Chapter 14 – Patients
Maryam
I can hear the grumble of Rafe’s growl resonating through his chest as the two figures hesitantly move forward. But after only two or three seconds it’s apparent that they’re not threats –
They’re patients.
People who need my help.
Immediately I step to the side and then rush out ahead of Rafe, striding for them. He sighs and calls my name, but I ignore him. He catches up easily and hurries at my side – not stopping me but certainly not letting me go alone.
I glance over to the larger group by the fire, some of whom have started standing, clearly noticing that something’s up. “They need to stay back,” I say bruskly to Rafe, turning my eyes back to the people at the edge of the camp. They shrink away from me in fear and my heart seizes for them.
Rafe falls back a step, giving some sort of hand signal to his men before coming back to my side.
“Hi,” I say, as warm and gentle as I can, stopping about ten feet from the pair of women, one of whom cradles her arm against her stomach. My heart drops – that stance means either her arm is hurting, or her stomach is. I hope fervently for the former. “Welcome. You’re safe here.”
“Please, come forward,” Rafe says, his voice soft and friendly. “If you need any help, you’ve come to the right place.”
The two women glance at each other and then the taller of the two – the one not curled over in pain – wraps her arm around the other’s shoulders and ushers her forward. “Yes,” she says, hesitant, looking between Rafe and me. “We…we need help. We have nothing to offer or pay –“
“That doesn’t matter,” Rafe says, nodding to the woman but making no move toward her, probably sensing that it might be seen as aggressive. He steps back instead, gesturing towards the nursing tent, which is still lit from within. “Please. We want to help.”
The women glance at each other and then the taller sniffs the air before stepping forward, clearly deciding to trust us. The smaller woman coughs, the sound hacking and wet as she rasps for breath.
“Hi,” I say, smiling at them as they come forward, patting my urge to frown interestedly at the woman’s chest. That’s one hell of a cough, after all. Instead, I turn and walk at their side, placing myself between them and the group at the fire. “My name is Maryam, I’m a trained medic. Are you hurt?”
I hear a commotion at the fire behind me as we cross the camp, but Rafe falls back and apparently quells it as the taller woman tells me that the smaller is hurt – that there was a scuffle of some kind and a lot of confusion, and that they ran – that they’ve been waiting for an opportunity to run –
But the smaller one, her sister, got hurt along the way.
“We can help you,” I say, gesturing into the clean and shiny medical tent. The two women – covered with dirt, I observe, now that I’ve got them in the light – look around in a bit of wonder. “Why don’t you pick a bed and I’ll come right over. Are you hungry?”
They both look at me in surprise and then, as one, deeply nod.
I smile at them. “I’ll be there in a second, I just need to get some supplies. We’ll bring you something to eat.”
The two women hesitate and then move towards one of the beds in the back corner and I turn back to the door, Rafe’s name on my lips, ready to call him to my aid –
But he’s already there. I scowl at that, hating how precise he is. He smirks. “Orders, nurse?”
“I need Emma and Amari, and can you tell Shannon to get my dad? I’m worried that wrist is broken and he’ll need to take a look. And then can you tell Shannon to get some sandwiches and a lot of water? They’re dehydrated.”
Rafe nods to me, still smiling a little, and turns away.
“Rafe?”
He turns back, expectant.
“Can you keep the others away?” I ask, pitching my voice lower. “I’m getting the sense that these two aren’t going to respond well to a swarm of twenty amateur nurses all eager to help them.”
The Prince’s smile grows and he nods to me. “Consider it done.” He turns again.
“Hey, Rafe?”
He sighs, laughing a little, and again turns to me. He raises an eyebrow.
“Thanks,” I bite out, my eyes flashing at his attitude. His smile spreads across his face as he turns away, off to do my bidding.
I turn back to the patients, pleased to see that they’re sitting together on one of the beds, looking more relaxed. The smaller woman traces her hands over the blanket folded at the bottom of the bed, her eyes wide. I move to the corner of the tent where we have a small boiler and turn it on, beginning to fill a large basin with warm water.
Step one, after all, is getting these women cleaned up.
By the time dad arrives in the tent, taking a moment for Rafe to brief him at the door, we’ve made significant progress. The women have washed their faces and hands, murmuring a little in awe at the warm water in a way that breaks my heart. Now they happily eat the sandwiches Shannon gave to them in tiny bites, their eyes on the food even as Emma patches up their wounds. Small cuts, mostly.
I concentrate on the big problem at hand.
