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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the long absence! Thank you so much to those of you who havent quite given up on this yet- I appreciate the reviews more than you know!
"Honey, are you goin to be all right?" Rose asked Elizabeth gently, who was still slightly trembling. The poor girl only nodded though,and leaned against a hitching post, sliding down the rail into a half-sitting position. The gruesome sight of the wounded being brought over from the Gettysburg battlefield seemed to have drained the energy out of the young woman. Rose couldn't blame her, there were so many. The first time she had seen the war-wounded carried in, the sight alone had made her ill. Before Rose could take Elizabeth's hand to remove her from the scene, Bryant and another young soldier approached.

"Rose?" He spoke up, attracting the woman's attention from her charge. "Major Chapman wants the woman brought to the hospital tent." He pointed to the tent on the far side of the field where the men were being taken.

"But she's feelin poorly, cant you see that?" Rose motioned to the girl, who leaned wearily against the pole, listening to their discourse. "All that blood, it just doesnt agree with her. She ain't used to this work." Rose explained, trying to determine William's reasoning for the order.

"She knows how to care for people. Major Chapman was insistent about it." Bryant said, he square jaw set. "Can she move on her own? Or should I carry her?" He said, his patience growing thin. Rose placed a hand on her hip and glared at the Bryant,

Hearing herself spoken of as it she wasn't there bristled on Elizabeth's already strained nerves. Reaching a point where the frustration was almost too much, she spoke up.

"I'm right here." Brushing the dust off her skirts, Elizabeth called on the reserves of her strength, and stood to her full height. "Stop talking about me like I am not."

Elizabeth lifted her face to the hot summer sun, gathering her wits about her as she straightened her spine. Rose stood back a step, and watched in amazement as a change came over the girl who, only moments before, could not even stand on her own.

When she approached Rose and Bryant, her head was held high. Although her senses were assailed with the scent of death, she called upon her steely resolve and blocked it out. This time when she looked at the grisly scene before her, she appraised it as she would a task at hand. At this point, she could either sit and think about how miserable that she was, or she could put herself to work.

"Please take me to the medical tent." She said, her voice even and controlled. Rose merely blinked, as suprised as Bryant. The young woman that stood before her was confident and proud, a far cry from the tired little girl that had practically been carried to the bed only yesterday. While Bryant stood quielty, the young soldier next to him leaned forward nervously.

"Sir... with all due respect, she's a confederate. What if she..." He trailed off when Elizabeth sent him a cold look.

"With all 'due respect' sir" she said, her teeth clenched in anger, "I couldn't kill a man, even a Union soldier. Now if you'll show me to the medical tent, I could use some distraction" she said, her bitter voice belying a hurt deeper than the callous tone she tried to adopt. The young soldier flushed and stared awkwardly at his toes, while Bryant tried to come up with a fitting reply. Coming up blank, he shrugged at Rose.

"Take her to the tent. I'll check back in an hour." He said, turning around and wondering how he would describe what had just taken place to William. His superior had instructed him carefully on how to handle the girl. His instructions had involved yanking her to her feet, tossing her over his shoulder, and dragging her kicking and screaming to the tent, and finally tying her to a bedpost until she agreed to cooperate. Somehow he didn't think that the Major would believe him when he said she went willingly.

* * * * * * * * * * *
When Elizabeth and Rose stepped into the sick tent, Elizabeth felt momentary panic that perhaps her bravado had gotten her in too deep. All around them, both young and old men lay scattered on dirty cloths across the ground. Some were writhing in pain, while others had blessedly slid into unconsciousness. The heat of the July sun had taken its toll, and the pungent smell of infection rose from many wounds that had already turned septic in the stifling summer heat. Groans filled the air, while blood trickled across the dry ground. Feeble hands grabbed for her skirt as Elizabeth stood in silent shock, feeling a lump in her throat form at every mangled limb, every unseeing gaze. Only when Rose took her hand did she come back to herself. At Rose's gentle urging, she moved towards the supply table to gather what she needed.
It came as no surprise to Elizabeth when she saw the materials available for treatment. A meager fire heated a pot of water to be used for surgical cases, while several buckets of river water had been set out alongside dusty rags that would serve as bandages. A pile of bloody sheets lay discarded to the side, awaiting cleaning when possible. With Rose at her side, Elizabeth gathered up a flask of water, some cotton cloths, and several long bandages,

"Where should I start?" She asked Rose, the tremble in her voice betraying her. With a bitter smile, Rose swept her hand out before them.

"Anywhere you see fit. Finding someone needin' medical attention is not going to be a problem." Elizabeth nodded, and moved towards the first cot she saw.

As she knelt down beside the bed, the soldier's war roughened-hand grabbed her arm. "Water" he rasped out, reaching out towards the flask. Quickly unscrewing the top with shaking hands, Elizabeth moved a hand behind the man's head to tilt him towards the water. Although he placed his hands over hers and tried to dump the flask into his parched mouth, Elizabeth forced him to take it slowly. After a few moments of sputtering and coughing, the man began to sip slowly. As he drank, Elizabeth looked him over, noting the gunshot wound on his left thigh. Though bloody, the wound appeared relatively mild, as the bullet appeared to have only clipped him before passing through.

"This one should be easy. Normally I would suggest leaving it until the graver cases have been seen to, but after a few quick stitches, this young man will be back on his feet. Can you sew?" Said a tired but distringuished looking gentleman who had walked up behind her. Elizabeth nodded stiffly in reply. "Good. We have nothing to help with the pain, so I will hold him down while you tend the wound. Please be sure to sew quickly though, for after the past few days I have little strength to spare. Can you do that?" Once again, Elizabeth nodded numbly, and took the needle from the Doctor's hand. With the older man looking on carefully, Elizabeth tried to clean the area as best as she could before closing the wound. Though the soldier writhed and bucked beneath her, the Doctor held him down tightly. Even when the man was yelling, Elizabeth trained her gaze on the task at hand.

Several minutes later, both Elizabeth and the Doctor were wiping their sweaty brows while the young man cursed them to hell an back. Though far from pretty, the end result had Despite the verbal lashing they had received, both looked relieved. "Thank you for your help sir." Elizabeth said wearily, surveying the relatively neat bandage job they had just completed.

"You're very welcome. We seem to make a good team, young lady. Are you ready for the next patient?" The man said, his gallantry in the ugly surroundings refreshing.

"Lead on Doctor" Elizabeth said, gathering her things and following him on to the next cot.





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