I own nothing (besides my own characters) T.H. is the man!

CHAPTER 1

A slight squeal accompanied the brakes as the Ford F-150 came to a halt in front of Baltimore State Forensic Hospital. Behind the wheel, Samantha Brodie took a deep, shaking breath in a vain attempt to calm herself. Adjusting the rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of her face. Sam was never a pale person. Even from being inside a military hospital for close to 7 months, she still looked slightly tan. Her black bangs swooped over her brow, more so to the left side of her face. Brushing back the hair, it revealed the 4 inch scar that ran right down the middle of her left eye brow. Letting out a long sigh, she brushed her hair back over the scar. Before getting out of the truck, she looked down to the dash and gazed upon the picture of a young soldier staring back at her. With a sad smile, the door was opened and Sam stepped out.

The grey sky clashed with the red brick of BSFH. Rain threatened to start to come down any minute as Sam quickly entered the glass doors. The inside looked as you would expect any hospital to look. White walls with grey tile floors and black chairs lining the walls to make up a small waiting area. It was quiet save the buzzing of an old Coke machine. She approached the reception desk with her best smile. The young woman behind the counter was too busy on her cell phone to notice. Sam cleared her throat to announce her being there. With a huff, the girl put down her phone.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Samantha Brodie. I have a meeting with a Dr. Chilton?"

The girl looked at a small clip board on the side of her desk and picked up the phone.

"Yes sir, Dr. Chilton? Samantha Brodie is here for a meeting? Yes sir, I'll send her through."

As the woman returned the phone to the cradle, she looked up at Sam.

"Just follow the hall and take a right at the end. Dr. Chilton will be the 3rd door on the right."

With a nod, Sam began her way down towards Dr. Chilton's office. When she was 10 feet from the door, a sickly sweet smell of cheap cologne flooded her nostrils. The smell was so strong, it made her eyes water as she came closer to the open door. With 3 light taps on the door frame, a small face peered from behind a computer screen.

"Ms. Brodie, I take it?"

As Sam walked in, she stood in front of Dr. Chilton's desk. The lights in the office gave Chilton's red hair a greasy shine as he smiled a sly smile.

"Yes, sir. We spoke a few days ago about the nursing job."

"Quite right. From your resume, you seem more than qualified. 7 years as an Army medic?"

As Dr. Chilton spoke, the perversion in his words turned her stomach. Sam had a way of reading people that she never fully understood. She could tell what kind of person someone really was by observing their body language and the manner they carried themselves. Sam knew right away, Dr. Chilton was not to be trusted.

"Yes sir, that's correct."

"You recently where medically discharged, is that right?"

As he said this, Sam's heart began to race. The discharge was not something she wished to discus with anyone, especially not him.

"There was an attack on the hospital wing I was assigned. I was put into a medically induced coma for 6 weeks. I'm really not comfortable discussing this, if you don't mind Dr. Chilton."

A sly smile once again played across Chilton's face and Sam could see with mischief bouncing around in his cold, dark eyes.

"I need to know that your mental state is not going to be an issue here."

Rage began to build in the back of Sam's mind as she listened to Chilton's condescending tone towards her. It was well know that PTSD was an issue for a lot of soldiers finding work. She had refused any thearapy that the military offered. She had never been one to cry about life's problems to strangers, or anyone for that matter. Sam had always been one to bottle things up.

"Dr. Chilton, I can assure you, there would be no problems at all. My mental health is sound as a pound."

After a few more minutes of useless questions and uncomfortable moments of being eyed by her soon to be new boss, Sam was ready to get out and away from him. Suddenly, Dr. Chilton opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a small photograph.

"This was our last nurse- the one you will be replacing."

He slid the paper towards Sam. As she looked at it, she saw an older lady, probably around 40 years old, laying on the ground with her face covered in blood. She observed the picture for a few seconds and turned her attention back towards Dr. Chilton. Seeing how the picture yielded no response from her, He scowled. Sam figured he used this as a scare tactic or a bragging token. Seeing blood never bothered her in the past. She had seen her fair share over her career in the Army. What Dr. Chilton didn't know was how hard she had to keep her resolve and show no emotion when she looked at the picture. She knew he wanted to see a negative reaction, that way he could tell her that she wasn't fit for this job. Ever since the attack, seeing blood, along with any loud noises brought back very unpleasant memories.

"That there was the handy work of our very own celebrity- Dr. Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter."

Sam had heard the name before over the years but knew nothing much about the man. As she slid the picture back towards Chilton, she smirked and looked into his eyes.

"I guess I will just have to pay more attention than she did."

As Chilton's face turned slightly red, she smiled inwardly to herself.

"Well." He said shortly, "I guess you have the job. If you'd like, I could have you meet with your supervisor and he could give you a rundown of how things are done here."

"I think that would be wise. Thank you, sir."

Picking up his phone, Dr. Chilton handed her a visitor's pass. "Barney, I'm sending down the new nurse. She needs a quick rundown of our procedures here and a tour." As he hung up the phone, he stood from his desk and motioned towards the door. "Keep going down this hall until you come to a stair well. 3 flights down, you will come to a red security gate. You will see Barney there. I look forward to working with you, Ms. Brodie." He smiled and extended a hand. With a queasy stomach, Sam took it and gave a firm handshake while keeping eye contact.

"Thank you, Dr. Chilton. I look forward to it as well."