As gently as I can, I turn the smaller woman’s wrist. She growls, snapping her head towards me, flashing her teeth. But it quickly turns into that hacking cough. Her sister looks at her with worry.
“Easy, Jade,” the taller woman says, putting her hand on Jade’s shoulder. “She’s helping.”
Jade hesitates but then her face falls in apology. “Sorry,” she says, working the word around her wheezing breath.
“Here, darling,” Emma says, taking the blanket from the bottom of the bed and wrapping it around Jade’s shoulders. “Let’s get you cozy warm while we work.”
Jade gives Emma a small smile and lets me continue to probe at her wrist.
I smile at Jade, trying my best to be friendly – which doesn’t always come naturally to me. I work the wrist as gently as I can, stopping when she flinches. “It hurts a lot, yeah?”
She nods and we go through a few experiments to see how much mobility she has, stopping when it hurts too much. As dad walks over, Jade again cradles her arm against her chest, her lashes lined with tears.
“Hello, I’m the doctor,” dad says, giving them a curt nod. “Nurse? Assessment?”
“The wrist is broken, I believe,” I say, nodding to it. “She doesn’t have full range of motion and the pain is severe.”
“Well, that’s bad luck,” dad says, reaching for Jade’s arm. The woman hesitates, looking up at dad with fear in her eyes. “I’ll be very gentle,” he promises, leaning forward a little, his palm extended. “I’m here to help.”
Jade sighs and extends her arm. True to his word – and forty years of expertise – dad gently investigates her wrist, making his call.
“Yes, broken,” he says, nodding seriously to Jade, who sighs. The woman next to her wraps her in a hug. “We can treat it, though, if you’re willing.”
“We can’t pay you,” the taller woman says, looking up at my dad, an innate stubbornness making itself known in her expression.
“I didn’t ask you to pay,” dad says, half curt, half casual. “It’s my job to help you, my dear, no matter what. I promise no one will ask you for a thing. Do you accept care? You can stop at any time – you have complete freedom here.”
The women look at each other for a moment and then both nod. “Good,” dad says, turning away. He signals to Shannon at the door. “Nurse MacKay,” he calls. “Please bring these women more water. They’re dehydrated. And as much food as they’d like. Nurse Nasser,” he says, glancing down at me before striding towards Amari in our office area. “With me.”
I scurry after my dad, giving the women a warm smile as Emma continues to treat their small cuts. They stare after dad, I think a bit shocked, but I’m more used to his abrupt nature. He raised me, after all.
“What is it, dad?” I ask, looking up at him as we cross to the other side of the tent.
He ignores me for the time being, looking around at the office area that I set up. “Good work, nurse,” he says to Amari, not looking at him. Amari’s hands still on the keyboard mid-note as he looks up at dad. “Please ask the guard at the door to come here. Then, if no one’s manning the pharmacy, you’re needed there.”
“Sir?” Amari asks, a bit stunned.
Dad looks at him for the first time. “Which of my orders did you not understand?”
Amari blinks in surprise and then hops to his feet, murmuring “Yes, sir,” as he walks to the tent’s entrance.
I laugh a little, thinking that this is abrupt even for dad. He moves behind the desk and begins to scroll through Amari’s notes. “Your assessment?”
I straighten my shoulders, knowing he means me. I’m the only one here, after all. “I think that cough is an infection. She’s going to need medicine for it – even treatment if it’s as persistent as I think it is.”
“Good girl,” dad murmurs, his eyes still on the notes. “And can we provide that kind of treatment here?”
I blink at him because…I mean. He knows the answer to that question. So why is he asking me?
“Sir?” I turn when I hear Rafe’s voice just on the other side of the desk. He looks between my father and me. “Do you have orders?”
I glance down at dad, waiting for him to give his orders, but he doesn’t say a thing – instead keeping his eyes fixed on the computer.
After a second of waiting, I realize what’s happening and lift my chin, hiding a smile as I look Rafe in the eye. He stands straighter with surprise as he turns his attention to me.
“The smaller of the two patients is going to need transport,” I say, soft but assured. Rafe’s eyebrows raise. “To a major medical facility. There’s a broken wrist and a chest infection that are both beyond our capacity. And I doubt she’ll go without her sister, so you may as well arrange for two.”
Rafe blinks at me for a second, just staring. Then he shakes himself out of it, glancing at my dad for a second. Dad keeps his eyes fixed on the computer, starting to type something else.
Rafe smirks, looking me up and down with a satisfied expression that makes me set my shoulders back. “All right, Maryarm. How fast?”
I smirk right back, quite liking this whole command thing. “How fast can you make it happen?”