Chapter Thirty-Four
Anna used the time John was in theater to telephone the cottage and check in with Mrs. Hughes and Carson. She could hear Elizabeth pitching a fit very close to the receiver.
"Give her to Mr. Carson," Anna instructed. "When she gets like that it's only Mr. Bates that can calm her down. Maybe Mr. Carson will do. Are the older children being good?"
"Good as gold, Anna," Mrs. Hughes replied. "Johnny is a little quiet, and he didn't eat much luncheon, but they are behaving splendidly."
"Mr. Bates will be so proud," Anna replied. "Just last night he…Last night Mr. Bates was worrying that we weren't good enough parents because he had to discipline Johnny."
"Stuff and nonsense," Mrs. Hughes chortled. "Let me get on, I'll see if this little one will settle down for her Grandpa Charlie because Granny Elsie isn't having much luck."
"If she won't, telephone Lady Mary and perhaps she can arrange for her to be brought here," Anna suggested. "I'll ring again when there's more news."
The call ended and Mrs. Hughes headed to the sitting room with Elizabeth. "You take her for a while, Charlie. Anna suggested she might stop for you, seems she will for Mr. Bates."
Carson looked at the wretched little girl in his wife's arms and reached for her. Johnny and Maggie were playing nicely on the floor with their crayons, making "Get Well" cards for their Daddy.
"Come to me, little angel," Carson said in a gentle sing-song voice. "I know, I know, this is so very terrible, isn't it? You tell Grandpa Charlie all about it."
Carson walked with the little girl in his arms, humming a very monotone tune to her as he tried to get her to settle down in his arms. "I know you miss your Daddy, sweet girl, but he'll be home soon enough."
Slowly, with Carson's gentle tone and the soothing motion of his body, Elizabeth started to doze off. Mrs. Hughes was relieved. It broke her heart to hear the small baby crying and not be able to soothe her tears. "Well done, Charlie," Mrs. Hughes beamed. "I'll take her now and put her in her cot."
"I think I'll hold onto her a little longer," Carson replied in that same soft voice. "She might wake else."
Mrs. Hughes wasn't fooled, but she let Carson believe she believed that was his reason for wanting to hold the little one a bit longer when he fancied a cuddle himself.
Robert was the first one to see Dr. Clarkson returning from his surgery. "Anna," Robert nodded to her and stood up to greet the doctor.
"Is he alright?" Anna asked in a rush. "I should go to him now, surely. He'll be wretched waking up from the chloroform."
"He's not waking up just yet," Dr. Clarkson replied. "We had to put him under more deeply and make a small incision in the knee. When we started to drain the fluid there was much more blood than we anticipated and we had to seek the source straight away."
"And what was the source?" Robert asked, his hand firmly gripping Anna's shoulder.
"Several torn ligaments around his knee, likely a result of the fall," Dr. Clarkson replied. "There was a good deal of blood already in the joint, so we had to repair some of the damaged arteries. The procedure that is required to repair the damage is beyond my surgical capability. In fact, there is not a doctor here or even in York that does that procedure."
"Will he have to go to London?" Robert asked. "I'm certain there are doctors on Harley Street that…"
"There is an orthopedic surgeon in Leeds that I believe does this procedure. I'll ring him up first thing Monday and determine if that is still accurate," Dr. Clarkson replied. "Until then, we will keep an eye on the bleeding. We've yet to stitch up the leg, it's packed and bandaged and we'll keep Mr. Bates well medicated until we can close him up.
"I understand you're wanting to see him, so a nurse will fetch you in a few minutes to take you in. I will come back later to check on him," the doctor assured.
Anna could only sit and wait for the nurse to come a retrieve them. A short while later, though, it seemed much longer, a nurse came out to bring them inside the room. Anna breathed at the sight of her husband who lay still in the hospital bed. His large frame filled the bed, and yet he seemed so small lying there. He was so still it was hard to even discern he was breathing. It was only the small soft moans and groans that let her know he was still among them.
There was a basin by the bed and a water jug. Anna wet a flannel and started to dab at John's face and neck to bring him comfort and to keep herself busy while she waited for him to wake up.
With each she admired his face and how peaceful he looked while he slept. She could hardly wait for his big brown eyes to open and look towards her so she could see the way they sparkled again or to hear his soft toned voice speaking her name while he smiled that gentle way that he did.
The nurse mentioned it would take time before he would wake so she would have to wait. Anna took his hand into hers just so he knew that she sat beside him. With her free hand, she cupped his cheek very much the way he used to do to her. She could almost feel his strong fingers press against her cheeks delicately as he guided her face towards his for a kiss. She stayed holding his hand for hours until the first signs of his awakening began with a small, dry moan.
