New Beginnings The Life Part 3: Nurse Jessica Most of the town folk had their own jobs and most of the jobs that are needed there are filled except one. Synthia had been cleaning up the medical center for months and wants to run it someday but she has no medical training at all as her interest it to be supervisor and receptionist but without a nurse to take care of patients her infatuation with fixing the center is just a dream. Not wanting to hang out in her room all day, Jessica heads to the center where she knows Synthia is working to help her clean up and talk. Cleaning out the closets they find all kinds of old medical books with dust all over them and the filing cabinets are completely filled with old records and symptoms different patients had had over the years. All of the books they stack in the main desk area to sort and organize later while they focus on clearing out all of the closets in the whole building first. By the afternoon they had a mountain of books stacked all over and in front of the desk as they headed to the diner for lunch. James comes in just after they order sits down on Jessica’s side as she slides over. She and Synthia have dirt all over their clothes and faces and James teases them asking if they had been rolling around in the desert. After a nice lunch break, James has to go back to the store and kisses her on the only clean spot on her cheek before he goes and rubs Synthia’s head as he passes. She is surprised at how quickly Jessica has tamed her emotions and they head back to the center. Now that they have cleared out the closets and shelves they begin dusting off the old books and organizing them. One that discussed cut and wound treatment caught Jessica’s eyes and she curiously thumbs through it and likes the idea of helping others so she sits down and rapidly begins to read it. Synthia isn’t sure what to think of seeing her eyes scan like that and is wondering if she is actually reading it or just skimming through as she flips page after page, faster and faster she reads until she finishes the thick medical book and closes it before looking at Synthia and saying, “Wow, I like that.” Synthia is confused and asks what she means, doubting that she just read the whole thing. When Jessica tells her that she liked the book, Synthia takes it and turns to a random page and asks her what it says and Jessica recalls the exact words written on it. She should be shocked but with all of the other things she has told her she instead sees it as an opportunity. “Hey, you said you like the book, do you want to work here with me as a nurse? If you can read and remember all of these books, you could help the sick people around here.” Jessica smiles and thinks it is a great idea and for the rest of the day she reads while Synthia continues to clean. By the end of the day she has read every book in the clinic and the front reception area looks brand new and completely organized. Now knowing what all of the equipment does, she works to get the different machines up and running. As she takes them apart she begins to understand how they function and has James help her figure out how to use some of the various items from his store to repair them. They have still yet to have an actual date but all three of them have lunch and dinner together every day. Jessica’s room has only been paid for until the end of the week but they have already prepared her a wing of the medical center for her new home. Synthia and her have James bring the paint from the store and they make a day of painting her a living area. Some strategically placed curtains make it feel like a real home at the end of the day and they have paint all over themselves. James comes to get them for dinner and asks of they managed to get any paint on the walls. They both smile at each other wickedly and charge at him like they are going to hug him and he turns and runs as they chase him out of the center. Synthia heads to her house with him while Jessica takes a shower in her new place to clean up for the night. After scrubbing all the paint off and changing into some comfortable clothes, she heads outside to go have dinner with them and James is outside waiting for her. Confused, she asks where Synthia is and he tells her that she is at home and that he is there for their date. She smiles as he walks her to the diner where there is a table setup for them in the corner. James pulls out a chair for her and she sits in the one across from him, not knowing about proper etiquette and he laughs a little as he sits down. When the waitress has taken their order and brought them drinks, James starts by telling her that she looks beautiful tonight and she thanks him and replies that he is just as handsome as always. This time in a more calm tone she asks him seriously, “How is it that I can’t stop thinking of you? I try very hard to not burden you with my feelings but I just can’t help it. I have seen you every day for the last few weeks and I thought I would get used to it but the first time every morning that I see your face my heart races and I just want to be with you because….because I love you.” James sits there, letting her finish and holding onto every word she says but he remains silent and she asks cautiously, “Do you feel anything for me?” He can see her hands are shaking and any single word could shatter her into a million pieces but he must tell her exactly how he feels so he can quit leading her on. “When I first saw you, you were filthy and weak. I sat by your bed in the medical center whenever I had the time but not because I wanted to. Then, you cornered me in my store forcing yourself on me which honestly scared me to death and that night when I first kissed you I don’t know what I was thinking so I have to tell you that I’m sorry.” He can see the tears well up in her eyes and he takes her shaking hand into his to steady it and continues, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t heal you when you were hurt. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to sit with you longer while you rested. