“Not to mention how you feel about needles,” Nathaniel teased, walking over to join them.
William rolled his eyes, “Come off of it, Nathaniel, you’re just as much of a softie as I am with that stuff.” He looked at Quinn, “In Bristlecone, he just leaves the room and has a nurse take care of that stuff, and here he’s always insisting that it’s a vital part of my training.”
Quinn shuddered at the thought. “I’m not sure I blame him.”
William chuckled as his eyes grew tender, “I don’t either. Although it is preferable to watching a little girl lose consciousness from dehydration. I need to see a significant improvement in her symptoms in the next few hours, or I’m not going to have a choice.”
“What about trying a popsicle?” Quinn asked.
William frowned, “We don’t have them here in Eirentheos. I’ve only ever had one at school.”
“Oh.” This surprised Quinn. “We could make some, if we froze some juice in the freezer.”
“Why haven’t I ever thought of that?” Nathaniel wondered. “We use popsicles all the time at the hospital.”
“Probably because freezers aren’t all that commonplace in Eirentheos,” William said. “That little one in there was enough of a job to get through the gate. But we do have it here, so we can give it a try.”
18. Strange
“You’re handling all of this better than I would have expected for someone who just walked into a strange world,” William commented.
“Really? Because right now I feel about as exhausted as I’ve ever been.”
“I’m sure you are. I’ve felt that way plenty of times trying to adjust to going into Bristlecone, and it’s never this stressful there.”
William, Thomas, and Quinn were sitting in rocking chairs on the wide porch of Essie and Jacob’s clinic, drinking iced tea and watching as the sun slowly began to set.
“We’re all exhausted,” Thomas replied. “It has been a very long day.”
That it had. They had spent the last several hours caring for the children in the clinic and trying to reassure their parents. The popsicles seemed to be working; all of the children were enjoying the novelty, although Alyia had only been able to finish one.
Things were calm for the moment. They had all helped Essie put together a simple dinner of sandwiches and salad from the garden, and then Nathaniel had taken his horse and headed for the Bracken farm, wanting to let Marcus’ father know that he was doing better and to bring back some clothing and supplies for Marcus and Betta. There were apparently three smaller children at the home who Nathaniel wanted to check in on as well.
William, Thomas, and Quinn had retreated to the porch, wanting to give Jacob and Essie a break from feeling they had to take care of their guests. They had told them to take the evening off from their clinic duties; both Jacob and Essie looked completely worn out.
“You still have no idea what is causing this?” Quinn asked.
“No,” answered William. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It looks kind of like an allergy, or really bad poison ivy or something … except for the fevers and the vomiting.”
“Well, those symptoms could be secondary, from an infection of the sores, or a bad reaction to the toxins, if it were something like that,” said William. “We just don’t have a lot of plants like that here.”
“Only one plant that’s at all common ever causes reactions that severe,” Thomas added. “Shadeweed. And even little children are taught to avoid it. There wouldn’t be this many kids suddenly getting into it all at the same time.”
“Not to mention,” said William, “you’d have to have repeated exposure to react like these children are. Even with two or three exposures, you’d only have a slight rash, maybe be itchy for a day or two.”
“Really?” asked Quinn. “That seems odd.”
“It’s not particularly odd,” William replied. “Even poison ivy doesn’t usually bother people the first time they touch it. It’s allergizing; your body learns to react to it the next time.”
“I didn’t know that,” said Quinn, “I was always just taught to stay away from it. ...And you don’t think it’s contagious, or from food?”
“It just isn’t following a pattern that would indicate that. We would expect to see multiple children, and maybe even adults, from the same household if it were one of those things.”
“I suppose you’re right. But then ... this is just really weird.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of the problem.”
They sat in silence for a long time, watching the colors slowly fade from the sky, listening to the buzzing and chirping of summer insects. Quinn was comfortable; the quiet rocking and peacefulness of the evening was making her sleepy.
“What about a bug?” she wondered suddenly. “Like a mosquito or something?”
William was quiet, appearing to ponder that idea. “I suppose it’s possible; we do have several different parasite insects here...”
“Why wouldn’t it affect any adults, then?” Thomas asked, bursting the bubble.
“Maybe they’re immune to it?” Quinn asked hopefully.
“But what are the chances that none of these families would have had more than one child affected, then?”
“I don’t know.”
William sighed, “It’s probably better to hope that it’s not an insect, anyway. It would be very difficult to stop the spread of this, if that’s what it turned out to be.”
“It would have been nice to have something to go on, though. It was a good idea, Quinn.” Thomas said kindly.
“They must have something in common.” Quinn said.
“Yes, but we have no idea what.”
The screen door opened then, and a man stepped out. Quinn had met him earlier; his name was Aren Creeve. His son, Braedan, was in the clinic.
“Dr. Rose?”
It was still surprising to Quinn to see William respond to that title; he stood and walked over to the young father - all of these parents were so young. “Yes, Mr. Creeve?”
“Call me Aren, please. Do you really think Braedan is doing better? I know he seems like it, but we’re just so worried. My wife is coming back in the morning...”
