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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry I keep taking these long vacations. Thanks to those who have stayed with me thus far! The reviews have been awesome!
Although the mid-atlantic states were still in the midst of a stifling heat wave, a cold front sweeping in from the southwest carried a building storm front closer and closer to the encampments. Although the day dawned bright and sunny in Northern Virginia, the slow dry winds moving in from the west carried the thunderheads ever closer to the Union encampment.

After working tirelessly through the morning and afternoon with only brief breaks, Elizabeth sat down wearily next to her youngest patient. She took advantage of the fact that he was sleeping soundly, and quickly changed the dressing on his wound. Despite the high rate of infection she'd seen, his was healing nicely. Clearly he had been a healthy boy before the injury, more's the pity. She thought sadly on how he would react when he woke up and realized he only had a stump where his leg had been. Elizabeth took a wet rag and began washing off his face, as had become her regular duty throughout the day. Although he had only opened his beautiful blue eyes once the night before, she liked to think that he was aware of her touch, and that somehow he might have been able to take comfort in it. When she imagined that this could have been Matthew laid out on a cot, depending on the mercy of a stranger for help, a lump rose in her throat. Setting down the cloth, Elizabeth rose and quickly stepped out into the late afternoon air.

Burbank was pacing after the day's briefing. Knowing that William was a favorite among the older officers, there was a good chance he would be selected to accompany the two Brigidier Generals down to rendezvous with Grant, as was currently being discussed by the three commanding officers. Just that morning, a dispatch had been received that General Grant's Army of the West had finally taken control of the Mississippi after a 6 week siege. Rumor had it that Grant had set his eyes on Atlanta, and was seeking to reinforce his troops.It appeared that the Senior officers were of a mind to send Burbank up to New York with those soldiers recovered enough for the trip, thanks to an escalation of violence that the local government was struggling to suppress, Burbank knew that the trip would effectively end his career. The older officers, those on their way out, were being directed back home. The young and promising were being transferred back to the front lines. Thrust into the heart of the Confederacy, should they succeed, would be heroes. William's career had to end now. Burbank only had to find a weak spot, and attack. He kicked a stone across the dry ground, watching as it bounced and kicked up a trail of dust that curled up into the air like smoke.

William stretched his sore muscles, closing his eyes and trying to remember what it had felt like to sleep in a real bed, on a real mattress. Instead he slept on a lumpy cot, a luxury provided to the officers. He reached for the water bucket and unbuttoned the front of his shirt, splashing the cool water across his face. Rather than use a towel, he allowed the water to run down his neck and onto his shoulders, where it trickled down his chest. The hot morning sun would quickly dry what little moisture remained, but for now William reveled in the shock of the cool liquid on his skin. His hands flexed and he tilted his head toward the sky, his arms flexing at his sides. Though he didnt know why, William was edgy, anxious almost. He couldn't shake the feeling that the current summer lull would last. It's just the heat, he thought to himself. The unrelenting sun strained the nerves as it hardened the ground. He kicked out at the water bucket, tipping it over. At the same moment he glanced up, Elizabeth whipped around at the noise of the bucket bouncing off the ground. The two locked eyes for a moment, until Elizabeth finished tying her apron and strode off. Swearing under his breath, William spun and stalked off in the other direction.

Unfortunately for the two, Burbank had seen the look that sizzled between the two, and made a mental note to find out more about the history between them. This young female prisoner could be the weapon he would use to bring William to his knees.



Elizabeth went about her morning work in stony silence, keeping her distance from the Doctor, as well as Rose. Her mind was wandering as her fingers absentmindedly toyed with the knot she had just tied on the young amputee's bandage, wandering so much that she didnt even realize he had awoken.

"It's all right, I know you did what you had to do." He said, his voice low and raspy. Elizabeth's head shot up, and she looked at his dusty face. "At least I woke up from it all." He said, the pained expression on his face belying the grief that hid just beneath the surface of his boyish face.

"You were lucky, not many would have survived an infection like that." She said, straightening and moving her stool slightly closer to the makeshift cot. "You must be strong" She said, placing a hand on his arm. The boy snorted an pulled away.

"Some good that did me. It doesn't matter now that I'm a cripple though." He said, his mouth set in a grim line. Elizabeth didn't back off though.

"You'll be surprised to find how much you are still able to do, once you heal." She said, trying to sound supportive. Although the boy had young eyes, they were filled with bitter tears.

"Easy for you to say! I don't have a leg anymore. I used to be the fastest runner in my brigade, and I could ride too. Now look at me, useless. I can't run, can't ride, can't fight. Face it lady, I'm nothing!" He said, staring down at the bandaged stump that was all that remained of his leg.

Her nerves, which were taught as a bowstring before this, snapped.

"You are a survivor, which is more than can be said for most of the men in here. If you can't recognize the gift that you were given when you lived through that infection, then you dont deserve it." Tears welled in her eyes. "You are one of the lucky ones, and if you cant appreciate that, then I dont know why I have wasted my time at your bedside- I'm beginning to think that maybe I should have spent my time trying to save a life of someone who might actually be grateful!" She snapped, throwing the extra bandages that she clutched, and standing up so quickly that she tipped the stool over. Frustrated at his pain, and embarassed at her own reaction, Elizabeth bolted from the tent. Stepping into the spot she had so quickly vacated, Rose righted the stool and sat, placing a hand on the boy's trembling arm.

"None of that was meant for you, love." Rose soothed, having seen the boy's stricken expression. "That one's got a lot of demons riding on her back, and she won't be happy until she has thrown off every last one of 'em."

"She's right though. I've had a lot of time to think, lying here in this bed, and I guess I've already wasted too much of it feeling sorry for myself. Do you think she'll come back?" He asked, his voice insecure.

Rose nodded. "She'll be back, thats for sure. She just needs to blow off some steam."

William was brushing off his horse when he saw the small blonde race for the woods. Swearing under his breath, he passed off the leadrope to the nearest soldier and took off after her.





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