Chapter 7

Hearing the door opening, Heath looked up from the book he was reading as Nick quietly entered the room. "How's Jarrod?" He questioned softly, not wishing to disturb Millie who was still sound asleep.

"No change either way." Nick replied as he brought over another chair, taking a seat beside his brother. He motioned to the girl. "Her?"

"Woke for a little while around four and been asleep again since. Name's Millie." He returned the book to the bedside table beside him. "Millie Anders."

Thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "Name doesn't ring a bell. She say anythin' else? Anythin' 'bout Jarrod?"

Heath nodded. "Seems she and Jarrod both took shelter in one of the boundary cabins to wait out the blizzard. Jarrod got sick and once the storm cleared, she brought him back. That travois she brought him in on, Jingo was pulling it originally. He went down while they were coming through the pass and she had to swap it to her horse. She walked from the pass."

"She walked?" Nick exclaimed with surprise. "That's got to be-" He thought for a moment, adding up what the distance would be. "a good twelve miles? No." He shook his head. "There's no way she could have done that. It was rough enough for us on horses, let alone walkin'. A grown man would barely be able to do it on foot."

He shrugged, glancing down at Millie. "That's what she said and given the way she was when I found her, I'm inclined to believe it to be true."

Nick just raised his eyebrows in disbelief as he rested back in the chair, at a loss for words. If that were true, if she had walked from the mountain pass, it was beyond a miracle that she'd made it back to them with Jarrod. Looking over at her, he watched her sleep for a time before he turned back to his brother. "She say anythin' else? Anythin' 'bout where she comes from?"

"I asked her if we needed to get in touch with anyone to let her know where she was and she said she hasn't got anyone. When she first woke though she seemed scared of me. Real scared. Like she was frightened I was going to hurt her."

"Could be a runaway." Nick suggested thoughtfully. "Probably an orphan too." He looked at her carefully for a moment. "She can't be older than sixteen I'd say, probably fourteen or fifteen at most?"

"That's what I'm thinking. Jarrod might know more but…" His voice trailed off as he shrugged. If Jarrod did know anything about her, he wouldn't be in any shape to tell them for a few days at least. "I think it's best if we don't press her on it for now. We let her rest and when she's stronger, we try to find out what her story is."

He nodded in agreement. "Well, it's my turn to sit with her awhile. You might try convincin' Mother to get some sleep, I wasn't able to. Audra ended up falling asleep, I carried her off to her bed and when I checked on her she was still sleepin'."

"I'll see what I can do." Heath replied as he stood heading to the door. At the door he stopped, hesitated and then turned back looking over at Millie. The girl was still asleep, for now. "If she wakes, be gentle with her Nick." He cautioned as his brother sat down beside the bed. "Judging by how she was with me, someone's given that poor kid one hell of a time."

"Don't worry yourself, little brother." Leaning back in his chair Nick picked up the book that his brother had left and crossed one leg over the other as he opened it to read. "I've got it under control."

Quietly Heath left the room and closed the door behind him, stopping to check in on Audra before he went to go see Victoria. Audra was still asleep when he opened the door a crack to check on her and he left her to sleep, heading to Jarrod's room.

Victoria looked up as he snuck into Jarrod's room, closing the door softly behind him and he joined her beside his brother's bed. "Any change?" He questioned, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head, placing one hand over his as she held onto Jarrod's hand with the other. "How's the girl?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Sleeping. Nick's with her." Heath replied. "Her name is Millie Anders." He recounted to her what he'd told Nick earlier. "I think it's best we let her get stronger before we try asking her about her past." He concluded. "Give her a chance to start trusting us and she might feel comfortable enough to talk."

"Yes, you're probably right." Victoria agreed, yawning softly as she took the dried cloth from Jarrod's forehead to wet again.

"Ma'am, you need to get some sleep."

She shook her head as she wrung the cloth out. "No. No, I'm not leaving him."

Letting out a sigh, Heath thought for a moment. "If I bought a cot in, would you please get some sleep? I'll sit with Jarrod and if anything changes, I'll wake you."

After a moment, Victoria gave in and nodded.

Giving her a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the shoulder, Heath left and headed out to grab a cot. Finding one in the attic he grabbed a blanket and pillow to go with it from his room and returned to Jarrod's, setting it up on the other side of the room for her. When he'd finished, he went back to her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder to wake her for Victoria had nodded off in the chair. "It's ready."

