His Army Doctor

Saved Again

Delilah felt the pounding on her chest. She wasn’t fully conscious, but she could hear the familiar voice over her. “Come on, wake up. Don’t die. Please don’t die. Please just breathe. Please breathe.” Someone’s cold lips kept covering hers and blowing warm air into her lungs. Delilah finally rolled to her side and coughed up what felt like gallons of icy seawater. She could finally breathe, but she felt the cold numbness that had overtaken her body. Everything went black again.

Delilah would wake up in spurts. She couldn’t open her eyes but she could hear voices over her and feel people touching her head.

“Of course she’s got pneumonia. I don’t need a doctor to tell me that. She went for a swim in 15 degree water! My question is how to fix her.” Delilah could recognize Tobias’s deep voice.

“Sir, she’s got a 103 degree fever. I’ve done everything I can. Either the fever will break and she’ll be okay or it won’t and she’ll…” Delilah could hear Dr. Aldridge’s voice break off at the end.

Delilah could hear a fist slam on the bedside table. 

“There is no OR. Do you understand me? Do whatever you have to do. Just help her.”

“Sir, I could watch over her better at the infirmary. Let me take the young lady back there.”

Delilah could hear Tobias’s teeth grind. “She isn’t leaving this room. Send someone to watch her. She is not going to that disease forsaken infirmary.”

Delilah tried to open her eyes, but everything went silent again as she drifted off. 

Delilah woke up to see that familiar dark figure sitting on a stool by the bed. Tobias’s head was laid on the side of the bed and his dark hair was unruly. Her throat was too sore to talk, but she lifted her hand to touch his head so he knew she was awake. Her touch immediately awoke him. He popped his head up with eyes big. There were bags under his eyes like he had not slept for some time.

“Delilah?” he whispered. 

Delilah moved her lips but only one hoarse word came out, “sorry.”

He reached his hand out to touch her cheek. After feeling his warm hand, Delilah drifted back off into a deep sleep.

Delilah woke again in that same warm bed. She tried to sit up but a hand stopped her. “Ms. Dawson, you probably should stay in bed.” She recognized the young blonde army medic. Delilah nodded. She had more aches and pains than ever. She didn’t mind staying in bed. She looked around and noticed the sun shining bright outside. It must be about midday.

“Your name was Lee, right?”

“Yes mam,” he replied looking down.

“Just call me Delilah.” Lee smiled and gave a little nod.

“What happened?” asked Delilah as she looked and noticed a new cast on her left arm.

Lee rubbed his head as he began to explain, “Well, uh, I think you gave the General quite a scare. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him so shaken up.”

Delilah was bewildered. Why had Tobias even jumped in to save her? He wanted her off Thanatos Island and he brought her right back here. He should have just let her drown in that water and then she wouldn’t have pestered him anymore. Delilah sighed. She was already dreading having to thank that man for saving her again.

Lee continued on “after General Matthews pulled you back to shore, you weren’t breathing. Probably had inhaled too much water. I’m surprised to hear you swam at all. Most people who hit that cold water can’t move to swim any and instantly sink and drown. Anyways, General Matthews had to do CPR to revive you. You survived, but then you were hypothermic and got pneumonia. You’ve been in and out of it for 4 days now. Dr. Aldridge and I have been alternating shifts in watching over you. Your fever finally broke last night. We hoped you might wake up soon.”

Lee was friendly and very chatty as he asked all about why Delilah was here and what her relationship was to the general. Delilah spared him the ugly details, but gave him the general story about her first few days on Thanatos. Lee cringed when he heard about the bar, but he didn’t look at all surprised. Lee didn’t ask many questions about Delilah’s quest to find Daniel. He said he would keep an ear out for any mention of that name or of anyone from the 78th Battalion. 

