Two Days Of A Dream (18 page)

There was that “ma'am” again and Kelly cringed.

It took her a while to explain her different dreams. She did downplay why she took off across the sand. She felt these nice young men didn't need to know how crazy she had become over Cap. Besides, she was still trying to figure that one out herself. When had her view of Cap changed? She wasn't sure and that bothered her.

Donaldson leaned over and nudged the sick man next to him. "Now
you're
dreamin', Parker."

Talbit flicked a hand. "Oh, they're in good hands." Standing, he turned his back on the soldier. “Thank you, Private."

She left as quickly as she came.

"Well, the floor show is over, time to get back to work." He turned to the corpsman. "Let's get our gloves on. Kelly will give us a hand."

"What!" Was he crazy? Kelly knew nothing about medicine.

Talbit looked at her with that obnoxious grin, and she once again had the impulse to slap it off his face. It was a good thing she didn’t act on her impulses.

"You've had basic First Aid, haven't you?"

"Yes, but well …"

"Good. Because I'm shorthanded right now. Two of the nurses are sick. The other two are with Dr. Stone at the training. Lucky stiff. And two of the corpsman are out in the field." He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the ward.

Kelly couldn't imagine there was anything she could do to help. Sure, she had taken all the first aid classes offered by her company, but she only did it to make brownie points with her manager, who only promoted the events to make brownie points with his senior vice president. She had never thought she would ever need to use it. In her dull life there had never been a need for it, and she certainly wasn't going to look for ways. Although there were a couple of times she thought the aging, overweight Johnson might have a heart attack in senior management meetings. Even then, each floor had first responders groups comprised of overachievers who had more training than she did.

He wasn’t listening, so she hurried to finish as he walked away, drying his hands. She followed, grabbing a fresh towel from a large, neat stack by the sink.

The hurt man was helped up as he spoke. "That idiot Pruitt was messing around again and toppled one of the water towers. When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish that tower had killed him." The patch on his uniform read “Taylor.”

The clamor coming down the hall got louder, and four men brought the moaning Pruitt in. Kelly thought perhaps Taylor was too late. Pruitt already sounded like he wished the tower had killed him.

Pruitt was pale, bloody head to foot with two large gashes across his chest. He flailed weakly at each jostle. There were multiple cuts on his face and arms. She couldn't see how bad his legs were, but from the moist, red stains blossoming down his pants, his legs must have been bad too.

All the men helped to move Pruitt to a gurney before Talbit cut off the shreds of his shirt.

"Kelly, come here!" he barked at her, no sign of his infuriating grin.

She jumped and rushed over to him, desperately pulling on the gloves, afraid to look at the oozing blood, as she struggled to get her fingers in the right places. He flipped out a bandage that looked like a giant menstrual pad and laid it over the large, gaping gashes that once was Pruitt's chest.

"Here, put pressure on this!"

"Me?" she squeaked.

"Don't argue, get over here!"
She closed the small distance quickly, more afraid of his bark than her fear of blood. She reached hesitantly for the bandage, and Talbit grabbed her hands and pushed them down securely over the bandage on the wound.

"Put as much pressure as you can right here." He caught her for a moment with hard, cold eyes that seemed foreign to his face.

She did as she was told.

The blood pulsed under her hands as Pruitt’s body labored to get what blood was left in him to the rest of his body. His moans continued, but their volume had decreased, only increasing again when his buddies held him down while Talbit cut off his pants and worked to stop the bleeding from his legs.

It seemed like she held the bandage forever. Talbit barked orders and worked around her, all the while demanding Pruitt to stay awake. When Talbit had all the other wounds assessed and covered, he relieved her of her duty. Kelly stepped back, looking around for a chair she could collapse on. It turned out to be a wasted effort, Talbit had other plans.

With only one corpsman responding to Talbit's barking, the doctor needed her hands to assist him. She did things she never dreamed in a million years she would do.

Since this was a dream, Kelly mused that she was now actually dreaming of doing it. Right?

By the time Talbit finished sewing up gaping wounds and had Pruitt fully sedated for the pain, Kelly had seen more of the human body than she ever wanted to see again. She had to admit what they did was amazing. Actually, what Talbit did had been amazing, and she felt working alongside the doctor had opened her eyes.

The sedation took Pruitt to a better place, and Kelly tucked the covers around him. Talbit, over by the small desk, briefed the two corpsman on Pruitt and Taylor. She stood up, grabbing her lower back where it ached.

The other patients had all gone to sleep. Even Donaldson finally gave up the struggle with his eyelids about half an hour ago. He sure hated to miss anything. The ward was now filled with deep breathing, snoring, and a gentle beeping from Pruitt's monitor. The sound spoke of comfort, calm, and security. Kelly felt satisfaction knowing she had been a part of making it that way.

Talbit came over and put his arm around her tired shoulders, and she didn't even flinch. "How about a cup of coffee? You've earned a rest."

"I don't think I need coffee; I'm still hyped up."

"Well then, you can keep me company."

The night air felt good on her face as they made their way toward coffee for Talbit. Kelly leaned into him and he leaned into her.

At the tent entrance, the smell of coffee greeted them like an old obnoxious friend who didn't know how to speak quietly.

Chapter Twenty-five

Talbit poured Kelly a cup along with his, even though she had declined, and they sat at the closest table to the gurgling pot. She still had too much adrenaline in her system, and Talbit laughed at her inability to sit still.

"No, in two days I'll put him on the same transport you'll be on, and he'll spend a long time in Germany. But I'm betting they'll send him back to the States." He stretched. “It’s bad enough that this might get him an early discharge.” He sighed absently. “We’ll have to wait and see how his chest and left leg mend.” He rubbed his shoulder.

Kelly wished she could be on that transport, so she could take care of Pruitt. "Poor Pruitt.”
My alarm clock will go off soon and I’ll be back to my same old ruitine.
“How about Taylor?"
I think I’ll take a few more first-aid classes. It couldn’t hurt.

"He'll be back ordering everyone around by tomorrow. I'll tell him to take a day off and he won't."

"That was absolutely amazing! I have never experienced anything like that in all my life. I'm left without words to express it."

"I am, too. I haven't had my feathers ruffled like this in a long time." His smile was playful, but his eyes told Kelly there was more than he would say.

"No, you never get used to the mutilation of the human body.” His face clouded for a moment. “You just learn to work around it. You do what you have to do to save your patient." He took a long drink then smiled at her as he put his cup down.

"
That
is a miracle in itself." She laughed.

"If you don't concentrate on the blood you do fine."

Kelly stared across the room. "The blood is the one thing I won't miss when I wake up." A tremble fluttered down her spine.

When she looked down to get away from his gaze, she became aware that she still held his wrist. She dropped it and yanked her hand to her lap.