Welcome to Our Family
Ch. 1: Finding a way in
She was just an empty shell of a child. She was there, but not really "there". Her brain was still functioning normally and her body, though still injured, was beginning to heal. The doctors said that she would make a full recovery physically, but deep down emotionally, young eight-year-old Crystine Hampton would never be the same. She knew that as well. That's why she locked away all her feelings and tried to shut everyone away. She was hurt enough already, she didn't want to get hurt anymore.
All little Crystine wanted was to go back to her family. Yet, the world could be very cruel, especially to this young child. Her family, as destiny would want, was violently snatched away from the little girl's very eyes. And she knew that she would never be able to see them ever again.
It hurt, both physically and emotionally, when she thought of that night. But she wouldn't let anyone know the pain she felt.
Except, maybe, him.
The man who saved her. The man who was the only person that had ever found a way to break open her locked feelings. He would visit her while she was stuck in the hospital telling stories about his two little sons who were slightly younger than she was. He would tell her tales of great mysteries that he had solved, some of those tales even involving her father in them. He slowly inched his way into gaining her trust. Crystine at first tried no to allow him in, ignoring his presence completely when he would come into her hospital room. But as her days at the hospital began to build on top of each other and forming weeks, Crystine began to slowly listen to his stories. Though she never talked to him nor anyone else, she started to interact with him, smiling, frowning, any facial expression she could form while she listened.
And it was only the man who would visit that would get these reactions. He loved it when she smiled as he would walk into her room. Her dull teal colored eyes would brighten up tremendously, giving her the appearance of someone who was completely healthy and didn't deserve to be locked up in this jail in disguise.
He hated it though. He hated how every time he looked at her stuck in that bed, he would envision one of his sons in that same place. He hated how he would see her looking out her room window with an expression that no child should ever had.
But what he really hated most was how she was left all alone now in this cruel cruel world. She would have to face the world on her own, as an orphan, either being bounced back and forth between different foster families or stuck in an orphanage watching other children leaving with new families while wishing for her own adoption.
Of course the latter may be a little over dramatic, he would admit. But he was worried about what could happen to her. Crystine had already suffered so much in just her short life that being put in an orphanage could hurt her more mentally than she already was. Hence why he came to visit almost every day. Just to see how the little girl was holding up. And that was where he was heading once again today, this time hopefully with some good news from the doctors.
He strode through the hospital entrance with familiarity. In his hands, a stuffed animal that his sons had found while on a trip to the local store. They said that if Crystine was given this, she would instantly get better. They said it with so much enthusiasm that the man couldn't help but laugh and buy the animal. Even though his sons never met the girl before, only hearing about her whenever he came back from his visits, they cared about her deeply and didn't like the idea of her staying in the hospital for so long.
He greeted the nurses as he walked past their station on his way to the elevator. Their replies filled his ears as the doors closed and he rode up to the pediatric floor. Within seconds, the doors opened back up and he stepped out onto the floor. This floor was a big difference compared to the other floors, with the walls covered in multiple bright colors and animals and different play stations at the ends of the halls. Sadly though, the atmosphere on this floor was a whole lot more tense and sad then the others. Children being stuck here for illnesses and injuries. It was just sad to watch as families stood close to the children with sad smiles.
The man nodded respectively to the parents as he walked by. His destination was right ahead and he knew he couldn't let his "child" waiting. Though she didn't talk to him, he knew she was happy when he came to visit and loved it when he brought a present for her. He came up to her door, knocking gently before he entered.
"Hello, Crystine," he greeted walking towards her bed.
Crystine, who was looking out the window when he knock, smiled and sat up as he came close. Her eyes went straight to where his hands were hidden behind his back. She raised an eyebrow at him and motioned her head slightly to his hidden hands.
"As observant as ever, I see," he laughed, revealing the gift in his hands. "Frank and Joe thought this might help you get better." He handed over the animal to Crystine's outstretch arms.
Crystine pulled the animal close to her chest, hugging it tightly and smiling. She nodded her head towards the chair next to her bed. The man, Fenton Hardy, smiled and took the seat. "Glad you like it, the boys would be happy to hear that. It's as if they knew that your favorite animal was a cat."
