•Tombstone• Brothers Under The Sun

Chapter 33

𝓢𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓴𝓮. 𝓐𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮.

"John" it came out as a whisper.

Doc opened his eyes as he heard his name, thinking it was his imagination he rubbed his eyes and sighed. Exhaustion was getting to him now.

"John." He heard it again.

This time he opened his eyes fully and scanned the dark room, no candle was lit, making the moon fill its void. Rain pattered on the glass making it hard to hear his name, but it was just enough that he heard it for the second time.

Standing up he waited again, listening to the rain fall outside.

"John."

Doc realized that it was Elle. Rushing to her side he feel to his knees next to her bedside and hovered his hands over her. Her eyes barely cracked open but just enough for him to see the blue shine in the moon.

"Elle." He gasped out.

Putting his hands down, he lay them on her cheeks, making her smile weakly. She reached up with the closest hand and grabbed his hand that lay on her cheek. Leaning into his touch she felt tears fall as she felt so weak. Her face was covered in sweat, still pale. Doc held her face close, leaning down their foreheads rested on each other. There was no one else in the world, just them. The two of them.

"Hi." She whispered looking up at him

"Hello darling." He whispered back making Elle chuckle.

The door opened and it was the nurse stood there like a ghost holding a candle. She looked at Doc who turned to her. Elle felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness, her eyes heavy and eyes clouded with exhaustion.

The nurse rushed over to the other side of the bed and lay the candle on the nightstand, pulling a bag from under the bed she got to work. Doc turned back to Elle whose eyes were closed again, looking down at her chest he saw her breathing was less shallow and faint like it was for the past a few days.

Watching the nurse check her pulse and look over her wounds, Doc wanted to see Ellanora's eyes again. She lay there still again, just breathing. Alive.

Standing up from the floor, the nurse sighed a sigh of relief. "She's fine. She needs rest."

"Will she wake up again?" He asked standing up himself.

"She should, but right now you should get into bed."

The nurse saw Doc shake and cough ever since he arrived with Elle. Becoming concerned she had offered him a bed but he turned it down each time, saying he needed to stay with Ellanora.

"No I need to stay here, in case she wakes up again." Holliday turned around and looked over to the chair he called his bed.

The nurse faced him now, "She would want you in bed. You need rest too." She said sternly.

Doc look at the nurse, her eyes burned him like a mother yelling at her child. He looked down at Ellanora, her pale complexion, now warm with light. He nodded and the nurse showed him to a bed that was older and not as nice as Elle's, but her take anything at this point.

Everything hurt. She felt the sun down on her skin and felt the pain shake her body. Her eyes still closed, she turned her head to the window and felt the sun burn her cheeks. Groaning, she opened her eyes and saw a blurry figure doing something at the end of the bed. Elle shifted only a little and winced at the pain in her shoulder and thigh.

"Your awake." The figure said.

Scanning across the room, she saw the person. A young women, in a pale blue dress, poured steaming water into a bowl. Elle blinked a few times and saw her face.

"You're," she cleared her raw throat, "you're the woman I met outside of Tombstone."

The nurse grabbed a white cloth and put it in the got water. Turning to Elle, she smiled. "That I am."

"You're not pregnant anymore." Elle said softly.

The nurse chuckled and sat next to Elle, "Baby boy, born about four months ago."

Elle lay her head back on the pillow and looked at the ceiling. They've been on the run for four months.

The nurse turned to Elle and helped her sit up. Slowly but surely, she did and closed her eyes in pain. Leaning back on the head board, she watched the nurse grab the bowl of hot water.

"I never got your name." Elle said as the nurse grabbed a bottle from the bedside.

"Emily Harris. My husbands name is Kurt." She pulled the blanket up and revelled Elle's leg.

The cut was purple and blue, blood had dried and cracked around the open parts. Little parts of thread held it closed. Blood stained the white sheets below her leg, and pained the dress she still wore. Eliza's good black dress.

"I need the clean it now, so this will sting." Emily said nodded to Elle.

She brought the hot cloth to the wound and Elle gripped the sheets around her, knuckles turning white. She pulled her head back on the head board and let out a soft groan. The water burned not only her skin, but the inside of the wound. Ellanora's breathing had gotten heavy and she tried to control the pain.

"Ellanora, I've got to wrap this up now. This should heal with time." Emily head grabbing a bandage near by.

"What about the dress?" Elle asked, worried about her friends dress.

"I don't want to risk you ripping your stitches by getting out of bed." Emily frowned, "In due time."

Emily slowly lifted her leg and started to wrap the white cloth around the wound, sealing it with a small clip. The room was silent and Elle could hear cows mooing outside her window. Men talking out on the porch below could also be heard, the smell of cigarettes flowing through the open window.

"What happened?" Elle asked Emily while she looked out the window.

Emily hesitated. "I don't know, Mister Holliday showed up with you the other night."

Elle looked to Emily. Panic rising in her chest.

"Doc, where is he?"

"Downstairs, I finally got him to eat something." Emily chuckled.

"And the others? Wyatt?"

Emily sat back down on the bed and lay her hand on Elle's. "They're all here on the farm. They're all downstairs."

Elle closed her eyes and sighed. She felt safe in that moment.

"I'll let you rest." Emily got up from the bed and before closing the door she turned to Elle, "I'll get you something to eat."