Floods, Momma Cows and Crocodiles

Disclaimers: No mine, No money made etc.

Challenge: Sept. Challenge

Archive: maybe...

Spoilers: Nope.. (its been a rainy day....) (want to thank Mitzi)

Email: flah7@tds.net

---

---

Hello Mr. Steele,

I am sending you this audio tape in response to the memo you sent out in regards to the Seven ATF agents stationed here in Denver. You had dubbed them the Magnificent Seven. I must tell you, you have not seen them as I do on an unfortunately regular basis. They do not like to be called the Magnificent Seven either, least ways do not say it to them as they stand as a group before you. Individually, they may accept the term but I think there is some superstition attached to the nickname and thus they get a bit antsy if you were to address them as a group as the Magnificent Seven.

I am at work, over time if you must know. A nursing shortage has all the nursing staff pulling longer shifts. With this 500 yr flood swamping the surrounding area you can imagine just how busy we are. I feel however, I have a story, true by all accounts that I can discern, about Denver's ATF Team Seven.

Oh hold on moment Mr. Steele.

"Mr. Standish....Mr. Standish.....Nancy will you please get Mr. Standish and lead him back to his room. I think he is looking for one of the others and the sedation Dr. Curry administered is not working as neatly as it should.... Thanks Nan."

Now where was I Mr. Steele? Oh Yes, Mr. Larabee's team. Well they are here tonight, as you can well imagine, and my staff and I are feeling a little over whelmed.

Oh hold one more second.

"Nancy, don't listen to a word he says, just put him back in his room and tell him Mr. Larabee said it was OK. Everything 's Ok. No he doesn't need to go check on Mr. Wilmington or Tanner....yes they are fine. Just get him back to bed. I'll page Dr. Curry and see if he won't try a stronger sedative. Thanks Nan. You're a treasure."

Ok Mr. Steele, sorry for the interruption. You see it started actually late last night. Least that is what I can gather from the others. Team Seven, the paramedics and Firemen that brought them.

Last night. Mr. Riley's cattle were about to get stranded by the rising flood waters. I'm sure Mr. Steele you have been watching the News on TV. As you know, Denver's surrounding areas are suffering from the worst flooding we've seen in 500 years. It's amazing how fast the water came up. Very, very frightening. It’s still raining now. They say the water has crested but I can't see how that is possible with the rain still coming down. They say all the flooding goes back to the lack of trees left by those horrible forest fires.

Let me get back to the story. Last night, Mr. Riley realized his cattle, more specifically his cow and their calves were going to be stranded on a small island of water. In fact, the way things were looking they would probably be drowning before the sun even rose.

Mr. Riley is one of Mr. Larabee's neighbors. He called Mr. Larabee looking for help. Anyone with a stock trailer and some dry land would be a great help. Mr. Larabee was still at the office, from what I understand. However, Mr. Riley was able to get a hold of him anyways. I'm not sure of the details but it seems Mr. Wilmington, Mr. Tanner and Mr. Standish found themselves in a speck of trouble with their boss. I'm not sure if they had anything to do with the 1600 block of the ware house district going up in a ball of fire. From what I understand, that area was the scene of a large joint coupe to round up a drug/ arms dealer who was notorious for his 'cut throat' ways. I suspect some of Mr. Larabee's team might have been involved in the police raid at that ware house but I can't be sure. The explosion and subsequent damage makes me believe that they might have had a hand in some of the arrests; or at least they were in the area. I'm beginning to believe they attract trouble.

Anyhow back to my point. Mr. Riley got a hold of Mr. Larabee and explained his rather desperate situation. In case you don't know this Mr. Steele. Cow/calf combination is the 'cash' crop for ranches. It would ruin Mr. Riley if he were to lose his live stock not to mention all those poor babies drowning right besides their mommas.

Oh darn it, hold on a second.

"Marie? Marie, can you grab Mr. Standish? Mr. Standish?....Excuse me Mr. Standish!....Hurry Marie he's almost to the elevators...Thanks girl friend, you're an angel...just put him back in his bed. No restraints though. Dr. curry is on his way..."

Ok I'm back. Mr. Larabee, of course, agreed to help Mr. Riley. Mr. Larabee really is a nice man when he's not angry. It doesn't happen often, but I think one time I saw him smile. Mr. Wilmington had informed me it was just gas pain from the Mexican lunch they had had that afternoon. I would like to think that Mr. Larabee actually smiled.

But that might be another story....

