Benj picked up the boy so the nurse could wash him, the skin of his back reddened and starting to blister along his thin shoulders. He did not weigh much but he handled him gingerly, following Harriet’s orders. At her word, he carried the boy to the bed, laying him down carefully as she tucked him in. Benj never married and as far as he knew did not have any children but it would be a cold hearted bastard not to feel some sympathy for the boy. Knowing what the posse would likely find, he hoped there was some family that might come and get him. 

He stepped out the door, glancing once more at the sleeping child before the nurse shut the door. Benj felt her hand on his elbow, firm with a gentle strength and he looked over at her. Her comments made him nod, life was hard and it was unfair, unforgiving for the weak. 

“That it is, ma’am,” he agreed, inhaling deeply as he felt the slow knot of anxiety twist in his stomach. Reaching up, he wiped away a droplet of sweat and limped after her as she made her way into the office. 

“I could use a cup of coffee, thank you,” he replied, leaning against the table to extend his stiff left leg and take the weight off of it. “Ah, well...my wounds are old, Miss Coleman. Doc said there ain’t much to be done about it, except treat the pain."

He glanced around her office once more, then looked directly at her. She was a plain woman but not unattractive, though he had never bothered to notice before. The nurse had an air of confidence and capability about her, he remembered that from the nurses at the hospital where he recovered. It had not been a real hospital but a large plantation home with cots lined in the bottom floor rooms. Since he had been an officer, he was given one of the beds. While he feared the doctors and their saws, the nurses were always a comfort. Benj found himself starting to relax a little, despite the distant gnawing craving to go fetch his box and find a secluded spot. 

"You wondering about my leg, I suppose?" Benj said, "I broke it in the war, nothing to brag about."