“Speak for yourself, AJ,” Todd told him. “At least I won’t end up with a buzzard beak.”
“You’re just jealous. Big noses are a sign of virility, aren’t they, Doc?” AJ asked.
“Sorry, but I don’t recall hearing that in medical school,” she returned.
“Maybe someone should do a study,” AJ said.
Nikki carefully sutured Todd’s face while the two men bantered back and forth in an obvious attempt to release the stress of knowing they could just as easily have landed in the morgue as the emergency room. Nikki reviewed AJ’s X-rays, cleared him from the immobilizing backboard and collar and instructed him not to lift anything and to rest until the hairline fractures in his lower ribs healed.
“Aren’t you going to tape them?” he asked, sounding nasal because of the packing in his nose.
“We don’t do that any more. Just rest, use ice and heat intermittently for the next twenty-four hours, and if you hurt too bad, take your usual pain medication. If you have any problems, come back.”
“And my nose?” He lifted the ice pack.
“That’s next.” She straightened the crooked part with a sharp jerk and surveyed her handiwork while he yelled, “Ow.”
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Speak for yourself,” he grumbled, gingerly touching the offended part of his face.
“It’s aligned again, but don’t be surprised if you see a little bump or two when the swelling goes down,” she said as she splinted it with tape.
After giving him a prescription for an antibiotic and learning that his tetanus immunization was current, she released both men into the care of their waiting relatives.
She left the room and headed for the nurses’ station, but before she reached it Galen motioned to her from the doorway of his trauma room.
“I need you,” he mouthed.
She switched directions. “What’s up?”
“The woman. A girl, actually. Sixteen. Her injuries aren’t consistent with being bounced around in a car.”
“What are you saying?”
“Her boyfriend used her as a punch bag,” he said bluntly.
“Some boyfriend. Was she sexually assaulted?”
“Not that she’ll admit to. I thought maybe she’d rather talk to another woman so would you mind?”
She nodded. Taking the chart out of Galen’s hand, she strode into the trauma room, glad to see that the girl’s partner had been assigned to another cubicle. “Hi, Melanie,” she said with a warm smile. “I’m Dr Lawrence.”
Melanie sniffled, but didn’t answer. She was a blonde, with short, spiky hair and thick mascara-lined eyes. A pretty girl, if not for the red, puffy mark on her left cheek. Several bruises in varying shades of purple to blue-green were evident above the neckline of her patient gown and she cradled her newly plastered left arm in its sling.
A clean break of the radius, according to the attached copy of the radiology report.
“You’ve been banged up pretty good,” Nikki said offhandedly. “It’s understandable since you just survived a serious accident.”
“Yeah,” came the sullen reply.
“Dr Stafford tells me, though, that not all of your injuries are from the car wreck.”
“So?” Melanie’s defiance was obvious in her one word, but Nikki looked past her bravado to the scared teenager underneath.
Nikki exchanged a quick glance with Galen, who tipped his head slightly as if to say that he’d seen it, too. “If the guy who was with you is responsible—”
“It’s none of your business.”
“I’m a doctor and you’re in our hospital. Of course it’s our business,” Nikki said, keeping her tone low and nonthreatening.
“He said—” Melanie glared past Nikki’s shoulder at Galen “—I only had a broken arm. It’s fixed and now I want to go.”
“If your boyfriend—”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Then who is he?”
Melanie shrugged. “I met Billy Joe a week ago. I needed a ride and he gave me one.”
“He also gave you those bruises, didn’t he?”
Melanie looked away and didn’t answer.
Nikki exchanged another glance with Galen and he simply raised both eyebrows. “Did he do anything else to you?” she asked. “Anything like—”
“We didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re asking,” Melanie snapped. “He wanted to, but…”
Her voice faded as she bit her already swollen lip.
“But you didn’t,” Nikki finished gently. “Is that why he hit you?”
Melanie didn’t move, then finally nodded once.
Nikki had seen this scenario a hundred times. “We should call your parents.”
“No.” Melanie nearly bolted out of bed. “You can’t call them.”
“Why not?”
“Because…”
Galen stepped closer to the bed. “You’re not injured enough to be admitted and Billy Joe is. He’ll be here for several days at least. Where will you go?”
Her hazel eyes darted back and forth. “Somewhere.”
“Where are you from?”
A familiar mulish expression crossed her face. “It doesn’t matter. Can I have my clothes back now?”
Without a medical reason they couldn’t keep her, but Nikki refused to be responsible for turning a sixteen-year-old onto the streets. She started to protest, but Galen answered Melanie’s question.
“They’re in the bag on the shelf underneath your bed. Holler if you need help. I’ll send a nurse in.”
Nikki followed him out of the cubicle. “We can’t just let her walk out of here.”
“I know.”
“She has no place to go.”
“I know.”
“What if she winds up with someone worse than Billy Joe?”
“Nikki,” he said impatiently, “I know. This isn’t my first day on the job.”
Nikki calmed down. “Then what are we going to do?”
