Online RP Thread (Lead up to Bloody Valentine)

Archive 33AR
#121

[quote=“DapperAeronaut”]Ashamed, he curls into a ball, unable to face the stares of the others. Unable to look Esther in the face.

“Sorry,” he finally manages. “I don’t know what… I… I should go.”[/quote]

Crouching beside Lewy, Esther places a hand his back, and the medic in her takes charge- Physical injuries are so much more straigtforward than emotional trauma that it’s almost a relief to be able to take action in an area where she knows she’s competent. “If you want to be left alone, I understand,” she says softly, “but let me check your leg first. We’ll have to get you to the infirmiry if it looks like you’ve aggravated the injury.”

#122

“hows about we take a walk round like and get to meet the others, i’m startin’ to feel like a uniformed flagpole standin’ here”

#123

Lewy looks up at Esther through tear-filled eyes.

“Can we…” he chokes out between sobs. “Can we go some place private?”

#124

Answering the older man, “You’re probably right Doctor Swanhilde, however your daughter is still suffering with a great deal of pain from the injury, I’d like to see if we can offer some permanent relief. We could delay until she has fully recovered from this latest injury, but that will then put her out of action for a further period.”

Besides he wasn’t certain if he’d be returning from the trip best to accomplish as much as he could before leaving. Just in case.

#125

[quote=“DapperAeronaut”]Lewy looks up at Esther through tear-filled eyes.

“Can we…” he chokes out between sobs. “Can we go some place private?”[/quote]

“Of course. Ivy? Watch Harriet? Just for a little while, if you don’t mind? I think she’s asleep again. Her basket’s here.”

#126

“I… I just want this taken care of” she interrupted. “5 damn years and not a single thing has helped. I want this looked at and I want it gone”

She looked at her father “Surely you can agree that this needs to be done sooner rather than later. Old wounds are sometimes the hardest to heal, especially if you leave it for too long…”

Sighing, she added “besides… who knows what sort of power this thing could have. I don’t want to leave it to luck”

#127

Lewy, with Esther’s help, struggles to his feet. He gestures towards the back of the Taverna, and the pair slowly cross the room towards the door. Lewy mumbles apologies to the others as they go.

Once ensconced in the back room of the Taverna, he turns to her. “Could you find Zek first, please?” he asks. " I… I don’t want to have to tell this story twice."

#128

Esther nods. “I think he’s around somewhere- I’ll check the infirmiry.”

She stops in the Taverna to check on Harriet, almost disappointed that the baby is still asleep and she risks waking her if she picks her up, then crosses the passage to the infirmiry.

Voices. Dahlia’s, Dr. Ashdown’s, and another one -Oh. Dahlia’s father. The one she had a rather nice chat with on Saturday night, shortly before cursing at him in the heat of the moment when he insulted one of her friends’ common sense in the midst of the night’s events. She hesistates.

Your infirmiry, North, she tells herself. No need to be shy about it, then Actually, no, it’s not your infirmiry- You’re outranked now, with two fully-qualified doctors here. Might as well get used to it.

She sighs as she enters the space that she and Moss worked so hard to set up. The space you set up for the camp, North. And how much time or energy can you devote to it anyway, with a newborn to look after?.

“Hello? Dahlia?” She asks through the curtain, finding nothing to knock on. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Is Zek about?”

#129

[quote=“siximpossiblethings”]
“Hello? Dahlia?” She asks through the curtain, finding nothing to knock on. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Is Zek about?”[/quote]

Startled by a new addition to the room, Dahlia notices that Zek is no longer there

“Oh,Esther! Sorry, he must have managed to slip away from us during the discussion…”

“How are you doing today by the way? I could hear some faint commotion nearby. I hope you’re alright. Last thing you need right now is more stress on top of taking care of a newborn”

#130

[quote=“BlackDahlia”]

“How are you doing today by the way? I could hear some faint commotion nearby. I hope you’re alright. Last thing you need right now is more stress on top of taking care of a newborn”[/quote]

Esther smiles at Dahlia, then nods politely at Dr. Ashdown and Dr. Swanhilde as she enters.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Esther says, brushing past the subject of the scream from the Taverna. “Aside from being tired, that is. I suppose eventually I’ll get used to being woken up every couple of hours during the night. Or I won’t, but there’s not much I can do about it. How are you feeling? Also, I meant to ask- When would you like me to return to work? It’ll be some time before I can spend as much time as I used to here…”

She should, she knows, probably address this question to Dr. Ashdown- He’ll be in charge, with Dahlia out of commission. Should, yes. But she doesn’t.

#131

Margaret walked back from the basins near the kitchens, clutching a basket full of freshly washed bandages and cloths. Her coins jingled softly with each step, and a small sigh escaped her lips as yet again she thought of Moss. She briefly lifted her eyes heavenwards, soundlessly sending a prayer up, hoping it was heard. Come back soon, please. The absence of her sister in law had been greatly missed, there seemed to be an unmistakeable lift of spirits whenever Moss was around. Having Leo back would be wonderful, too, although Margaret wondered if he would have much time for anything other than catching up on the military duties, for at least a while anyway.

Stepping up onto the deck, she entered the taverna and smiled at the familiar faces inside. As usual, there was the quiet murmur of conversation going on, and Margaret thought she could hear Harriet gurgling away. Oh, it was lovely to have the baby back. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret and guilt for even letting her friend’s daughter be snatched away in the first place, but no matter. Mother and baby were certainly reunited again, and that was what mattered.

