To Journey's End Part Five

She finished bandaging his wounds and pulled the sheet up to cover him once again. He was so quiet. He stared ahead and she wondered what was going on in his mind. She had seen a little of this back in Vietnam. Young boys who shut themselves off from the horrors they had seen and experienced. This was probably one of the ways Todd had found to exist. He had just gone into hiding. “You’re safe among friends, Todd. You don’t have to hide,” she whispered as she smoothed his hair back off his face. “I know you think this is the best way to cope. But you don’t need to do this any more. You’re free from the ones who hurt you.” She took a temperature reading. He was still running a low grade temp but it didn’t seem to be elevating any longer. She resumed talking to him. “We didn’t get chance to do too much talking earlier. So you just rest and I’ll tell you a little bit about myself.”

She pick up his hand and held it. “I told you my name, in case you don’t remember, it’s Beth. I got my medical license well before you were born and did the majority of my earliest practice in the field during the Vietnam war. Yes, you guessed it. I’m a born and bred Army brat. I was Captain Beth Fielding at the time. That’s where I met my husband. That war was brutal and it took it’s toll on me. Exposure to all the chemicals made it impossible for me to have any children. You’re about the age my son would have been, if I could have gotten pregnant. We did try you know, for quite a while, and then I discovered I was infertile.” She paused and looked down at his hand, for just a moment she thought he might have squeezed hers, but now it sat limply once again. Still if he had squeezed, that meant he was hearing her on some level. She smiled “Don’t you worry about me,” she continued, “I‘ve had a great life so far and plan to have many more happy years ahead of me. I’m a simple country doctor. I’ll bet you didn’t know there were any of us left. I just couldn’t go back to work in any big hospital. I left the army as did Sam, and we decided to look and seek someplace small we could put down roots. This is where we ended up.” The phone rang, and she laid his hand down. “I’ll be right back. I’m not leaving for long.”

“Hello? Oh, hi, Rachel. Yes, I know there’s a search party going out. Yes, I’ve got plenty of supplies. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you swing by here and get the basics, antiseptic and gauze and such. You can treat anyone out in the field. I trust you. Heck, Rachel with your twelve kids, I know you can handle it. All right, I’ll put the box out on the front porch that way you can just grab it and go.” She breathed a sigh of relief. With Rachel handling the minor stuff, she was free to keep watch over Todd without interruptions.

***

Todd had found himself back in his safe room. It was cozy there. At first, he couldn’t get in and he needed to escape the pain. Something was barring his way in, then the way opened up and he found he could shut the pain off again. He leaned against the wall and let his eyes drift shut. They never bothered him in here. He began thinking of his mother. How she had taken care of him when he had been sick with fever. Was that why he was so hot? He pressed his cheek against the cool wall, so good, smooth like cold steel. It felt great. A picture of a woman popped into his head. Momma, is that you. Then he heard her voice. Momma, you shouldn’t be here. You need to go before they catch you. What was it she was saying? No Momma, it’s not safe out there, don’t ask me to come out. She was talking about not being able to have children. I know Momma, that‘s why you adopted me. He had to let her know he understood, so he put his hand out. It’s okay, Momma. For the briefest second he thought he felt her hand, then it was gone and so was she. Wait. Don’t go. I’ll be good. Don’t leave me. He started crying leaning against his wall.

Beth walked back into the room and resumed her place next to Todd . As she picked up his hand, she was stunned to see a tear roll down his cheek. “Todd what is it? What’s wrong” In a flash, she realized that he must have thought she had left and wasn’t coming back. “If you can hear me. I didn’t leave you. You’re not alone.” She wiped away the tear only to see a second one follow the first. “Shh, don’t cry, now. It’s going to be all right.” Once again, her own tears flowed. There was something about the young man that tugged hard at her heartstrings. She stroked his brow and began humming her favorite song. Sam teased her incessantly because she would hum it at the weirdest moments. She always told him it was because it reminded her of him. Her own funny valentine.

Todd leaned back against his wall and listen to the tune. His song. His wife. “Blair.”

Beth jumped as she heard the word. It was very faint, but unmistakable. He had said Blair. Was he coming around? She flashed a light into his eyes and felt disappointment when the pupils failed to respond. For a moment, she had been hopeful. She sat back down. “You’re stubborn aren’t you. Once you make up your mind to do something, you do it. It’s okay, I’m patient. When you’re ready, we’ll be here for you. I can understand why you’re doing it. It was a way to put things on hold. It is probably the very thing that has helped you survived. I think, though, that something else was also important. Blair...she’s your wife and you have two children, Starr and Jack. Your daughter’s name is so unusual and beautiful. I’m sure she’s a treasure. I bet Jack is probably the spitting image of his dad. You cling to that memory. They’ve help you this far and they’ll be there for you when you’re ready to go home.”

Beth sighed, she had hoped naming his family would give her another response, but nothing happened. “Todd, you rest. I’m here, but I need to go do a few things in another room. You holler if you need me.” She put his hand down and took another temperature reading. Things were better, he seemed to be cooling off. Beth reach over and turned on the lamp. It was getting close to sunset. Sam would be home soon. She wandered over to the window looking out. “Hurry home, Sam. It’s just my gut but I think he needs you to make his way back.” She turned toward the bedroom, taking a look once more at their guest, then made her way to the kitchen to start dinner. Her thoughts were in turmoil and dinner would give her something to do.

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