Chapter 15. Early Return
On Friday just before noon, Julia was in her apartment preparing lunch, with the adjoining door open to the infirmary.
Suddenly, she heard horses arriving in a hurry, and a loud commotion outside. Then, yelling and stomping feet on the porch of the infirmary, brought Julia through the adjoining door. She looked out and saw three men in red serge on the porch, one slumped over, head hanging limp, carried by the other two. She rushed to the door and opened it for them, as they carried in the injured man.
"What happened?" Julia said, and motioned them towards the treatment table. His serge was badly ripped open at the shoulder and there was quite a lot of blood. As they carried him over, she caught sight of the side of his face. Nathan.
Julia felt uneasy on her feet for just a second, but quickly caught herself, stepped forward and got to work. Working as three, they managed to get him up on the table, and she didn't immediately see any other injuries.
Julia gave instructions, "Gentlemen, we have to get this jacket off." The two young Mounties helped prop him up a little so Julia could pull it off one side, then pass it round to the other. "Gentle, easy...easy." Underneath, still more blood. She let down both suspenders quickly and saw the hole also went through his Henley and undershirt.
Taking scissors, she cut the fabric starting at his waist up towards his neck, exposing his left arm, shoulder, and left side of his upper body. Julia came to his shoulder and began to clean and examine the wound, which was deep.
Nathan was in and out of it, they had obviously given him something for the pain. He was acting kind of drunk and his breath smelled of whiskey. Julia realized Bill was there, he had heard the commotion, and was watching her work.
Julia glanced up for a split-second and asked, "Bill, can you please find out what happened, I need to know a little bit more of what I'm dealing with here?" Bill took the two Mounties to the side, and they spoke in low voices.
She continued cleaning, having to go deep, which brought occasional groans from Nathan.
Bill came back and told her, "They say they were ambushed, walked into a trap. There was an explosion and Nathan was knocked from his horse. He took a hard fall, and his shoulder collided with a fencepost with a large metal latch. He may also have hit his head. He was unconscious for quite some time."
"Unconscious and they decided to give him whiskey?" Julia was furious.
Bill replied, "It's an old trick in the field, keeps a man out of shock when they've got lots of ground to cover before they can get medical attention."
Julia gritted her teeth and began to check his head, running her fingers through his hair looking for any kind of head injury. She found it, on the left side of his head just in his hairline near his temple. His thick hair was matted with blood and hiding a rather large, swollen bump with an abrasion. She cleaned it as well, and the cold wetness of the antiseptic made him turn, open his eyes, and look up at her.
Nathan took her in, up close, as she continued to examine him. Julia realized he was awake and looking at her, and she met his gaze. She began observing his pupils, covering one eye with her hand and pulling it back, and then the other.
He however, was observing every contour of her face, she had light freckles high on her cheekbones.
"Hi", Nathan whispered wistfully.
"Hi," she answered back with a timid smile, looking at him, finally. Julia realized then how close they were, and how very deep blue his eyes. She knew she had to focus and finish her assessment of his injuries.
She stayed close, held his gaze, and talked softly to him. "Nathan, where are you hurting? Any pain anywhere, other than your head and your shoulder?"
Instead of answering, he just circled his hands over his ribs and side, just under his injured left shoulder. Julia imagined they could be looking at a few cracked ribs if he landed hard on his shoulder from the height of his horse.
She kept his gaze fixed on him. "Is there a reason you are using hand motions to answer me? Is your jaw also hurting?" Julia asked, still low and close. She placed her hands on both sides of his face and applied light pressure to his jawbones.
He shook his head no, and said with a crooked smile, "They gave me a lot of whiskey, Jules. You are very pretty. They said you are my girl."
Julia was all business, "You know I'm going to have to sew up that shoulder. But first, I need to do a quick examination to see if there is any damage to the ligaments or tendons. Are you able?" He nodded.
Nathan never took his eyes off Julia as she took his hand in hers, and moved his arm in several different directions. "Does this hurt?" he shook no, "and this?" she asked, again no. "Or this?", no. She asked him to squeeze her hand here and there. Could he pull his hand back now? He did. Was he able to do this, and that? He obeyed willingly, never taking his eyes off of her, and she, never letting go of his hand.
