Remedy

22

"Hello, Harry," Dot said while pushing a trolley over to his bed. In the hall where her friends lay, there was numerous other beds. Some of the men on the beds had travelled over with the two of them. Then there were others which were totally curtained off and she didn't know anything about the patients laying in the beds. She was curious to peak in but thought against it.

Harry perked up and slowly pushed himself to sit. "Nurse Blake," he smiled. "What brings you here?" Harry's disposition had greatly improved from the nervous shell shocked state he was in. It seemed being back in semi familiar territory was making him better.

"Well, Harry I am not sure how to say this, but I need to change your bandages." Dot took to sorting out fresh bandages on the trolley in front of her.

Harry's smile dropped, "And here I thought you were here for a friendly visit."

"Sorry, Harry, perhaps another time."

"You sound better, Nurse Blake."

"I do?"

"You were so sad back there...it may sound silly, but has being back here only for a day made you happier that quickly?"

"I found out my brother is still alive."

"What?" Harry didn't even hide his shock, Dot nodded and then realised it was a pointless action. "That's brilliant!"

"Shh, calm down, Harry."

"I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," Dot smiled and took a hold of his hand and took to snipping the bandages away with a pair of scissors. There was silence in the hall, the only sound which could be heard were the laboured breathing of sleeping men and the snipping of the scissors.

Looking over the injuries on his hand Dot nodded, they looked a lot better than they did back in France. "Iodine is going to sting a lot, I'm just going to warn you." Dot said while hesitantly picking up an iodine soaked dressing and laying it over his wounds. Harry hissed and fidgeted around trying to deal with it. A few minutes passed and all his bandages had been changed. Reaching up she cut away at the bandages around his eyes. "Open slowly," Harry did so, "How is it?"

"Blurry."

"But you can see?"

"Yes..sort of." Harry squinted and looked at her, Dot smiled and turned to find some clean bandages to put back over his eyes. They may be healing, but they weren't ready for natural light just yet.

"Done," Dot clapped her hands together and looked around the darkened surroundings. She frowned when there was a rattling cough coming from somewhere in the room. It had been going on for the remainder of the time she'd been replacing Harry's bandages over his eyes.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, well duty calls I'll be down the end. If you need me, call." Dot smiled and pushed the trolley down the aisle of beds slowly. Stopping every so often she'd look around, about halfway down the aisle she stopped and turned.

The coughing was coming from one of the curtained off beds. Dot looked around, she hadn't been instructed to deal with the closed off patients. But whoever was beyond the curtain was really having trouble with that horrid sounding cough.

----

The unending squeezing pain, the rattling sounds, James huddled more in on himself. It was an instinctive move, somehow he thought if he was in a tight ball the pain would go.

But by doing this the pain in his chest worsened and the rattling sounds echoing out of him seemed to escalate too. Not only that, rolling over onto his side pained his arm, along with the vice gripping pain in his chest and not being able to catch his breath.

"Shh," a calm voice cooed from over his side. A hand was placed on his shoulder which caused him to wince, everywhere hurt. This much pain was inhuman, "Calm breaths, sir. Through the nose out the mouth." The hand which was on his shoulder moved to his back and rubbed gently up and down.

He listened to her, through the rattling sounds which he denied were coming from him. Eventually he managed to stop coughing and got his breathing under control. James laid motionless for a few moments, his eyes slowly opened and he stared towards a white curtain. The room he was in was dark and the hand on his back remained, frowning lightly he slowly and painfully turned.

The nurse was busying herself with sorting out his cover, whereas James stared wide eyed. "Dorothy?" Her movements ceased and a blank expression flitted onto her face. She didn't move again but she jumped into action when he went to move closer to her. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him gently back down.

"Don't move," she said sternly and looked at him sceptically. Why was she looking at him like that for? "James?" She slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at him closely. "Really that is you?"

He nodded slowly, and yet again, painfully. Reaching down and sparing a narrowed eyed look at his bandaged hands which were peeking out of a white shirt he lifted up his sleeves. His blue eyes flicked to her again and he raised his arm up.

Dorothy smiled widely and put a hand on his wrist over the red ribbon, Which admittedly looked a little worse for wear through being muddy and stained.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, Dorothy raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm a nurse, James. Looking after the injured is what I do."

"I didn't mean it like that," he croaked out and frowned slowly. "And you know it."

"I got sent back with the walking wounded." Dorothy answered simply and looked down at the bed and its white clinical cover.

James managed to sit himself up slightly, through the vice grip which kicked back in around his chest. "You're lying, well partially lying. What are you leaving out?"

"You died," she said a little hysterically. "You died and so did Arthur, how do you think that affected me? Everyone that was close to me went in less time than anyone could ever imagine." Dorothy's green eyes teared up. "I stayed," she said as evenly as she could. "I stayed and helped for as long as I could before I got sent back here."

"Is Arthur..?"

"Oh lord, he's being a massive pain! He's the worst patient ever, James! Honestly...I thought I could be all smug having to deal with him, but no." She shook her head with a light smile. "He's managing to twist my idea and being just plain annoying." James smiled lightly and relaxed back against the pillows.

"What about everyone else?" At this question Dorothy tensed noticeably. This made him look at her worriedly. "Dorothy?"

"Percy and Arthur are the only two I've seen, and you."

"Where's Jamie and Charlie?" James's eyes flitted around and he went to move again as if he could find his friends. Regardless if they weren't here, he wasn't in any shape to walk around. He had after all just woken up for the first time in nearly two weeks.

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(Edited: 29/August/2019)