Stolen Innocence

by Beverly L Anderson

  Lauren stared. “O’Brien is offering himself in exchange for this kid, this Devan Sullivan? Why? Why is this kid so special?”

  “Mr. O’Brien is offering himself in his final days as a chance to put an end to Rian Callaghan for good, and everything he ever created. This is the last line he can cross. However, Mr. O’Brien does have stage three terminal lung cancer, so we do ask he be held in a secure hospital facility considering the danger he would be placed in regular populations. If possible, we request Mr. O’Brien be allowed to spend his final days in his home under guard. Of course, after the trial. we would ask the booking and bail process be done discreetly so Rian Callaghan does not realize something has happened and allow him time to leave the country.” Carol leaned forward over the table and tapped the folder she’d given Lauren with one sculpted tan-colored nail.

  Looking over the papers, Lauren still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This was it; this was the break she’d been waiting for since she got marooned in the middle of the country. Lauren was a coastal girl, born and raised, and being landlocked for almost ten years had been miserable. She looked up at Carol again. “I’ll call as soon as I put it up the pipeline. You know they’ll take it”

  Carol gave Lauren a knowing grin. “Mr. O’Brien is well aware.”

  Lauren clicked off the recorder and went to stand, but Carol stopped her by lightly grasping her wrist. “One more thing, Lauren,” she said smiling. “Um, I want to thank you for your kindness over the last ten years.”

  Lauren nodded. “This is a boys’ club around here, Carol, you know that. Us women gotta stick together in this line of work, even if we’re on different sides of the table.”

  Carol had a slight blush rise to her cheeks, and Lauren thought she might just have seen the woman’s eyes mist over. Lauren shook her head and wondered how many times Carol had not been met with acceptance. Laruen knew her own Momma had lots of problems with transitioning in her forties. Mother had supported her, and so had Lauren. Now if only Lauren’s brother, Jason, had done the same. She sighed. Why was it so hard for people to just accept someone for who they were?

  KIERAN GREW NERVOUS while waiting for Dr. Brown because he knew exactly what was going to happen, clinically, of course. As a resident, he had done ER rounds and dealt with occasional sexual assault victim. Women tended to feel more comfortable with him because of his slight stature and non-threatening demeanor. However, he had never done one of these exams anally or on a man. Kieran was not looking forward to the experience.

  Surprisingly, Thomas had not come back into the exam room. Kieran expected he might try to return again, or at the very least send one of the security officers to the room. It made sense for the FBI would insist the hospital staff be kept out of the room since Kieran was part of their investigation. Just thinking about dealing with Thomas made Kieran uncomfortable. As a result of how long he had known and trusted Thomas, he was struggling with the idea the other doctor had a high degree of selfish interest in him. He had known Thomas referenced him a lot in his papers and his talks, and now as he began to think about it, he realized most of their interactions centered on reinforcing the methods Thomas had used on him as a child. Thomas continually wanted Kieran to adhere to the standards of “normal” and reinforced how important his stance against medication was. Kieran sighed and ran his hand over his head. “Normal” was something he had just thrown out along with Thomas.

  Glancing around the room from his side-lying position on the table, Kieran felt a strange sense of peace. Varick was sitting by his side, and Kieran had placed his head on the other man’s thigh. Kieran was glad the hospital had the larger sized exam tables, otherwise Varick would never have fit beside him. He would stroke his fingers through Kieran’s hair every few seconds, and Kieran had to admit it felt really nice. He noticed Carmine was still pacing by the large windows. Earlier had come over and asked if he was okay, then went over to where Devan was sitting in the examination Chair. The EEG equipment had been pushed back so he could sit comfortably in the tilted seat in front of the window bank. Carmine had put his hand on Devan’s shoulder for a few seconds before returning to the windows.

