One Offs: Random Rambles of a Crazed Fool

Doc Has a Past

Willem hauled ass, getting out of there.

It was supposed to be an easy job. He, Jacob, and Rutherford were to rob The Cincinnati with another three-person crew. Ernest, who they had worked with before, was the mastermind. He had called in both crews, introducing the masked men to each other as Christie, Chris, Christoph [Willem's crew] and Robbie, Robert, Rubert [their crew]. They were to get in, robbing the armed car transporting gold and notes. Willem's boys were to take the gold and the others were to take the notes, meeting up later.

What either of them knew, or Ernest neglected to tell them, these sums of bitches guarding the extra-large car had explosives.

When half the train car went kablooey and debris came flying down like a snow flurry, all hell broke loose. Luck was somewhat on their side as Jacob had begun to fill their saddlebags. Willem was able to tether a couple horses together and get Rudy out, but when he went back for Jacob, he was already gone. He had to leave him in his own blood.

Bullets passed over him as he was trying to grab what Jacob gave his life for. Rudy, riding beside the fast-moving car, tried to help as bullets cascaded over him and the pair of horses. Willem was thinking to himself These fools must have relied on the explosions because they were lousy shots. He did a quick once over the body and found Jacob was stabbed. Anger filled him as he chucked the half-filled bag over his shoulder and jumped from the train car to his companion. With a grunt and muscles straining in his arm, Rudy caught the other man, swinging his friend upward on his horse.

Back at the hideout, the cool down right before taking off to their respective homes, Rutherford took off his bloody shirt. Willem was in front of him and assessed the damage.

'What are you going to tell her this time?' Willem asked softly before he took the whiskey coated rag and ran it down his friend's chest. Rudy grimaced at the burn as Willem cleaned his wounds to get a better look.

'Brickle patch?'

Willem snorted and grimaced in his own pain. 'That won't explain the bullet wound.'

'Aww shit, Will. Landed on a pitchfork? I DON'T KNOW,' he yelled the last part as Willem dug his specialty plyers into Rudy's wound and dug out the bullet. More alcohol was poured in. The wounded man ground his teeth to stop from making another sound.

'You could..'

'No, no, no..' Rudy protested before his friend could go any further, his breathing hard. 'Cathy is an upstanding Christian woman. No way. I need to keep her far as possible from his life.'

Willem only chuckled. He liked this light banter with his long-time buddy and teasing him about the woman he wanted to marry. 'Get goin' then, lover boy. Take your share and marry the ole girl. And soon.'

It doesn't take long for Willem closed up the hole and slathered him with medicinal salve. 'Don't..'

'I know, Doc,' Rudy interrupted again by clicking his teeth with the demeanor of a child who has been told too many times by their mother to be careful. 'I'll be careful.'

When Rutherford left in the easterly direction, Willem closed up the hideout and let all his grief pile on him. He balled for days, ignoring his own physical health at the loss of his lover, Jacob.

In every sense of the word, they were married. He should have listened to his husband's protests. He should have honored and obeyed his wishes when Jacob objected to the job. Willem turned to the bottle for comfort. No matter how much he drank himself to a crazed stupor, it never made Jacob stay in his arms longer than the dream.

*** about seven years later ***

'Doc?' asked a shy voice.

'Yes, Ms. Hattie?'

She giggled and looked from one of her friends to the other before a slight blush dusted her face. 'When will you get married? Are you interested anyone?'

Willem moved to the outskirts of town, halfway between a couple towns he was servicing. Two days a week he would be in Harelston, then two days in Smithberg, while the other two he would travel around offering his services. But on Sundays, he did nothing. Just stayed at home, until an emergency came to his door. It was rare, but they happened.

He offered the girl a soft smile, not really knowing how to break it to her that she did not have the right anatomy for his future interests. 'Right now, Ms. Hattie, I am married to the public and have a mistress of the sick.'

'Well, Hattie, here, is interested Doc. I don't think she will give up easily,' her taller friend teased, leaning into a young woman with a blue bonnet.

He leaned toward the group of young women in a half bow. 'But I have heard, someone is smitten by Ms. Hattie and will make his move soon.' He stood back up to his full height and grabbed his black bag. 'If you excuse me, ladies, I do have to see another patient.'

As he stepped away from the bubbling girls and made his way to his Harelston office, he did not feel one once of wrong for lying to the girl. He chuckled - this way her focus would be off him for a while. A dull ache placed through his chest as thoughts of Jacob flashed in his mind. After opening the door, he was greeted.

'Good morn'n, Doc,' Mary, his assistant called from behind her desk. Mary was someone he found nearly dead behind an opium den when he was just over his lowest. He took her in. He would never admit it, but instead of him saving Mary, she saved him that night. They have been together ever since. Just over five years and going strong.

'Good morning to yourself, Doc.' He smiled at her knowing that she enjoyed being called a doctor as well. He was training her to take care of the female population as he thought they would be more comfortable.

'You have a patient in the office with Nurse Dylan,' she reported. Dylan was a runaway she adopted since her incident left her unable to have children. 'Coffee is on, too.'

'God, if you were a man, I would take you now,' he sighed in a lowered voice, and went to pour himself a hot cup, pulling the pot from the wood stove.

She chuckled lightly and hugged her friend from behind. 'Same for you, darlin. I love ya, but you aren't right for me.'

She released her hold when she heard the door open, running her hands over his dusty shoulders. Dylan, about twelve, came out of the room. 'Ma.. Err.. Dr. Erlinger, this gentleman has complaints of a cough, and something is wrong with his left foot.'

'Alright, Nurse Dylan,' she said with her eyes smiling, 'Let's watch the real doc work and learn a thing or two.'