Lee lightened the mood by telling Delilah about himself and Thanatos Island. Lee was an army medic that was drafted at the beginning of the revolution. He was shot in combat in a battle along the east coast. As most soldiers on the coast were, he was brought to Thanatos to recover. Thankfully, his injuries weren’t fatal and he survived. That was not the case for most injured soldiers brought to Thanatos. After he recovered, he said he felt obligated to use his medical expertise to help other soldiers. He had been quick to recognize the severe shortage of trained staff while he was a patient. Dr. Aldridge had taken him under his wing and trained him further making him much more knowledgeable and proficient than a typical medic. So as fate would have it, Lee just stayed on Thanatos. 

Delilah listened intently. This last week had been a whirlwind so it was nice to hear more about those around her, but there was someone she wanted to know more about.

“What do you know about Tobi… General Matthews, I mean?”

Lee’s friendly smile dissipated. He shrugged. I don’t know a lot about him. He’s a quiet guy for the most part. He can be intimidating, but he’s very respected amongst his men and at the camp. Honestly, we all kind of thought you might know him well. You’re the only person to have ever stayed in his house or be around him for an extended amount of time. And, I’ve certainly never seen him lose his cool and yell and threaten Dr. Aldridge like he’s done the last few days. We’ve all kind of assumed you were some sort of … girlfriend.”

Lee let his eyes drop as he said that last word like he wanted to ask, but didn’t want to be too intrusive.

Delilah’s mouth dropped. Girlfriend? Are they crazy? That guy is a beast! I don’t think he’s capable or love or affection! Not to mention, she just met him. Delilah could see that Lee was anxiously waiting for an answer to his silent question.

“I barely know anymore about him than his name. We just met. He helped me and then he tried to kick me off the island and then he saved me again, so no, I wouldn’t identify myself as any sort of girlfriend. In fact, I wouldn’t even say we’re friends.” Delilah crossed her arms after her last sentence and looked toward the window. 

Lee smiled a bit as he continued to clean up some IV material on the nightstand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. We’ve just never seen him with a girl before, so we just weren’t sure what to make of it.”

Delilah nodded. It wasn’t Lee’s questions that had bothered her. It was her recollection of Tobias’ behavior the last week that made her irritated. 

About that time, the door to the bedroom opened a young girl with sandy blonde hair pranced in. Her blue eyes looked much like Lee’s. 

“Oh, she’s awake! Yay!” squealed the young girl. 

“Shhh Chloe! Stop yelling. She hadn’t been up long.” Lee turned toward Delilah. “Delilah, this is my sister Chloe. Some friends of ours from Acadia brought her over to the army camp on their boat when I decided to stay. She decided to stick around and help with things like bathing and feeding the injured. She really enjoyed it and decided to stay as well.” 

“Well, I couldn’t live without my big brother!” gleamed Chloe. 

Lee shook his head in embarrassment at his proud little sister. “Delilah, Chloe has come to help you get bathed and dressed. She’s been doing it while you’ve been asleep, but she can help you get to the bathtub if you would rather that.”

Delilah smiled happily. A warm bath to get clean sounded amazing. She couldn’t imagine how tangled her hair must be after 4 days in bed. And, it was nice to see another female. She was relieved to know a girl would be helping her with her personal hygiene. 

Lee stepped out to the living room while Chloe helped Delilah get out of bed. It took a minute of her stretching to loosen up her muscles so she could move. She looked down to realize she had lost some weight. She had never been overweight, but she had always had nice curves on her petite figure. Now, her thighs and abdomen were skin and bones. She looked sick. She shook her head to redirect her attention back to the task at hand. She was able to get to the bathtub with help from Chloe. Chloe drew her a warm bath and threw in a bunch of flowers and herbs. Delilah was more of a shower person, but she knew she needed help washing her hair and this was the easiest way to keep her cast dry. Before long, Chloe had the bath smelling like a meadow. Being a fishing town full of men, this was the most refreshing smell Delilah had smelled in what felt like years. 

