Chapter 6

After a hearty breakfast, Melinda quickly excused herself from the kitchen in order to examine her still-sleeping brother-in-law. Molly had assured her several times that John had not stirred during the morning, despite her constant walks through the examination room during the course of preparing breakfast. While Melinda knew that it would take time for John to heal, and that being asleep would actually speed that process, she still hoped that he might rally for even a few moments of lucid conversation. 'Then he might tell me what, or at least who we might be bracing for while he's recovering, ' she thought to herself as she bent over him, checking his vital signs and examining the bindings around his various wounds. Momentarily satisfied, she stood by his temporary bed and tried to form some semblance of a plan for his care for the next few days, all the while absently patting his arm through the blanket.

'We'll need to feed him sometime today, whether he's ready to wake up or not.' Her hand moved from John's arm to his face, touching his cheek. 'His body will need nourishment to fully recover, and, given the bony look of his face, he's obviously not eaten well if at all over the last few weeks. Between the two of us, I suppose Molly and I could hold him up long enough so he can swallow a bit of thin broth. Knowing John, he'll be sitting up asking for strong coffee and a full breakfast before too long.' Melinda smiled slightly at the image, but her face turned serious again quickly. 'It's nearly time for me to do the tour of the local farms to do the health census for the yearly report to London. I may have to leave John here with Molly while Shamus takes me around the countryside. Hopefully, he'll be aware of where he is before I have to go, but if not... '

One of the requirements London had placed on all of its doctors in the rural physician program was a yearly census of the people in the community, their general health, and any treatments and medications dispensed on their behalf. Any doctor who failed to turn in the report by its due date was at risk of losing his yearly stipend from the government or, worse, being dismissed from the program entirely. Thomas had always viewed the paperwork involved in the census as a bother he'd rather avoid, and one year he simply refused to spend the time, saying it interfered with his treatment of patients. Melinda had stepped in, then, and had taken care of the task ever since.

'Such a stubborn man, my Thomas! He never tried to understand how valuable the census could be just for getting to know the community.' Indeed, Melinda had taken the opportunity to travel to the various farms and homes scattered through the countryside around Fetching, letting them know about the doctor and the nurse that now lived in the town. Many had spent their entire lives doctoring their own hurts and illnesses, and felt that they had no use for city doctors. Still, seeing the pretty lady nurse standing at their door, most had invited her in for a cuppa and a chat, and she often stayed long enough to get introductions to the entire family. Whether trading family stories over the dinner table or some of her own tales of city life around the hearth, Melinda gathered the information she needed without the airs some would attribute to someone from the big city. It didn't hurt that Shamus was with her, either. Though he was an adopted son of the area, he was still a known and trusted presence, and a word or two in the right ears as she made her first census tour helped lower some of the barriers of distrust, allowing Melinda to do the rest.