"When are we gonna be there?"
"I dunno baby. Maybe another half hour."
"You said that before!"
"I've never been there before, so I don't know, exactly."
"Mommy-"
"Just be quiet, all right? Jesus! We'll get there when we get there."
Hailey wasn't impressed with her mommy's answers, but she'd been in a bad mood ever since the doctor had called her about daddy. He'd done some bad things, things that Hailey couldn't remember very well, but mommy did. She reminded Hailey sometimes, when Hailey said she missed her daddy, and it made Hailey uncomfortable and gave her bad dreams. Daddy was sick, she knew that much. He was sick inside of his head, and it had made him do bad things. Mommy knew it wasn't all his fault, but she still didn't like him for it. He had hurt her bad. She had scars. And what her daddy had done was why she didn't have a little brother or sister, either. Hailey still missed him. He would read her a bedtime story every night, no matter how mad or sad he was. He would read her a story and do all the voices (all of them, even the girl ones!), and then he would say he loved her and give her a great big hug. Her daddy was a giant. Even mommy, with her long legs and her pretty high heels wasn't taller. Hailey had a book clutched in her lap, and though mommy said they probably wouldn't let her take it in, she was going to try. Maybe it would make her daddy feel better to read her a story. It always made him feel better when he still lived with them.
She drifted off, and when she came to the car was parked and her mother was smoking a cigarette. The car was off, the windows rolled down, but Hailey could still smell it. Her nose wrinkled, but she didn't complain. They said cigarettes were bad at school, but mommy said they were only bad for kids. Hailey had her doubts, but she knew better than to argue.
"Are we there, mommy?"
"Yeah baby," her mother was staring at the big, important looking building, "We're here."
"Are we gonna go inside?"
"In a minute," her mother looked upset and scared, and Hailey wished she didn't. It made her feel upset and scared, too, and she wanted to be excited.
"Daddy's probably almost all better now," Hailey said, "Maybe he'll even come home with us!"
"Baby, daddy isn't..." but her mother just shook her head, trailing off, and said, "Maybe."
Hailey's brow crinkled, but she said nothing, reading her book. She could read it herself now. It was kind of a book for babies, but Hailey didn't care. It was one of her favourites: The Three Little Pigs. Daddy did the voices the best for this one.
When her mother finished her cigarette and then had a second one, she finally got out of the car. Before they even approached the building, her mother crouched down in front of her, grasping Hailey's thin shoulders.
"You stay with me, okay?" she said, squeezing her shoulders tight, "You don't wander off, and don't talk to anybody if I'm not around. Okay? Do you promise?"
"I promise," Hailey said. Mommy looked tired and worn out, and Hailey hugged her, "It'll be okay, mommy."
She got a very tight hug back that made Hailey feel good, and she even got a sloppy, noisy kiss on her cheek that made Hailey giggle. Mommy looked less upset then and stood, offering her hand. They walked up the steps and into the reception area. Everything looked so important and busy, and Hailey drank it all in with huge eyes, her book clutched tightly to her chest with her free hand. She could imagine how easy it would be to lose it here, and she wanted her daddy to read it to her. Or maybe she'd read it to him, to show him what a big girl she was now. Not a baby anymore.
Her mother spoke with some men soon after she talked to the lady behind the front desk, and they didn't even have to sit and wait like mommy said they would. All the chairs for people to sit and wait in were empty, now that Hailey thought to look. That was good, she thought. It meant they could see her daddy right away! Some men in uniforms – sort of like what her daddy had worn, before he got fired, and he and mommy started fighting all the time – came with them to an elevator. It was an old fashioned elevator, and Hailey was dying to ask questions about it, but the way mommy was squeezing her hand told her not to make a peep.
Nobody spoke. Hailey didn't like it, but she didn't say so. She'd learned how to be quiet as a mouse, like when daddy had a big headache, or when mommy had a long day. Quiet as a mouse, so nobody even knew she was home. She could do that. She was old enough now that she could just tell when she needed to be quiet. Hailey wasn't a baby anymore. She was practically grown up. She walked to school with some of the other, older kids in her building and sometimes even walked home by herself. Hailey even let herself in with the apartment key if mommy had to work. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone, and Hailey hadn't, even if it was tempting when people called her little or immature.