“I really do think so, Aren,” William’s voice was patient and reassuring. “The blisters are all gone, and the redness is fading. He is eating and drinking normally now. I think you’ll be able to take him home with you tomorrow. We’ll send some of the salve we’ve been using along with you.”
The relief in the man’s eyes was evident, but worry still tugged at the corners. “You don’t think the rash will come back again, do you? He’s never had a rash that didn’t just go away before. Had one a few weeks ago, but it cleared up by itself in a day or two.”
“That’s usually what rashes in kids do, Aren. It’s normal. But if Braedan does get another rash anytime soon, bring him back here right away to get it checked out, just in case.”
“Will do, Doc. Now, Braedan’s been asking for another one of those ice things...”
William smiled, “Of course.” He looked over at Thomas and Quinn. “We probably should pass some out to everyone again -- and put another batch in to freeze. I need to check on Alyia again as well.”
Thomas and Quinn stood and stretched; their long day wasn’t over yet. They all trooped back into the house.
When Thomas and Quinn returned to the clinic after mixing more ice pops and cleaning up the kitchen, they found William in a corner, speaking quietly to Alyia’s parents.
“The juice has helped,” he was saying, looking gratefully at Quinn as she walked by, “but I’m afraid it’s not enough. Her dehydration symptoms just have not improved enough to make me comfortable, and she’s still not able to keep down larger amounts of fluids than one juice pop at a time. I’m going to have to put a needle in her arm so that we can give her fluids directly through a little tube.
It’s really not that big of a deal,” he added quickly - when a look o
f distress appeared in her mother’s eyes. “If we were in the castle clinic, where we have more supplies and fluids readily available, I’d have done it already, even before it became necessary.”
Quinn was certain she would never go into the medical field - she didn’t want to have anything to do with needles. Something about William though, made her want to watch him work; he seemed to have that effect on her quite often. She found herself in the tiny cubicle with William and Thomas as they prepared the IV fluids for the little girl. They had sent her parents out to wait on the porch, hoping to work quickly and keep Alyia from getting anxious. Although she wouldn’t have needed the warning, William quietly told Quinn not to mention the needle where Alyia might hear.
It wasn’t nearly as awful as Quinn expected it to be; she had never seen anyone be as gentle as William was with Alyia. A strange, warm feeling spread through her chest as she watched him.
First, Thomas sprinkled a small amount of valoris seed powder on the little girl’s tongue. Although Thomas wasn’t a doctor or even an apprentice himself, it was clear from the interaction between the brothers that this was a well-practiced routine.
Once Alyia seemed a little relaxed -- apparently, even children didn’t react to valoris seed the way Quinn had -- Thomas talked softly to her and stroked her hair back out of her face, working to keep the girl’s eyes on his. He held his other arm in a way that would block the child’s view of what William was doing if she did look up.
William fashioned a splint out of a folded towel, and asked Quinn to help hand him small strips of cloth that he used to tie the girl’s arm carefully to the splint, to help secure her arm and keep her from dislodging the IV line once he had placed it.
“Okay, sweetheart, I’m going to put something on your arm now. It’s like a big bracelet. It will feel tight, but it won’t hurt, and I’ll take it off in a minute.” William’s voice was soft and soothing as he wrapped a rubber tourniquet around Alyia’s arm, just below her elbow. Quinn was fascinated at this side of him.
“Now you’ll feel something cold and wet,” he told her. “It will probably feel good - it’s hot in here.” He thoroughly cleaned an area just above the inside of the little girl’s wrist. Quinn’s nose twitched at the scent of the rubbing alcohol.
Thomas smiled at Alyia, “Nice and cool?” he asked.
Alyia nodded.
“Now, my friend Quinn here is going to come and hold your hand.” Quinn was startled as she looked at William, and he indicated that she should come and stand right next to him and take the little girl’s hand. She did it, but she trained her eyes on Thomas; she couldn’t bring herself to watch the next part. Quinn was grateful that Alyia’s rash wasn’t nearly as bad on her left hand; there were no blisters or painful sores on this side.
“Okay, Miss Alyia,” it was Thomas who spoke now, “would you like to play a little game?”
“Okay.” Her voice was weak, but it was clear that the little girl liked Thomas and wanted to please him.
“Good. I want you to try to squeeze Quinn’s hand as hard as you can. She’ll squeeze back, and we’ll see who’s stronger. I’ll bet you can beat her -- she’s not very strong.” Thomas winked at Quinn, who understood his hidden meaning.
“Ready?”
Alyia nodded.
“All right. One...two...three...SQUEEZE!”
The little girl’s hand clasped tightly around Quinn’s, and Quinn squeezed back, just firmly enough to keep the child’s attention. A few seconds later, Alyia let out a small whimper and lost her grip. Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, but they didn’t fall.