Back to Mr. Riley.....Mr. Larabee 'recruited' Mr. Tanner, Wilmington and Standish. I found out that Mr. Wilmington called JD....Isn't JD just the cutest little ATF agent you have ever seen? He just seems too young to be out running around with the likes of the others. I'm afraid sometimes they are a bad influence on the boy.

As it is, from what I understand the seven agents made it out to Mr. Riley's place with stock trailers to help move the cattle.

I think that is where the trouble began. I'm not sure how the Cayman Alligator or is it a Crocodile?.... though in the greater scheme of things I can't imagine that it makes much of a difference. The fact remains there was a Cayman in the flood waters. It seems Mr. Standish attracts all sorts of bad elements.

Poor man.

But I have gotten ahead of myself.

Oh wait hold on one more second.

"Nancy, that's Mr. Wilmington....he's suppose to be down in imagining. They can't be done with him yet...JD was scheduled before him....he's the pneumothorax. No Mr. Wilmington is the possible fractured ribs possible internal bleeding. No, no...Mr. Tanner is the drowning victim....It doesn't matter...Just grab him before he goes into Mr. Standish's room...We don't want those two together, not yet at least...that's it just bring him back down to imaging....thanks Nan and tell them in Imaging to keep a better eye on their patients..."

I do apologize Mr. Steele. Team Seven does not like being separated. It really doesn't make much sense to me. You put them all in the same room and someone will end up in the Emergency department and major reconstruction would be needed for the room...but split them up and they just gravitate toward one another. Like magnets with opposite poles, that is until you put them into the same room and they all have the same magnetic pole and repel one another. Very frustrating at times.

Back to the story. So the Seven hauled stock trailers and trucks up to Mr. Riley's place to help load up his cows and calves. Can you imagine Mr. Standish mucking around in the rain and mud trying to herd cattle? I hear he did ok, up until the Cayman.

From what I understand by the time they got there, the cattle were already on an island and flood waters were just racing by them on either side. Hard to imagine a pasture suddenly under torrents of water. They say the momma cows and their calves were all huddled up on the only dry patch of ground. Really kind of sad.

Mr. Larabee, Mr. Tanner , Mr. Standish and Mr. Jackson waded out through the water to the cattle, while Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Dunne and Mr. Wilmington backed the trailers around and set up panels to funnel the cattle into the trucks.

I guess things were going ok for a moment or two. That is until the current knocked Mr. Larabee off his feet. He didn't get swept under too badly. Least he's not the one they're treating as a drowning victim. That is Mr. Tanner. And Mr. Larabee is not the one being treated for Hypothermia that is poor Mr. Jackson. It's a shame we don't have Mr. Jackson or Mr. Sanchez running interference for us and taking care of the others while they stay with us tonight.

But again I'm ahead of myself.

Mr. Larabee got washed off his feet and slammed into Mr. Standish, who is a lot shorter than the others, save JD. The two men would have washed away except for Mr. Jackson. You might not know this Mr. Steele but Mr. Jackson is a powerful man in his own right. He is a quite pleasant man, very easy going, but do not get under his skin. He can be down right frightening. Anyhow from what I hear, Mr. Jackson merely fished those two out of the drink and hauled them onto dry land.

Those four started trying to get the cattle off the dry spot of land. I think however, that the momma cows and the babies don't like getting wet any more than Mr. Standish. (Just between you and me, I hear that Mr. Standish does not like getting wet at all unless it’s his idea. Someone told me that on a fishing trip one time one of the others pushed him in the water....and that whole trip those some ones had really, really bad luck. Their bunks were always wet, their snack food was missing, they got poison ivy in their clothes...Mr. Tanner and Mr. Wilmington were not very happy by the end of that fishing trip.) Anyhow the cows didn't want to go in the water. A momma Angus with a very nasty attitude kicked Mr. Larabee right in the knee.

I have heard that cows can't kick straight backward. Guess I was misinformed. Mr. Larabee is getting his knee scoped right now to get the torn ligaments fixed. Cows, I guess, can kick any which way they want.

I heard Mr. Standish was laughing so hard when Mr. Larabee got kicked that he did not notice the crocodile...or is it an alligator? It's a Cayman so whatever those are...anyhow...Mr. Standish didn't see it coming up behind him. No one did I guess, until it grabbed him.

From the teeth marks around his shoulders I'm guessing it shot up out of the water and tried to grab his shoulders but instead just raked its teeth down his back until it latched onto his belt. His nice leather belt was torn in two.

