So. Here is chapter 2. I promised my beta, GleekMom, I wouldn't publish a chapter until the next one was ready. So, yes, this means I've just finished chapter 3. Yay me!
Once chapter 4 is written and on it's way to her for betaing, I will be able to post chapter 3. This is my way of trying to keep the story going. I hope it works! It would be nice to be able to actually finish a story for a change! (I do apologise for that, BTW) I introduce a couple of new people in this chapter, although our dearest Kurt doesn't show up until chapter 3 (I hope you can wait that long!).
Love you all! And for everyone who reviewed and commented, thank you so very much! I know I didn't reply to everyone like I usually do, and for that, I'm sorry. There were just so MANY! I actually started crying when I opened my e-mails and read your reviews. The love and strength you guys give me keeps me writing every day. I don't always publish what I write, but I do try to get something down every single day. It's my way of connecting to all of you.
Anyway, here's chapter 2. I hope you like it.
Blaine entered the hospital nervously, Maggie to his left, and Ariel walking hesitantly between them. He really wasn't sure he wanted to be here; the last time he'd been in the hospital was when his father had beaten the crap out of him, and he'd had to spend a month here. He prayed fervently that he wouldn't be recognised.
Maggie led the two youngsters to the nurses' desk, offering a friendly smile for the nurse on duty.
"Hello, Eleanor. How are you?" She offered, seeing the other woman's eyes light up when she recognised who it was.
"Well, bless me, it's Miss Maggie! I'm doing well, Mags! How are you?" The nurse smiled softly at the young man cuddling the little girl just behind Maggie. "Hi!"
"Ellie, this little girl needs to see a doctor. You know what I used to do… I'm asking to call in a favour." Ellie's eyes widened, but she nodded, and led the three to a back waiting room. It was quiet, with a couple of stuffed toys in the corner, and a few books on the little table for Ariel to look at.
"Would it be okay if I looked at your wrist, sweetie?" Ellie asked gently, but the girl pulled her hand away as though scared, and huddled shivering behind Blaine's legs. Ellie and Maggie exchanged knowing looks, and Blaine's heart began to race.
"Guys, I'm going to have to borrow Maggie for just a moment, okay? She'll be right back, I promise." Ellie advised them, and led Miss Maggie from the room. Blaine took the opportunity to speak with Ariel.
"Hey, hun. Look at me? Please?" He waited patiently until Ariel was looking at him. She wouldn't meet his eyes, and he saw a flash of shame in those beautiful blue eyes, as though she didn't want to disappoint him, but she believed she had. He gently tilted her chin up until her eyes met his. He smiled at her, the gentleness of his nature showing through.
"You should know, Ariel, that your wrist is broken. It's been broken for a long time, right?" He waited until she'd nodded. "And the nurse, and the doctor, all they want to do is help. It might hurt a little bit for them to set the bones, but when they do, you'll be able to use that hand again. Wouldn't that be good?" He waited again, until she nodded. "So why don't you put on the brave face I know you have, and let the doctor fix it, okay? Then you'll be able to do so many things!" Her little face looked trustingly up at him, and her head nodded, just a fraction, letting him know that she'd be willing to do it.
Blaine sighed, and slowly sank down onto the couch. Everything would be okay. It just had to be.
"Okay, Miss Maggie. What's going on?" Ellie led the way down the hall, to the small break room the nurses used between patients. Grabbing Maggie a small coffee, she handed it over, and then took one for herself, motioning Maggie to sit on the couch in the completely empty room. Maggie gave a small sigh, and began.
"The young man's name is Blaine. He's my grandnephew. He was in a bit of trouble, so his parents sent him to me, knowing I'd be able to help." Maggie lied smoothly. Ellie nodded, knowing a bit about Maggie's past, and that she would be able to help the boy.
"And the girl?" Ellie breathed, her voice soft as she watched the emotions play out over Maggie's features.
"Blaine found her. She was in an abandoned lot a few blocks from the café, and he brought her back to me. He's never been able to stand by and let a small child or an animal stay hurt. He always has to find a way to help them." Ellie nodded again, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I was wondering if you might be able to run a quick check with Alex from Child Protection and see if she has any missing children right now that fit Ariel's description." Ellie gave a huge smile.
"Ariel? That's probably the most fitting name I've seen in a long while! Sure, I'll check with Alex and see if there are any kids matching this one. In the meantime, let's get back and see if she'll even let us touch that wrist." Ellie led the way back to the room, and upon entering, found that Blaine had managed to get Ariel onto the white hospital bed. She sat there with huge eyes, clutching the tattered sock puppet to her chest, watching every movement the nurse made.
