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LOUISE AND MURPHY HAD BEEN DRIFTING THROUGH THE OCEAN FOR 3 DAYS NOW. They would share Murphy's coat between them throughout the days. They had no food or drinkable water - the only thing they could tentatively sip was the rushing water that they floated on. Louise was far from stupid. She knew that when someone is floating in the sea with no food or water could only last 3 days at most - and it seemed that their time was running out.
Her fear of the ocean hadn't been subdued, but it was surely reduced with the amount of time she had spent in it.
Murphy was still cold and distant. They wouldn't talk unless Louise started the conversation, and all were short, cold or explosive. Normally, Louise would talk back, shout and scream at him, but she understood why he was the way he is - he had indeed been through hell and back, and she as his nurse, she didn't want to add to it.
Louise wasn't only losing hope, but her sanity too. She needed a slice of warm toast. She needed a nice cup of tea. She needed a sustainable conversation with anyone. Murphy had none of the things she needed and it was driving her crazy. She was sat shivering as a cold breeze blew past the pair - it was Murphy's time with the coat, so she opted to hug her knees to her chest.
In the distance, she thought she heard the soft murmur of a motor but she didn't bother peeling her eyes open as she rocked on her bottom. She simply believed it was her mind finally sinking into a purely delirious state.
That was until a distant shout reached her keen ears. "Hey! Hey! Can you swim it!" A young voice shouted out to Murphy and Louise. The nurse snapped her head up at the shout. "Dad, can you pull her closer?!"
"Can't risk it!" An older voice shouted out from the steering wheel. The young boy nodded and proceeded to throw a thick black rope out to the wreckage. Murphy stood up shakily on the rounded wreckage, before helping a frail Louise to her feet. He plunged into the water, swimming towards the ship while Louise shook her head. "Come on, love!" The older man shouted towards the nurse but she shook in her spot. Once Murphy was on the deck of their ship, he explained that she was afraid of water so probably couldn't swim. He was right. Louise never learnt how to swim - she was too scared to.
"I can't swim," Louise yelled out to the two young sailors who were leaning over the edge of their boat to hear her. The blonde one nodded towards the brunet one, who grabbed ahold of the dry end of the rope too.
"It's ok, miss. You just need to grab onto the rope and will pull you, ok? Can you do that, miss?" The blonde boy shouted, pleading for her to do what he said.
Louise nodded, slipping down the wreckage until she was waist-deep in the water. She hastily grabbed onto the rope, twisting it around her wrist and tugging it, silently informing the two men that it was safe to pull. After a fearful moment for Louise, she was finally at the edge of the boat. The three men helped pull her body onto the deck and her still shaking form collapsed on the wooden deck.
A tired laugh of relief emitted from her mouth as she rested her head against the white barriers of the ship. "Can I have a cuppa, please?"
The brunet boy laughed softly at her request as he moved inside the ship to retrieve two thick dark blue blankets. He wrapped one quickly around Murphy's static frame then one around Louise's weak one, then moved back inside to make the nurse a cup of tea.
The older man who was steering the ship placing a firm hand on Murphy's shoulder. "What's your name, soldier?" He asked. He received no answer - Murphy was still suffering from PTSD and his wounds had to have split back open from his swimming but over the three days, he refused to allow Louise to inspect his injuries. So his silence was understandable.
The man sighed softly before turning to Louise. "What's your name, love?"
The nurse smiled at the brunet boy who handed her a warm cup of tea. Her hands instantly warmed at the hot cup in her palms. "RN Louise Davies, sir," Louise introduced herself softly.
"Well, Miss Davies. Welcome aboard the Moonstone. Mr Dawson," he introduced himself. "That one is my son, Peter," he pointed to the blonde boy. "And that is George," he finished pointing the brunet.
"Thank you for saving us. We were out there for 3 days. We're very lucky that you found us," Lousie dryly laughed, her throat clenching at the burning tea that spilt down the walls of her throat.
The brunet boy, George, went back instead to make another cup of tea for Murphy. "Do you want to come inside. It's much warmer. Out of the wind. Here you go," George walked up to Murphy, gently shoving a burning cup towards him.
Murphy wasn't in the mood to be helped. So he whacked the green cup out of George's hand, causing the liquids to spill from its holder. However, Murphy's seemingly harmless action was not as harmless as he intended.
The scalding tea fell directly onto Louise, the liquids burning her chest, causing a pained screech to ripple out of her mouth. George and Peter leapt into action, hastily trying to wipe the brew from her body with the edge of her blanket. Tears fell from her eyes as she shakily cradled the scorching burns on her neck.
Peter quickly guided the trembling nurse inside. "Get me the first aid kit, Peter," Louise's voice trembled as she ordered him about. He sat her down on a small, hard bed as he hurried to grab the small first aid kit.
"W-what do I do?" Peter panicked as he opened the kit.
"Right," Louise tried to remain calm yet her eyes were watering. "You need to cool the burns first. Maybe with a damp cloth. Soak it in cold water if you can," She instructed, her hands trembling as she handed him a piece of white cloth. Peter did as she said. He gently padded the small red burns on the visible parts of her body.
"Now what?" Peter asked.
"You want to apply this lotion to the burns then you'll need to wrap 'em tightly," Louise spoke. Her nerves were calming down as her voice was finally evening out.
Peter nodded, once again following her instructions. He wrapped a long bandage around her neck, making sure to cover all of the burns he could see. Then wrapped two around her hands and wrists as the water managed to pour down to encompass her arms and in her panicked state, Louise didn't realise. Peter finished and stop from his spot in front of her on the floor.
George came inside with a bundle of fresh clothes in his hands. "Mr Dawson said you can get changed out of your uniform if you wanted. It's not the nicest, but it's the best we have," George gently placed the clothes beside her, trying to lighten the mood slightly.
Louise chuckled softly, plucking the oversized orange jumper and black pants. "Thank you, George. Thank you, Peter."
"You know, you're lucky that it didn't hit your face," George laughed.
Louise gently laughed. "'Suppose you're right, George. I am lucky."
