"Come on girls. We can go see Sam's room." Myra had taken Sam and Katie out to the house. They had both wanted to play in the dirt, but that was not an option.
"I's get my own room?" Sam asked.
"Yes sweetheart. Your pa and I set it up yesterday. Now come on." The three went inside and Myra led them to the back of the house where Sam's room was.
When the girls walked into Sam's room, they stopped dead in their tracks. The room was done up like a fairy tale. Horace was standing by the window hanging pink lace curtains. "Papa!" Sam yelled and ran to her father's arms.
"Do ya like it?" Horace asked her.
"Yea papa! It's sooo pretty!" "I'm glad." Horace said as he kissed her forehead.
"Horace, can I talk to you in the hall?" Myra was not at all happy about this new addition to her house. Yet at the same time she couldn't bear to see Horace or Samantha hurt by her words.
"Sure. Her Sam, you play in here with Katie for a bit while yer ma and I talk."
"You come back papa?"
"Yea, I'll be right back honey." Horace left the room and met Myra down the hall a ways. "What is it Myra?"
"What is that?" Myra questioned disgustingly.
"It's Sam's room." Horace defended.
"And what gives you the right to spoil her like that."
"I'm her father. I should have some say in her life too Myra."
"Some say! Horace, you bought her all new things, things she doesn't need! you can't just give her everything in the world!"
"And why not? She's my daughter. Probably the only one I'll ever have. Why shouldn't I give her whatever I can?"
"Because what are you going to do when you can't give her something and she throws a tantrum? How would you solve that?"
"She knows she can't have everything." Horace assumed.
"No she doesn't Horace. She's only four. If you spoil her, she'll never know the difference."
"Well what do you want me to do now?" Horace asked. "I can't just take it all away now."
"You're right you can't. But I'm not solving this one. I'm tired of being the one doing everything."
"Well maybe if you hadn't left and moved so far away, I could have helped out a little more."
"Horace, let's not start this now. Besides we're back now. Doesn't that count for anythin?"
"That depends. You never told me why you came back."
"I told you Horace, my boss bought Preston's back and wants me to run it."
"What kind of man hires a woman to oversee his entire investment? Seems like this Mr. Hooper has more on his mind that banking."
"Horace! How dare you propose something like that!"
"Well then are you gonna tell me how you got this new job?"
"Horace, I asked to leave the bank. I told Mr. Hooper I was leaving St. Louis and he offered me the job here. I didn't even know about it. I was coming home no matter what."
Horace was stunned by this news. he had assumed that Myra hadn't wanted to return to Colorado Springs. "Ok then why were you leaving St. Louis?"
Myra hesitated for a minute, but then decided that she couldn't hide anymore. "Horace...I think I still love you. I thought we could be a family again."
"Myra you left me. I've never wanted us to be apart. That was your decision."
"Does that mean you want to be together again too?" Myra asked hopefully.
"No Myra. You had your chance. You can't just come back whenever you want and expect me to go running back to you. I better head back to the office."
"Horace no!" Myra called after him. But it was too late he had already made his decision and there was no changing his mind.
*********
"Ruth, I think we need to have a little talk." Grace took a seat besides Ruth on the bed.
"What did you want to talk about Aunt Grace?"
"Well first off, I wanted to ask about my sister. How did Faith die?"
"We don't know." Ruth admitted. "She just got really sick one day. She was in the hospital for a while, but was released because the doctors thought she was doing better. But a few weeks later she was dead."
"Why didn't anyone contact me?"
"Pa said that you wouldn't care. That you and Ma never got a long."
"We've had some disputes in the past, but that doesn?t mean I would have stayed away had I known she was dyin. She was my sister. I would've been there for her."
"Aunt Grace, why did you leave New Orleans?"
"Ruth I had no choice. My employer moved and I had to go with her."
"But you took the job knowing that you'd have to leave! Why did you leave me?"
"Ruth I don't think you're ready for this. It's more complicated than you think."
"I'm not ready! I've spent the last six years of my life fighting to survive. Living through hell makes you grow up faster than you could ever imagine."
"What are you talkin about?" Grace questioned. "Faith said she'd take good care of you."
"Of yea, she took perfect care of me....perfectly awful."
"Ruth, what happened?" Grace knew that her sister had not kept he promise and was now regretting her decision from sixteen years ago.
"Once you left, ma started beatin me. Everyday there was somthin I did wrong, something said wrong. I sat in my bed every night hopin that you'd come back so I'd be safe again."
"Ruth I had no idea. If I did I would've come...you know that don't you?"
"I don't know nothin for sure anymore. How could you take care of me for ten years and then just leave?"
"Ruth there's more to this story than you know. There are so many things that you don't know the truth about."
"Then tell me. I think I deserve the truth. Don't you?"
