The Doctor's Sleigh Bell Proposal

He had seemed so much larger than life when she’d heard him speak. The passion and compassion he felt for the people of Honduras had vibrated through her with each of his words. She’d been drawn to this place. But she’d fought too long and too hard to make her own decisions and Chance was too bossy for her taste. She didn’t need another man overseeing her life.

One of the girls who’d had her nails done was Chance’s patient at the next table. Despite having her back to them, Ellen overheard him say, “Your nails are so pretty.”

She smiled. Mr. Gruff and Groan might have a heart after all.

During the rest of the afternoon and into the dimming light of evening came the continuing blur of people with open wounds, bug bites, sores, to serious birth defects. Thunder rolled in the distance and the wind whipped the tent as the last of the patients were being seen.

“Get started on putting things away. We need to get on the road before this hits,” Chance called to everyone as he finished cleaning a wound on the calf of his last patient, a middle-aged man.

Ellen began storing the supplies in the van. As she passed by Chance he said, “Ellen, would you get an antibiotic out of the med cabinet for me?” He held up a key attached to a ring.

“Sure.” Her hand brushed his larger one as she took it. A tingle went through her. Why this reaction to him of all people? She wasn’t looking for that. Hadn’t come here expecting it. She hurried toward the van.

Entering the vehicle, she made her way down the small isle to where the med box was located. Constructed of metal and bolted to the floor for security, it was situated behind the bench seat. She went down on her knees in front of it. The light was so poor she fumbled with the key in the lock. Slipping her hand into the side leg pocket of her cargo pants, she pulled out her penlight. She balanced it on a nearby shelf, directing the beam toward the lock.

The screech of the driver’s door opening drew her attention. She glanced over her shoulder. A thin young man held a knife in her direction. Fear made her heart pound. Her hand holding the lock shook. She opened her mouth to scream.

The man leaned over the seat bring the knife to her neck. “Tranquillo.”

Ellen remained quiet as he’d asked. She glanced out the end of the van. What was she going to do? She couldn’t give him the meds and she had to protect the others.

The tip of the knife was pushed against her skin. The man hovered over her. He smelled of sweat and wet clothes.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“The drugs,” the man bit out. “Open the box.”

The urgent demand in his voice told her he meant business. When she didn’t immediately move he pressed the knife against her and growled, “Now.”

Panic welled in her. She couldn’t give him the drugs but the blade at her neck reminded her that she couldn’t put him off long either.

With relief and renewed alarm she heard Chance call, “Ellen?”

“Say no word,” the man whispered, slipping down behind the seat but still holding the knife to her neck.

She had to warn Chance.

* * *

Why hadn’t Ellen returned? Chance headed toward the van.

He had finished applying the bandage around the man’s leg. All he needed to do now was give him the antibiotics and they could get on the road. A commotion outside caught his attention. A young man who looked like he was in his twenties was being helped into the tent by another Honduran about the same age. There was a rag soaked in blood on his arm. Michael and Karen were aiding them. Marco and one of his men had started setting up the exam table they had just folded. They could handle the situation. He wanted to know what Ellen was doing.

He instructed his patient to remain where he was. The rear of the van had been driven under the back of the tent. The area was shadowy because the portable lamps were being used around the exam tables. With the dimming light of the day, compounded by the storm, it was hard to see.

As Chance neared the open doors he saw the small glow of what must be Ellen’s penlight. “Hey, what’s taking you so long?”

She was on her knees on the floor, facing the medicine box. Her head turned slowly toward him. Even in the disappearing light Chance could see the fear in her eyes. She looked as if she was imploring him to leave. There was a slight movement behind her. Ellen shook her head almost imperceptibly.

Chance kept eye contact and nodded. “Hurry up, I need those meds.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sir? She knew he didn’t like being called sir. Something was definitely wrong.

He backed away from the van. The others were still busy with the injured patient. Rushing past them and outside, he started round the tent when he met Marco. In a low voice he told him that Ellen was in trouble and to give him to the count of ten then run inside the clinic, hollering for help. Marco nodded and Chance circled the outside of the tent until he could see the driver’s side van door. It stood open. He could make out the outline of a man in the seat with his back to the door and one leg on the running board. Dread seized him. The man must have a weapon on Ellen.

Giving thanks for the storm brewing, which would cover any noise he made, Chance moved out to the edge of the clearing and followed it around until he was facing the front of the van. When the thunder rolled again Chance ran as fast as he could and slammed his body into the door. The man let out a startled yelp and twisted in the seat, reaching for his leg. Chance grabbed the door and swung it hard again. This time it hit the man in the head and he dropped to the ground, along with a knife.