"John?" Anna whispered softly. Anna took a glass of water that sat on the table and offered it to him. "Here, John. Water…slow, sip it slowly. Slowly, so you don't get sick."
John moaned again as the water slid down his raw throat. The chloroform burned his nasal passages and his throat and left him with a pounding headache. John pushed his eyes open and immediately shut them again with a different sounding moan. "Ssh," Anna soothed. "What is it? Your leg?"
John tried to swallow the dryness away and shook his throbbing head. "No," he whispered. "My head. The light…"
Anna looked and saw how she could shut down the shades letting in the heavy daylight that was hurting John's eyes. She quickly shut the blinds and searched for the switch to lower the hospital lighting though she couldn't find it.
"Keep your eyes closed, my darling," Anna soothed. "I'm going to bathe your forehead and it'll feel better, I promise."
Anna laid a cool flannel along John's head. "Do you want some more water?"
"Want tea," John said more, but that's all that Anna could make out.
"Warm tea will feel good," Anna replied. "I'll ring the nurse and get some for you. Just rest my love. I'm right here for you. Everything is going to be alright."
John shifted in bed, hardly comfortable, and certainly not free of pain. "Gone?" John asked, his voice gravely and weak.
"No, my love," Anna soothed. "No, your leg is there. It's not gone; it's just been operated on is all. You'll need it operated on again, but we won't worry about that just now. You rest now, my love. Does it hurt very badly?"
"S'not too bad," John slurred. "Just so tired."
"I know, love," Anna sighed. "I know you are. Try to fall asleep while we wait for your tea. I'll sit right beside you, don't be frightened."
Anna hated seeing John so vulnerable, "Do you want to count together? Let's count while we wait, hmmm? One, two, three…"
John listened to Anna's soft voice as she steadily counted. He was in between sleep and wakefulness most of the time and Anna never left and never wavered. After a short amount of time, he felt Anna lift his head, "John, love, your tea is here. It's not too hot, take a small sip."
The warm liquid felt good on John's sore throat and the steam from the mug moistened his dry nasal passages. John made a sound of contentment. Anna was glad of this.
"How is he, Anna?" Robert asked when Anna took a break from sitting at John's side. He'd fallen into a much deeper sleep after the administration of morphine for his pain. Anna used the opportunity to go and inform Robert about John's condition and to call Mrs. Hughes.
"He's asleep," Anna replied. "They gave him some more morphine for the pain and he's resting as comfortably as he can. He hates chloroform. He hates being medicated and dependent on anything, but Dr. Clarkson said his blood pressure and his heart rate were too high and he had to have the medicine."
Robert sighed, "It's so terrible, but Bates is strong and he is stubborn. He'll be all right, Anna."
Anna nodded, "I agree with you. Mr. Bates is strong and he'll do well, but there is more surgery required that this hospital doesn't do."
"I've spoken to the doctor he consulted with in Leeds about his arthritis. There is a surgeon there that will do this repair on his leg and she will come to York to do it."
"M'lord, you can't mean it!" Anna nearly glowed with happiness. "But how…Did you say she?"
"I did," Robert replied. "She is known to be a talented surgeon, and given she's not affiliated with any hospital contractually, she has more freedom to take cases in other areas, so I hired her to come to Downton and operate on Bates as soon as he's strong enough."
"We are ever so grateful, m'lord, and you can add the sum to what we will owe at the end of things on the inn. Mr. Bates won't take it else."
"In that case, I'll add her fees to his portion of the loan payment, I'll just make sure he has an indefinite amount of time to pay it back."
When Dr. Clarkson came a few hours later to examine John's incision, he frowned. "I haven't been able to stop all of the bleeding inside the leg. I'm concerned if I try to stop more of it, I'll starve the lower part of his leg for oxygen. He needs to have the tears repaired to safely stop the bleeding all the way."
"The doctor is in Leeds waiting for me to contact her with leave to come here. I shall send a telegram at once and arrange for her train," Robert informed Dr. Clarkson and Anna, who held onto John's hand with no color in her face.
"What if you don't stop the bleeding, and his leg continues to look like that?" Anna asked referring to the swollen, somewhat mottled appearance of her husband's calf and foot.
"Then he'll lose it," Dr. Clarkson admitted. "But the bleeding is controlled, and the swelling is going down. That's a good sign the flesh is still healthy. If he is able to endure another procedure inside the next 48 hours, I think he'll recover with some loss of function, but not all. Not all."