Fenton watch Crystine gently stroke the cat's fur on its head. She laid back in her bed slowly. As she began to move, pain surged though her body. Gasping, she dropped her cat and brought one hand to her chest while the other wrapped around her waist. She leaned forward, trying make the pain stop. Her breathing became ragged and short.
Fenton quickly moved towards her side the moment she gasped. He wrapped his arm around her tiny shoulders. "It's OK, it's OK," he soothed as he gently rubbed her back. "Just deep breathes. Yes, yes, that's it. Just take it easy, you're alright."
The pain slowly began to subsided. Crystine let out a tiny whimper as she leaned into Fenton's arm. She hated when she had "pain attacks" as she liked to call them. They left her hurting, numb, and exhausted. Thankfully this one was tiny compared to the ones she had after being first admitted into the hospital.
Fenton slowly lowered her back to her bed. "There we go. Just relax, you're OK. Got a little rushed there, didn't you?"
Crystine nodded her head weakly. Fenton brushed away a strain of hair that fell into her face and stroked her cheek. The little girl lean into the gentle touch, whimpering softly. The pain was almost completely gone, but it left her wounds pulsing. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. She biting her lower lip, willing those tears not to fall. She didn't like showing people that she was hurting, but here she was about to cry in front of the man who saved her life.
Fenton notice the tears and quickly pulled the girl into his arms taking her place in the bed. "I'm sorry," he whispered in to her hair. "I am so sorry. If only I had gotten there earlier, then you wouldn't be like this. Your family could still be here. It's all my fault, I just should have gotten there earlier. I just should-"
Crystine shook her head, tears winning the battle and streaming down her cheeks. It wasn't his fault that she was injured. It wasn't his fault that her family was gone. It was not his fault at all.
It was their fault. The men that were in the shadows. The men that her dad had been help. They are the ones to blame. They are the ones to blame for the murders of her family, the attempted murder of herself.
"N-no."
Fenton's eyes widened. Did he...did he just hear properly?
"Crystine?" he asked.
Crystine shook her head again. "No, it's...it's not your fault."
Fenton was speechless. These past two weeks of visiting the daughter of one of his best friends, she had never spoken anything to him. But now...here she was saying that it wasn't his fault. She was speaking to him and declining what he was saying.
"It was never your fault," Crystine whimpered softly. She gripped his shirt in her tiny hand and looked up at him, straight in the eye. "Never, never, never."
The man tighten his grip on the girl. "Crystine-"
"No," she interrupted. "Don't disagree. You know it's not your fault, you just want to take the blame because you feel guilty."
He was stunned. She realized all that? Someone so young could figure out what the skilled detective was feeling. He never even told his wife what he though. But here was an eight-year-old telling him exactly what he had been thinking.
Despite being shocked by the little girl, Fenton couldn't help but chuckle. That cause Crystine to look at him like he was insane. "You are so much like your father," he explain. "He was always so good at reading people's emotions and thoughts."
Crystine still looked at him and he looked back at her. Then it clicked.
"You want me to agree that it wasn't my fault, aren't you?"
The little girl nodded her head again.
Fenton sighed, then smiled. This girl was too smart for her own good. "Alright. Alright, it wasn't my fault. There, better?"
Crystine nodded her head again, settling comfortably in his strong arms. "Thank you," she barely whispered.
And then with that she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Fenton could feel her breathing slow and even out. That whole episode had to have worn her out. Slowly, he slid out from her and laid her back onto the bed. He pulled the covers up, tucking her in nicely. Looking around he noticed that her stuffed animal had fallen onto the floor. Picking it up, he placed it right next to the little girl. As if she knew it was there, Crystine reached out and pulled the cat up close.
Fenton smiled at the sight. He took that as his cue to leave the little girl to her rest. As quietly as he could be, he moved towards the door. Just as he was about to leave the room, he heard a soft voice.
"Bye, Mr. Hardy."
Chuckling, Fenton left the room in the hallway. This may be the start of something good for Crystine.