Faith arrived then, and Julia was so relieved that she was finally here. First, so Faith could take the lead, but also so the two of them could work on him, together. She wanted him to have the best care possible.
They stepped aside to confer, and Faith came forward and completed the same battery of arm movements with Nathan. She agreed with Julia that there were no internal injuries evident in the shoulder.
Bill came over, and Faith gave him the conclusion: They would need to do a deep clean of the wound, place some stitches deep, and then another line of stitches to close the wound. Even with the whiskey, the pain would be too much between the deep clean and the deep stitches. The consensus was to put him to sleep, which would allow them to work quietly and peacefully. Bill nodded in agreement, and Faith began mixing an elixir to put him out for a few hours.
Once he was asleep, they worked quickly and quietly. Julia was amazed at how good a team they made. She and Faith really complimented each other in their work.
When they were finally done, Julia stepped back to admire the perfect line of stitches. His torso was still half exposed and she wasn't sure she had ever seen someone so handsome. She hadn't allowed herself to notice before, as she was in nurse mode. But now, she realized he was chiseled in all the right places. His shoulders were broad and muscular yet his waist was tapered and thin. His head was resting to one side and his hair was tousled. Soft curls had fallen forward to rest on his forehead. His lashes were curly and dark.
Julia took a deep breath and pried her eyes away. She knew she should get back to work, it was best to busy herself. She packed salt around the stitches, placed gauze on top of the wound, and gently taped it in place. Faith placed a blanket over Nathan, and then wrote a few notes in his chart. Julia cleaned up the small medical table where their instruments had rested.
Bill was waiting outside, so Faith approached him to give him the news. Then, Bill came in, and went behind the curtain to check on Nathan, who was still asleep.
Julia walked over to join him there and said, "He might have a massive headache when he wakes up. Between all the whiskey and the ether."
Bill chuckled, "I'm pretty sure he will survive. "
Julia looked at him concerned, "Bill, has anyone talked to Allie?"
Bill looked at the clock and said, "Allie will be getting out of school in a little more than an hour, I can head over there and catch her as she's coming out. It would be best if she hears it from me."
Julia had another question, "And what about Newton, was he hurt?"
Bill nodded, "Let me go ask one of the guys about him. You are right Nathan would want him taken care of. I'll be right back".
Bill came back a few minutes later, and said that Newton was back in the livery. He had a nasty gash but Jed was working on him.
"If you have Allie taken care of, I'm going to head to the livery and check on Newton. Just to make sure Jed doesn't need any help." Julia said.
She gathered some medical supplies in her bag. Faith would stay with Nathan, he wouldn't wake up for a few more hours, anyway.
Before leaving, Julia walked back over to Bill, "Please tell Allie she can come and see him." She paused, clearly worried about something, "I really wish I had a new shirt to put on him before Allie gets here. Unfortunately, I had to cut away half of the one he's wearing to get to the wound."
Bill offered, "After I pick up Allie, why don't I stop by his house and pick up a shirt? Allie can help me find something."
"That would be great, Bill, something that buttons all the way down the front would be best. That will make it easier to change the dressing on his shoulder regularly." Julia smiled gratefully at Bill.
Bill looked her in the eye and said, "Julia, thanks again for acting in such a quick, level-headed manner. You are excellent at what you do, and an asset to Hope Valley."
"Thanks, Bill. But, I was just doing my job." Julia answered.
"That sounds like something he would say," Bill said as he motioned to the patient on the table. "But, really, thank you for taking such good care of him." He looked at her gratefully, nodded his head, and left.
Faith said, "Bill's right, Julia. You did a great job. I know this is probably not easy. I'm so glad you are here."
Julia nodded and said, "I'm grateful for you too, Faith. We make a great team, and I wouldn't want to work with anyone else, especially in this case."
Julia grabbed her medical bag and headed to the livery. When she arrived, Newton did indeed have a gash on his left leg. She thought he must have run into something sharp or been hit by something metal, in the explosion. Jed had cleaned it up nicely, and removed all the debris. Newton would need some stitches and Julia asked Jed if he was able. He wasn't completely comfortable so Julia offered to do it.
"Do you have any anesthetic, Jed?" Julia wanted to know. It would be hard to get him to hold still without it. He went to look and see what he had on hand.