"Mr. Bates is strong," Anna assured the doctor. "He'll come through another procedure with flying colors. I just know he will."
Dr. Clarkson was less sure. Each new complication put more stress on John's body, not only his leg, but also his heart, brain, immune system. He was an older man, one in otherwise excellent health, but an older man still. Only time would tell.
Dr. Catherine Sullivan stepped off the train in Downton with her case in one hand and her medical bag in the other. She had answered the call to duty from Lord Grantham only the day before, and now she was in this beautiful, northern Yorkshire town with clean smelling air and a lovely charm. "Dr. Sullivan? Dr. Sullivan!" A tall, dark-haired woman approached her on the platform. "I'm Lady Mary Crawley, Lord Grantham sent for you. I'm to bring you to the house to settle in then my brother-in-law, Mr. Branson, will drive you to hospital to meet Mr. and Mrs. Bates."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, m'lady," Dr. Sullivan replied. ""Though I'm sorry for the circumstances. I understand from Lord Grantham's also a friend of Mr. Bates."
"He is," Mary affirmed for the doctor. "They have been friends now for almost 30 years, Bates has worked for his lordship for the last 18."
It was all starting to make sense now. Lords and ladies would bargain and battle for friends and relatives, but not their servants, not unless that servant had become something more in the scheme of things.
Dr. Sullivan observed the landscape as she and Mary rode back to Downton. Parker was out front to greet them, as were Cora and Tom. "Please, see to the doctor's cases at once," Mary told Andy as she led Dr. Sullivan inside.
"There's tea in the library if you want some," Cora offered. "You have had a bit of a journey, and at such short notice. We are grateful to you for this."
"His lordship indicated the case would be interesting," Dr. Sullivan replied. "And I do love a challenge almost as much as I love helping my patients."
"Challenge is one word for it," Mary said under her breath as the foursome entered the library. Anna had confided Bates has been a bear whenever he was awake, griping and sniping at the staff that he was capable of more than he was. Robert and Anna were the only people that could convince him to cooperate in his own care. Even then, it was an uphill battle.
The surgery took place the next morning. Dr. Clarkson had made John fast from just after tea and didn't permit him any water after 10pm which left him grouchy and uncomfortable. Anna did what she could to keep John comfortable, feeding him ice cubes to melt on his tongue and wiping his lips with a moist flannel.
Dr. Sullivan met with John and Anna to go over the procedure with them. She showed them, using a drawing, what he was going to do to the torn soft tissue in John's leg. "And that will stop the bleeding?" Anna confirmed.
"Yes," Dr. Sullivan assured her. "It will stop the bleeding, and we can prevent more blood from collecting around the broken pieces in the joint and causing fluid in the knee. All in all, it's a simple procedure, though the previous injury makes it a bit more complicated. That's likely why Dr Clarkson wanted an orthopedic surgeon to be the one to do the repair."
"How long will I be in hospital?" John asked. He hadn't said much other than "hello" before.
"The recovery depends on what I see when I get in there," Dr. Sullivan replied. "But, best case scenario, you could be home in about three weeks. Worst case, the recovery in hospital would be about that long, but the total time convalescing would be decidedly longer. Up to three months immobilization, but let's see where we are. Are you ready, Mr. Bates?"
"Suppose I have no choice," John replied. "Can I have a moment alone with my wife?"
John could see Anna was beginning to get emotional, when the doctor stepped out, he clasped her hand in his and kissed it. "Everything is going to be fine," she assured him, putting on a false bravado that would fool anyone except for him. "I just hate seeing you having to go through this. It's not fair after all you've been through."
John held her gaze with his own, "All we've been through and this is no different. We'll make it. We've been through worse, you know, and we've been just fine."
Anna nodded, "Indeed. I love you, Mr. Bates," she whispered, leaning down to kiss his lips. They were dry and she felt so sorry for him having to endure so long without even water. "I'll be here when you wake up, right by your side."
"I love you, too, Mrs. Bates," John whispered. "I'll see you later."
Anna bit her lip and nodded just as the nurse stepped in to see if they were ready. Robert was waiting just outside the door and stepped in before the stretcher bearers came to take John. "Remember our pact, dear friend?" John confirmed. "Remember your promise to me?"
Robert nodded, "I do, don't worry, my dear fellow. I'll remain here until it's all over."
With Robert's assurance and Anna's declaration of love firm in his mind, John was able to surrender himself to the pull of the ether mask once Dr. Sullivan ordered it and leave himself entirely in her hands.
A/N: What shall happen next? Can we trust Dr. Sullivan with our Mr. Bates? Time will tell.