"Come in! Come in!" Ben enthusiastically greeted an elderly man at the door. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow!"
"Well, I decided to come early, Ben. You know Mrs. Miller's baby is due any time now and I figured I'd stop by out here while I had the free time today," the man replied, stepping into the house and placing his hat on the table next to the door but carrying his little black case inside with him. He gazed around the room until his eyes landed on Eleanor. "Ah, there she is! Our newest Cartwright."
Fear quickly began to surge into Eleanor. Who was this man? How did already know her? What was in that black case that made it so important to this man? Eleanor squished down her fear. Her father seemed to know and like him, maybe he wasn't a threat.
"I don't believe we've met," Eleanor said politely.
"I reckon not," the man replied, "last time I saw you, you were pretty out of it with fever. I'm glad to see you're doing much better now."
Eleanor raised an eyebrow, still confused. She didn't remember any man, she barely even remembered having been fevered. All she could remember of it was a vague haze and some voices she couldn't quite make sense of.
"Oh, of course. Eleanor, this is Doc Martin. He's the man who patched you up after we found you," said Ben, finally introducing him.
Eleanor replied with a brief nod, still studying the man and now pondering what kind of name 'Doc' was. Of all the names she had heard in her life, 'Doc' was not one of them.
"I would like to check on your wound, Eleanor." Doc Martin said, breaking through the silence.
"Why?"
Doc Martin blinked rapidly. "Well. Just because you look well doesn't mean you are well. Besides, it could be time that I remove those stitches."
"I didn't tear them!" Eleanor replied quickly.
"I didn't say you did," the doctor replied calmly, peering at her over his spectacles.
"Eleanor, why don't you go on up to your room and get ready?" Ben gently suggested.
Eleanor looked between the two of them, unsure of what was going on.
"Okay," she said simply. She got up and walked up the stairs to her room. Once she got there, she had no idea what to do and chose to just sit on the edge of her bed. What could getting ready entail? Her room was clean so that couldn't be it. And what kind of name was Doc anyway? What did he know about wounds? What was in that little black case? Eleanor pondered these things until she heard a knock on her door. "Come in."
In stepped Doc Martin. And he was carrying that little black bag.
"Go ahead and take your shirt off," Doc Martin said, setting his bag down on a nightstand.
Eleanor stiffened. "What!?" She couldn't have heard him right.
"Take your shirt off."
Eleanor had heard him right. She stood up, her mind racing.
"I don't have all day," he said, turning toward her with a slightly annoyed look on his face.
"I don't know just what kind of woman you think I am mister, but I don't take my shirt off for anyone who asks me to!" Eleanor said, reaching out and slapping him. She quickly turned and left the room, her shoulder aching from the sudden forceful movement. "Pa!" she called, reaching the balcony at the top of the stairs. "Pa!"
Ben quickly stood up from his seat on the couch. "What's wrong?" he said, his voice filled with concern.
Even Joe and Adam had stood up from their seats near the coffee table where they had been playing checkers.
"That man is a pervert!" she exclaimed.
"What!?" Ben said, his voice filled with disbelief.
Eleanor heard a noise behind her and looked. She saw Doc Martin briskly walking out of her room, looking very frustrated, if not angry. Eleanor went down the stairs as quickly as she could.
"Just what is going on here?" Ben asked.
"Ben, she slapped me!" Doc Martin said from the top of the stairs, then proceeded to mutter something under his breath about stubborn women.
"He wanted me to take my shirt off!" she said accusingly, while clinging to her father's arm.
"How do you expect me to check on a wound I can't see?" Doc Martin shot back. Joe started cackling with laughter and Adam was barely restraining a smirk. Eleanor shot the two of them a glare.
Ben stood there for a moment, trying to figure out just what had happened. Then it dawned on him. "Eleanor, this man is a doctor. Have you ever seen one before?"
"No..."
"Doctors take care of people who are sick or hurt. Doc Martin wants to look at your wound and see that it is healing well. Once he's seen it, he'll tell you if you're ready to do more than just taking it easy. When I said that he patched you up earlier, I meant that he was the one who dug that bullet from your back, cleaned the wound, and put in the stitches."
"So he's not a pervert?"
"No."
"He's not going to hurt me?"
"No, Ellie," Ben replied patiently. "I know its hard, but trust me. I wouldn't let anyone into this house who might hurt you."
"And his name isn't Doc?"
"No. Now go and let him check on that wound. Maybe he'll tell you you're clear to ride again."