They stepped off the elevator and their whole group moved through some halls. Hailey could hear strange shouting, but as they went through a few doors and into a small room with a big dark window on one wall, the noises faded away to nothing. Hailey sat, her book in her lap, but mommy was pacing.
"Please sit, miss."
"I'd rather stand."
The security men were gone, and only the man in a suit – the doctor, maybe? - was there. He smiled at her and Hailey smiled back nervously.
"You must be Hailey," he said. Mommy stopped pacing, and Hailey nodded, "What have you got there, sweetheart?"
"A book," she said, "The Three Little Pigs. Daddy used to read it to me, when I was a baby. He does all the voices really good."
"Does he?" the man seemed very interested in what she was saying.
"It's kind of a book for babies," Hailey said importantly, "So I can read it myself now. If... if daddy is too sick to read it, I can read it to him."
"Well, we'll have to see how daddy is feeling," the man was smiling at her, and Hailey thought he was nice, but mommy had come to sit next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, like she did when she wanted Hailey to stop talking to someone, "He's still very sick, you know."
"Oh," Hailey tried to hide her disappointment, "I thought... I thought you were going to make him better."
"We're trying our darndest, honey," the doctor said, "Do you mind if I talk to your mommy for a bit?"
Hailey nodded, wondering why her mommy looked so upset and nervous.
"What the fuck are you doing to him in here?" she hissed. Hailey's eyes widened and she looked down at her worn sneakers. While Hailey knew she wasn't allowed to use swears (only grown-ups could use them), she knew her mommy only used them when she was really, really mad. Usually she said fudge or darn it.
"There's no need to get hostile," the doctor said, "We're doing everything we can. We invited you here because we feel like maybe seeing his daughter might... calm him down."
"You aren't putting her in a dangerous situation," her mommy put a protective hand on Hailey's head, "If he isn't better, I don't want her seeing him. You know what he did—"
"To you," the doctor said, "Not her. He left her alone, if I'm recalling the incident report correctly...?"
"Only because I kept him distracted!"
"In any case, we're going to need you to sign this consent form," the doctor slid a thick folder over to mommy and opened it. There were little yellow and pink flags sticking out, "All the yellow tags are signatures. Pink, initials."
"I'm not signing anything until I see him and talk to a doctor, you corporate fucking pig."
The doctor who maybe wasn't really a doctor smiled toothily at mommy, and Hailey felt a little uncomfortable even though she didn't know why.
"Are you still working at a strip club, Miss Hanson? Late nights? Sometimes all night? And then straight to that diner during the day?" the not-doctor had another file, a thinner one, and mommy's picture was in it. Hailey wondered if there was a file with her picture in it, too. Maybe they showed it to daddy sometimes, if he was sad or lonely? Hailey wanted to ask, but she could tell something Bad was happening. Like when daddy and mommy started yelling. That meant it was important that she stay quiet, "It's hard to keep things together working those hours. Working jobs like that. Maybe the way you run your household is even a little negligent. But she's self-sufficient, isn't she? Even if her clothes are a little ratty. Even if she's a little skinnier than a seven year old ought to be. I'm sure Child Protective Services would be fine with your situation if they happened to stop by."
"Fuck you," mommy swore again and Hailey flinched, gripping her book like a talisman. All her hopes about seeing her daddy started to crumble. Had she done something wrong? "What the fuck do you want?"
"Sign and initial where the tags are," the man said, "Yellow for signatures. Pink for initials. Don't worry about reading it. It's all very technical."
"You can't get away with this shit," mommy started to angrily sign and initial the thick stack of papers with a pen the man gave her, "This is blackmail."
"It's just business, Miss Hanson," the man turned his attention to Hailey, "How would you like to see your daddy, sweetheart?"
Hailey brightened, and her mother stopped signing.
"Really? But you said—"
"Ohh, smart little cookie aren't you?" he chuckled, "Not sure who you got that from. Maybe from mom, huh?"
Hailey shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant.
"What are you doing?" mommy asked.
The man didn't answer, but he did silently tap the big stack of papers. When mommy started signing again, he kept talking, "You see that window there? Well, that's a mirror, too!"
Hailey gasped, her eyes going huge. Whoa!
