CHAPTER 95
DAKOTA
Dottie is a terrible patient.
She glares up at us from the bed she’s currently lying in, an IV saline drip in her arm.
The others have cleared out to give Samir space to tend to Dottie.
Rabbit sits on the edge of Dottie’s bed, Aggie in the chair on the other side.
I stand at the far end of the freight container with Murr at my side, and Samir moves about the room like a restless butterfly.
Jonah left with Thess to get dinner, and probably to give us a bit of space.
“I said I’m fine,” Dottie declares again, her teeth practically gritted. She shoots me an angry look from her spot in the bed, as if this is all my fault that she’s collapsed and now needs medical attention.
“People that are fine don’t collapse,” I point out, earning another glare.
Samir listens to her heart again, then presses on her lower abdomen. When she winces, he nods to himself. “I don’t think it’s too serious. Most likely that it’s a urinary tract infection. I’d have to take a look at your urine, unless you want to describe it to me?”
Dottie purses her lips and doesn’t speak up.
“Red urine? Brown?” he prompts. “Cloudy?”
“Maybe a little brown,” she finally says, shooting us all scathing looks as if it’s our fault. “It’ll go away on its own.”
Samir shakes his head. “Not with the severity you have. It could spread to your kidneys and you’d really be in danger. I recommend a round of antibiotics to get it out of your system.”
He makes it sound so easy. Just take a round of antibiotics. “We don’t have any. Does the fort?”
The doctor puts his hand on Dottie’s brow, feeling her temperature.
“The fort has a small supply of antibiotics, but most of the more general-use medications are kept for the citizens of the fort. I’m afraid they won’t allow me to give them to an outsider, no matter how dire the situation is.
A fort looks after its own first.” He shakes his head.
“It’s not my decision. I could tell them Dottie is dying and they still wouldn’t allow it. ”
Aggie clutches her wig. “Is she dying?”
Samir remains relaxed as he moves around Dottie, tucking the blankets in against her side and checking the IV line again. “No, but it’s not something that will go away on its own either. You can’t just ignore it and hope for the best.”
“You hear that, Dottie?” Aggie says, scowling at her friend. “You can’t just hide under the blankets and hope it’ll go away.”
“Oh, quiet, you. I’m here, aren’t I?” Dottie gestures at the IV in her arm.
“Yeah, against your will,” Aggie says.
Rabbit has been silent through the exchange, my daughter’s eyes wide. She reaches for Dottie’s hand and holds it carefully, and it makes me wonder if she’s the one that needs reassurance or if she’s reassuring Dottie. She looks up at Samir. “Could we trade for the medication?”
Murr speaks up, agreeing. “We bring meat. Much meat.”
But Samir shakes his head. “It’s not up to me, and something like that is more valuable than gold to the people here. I’d recommend trying to find your own supply, I really would.”
Finding our own is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Never mind that everything is years expired, it’s all been picked over by scavengers long ago.
Finding a needle in a haystack might actually be easier than finding a few antibiotics in the After.
“But if we did trade,” I say, “what would it look like?”
Samir shakes his head again. “I really don’t think you can trade enough—”
“What about a puppy?” Aggie says. “Would that be enough for a round of antibiotics for my friend?”
Dottie frowns at Aggie. “Don’t be stupid. Those are your puppies, woman. We’re not selling them off just because I’ve got a bit of a thing going on.”
“It’s not a bit of a thing,” Aggie retorts. “And they’re my puppies, which means I’m the one that gets to trade them if we need to.”
“Bullshit.” Dottie shakes Rabbit’s hand away and tugs on the IV, trying to pull it out. “I’m not going to let anyone make sacrifices on my behalf—”
“Rabbit, hold her down,” Aggie says, struggling to get up and stop Dottie. “She’s being stupid!”
Samir is there before either one of them can, stopping Dottie before she can pull the long IV needle out and harm herself.
“Let’s be reasonable, ladies. Dottie is welcome to stay here as long as she needs to, and I’m happy to feed her and give her fluids, but that’s about all I can do.
Even if I wanted a puppy for my son—which I do—it’s not my decision to make.
The fort would have to decide the payment—”
“So we’d be indentured servants working for the fort,” I blurt out. “Working off the price of the drugs.”
“I didn’t say that,” Samir retorts. “Just that it’d be wiser for you to have your own supply.”
“Oh sure, and chickens might fly out of my butt,” Aggie declares. “Both seem as likely!”
“Everyone calm down,” Rabbit says, lifting her voice to get our attention. Dottie reaches for the IV again, and Rabbit grabs her hand, holding it tightly. “Let’s think about this, okay? Dottie needs help. If it was me, you’d want me to get help, wouldn’t you, Dottie?”
Dottie looks away.
“So of course we want to help you. Murr can fly. If there’s any place that hasn’t been picked over, he’ll be able to find it.” Rabbit sounds so confident, so reassured that Murr will be able to find whatever is needed. “He can go much farther than anyone else. He and Mom can scout around.”
“What about the animals?” Dottie asks. “We all need to go home. The cats and dogs need us.”
“We’re going home,” Aggie says, straightening in her chair. “You’re staying here.”
Dottie looks utterly devastated. “You’d do that to me? Leave me here alone?”
“Not alone,” Rabbit says, and holds Dottie’s hand tightly even as she looks over at me. “I’m staying with you.”
Now I’m the one that’s devastated.