"Okay, Pa," Eleanor replied, letting go of her father's arm and starting back towards the stairs. "But if he tries anything funny, I'm going to slap him again." The comment made Joe start laughing again.
"If she slaps me again, your bill is going up by at least one dollar," Doc Martin warned before following after Lizzie. Joe laughed harder.
Ben turned to his son. "Joseph," he chided.
"Sorry, Pa," he said, trying, but failing, to completely supress his laughter.
"She was scared, Joe," Adam said, a certain level of sadness in his voice.
"I know she was scared. That's not the funny part. I've never seen someone so ready to give a doctor a hard time like that."
Ben's heart ached for his daughter as he stood at the bottom of the stairs. How much cruelty and inhumanity had Eleanor experienced before they had found her? All that time, all those scars on her back from various whippings and god knows what other injuries or sicknesses she'd experienced, and never once had she been tended to by a professional. Ben shook his head as he turned away from the stairs, briefly catching his eldest son's eye. Adam shook his head ever so slightly too. It was clear, Adam was thinking the same thoughts as his father.
Back upstairs in Eleanor's room, Eleanor cooperated with the doctor completely though she was still a little scared and doubtful of the man. Her discomfort was palpable as she sat shirtless in a chair, her back to Doc Martin. Her mind was racing, just waiting for the moment he would say something pitying about the scars on her back or try to do some kind of harm to her.
"Alright Eleanor, I'm going to feel the area around the wound. Tell me if it hurts."
Eleanor nodded. Though she flinched when he gently touched the area around the wound.
"Did that hurt?"
"No, not really," Eleanor replied softly. Truth was, she didn't like people touching her, especially strangers.
"Hm..." Doc Martin acknowledged her reply, still gently probing the area. "It looks like its healing fairly well. Tell me, did it hurt earlier when you slapped me?"
"Some."
"Describe it."
"Pulling sensation."
"Good... good."
"What's so good about it?" Lizzie asked with a tinge of annoyance. 'Does this man like pain?' she thought to herself.
"I mean these stitches are ready to come out."
Eleanor watched as Doc Martin reached into his mysterious black bag. He pulled out a small scissor. "What's that for?" she asked.
"I'm going to use it so I can take out the stitches.
"How do you do that?"
"First, I'll cut off the knot then I'll pull them out."
"Will it hurt?"
"It'll probably feel strange but it shouldn't hurt. You shouldn't have that pulling sensation in your shoulder anymore once they're out," Doc Martin said. He crouched down. "Okay, I'm going to cut the knot now," he said. Doc Martin described what he was doing to Eleanor as he proceeded to take out the stitches. It was as the doctor had said, it felt odd but it really didn't hurt. "Well, Eleanor, you should be good to go now. But this doesn't mean that you should go off and do whatever you want. I still advise that you take it easy for a little while yet while you adjust to living here."
"I will, sir," Eleanor said quietly. Doc Martin started walking towards the door. "Doc..." Eleanor started. Doc Martin turned slightly, looking back at her. "Sorry for slapping you," she said, barely getting the words out.
Doc Martin nodded and left the room, leaving Eleanor alone to put her shirt back on. She was still wary of the man, but she was grateful that he hadn't said anything about the scars.
"How's she doing, Doc?" Ben asked the doctor before he even reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Quite well. The wound healed excellently and I've removed the stitches. Though, I still don't want her doing too much just yet. Tell me, how has she been adapting to living here?"
"About as well as can be expected all things considered. She's pretty quiet for the most part, she seems to have a lot on her mind. But, I think she's beginning to trust me and my sons," Ben said. "She was actually joking with them just yesterday." Ben smiled softly, remembering the genuine smile on his daughter's face when she had come in the house with her brothers the previous evening.
"Don't forget, she's really close with Candy," Joe added in. "Reckon she's told him more than what she has to the rest of us. Pretty surprising, really."
"I wouldn't say that. It might be easier for her to open up to someone who isn't her family," Doc Martin said, picking up his hat.
Doc Martin headed for the door, Ben along with him. The two stepped outside together and walked towards the doctor's buggy.
"Ben," Doc Martin said as he climbed in the buggy, "I want you to keep a close eye on her. I don't think she's the kind of woman to let on when she's uncomfortable or hurting. I expect there's a lot of things she's missed out on in life. I've never met a person who didn't know what a doctor was until today." Doc Martin unconsciously touched his cheek where Eleanor had slapped him.
"I will," Ben said firmly.
"You've got a strong daughter there. The physical healing is done, but I think she still has a long road ahead of her."
"Thank you, doctor."
With that, Doc Martin urged his horse to a walk and started his drive back to town.