She smiled appreciatively. "Thank you Heath. Wake me if anything changes."

"I will. Promise."

Victoria hesitated for a moment then finally left Jarrod's side and went over to the cot, Heath taking up the watch over him after she'd left. Sitting beside him, he took a good look at his brother. Jarrod didn't look good, his face pale and clammy with sweat from the fever and with each breath he took, a rasping, rattling sound could be heard. Heath bowed his head, his lips moving but no sound coming out as he began praying for his brother. It was a short but heartfelt prayer and while he didn't consider himself to be much of a religious man, in the circumstances, what else was he to do? There was nothing any of them could do. Jarrod was out of their hands and his life was left in the hands of a higher power.

Finished with his prayer, Heath looked back up at his brother and gently picked up his hand, holding it in his own. Fight Jarrod. He willed his brother in his mind. You can't give up yet. You can get through this. I know you can.

Pain. Pain was what brought Millie back out of the darkness, the young girl whimpering softly as she began to rouse. The dull aching in her hands and fingers that had started to wake her had turned into intense stabbing. Tossing her head, she cried out softly as a couple tears rolled down her cheeks. Her hands hurt, they really were hurting.

"Ssssh, ssssh, it's alright." Nick soothed as Millie stirred, gently stroking her hair back from forehead. "Take it easy, Miss. It's alright."

Millie's eyes opened at his touch, too in pain to care that this strange man beside her was stroking her hair. "It hurts."

"What hurts?"

"My-my hands. They're hurting real bad." She cried. "They really hurt."

"Just take it easy, I'll go get the doc." Nick rose quickly, giving her hair one last stroke. "I'll be right back." Millie nodded, fighting back more tears and he left, heading to wake the doctor in the room next to Millie's. "Doc, Doc-" He attempted to rouse him. "the girl's needin' you." He explained as Doctor Merar woke and sat up. "She's woken up hurtin' bad."

Nodding, the doctor picked up his bag set on the table beside the bed and followed Nick back to the girl.

"Miss Anders, this is Doctor Merar." He introduced, standing back to let the doctor have room to work. "He's gonna make you feel better."

Sitting down in the chair beside the girl's bed, the doctor set his bag down on the table next to him. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"My hands." Millie whimpered. "They're really hurting somethin' fierce."

"Let's see if we can't make them feel better. Here-" He carefully poured out some lardenum onto a spoon and fed it to the girl. "this will help ease it some."

Grimacing at the bitter taste, she swallowed the medicine. "Thank you."

"We'll just give that some time to work before we take a look at your hands. I'll be back shortly. I'm going to check in on Mr. Barkley."

Millie nodded, still fighting back tears as the doctor rose and left the room with his doctor's bag. Swallowing back the lump in her throat she rested back against the pillows, praying that the pain would ease quickly.

Nick slowly approached and sat down beside her. "I'm Nick Barkley." He introduced himself softly as Millie looked over at him. "Heath asked me to come sit with you, he's in with Jarrod at the moment. Is there anythin' I can get you?"

"Some… Some water would be nice. Please?" He obliged and helped her to drink, Millie finishing the cup off before the horrible taste of the medicine had left her mouth. "Thank you."

He smiled a little as he placed the empty cup back on the bedside table. "It should be me thankin' you. Heath told me what you did for Jarrod. Believe me, we all owe you a great deal."

At his praise, Millie bowed her head. "I did what anyone else would have done. It was nothing special.' She paused for a moment and looked back at him. 'Will he be alright?"

"We don't know yet."

The girl nodded and fell silent again, looking back down at her bandaged hands.

"Pain easin' up?"

"A little." She bit her lip as the throbbing in her hands intensified again for a moment. "I'm sorry to be a trouble, Mr. Barkley. Soon as I'm healed up enough, I'll be moving on."

"There's no need to be thinkin' 'bout this like that. You saved Jarrod's life. The least we can do is take care of you in return." He paused for a moment, wondering if he could prod her for a little information. "Have you got any place in mind to go to? Home? I'm sure your family is worried about you."