"I will tell you. But not tonight."
"That's ridiculous!" Ruth was upset that no one trusted she could handle the truth. After all how bad could it be? Ruth stood up quickly and stormed out of the room. Suddenly, Grace heard a crash in the hall. She ran out to see what had happened. She found Ruth lying on the floor unconscious.
Chapter 8
"Ruth!" Grace exclaimed upon finding her niece on the ground. "Robert E come quick!"
Robert E quickly responded to his wife's calls "What it is?" he asked concerned. But he got his answer as soon as he entered the hallway. "Oh my! What happened?"
"I don't know! We fought and she left and then I guess she fainted!"
"I'll go get Dr. Mike."
"Robert E wait!" Grace exclaimed as she grabbed his hand. "She's startin ta wake up. Ruth darlin can you here me?"
"Hmm...Aunt Grace?"
"Yes honey it's me."
"What happened?"
"You fainted. Oh dear you're burnin up."
"I'm so cold." Ruth mummered.
"Robert E. help me get her to bed. Then go get Dr. Mike."
**********
"He's just walking out! Can you believe it Sully?" Michaela paced in front of the fireplace, still angry with Dr. Mason for what he had said to her.
"Well, maybe he's got a point. Did you ever discuss having Andrew and Colleen work at the clinic?" Sully hated to disagree with his wife, but with this, he did see the truth in what Tim felt.
"How dare you suggest such a thing! I..." she suddenly realized that Sully was right. She had always planned on Colleen and Andrew join her practice after Colleen graduated from medical school. She never once mentioned that to Tim. "Oh Sully, you're right. I have never considered Tim as my partner. Of course I see him as a colleague, but I still think of the clinic as mine. I've been so foolish."
"Well maybe, but now you've gotta set it right. Tim's a good doctor and you're gonna be needing his help."
"I know. He has always been around, willing to do anything. I'll try to talk with him again tomorrow. I don?t know how we'd manage without him."
"Good. Now let's get up to bed." Just as they reached the top of the stairs, there was an urgent knock at the front door.
"Who could that be?" Michaela asked.
"You go on to bed. I'll check it out."
"No Sully, someone could need my help."
As they argued there was another, more urgent knock. Sully went to open it, leaving Michaela at the staircase. Robert E. stood at the door poised the knock again when Sully opened the door.
"Sorry to bother you Sully, but we need Dr. Mike."
Just the Michaela appeared with her bag. "What is it Robert E?"
"It's Grace's niece. She's felling mighty sick."
"What are her symptoms?"
"Well, she fainted out in the hallway. Now, I think she's got a fever, but she's says she's freezin."
"She woke up then? From after she fainted?"
"Yea she did. But she's been in and out."
I have to go Sully. I can't send them to Tim. That will just reiterate his feelings. And I don't want to wake Andrew and Colleen. She needs to rest."
"I'll come with you." He responded.
"No. You need to be here in case the children wake up."
"But I don't want ya travelin back by yourself. Plus Matthew is here."
"Sully just stay. You know Katie will be frightened if she wakes up and we're not here. I'll just stay at the clinic tonight. Let the kids sleep."
"Alright. I'll come by with Katie in the morning." He leaned down and claimed her lips. They shared a kiss, which could have lasted all night, but Dr. Mike soon cut it short. "I have to go. I love you."
"I love you too." Sully watched through the window as Robert E. helped Michaela into his wagon. How much he wanted to spend the evening with her. But when someone was sick, she always had to rush off. Sully was more than thankful that she had help. But there were still times when she had to be called away. Once he was sure she was safely on her way, Sully headed up to bed. First he checked on Brian and Katie. They were both sound asleep, so Sully went to his room. It always seemed so empty without Michaela there. He reluctantly crawled under the blankets and tried to fall asleep without his beloved beside him.
**********
By the time Dr. Mike and Robert E. arrived in town, Grace had already taken Ruth to the clinic.
As Michaela entered the clinic, Andrew was coming down the stairs. "What's going on?" she asked him. "What are you doing here?"
"Tim woke me up and said he needed my help. Turns out he just wanted to get back to bed."
"And Ruth?"
"Well, I'm not sure. I think it's nothing serious. Just a catarrh. She seems to have a fever and the chills, but the fever isn't too high. She's resting comfortably now."
"I'd like to examine her myself."
"Michaela, that's not necessary. Let her rest. You can look after her in the morning. Grace is with her now. She'll let us know if there is any change."
"I suppose you're right. Why don't you go back home. Sully already knows I'll be staying here. There's no need to have us both around. Plus Tim is upstairs."
"Not that he'll do you much good. He's been acting oddly since he got back."
"Yes he has but I'm sure he has his reasons." Michaela didn't want to let on the real reason Tim was acting unusual until she had a chance to talk to him.
