he moves to unpack things from his bag.
Phryne however, does not miss the words and grins most wickedly at Jack, "Don't worry Inspector, I plan to take very good care of you," she says cheekily so that only Jack can hear, "And I assure you Inspector, I am not like all the rest." Jack's eyes grow large and darken, his pupils dilating even in his exhaustion, and he locks gazes with her, his mind reliving a few of their more memorable moments, then says, "No Miss Fisher you certainly are…," his voice trails off as Dr. Taylor interrupts, still oblivious to the undercurrent in the room, "Phryne, I've laid out the tea tree oil, iodine and fresh bandages. I want all the wounds treated with the oil and any that show signs of seepage to be bandaged tightly and treated with iodine as well. The others may be bandaged loosely. I trust your judgment on any others that you deem in need of iodine and tighter bandaging." "Yes, Dr. Taylor," Phryne says professionally, "Jack, you may want to sit for a few minutes while I prepare for your sponge bath." "Very well, Nurse Fisher," Jack answers demurely.
Phryne gathers his pajamas and then prepares Jack's bath water. When all is ready, Phryne bathes Jack's wounds gently stripping him of his shirt to bathe his face, neck, hands, back, chest and arms, then applying the tea tree oil, iodine and bandages. Only the deepest of the cuts show signs of seepage, Phryne notes with satisfaction. He is healing well, but is going to be quite battle scarred. "Inspector," she says keeping her tone light, "Are you feeling up to having your hair washed?" Jack is very tired, but the thought of Phryne washing his dirty hair is something he finds irresistible. "I think I can cope," he says softly. She takes the stool he has been sitting on and moves it over to the sink and has him sit so he can lean his head back in a fairly comfortable manner. She washes his hair taking time to massage his head a bit while still efficiently performing the task. Jack sighs, a soft smile playing on his mouth. Her fingers are magical. After she rinses his hair she dries it with a towel. She knows he will feel better having it clean even if it costs him a bit of extra tiredness. "Now, Jack," she says quietly, "I washed the rest of you previously, but I understand you may not be comfortable at this point with me performing that task. Do you want me to wash you tonight, or do you want to wash yourself? I don't want to take any chances on your falling, so if you want to wash yourself, I will turn my back, but you can hang on to me for balance or call out if you get dizzy. While you are thinking, let's put you pajama shirt on so you don't get too chilled." Phryne puts his shirt on him and buttons it up her eyes locked on his, her hands feathery light.
Jack is sorely tempted to let Phryne wash all of him, but now that he is well enough to do it himself and because of his reaction to her touch, he returns to his natural reserve. "I will handle the rest of the washing myself Nurse Fisher," he says coolly, "I appreciate you giving me a choice." Phryne nods and turns obediently away from him, giving him enough space to wash, but staying close should he need her support. Jack washes his lower body, legs and feet and then covers himself with the towel so Phryne can treat his wounds with the tea tree oil, iodine and bandage as necessary. He has a wound high on his thigh, and Phryne has to move the towel out of the way to reach it and her fingers brush his thigh. Jack sucks in a breath, reacting to her touch.
Phryne ignores this, though she is sorely tempted to kiss him senseless, and finishes taking care of his wounds. She is his nurse after all she sternly reminds herself. She rolls up his pajama bottoms and puts them on him and pulls them up to his knees before turning her back again allowing Jack to pull them up the rest of the way. He struggles a bit with getting them situated and finally allows Phryne to unroll the waist band and adjust them on his flat stomach and back. She takes care to be gentle so as not to irritate the wounds or pull the bandages. "Thank you, Nurse Fisher" Jack says appreciatively his exhaustion obvious now, but he feels clean and warm and alive; very alive as certain parts of his body communicate just how alive they are.