While Jed was gone, Julia reached out and comforted Newton. "It's ok, boy. You did the best you could." She petted him gently, hoping to calm him, and he nuzzled into her neck. She stayed close to him, and gave him lots of gentle attention.
Jed came back with a syringe loaded with some local anesthetic. He held Newton tight while Julia gave him a few shots around the wound. Newton didn't like it, but she comforted him while they waited for it to take effect. Once she was sure the area was numb, she cleaned the wound again with a strong antiseptic, and she sewed him up. The line of stitches was perfectly placed. She dressed the wound with a salve, and placed a large bandage. Though, she was not sure how long it would stick. Newton was still fairly restless, probably worried about Nathan.
"Jed, do you have anything to calm him down?" Julia asked. Jed went back to his medical cabinet to look.
"Newton, boy, Nathan is ok. I took care of him and he's going to be fine." Julia spoke near his ear.
Jed came back with a powder that contained a mild sedative. He put it on top of the feed bucket, and Newton started eating. When she was satisfied that Newton would be fine, she headed back to the infirmary.
When she got back to the infirmary, Faith was sitting at the desk. Julia started putting away her medical bag.
"How was Newton?" Faith asked.
"There's a first time for everything, out on the frontier. I sutured a horse." Julia said with a half smile. "And, he'll be just fine, I know Nathan would want Newton cared for."
Faith nodded her head, and said, "You are a good friend, Julia."
"Nathan's still out?" Julia asked.
"No stirring yet." Faith said.
Julia went back in behind the partition to check on Nathan. When she looked at him, handsome and peaceful on the table, she had to take a deep breath. He was still wearing the half shirt, and the blanket had slipped down, leaving a good part of his muscular chest exposed. She approached him, smoothing his hair back so that she could feel his forehead for any sign of fever. Nothing so far, which was good. She saw that the signs of bruising had started over some of his ribs. She was sure he would be sore, and wondered if an X-ray weren't in order. She would mention it to Faith. Being that his injury was on his left side, she was also worried about his spleen. Something else she would mention to Faith. She pulled the blanket up high and tucked it in behind his shoulders. She wanted to cover him completely, before Allie arrived.
She ran her hand through his hair again to find his head wound. The scab had already started to form and she thought it better to leave it exposed, with regular cleaning. It didn't show much through his thick dark hair, she doubted Allie would notice.
Nathan started to stir, and his brow immediately furrowed, she imagined he was waking up in quite a bit of pain. "Nathan," she whispered gently.
His face was quite contorted and his eyes didn't seem to want to open. "Nathan," she tried again. "How are you feeling?" He managed a groan and said, very hoarsely, "Thirsty".
Julia grabbed a glass and filled it with water. "I have some water if you'd like to try to drink a little".
He tried to open his eyes, blinking, without much success. Nothing seemed to be in focus. He laid his head back again and gave up. She set the glass of water on the table next to him and waited a few minutes until she was sure he was out again. She went back over to the desk, to finish making notes in his patient file. Faith was gone then, probably to make a call to Mountie Headquarters and give her report.
It was hard to focus after such an intense day. She rubbed her eyes, and then rested her face in her hands. She had so many mixed emotions and she wasn't sure how to handle them.
Julia had known Nathan for only a month, but the time up on the mountain had endeared him to her. Then there was the ride down, when they had been so close. The riding lesson, when they had gotten in the stream. The dinner when they had laughed so much, with Allie and Jake. The social club when he had flirted with her. Not to mention the countless other interactions that had been so precious. Now, he was laying on the table in the infirmary, injured. There was so much to process, Julia wasn't sure how to feel.
Faith came back in, steeling her out of her thoughts. She was happy to return to the present and to focus on his care. "Faith, he has some pretty intense bruising starting on his rib cage. I think we are looking at a few cracked ribs. I'm also mildly worried about his spleen. "
Faith walked over to the table with her, she pulled back to the covers to examine his torso and agreed, that there could be some cracked, bruised, or even broken ribs.
"Times like these, it would be so beneficial to have an X-ray machine here in Hope valley." Faith commented.