"Alright. But be sure to come and get me if you need anything."
"I will. Thank you Andrew."
After seeing Andrew out the back door, Michaela went to lie down in one of the rooms upstairs. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the doctor in her told her that she should check on her patient. There was just some instinct that said she was needed. After rushing to the room where her patient was, Dr. Mike found Grace asleep on a cot next to the bed. Ruth was under the thick blankets, shivering uncontrollably. Grace woke with a start as Michaela tried to control her patient?s new symptom. Nothing could be done to stop it. This continued for three hours until suddenly, her temperature spiked. Just as suddenly as the fever began, Ruth started to sweat profusely, which quickly brought down her temperature.
"Dr. Mike? What's wrong with her?" Grace asked.
"Honestly, I don't know Grace. A fever and chills is not uncommon with having a slightly serious catarrh. But the sudden spike in temperature, and then a drop that was just as sudden. Well, it just doesn't fit."
"Is she gonna live."
"Well, her fever is gone and she has no other symptoms. I can't understand it, but it seems she doing better already. Some rest and fluids should be all she needs."
After making sure that Ruth was resting comfortably, Michaela decided to try and get some rest. By this time it was almost three in the morning and everyone in the clinic was exhausted. "You be sure to come and get me if there is any change." She told Grace. "I'll just be in the next room."
"Thanks Dr. Mike."
**********
When Michaela went to check on her patient the next morning, she was suspired to find Dr. Mason there attending to Ruth.
"Good morning Tim. I'm suspired to find you here. Isn't it your day off?"
"Yes, well I came down to update some patient charts. Seeing as how I left a few unfinished. I wanted to be sure everything was up to date in case someone came in. I saw Robert E downstairs and he told me about your patient. I just thought I'd have a look and let you sleep some more. He told me you haven't been asleep long."
"Well thank you. And yes, I've been up most of the night, but that does seem to be the doctor's life. I've been trying to catch a few cat-naps here and there."
"Why don't you go lie down for awhile. I have things under control here. What is your diagnosis?"
"Well Tim, I'm afraid I don't have one. At first we believed that it was simply a catarrh, but her symptoms keep fluctuating. They don't seem to fit with any illness I know of."
"Well, I'll examine her and see what I can find. What are her symptoms?"
"It started with just chills and fever. Later, the fever suddenly spiked to about 104, then it dropped almost as quickly. Early this morning she started with a severe headache and nausea."
"That does seems a bit odd for a catarrh."
"Exactly. I thought yellow fever, but she shows no signs of jaundice or damage to the liver."
"Let me have a look. You go get some sleep."
At first Michaela was reluctant to leave, but she was exhausted. "Thank you. Let me know what you think."
"I will."
Later that day, Dr. Mike and Tim finally had some time to talk. Ruth was resting and they had seen the last scheduled patient.
"Tim I really wish you would reconsider staying on as one of my partners. I'm sure you've seen today that your skills are needed."
"No Michaela. Today I have seen that once again, I am only here for the convenience of you and your family. I came into work early to make things easier for you when I left. And instead of getting any of my work done, I took care of your patient! Furthermore, I did the work of both your daughter and son-in-law so they could gallivant around with each other doing who knows what!?
"How dare you talk about my family in that way! What Andrew and Colleen do on a day that I give them off is none of your business."
"It is my business! You say you consider me your partner, but you don't consult me on anything. Don't I have a say on when the other doctors have a day off? Did you ever think that maybe I wanted today off too!"
"Well, if you are that concerned, Colleen is sick and I have told her to stay in bed. As for Andrew, he has been here working. He's up tending to our patient at this very moment. If you would stop being so concerned with your unnecessary feelings of him being more favored by me than you are; you would have known that."
"Well, it would have been nice if you told me he was here. I had plans for the day."
"You are the one who came into work today Tim! You are the one who offered, offered to stay and help out. I didn't ask. I had nothing to do with it."
Chapter 9
"Dr. Mike?"
"Yes Grace?"
"Is she gonna be alright?"
"Truthfully Grace, I'm not sure. The cycle of fever and chills can be linked to numerous diseases. There are no other symptoms therefore we cannot determine what exactly she has been infected with."
"Then how's she ever gonna get well gain?"
"All we can do is keep treating the fever and keep a watch on her to see if any other symptoms arise. I know it?s difficult Grace and I'm doing everything I can, but we really must just wait."
"I know you're workin hard Dr. Mike I just hate not knowing what's wrong...It reminds me of Anthony."
"Oh Grace I didn't even realize...This is nothing like Anthony." She tried to reassure her friend. "His symptoms were totally different. From what I can tell Ruth will be fine if we can stop the fever from returning like it has been."
