stayed with Jack. Provided treatment for the rest of your crew. Mostly minor injuries.”
Except for Rosen. Caroline had so much blood on her hands she could never wash them clean. “Thanks.”
“For which part?”
“Natalie-”
“I’m kidding,” Natalie said. “I won’t push it. Just try to be nicer to him, okay?”
“I am.”
“I’m here if you need me. Don’t forget that.”
“I know.”
Natalie gestured toward Caroline’s hair. “You gonna finally grow that out?”
The thought had crossed her mind. “Maybe.”
“I hope you do. You have a shit haircut.”
“Wait, we had a nice pep talk and now you’re going to criticize my styling abilities?”
Natalie laughed. “No. I thought you might want to start caring about yourself a little more. Let’s use your hair as a starting point. Shall we get these stitches out?”
The stitches made for quick work, and Natalie soon moved on to her shoulder. “You healed faster than I thought,” she told Caroline. “Has Jack been helping you?”
“Sort of,” she said. “He took a look at my forehead but I freaked out when he wanted to look at my shoulder.”
Natalie sighed. “Oh, Caroline. You still haven’t told him?”
Hadn’t she been paying attention during their earlier conversation? “I’m not ready.”
“He is.”
“I can’t - I don’t want him to look at me the way you do. The way everyone does.”
“And how’s that?”
“Like you all feel sorry for me.”
“You think that’s what people are doing?”
“Yeah.”
Natalie looked her square in the eyes. “Don’t confuse pity with admiration. Tell him, Caroline. He can handle it.”
“I’m not sure he can.”
“You need to give him more credit.” She poked around Caroline’s shoulder, her lecture over. “These are coming out too, so take it easy the next couple of days. You’ll take some time to heal and might have a scar.”
Caroline laughed but managed to stay steady as Natalie removed the stitches. “Maybe I should start tallying them up. All those red badges of courage.”
“At least you acknowledge them for what they are.” Natalie moved over to the sink to wash her hands, her work finished. “Jack wants to take care of you. Let him do it.”
“I don’t want to depend on anyone.”
“Letting him take care of you doesn’t make you dependent,” Natalie said. “It makes him dependable. It takes just as much courage to accept help as it does to render it.”
“That’s deep. Any other words of wisdom for me?”
“Even the strongest tree can snap in two with enough pressure. Maybe you should stop trying to uproot it.”
“Is that your daily affirmation?” Caroline asked.
“Nope, it’s just a nice metaphor for you to figure out.”
“Think I got it, thanks.”
Natalie patted Caroline’s leg. “That’s because you’re super smart. Try to stop getting hit on the head, okay? And let me know if you have any more headaches like the one last night. I’m hopeful they’ll go away, but you never know. If they become a problem, we’ll find a way to deal with them.”
Caroline slid off the examining table. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
“If you need to call, you know where to find me.”
She spontaneously gave Natalie a hug. “Thanks.”
Chapter Six
It was past midnight and Jack rolled over on the couch. He couldn’t sleep. The day had gone by slowly, with Caroline barely speaking to him on the walk back from the infirmary. He couldn’t tell whether her silence was caused by indifference, anger, or fear, and wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. She’d picked at her dinner again and said a weak goodnight immediately afterward.
He was normally restless, more so lately, and the old piece of furniture he was lying on didn’t make it much easier to relax. The door to his bedroom was open a crack and he thought he heard a noise coming from inside. He padded into the room. The lamp in the corner was lit. Apparently Caroline
Except for Rosen. Caroline had so much blood on her hands she could never wash them clean. “Thanks.”
“For which part?”
“Natalie-”
“I’m kidding,” Natalie said. “I won’t push it. Just try to be nicer to him, okay?”
“I am.”
“I’m here if you need me. Don’t forget that.”
“I know.”
Natalie gestured toward Caroline’s hair. “You gonna finally grow that out?”
The thought had crossed her mind. “Maybe.”
“I hope you do. You have a shit haircut.”
“Wait, we had a nice pep talk and now you’re going to criticize my styling abilities?”
Natalie laughed. “No. I thought you might want to start caring about yourself a little more. Let’s use your hair as a starting point. Shall we get these stitches out?”
The stitches made for quick work, and Natalie soon moved on to her shoulder. “You healed faster than I thought,” she told Caroline. “Has Jack been helping you?”
“Sort of,” she said. “He took a look at my forehead but I freaked out when he wanted to look at my shoulder.”
Natalie sighed. “Oh, Caroline. You still haven’t told him?”
Hadn’t she been paying attention during their earlier conversation? “I’m not ready.”
“He is.”
“I can’t - I don’t want him to look at me the way you do. The way everyone does.”
“And how’s that?”
“Like you all feel sorry for me.”
“You think that’s what people are doing?”
“Yeah.”
Natalie looked her square in the eyes. “Don’t confuse pity with admiration. Tell him, Caroline. He can handle it.”
“I’m not sure he can.”
“You need to give him more credit.” She poked around Caroline’s shoulder, her lecture over. “These are coming out too, so take it easy the next couple of days. You’ll take some time to heal and might have a scar.”
Caroline laughed but managed to stay steady as Natalie removed the stitches. “Maybe I should start tallying them up. All those red badges of courage.”
“At least you acknowledge them for what they are.” Natalie moved over to the sink to wash her hands, her work finished. “Jack wants to take care of you. Let him do it.”
“I don’t want to depend on anyone.”
“Letting him take care of you doesn’t make you dependent,” Natalie said. “It makes him dependable. It takes just as much courage to accept help as it does to render it.”
“That’s deep. Any other words of wisdom for me?”
“Even the strongest tree can snap in two with enough pressure. Maybe you should stop trying to uproot it.”
“Is that your daily affirmation?” Caroline asked.
“Nope, it’s just a nice metaphor for you to figure out.”
“Think I got it, thanks.”
Natalie patted Caroline’s leg. “That’s because you’re super smart. Try to stop getting hit on the head, okay? And let me know if you have any more headaches like the one last night. I’m hopeful they’ll go away, but you never know. If they become a problem, we’ll find a way to deal with them.”
Caroline slid off the examining table. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
“If you need to call, you know where to find me.”
She spontaneously gave Natalie a hug. “Thanks.”
Chapter Six
It was past midnight and Jack rolled over on the couch. He couldn’t sleep. The day had gone by slowly, with Caroline barely speaking to him on the walk back from the infirmary. He couldn’t tell whether her silence was caused by indifference, anger, or fear, and wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. She’d picked at her dinner again and said a weak goodnight immediately afterward.
He was normally restless, more so lately, and the old piece of furniture he was lying on didn’t make it much easier to relax. The door to his bedroom was open a crack and he thought he heard a noise coming from inside. He padded into the room. The lamp in the corner was lit. Apparently Caroline
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