"Hey, Ariel. Do you think you might be able to be a really brave girl and let me look now?" Ellie murmured softly. She carefully walked to the child, stopping when she realised the girl was shivering. She looked to Blaine, silently pleading with him to help.
"Hey, sweetheart?" Ariel looked up at the young man, with tear filled eyes, clutching her sock puppet and her bad wrist with her good one. "It's okay to be scared, all right? But remember what I said. It will hurt a little bit now, but it will save you from hurting more when the bones mend the wrong way. You don't want them to be fixed wrong, do you?" She nodded her head, and tentatively stuck her hand out to the nurse.
"Thank you, Ariel." Ellie breathed, her practised fingers caressing the bones, making the young girl wince. "I'm sorry honey, I'll try to make this as quick as possible." Once she was finished examining the wrist, she made a couple of notes in a yellow file folder, and left, promising to be back soon.
Maggie and Blaine waited, each thinking their own thoughts, while Ariel sat stiffly on the little bed. Her hand continuously stroked the ratty sock puppet she held, an indicator of just how nervous she really was.
When Ellie returned, she brought someone else with her, a tall woman with long, coppery hair and a gentle smile. She looked over to Blaine, and for a second, he almost thought he saw a flash of recognition in her eyes. But then her attention focussed on Ariel, and his heart rate began to slow.
"Hi. My name is Alexandra. That's a really pretty sock puppet you have there." The woman approached the child cautiously, stopping a couple of feet away as Ariel began shivering again. Blaine reached toward her, and she scooted closer, getting as close as she could without getting off the hospital bed. Alexandra and Maggie exchanged a glance that Blaine couldn't decipher.
"Sweetie, I know it's hard for you to be here, but I need to ask you a couple of questions, okay?" When Ariel didn't respond, Alexandra pressed on. "I have a file here, and need to ask you a few questions, okay? All you have to do is respond by nodding your head up and down for yes, and back and forth for no. Is that acceptable?" The tiny child nodded her head, and Alex began asking questions. They started out as generic, and Alex tried to phrase them so the child could answer either yes or no to them.
When Alex got to the questions about family, and her parents, Ariel began shivering again. Everyone in the room noticed, as a fat tear began rolling down her face. At the mention of her father, the tiny girl gave a scream, her arms beginning to thrash around wildly as she tried to cope with her terror. Blaine attempted to put his arms around the girl, but nothing could soothe the child's fears.
Ellie raced from the room, coming back with a doctor and a syringe. The doctor jabbed the hysterical girl with the needle, sedating her. As her movements slowed, and eventually stopped, Blaine discovered his own tears falling from his eyes. He prayed that whatever was to become of this little girl, that she would eventually be all right.
"That should put her out for a little while," Ellie's voice was raw with emotion, even though she tried to hide the sympathy she felt for the child. She looked at Alexandra, pleading with her eyes to be gentle with the girl. Alex dashed off to check in with her supervisor, and to file a report with Franklin County Children's Services.
Blaine and Miss Maggie spoke in worried tones as they waited for the orthopedist to come in. When he arrived, they stood back as the doctor took his time examining Ariel's arm again, set the bones in the little girls' wrist, and applied a cast to the arm. When the cast came off, he advised them all, the arm should be as good as new. And then he left.
Alexandra checked in with Maggie and Blaine and to see if Ariel's sedative was wearing off. She told them she'd return with an investigator from The Office of Families and Children as soon as she arrived. Twenty minutes later, Alexandra came back with another worker, whom she introduced as Tara. She needed to speak with Ariel before she could make a determination of what to do with the child.
"You can't wake her," Blaine protested. "She'll wake up hurting, and she'll cry. Please don't," The young man looked as though he were about to cry too, and it broke the hearts of every person in the room. But Tara was adamant.
"I'm so sorry, Blaine. But there are questions that I need to ask, and Ariel is the only person with the answers to those questions. At the very least I need to ask how her arm got broken. And we need to contact the police, to see if she's been reported as a missing child. Someone has to be looking for this beautiful little angel." Blaine looked down at the child, snuggled into his lap, and relented. It was mostly because he knew that if she had been abused, then the bastard who had hurt her could be hurting someone else, too. And the sooner they got any other children away from them, the better. He nudged the little girl, who rubbed her nose sleepily against his shoulder.
"Come on, sweetheart. I need you to wake up, just a little, okay? Someone here needs to ask you a question." Soft blue eyes blinked up at him, dozy and relaxed, and she smiled, a quiet little smile, and his heart fluttered in his chest. He well and truly had fallen for this child. Her attention was taken by the woman seated beside him, and a small spurt of jealousy tore through him.