Mike went to give Grace a comforting friend when here was a knock on the door. "Come in." Michaela called leading Grace to the stairs leading to Ruth's room.
When she turned around, she saw Hank standing behind her. "Michaela, you gotta help me."
"What's the problem Hank?"
"I don't know...I can't stop itchin. I think I have the pox."
Michaela began an examination of the spots Hank pointed out. "These aren't the pox Hank. Have you been around the back of the Gazette lately?"
"Yea but what's that got ta do with it?" Hank asked.
"Well the other day Katie was playing back there and ended up covered in mosquito bites. I believe the same has happened to you."
"Mosquitoes? Well if that's it, how'd there get to be so many?"
"I'm not sure but that doesn't matter. Here, rub this on the bites. It'll help stop the itch. And be sure not to scratch or they'll become infected."
"Thanks Michaela."
"Goodbye Hank." Michaela went to the medicine cabinet to get the next dose of willow bark tea for Ruth. Hank left through the front door, but was almost unable to walk out. Standing outside were about twenty people waiting to see Dr. Mike. "Umm Michaela I think you better get out here."
"What is it Hank...oh my."
"I'll let you work Michaela."
"Thank you Hank." Michaela turned to the crowd gathered on the porch. "Now what seems to be the problem with you all?"
Preston spoke up from the back of the crowd "We're all itching. We've been poisoned!"
Michaela chuckled. As much as Preston tried to act sophisticated and well-mannered, every once in awhile he would lose all reason and become paranoid. "Mr. Lodge, I doubt that you are poisoned. You probably are all suffering from the same thing I just saw Hank from. If no one if critical, I'll see to each of you in order that you arrived."
"I think we all have the same problem here Michaela, just get to work."
"Of course Preston. Let me go find Andrew so this will go faster."
Dr. Mike entered the clinic and found Andrew tending to Ruth. When she explained the situation, he came down to his the second examination room. The two doctors slowly went to work treating the patients. In all they saw twenty-five people who had been bitten by mosquitoes.
**********
The next day, Andrew was explaining the situation to Dr. Mason. "All of them were covered in insect bites. Just like Katie was."
"Not surprising." Tim mummered.
"Actually it is." Andrew claimed. "As long as I've been here, there have been cases of insect bites, but never like this. It's quite odd if you ask me."
"Yes well, A few bites never hurt anyone."
"Well it's enough to concern me and Michaela. Mosquitoes have been linked to many illness in tropical climates. You never know what might be passed on through blood. If the same bug bite someone who is ill, the next person it bites may very well get that disease. Those small creatures could cause an epidemic."
"That seems preposterous. How can bugs cause such trouble? Just squash them all is what I say."
"You need to keep up on your literature Tim."
"What do you care, I'm leaving tomorrow anyway. You can read all the journals you want but I don't see the need." Tim walked out of the room and Andrew simply stood there shocked. He could not believe that Tim was leaving or that Michaela hadn?t told him.
**********
"Why didn't you tell us Tim was leaving?" Andrew asked Michaela.
"Andrew, I was meaning to. But really wasn't sure he was leaving. I've been trying to convince him to reconsider. But when I realized that he was serious we were so caught up with treating Ruth that I never found the moment to tell you or Colleen. I'm sorry Andrew."
"I understand Michaela. But why is he leaving?"
"He claims that he doesn't fit in here. He thinks that we don't consider him a partner here, that all he does is pick up the slack of what we can't take."
"That's ridiculous. Of course we consider him a partner. Although I will always see this as your clinic. But Tim is just as equal here as Colleen and I are."
"No Andrew, he is right. I don't treat him like an equal. I have often asked him to cover the clinic while I am off taking care of Katie or spending time with Sully. But he is a good doctor. I wish I had realized this earlier so I could have changed things."
"So there's no changing his mind?"
"No, he already has his ticket for the train tomorrow afternoon."
**********
"Tim I really wish you would reconsider." Andrew stood in the doorway of the room Tim had occupied while the doctor packed the last of his things.
"I'm sorry Dr. Cook. But this isn't right. I can't stay here against my better judgement. Maybe if I felt welcome I could stay but I don't."
"I'm sorry you fell like that Tim, we all are. But if you ever change your mind, you'll always have a place here. You are a good doctor and there is never a day where we won't need you. You were part of this clinic, even if you didn?t fell that way."
"I really must be going. Good bye Andrew. Say goodbye to Colleen and Dr. Quinn for me?"
"Of course. Good bye Tim."
*********
"Well Ruth you seem to have made a remarkable recovery." After five days of a repeating fever and chills cycle, Ruth had shown no other symptoms. Now, eight days after first getting ill, she was showing now signs that she had ever been ill.
"Thanks Dr. mike. I feel real good. I bit weak, but not too bad."