“All done, honey,” William said quickly, keeping his voice soft and upbeat, “I’m all done. You did a fantastic job.” Quinn looked over to see him taping a clear tube into place. “I had to put a little tube in your arm so that we can give you some special water to help you feel better, and you don’t have to worry about throwing it up.” His voice was incredibly calm and comforting. As he spoke, he connected the tube to an old-fashioned looking glass IV bottle filled with a clear liquid, and hung it from the pole next to her bed. “It won’t hurt anymore, but I need you to leave it alone, so it doesn’t come out, okay? I don’t want to have to put it back in.”
“Wow, Alyia, you’re sure strong,” Quinn interrupted. “You beat me at that squeezing contest. I think we’re going to have to find you a prize.”
“That was pretty amazing,” Quinn told William after they’d walked out of the clinic.
“That’s not the word I would use. I hate doing things that hurt, especially to kids,” he answered.
“But he is fantastic at it,” Thomas said. “He never misses; not even when he was first learning how. That’s the real reason Nathaniel always makes you do it, you know.”
William rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because I’m so freaked out every time I have to, that I won’t even try for a vein I can’t see perfectly.”
“It didn’t seem to bother you much that night with me,” Quinn teased.
“Is that how it looked to you?” William wondered, his eyebrows raised.
Quinn felt an unfamiliar heat fill her chest.
“Wow, it is warm out here tonight,” Thomas broke in, “I think we should go have some of those ice pops ourselves.”
Morning came far too early for Quinn, who was still sleeping soundly when Thomas came to wake her up. She had noticed that she hadn’t been plagued by the odd dreams since she’d been in Eirentheos.
Quinn had spent the night on a small, comfortable bed in one of Essie and Jacob’s two guest rooms - Nathaniel, Thomas, and William had shared the other one. She could see through the little window that the sun was only beginning to rise. She yawned and stretched, trying to ready herself to face the day.
Quinn felt guilty when she reached the kitchen and found Essie alone and hard at work, cracking eggs into a ceramic bowl while something sizzled in a pan on the stove. “What can I do to help?” she asked. Now that she had seen how hard Essie worked all the time, she felt she should give her as much of a break as she could while they were here.
Essie only shook her head, her eyes twinkling kindly at Quinn. “You’ll want to go and take a long shower while you’re here, Quinn. We’ve managed to get clean, running water going in most of the rural clinics now, but electricity for heating it is another story.”
“Yeah, we saved the first shower for you,” Thomas said, coming back into the house from the clinic.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Quinn complained. “You all work harder than I do.”
“But we’re used to it,” Thomas answered easily. “Besides, you’re our guest.”
“How are things going in there?” Quinn asked, tilting her head toward the door to the clinic.
“Okay. We’re getting Braedan ready to go home today, and Alyia’s color is better. We’re going to try breakfast and some regular juice with her in a little while. Marcus and Olivia seem to be about the same as yesterday - not any worse, anyway.”
“That’s good, I suppose.”
“Yes. Nathaniel and Jacob left about an hour ago to go and get some more supplies from the castle clinic. We’ll leave most of what we brought here with Essie and Jacob when we head out to Cloud Valley later.”
Quinn’s eyes widened, “Wow. They never rest, do they?”
“No. Not ever. Now go enjoy a shower, and then you can come back out and help.”
Relief flowed through her when she walked into the clinic after breakfast and saw Alyia sitting up, sipping at a glass of juice, a small plate of eggs on her tray table. She didn’t look quite so ashen, and she was feeling well enough that she’d allowed her mother to brush the tangle of blond hair back into a ponytail.
“How are you feeling today, Alyia?” she asked, “Better?”
“A little,” she answered quietly. “My arm hurts, though.”
Quinn studied the rash on the little girl’s arm. It certainly didn’t look any better today. It was raised and red and Qui
nn thought some of the blisters were new.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn told her. “Maybe we could find something for you to do to help keep your mind off of it. Do you want to play a game or listen to a story?”
“We could read your lessons,” her mother offered from the chair next to the bed. “You don’t want to fall too far behind in your studies.”
Quinn was surprised. Studies in the summer? “That might not be a bad idea. It would keep you busy for a little while.”
“No writing for now, though,” William admonished, walking over to them. “Maybe just read aloud to her for a bit, and talk about it. Alyia needs plenty of rest. She still has a low fever. She can worry about catching up on her schoolwork when she’s well.”
“Can’t I just read it myself?” Alyia asked.
Her mother chuckled “She doesn’t like it when I read aloud to her anymore.”
“It never sounds the same as it is in my head when you read it,” Alyia complained.
William laughed, “I feel the same way sometimes. I like to read to myself, too.”
“I like it sometimes when my father reads, and does the voices. But he went home last night. So can I read it myself?”
“All right, Alyia. That would be fine for a little while. As long as you work on finishing that juice, and then take a nap a little later.”
“A nap?” Alyia scrunched her face, “I’m too old for a nap!”
“Nobody is too old for a nap when they’re sick. Juice, then nap. All right?”
Alyia sighed, but nodded.
“Yes, Dr. Rose. Thank you.” Mrs. Hawken took Alyia’s juice glass and set it on the table before she pulled a thin, paper-covered book from a bag.
A little while later, when they had brought Olivia and Marcus out to the porch for some fresh air, Quinn managed to catch William alone for a moment.
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