"Crazy, right? Well, we're gonna have your daddy just on the other side of that window," he said, "And me and your mommy are gonna be able to see you, but you and your daddy won't be able to see us. Neat, huh?"
"Won't daddy want to see mommy, too?"
She looked at her mommy, but mommy just looked... pale. Sick, even. She wiped at her eyes and kept signing, and Hailey felt uncomfortable. Hailey wanted to see her daddy, but mommy seemed really, really upset. It was hard to know what the right thing to do was.
"I think he'd rather just see you," the man said, "Just for now. So whattaya say, kiddo? You ready?"
Hailey looked permissively at her mommy, and mommy leaned down to kiss her and give her a tight hug. The hug went on for a really long time, until the man cleared his throat, and Hailey got up out of her chair.
"Can I bring the book?" she asked.
"Absolutely," he said, making a weird gesture. Hailey twisted around and noticed there was a camera in the room. Neat! She liked when she could see the monitor cameras were attached to, so she could make silly faces at herself. One of the men dressed up in security garb came in with a man in a white coat. Maybe he was a doctor, then. He smiled at her and offered her his hand.
Hailey looked at her mommy again, unsure, but all she did was nod. It didn't instill Hailey with confidence, but she wanted to see her daddy. So bad. She wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him how much she missed him. And that when he was better he could come home and everything would be good again. Like when he would read her bedtime stories, and pretend to fall asleep and snore, and she would have to shake him to wake him up again.
"Now Hailey, you need to be very still at first," the doctor said. His hand was very dry and his voice was gentle. He seemed like a nice man, "No sudden movements. No running, no yelling."
"Can I give him a hug?"
The doctor stopped by a door very close to the one they'd just come out of, and her question seemed to throw him for a moment.
"Not right away," he said, sounding diplomatic, "We'll see, all right? Now when we go in, Hailey, I need you to stay close to me, all right? You stay close and you do exactly as I say."
"Is... is daddy still really sick?" she asked quietly, "Like when he hurt mommy?"
"He's still sick," the doctor said, "But I don't think he'd hurt his little girl. Do you?"
Hailey wasn't so sure, now. A lot of people were saying a lot of different things, although they sounded mostly the same. She suddenly wanted her mommy with her, but she wasn't a baby. She could do it on her own. She was practically a grown up, and she could read and make her own sandwiches when she was hungry.
"Ready?"
She nodded, and they stepped into a room that had very dim lighting. It was very, very different from the other room. They were surrounded on all sides by concrete, except for the mirror that was actually a window. There was a great big door, like a hatch on a submarine, on the other side of the room. Hailey saw that there were weird stains on the floor and walls, and big metal squares sunk into the concrete.
A yellow light, like a police siren, started to flash over the big door, joined by a red one when it opened. Two security men came in and stood beside her and the doctor, and she squeezed the doctor's hand. Hailey didn't like this. It was like a scary movie she wasn't allowed to see, only she was in it and she couldn't change the channel. Two more men in uniforms came in, holding heavy, thick chains, leading something in. Something huge. A man.
"Daddy?"
The huge man stopped in his tracks, and no matter how much the men with chains tugged, he didn't move. Hailey gulped when the man holding her hand shook her off and started to scribble furiously on his notepad, and she found herself having to grip her book as tight as she could. Her daddy was very big in her memory, but she didn't think he was that big. And why was he in chains? Why did everyone look so scared?
"..piglet?"
Hailey's fear melted away in an instant, and she started to move forward. She would've ran to him if one of the security men didn't grab her shoulder. He grabbed it too hard and Hailey whimpered.
"Daddy!" she said, "Daddy, I brought you my favourite story!"
"Mister Walker, do you think you could find it in your heart to cooperate today?"
Her father made a deep grunting noise. His voice sounded different, but Hailey didn't care. She wished they would turn on normal lights. It was hard to see anything clearly with the yellow and red flashers going.
"Chain him to the floor, and back away," the doctor said.
"Sir...?"
"Do as your told."
The security men moved to chain her daddy to the floor, to the big metal squares sunk into the concrete, all but the two by the doctor and herself. She wished the security man wasn't gripping her shoulder so hard. Maybe he didn't know he was hurting her because of his gloves? She rolled her shoulder a little, but he only gripped her harder.
