| Chapter 13 With every step, Brian wanted to scream. He had lost his footing a few times, falling. Aleisha was doing all she could to help him, but she was at least three inches shorter than he was, and was unable to catch him when he fell. Brian wanted to go to sleep so bad. Aleisha kept talking to him, and when it looked like he was gonna pass out, she'd stop and let him rest for a moment, gently touching his face, keeping him awake. Angel stayed right next to Brian, not wanting to leave his side. "Aleisha, I have to stop," Brian said, breathing heavily. "No Brian, not now. We're almost there," she said, urging him on. "You've been saying that for the past hour," he said. She just smiled at him, and pulled him along. What had been a two hour walk, turned into a four hour one by the time they reached the station. The snow was falling hard, and the wind was atrocious. "There it is," Aleisha said. Brian looked ahead, seeing the small building. They walked the last few feet to the cabin, and made their way inside. Aleisha dropped the pack off her shoulders and set Brian on one of the cots in the room. She then started a fire, and lit a few of the oil lamps. While she was doing that, Brian laid down, shivering. Aleisha noticed him, and grabbed a couple of blankets from the shelf and laid them over him. "Thanks," he said. She smiled, "I'm gonna get a few things together to treat your wounds." Brian nodded his head, and watched as she went to the large cabinet in the room and began pulling supplies out. Angel walked over and lay down in front of the fire, looking at Brian. Angel whined, and Aleisha turned around to see that Brian had fallen asleep. "Maybe it's better this way, he won't be screaming when I do this," Aleisha said. Angel looked at her, curiously, as she carried the supplies over. Aleisha then went to the sink, pumping some water out in a pan. She carried the pan to the fire place, to heat the water. The cabin was starting to warm up, so Aleisha took her coat off. Then she pulled the blankets off Brian, and started unlacing his shoes. As she gently pulled them off, Brian let out a small cry in his sleep. Angel walked over and sat down next to Brian, looking at Aleisha. Aleisha then pulled his socks off, looking down at his feet. His toes were showing signs of the start of frost bite. She took a deep breath and began to take Brian's coat and shirts off, revealing his cuts. "Man, a lot of these are gonna need stitches," she said. Angel whined looking from Brian to Aleisha. "He'll be OK. Why don't you go lay down, so I can get to work?" Aleisha said. Angel stared at her for a second then sighed heavily and walked back over to her spot in front of the fire place, laying down. Aleisha stripped Brian down to his boxers as gently as she could. He was a complete mess. Cuts and bruises over most of his upper body. His arms were just one big open wound. Then she had the frost bite to deal with too. She got up and retrieved the pan of water from the fire place, taking a wash cloth and starting to clean the wounds. Brian moved a little, and groaned. "How am I gonna do this without him feeling it?" Aleisha asked, looking at the supplies. She got up and walked back over to the cabinet, searching for something. Then she pulled out a bottle of ether. "Here we go," she said, walking back over and grabbing another cloth. She tipped the bottle over, wetting it, and laid the cloth over Brian's mouth and nose. She watched as his breathing grew deeper, and when she was satisfied that it had it's desired affects, she removed the cloth. Aleisha took her time, being as gentle as she could. She cleaned all the wounds, then started stitching the ones that needed it. Then she put bandages over them. When she finished with his arms and chest, she moved up to his face. He had several days worth of growth on his beard, so she decided to shave him. She was trying to be gentle around his cut, but managed to reopen the wound anyway. She held a cloth there until the bleeding stopped, then she finished shaving him. Angel watched intently from her spot, whining at her every so often. "Angel, I'm doing the best I can," Aleisha said, in awe at how much the wolf cared for Brian. She stitched his face, taking extra time, and making the stitches small, hoping to prevent a huge scar. When she had finished, she looked down at his feet. "OK, now to tackle this," she said, taking a couple of towels and wetting them. She placed them by the fire to get warm, then wrapped them around Brian's feet. She looked at him as she placed the blankets back over