476 The new parents

Gabriel watched with interest as the female halfling strode confidently forward, followed by Caspian and Naomi.

"Are you… staying?" Victoria asked the trio hesitantly as the rest of the caravan's travelers retreated to their places, ushered onward by Peter.

"Naomi thought you could use help with the orphans," Caspian's one eye focused on his wife. "She's very good with children."

"Absolutely, that would be wonderful!" Victoria cried, passing her the infant, who Naomi eagerly received. "This is Owen, the youngest of the lot, and most liable to toddle off unattended. The rest are playing outside the sick tent… not ideal, but I have no other way to supervise them and also help with the sick."

"The soldiers didn't help?" Caspian said with some judgment.

"We are stretched thin," Gabriel admitted. "Those who aren't ill are constantly digging graves or transporting the sick to the medical tent."

"Or cleaning out the tent itself," Victoria added with a grimace. "This disease… isn't pretty."

"Is there a place we can take the children away from the worst of it?" Naomi looked between them with concern.

"Many of the houses in town are empty, whole families wiped out. We can spare some soap, I think, for you to clean one out as thoroughly as you can and make it habitable for you two and the children." Gabriel said thoughtfully.

"I can begin immediately," Naomi nodded.

"The abandoned houses are marked with a red X on the front door. Pick any of them, there's no one to object." Gabriel assured her.

"Thank you," She nodded and Victoria took her to get the supplies she would need.

Gabriel watched them go, glad that some of the burden was about to be taken from his nurse. His friend. The woman he… felt very strongly about, who had feelings she wouldn't state outright while trying to avoid him.

It was very confusing.

"Oh!" He said suddenly, "Let me introduce you to Dr. David."

The local doctor had been home to rest and was now walking back towards the medical tent, but Gabriel waved him over instead.

"This is Caspian, of Ceto, son of the last Commodore and cousin to King Roland. He and his wife Naomi are going to take over care of the local orphans." Gabriel explained. "Caspian, this is the local doctor, David."

"It's wonderful to have you here," David shook the newcomer's hand firmly, but a shadow passed across his face that Gabriel instantly understood. Every pair of helping hands was also another person that could fall ill and need care. It was a double-edged sword to have more people about.

"We'll do our best to stay out of the way." Caspian nodded. "We also brought…"

The Cetoan man's expression faltered as he gestured to the halfling woman. Gabriel had never learned her name, as she seemed unwilling to give it before. Apparently that habit hadn't been broken.

"Nice to see you again," Gabriel nodded to her. "May I ask why you've come?"

"To study the disease, and cure it if possible," She said evenly.

David laughed, and Gabriel grimaced.

"What a sweet, pretty girl!" David smiled. "How old are you?"

The halfling looked the doctor up and down, a strange expression in her eyes. "I am twenty-one years old."

Gabriel tried to keep his mouth from dropping open. The woman was much younger than he'd thought. All halflings looked like children to him, and he'd assumed she was somewhere around Tom and Bran's age, who were already full-grown when Victoria was little…

David had stopped laughing.

"The halflings have sent her to help." Caspian explained awkwardly.

"Halflings," The doctor repeated slowly. "I didn't realize there were any about. My apologies, miss."

"It is a common mistake," She was unaccountably polite, if deadpan. Gabriel wondered what manners Finn had been teaching to the halflings now.

"I don't believe I caught your name. How may I have the honor of addressing you?" David was clearly embarrassed about his faux pas and had switched to a much more formal tone to cover it. 

"Agatha," She replied, to everyone's great surprise. "You may call me Agatha."

Gabriel's eyes widened. Finn must have done quite a bit of work on this surly halfling to make her so… mannerly!

"Wonderful to meet you Agatha. I heard legends that the halflings have been highly talented with herbs, are there any of the medicinal variety that you work with, particularly for fever, vomiting, and dehydration?" He asked.

"Yes, there are common herbs from this world as well as cultivated seeds from others. As the portals continue to open, there will be more and various plants available for treatments and experimentation," Agatha replied.

Though Gabriel already knew this information, it was clearly news to David. He seemed shocked for a moment but gathered himself together quickly. "I would love to hear more about this, as we've been having trouble alleviating the symptoms of this disease."

"Would you allow me to inspect a symptomatic human patient as an example?" Agatha tilted her head.

"Yes, of course! I welcome the new eyes," David gestured towards the tent. "We keep most of the patients in one location to centralize care since there are so few of us to work with them…"

The conversation faded as the two walked away.

"Oh! I guess I should keep up to speed on this as well," Gabriel realized. He'd been too surprised by how well Agatha had taken to David to react immediately.

"I take it the halfling did not act that way in your company?" Caspian guessed.

"No, in fact. I'm glad she's… warming up now, I suppose." Gabe shook his head, not sure if he was hallucinating from being overtired. That entire interaction was odd.

"Indeed." Caspian nodded. "I will find my wife and help her prepare a home for the children. I intend to primarily be helping her in that task, but if I can otherwise be of use, let me know."

Gabriel took a deep breath, "Honestly, we could use a hundred more men to help get everything done that needs doing, but watching the children is already such a huge help that I'm not sure you'll be able to do much more. I want you to try to limit yours and Naomi's contact with others from this point.

"The disease is contagious, and it's likely that at least one of the children carries it already, but anything we can do to minimize the risk to them is going to be for the best. Make sure they all wash their hands constantly, especially before eating and after relieving themselves.

"Cleanliness is the best weapon we have right now, unless Agatha can come up with something better. Watch for signs of illness, and if any of the children falls ill, bring them to us immediately, separating them from the others. The first sign of illness is fatigue, followed by headache and fever, then extreme vomiting, chills…" he trailed off and yawned widely.

"You said the first sign is fatigue, as in tiredness?" Caspian eyed him warily, and Gabriel shrugged.

"I haven't slept much since I got here. It's nothing." He insisted. The other man looked skeptical, but walked alongside him to catch up with the others.

"Is there hope for this town?" Caspian asked quietly, and Gabe hesitated.

"Some will survive. Not most." He admitted. "We'll see what Agatha can do."

"How much danger have I just put my wife in?" The man asked next.

"A fair amount, but she's young and strong." Gabriel tried to be optimistic. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Caspian, look at these sweet children," Naomi gushed, coming forward with nearly a dozen young ones gathered around her. Her eyes were shining with compassion for the parentless children.

"I'll leave you to it, then," Gabe smiled around another yawn.

"Dr. Gabe," One of the little girls asked. "I used to get a copper coin once a week for helping with chores. If I help Miss Naomi clean the house for us, what do I get?"

"Oh, um," The doctor fumbled and reached into his shirt pockets, which were empty. His pants turned up a chunk of shiny quartz half the size of his pinky finger, and he grinned at the child. "If you promise to help well, I will give you this very special rock from my pocket. I'm absolutely certain it's as valuable as gold! Or at least, as pretty as gold."

He offered the stone to the girl, who smiled timidly and reached out to take it from him. He patted her on the head with a chuckle and watched her scamper off after the others as Naomi led the way.

"Where did you get that?" Victoria asked suddenly from behind him. She rarely directly addressed him unless she had to, and she looked a bit pale. He worried about whether she was feeling all right.

"The rock? I found it in my pocket just now," Gabriel shrugged. "I must have picked it up earlier and forgotten about it, why do you ask?"