"Mister, that's hurting."
"Shut up," he snapped at her. Hailey swallowed, taken aback by the response.
Once the other men had finished chaining her daddy up they moved far away from him. She could see him moving in a slow circle, testing the boundaries of the chains, but he stopped when he was facing Hailey.
"Let her go."
"...sir?"
"Let her go."
"Sir, I... sir, she's a little girl."
"It's his daughter."
"Sir, I've seen him—"
"Maybe you'd like to see things from the other side," the doctor's voice was cold, and Hailey was trying very hard not to cry. This was a really scary situation. She wasn't a baby, but she was really scared, and sometimes crying made her feel better when she was scared, "As a patient."
"No, no-!"
"Let her go."
The man holding her finally released her shoulder, and Hailey sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She wasn't sure what to do, and all she could hear was the clinking of her daddy's chains and the doctor scribbling away on his clipboard.
"Go see your father, Hailey," the doctor encouraged.
"C'mere, piglet," he daddy's voice was much deeper, much rougher than she remembered, but it was still him, "It's okay."
Daddy had hurt mommy, hurt her bad, but he hadn't hurt her. He wouldn't hurt her. Hailey moved forward slowly, not sure why she was afraid of her own daddy. He remembered her. He'd even called her piglet. Her mommy had hated that nickname, but Hailey didn't. Daddy had said it was because she'd looked like a piglet when she was born, pink and squealing. Sometimes he joked she'd even had a curly tail, but it had fallen off when they'd taken her home from the hospital. He crouched down when she got closer, on his knees. One of his knees used to hurt him all the time, so bad that he couldn't bend it sometimes, but maybe it was better now.
"Daddy, you smell weird," Hailey said when she was closer. He chuckled and nodded, "And you look... different."
He touched the top of his now-hairless head, but Hailey didn't mean that. Something about his face was... wrong. She didn't have the words to describe it, but it made him look sick. It made her want to cry.
"Daddy..."
"I'm fine, piglet," he said, "My medicine has changed some things. It's still me. Come give daddy a hug."
Hailey threw her arms around his thick neck, and as much as she loved feeling her daddy's strong arms squeezing her tight, she could tell he was sick. He was warm, almost hot, like he had a bad fever. He wasn't coughing or sniffling, though. And his skin felt... rough. It must've just been his medicine, like he said. Hailey didn't like how the thick metal bands on his wrists felt on her skin, but she didn't complain. She didn't let go until he did, and he sat on the ground, patting his thigh for her to sit on.
"I'm not all different," he said, patting his big belly next, "See?"
Hailey giggled and nodded, and she sat where he wanted her.
"I really miss you, daddy."
"I miss you, too. Which story did you bring?"
"The Three Little Pigs," Hailey said, "I can read it by myself, but I thought maybe you could read it. If it would make you feel better."
"It would," he carefully took the book and held it out in front of both of them, and Hailey leaned on him, listening to how his voice rumbled in his chest, to how his heart beat, steady and strong. Hailey could barely even see the book in the awful lights, but daddy seemed to be reading it okay. Or maybe he just remembered the story, since he'd read it so many times. He did all of the voices, even the squealy high-pitched piggy voices, and for the duration of the story, Hailey completely forgot that daddy was sick, and that he'd hurt mommy really, really bad. He seemed a lot better now. She just wanted him to come home and for everything to be normal. Hailey didn't want other kids to ask her about her daddy and laugh when she told them the truth about him. She always said he was sick, not crazy, but nobody believed her.
When the story was done he handed the book to her, "Now you."
Hailey did her best to read it, but after some struggling, she said, "I can't see very good, daddy. The lights are all funny."
"Can we do something about the lights?" the doctor said. She'd forgotten he was there. Everyone was still in the room, now that she looked. All the security men. They had guns, she noticed. She hadn't before, but they were holding them now. The flashing stopped and the lights came up a little more. Daddy had a bandage on his forehead, but she didn't ask about it. She remembered how he used to scratch that spot when he was getting mad or frustrated. Maybe he'd scratched too hard.
Once the lights were up a bit more, Hailey read her father the book, doing her best to do the voices. The Big Bad Wolf just didn't sound scary when she did it, but her father insisted she did a good job, and she believed him. When she finished, Hailey had an awful feeling that she'd have to leave. She didn't know why, exactly. She felt safe with her daddy, but the other men were looking at them too hard, and none of them seemed very nice.