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer you in the store because your beautiful eyes stunned me into stupidity and I don’t know what I was thinking when I kissed you because I should have done it sooner.” Her tears of sadness turned to joy as he finishes his plea to her, “But the thing I am most sorry for is waiting so long to tell you that I love you.” She breaks down and tells him that she loves him too and he stands her up out of her chair and holds her close as she melts into his arms. Her anxiety falls away in an instant and allows her to completely feel love for the first time. During their meal she beams with happiness and they talk about his store and completing the medical center for the next few hours until the diner is ready to close for the night. After staying to help the owner to clean up they all walk out together and as they say their goodbye’s one of the younger kids runs up to them with blood all over him screaming for their help. He ushers them to follow him yelling that he and his friends were out playing when they were attacked by some wolves. Hearing the screams, the neighbors come out to help as they race down the street to the field they were in. When they get there, one of the wolves is still biting one of the boys’ legs and without thinking James runs up and kicks it as hard as he can, scaring it off. Jessica slides down beside the boy and looks over his wounds and yells to James to go get her medical bag from the center. She has the diner owner put pressure on the bits around his les and she runs to the other boy who isn’t moving. Checking his pulse she sees bites all over his face and neck where blood is flowing from one of his veins. She applies pressure to the gash and tries to clear his airway but he is not breathing. His mother runs up after being alarmed by the commotion and she starts to get hysterical but Jessica snaps her out of it by having her hold his cut closed while she performs CPR on him. Pumping away on his chest, James returns completely exhausted from running with her bag. With blood still leaking from his neck the young boy chokes on it signaling that he is alive but the pressure on the cut is keeping him from breathing so she pulls a respirator from the bag and pushes the tube down his throat to feed him air. Synthia, the boys’ father and a few other men make their way to them with some gurneys that they carefully load the two boys onto. Once they get them to the medical center, Jessica begins to bark out orders for supplies she needs and Synthia and James go through the cabinets to gather everything. The first thing she does is clean and stitch up the young boys neck while his mother feeds him air and his father holds him down then it’s on to the other boys legs where she spends the better part of an hour repairing the tears in his skin. When the stitching is done she fixes the younger boy up on a breathing machine so his mother can take a break. Not having any blood in reserve at all, only the parents can donate to try and help them. Jessica sets up the two beds with a parent for each boy and shows Synthia how to do it so she can continue to work on their wounds. Well into the night she works to stabilize them and eventually sends the parents home to rest while she watches over them until the next morning. Synthia and James are the first ones there and Jessica is still wearing her blood-soaked clothes from their date. While they take over for her she goes to take a shower and clean up. During her peaceful moment she is overwhelmed by everything that had happened last night and begins to cry at how young and innocent the two boys were and how she almost lost them. She knows her job will be tough and more of these accidents could happen and affect her emotionally but if she hadn’t been there they would have died. It doesn’t make it hurt any less but knowing that she can help those who are injured or sick is worth it in the end. When she is out of the shower and dressed, she steps out of the bathroom where James is waiting and takes her into his arms. The boys’ parents are there now and after a quick check up on them, James ushers her into her bedroom where he holds her while she takes a nap. That afternoon she reaches for his warm body but he is not there and when she sits up to look around for him he comes through the door with some lunch for her. He tells her that the boys are fine and one of them is awake talking to his parents. While she enjoys her food, he massages her shoulders and comments on how tense her muscles are as he can barely move them and she just mumbles under her breath ignoring the subject. When she is finished it is time to replace the boy’s bandages and when she walks into the room the parents are ecstatic to thank her and the older boy thanks her for saving him. Hearing his tender voice melts her heart and she is just happy to have helped him. The diner owner brings in doughnuts and coffee for everyone in the waiting room while Jessica tends to the boys and when she comes out almost the whole town in there to offer their help with fixing up the clinic. Some of them refer to her as an amazing nurse and others praised her as their new doctor. The next few days would still be critical for the young boy and by the third day he was able to breathe on his own again. The released older boy got to go home with his parents getting specific instructions to care for him while she sat day and night with the younger one. James came to hold her while Synthia would take over watch and after two weeks of constant care a tiny voice is heard by Jessica, calling her to the bed beside her. The fragile little boy was awake and scared so she soothed him by humming a song that she had never heard. The same song her father had heard and that her mother had sung in their darkest moments. His very soul listened intently to her and he gently lay back in his bed. Synthia had heard her humming and when she checks on her, Jessica sends her for the boys’ parents. When they arrive, she is changing his bandages and cleaning him up. As the look down at him, he opens his delicate eyes to greet them and they are overjoyed, hugging and thanking Jessica and Synthia for everything they had done. A few more days in the center and he is finally well enough to go home and sleep in his own bed. That night after they finish cleaning everything up they head to the house for some dinner. Walking there was the first time Jessica had really been outside since the accident and she enjoyed the fresh air which invigorated her physically but with all of the worrying lately she is mentally exhausted. During the meal they talk of how much the town people appreciated them and what they could do to get more supplies for the clinic but the whole time she felt like something was missing. Taking care of the boys gave her a true sense of purpose but not for saving them but for being around them and she realizes that she would like children of her own someday. After the wonderful meal, the cool wind outside was strong and she was very tired so Synthia suggested that she stay the night there and she agreed and had James hold her until morning.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 22:06:15 +0000
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