THE LAST TEMPTATION OF DR. DALTON by Robin Gianna

can you get me a cup of water?”
    “Yes, doctor.”
    When he returned with the cup, Trent held it to the boy’s lips. “Take a sip of this for me, will you?” As he expected, the poor kid gagged on the water, unable to swallow.
    “All right. I want you to lie down so I can check a few things.” Trent tried to help him lie on the exam table, but it was difficult with the child’s body so rigid. The simple movement sent the boy into severe muscle spasms. When the spasms eventually faded and Trent finally was able to get him prone, the child’s arms flung up to hug his chest tightly while his legs stayed stiff and straight. He began crying again, his expression formed into a grimace.
    Trent was aware of both Thomas and Charlotte standing by the table, staring with surprise and concern. He grasped the boy’s wrist and tried to move his elbow. The arm resisted, pushing against his hand.
    “What do you think is wrong, Trent?” Charlotte said, obviously alarmed.
    He couldn’t blame her for being unnerved, since this wasn’t something you saw every day. It was damned disturbing how a patient was affected by this condition.
    “Tetanus. I’m willing to bet he’s had a puncture wound, probably in the foot, that maybe he didn’t even notice happened. The infection, wherever it is, is causing his jaw to lock, as well as all the other symptoms we’re seeing.”
    He released the child’s arm and lifted his foot, noting it was slightly swollen. Bingo! There it was: a tiny wound oozing a small amount of smelly pus.
    The poor kid was still crying, the sound pretty horrible through his clenched teeth. He placed the boy’s foot back down and refocused his attention on calming him down. “You’re going to be all right, I promise. I know this is scary and you feel very uncomfortable and strange. But I’m going to get rid of the infection in your foot and give you medicine to make you feel better. Okay?”
    The brown eyes that stared back at him were terrified, and who could blame the poor little guy? With tetanus, painful spasms could be so severe they actually pulled ligaments apart or broke bones.
    “What do you do for tetanus?” Charlotte asked. “Is it...?” She didn’t finish the sentence, but he knew what she was asking.
    “He’ll recover fine, now that we’ve got him here. Thomas, can you get what we need for an IV drip of penicillin? And some valium, please.”
    “Penicillin?” Charlotte frowned and leaned up to speak softly in his ear. “Since he’s so sick, shouldn’t you give him something—I don’t know—stronger?”
    “Maybe it’s a good thing you’re not a doctor after all.” He couldn’t resist teasing her a little. “In the U.S., they’d probably use an antibiotic that costs four hundred dollars a day and kills practically every bacteria in your body instead of just the one causing the disease—kind of like killing an ant with a sledgehammer. But, believe me, penicillin is perfect for this. You can’t kill bacteria deader than dead.”
    Her pretty lips and eyes smiled at him. “Okay. I believe you. So that’s it? Penicillin? Do you need a test to confirm that’s what it is?”
    “No, his symptoms are clear. That’s what it is.” He found himself feeling pleased that she trusted him to make the right decision. Since when had he ever needed other people to appreciate what he did and what he’d learned over the years?
    He reached to pat the child’s stiffly folded arms. “Hang in there. I’ll be right back.” Grasping Charlotte’s elbow, he walked far enough away that the boy couldn’t hear them.
    “Penicillin is just part of the treatment. We’ll need to do complete support care. I have to get rid of the clostridium tetani, which is the bacteria in his foot that’s giving off the toxin to the rest of his body. It’s one of the most lethal toxins on earth, which is why it’s a damned good thing his mother brought him in. He wouldn’t have made it if it was left