  He still had yet let go of the blanket or Devan’s jacket. He needed them, like some sort of shield from the world right now. The jacket smelled of jasmine. He wondered if Devan used a jasmine shampoo or something. He liked it, and it was soothing. He swallowed thickly and flinched when the door opened, hands clenching Varick’s leg. He turned his head toward the door and saw Dr. Serenity Brown enter with his father. He noted she had a phlebotomy tray in her hand. Kieran felt Varick put an arm around him shoulders as they came over to the side of the exam table.

  Serenity was a petite African American woman with braided hair in perfect rows which stopped at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were a stunning shade of dark brown that was just a shade lighter than her skin tone. Kieran had always thought she was one of the nicest people he had ever met at the hospital. She was one of the hospital’s primary gynecological surgeons and often worked the night shift on their maternity ward. The ward was small because it was limited to pre and post-natal surgery patients. It meant the deliveries were more complicated than an average maturity ward. Serenity herself had been a regular OB/GYN before she specialized in surgeries rather than delivering infants.

  “Kieran, honey,” she said sadly from beside him. Kieran sat up from his position on Varick’s lap and reached toward her. Serenity looked surprised but put her arms around him in a gentle hug. He almost started crying into the shoulder of her bright pink and purple striped scrubs. Kieran managed to stave off the tears.

  “Dr. B-Brown...I am...I am sorry I just...I did not want T-Thomas here for this, and he was acting in a way which was antagonistic,” he mumbled into her shoulder. Leaning back, he looked up at her with wide eyes still trying to tear up.

  “Was he now? That’s quite a surprise. Let’s get this taken care of so you can rest, honey. I know you know the procedure,” she gently reminded him. “We need to do this and get the samples as soon as possible.”

  Kieran nodded. “I do not want Father in here, please.”

  His father nodded to Serenity and headed for the doorway. When Carmine and Varick saw Kieran’s father leaving the room, they both got up to follow him out. Devan stood up from his seat and came over to the exam table, obviously intending to stay with Kieran during the procedure. Kieran had a moment of panicked silence and reached toward the door with an open hand.

  “N-no... Stay...” he pleaded as they were both about to reach the door.

  “Are you sure?” Carmine glanced at Varick before turning back to Kieran. “We don’t have to be in here for this if you don’t want us to be.”

  Kieran nodded again. “Yes. Both of you. Please.”

  Knowing the procedure did not help Kieran in the slightest as Serenity started to lay everything out on the rolling metal tray table. She turned to one of the cabinets and pulled out a PRAK, or a Prepackaged Rape Assault Kit. She unsealed the kit, and set out everything on the tray table in the order she would use it. She picked up her phlebotomy tray and removed the vials for the blood collection, the tourniquet, and the needle for the vacutainers.

  “Honey, you’re going to have to unwrap yourself from the blanket. Here, let me get you a gown and lap sheet,” she informed him with a soft smile.

  When Kieran began attempting to extract the blanket from around his waist and legs, he found his hands were shaking. It seemed in his annoyance earlier with Thomas, he had truly turned it into a tangled mess around him. Devan’s suit jacket fell open as he was trying to get the blanket untangled. He reached up instinctively to clutch hit closed again, stopping his attempts at removing the blanket.

  “Kieran, do you have anything on under it?” Serenity’s voice was calm as he looked back up at her, shaking his head. “Could I or one of your friends help you?” she continued.

  Kieran sighed morosely, still annoyed with the tangle. How could it be s
o hard to get a blanket off? He looked at Devan, definitely defeated by the blanket. “C-Could you...”

  Devan gave Kieran a gentle smile. He looked over by the door where Varick and Carmine were still standing. Devan motioned to Varick. “Here, Leo, come lift him up for me. Be careful of his ribs. I’ll pull the blanket down his legs.”

  Coming over to them, Varick stood behind Kieran and waited for Devan to tell him when to lift him. Devan helped Kieran work the blanket down over his hips, and then nodded to Varick. Varick reached down, sliding his hands under the edges of the blanket to grip the outside of Kieran’s thighs, lifting him up enough that Devan easily slipped the tangled blanket the rest of the way down his legs. Devan bunched the blanket up and set it carefully on floor beside the exam table.