He ran his fingers through his hair, obviously as frustrated as she was. Melanie’s situation had probably hit him quite hard because of his personal experience.
“First,” he began slowly, “we’re going to talk her into calling her parents. If that won’t work, we’ll have to bring in the police. She’s a runaway and a minor, so we have no choice.”
“And how do you propose to convince her to contact her family?”
Determination darkened his already dark eyes. “I’m not sure, but somehow I will. Just follow my lead. OK?”
“Whatever you say.”
As soon as Melanie was decent, Nikki accompanied Galen into the room. This time she hovered near the foot of the bed to observe and play whatever role Galen had planned while he approached the girl.
“I just need to check your vital signs once more before you leave,” he said as he placed his fingers on her wrist to take her pulse. Then he added casually, “From your accent, I’d say you grew up in the South. Georgia?”
Melanie looked taken aback, as if surprised he’d guessed correctly, then turned her head to stare into the corner. “You’re guessing.”
“You’re a long way from home,” he remarked.
“I told you. I caught a ride.”
“Have you eaten today?”
Melanie frowned. “N-no.”
“Then I hope you’ll stay long enough to eat in our cafeteria before you go.” He grinned. “My treat.”
She looked suspicious. “Why are you being so nice?”
“Because I’m a nice person,” he answered promptly. “Just ask me.”
A glimmer of a smile tugged at her mouth.
“I bet you don’t get regular meals, do you?”
“Not usually. But it’s OK. I’m not starving or anything. Not like the kids in Africa.”
“True. Since you mentioned kids, do you have any brothers or sisters?” He moved on to listen to her heart and Nikki noticed that he took his sweet time, jus
t as he had when taking Melanie’s pulse. At first she didn’t understand why, but as the conversation continued, she silently applauded him for his tactics.
“A little sister.”
“Do you miss her?”
Melanie paused. “Yeah. We were buddies.”
“How long have you been gone?”
“A month.”
“I see. You know, my sister ran away from home when she was your age,” he said idly. “To this day I’ve never seen or heard from her. We were buddies, too.”
Melanie’s interest was roused and her confidence seemed to waver. “Never?”
“Never,” he said firmly. “My mother cried and I couldn’t eat for days because we couldn’t understand why she left. Then we worried that something had happened, that she had died and we’d never be able to fix whatever had caused her to leave in the first place. I prayed every night that she’d come back, or at least telephone.”
“Maybe…maybe she didn’t think she could,” she said in a small voice.
“Then she thought wrong,” he said firmly. “There was nothing she could have done that would have made us willingly let her go. I’ll bet your family feels the same way about you.”
She studied her fingernails. “Maybe.”
“Then again, if you don’t care that they’re suffering, then it doesn’t matter, does it? Maybe it doesn’t bother you to know that you’re probably making your little sister cry, your mom worry, and no one able to sleep at night.”
“I care.” She tossed her head defiantly. “But my dad is pretty tough. I can’t do anything without his permission. He watched me like a hawk all the time.”
Nikki hoped the girl meant that in the strict sense of a parent’s concerned eye rather than any sexual interest. Child abuse took many forms and she hoped Melanie hadn’t left home because of it.
Galen obviously thought the same thing because he asked, “Did he ever hurt you or touch you in an inappropriate way?”
“No. Nothing like that. He was just crazy about all of his rules. ‘Don’t do this, Melanie,’ she mimicked. “‘Don’t do that, Melanie.’ ‘So-and-so isn’t a good influence. He or she doesn’t have a good reputation.’ I felt so…so stifled. Like I couldn’t breathe or think for myself.”
Nikki felt herself relax. Thank goodness they didn’t have to worry about a man taking indecent liberties with his own daughter.
“Maybe he was only trying to protect you. To keep you safe,” Galen said. “Fathers do that, you know.”
“He was always wanting to know who my friends were and what we were doing,” she blurted out. “I didn’t have any privacy at all!”
“I’m not saying he handled things in the right way,” he commented as he reattached the blood-pressure cuff to her arm and pumped it up, “but give him credit for caring what happened to you. The world can be a scary place but, after being on your own, you’ve seen that for yourself.”
She frowned, then nodded.
“I’m sure you’ve also learned the importance of choosing your friends wisely,” Galen continued. “Unless, of course, you don’t mind having a guy beat you up until you give him what he wants.”
Once again Melanie chewed on her lower lip. “What if my folks don’t want me to come back? They’re probably so ashamed…”
“They’re frantic with worry,” he said, “but you won’t know what they feel unless you call.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Start by telling them you’re OK. I have a suspicion you won’t have to say anything else.”
Again Melanie hesitated, as if her yearning to go home and the fear associated with doing so warred within her.
“I tell you what,” he said, unwrapping the cuff and stowing it in the wall holder above the bed. “If you want me to, I can talk to your parents first and get an idea of the situation. Then if they’re not receptive to the idea of you coming home, I’ll hang up and you won’t have to say a word.”
The relief on her face made the haggard lines disappear. “Could you? You’d do that for me?”
He reached for the telephone. “Give me the number and I’ll dial right now.”