"Yes, you'll need to get you strength back, but from what I see you're perfectly healthy."
Robert E. led Ruth out to the street and back to the house. Grace stayed back a moment to talk with Michaela. "Dr. Mike, I just wanted to thank you for all you and Andrew have done for Ruth. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her. Not after she's finally in my life again."
"Grace you know I do what I can with every patient."
"I know, but still, you don't have to. Even if it is your job, there are plenty of doctor who would give up."
"I'm just glad Ruth is doing better. Let her rest a few more days and she'll be good as new."
*********
"Ruth was sent home today." Andrew lay with Colleen cradled in his arms. They both tried to relax after the long day.
"So is ma going to let be come back to work now?"
"I don't see why not. There isn't any harm in it now."
"There was no harm in it before."
"Now Colleen you know we just wanted to be sure that you and the baby were healthy."
"Andrew no one else got sick. Obviously whatever Ruth had was not contagious."
"I know Colleen but we didn't know what she had...we still don't. It's better to be cautious in these situations."
"I just wish everyone would stop treating me like I don?t exist. I can make these decisions on my own."
"Sometimes we are blinded by what we can't see."
"Are you getting philosophical on me Dr. Cook?"
"I wasn't trying, but yes, I guess I am. I just don't want anything to happen to you Colleen. I love you too much."
"I love you too Andrew. And I'll be fine."
"Alright. But if you're going back to work in the morning we'd better get some sleep."
"Goodnight Andrew."
"Goodnight Colleen."
Chapter 10
"You sure you're ready for this?"
'Andrew I've been sitting at home for ten days. I'm not staying away from work any longer. It's not like I'm sick or something."
"I know. Come on. We have a busy day ahead of us." Little did he know that his statement would become very true.
*********
Colleen sat at her desk finishing an update on the last patient chart. "I can't believe we had so many people in her today." She commented to Andrew who was busy cleaning all the instruments.
"I know. But it's better than the day everyone had mosquito bites. Now that was an adventure. Everything today was pretty ordinary, cuts and colds, nothing too exciting."
Suddenly Horace burst through the clinic door Samantha limp in his arms. "Horace? What happened?" Colleen asked as she took the child.
"I don't know. One minute she was playin, the next she was complain that she was very cold. But she was sweatin somthin awful. Then as she was standin there in front of me she fell to the floor."
"Here lay her on the table and let me look at her." Andrew told Colleen.
"I can handle this Andrew. Horace why don't you wait outside. We'll be out as soon as we know what's wrong."
"I better go find Myra."
*********
"Samantha! Oh my sweet baby! Colleen what's wrong with her?"
"We don't know Myra. Grace's niece had almost the exact symptoms a week ago. We never did find out what she had, but she went home yesterday. Everything seems to be fine now. We will keep looking of course, but all we can do for now is keep her comfortable."
"So she'll be ok"
"I don't see why not. If she truly does have the same illness as Ruth then she should be fine."
*********
"Andrew I'm going to get ma."
"Colleen that's not necessary. We have everything under control here for the night. She'll be in tomorrow."
"Andrew you know she'd want to be here. We have half a dozen people upstairs, all with the same thing, But we don?t know what that is! She won't tolerate being left in the dark about this. We have to tell her."
"Alright, but you need to rest. I'll go get her. I don't want you riding by yourself at night."
*********
"Michaela, I'm sorry to wake you but we have a situation at the clinic."
"What is it Andrew?"
"Remember how sick Ruth was?"
"Yes of course I remember. Is she alright? Did something happen?"
"Ruth is fine as far as I know. But there are six patients know exhibiting the same symptoms."
"Six! Why didn't you get me earlier?"
"Colleen and I have been working nonstop Michaela. We didn?t have time to come out here."
After telling Sully where she was going, Michaela left with Andrew. "When did this start?" she asked as the rode in the wagon.
"This afternoon. We were cleaning up and getting ready to leave when Horace came by with Samantha."
"Sam! Oh my goodness, she's so young."
"Yes she is. But we managed to control the fever and she seems to be doing alright for now."
"Who else?"
"Preston, Teresa, Mrs. Bloomfield, and two other children, Tommy and Jessie Simons."
"Well as glad as I am that I'm here Andrew, you know there's nothing more we can do. Until we discover what they have all we can do is treat their symptoms and hope that no one else comes down with whatever this is."
*********
But such luck would not hold for the town of Colorado Springs. Over the next few days more, and more people came down with the unusual cycle of fever and chills. There was nothing to explain it and nothing to do about it.
Sully woke up and rolled over onto his other side. It was still dark outside. By the position of the moon he knew that it was around midnight. He looked over to enjoy the site of his sleeping wife. In stead he found her sitting up in bed surrounded by books and articles. He took the book she was currently holding and threw it to the other side of the bed. "Michaela you need to go to sleep."