  As soon as the blanket was off, Kieran gasped and reddened, both from the exposure and the sudden cold on his lower body. Before he could comment, Varick sat him back down onto the table. Devan snatched the sheet Serenity was holding out to him and laid it over his lap, tucking it behind him. Kieran looked up as Serenity handed Devan a couple gowns. He did not see when she had gotten out the linens and the hospital gowns, but he was glad she had. Reluctantly Kieran started to shrug out of Devan’s jacket, and Devan helped ease it off his shoulders. He put the jacket on the table behind Kieran’s back. Devan unfolded one of the gowns and helped Kieran slip it over his arms into it, tying it for him in the back. Devan then picked up the second gown, unfolding it and helping Kieran put it on from the back. Kieran managed to tie the second gown in front with still trembling fingers.

  “Alright, honey, your father said you might have couple cracked ribs, so one of your friends can help you scoot all the way down, okay?”

  Watching as she reached down to release the stirrups, Kieran felt his heart began to pound again. Devan managed to help him scoot to the end of the table until he was sitting at the edge. Serenity gave him an encouraging smile.

  “Okay, legs up,” Serenity instructed, patting his knee. He glared at his legs then turned to Devan.

  “I...I cannot, my legs are not cooperating.” His voice had grown quiet. Devan nodded, helping Serenity get his feet situated. When Kieran’s gaze moved down toward his feet, he let out a sharp laugh, startling the others in the room.

  Devan’s expression was one of concern. “What’s up?”

  Chuckling to himself for a minute, Kieran slowly trailed off into silent tears. He sighed as was quiet for a second, dropping his head back on the exam table as new tears began to fall. “I still have one sock on...” he gasped. “It... It is surreal... This whole time, and it...it is still there, no one cared to take it off.”

  Devan nodded, going down to where his foot rested and picked it up, gently taking the sock off his foot, and tossing it on top of the discarded blanket. Kieran just watched him and smiled through the tears.

  “Thank you.” He wiped away the remained tears on his face.

  Even if he had not already felt something toward Devan, the connection was solidified at that moment. Something which seemed so innocuous was everything to Kieran right then. Taking care of such a simple thing, a thing no one had even noticed, left Kieran with a safe feeling he could not explain.

  Serenity patted his leg. “Come on, all the way to the edge, honey.”

  Kieran could hear her voice almost cracking. He supposed the emotional impact on someone who had known him since he was a young teenager would be significant. He noticed sometimes others reacted in a strong way to events that harmed people they knew well. The knowledge he was the cause of her pain gave him a deep pang of regret.

  Devan helped him move down until Kieran grabbed the sides of the table, almost feeling like he was going to slide off. “You’re fine, honey, just relax, you aren’t going to fall.”

  “Alright,” he stammered. “I know what you are going to do, but...but...just... Please just warn me before you do it?” He felt his stomach flip as he let his legs fall apart.

  “I know, honey, just relax. I’m doing the outside samples first, so I’m combing through your hair, okay?”

  Kieran nodded, the procedure playing in his mind on repeat in his mind. He felt her take swab samples around his pubic hair and around his genitals, wincing at her touching him there. “Honey, I’m examining you now, so you’ll feel me touching around your testes, okay?”

  “Okay,” he muttered, feeling a degree of discomfort he had never experienced in his life. Even knowing Serenity examined victims, including male ones, Kieran found himself still uncomfortable with the entire procedure. He swallowed and winced as she touched lower.

  She moved away and he heard her moving items around on the metal tray table; Kieran knew what came next. Kieran could not help but grab Devan’s hand in a tight grip.

  “Easy,” Devan reassured him. “If you think it’s going to hurt, it will. But it won’t hurt, I promise. Just feels like a lot of pressure, and it feels kind of weird, okay?”