Julia knew she had to stay busy. She said, "I'm going to research rib injuries: the different degrees, so we know what we are dealing with when he wakes up and we can do a full assessment." Julia said, walking to the medical books on the wall.
"That sounds great, Julia. I'll research the spleen and we can compare notes. It would be great to know what we should be watching out for." Faith concluded.
Julia searched and pulled out the medical book she was looking for. She also went into her apartment and found another book related to orthopedic injuries. She brought both over to the desk and began flipping pages.
Faith did the same. They were both engrossed in their research when they heard a groan and something hit the floor on the other side of the curtain.
Julia flew around the partition and saw that he had tried to grab the cup, but only managed to knock it over.
Nathan's eyes were open now and he watched her enter. She came over close and looked down at him. He was restless.
"Nathan, try not to move around too much. Do you remember where you are?" Julia asked him.
"The infirmary." He answered hoarsely.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"Thirsty," he croaked hoarsely.
Julia grabbed another cup, filled it and brought it back to him. He took it in his right hand and started to drink. "Slowly, Nathan." she whispered. He knew she was right, but he was just so thirsty.
"Do you remember what happened?" Julia asked.
Nathan answered hoarsely, "There was a loud bang behind me, an explosion, and I fell. The rest is a blur."
"Are you in pain?" He nodded, though she could already see it in the lines on his face.
Faith overheard and entered with some medicine for the pain. Faith spoke to him, "Nathan, take this. It will ease your pain a little. You have a deep shoulder injury, Julia and cleaned it and I think you'll be impressed with her perfect stitching. Even I couldn't have made it look so good. We'd like you stay with us here tonight, for observation, and in the morning we'll do an assessment of the injuries to your ribcage. We suspect you have some bruised or cracked ribs, but we need you to be awake to get a good idea of what we are dealing with. It would be really good if you could get some rest tonight. I can give you something to help with that later." Faith finished.
"Allie?" He asked.
Julia spoke up, "Bill went to pick her up from school. He's going to bring her straight here, after going to go by your house to get you a new shirt. I'm sorry, but I had to cut away quite a bit of the shirt you are wearing to get to your injury," she explained. "I'm sure they would be here soon." She smiled down at him. "More water?" Julia offered. He nodded, so she took the cup to refill it.
Just then, they heard Bill and Allie enter, and Faith went to meet them. Faith explaining so sweetly, leaving certain things vague but very gently preparing Allie to see her Dad. They also heard Faith warn her to stay on his right side and to not jostle him too much. His ribs were quite sore.
When she was ready, Allie walked slowly around the curtain, with Bill right behind. Julia offered her hand to Allie, who took it gratefully. Allie approached him, with Julia at her side, an added comfort.
"Hi, Allie girl," Nathan said. "How was school?"
Allie didn't answer she just went into his arms then. He grimaced and Julia started to move to help him, but he put his hand out to let her know it was ok. Julia could hear muffled crying and just waited there with her hand on Allie's back. Nathan closed his eyes and enjoyed the embrace, even through the pain.
Nathan told her, "Allie girl, don't cry. I'm okay, just banged up a little. Faith and Julia have been taking good care of me."
Allie didn't let up. It was easy to see that they had a sweet, deep, precious bond. Julia's eyes were misty then, and when Allie pulled back out of the embrace, she brought a chair over for Allie to sit next to him.
"Tell me about your school day." Nathan said, still holding Allie's hand.
As they began to talk, Julia exited to give them privacy. She went out to get some air and Bill followed her.
Bill could see that Julia was affected by the interaction between Allie and Nathan, her eyes were filled with tears.
Julia saw Bill's concern and tried to explain, "They remind me of my relationship with my own father. So precious." She continued, but very brief for fear of the tears spilling over, "We were a lot like them."
"They have a very sweet relationship." Bill said. He paused and gave her a minute to collect herself. She took a deep breath and was back in nurse mode.
"I hung Nathan's shirt in the back of the infirmary. I also spoke with Mrs. Weiss, Opal's mom on the way out of school. I made her aware of what happened. Allie was already expected at their house, for the next few nights. So, when Allie's ready to go, send her to my office and I can walk her to the Weiss's." Bill stated.
"Thanks, Bill for all your help. You are a great friend." She replied.
Bill just smiled and replied, "He would do the same for me."