She shook her head. "Haven't got a family Mister and before the thought even enters anyone's mind, I sure as hell ain't going to an orphanage. I've been fine on my own before my path crossed with your brothers' and I'm sure I'll be just as fine when I leave here. And to answer your question-" She winched for a moment before the stabbing pain in her hands eased again. "I go where the road leads. I am more than capable of looking after myself."

An amused smile spread across his face. She was just as much a spitfire as Audra and as headstrong and stubborn as he was. "I believe you are, Miss Anders."

"Millie."

"In that case, you may call me Nick."

"Would you mind getting me some more water please?"

"Of course."

As Nick helped the girl to have another drink, the door opened again. "How's the pain now Miss Anders?" The doctor questioned as he returned to the room. "Better?"

Millie nodded as Nick returned the empty glass to the bedside table. "Mostly. They still hurt but not as bad as before."

"Good." Paul replied as Nick stood and he took his place in the chair. "We're going to unwrap your hands and do another water treatment." He explained as he placed his bag down on the table. "Nick, would you mind fetching some warm water please while I examine this young lady?"

"Sure thing doc."

Nick left, Doctor Merar turning his attention back to the girl. "How are you feeling, apart from your hands?"

"Exhausted." Millie replied softly, her earlier little outburst at Nick having drained what little strength she'd built up. "Just exhausted, doctor."

"That's to be expected, given your condition. You were very lucky Mr. Barkley found you when he did young lady, you wouldn't have lasted much longer if he hadn't."

She nodded soberly as she took on what the doctor said. "What about my hands? Are they going to be alright?"

"It's too soon to tell if there's nerve damage." He replied gently. "I don't mean to frighten you but you should know the truth. Frostbite can be a serious thing and in your case, I can't give you a definite answer just yet. Gangrene is our main concern now, if that occurs then you could lose fingers, possibly your hands."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Millie looked back at the doctor. "Thank you for your honesty. Apart… Apart from my hands, am I going to be okay?"

"Well, after an ordeal such as this, it's going to take you some time and rest for you to recover. I've spoken with Mrs. Barkley and she was more than happy to agree that you stay here for the next few days, until something can be arranged to get you back home. You do have a home and folks, don't you?"

Millie shook her head. "No sir. It's just me. I don't have anyone."

"Well, given the circumstances, I'm sure something can be arranged." He smiled at her encouragingly. "Mrs. Barkley and her family will take care of you. From what I hear, you are quite the hero to them."

"I'm no hero sir." She protested softly. "Please don't think of me as such. I just did what anyone would have done. I don't want to be beholden to anyone either-"

Her sentence was interrupted when a knock sounded on the door. "Come in." He called, Nick entering a moment later. "Just place it on the table for now, thank you." He requested as he turned back to Millie. "I'm going to unwrap your hands now, I'll try to be gentle but I'm not going to promise it won't hurt."

Millie nodded, biting her lip as the doctor set to work on removing the bandages from her left hand.

Nick brought over another chair, sitting down beside her on the opposite side of the bed. "That's a girl. You're doin' just fine." He encouraged as the doctor worked, the girl fighting back tears from the pain he was causing by working with her hand. "Won't be long now."

With one hand unwrapped the doctor proceeded to unwrap the other hand before he examined them both. Her hands were pale and the skin waxy, blisters beginning to form. Taking a needle from his bag he gently picked up her right hand and prodded the tip of her thumb with the blunt end of the needle. "Feel anything?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

Gently he kept going, trying to determine if she had regained any feeling in her fingers yet but it appeared that she hadn't. She had feeling in the palms of her hands and at the first knuckle of her fingers but that was all so far. As he returned the needle to his bag, his eyes met Nick for a moment, an unspoken exchange taking place. Millie not having any feeling in her fingers yet wasn't a good sign. It was too early to tell for certain if nerve damage had taken place but it wasn't good that she hadn't regained some feeling yet. "Let's get your hands into the water now."

Millie nodded and the doctor was about to bring the basin over to begin when he was interrupted by the arrival of Heath.

"Doc, it's Jarrod-" Heath said urgently as he appeared in the doorway. "He's struggling to breathe."

"Coming." Doctor Merar stood quickly. "Nick, can you take care of this?"