From what I could tell from what Mr. Jackson was chattering between teeth, was one second Mr. Standish was standing there laughing at Mr. Larabee and the next minute he was gone.

It seems that Mr. Tanner saw what had happened.

Oh wait a moment.

"Oh hey Laurie...what are you doing down here on our floor? .... No I have not seen Mr. Sanchez...Isn't he over in orthopedics getting his leg reduced? He did? Well, did they at least get the cast on him? Oh thank goodness for that....No he has not been up here. Maybe you should check down stairs. I think that is where Mr. Jackson is at the moment. No, Mr. Tanner is the drowning....No. Mr. Wilmington is the fractured ribs and possible hemorrhage. No, Mr. Standish is the exotic bite and partial drowning. Mr. Larabee is the knee and Mr. Dunne is the pneumothorax.... Yes Mr. Jackson is the hypothermia case, he's down in E.D. unless they've moved him. No problem. If Mr. Sanchez should hobble up this way I'll stick him in with Mr. Standish 'til you get here....sure thing. Good luck!"

Ok I'm back. It seems Mr. Sanchez shoved his way past Doctor Fitzgerald once they got done casting his leg. Mr. Sanchez sometimes has strange reactions to the some of the medication he receives. We, as a medical community, try not to medicate him unless it’s anesthetic. Anyhow it seems Mr. Sanchez is going to try and 'gather his flock' together. Poor Laurie. She has her hands full with that one.

Now back to my story. Oh yes, Mr. Standish had been grabbed by the Cayman. Have I told you how a Cayman came to be in the flood waters surrounding Denver? Not that it’s terribly important to the story, but it makes for a complete picture. It seems one of the McGarreth boys dabbles in exotics reptiles. He raised himself an alligator or crocodile but it got too big and ate one of the family hounds. His father was a bit upset with the young man and made him get rid of his pet Cayman. It seems the boy did not have the heart to murder his beloved pet and so Bobby McGarreth just simply let him free into the wilds. That was this summer. I fear the poor alligator won't survive the winter, but we shall see I guess.

Mr. Tanner had apparently witnessed the 'abduction' of Mr. Standish and without thinking dove into the rushing waters.

It is a good thing that he had done that. Poor Mr. Standish would have been tenderized lunch meat for and I quote, "some pre-historic behemoth." Mr. Standish can get quite wordy under the effects of sedation and pain killers. You just have to make sure you pick the correct cocktail or he'll be wired for sound.

Team seven has it quirks.

Mr. Tanner dove into the water. From the bruising on his scalp and forehead I would guess he dove in head first. One should always check the depth of the water before diving in face first. Despite his injuries, however, and we think that might be where Mr. Tanner sustained his concussion, he continued after Mr. Standish and the Cayman.

Mr. Jackson meanwhile was trying to help Mr. Larabee. It would seem Mr. Larabee met an Angus momma with a 'take no prisoner' attitude much like himself. She kept charging at him while he tried to hop away. We think that is how he twisted and wrenched his opposite ankle so badly. It might as well be broke. He tore it up something awful.

Mr. Jackson finally redirected the momma cow's attention away from Mr. Larabee onto himself. That was a very kind thing to do...knowing that this momma cow wanted nothing more than to make ground beef out of someone. That cow chased Mr. Jackson across that little island, into the water back up onto dry land and right into one of the stock trailers. From what Mr. Wilmington muttered on his way in, was that, that little calf trotted and bucked right behind its momma.

Angus sure are cute when they are young.

Now poor Mr. Standish has been under water this whole time with a Cayman latched onto his midsection.

Thank goodness Mr. Tanner is a stubborn man. He is a very quiet individual. They say he is from Texas but I can't hear it in his accent. He sure is polite though, and quite a looker. Wouldn't mind being the one he decides to hang his spurs next too. Ohh maybe I shouldn't say things like that...you won't write that in the story will you Mr. Steele? I hope not.

Back to the story. Mr. Tanner somehow got Mr. Standish free.

Mr. Larabee dragged and crawled his way over to the side where Mr. Standish had disappeared. He kept waiting for them to re-appear. That is one thing about Mr. Larabee, he'll protect his men from outside forces, even if he has to humiliate them or fight them to do it. He'll do what he can to protect them. The others, however, protect each other from him on occasion. Mr. Larabee is a tough man...and a tougher man to like. But once you get past his angry exterior he's ok in my book.