"How can I sleep when there are twelve patients in my clinic that I can't do anything for? Sully I don't know what this is and I can't stand it. People are sick and there's nothing I can do!"
"Yer doin everything you can." Sully tried to reassure her.
"But what if that's not enough?" Michaela questioned. "What if this is more than just a fever and chills? What if I missed something? People could be dying Sully. I can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"But I thought you said that Ruth was fine. If she got over this who's sayin the others won't?"
"Sully you don't understand. People don't just get a fever for a few days and then they're miraculously better. These people are sick with something, something I've never seen before. I just have a feeling Sully...A feeling that this is more serious than it seems."
"Well there's nothin you can do now. Andrew's at the clinic. Get some sleep and let him deal with it for now."
"There's got to be something in these articles. Someone has seen this before. I'm going to keep looking."
Knowing that he could not win this argument, Sully rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. "Just be sure you get some sleep." He said before drifting off.
********
"Grace! Grace!"
"Horace what is it?"
"This telegram just came for your niece. It's from New Orleans."
"Thank you Horace. I'll take it to her."
********
"Well what does it say?" Grace questioned.
"Pas dead."
"I'm sorry Ruth."
"I'm not. Like I told Dr. Mike, my father's been dead a long time. But at the some time I kinda feel bad I wasn't there."
"You made a decision quite some time ago to come here Ruth. There was somthin leading you down this path. No point fellin guilty now."
"You're right."
"Does it say anything else?" Grace asked seeing the far off look in her niece's eyes.
"They know what killed ma."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Ma's boss on a trip a year ago. I don't know where because all she would say was how hot it was. She never told me she was leavin, just up and left one day. When she came back she said it was a sudden decision, that she didn?t have time to tell us or her boss would have left without her. When I asked her where she had gone that was so important, all she told me was it was hot and not too enjoyable. She got sick shortly after she got back."
"What does that have to do with anythin?"
"They say that she got somthin called malaria. That's what killed her."
"I've never heard of it."
"Me either. Maybe I could ask Dr. Mike about it?"
"I'm sure she'd know. We'll go by later."
"Actually, I'd rather go by myself. That way Dr. Mike can also check to make sure I'm still doing well."
"Are you feelin sick again?" Grace asked worriedly.
"No, I'm fine. But she said she wanted to see ma after a few days to make sure there were no other effects. Plus maybe takin another look at me will help her with everyone else. So many people are sick now and it's just what I had. I just hope everyone else gets better like I did."
"Alright then. If you really want to go yourself, I won't go. But remember I'm here for you if you need to talk."
"Thanks Aunt Grace. But really, I'm fine."
Chapter 11
"That's the third person just today Andrew." Colleen descended the stairs after settling another patient into a recovery room at the clinic.
"I know Colleen." Andrew replied taking her in his arms. "And we don't know what's wrong with them. It's just like with Grace's niece."
"But she got better. Maybe we just need to wait this out too."
"That's all we can do. Keep the comfortable and wait."
"Is ma coming in today? Maybe she has some other ideas."
"She's coming later on." Andrew replied. "She didn't want us to be stuck here with all these patients alone. But I really don't think there's much else to do."
"I guess your right. I just hate being so helpless."
**********
"Dr. Mike?" Ruth knocked softly on the clinic door and entered.
"Ruth? Are you ok?" Michaela asked concerned about the visit of her once critical patient.
"I'm fine. I was just wondering if I could ask you about something."
"Of course. Come sit down." Dr. Mike led the girl over to her desk at then sat down beside her."Now what is it that you wanted to ask me about."
"Well I just got a letter from the doctors in New Orleans...the ones who were in charge of my mothers care... They said my father died."
"That's terrible. Did they say what from?"
"No. Heartbreak I guess. Possibly alcohol poisoning. That's what he originally went to the hospital for...but they did discover what killed my mother. That's what I wanted to ask you about...They said something called malaria. I don't know what that is. I've never even heard of it. I was wondering if you could tell me about it."
"Malaria? Are you sure?"
"That's what they said. Here's the telegram if you want to see." Ruth took the letter out of her pocket and handed it to the doctor. Michaela took it and began reading.
"Oh my god!" Michaela muttered. "How can this be?" She questioned under her breath.
"Dr. Mike? Is everything alright?"
"Ruth was your mother away from the United States before she died?"
"I'm not sure. She was gone a trip, but I don't know where too. All she said was it was hot."
"Have you had any insect bites in the last few weeks?" Michaela further inquired.
"Well it seems the entire town has been getting em these last few weeks, but yes I do. There's one on my neck and a few on my arms."
"Did you have any before you came to Colorado? Especially while your mother was still alive."
