“This is calendula. It helps improve blood flow, which helps wounds heal more quickly. It also helps prevent infection by fighting off viruses and bacteria.”
She put a thick layer of paste over his wound. Then, she put a large pad of gauze over it and taped it down.
“Can I get a glass of water?” she asked, wiping her brow.
After taking several swigs from a water bottle, she unpacked the shoulder wound. Once again, she nodded in approval of my first aid work.
“We are going to do the same thing here as we did for his side. You did an excellent job as my nurse before.”
I smiled at her compliment. I held open the wound on his shoulder while the doctor used a probe and tweezers to pull the bullet out of his shoulder.
“This got dangerously close to his bone. Another eighth of an inch over, and we would have had much worse problems. A shattered bone would have been really bad.”
As she began to sew up his shoulder, Gage began to stir.
I put my hand on his forehead and my face against his. “I need you to be still, baby. Let the doctor finish her work.”
His eyes fluttered open as she put in the last stitch.
“Gage, welcome back.”
“Nice to see you again, Doc.”
He looked at me and asked me what happened. I must have looked confused because he said I looked like I had a go-around with Freddy Kruger.
“Trees and brambles attacked me while I was getting help. You owe me big.”
He smiled weakly and said, “Maybe we could call it even. I was your night in hairy armor.”
“Yes, well, we’ll talk about that when you’re better.”
The doctor put another large amount of poultice on his shoulder and bandaged him up.
“You’re going to live to fight another day,” she said.
I groaned.
She turned to me. “Now, let’s take care of you.”
She cleaned up my cuts. All of them seemed to be superficial. They would burn for a while until they healed, but I would be fine.
Dr. Ursa gave me some extra gauze and tape and told me how to dress Gage’s wound. She gave me some of the plants and told me how to make the poultice. I needed to apply it once a day. She said she would check in on him tomorrow, though, so she would take care of everything then. I could watch her so I could see exactly how to care for his wounds.
She told me he should be on a broth and jello diet because his tummy may be upset for a while.
Dr. Ursa also gave me some pain pills for him, with instructions on how many to give him and when. She would bring more when she came back to check on him, although I was to call her if anything happened.
She hugged me and said I was very brave to come into a den full of bears to get help for Gage. She said she knew that I was the perfect wife for him, and she was glad that I had joined their family.
I hugged her back and said, “Thank you. It’s an honor.”
I was glad at least one person was glad I was part of the clan. Based on Amon’s reaction, I had a feeling that my presence wasn’t going to be so universally accepted.
12
Gage
Iremembered thinking about how much I loved Luka. She obviously still loved me, even though I didn’t tell her about my true identity. Even if I didn’t survive the night, I was a lucky man for having known her and loved her these last few days.