Chloe washed and combed Delilah’s long hair freeing her locks of all the tangles. Chloe helped Delilah scrub every inch of her body which still had some bruises left from her adventure at the Pub. It took about an hour, but finally chloe drained the water and helped Delilah up. Delilah’s muscles had begun to loosen up thanks to the hot water and she was able to get dressed with minimal assistance. It felt nice to put on some clean clothes of her own. She put on her jeans and a baby blue v-neck t-shirt. It was beginning to get cool with the sun starting to go down so she put on a long sweater that would fit over her cast. Chloe helped her dry her hair. Her long curls were fresh and bouncy thanks to all the nurturing from Chloe. Delilah hated tight updos and preferred to leave her hair down although Chloe begged to style it. 

Chloe and Delilah walked out to the living room. It felt great just to move again. Lee was sitting on the couch next to Tobias who had obviously just came in and found out she was awake. It sounded like Lee was updating Tobias on Delilah’s condition. Both men stood up quickly and turned her direction.

Lee smiled. “Well you clean up real good Ms. Delilah!” he said with a laugh.

Delilah smiled. Lee had a way of making people feel comfortable. Tobias glared at Lee. 

Tobias looked toward Delilah and without breaking eye contact said, “Chloe, thank you very much. You and Lee can go now.” Lee began to protest, but Tobias quickly interrupted, “Your shift is over Lee. It’s my turn. Dr. Aldridge will be here in the morning.” 

“Yes sir,” Lee replied, giving an apologetic look towards Delilah. Chloe followed Lee outside. Delilah and Tobias stood in silence until you could hear Lee’s truck crank up and pull out of the gravel driveway. Delilah didn’t know what to say. The last time she was fully conscious with this man she was yelling at him while he drug her unwillingly onto a boat and tied her down. 

Tobias finally broke the silence, “Are you hungry?” 

Delilah wanted to ignore him but truthfully she was starving. She hadn’t eaten in days, at least not that she could remember. Delilah stood with her arms crossed and just nodded yes. 

“Come on.” Tobias said as he held open the door to outside. Delilah was a bit confused. They were eating outside? But, she followed him anyway. Tobias opened the passenger seat to his truck and motioned for her to get in. Delilah stood there completely lost. Where were they going? Was this some kind of trick to get her off the island again? 

Tobias sighed, clearly losing his patience as he growled, “Get. In.” Delilah obeyed. They drove in complete silence. Delilah didn’t really mind since her voice was still hoarse. She just enjoyed the view as the sky lit up with the beautiful evening colors as the sun was making its way down beneath the clouds. It wasn’t long until they pulled up to what looked like a shack with fish nets and tackle hanging outside. An old worn sign hung crooked on the front of the blue shack reading “Mia’s Seafood Shack.” Well, at least the name was fitting, thought Delilah. 

Tobias got out and Delilah followed him inside. There were a few fishermen sitting at a bar and a couple soldiers at tables. Everyone looked at Delilah with curiosity, but none of them stared long before returning to their meals. Then, from the kitchen came a short, pudgy woman wearing a greasy apron covered in flour. She had red lipstick and flour scattered on her cheeks. She smiled brightly when she saw Tobias and came up to him with arms open. She wrapped him up in her short arms in a tight hug. Delilah was stunned. She had not seen anyone who had not cowered in fear in front of Tobias and this woman had the nerve to hug him. 

“Tobias, sweetheart! It’s been a while since you came to see me and you brought a friend! A LADY friend!” she winked at Tobias as she sized up Delilah beside him. 

“Come on sweetie, I’ve got your table open in the back.” The short woman led them to a secluded area in the restaurant looking over the back porch dock over the water. Tobias held Delilah’s chair out as she sat down and then sat down across from her in the old wooden chair. The short lady smiled happily as she sat down the menus and got their drink orders.

Delilah was at a lost. This man hated her, then saved her, then hated her, then saved her, and now they were eating in some shack of a restaurant. What was going on? 

“Why are we here?” Delilah finally asked. 

“Because you’re hungry, right?” answered Tobias staring at her. He hadn’t even opened his menu yet.

Delilah sighed looking back at her menu, “That’s not what I meant.” 