Nick nodded, his heart in his throat as the doctor picked up his bag and hurried out of the room after Heath. God, please, let him pull through. He prayed, torn between staying and doing what the doctor had requested or going to his brother. Knowing that there probably wasn't anything he could do for Jarrod but that he was able to help Millie, he sat down beside her bed and brought the basin over from the table. "Can't promise this won't hurt." He said as he set the basin down on the bed beside her. "But it's what the doc has said needs to happen."

Millie nodded and Nick gently picked up her right wrist, the girl winching in pain as her hand entered the water.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts." He apologized, placing her left hand also in the basin. "You're doin' well Millie."

Fighting back tears from the pain she looked back at Nick. "I hope your brother will be alright-" Her words were cut off with a whimper as the pain intensified and she tried to take her hands out of the basin, Nick stopping her. "It hurts too much, I can't do it."

"Millie, if you don't, you could lose your fingers." Nick told her, gently but firmly holding her wrists to stop her from taking her hands out of the water. "Or worse. This is the only chance you have at keepin' your fingers and hands. I know it hurts like hell but you don't have any choice."

Tears rolling down her cheeks, she bit her lip to stop herself crying out.

"Now I'm gonna let go if you promise not to take your hands out till we've finished."

"P-promise."

"Good girl." He let her wrists go, Millie fighting back tears. "I know it hurts, just try to lie back and rest. It'll be over soon." After a moment she lay back on the pillows and he offered her a smile of encouragement. "That's a girl."

"How-how long?"

"At least fifteen minutes, longer if you can."

"I don't think I can do this. It hurts too much."

"I know but you have to try." Nick replied as he looked down at her, tears rolling down her cheeks as she let out a soft whimper. Hesitating for a moment, he began stroking her hair like he used to do for Audra when she had been little and feeling unwell. "Just close your eyes honey, try not to think of the pain. It'll be over soon." He continued stroking her hair, the girl relaxing slightly at his touch. "It'll be over soon, lil one."

Silence fell, time slipping slowly by as Nick kept stroking Millie's head, the girl settling down after some time. He felt sorry for her, he really did. Having fought in the war he'd seen his fair share of frostbite cases, he himself having a moderate case of it the first winter he'd been in service and so he understood to some degree what she was feeling. Her frostbite though was one of the more severe cases he'd seen, not the worst ever but not a mild case either. As her hands were rewarming, blisters had begun forming on her fingers and it wasn't great that she hadn't regained feeling yet. He just hoped for her sake that she didn't end up losing any.

A knock sounded on the door, stirring Millie as Heath returned. "How's Jarrod?" Nick questioned, Heath taking a seat in the chair across the bed from him. "Is he alright?"

"The Doc and your mother are with him." He replied. "How's your hands Millie?"

"Hurting awful bad." Millie said as she struggled to keep her composure. The pain was just getting too much for her. "I-I'm sorry, I've got to take them out."

Taking his watch from his pocket to check the time, Nick saw that she was only a couple minutes away from making the fifteen and he gently removed her hands from the water, setting them down on top of the towel across her lap. "You did good." He encouraged as he placed the basin aside. "Just rest now, try to get some sleep."

Resting back in the pillows, Millie closed her eyes.

After a moment Nick rose, motioning for Heath to follow him and they left the room, closing the door behind themselves. "How bad is he Heath?" Nick questioned, referring to Jarrod.

"It's not good Nick. Jarrod could hardly breathe when I left. The doctor's going to try to drain the mucus from his lungs to help him breathe better but…" He fell silent. He didn't need to speak it for Nick to understand what he was trying to say.

"I'm going to him-"

"No Nick." Heath stopped him. "They'll call us in when they are finished. In the meantime, go have some breakfast. Silas has it prepared and coffee too. I've already eaten, I'll take over with Millie for now."

"How can you be thinkin' about breakfast at a time like this-"

"Because I know the last thing this family needs is more sick people to look after." He interrupted. "Go eat."

After a moment, Nick nodded and started towards the stairs. He was almost there when he stopped, turning back to Heath. "Has anyone sent word to Eugene?"

Heath thought then shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"I'll get a message sent into town. If he's as bad as the doc reckons he is, Eugene has a right to know."

Nick headed on downstairs and Heath returned to Millie's room after checking in on Audra, his sister still asleep and unaware of the events that had unfolded with Jarrod. Sitting down beside the sleeping young lady he prayed again for some miracle to happen for his brother. For him to be spared and to pull through.