Making her way through to the infirmary, her smile stayed as she heard Esther’s voice. As she came around the corner she spotted the good doctors Ashdown and Swanhildes, and a faint blush crept along her cheeks. She looked up at Dr. Ashdown only long enough to indicate that she’d washed the bandages, but quickly averted her eyes and stepped to one of the nearby benches to settle down and start rolling and folding. Near enough that she was still useful, if needed, but far enough away that she didn’t feel she was in the way.

#132

[quote=“siximpossiblethings”]

“Of course. Ivy? Watch Harriet? Just for a little while, if you don’t mind? I think she’s asleep again. Her basket’s here.”[/quote]

Ivy nods, clasping the young one close and started to hum an old song her mother had sung to her and Moss when they were children. Stepping out in the sunlight she leans against the railings and watches the comings and goings of the camp. The soft sound of the baby breathing seeming to match the beating of her heart.

#133

“Oh, of course. The baby-” she gestures towards Ivy, “Is little Harriet North, possibly soon to be Petrov, but that’s a human naming convention I don’t understand.” She looks towards the infirmary. "The gentleman who just had a bad turn is Mr. Lewy; he was an airship pilot, and had an unfortunate accident. The woman with him is Ms. North soon to be Petrov I expect but don’t quote me on that. "

She pauses, and considers.

“I should probably take you to the infirmary, since most people who spend time in Hanover end up there at some point. But only briefly. It’s a busy place, as you can imagine.”

As they walk along the corridor, she gestures to a sad group of tables and chairs.

“That’s the official Honourable East India Company Trading Tea rooms. As you can see, it’s not so much a room, but they’ve kindly painted the floor blue so we can tell where it stops and starts. Much quieter than the taverna, although I expect it will be slowly filling up with Company officials, soon.”

Then, under her breath, she says,

“You might see a tall, skinny man wearing glasses around. His name is Zek Flaherty, and he recently lost his tongue in a demon related incident. So forgive him if he seems brusque.”

She pops her head around the infirmary door.

“Sorry to bother you SirsdoctorsandMissBlake, but I thought I’d show Sgt. Dorchester around, quickly.”

#134

[quote=“siximpossiblethings”]
How are you feeling? Also, I meant to ask- When would you like me to return to work? It’ll be some time before I can spend as much time as I used to here…"[/quote]

“Whenever you feel is best for yourself and little Harriet” Dahlia smiled. “I don’t want you to be too stressed out, especially with the lack of sleep you will now be experiencing”. She almost laughed out loud, as she could count the hours she would have slept in the past few weeks on one hand, and she isn’t the one with a child.

Her attention switched to #74 who just entered. “Oh, we have a new arrival do we? I would get up and introduce myself, but, well…” she glanced around the room, not wanting to really elaborate.

#135

“thats alright Doctor, reckon we’ll ‘ave plenty o time to get acquainted, #74 is juts helpin’ me get me bearings” he turns to #74,

“everybody seems to 'ave a story, i can tell by the hushed tones and the faces,” he notes, “reckon its gonna take me a while to fit in round 'ere,” then turningback to the doctor, " i got a little bit of know how with bandages and field kits, so if i don’t get any difficult duties 'ere i can lend a hand, and you don’t ‘ave to worry about me and mess, seen a lot o’ stuff in Beijing recently that would turn a kids hair white"

#136

“I understand, I have seen a lot myself that could probably have an equal effect” She shot a nervous glance at her father and coughed a little as to try and move on from that subject “If you do need anything… Sergeant… Dorchester, was it? Please don’t hesitate to ask myself or Doctor Ashdown here”

#137

" 'ave no worries about that Ma’am, right now though aint no more holes in me than God intended, reckon i’ll leave you to it, don’t want to get in the way"

#138

“Miss North, good to see you up and about” added Daniel. “Is there any change in that mark we took a look at?” A look of concern in his eye, “it’s not got any bigger has it? Perhaps you can bring baby Harriet in tomorrow and we can give her the once over.”

“In the meanwhile when you do catch up with Mr Flaherty, would you be so kind as to try and get him to sit down for a while, I’d be keen to get the opinion of someone who knows him as to how he’s coping upstairs” he touched the side of his head “so to speak.”

With the hustle and bustle of people leaving and entering the infirmary Daniel had barely had time to acknowledge Nurse Blakes entrance. He picked up one of the freshly laundered dressings and began absently rolling it whilst continuing to talk to people.

“Sergeant, just before you head off.” Daniel nodded firmly at the man in front of him, “good to have you here. Do you have your medical file or will we need to start a new one?”

#139

“yes doctor i do,” he delves into a side bag he hasn’t dumped on his bunk and pulls out a brown manilla envelope, “all in ‘ere sir, nothin’ much to speak of, coped a few bullets in me time, and me share of broken bones, but medical officer gave me a clean bill before i shipped out.” He hands over the envelope.

#140

Dahlia was starting to remember how many duties she was missing out on. “Oh dear, I almost forgot. I hadn’t quite looked at everyone!” “Lort!” she muttered.

“Perhaps Doctor Ashdown here can give you a quick once over, just for our sake so we know that this information is correct”