Stars

Chapter 38

The trip to Boston lasted far longer than Isabella ever thought possible. She sat on the horse next to Ben at the front of the procession, refusing to sit in the wagon. After days on the road, Ben informed everybody that they would reach Boston by sundown. Isabella could hardly sit still. 

"Excited to get off this horse, are we?" Ben asked with a sarcastic smirk. 

"What gave you that impression?" She responded with a smile. 

"Oh, nothing. Nothing whatsoever." He said, nudging his horse closer to hers so he could whisper something to her. "When the men in Boston heard that they were getting new nurses, they were overjoyed. I guess the doctor there is harsh." 

"Great," Isabella responded with an eye roll. She hated doctors who were rude to their patients and nurses. 

~~~

Ben was true to his word- the company of soldiers and nurses were at their small farm house and village of tents just outside of Boston by sundown. Seeing as Ben was the commanding officer and Isabella and Anne were the only women, they were granted rooms in the farm house. Anne was given the room on the main floor while Isabella and Bed had the two rooms upstairs. 

Shortly after arriving, Isabella and Anne were swept away to tend to the sick and injured while Ben examined the camp in order to report back to Washington. 

~~~

"I am just going to stitch you up really quickly," Isabella informed one of the men she was tending to. Both Isabella and Anne had been working for hours since they got to the camp and now it was well past midnight. Isabella just had to finish helping this man and her duties would be done. She had all the men fixed as best as she could. 

"It might hurt a tiny bit but I will try to finish as soon as possible." She said, giving the man a towel to bite on, should he need it. 

She finished the last stitch on his back and wrapped a bandage around him. "Come back in two days to get your bandages changed and your stitches checked by either myself or Anne." She informed him. The man left the infirmary and went back to his tent. 

Isabella turned to find Anne slumped over in a chair, yawning. Isabella was extremely tired too. They had both been working for hours on end. "Tired much, Anne?" She asked. 

Anne only smiled and got up to take her apron off and wash her hands. Just as the two nurses were about to retire to their beds, Two men walked in, carrying the weight of another unconscious man between them. 

Isabella and Anne made an eye contact. "I can handle it," Isabella said to Anne. "Go back to the house and rest. I'll be there shortly." 

Anne seemed like she wanted to argue but she was interrupted by her own yawn and gave in. Soon, it was just Isabella and the men. 

"What happened here?" She asked the two men as they sat their friend on the cot. 

"A small fight broke out." He informed her. 

"Is it all settled?" She asked.

"Yes, Major Tallmadge broke it up." The other man informed her. "The Major took a nice blow to the face but he seemed fine."  

Isabella only smiled at Ben's attempt to break up a fight and got to work. She dipped a washrag into cold water and set it on the man's forehead. She was cleaning up the cuts and gashes on his face when he woke up. 

"Where am I?" He asked, looking around the room. "Who are you?" 

"You're in the infirmary and I am the nurse." Isabella informed. 

"I didn't know we had such beautiful nurses," he said with a weak smirk. 

"I just got here today," Isabella answered curtly, trying to dodge his advancements. 

"Yeah, she's helping you out after that fight you got yourself into. You should have known not to pick a fight with Lieutenant Walls." His friend chimed in. 

"He needed to be put back in his place." The man said. 

Isabella took out the log for the infirmary and made a new row for this man's name. "What is your name, age, and rank?" 

"Why do you need to know?" He asked. 

"I have to keep a log of every man I treat in the infirmary." She informed him in a cold tone. 

He looked like he didn't believe her but he answered anyways. "Private Woods, twenty." 

"Thank you." She said, finishing up the log. "Now, do you think you can walk?" 

Woods sat up and tried to stand. He was a bit wobbly but after a few moments, he was able to walk around. 

"Alright, you should be fine but if you need anything, come to the infirmary if you get worse." 

"Thank you..." He trailed off, looking for her name. 

"Isabella." 

"Thank you, Isabella." He left the tent with his friends and Isabella took her apron off and rinsed her hands in the basin. As she stepped out into the night air, she glanced at the stars. She sighed, remembering the times she would sit in the grassy fields with Ben and look at the stars all night long. 

When Isabella entered the house, she immediately thought everybody was asleep, which was fair. It was very late and Isabella wouldn't blame them. However, she was proven wrong when the door to the kitchen opened and Ben walked out, holding a rag under his nose. He didn't have his formal officer's jacket on and had his vest partially unbuttoned. 

"You're back!" He exclaimed. "Anne told me that you stayed late because of a fight."

"Yeah, it was certainly a long day. And I take it you got in the middle of that fight," She answered, gesturing to his bloody nose. 

"I guess you could say that," he chuckled. " But I am fine now. It has stopped bleeding." 

Isabella walked over to Ben and he brought her into a bear-hug. She buried her head in his strong chest. He undid the ribbon on her hair and ran his fingers through her hair, undoing the braid. She sighed with happiness as Ben ran his hands through her hair. 

"How about we go to Boston tomorrow morning and I can show you the city?" He asked her. 

"I would love that more than anything, but we both have duties." Isabella said, sadly. 

He smirked down at her, "Don't you worry about that, I already talked to Anne and my second in command." 

"Really?" 

"Yes, really. You'll love the city." He lightly kissed her lips and smiled. "Now, let's get to bed so we won't be tired in the morning." 

They both went upstairs and went to their separate rooms to sleep. 

"Goodnight, Ben." Isabella said from the hallway outside her room. 

"Goodnight, Bella," he answered.