Mr. Tanner managed to free Mr. Standish for a time. The Cayman came back for him though. Before Mr. Larabee could reach out and grab a hold of Standish the Cayman came up and tore him back under the water. Mr. Tanner dove down again and once again fought the crocodile for Mr. Standish. Mr. Wilmington said that the Caymen wanted Mr. Standish because of the seven he was the closest to Veal. It seems Mr. Standish does not like to do any sort of menial labor. I suppose though everyone has their peculiarities.

I think Mr. Standish is lucky to have friends that would fight an alligator in raging flood waters. I think that is just a very nice thing to do for someone.

On the third try, Mr. Standish resurfaced in the arms of the Sharpshooter. That's what Mr. Jackson had stated when they were all brought into the E.D. Mr. Standish was conscious at the time, I'm betting a little shocky. It’s not everyday something tries to eat you.

This is where things go wrong for Mr. Tanner. Reports differ slightly. Mr. Standish thinks the 'crazed reptile from the depths of Hades' resurfaced to 'dine upon' either himself or Mr. Tanner, and that is why the Texan was swept away or it was log jam up stream that finally gave way and broke that allowed a wall of water and debris to suddenly wash down stream and sweep Mr. Tanner away.

It really makes no difference. I think you could use poetic license here if you would like Mr. Steele. No one seems to know for sure. I think the Alligator coming back for revenge sounds like more fun though.

Anyhow Mr. Tanner got washed downstream. The only reason Mr. Standish didn't is because Agent Larabee had a hold of him. Mr. Larabee is not one to fail at what he has set out to do. If he had a hold of Mr. Standish, then Mr. Standish was not going anywhere.

Oh wait a moment...I apologize for this....

"Mr. Standish! Oh Mr. Standish....sir, you shouldn't be on your feet....Mr. Standish, No, you should be back in bed....I'm sorry sir but I just don't understand a word you're saying...yes, I know the others, yes they're fine...no you don't need to see for yourself...Please Mr. Standish...Dr. Curry is going to be here in a second to ease your discomfort.....No Dr. Curry is not a quack...yes he's a doctor...no sir Dr. Curry is a good man, he earned his medical degree....no Mr. Standish please...you can hardly stand up....

Oh Thank goodness you're here Judge...Hello Mrs. Travis...No nothing is wrong. Mr. Standish here needs to be lying down...He has quite a few stitches....and yes not enough sedation...would you? Oh thank you Mrs. Travis...Ok Evie. His room is right there...that's right 420, No just need him to lie down. Dr. Curry will be up shortly to give him some more medication. He's just concerned about the others. Yes ma'am they're fine. Mr. Larabee is on the 8th floor, Mr. Jackson should still...oh you saw him then, ok. Mr. Dunne will be going to floor 5 and if I know Mr. Wilmington he will be too. Mr. Sanchez should be on floor 3...oh you just saw him? Was Marie with him? She wasn't? Mmmm. Judge would you mind going down and trying to find Mr. Sanchez and bring him up to floor 9. Mr. Tanner should be on the 7th. If you can't find him there then check the 8th he might have a wandered off.....Mrs. Travis, Evie do you mind sitting with Mr. Standish until Dr. Curry arrives? You don't....oh thank you so much."

Sorry for the interruption Mr. Steele. I sometimes think it would just be easier if the Doctors would just put all seven men on the same floor. It certainly would make things easier for the rest of us.

So where was I? Oh Yes, Mr. Tanner got washed downstream. Mr. Larabee has a hold of Mr. Standish. Did I mention he got chewed up quite a bit. Lots of muscle damage...Nothing a few dozen stitches won't cure.

Mr. Jackson waded in after Mr. Tanner heedless of the danger he just put himself in, especially in a flood and it being dark and raining out. That is very courageous.

Mr. Wilmington at this time realizes something is wrong. He couldn't see anything through the rain and all the mooing the cows were doing. As soon as he saw Mr. Jackson run into the water he knew something was up.

That's how Mr. Wilmington broke his ribs. Or I suspect he broke them, I haven't seen the radiographs to prove it, but I'm pretty sure they are broke. He ran across the water way onto the island. That was where he found Mr. Larabee trying to drag Mr. Standish out of the water. Mr. Wilmington just reached down and hauled Mr. Standish over his shoulder. Things seem to be going ok...except the cattle weren't moving. Those poor babies were still in danger of drowning...and with the big log jam breaking the water was really coming down on them. Mr. Larabee tried getting the cattle to cross the ever widening water to the trucks but they just wouldn't go.

