In His Care
Natalie lasted forty minutes before the sounds from the main station drew her across the walkway.
She told herself she wanted an update on the road.
The operations room was crowded but controlled.
Wet jackets hung from wall hooks. Radios transmitted bits of information in tired voices.
The long table was covered with maps, chargers, and paper cups.
Two volunteers moved between computer screens while another carried blankets toward the equipment bay.
No one appeared panicked.
Eli stood near the center of it, speaking to a county deputy and pointing at a map.
He saw Natalie the moment she entered.
His attention paused on her, then returned to the deputy.
She disliked that she noticed.
A young volunteer sat on a bench near the wall, elbows on his knees. His face had gone pale beneath a flush across his cheeks.
Natalie watched him sway.
She crossed the room.
“Hey.”
He looked up.
“You all right?”
“Just tired.”
His speech was clear, but slow.
“How long were you outside?”
“Couple hours.”
“Did you eat before your shift?”
He shook his head.
Natalie crouched in front of him.
“Any nausea?”
“A little.”
“Headache?”
“Yeah.”
She touched the back of her fingers to his cheek, then his neck. Cold skin beneath damp hair.
“Take off the jacket.”
“I’m fine.”
The words sounded so familiar she nearly laughed, but there was nothing funny in them.
“Take it off.”
He obeyed.
Natalie looked toward the room.
“I need warm fluids, something with sugar, and a dry blanket.”
One of the volunteers moved immediately.
The young man began fumbling with the zipper of his midlayer. Natalie helped him remove it.
“Any chest pain?”
“No.”
“Shortness of breath?”
“Not really.”
“Not really means what?”
“Just tired.”
She checked his pulse at the wrist. Fast, but regular.
Eli appeared beside her.
“What happened?”
“Cold exposure, underfed, probably overexertion. He’s oriented. Pulse one twelve.”
Eli looked at the volunteer.
“When did you last eat, Noah?”
“Breakfast.”
“It’s almost seven.”
“I forgot.”
Eli crouched on the other side.
“Any fall or impact?”
“No.”
Natalie accepted the blanket someone brought and wrapped it around Noah’s shoulders.
“Warm from the center. Not the hands first.”
Eli passed her a bottle of electrolyte drink without asking.
She opened it and gave it to Noah.
“Slowly.”
For several minutes they worked beside each other without conflict. Eli supplied what she needed before she requested it. He did not interrupt her assessment or reduce her role because she had been the person receiving care less than an hour earlier.
When Noah’s color improved, Natalie sat back on her heels.
“He should stay inside tonight.”
“He will,” Eli said.
Noah looked embarrassed.
“I can still help in operations.”
“You can help by sitting there and finishing that drink,” Eli said.
There was no room in his voice for negotiation.
Noah nodded.
Natalie stood too quickly.
The room shifted.
Eli’s hand closed around her waist.
She caught the edge of the table.
“I’m fine.”
“Back to the cabin.”
“I stood up too fast.”
“Probably.”
“I can remain here.”
“You can. You aren’t going to.”
Several people had looked toward them.
Heat rose into Natalie’s face.
Eli kept his hand at her waist as he guided her toward the walkway.
She waited until the door closed behind them.
“You embarrassed him.”
“Noah?”
“He wanted to be useful.”
“He was becoming impaired.”
“You could have handled it privately.”
“I handled it before he collapsed.”
Natalie stopped beneath the covered walkway.
Snow blew through the open sides, catching in Eli’s beard.
“You’re angry with me,” he said.
“I’m not angry.”
“You are.”
“I dislike being managed in front of other people.”
His hand dropped from her waist.
“You were unsteady.”
“I recovered.”
“Because you caught the table.”
“Because I caught myself.”
“I caught you.”
The words sat between them.
Natalie folded her arms.
“You don’t need to watch me.”
Eli looked toward the dark lot, where amber lights moved through the storm.
“I’m not watching for weakness.”
“That is exactly what you’re doing.”
“No.”
His attention returned to her.
“I’m paying attention because you matter while you’re in my care.”
The statement struck with quiet force.
Natalie could not think of an answer that did not reveal too much.
Eli opened the cabin door.
“Inside.”
This time she went.