  Kieran heard the sound of metal on metal, and the quiet tearing of what he knew was probably the packet of medical lubricant. He could hear Serenity’s voice, but Kieran wanted to ignore it at the same time. He tried to put himself outside of his own head, but found it impossible. Kieran was hyper-focused on what Serenity was doing. He turned his face upwards, finding Devan staring down at him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus on Devan’s heterochromatic eyes instead of what Serenity was about to do.

  “Okay, Kieran, this is the worst part, I promise. I still have to check you internally, but I have to take samples first, both for the kit, and to send off for the STD screen, okay?”

  Kieran nodded and he suddenly found his other hand grabbed by a strong one. He turned to see Varick had come up beside the table. Kieran was so focused on things he had not even noticed.

  “I told you I’ve got you, remember?” Varick whispered, leaning toward him and holding his right hand in both of his. Kieran winced when she touched him with the cold gel. The grip he had on their hands tightened and he squeaked when she pushed the speculum into him.

  “I do not like that...” he whined, looking at Devan with a frantic expression.

  “Don’t worry, you’re fine, just relax, you can handle it. I did fine, handled that thing and more,” Devan snorted, looking across him to Varick. Kieran looked between them, a slight blush sneaking up his cheeks.

  Varick tilted his head to the side and sighed. “Devan, now’s not the time.”

  “Trying to get him to relax,” Devan grumbled. “’Side’s your dick’s a lot bigger than a speculum. I should know, had both up my ass.” He spoke quietly so only Kieran and Varick could hear. Devan leaned over and whispered in Kieran’s ear. “But believe me, his dick is a lot more fun a stupid chunk of metal.”

  Kieran could not help it; he giggled and felt a slight blush rise in his cheeks. To his surprise, Serenity pulled the awful instrument out, and he blinked, smiling at Devan. He supposed that was one way to take his mind over what was happening... He tightened his grip on Devan and Varick again when he felt her fingers slide inside to check for internal tearing. Evan knowing she was doing this to make certain he was not injured did not help his mind stay focused on the current moment. He felt hands kneading his shoulders rhythmically, and he assumed Carmine had come up beside him. He turned his head and saw he had indeed come to stand beside Devan, looking at his face with clear concern.

  After a few tense minutes which felt like hours, she finished the exam. He flinched as she moved to wipe away the excess lubricant with a sterile cloth. It would appear she had finished. He heaved a sigh of relief, swallowing.

  Serenity then patted the outside of his leg. “Alright, honey, we’re done,” she confirmed, and he could hear her sealing the evidence bags. “You did well, honey.”

  “Anything... Anything wrong?” Kieran asked as Devan helped him get out of the stirrups and sit up, holding the sheet across his lap.

  “No tearing, but you’re going to be sore for a while. Take it easy,
and I suggest taking some stool softeners for a couple weeks, just in case. Now, let me have a look the rest of your injuries....”

  Serenity moved up beside the exam table, and he noticed Varick had stepped away to lean against the window. Carmine had also moved, standing beside Varick and watching silently. Devan had not moved from his position as she began to look over his face. She felt around his eyes and nose, and down his jaw slowly. It was not quite painful, but it did feel odd, so he knew there was some swelling on his face.

  “I don’t think you have any fractures in the facial area, lucky there, honey. I’d still recommend an x-ray and having someone else come take a look just to be sure. You’ve at the least got some good bruises coming up.” She stepped back and nodded to him.

  “Arms up,” Serenity told him, watching as he lifted his arms. The motion did hurt a bit. She gently felt down his sides. He gasped a couple times as she brushed a couple of sore spots on his ribcage. “Nothing too bad, mostly bruising, but one might have a slight crack. You should still have x-rays to be sure, though, Kieran.” Serenity sighed and then helped him scoot back from the edge so he was sitting with his back against the bent portion of the table. She glanced at his foot where the toe was obviously at an odd angle. “And this toe. Do you want me to reset it now, or do you want to wait?”

  “Just do it now, please,” he sighed. He did not want to have to deal with waiting for something so minor. It would be at least an hour more before he could go to radiology anyway. There was not much to be done about a broken toe.