Mr. Sanchez saw Mr. Wilmington struggling with walking through mid thigh water carrying Mr. Standish across his shoulders...Mr. Sanchez ran to help. Mr. Dunne had run downstream with a rope to try and help Mr. Jackson. Mr. Sanchez reached Mr. Wilmington just as a huge twisted tree came careening down the water way. I guess Mr. Sanchez shoved Mr. Wilmington out of the way. The tree clipped Mr. Sanchez and knocked him down. He got his leg wedged in some of the branches and as the tree wrenched itself free from the soggy land and back into the current it snapped his lower leg.

Mr. Sanchez doesn't get hurt often but when he does you best watch out. One of the firemen that had shown up said Mr. Sanchez was scary. His lower leg wasn't angled right but it didn't keep him from working. He just kept things moving. Nothing barred his way.

Mr. Wilmington got pushed forward by Mr. Sanchez, I bet it saved his life, but it busted up his ribs. He hit one of the panels about the same time as a couple of angry and scared momma cows. A fireman told me that Mr. Wilmington was pinned between the corner of a Powder River panel and a frantic couple of 1200 pound beefs but he never let go of Mr. Standish. If he had let go Mr. Standish might have been trampled.

Needless to say Mr. Sanchez just yanked Mr. Wilmington free of the pen and the mad current of cows and pulled him and Mr. Standish to safety.

Mr. Larabee had had it with the momma cattle and their calves. I'm not sure but I bet he just about flipped his lid when he had one man washed down stream, one man dive in after the washed away one, one nearly devoured by an alligator another nearly crushed and the other run over by a tree. I bet Mr. Larabee had had just about enough.

The cows and firemen figured the same thing. Henry, the fire chief for Volunteer Engine 1 said, when Mr. Larabee got back on his feet he just glared at the cows and those momma's just streamed right off the island across the deepening water and into the trailers. No more fussing. Their babies struggled and swam not a step behind their mommas.

Oh wait a sec.

"Hello Dr. Curry....I think Mr. Standish needs something to keep him a little more still. Yes sir, He keeps wandering around. I think he wants to go check on his team mates. No I have not seen Mr. Sanchez. The Judge has though and he is looking for him. Mr. Wilmington is missing too? I would suggest staking out Mr. Dunne's room. Yes, Mr. Wilmington is the one who sticks close to Mr. Dunne. No sir, that is Mr. Tanner, Mr. Larabee always keeps very close tabs on Mr. Tanner. As for Mr. Sanchez I would suggest keeping close to Mr. Jackson; Mr. Jackson, he's the hypothermia case down stairs....Mr. Standish? Who's with him?...well normally any of the others who are available...but if that isn't possible, whichever Doctor is in charge of his case opt to keep him a little more heavily sedated. Mr. Standish tends to wander away if he is left alone. Yes Doctor, but the Judge's wife is with him now but I suspect she'll be wanting to go home soon...No the others won't be down here until they are sure their partners are ok. Oh yes Mr. Standish does have a partner...it's just that it's whoever isn't occupied at the moment. Yes sir...room 420. Good luck Dr. Curry."

My apologies for the interruptions. Dr. Curry is new. He doesn't understand some of the dynamics of Team Seven. They gravitate toward one another, it’s almost like they can't help it. They start off, pair up and then eventually find the others until they are seven again. Kind of like they have their own little GPS built right into their brains. It’s strange to watch.

Let me get back to the story.

Mr. Dunne ran down stream with a rope. He probably saved Mr. Tanner's and Mr. Jackson's lives at nearly the cost of his own life.

He had tossed the rope to Mr. Jackson who had by this time caught up to Mr. Tanner. From what was reported over the airways, Mr. Tanner had not been breathing at the time and Mr. Jackson was performing mouth to mouth while in the flooding waters. He undoubtedly saved Mr. Tanner's life.

Mr. Dunne tied one end of the line to a tree and tossed the other end to his teammates in the water. Mr. Jackson grabbed hold and between himself and Mr. Dunne started making his way across the water to shore all the while tugging Mr. Tanner with him.

This is where things went nearly tragically wrong for them. The tree that had broken Mr. Sanchez's leg was washed down stream. It nearly ran right into Mr. Jackson and Mr. Tanner. Thankfully Mr. Dunne was there. He heaved on the line quick enough to save his two friends from being dragged under by the bulk of the tree. One of the branches however, skewered Mr. Dunne in the chest and broke off. Thank goodness the branch did not embed itself into his chest. If that was to have had happen I fear Mr. Dunne would be in for a long agonizing recovery.