“Ellen!” Chance barked. “Ellen, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She sounded shaken.

Marco joined him. Chance left him to tie the vandal up while he climbed into the van. Looking over the seat, he saw Ellen still sitting on the floor, with her head in her hands. “Are you hurt?”

She said nothing.

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ellen, are you hurt? Did he cut you?”

Slowly she looked up. “No.” She held up his keys. “And I didn’t let him get any drugs. Do I get atta-girl points?”

“Hell, woman, I’d rather he’d had all the drugs than hurt you.”

A stiff smile came to her lips. “Aw, you do care.” She looked away and a loud sniff filled the air.

“What’s going on?” Michael called from the end of the van.

“A guy was trying to steal drugs. Had Ellen at knifepoint,” Chance answered.

Michael climbed in, went to Ellen and gathered her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest. For some reason Chance wished he was the one she had turned to. He left the van and spoke to Marco, who’d already tied the man up, but his thoughts were still with Ellen. The trespasser admitted that he was with the injured man Michael had been caring for. The injury had been a small self-inflicted wound and used as a diversion.

The rest of the staff had to know what had happened in detail before they returned to packing up. Chance gave the short version on what he’d done before Ellen told her side. He was all too aware of Michael’s arm around her shoulders the entire time. Why shouldn’t she seek reassurance and comfort from him?

Marco would see to it that the Honduran authorities picked up the man they had captured and looked for the other two. Little would be done to them because Honduras had larger drug problems than these petty thieves.

Half an hour later it was dark and the trucks were loaded and ready to leave.

“Ellen, come on up here,” Michael called from the cab of the truck. “I think you’re still a little shaken up.”

“I’m okay back here.” She climbed in the rear with Karen and Peter.

She was tough. Chance admired her for that. After those few minutes of emotion with Michael she’d joined in and helped store the supplies, acting as if nothing had happened.

* * *

That evening at dinner Chance watched as Michael stood and tapped his fork against a glass.

“We have a few awards to give out tonight. First, to the great Dr. Freeman, for his heroic use of a van door to apprehend a drug dealer.” Michael grinned. “Well done, Chance.” He placed a second plate of dessert near him.

Chance smiled and nodded. Why did Michael have to make a big deal of what happen?

“And last but not least, to Dr. Ellen Cox, who held herself together under pressure and didn’t give up the key to the drug cabinet.” Michael held up his drink glass. The others joined him. A soft clinking of glass touching glass sounded around the room. “For you a flower.” He bowed as he presented her with a large orange Bird of Paradise.

Ellen smiled but it didn’t quiet reach her eyes. Had she been and was she still more scared than she let on?

“Chance deserves all the accolades. I did nothing.” Ellen looked directly at him with sincerity in her eyes. “Thanks for saving me.”

Examining the terror coursing through him when he’d realized Ellen was being threatened was something he didn’t want to look at too closely. The emotion had been too strong, raw. Still he couldn’t deny the relief that had replaced the terror when he’d known she was okay.

Satisfaction he’d not felt in a long time filled him. His look held hers as he nodded. Why did he suddenly feel like standing and thumping his chest?

* * *

Ellen rolled to the left and minutes later to the right. She’d been trying to sleep for hours. The sound of rain with the steady dripping off the hut roof would normally lull her to sleep but not tonight. At least the adrenalin rush she’d experienced today should have had her in a deep sleep but it didn’t seem to come.

She rubbed the back of her neck. The feel of the man’s breath on her skin and the prick of the tip of the knife remained. Even after a hot shower and neck massage the ache between her shoulders blades remained. Would it ever go away? Could she forget that feeling of helplessness? Fear for the others?

It had been that same feeling she’d had when she’d been trapped in the car with her mother. They had been making a simple trip to buy Ellen a dress. It had been a pretty day but the traffic had been heavy. Her mother had sped up to go through a traffic light that had turned yellow. The next thing Ellen had known they’d been upside down and her mother’s blood had been everywhere.

Her mother had said, “Your father always says I take too many chances.” Then the life had left her.

Slinging the covers away, Ellen slid out and grabbed the thin blanket off the end of the bed, wrapping it around her shoulders. She headed out the front door. Maybe if she watched the rain for a few minutes she could sleep.

She walked to the porch rail. The shower had eased and a full moon was making an appearance every now and then behind the clouds. When it did the soft glow made the raindrops on the ferns surrounding the hut glisten. She stood there, absorbing the peace.

“Can’t sleep?”

She yelped and spun toward Chance’s hut. He climbed out of the hammock wearing nothing but tan cargo shorts that rode low on his hips. She couldn’t help but stare. “Have you been there since I came out?”