He allows Phryne to walk closely with him and get him settled in the bed. She lets Dot know they are ready to have dinner and Dot brings a tray filled with tempting foods. Phryne is ravenous and Jack is also. He eats, allowing Phryne to serve him. When he is finished eating, she brings him his toothbrush and the basin to spit in along with tooth powder and water for rinsing. She then offers him the medicine Dr. Taylor left to help him sleep and to help with the pain. He gratefully takes the medicine. "Good night Jack," Phryne says gently her fingers lingering on the sides of his face, "I am going to take a bath now if you are settled in. I won't be long." "Very well," Jack responds huskily thinking of her in the bath causing his heart to beat a bit faster, "I'll be good."
She runs the bath and stripping off her clothes sinks into the hot water with a sigh of pleasure. She is tempted to soak for a long time, but mindful of her duties, she bathes relatively quickly. She dries off and pulls on her pajamas, brushes her damp hair into order and brushes her teeth before venturing back into the bedroom. She moves over to the bed to check on Jack. He is sleeping, his face relaxed and a lock of hair falling across his forehead. She brushes his hair back and kisses his cheek, watching his chest rise and fall. "I love you Jack," she whispers before going to the chaise lounge and going to bed.
She is awakened sometime later by Jack's voice calling, "Phryne, I…" She is up and by his side immediately. He is dreaming, but she realizes that she forgot to fix a glass of water for him before they fell asleep. She gets a glass of water and returns to set it on the bedside table. As she is setting the glass on the table, he opens his eyes and she offers him a drink. He nods, taking the glass from her and taking a few sips. "I can't really sleep. I keep having dreams," he says hesitantly, "I am used to you being with me now. Will you sleep with me Phryne?" In answer Phryne goes to the other side of the bed and slips under the sheets, sliding over so that she is touching him and taking his hand in hers she falls asleep almost immediately. Jack, feeling all is right with the world now that she is beside him also drops off into a deep sleep.
When Phryne awakes in the morning, Jack is curled around her, his arm warm and heavy over her waist, his face buried in her neck. She smiles at the intimate gesture and is loath to move, but feels Jack will want to wake up without her and so she gently moves his arm to slide out of bed. Jack tightens his arm around her stopping her movement saying throatily, "Don't go. Your patient is responding to this form of therapy Nurse Fisher. I am continually impressed with how seriously you take your nursing duties. I suppose shouldn't be surprised, knowing how thorough you are in all of your endeavors. A certain dance comes immediately to mind." "Why Jack, I didn't think you noticed my attention to detail," she says saucily, turning over to look at him her eyes full of mischief.
"What else does my patient require this morning," she asks softly her blue eyes locking with his, her lips so close he can almost feel them on his. His eyes darkening with desire he says very softly, "Your patient needs his nurse to kiss him and make everything all better." "And just where does my patient need to be kissed to make everything all better?" Phryne asks delicately. Jack points to one of his bandages and Phryne gently places a soft kiss on it. Jack then points to another place which she kisses. They continue this game, Phryne kissing each spot Jack points to with the lightest of touches, careful not to hurt him. Finally Jack points to his lips and Phryne brushes them very lightly with hers. "Again," Jack says dreamily. Phryne complies and kisses him again a bit more firmly. "This is more like it Nurse Fisher," Jack says, "I think I require more of that medicine." "Really Inspector?" Phryne questions him. "Yes," he replies hungrily, "Definitely the best medicine I've been given thus far!"
He places one hand behind her head and pulls her closer to him so he can control the kiss, groaning softly as he kisses her deeply his tongue seeking entrance into her warm mouth. Phryne is quickly becoming highly aroused and her hands seek his body wanting to touch him, but there are bandages everywhere, so she ghosts her fingers along the sides of his jaw, the stubble of his beard scraping her fingers and increasing her state of arousal. She deepens the kiss further and Jack responds by bringing his other arm up and attempting to pull her to him. Phryne breaks off the kiss with a startled exclamation, "No, Jack! We might split your stitches." He sighs in frustration asking, "If I promise to behave will you kiss me again?"