"Are you going to come home soon, daddy?" she asked.
"No, piglet," he said, "I can't. I have to stay."
"Why?" Hailey was trying not to sound upset, but she didn't think she did a very good job. Her daddy wiped some of the tears off her cheeks with his thick, rough thumb, but more replaced them.
"I have to keep everyone safe," he said, "Like when I was away. You were too little to remember. Still in your mommy's tummy."
"When you were a marine?"
"Right," he said, "Only the bad guys are much worse. Are you still afraid of monsters under your bed, Hailey?"
Hailey didn't want to lie, but she didn't want her daddy to think she was a baby. She shook her head no so she didn't have to actually lie out loud.
"You should be," he said, his voice grave, "Monster's are real, Hailey. That's why I have to stay here. Only I can see them, so only I can fight them."
Someone muttered, "What the fuck?" but the doctor shushed them, and Hailey ignored them, her eyes wide and fixed on her father. Everyone said that monsters weren't real but her daddy wouldn't lie to her. She gripped the book until the binding creaked in protest.
"But then you have to get out, daddy!" Hailey said, "You have to protect me from the monsters! Me and mommy!"
"I will, piglet," he said, "I'll protect you both from the monsters. Do you trust me?"
Hailey nodded, somber.
"Close your eyes."
Hailey did as she was told.
"I love you, piglet."
"I love you too, daddy."
He put a hand on top of her head, and another under her chin. For a second Hailey thought he was holding her too hard, but a second later, Hailey didn't think anything at all.
Rick was cracking up.
"Boy, that escalated quickly!" he said. He had to raise his voice pretty high to talk over the shrieking Miss Hanson. Two security officers had to hold her – she'd scratched up Rick's face pretty bad, but he was too amused to give a shit, "I did not see that coming."
Through the glass, Walker was placidly allowing security to take his daughter's limp body from him, though he did seem reluctant to give up the story book. Even that he gave up, in the end, and he allowed himself to be escorted from the room without a fuss. Chris Walker, at this stage, didn't go anywhere he didn't want to, so Rick had to assume he'd planned to do that the second he'd been told what he'd get to do today if he was a good boy. Smarter than he looked! Maybe the kid had gotten her brains from him.
"You fucking monsters!" the woman was a hysterical mess, "Oh, God, my little girl! My baby!"
"I think Miss Hanson needs an all-expense paid vacation," he said, "See that she's transferred to the new women's facility. Post-haste, now! We know what happens to ladies who linger around here."
They dragged her out, kicking and screaming, and the doctor slipped into the much quieter room. There was a nurse with him, but when he tried to examine Rick's face, Rick waved him off. Not yet.
"Mr. Trager," the doctor looked pale, "Mr. Trager, I... we have to report this. I can't... I know I said I'd keep it off the record, but that... she was only seven years old."
"Well, she never had to pay bills or find out what shitheels her parents really were," Trager said brightly, "So I'd say dear old dad did her a big favour! I mean the foster system in this country is just awful."
"Jesus, Trager," the doctor said, "Look, I'm writing up a report on this. Obviously we can't proceed past stage 3 with Walker. He's impossible to control. I... I can't keep covering for you, Rick. This is inhuman. You've gone too far."
"Whoa, buddy! Chill out," Rick laughed, "You're sounding a little hysterical. Does he sound hysterical to you?"
The nurse shrugged, but Rick could see the fear in his eyes. After he stared at him for another thirty seconds, the nurse just nodded, swallowing hard.
"Maybe you need to chill out in a padded cell," Rick said, "Have a little break from this high-stress work."
"What—Rick, you're insane," the doctor said, "That's it. I'm reporting you."
Rick gestured to one of the security men, and he slammed the butt of his tranq rifle onto the back of the doctor's head. He crumpled with a groan.
"See that Doc here is admitted, too. Damn, I am good at diagnosing crazy people," Rick sat down and gestured for the nurse, "Heck, I could be a doctor. Doesn't seem that hard. You agree with me, right?"
"Yessir," the nurse muttered. Rick smiled. Yeah. Doctor Trager. He liked the sound of that.