"Ruin and Redemption"

The Doctor Comes for Derrick

“Alright, sorry Derrick. We’ll get you in bed now!”

Together, they managed to lay Derrick out flat, but the moment he was still and no longer had to focus on the next step, the pain became even more intolerable.

“Oh, God, Lizzie, Patsy, help me!”

“What are we supposed to do, Derrick?” Patsy asked. “What did you do to get yourself into this mess!”

“You heard Izzie! I was about to be robbed!”

Patsy crossed her arms over her breasts and stared at him.

“We know you don’t take your money out when you go riding Derrick. What were you really doing out tonight? I might know something about some herbs to help with the pain until Izzie brings the doctor, but I’d like to hear what really happened first.”

“Oh, come on Patsy! I told you! You think robbers care whether I’ve really got money on me or not! They’ll rough anyone up, just because they think I have something!”

“I’m not buying it Derrick! I’m leaving you here with Lizzie, and I’m going to go find out from Mindy what happened.”

“No, Patsy! No! Please!” Derrick started crying.

“Please, Patsy, can’t you and I discuss what happened later? I’ll give you all the details about the robbery. Please just don’t leave, Patsy! I need you here and I need the herbs.”

“Alright, fine, Derrick. We’ll discuss it later. Lizzie, why don’t you go bring me my herbsack? It’s in the kitchen today. Just so happens I was reorganizing it.”

“Alright Patsy. I’ll be right back Derrick.”

Lizzie was soon headed for the kitchen.

“It’s going to take a few minutes to find, Derrick. Now, tell Patsy what you did that had Izzie shooting out your knee caps. Don’t tell me she didn’t do it, either. I could tell be the look on her face she did it, and she enjoyed doing it, too. Yes, I saw it before I came to help, Derrick. Now get it out quickly before Lizzie finds those herbs.”

“She saw me with Mindy again, and she told me to stop because Josiah’s on his way back, and I said I wouldn’t, and then she blew out my knees, said it would keep me from coming ‘round for awhile. Please, Patsy, I’ve told you what happened. Now can I have some herbs.”

“Hmmm. Well, I guess so. I think I might have at least gotten part of the truth. How’s Mindy?”

“She’s upset. She didn’t think Izzie would shoot me. She was crying.”

“Damnit, Derrick! Why didn’t you just stop!”

“I don’t know Patsy! I don’t know! Josiah will be back and he’ll replace me and no one will even know I exist. He lost an eye, he’s got a wooden leg. Mindy will never make love to me again now that she has her husband, and Lizzie will be over there all the time doing things for Josiah, because now he’s a cripple and he needs her, and I can’t say anything about it!”

“So you get yourself shot twice!”

“Hey, once would have been enough! But she didn’t stop at one knee, Patsy!”

“For God’s sake, Derrick! I don’t know what you’d do without me and Lizzie! And wasn’t Lizzie going to sleep with you tonight anyways?”

“She’s back Patsy. I hear her on the stairs. Yes, but I knew Mindy wouldn’t get another chance, and, and, I, I just had to Patsy. That’s all there was to it! I had to, Patsy!”

“If you ever had to do anything the way I have to do stuff Derrick! Then you’d actually know the meaning of had to!”

Slaves, Derrick thought miserably. Always thinking that they had the most difficult lives in the world. Why couldn’t anyone see how difficult his life was?