him, "That's all I can do." Angel got up and walked over to him, licking his face. "He'll wake up in a little while, let him rest," Aleisha told her. Angel sat down next to Brian and barked at Aleisha. "I must say you are devoted," she said, picking up the supplies and putting them away. "Now to find something to eat. I'm sure he'll be hungry when he wakes up," Aleisha said, going through the cabinets in the cabin. She found several soup starters, and a lot of rice. "OK, soup or rice?" she asked. Angel barked at her. "Soup it is," Aleisha said, pulling a starter out, and getting a pan to cook it in. Aleisha went about the task of cooking supper as Brian slept. She had eaten, and had fed Angel by the time Brian woke up. "Aleisha," Brian said, looking around. "Right here," she said, kneeling down next to the cot. "Sorry, I guess I went to sleep," he said. She smiled, "It's OK. Probably good that you did." Brian looked down, seeing his arms wrapped in bandages. "You did all this while I was asleep?" he asked. "Yeah, I kinda helped you though," she said. He looked at her confused. "I used some ether to keep you from waking up," she clarified. "Oh," Brian said, pulling the blankets up and realizing he was in nothing but his boxers. His face turned a shade of red. Aleisha looked at him, realizing what he was blushing about. "Oh, don't worry, they stayed on," she said. Brian blushed a little more, "Thanks." "Are you hungry?" she asked. "Yeah, a little," Brian said. "OK, I'll be right back," Aleisha said, getting up and getting him a bowl of soup. She set the soup down as she helped Brian sit up, placing pillows behind him until he was comfortable. She sat on the edge of the cot, holding the soup. "I can feed myself," Brian said. "No, I don't think you can," Aleisha said. Brian looked down at his hands, both of them were bandaged, only his fingers sticking out. "Oh," Brian said, accepting the fact that he couldn't. Aleisha lifted the spoon and blew on it, making sure it wasn't to hot before she fed it to Brian. Brian watched her, there was something about her, he couldn't place. He'd only known her for a few hours, but somewhere deep inside, he felt like he'd known her forever. Brian finished his soup, and Aleisha put the bowl away. "Do you want to lay back down?" she asked. "No, I'll try and stay up as long as I can," Brian said. "OK," she said, sitting down next to him. "So you were looking for me?" Brian asked. "Yeah, we have been for almost a week now," Aleisha said. "Damn," Brian mumbled. "What? You didn't want us to find you?" Aleisha asked. Brian looked at her, "It's not that. I'm grateful you found me. It's just that, if you were searching for me, that means they know where I am, and I don't want to see them right now." She looked at him confused, "Who's they?" "My friends and family," Brian said. "Oh," Aleisha said, seeing the pain in his face, and not sure if she should ask what she wanted to. Brian looked at her, "I, um, well.... I left to sort some things out. My wife just died, and I wanted to get away and think about things, alone." "Oh, I see," Aleisha said, "I'm sorry." "Yeah, so am I," Brian said, almost in a whisper. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. "So how long was I asleep?" Brian asked. "Um, a good four hours," Aleisha replied. "Oh," Brian said, looking across the room and seeing Angel curled up. "How long she been asleep?" he asked. "Not long, right before you woke up," Aleisha said, "She's really devoted." "Yeah she is," Brian said, "She stayed with me after the attack. She even brought me food." "Brian, she has to belong to someone. She's not part of the pack here in the park, and with her being this tame, we can't let her stay out here," Aleisha said. "I'll take her," he said without a thought. "Brian, she's a wolf, not a dog. And as tame as she seems, she still has that wildness in her. They don't make good pets, they always end up turning on someone, even their owners sometimes," Aleisha said. Brian stared at her for a moment, "I don't care. I still wanna take her." Aleisha just shrugged her shoulders. Brian yawned, "I think I need to lay back down." "OK," Aleisha said, getting up and helping him. She pulled the blankets up, and as she did, Brian gently touched her hand with his fingers. Aleisha looked down at him, staring into his eyes. "Thanks for saving me," Brian said. She smiled, "All in a days work." Brian smiled at her and let his fingers linger for a moment before pulling his arms under the blankets. Aleisha sat down and watched as he drifted to sleep. Chapter 14 |