“Yep.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” she snapped.

“I thought you needed a few moments to yourself. What happened today can be hard to process.”

He wiped all the times he’d been less than warm away with one compassionate comment. “Yeah, it got to me more than I wanted to admit at dinner.”

He came down the steps and started toward her hut. “You wouldn’t be human if it hadn’t affected you. And you are very human.”

She looked down at him. Her heart fluttered as she watched his half-naked body coming toward her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He started up her steps. “That you’re one of the most empathetic and naturally caring doctors I’ve ever worked with. You feel things more strongly than most. There’s no way you wouldn’t be upset about being held at knifepoint.”

“Wouldn’t anyone be?” How did he know so much about her when they’d only known each other such a short time?

He came to stand an arm’s length. “Sure they would, but I have a feeling you were not only worried about yourself but the rest of us. Or what would happen to the local boy if you gave up the drugs. Your heart is too tender for this type of work.”

“I thought caring was what it took to work here.” She continued to watch a small stream of water flow over a large leaf and to the ground.

“Yeah, but it also makes for a great victim.”

Ellen turned to face him, propping a hip against the rail. She was no victim. When her mother had died she’d proved that. “You know, there was a moment there that I thought you might be trying to cheer me up. I should have known better.”

“Look, you did good today. Held it together. I don’t know if anyone could have done better. How was that?”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “Better. But it lacked a ring of sincerity. By the way, I really do appreciate you saving me.”

“That’s what I do, save people.”

Was he embarrassed by the praise? “You make it sound like it’s no big deal but to them it is. And to me it was.”

He bowed. “Then you’re welcome. Let’s just hope I don’t have to do it again.”

This time she had the idea that his words were to cover up his awkwardness at being thought a hero. “It would suit me just fine for it not to happen again as well.”

Chance moved toward the steps. “We have another early morning so you best get to bed.”

“I’m sorry if I woke you.”

He looked up at her from the walk. “Not a problem. The view was well worth it.”

“Uh...”

“A woman in the moonlight dressed in a sexy see-through gown is always worth being woken up for. Get some sleep. You’ll need it tomorrow.”

Yeah, as if she was going to sleep after that statement.

* * *

Two days later Ellen scanned the clinic area. Since the incident with the vandals, she looked over her shoulder any time she was alone. Being held at knifepoint had rattled her more than she wanted to show. She had been paralyzed by fear. No way was she going to let on how much what had happened in the van stayed with her. If she showed weakness around Chance, he would see to it that she was sent home. She was determined to stay and continue her work. Ellen was surprised to find that she’d drifted off to sleep after their conversation on her porch. He’d managed to make her think of something else besides what had happened. She wouldn’t have thought that was possible. Had his last remark been to get the incident off her mind or had he meant what he’d said?

She glanced at him working at the next exam table. He was great with the patients and got along with the others in the group. Was even known to laugh on occasion. It was a wonderful full sound. He didn’t treat her differently in an obvious way but she sensed something...perhaps that he was weary of her for some reason. Her assignments were almost always with Michael. That suited her. At least she didn’t have to deal with Chance’s moods or with her uncontrollable thirst to understand him better.

Chance never sat beside her if there was a choice of another open chair at dinner. They were never alone even if they were going to their huts at the same time. Apparently for him to approach her porch had been completely out of character. It was as if she had the plague and he was highly susceptible. Sometimes she thought about just forcing the issue and asking him what his problem was, but why should it matter? She had come to Honduras to work, not to get caught up in the great Dr. Chance Freeman’s life.

And she was working. Hard. It was invigorating. The days were long but satisfying. It was as if she had been liberated from a cage. She belonged here. Her father may not like it but she wouldn’t be returning to New York to work ever again.

Minutes later Karen was called to assist Michael with a patient while Ellen was still doing a wound cleaning. When she finished Karen and Michael were still involved with the patient so she was left with no choice but to help Chance.

“Ellen, would you mind calling the next patient?”

She did as he asked. A highly deformed man entered the tent with the help of a woman who Ellen guessed was his mother. The man had elephantiasis. His arms and legs were enlarged, as were areas of his head and neck. She couldn’t prevent her intake of breath. The only case she’d ever seen had been in a medical textbook.

“We mustn’t make him feel unwelcome,” Chance said from close enough behind her that she felt the warmth of his body.

He spoke to the man in Spanish and he returned a lopsided smile that appeared sincere.

“Ricardo is one of my regular patients.”

“Hello, Ricardo,” Ellen said, giving him her most genuine smile. “Nice to meet you.”