He cast a sidelong glance at Nikki, flashed a triumphant smile, then punched in the number that Melanie recited. Feeling extraneous and utterly drained from the emotional experience, Nikki left the room.
Galen had always glossed over the situation with his sister with the most minor of details. Now, after hearing his perspective and realizing the pain he suffered over not knowing her fate, Nikki’s decision to keep her information about Emma to herself bordered on cruelty. How inhuman would she be to let him form a special bond with his niece and never tell him her true identity?
She simply had to divulge what she knew…or what she thought she knew. When Alice/Mary returned, Nikki would be as eloquent as Galen had been with Melanie. By the time she finished, Alice/Mary wouldn’t be able to walk away, no matter what she’d originally intended.
Of course, Nikki had the added leverage of holding her daughter. She simply wouldn’t hand Emma over until she could give Galen part of the family he’d lost so many years ago.
CHAPTER TEN
NIKKI waited outside for several minutes, intending to corner Galen as soon as he finished with Melanie. However, her pager went off and she scurried back to the MEC after leaving word that she wanted to see Galen as soon as he was free.
“What’s the emergency?” she asked Jean.
“The phone.” Jean held out the receiver. “Your brother.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Had something happened? “I’ll take it in my office.”
A minute later, Derek’s familiar voice drifted over the wire. “Hi, sis.”
“Hi to you, too. What’s the big emergency? Is everything all right?”
“Yeah. I just have a conference call scheduled in ten minutes and I wanted to be sure to get through to you before then.”
“Derek!” she yelled in his ear. “I think my work is a little more important than discussing someone’s order for baseball bats and athletic supporters.”
“Now, sis. Calm down.”
“I am calm. I was worried, dammit. Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
“Sorry,” he said, clearly unrepentant. “So how are things going in Hope?”
“OK. I’m going to take my month’s vacation here.”
“No kidding? Lots to see and do in Hope, is there?”
“Enough to keep me busy.”
“How’s Galen?”
“Fine,” she answered warily. “Why do you ask?”
“Just making conversation, Nik.”
“Hey, Derek,” she began, wanting to ask his opinion and wondering if she truly wanted to hear it, “can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“Why did I let you guys always fight my battles?”
He sounded curious. “What brought this up?”
“Just answer the question.”
He chuckled. “Because we were bigger than you.”
“Seriously.”
“Because you were cute.”
She ignored his comment. “Was I that helpless?”
This time it took him a few seconds to answer. “You weren’t helpless as much as defeated.”
“Defeated?”
“Yeah. You acted as if you didn’t deserve to have the things the rest of us took for granted.”
Could that be why she still struggled to fight for what she wanted? Because deep down she thought she didn’t deserve them?
“Oh.”
“Since you’re asking, do I need to round up the rest of your knightly brothers to fight whatever dragon is troubling our fair lady?”
She laughed at his fake courtly words. “No, thanks. It was just a rhetorical question.”
“Well, then, if you don’t have any dragons to slay, I’ll let you go. My call is about to go through.”
As she hung up the phone, she hoped she’d convinced him not to
assemble the family and descend upon her en masse, because the dragons she faced now were ones she had to slay for herself.
Determined to tackle the first and most immediate one, she returned to the ER and found Galen at the nurses’ station, talking on the phone.
“How did it go with Melanie’s parents?” she asked as soon as he replaced the receiver.
He leaned back in the chair, folded his arms across his chest and grinned from ear to ear. “They’re on their way.”
“I’m so glad. For all of them.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
“If you’re ready for lunch, I’d really like to talk to you,” she began.
His expression turned apologetic. “I hate to renege, but I promised Melanie that I’d feed her. Fern scrounged up a sandwich for her and she ate so fast I thought she’d inhale the Cellophane wrapper, too.”
She couldn’t very well tell him to let the teenager go without food. “That’s OK. I understand.”
“Thanks.” His gaze grew intent. “Is this something important or can it wait?”
Now that Nikki had made up her mind to tell him about Emma and Alice, she didn’t want another delay, but in the grand scheme of things, what would a few more hours hurt?
“It can wait.” She smiled to set his mind at ease. “If you have time this afternoon, drop by my office.”
“Will do.”
With that out of the way, at least temporarily, her thoughts returned to Melanie. “So her parents were really excited to hear from her?”
“Elated.”
“And how’s Melanie? Other than being hungry.”
“The kid looks ten years younger. Their family troubles aren’t over, but maybe this episode will convince them to see a counselor.”
“I’ll bet her parents are ready to kiss your feet,” she teased.
His eyes gleamed with an unholy light. “I can think of more pleasurable body parts to kiss.”
Her face warmed under his heated gaze. “So can I,” she whispered.
With Galen occupied for lunch, Nikki spent her hour with Emma in the day-care center. Afterwards she had a full afternoon of patients, but her busy schedule didn’t stop her from watching for Galen’s arrival.
At four o’clock, just as her day started to wind down at long last, Jean caught her in the hallway, grabbed her arm and hauled her into their medication room.
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