"Well I'm not sure?"
"Please Ruth it's very important."
"I'm sure I did. We have a lot of bugs down in the swamps...What does that have to do with anything?"
"Malaria is not a disease one human can get from another." Michaela informed the young girl. "It is spread from insect bites." Suddenly realizing what this could mean, Dr. Quinn went over to here book shelf and started skimming an article from one of her journals. The she took out some patient files and began looking for connections. "Ruth would you please go and get Andrew and Colleen from the mercantile?"
"But I'm still confused. Are you sayin a bug killed my ma?"
"Well that's how the disease got into her blood yes. Now please, I must speak with Colleen and Andrew. Will you get them for me?"
"Sure."
**********
"I think that I've discovered what all of our patients are suffering from." Michaela began. She handed them the letter from New Orleans.
"Malaria?" Andrew asked quizzically. "How would she have gotten malaria?"
"She was possibly out of the country before her death. All Ruth knows was she went somewhere hot. My best guess is she was in a tropical location where malaria is prevalent and she contracted it from a mosquito. That's the most common way."
"But Ruth's mother having malaria and our town being ill...what's the connection?" Colleen questioned.
"Ruth may have it." Andrew thought out loud before Michaela had the chance to explain.
"You think Ruth has malaria?" Colleen questioned. "But she's better isn't she?"
"There is a form of malaria that shows up for a few days and then the symptoms disappear. Then the disease slowly destroys parts of the body such as the liver and the spleen." Andrew told her. "And the symptoms that Ruth had were quite minimal, yet they match almost exactly to the other patients upstairs."
"But how did this happen"? I thought that malaria couldn't spread between humans."
"It can't. But it seems that there is a mosquito farm behind the gazette. Your ma and I must have seen twenty-five patients last week with bites. I'll bet everyone up there has at least one bite."
"That makes since." Colleen said. "But what do we do now?"
"We need to do blood tests on Ruth and the other patients. That's the only way to be sure that this is malaria. Then we need to alert the town and get rid of the mosquito infestation we seem to have." Michaela immediately went to find Ruth and then call a town counsel meeting while Andrew and Colleen started testing their other patients blood.
**********
"Are you sayin that everyone that gets a mosquito bite is going to get sick?"
"No Jake. It's very complicated, but the only way to be infected is to be bitten by an infected mosquito. That is, if the mosquito that bites you has already bitten someone who is infected. There is no way all of the mosquitoes are carrying the disease."
"So all them patients at the clinic right now, they all have this?" A man in the crowd asked worriedly.
"We can't be sure yet that this is what they have contracted. Colleen and Andrew are doing blood tests right now. That's the only way to be sure. But yes, we believe that they all have it."
"What are we supposed to do 'bout this Michaela?" Hank asked.
"The best thing we can do is quarantine those with bites or symptoms and try to get rid of the mosquitoes. That's really all there is to be done... That and keep the patients comfortable."
"Does everyone who gets this die?" The reverend spoke up with everyone's main concern.
"Not necessarily. There are different strains. But I believe we most likely have the deadly strain here. Fortunately, if the person is strong, they are likely to pull through with no permanent side effects."
"So it's like when we had that diphtheria epidemic?" Hank questioned.
"Well yes in a way it is." Dr. Mike replied. "It's a different disease entirely, but the probability of death and illness is similar."
"But a lot of people died in that epidemic." Loren commented, remembering all that were lost due to the diphtheria.
"Yes Loren. This is similarly serious. But Andrew, Colleen, and I will do everything we can."
"What about Dr. Mason?" someone in the crowd asked.
"Dr. Mason has taken another job in Denver. But if things get any worse, I am fully ready to ask him to return, at least until we get this under control."
"Well if that's all we have, I say we get to work." Jake suggested.
**********
Michaela woke up in the middle of the night to find that Sully was no longer beside her. She got up and donned her robe and left her room to find Sully. She stopped by Katie's room to check on the child. Sully was sitting there beside the bed stroking Katie?s hair. "Sully? What are you doing?"
Sully held out his hand, inviting Michaela to sit beside him. She took her place beside him and snuggled in his loving arms. "I was just checkin on her. Wanted to be sure she was alright."
"She's fine Sully. Sleeping like an angel."
"Michaela is she going to be alright? I want to know the truth."
"Of course she'll be alright. Why wouldn't she be?"
"You said this malaria is spread through mosquito bites. Katie was covered in em. How can she not get sick?"
"I'm sorry Sully. I should have explained before now. At first I was also concerned for Katie's health. But the incubation period for malaria is eight to twelve days. It's been over two weeks since she was bitten. Plus I did a blood sample and it was perfectly normal. Not everyone who gets bitten gets the disease and she just happened to be one of the lucky ones."
"So you're sure she's ok?"