A waitress came and took their orders. Tobias ordered his “usual,” whatever that was and Delilah just ordered some clam chowder. She was starving, but she didn’t think her throat could tolerate much more than that. 

Tobias hadn’t stopped staring at her since they arrived. 

“Can you please tell me what’s going on?” Delilah shouted as she slammed her fist on the table. 

Tobias looked unphased as he sipped from his cup of water. 

“We’re just eating Delilah. You hadn’t eaten more than a couple sips of broth in 4 days. You needed to eat.”

Delilah glared at him suspiciously. “Is someone meeting us here to take me back to Acadia? Is this some trick?” 

Tobias looked a little surprised as he sat down his glass. “No, I won’t be doing that again. I can’t handle that again.” 

Now Delilah was surprised. “Do what again?”

Tobias glanced away as he answered, “I won’t be watching you die again and take 4 days to come back to life.”

Delilah was taken aback. What in the world did it matter to him if she died? “Why did you keep insisting that I can’t stay in Thanatos and now you’re all the sudden fine with it?”

“Thanatos is no place for a woman, Delilah. I told you this.”

Delilah rolled her eyes, “yeah, I know. I learned my lesson. There are other women here though. Do you tie them to a boat with a stranger to ship them off to shore?”

Tobias looked at Delilah and she could tell her last remark stung him for some reason. 

“Most women here are married and have families. They have men to look after them.”

“Chloe’s not married,” Delilah retorted. 

Tobias stiffened in his chair and it was clear he was getting annoyed. “Chloe does what she’s told and stays at the camp. She doesn’t wander around asking strangers questions. She also has Lee to watch after her. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t really seem like the type to follow directions!”

Delilah sank back in her seat. He wasn’t wrong. Thankfully, the waitress came to the table with their food interrupting their heated conversation. Delilah waited to the waitress left and took a few bites of her chowder. It was actually really good. Maybe it was because she was so hungry.

“Fine. So what’s changed?” asked Delilah.

Tobias was busy putting hot sauce on his oysters and didn’t bother to look up as he answered, “I’ve decided you can stay at Thanatos to look for your brother as long as you're accompanied by me or someone I trust.” Delilah didn’t expect that. She kept her eyes on her chowder. Before she could answer him, Tobias continued with his terms, “And, you’ll be staying with me.”

Delilah nearly spit out her chowder as she began to cough loudly. Tobias handed her her water as he motioned for the waitress to bring a refill. 

“Stay with you?!” Delilah shouted, “You hate me! Why in the world would I stay with you?”

“I don’t hate you and it’s the only way that I can keep an eye on you and make sure you stay out of trouble.”

“I don’t take free handouts, General. You’ve already saved my life twice. I owe you too much as is.”

Tobias sighed. “Staying out of trouble can easily be your way of repaying me.”

They ate the rest of their meal in silence. Tobias quickly paid the bill and they left. The ride back to the dock house was just as awkward as the ride there. The sky had grown dark and stars were shining brightly with no city lights to discredit them. They quietly got out of the truck and went back inside the house. Tobias began to arrange the pillows on the couch. 

“Wait a minute,” protested Delilah. “I am not staying here in your bed. I will take the couch from now on.”

“You’re still recovering. You will be sleeping in the bed.”

“No way!” retorted Delilah.

Tobias groaned and flopped on the couch putting his hand on his head. This constant bickering was giving him a headache. “Delilah, I didn’t sleep in the bed before you came. No point in arguing about it now. Okay?”

Delilah was a little surprised. Who chooses a couch over a bed every night. “Why?” Delilah asked.

“It’s too empty.” Tobias answered as he unfolded a blanket. Delilah felt like there was a much deeper meaning to that comment, but she didn’t continue to pry. Delilah stood quietly watching him make his bed on the couch. “Thank you for saving me… again. And, thank you for dinner and for letting me stay. Thanks for everything.” She silently turned to walk to the bedroom. 

“Delilah,” Tobias quietly said. Delilah turned around as Tobias smiled and said “Good night.”