"I think you've had enough kissing for this morning," she responds crisply. Seeing his disappointment she says lightly, "Just one more strictly for medicinal reasons of course." "Of course," Jack responds and crushes her lips to his hungrily seeking entrance as he plunders her mouth. When Phryne breaks off the kiss they are both panting and Jack is sweating slightly from the exertion. "Well Jack, you do know this is an unusual course of therapy for a nurse to offer her patient," Phryne says giving him an inscrutable look. "Nurse Fisher, my sincere apologies. I won't ask you as my nurse for such therapy again," Jack says his tone thick with false remorse, but seeing her face fall slightly he continues, "I do seem to recall something about a fiancé though. Perhaps she is willing to take over my therapy?"
"Jack Robinson, I am going to kill you," Phryne says in mock anger. "Now Jack, it's time to clean and bandage you again. Do you want me to shave you?" she asks silkily. Jack opens his eyes in horror, "Trust you with a razor? I think not," he says quickly. "Very well then," Phryne says cheerfully. She brings Jack the items he needs to shave and when he is finished she dresses his wounds. "Would you like to sit on the terrace today?" she asks professionally, "We can breakfast there if you like." "I like," Jack says with his signature grin, "And Nurse Fisher, I really do appreciate your very thorough attentions to my morning therapy."
Once Jack and Silvia are settled on the terrace, the group has breakfast together and Phryne reports to Dr. Taylor on Jack's wounds which did not seep additionally in the night. Dr. Taylor decides to remove some of the stitches from the lesser wounds, giving Jack strict instructions to let Miss Fisher continue to clean them until she and the doctor in Melbourne are satisfied with their healing. Jack asks Hugh to go into GlenRowan and gather up the jewels and other items they removed from the house and return them to Silvia and David. David goes with him so he can claim his valet's body. They will make a final stop at the police station to verify if any additional paperwork is needed. Hugh takes statements from Phryne and Jack about the night of the raid to carry in to the police. Dot and Phryne take on the task of setting the house in order with Silvia giving directions.
When Dr. Taylor is ready to remove Jack's stitches he has Jack take a large measure of whiskey while he and Phryne prepare for the procedure. Jack is slightly tipsy from the whiskey and is still easily tired, so he is quiet while they sterilize one more time the wounds from which stitches will be removed. Dr. Taylor wants Jack to air the wounds for a bit and then keep them lightly covered for protection from being rubbed by his clothing. The procedure is uncomfortable and Phryne feels sorry for Jack as he bravely suffers through the removal of hundreds of stitches. Dr. Taylor was very neat in his work given the circumstances and the scarring will be minimal considering the circumstances, but the sheer number of cuts is staggering. Phryne is shaken again to realize how blessed she is that Jack survived the attack. Dr. Taylor gives Phryne final instructions for Jack's care until they are able to see the doctor in Melbourne and then reluctantly he prepares to return to Falls Creek. Everyone wants him to stay, but he doesn't feel he can stay away from his patients any longer. Phryne escorts him to his car, "Thank you for saving him Doctor Taylor. I am forever in your debt," she says humbly. He nods, but says quietly, "I believe you saved him Miss Fisher by insisting that you stay with him and your quick thinking at the scene to minimize the blood loss. I'll say it again, he is a blessed man." Phryne, smiling now says, "If you come to Melbourne, you must come see us. I have plenty of room at my house for guests." Dr. Taylor nods, kisses her cheeks and takes off.
They stay a few more days allowing Jack to strengthen for the journey. He and Phryne walk in the gardens morning and evening, as do the others. Hugh and Dot at last have a bit of time to spend together and they make the most of it. The six of them spend time together as well. They share an easy camaraderie. People can't share an experience like this case without becoming lifelong friends. The six of them know that their lives are entwined in a special way now and they realize that this is the good to come out of such a tragic situation. Their good byes are joyful and sad and many hugs are exchanged before Jack, Phryne, Hugh and Dot are able to pile into the Hispano. It really is bittersweet to return to Melbourne and the lives they lead there.