As it was, the tree branch ripped through his skin, tunneled between muscles layers and tore the muscles just enough to compromise the chest cavity. Mr. Dunne by all rights should have died. He should have at least let go of the rope. But he didn't.

That is Team Seven for you. They go beyond what any normal person would do for one another.

Mr. Dunne should have let go of that rope. He should have stopped trying to pull his two friends in...but he didn't. Mr. Dunne continued to pull until Mr. Jackson was firmly on solid ground with Mr. Tanner. It was only then that Mr. Dunne relax.

He did not stop trying to help save the others.

Mr. Jackson had been in the water too long. He kept trying to do Mouth to Mouth and he was successful. He saved Mr. Tanner's life, there is no doubt. Mr. Jackson was so hypothermic though that he started getting too hot, started to almost sweat.

The Volunteer fire crew said by the time they got down stream and found Mr. Dunne, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Tanner, Mr. Dunne was already exhibiting signs of a pneumothorax.

Mr. Jackson had his hands full trying to save two men at once, all the while trying to cool himself off.

The rescue crew showed up just in time.

They rushed the group of them here just a few hours ago. Messrs. Tanner and Standish came in riding on the top of the fire truck under a mountain of blankets and rain gear. Mr. Jackson rode in the cab with Mr. Dunne. Mr. Wilmington, Mr. Larabee and Mr. Sanchez drove the stock trailers to the 4-H fair grounds and left them to be unloaded there....they hopped a ride with Benny from the Sheriff's department to get here.

How they did that busted up like they were, I don't know. All I can figure is that they didn't know they were busted up. I think they were just so worried about the others that they didn't even care. And Mr. Larabee? He set out to do something and he got it done.

When he got here, he wouldn't let anyone look at his knee or ankle until he saw Mr. Tanner. Mr. Wilmington actually threatened one of the Emergency room doctors with physical harm unless they let him see 'The Kid'...and Mr. Sanchez? I can understand why they call him 'The Preacher' he took on a fire and Brimstone tone and made sure he got to visit with Mr. Jackson before he let anyone mess with his leg.

Once Mr. Larabee was satisfied that Mr. Tanner was ok, and once Mr. Wilmington thought Mr. Dunne was safe and Mr. Sanchez realized Mr. Jackson was just a little worse for wear...well they then took the time to hunt down and find out about Mr. Standish.

They found out he was having minor surgery to get his side and back put back together. Nothing too critical just a lot of muscle damage.

Then and only then did the others submit to treatment.

Oh hold a second.

"Mr. Sanchez? Mr. Sanchez? Hello Mr. Sanchez? Your cast looks a little too soft for you to be walking on it just yet...Why don't you go sit in Mr. Standish's room and keep him company...right there honey....room 420. There you go...just go right on in and sit down. I'm sure he won't mind the company."

I'm back. So that's the story Mr. Steele....

Oh one more second.

"Mr. Wilmington? Oh Mr. Wilmington. Yes that's right I'm Emma Mae...You sure do know how to flatter a gal don't you Mr. Wilmington...Mr. Standish?...he's right in there...yes that's right room 420...go right on in. I think Mr. Sanchez might be there....no bother young man....you just go on in."

See Mr. Steele you just can't keep them apart.

Hold on more to deal with...

"Oh Mr. Larabee? Should you be up and walking around already? Sir you are not looking too steady....Yes sir. Right in there...Yes sir. He's not been alone for too long. No sir...No Mr. Larabee....Mrs. Travis has been with him and Dr. Curry gave him a little extra sedation to keep him quiet. You'll find Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Wilmington in there now. Yes sir...I'll have another chair brought in...no they are all fine. How 'bout a cot for Mr. Wilmington, I think his ribs would rather lay down than be forced to sit up....yes sir I'll do that...I'm sure they'll be moving Mr. Standish either to Mr. Tanner's room or to Mr. Jackson's, I think young JD will have to have a room of his own for now. But you just go right on in and visit with the others...Yes sir I'll take care of the rest."

Ok I'm back. They're already congealing together. Tomorrow those four will find the others or the others will find those four, but I can guarantee you Mr. Steele before breakfast tomorrow they'll be all together....and by lunch tomorrow they will be driving each other batty.

That's my story. I hope you can use it. If you can that would be great. I could use the money to take classes. I'm an RN now but I'm thinking of going to medical school. Being a doctor has got to be easier than doing this.

Good luck and I hope I can be of more help in the future.

Emma Mae Patrick, RN.

---