Ricardo gave her the same smile he’d given Chance.

“We’re going to need to get some blood work today, Ricardo.” Chance said, pulling on gloves.

The man nodded and spoke but it came out as gibberish.

Ellen went to get a blood sample kit. She returned and Chance said, “Ricardo, do you mind if Ellen draws your blood?”

Ricardo nodded his head in agreement. As she pressed to find a good vein Ricardo said, “Pretty.”

“Yes, she is,” Chance answered as he continued to examine Ricardo.

She smiled at Ricardo. “Thank you. You are very sweet.”

Even with his distorted face she could see his discomfort. This man was a gentle giant who’d been given a bad deal in life by contracting elephantiasis.

Chance finished his examination and gave Ricardo a supply of antibiotics before he left. With him gone Chance asked, “You’ve never seen someone with a major case of elephantiasis, have you?”

“No. I had no idea. I’m sorry I reacted poorly.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s hard not to.”

There was that compassion she rarely saw but which pulled her to him. “What can you really do for him?”

“For right now he’s getting the antibiotic diethylcarbamazine but that only really deals with the symptoms. He has lymphatic filariasis. It’s from worms introduced by mosquitoes. It’s common in the tropics. Ricardo is just one of many. If you stay around long enough you will see more. Ricardo’s case is getting bad enough he’ll need surgery to keep walking.”

“Where will he go to have that?”

“I had hoped we would have a standing hospital built by now but we’re still working on the funding. Right now he’ll have to go to the city or hope a visiting group of orthopedists is able to come here.”

“That’s sad.” Her heart hurt for Ricardo and the others like him. These people needed more help.

Their next patient entered and ended their conversation but the needs in the small tropical country remained on Ellen’s mind. Chance was working hard to do what he could but it wasn’t enough. What would happen if he didn’t get the funding required and the clinic closed?

The rest of the afternoon was one more patient after another. Once again a storm built and seemed primed to dump water over them. As much as Ellen enjoyed rain, every day was a little much. Thirty minutes after the last patient was seen the clinic was dismantled and she, Karen and Peter were running for the truck as the first fat drops of water fell.

“You guys will be drenched. We’re going to have to double up in the cabs,” Michael yelled over the sound of thunder and wind. “Ellen, you go in the van. Karen and Peter, we’ll just have to make do in the truck cab.”

The rain started coming down in sheets. Ellen didn’t hesitate before running to climb into the van. Marco was already in the driver’s spot. Her bottom had hardly hit the seat before she was being pushed across it by Chance. His body leaned heavily against hers as he slammed the door. He moved off her but she was still sandwiched between him and Marco. The gearshift on the floor forced her legs into Chance’s space. She shifted to an upright position but remained in too close contact with him.

“Maybe I should just ride in the back of the truck,” she murmured.

Chance looked out the window shield. “Not in this storm. Scoot over.”

“To where? I’m practically sitting in Marco’s lap now.” She shifted away from him but it made little difference. Her right side was sealed to his left from shoulder to knee.

Marco put the truck into gear and it launched forward. They hadn’t gone far when the truck hit a bump that almost brought her down in Chance’s lap. She squirmed away from him. Gritting her teeth, she did her best not to touch him any more than necessary. Her mind as well as her body were hyperaware of even his breathing. She’d be sore in the morning from her muscles being tense in her effort to put space between them.

The storm continued to rage around them as they traveled over the muddy roads. Finally, they reached the poorly maintained paved road. She was exhausted and the cab was warm and steamy. With the steady swish-swish of the wipers the only sound in the cab, Ellen’s chin soon bobbed toward her chest. Sometime during the ride her head came to rest against a firm cushion.

A hand on her arm shook her. “We’re home.”

Ellen jerked straight. She’d been leaning against Chance’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

He ignored her, reached for the door handle and said a little stiffly, “Since it’s so late we won’t be eating in the dining room tonight. A supper tray will be brought to your hut.”

A light rain fell as she climbed down from the van. “I’m glad. I don’t think I have the energy to walk up to the main building.”

Karen joined them and handed Ellen her backpack. “I’m headed for a hot shower and bed.”

“Me too,” Ellen agreed. “I’ll walk with you. Good night,” she said to the group in general.

“We have another early morning tomorrow. Be here ready to go at six a.m.,” Chance called after them.

Karen mumbled, “Slave driver.”

Ellen giggled. “And a few other things.”

Foliage dripped around them and the moon shone above as they walked along the path toward their huts.

“Chance is something else, isn’t he?” Karen said with admiration in her voice.

“He’s something all right,” Ellen mumbled.

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