"Everyday it's better news. Now I'm going back to bed. Will you join me?"
Chapter 12
Matthew entered the clinic and immediately saw his mother gathering supplies from a medicine cabinet. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Ma, is there anything I can do?"
Dr. Mike jumped slightly, but was both relieved and surprised to see her eldest son standing before her. ?"Matthew? My goodness you scared me. I thought you and Brain were going fishing."
"I was. But I figured since you wouldn't let Brian come here, I'd come. You can use all the help you can get it seems.
"There's not much you can do here Matthew. You should take Brian fishing, keep his mind off things. We don't need you sick too."
"Ma Brian is fine. I know that you need me here and I'm not leaving. Now what can I do?"
"Well if you insist on staying, could you go look after your sister."
"Katie? Of course. Where is she?"
"No Matthew, Katie is at the homestead with Sully. I would assume Brian and Sarah are there as well since you didn't go fishing. I didn't want them in town. I meant Colleen. I don't want her overdoing it and Andrew and I can't watch her and take care of all the patients. Just do whatever she needs and make sure she isn't on her feet too much."
"Sure Ma." Matthew ascended the stairway to the second floor of the clinic. He began searching the patient rooms, looking for his sister. He finally spotted her coming out of a room at the end of the hall.
"Matthew what are you doing here?"
"I came to make sure you don't overdo it."
"Did Andrew send you up here?"
"No Dr. Mike did." Matthew admitted.
"Why can't they just trust that I'll be ok?"
"Well little sister they care about you. We all do. We just want to be sure you and the baby are ok. After all it'll be my first niece or nephew."
"Matthew you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt the baby. So do Ma and Andrew."
"Well my guess is, Andrew's being an overprotective father-to-be, and ma, well you know how she is. She lost two babies and almost lost Katie too. I'm sure she sometimes blames herself for working too much. She's just trying to protect you since she couldn't protect herself."
"I know how she feels about me working. Andrew wants me to stay home too. I just don't understand it. Ma always told me to follow my dream and now that I have she wants me to stop. But I can't sit around for months doing nothing. Besides, I'm a lot younger than ma. The chances of a miscarriage are minimal. Most women my age have more work to do at home than I do here at the clinic. They both know all of this. Why can't I just enjoy one day of my job without being constantly supervised?"
"Colleen, just let us help you. You can still do your job. Just let me do whatever I can. That should make ma and Andrew happy right?"
"I suppose I have no choice. Here, I'll show you how to take a temperature. Then while you check everyone, I'll update charts."
"Sounds fair to me."
*********
"Dr. Mike you've gotta make her better. She's all I have."
"Myra I'm doing all I can." Michaela promised as she continued her examination of Samantha.
"Michaela how is she?" Andrew asked as he entered the room.
"Her spleen is enlarged. We need to remove it."
"Is that bad?" Myra asked.
"This means the disease is progressing more rapidly then we thought. We need to work quickly. Andrew will you prepare for surgery? I'm going to take Myra to find Horace."
"No, I don't want to see him. I'll be alright by myself."
"That may be, but someone should tell Horace."
"I'll tell him Michaela. You stay here and prepare."
"I can't lose here Dr. Mike. I can't." Myra said as she left the clinic.
**********
"Myra? What are you doin here? Shouldn't you be at the clinic?"
"I need a drink Hank."
"Myra you stopped drink years ago. Why you wantin to start up again now?"
"Sam's real sick Hank. I might...I might lose her..."
"That's nonsense. You got three of the best doctors in Colorado takin care of her. She'll be fine. 'Sides Michaela said this wasn't serious. After all the niece of Grace's got better right?"
"Dr. Mike thinks that the disease is dormant or somethin like that. She says it goes away, but it's only a matter of time before it comes back."
"Than why is everyone else not getin better. Shouldn't they get better before they get worse?"
"I asked that too. Andrew said that sometimes the parasites mutate into a deadlier form, one that attacks right away. That's what happened here."
"Myra I'm sorry."
"She's in surgery now. They're takin out her spleen. Hank she's all I have left...What would I do without her. Horace doesn't love me anymore...If she dies...I'll have no one."
"What do ya mean Horace doesn't love you? Yer divorced Myra, what does it matter?"
"I thought I still loved him. That's why I came back Hank...to try and work things out....but he refused."
"Do ya still love him?"
"No I don't." She admitted. "Not like that. I knew that a long time ago. I just..."
"What Myra...ya just what?"
"I needed someone to love me. I needed to know that my life wasn't a waste."
"You're life is not a waste Myra. You've got a beautiful little girl to prove that."
"And if she dies! What then Hank? What will I have to live for then?"
"I'll still love you." Hank claimed as he took her lips with his on.
"I love you too Hank." Myra said when they broke.