"Hey there, beautiful girl. My name is Tara. I need to ask you about your home. Can you tell me where you live? Or maybe write it down?" She handed over a clipboard with a piece of blank paper, and a pen for the child to draw with. The girl held the pen loosely in her hand, as though it were completely foreign to her. She scratched the pen across the page, and seemed quite surprised that it made a mark. Her big eyes looked up at Blaine, and the social worker realised it was the first time she had ever held a pen. Shaking her head, she looked away.
"I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I have to contact the police and check out Ariel in the missing person's reports. Someone has to be missing this child." And with that, Tara disappeared. Ariel continued making designs and marks on the paper, all the while snuggled close in Blaine's lap. Miss Maggie had seated herself on the other end of the couch, and smiled softly when Ariel held out the clipboard, showing her the drawing.
"It's beautiful, pumpkin." Ariel smiled widely at the pet name, and continued drawing, her little eyes drooping once more as the drugs continued flowing through her system. After another fifteen minutes, she was sound asleep once more, and Tara returned to the room, another document in her hand.
"Well, she has been reported missing, but not by who we would have thought." Miss Maggie frowned, and Blaine tried to blink the sleep from his eyes and pay attention. He was warm in the hospital here, and it was putting him to sleep, along with the child in his lap.
"The child's name is Gertrude Smith. Her father was an alcoholic, who disappeared around the same time. He was found dead almost seven days ago, his car wrapped around a tree. Her mother died almost five years ago, when the girl was a year old. She was reported missing ten days ago by a neighbour who saw her father get into the car, completely drunk, after shoving the child in the backseat. That was the last anyone saw of them, until you found her, Blaine."
Every soul in the room sat shocked. It was one thing to think about what had happened to the child, but to know that her father had willingly put her in danger by driving drunk, and then wrapped his car around a tree with her still in it. It was a miracle that she was still alive. Blaine cuddled her closer, almost to the point of waking her. She squirmed softly in sleep, and he relaxed his hold, just a bit. His mind couldn't process the fact that there had been a possibility that this little girl might not have lived. He blinked back tears once more. Miss Maggie stood then.
"I'm petitioning to become her foster parent, Alex, Tara. I know it's not usually how things are done, but this little girl needs me, and you both know that I've done this before. This is my official request. That child needs Blaine, and the only way she'll be able to stay with him is to be fostered with me." Her eyes found Alexandra's, a soft sheen of mist covering them. They smiled together, and Tara knew she would do whatever she had to in order to make this happen. After all, Maggie had been one of the most respected and loved foster parents in the area for many years after she retired from social work. Even after her second husband had passed, she had still requested to take in the unwanted, the unloved, and she would raise them to be amazing young people. That had been her gift for many years, and Tara was touched that she wanted to continue giving.
Tara nodded. "I'll need to call family resource to see if there's any paperwork that needs to be done before she goes home with you, but I'm sure there will be no problem with your being approved as an emergency placement. I'll be back in a minute," she told them and exited the room leaving the little family alone with Alexandra.
Alex cleared her throat nervously. They all looked at her, but she only had eyes for Blaine. "Blaine, I know you don't remember me, but… I remember you. I was one of the workers that came to see you in the hospital. That was, what? Six months ago, right?" Blaine's heart stopped. Alexandra recognised him? He stood quickly, jostling the child around, his eyes wide and terrified. He was still legally bound to his parents, at least for another couple of months. If she tried to make him go back…
"Wait! Relax Blaine, please. I didn't say this because I wanted you to go back! I'm… well, I'm just happy you're no longer in jeopardy. It was hard for me to see you go back to that home, especially after what happened. When your father had finished the mandatory counselling, and anger management courses, I could see it in his eyes that he hadn't really changed. He was a good liar, though, and managed to convince almost everyone else, including your mother. I tried going back to see you about a month after your return, but they'd said you'd run away from your boarding school." Blaine nodded, his wide eyes still watching every move the hospital social worker made. His heart felt like it was in his throat the entire time.
"Now, if I knew for sure you were Blaine Anderson, than I really should tell Tara so she could notify your parents." Blaine's breath hitched; this was it. "But Maggie here has told me that you are her grandnephew, and I'm willing to go along with that for now. So as far as anyone knows, I've not seen Blaine Anderson in months. I've met a Blaine Davis, though, who is an intelligent, kind, handsome young man, with few similarities to the abused young man from six months ago. Isn't that right, Mags?" She turned to look at Maggie, who nodded her head, a soft smile playing over her lips. Blaine realised it was true. He wasn't as badly off as he had been six months before. He had a place to stay, he had someone to look after, and he had his health. That was more than many people had, at any given time in their lives. He sighed, shooting the both of them a grateful smile.
Tara returned, hanging up her cell phone. "Everything's all set Maggie, we never actually closed your home, just put you on hold, so the placement's been approved and is already entered into the system. Tomorrow I'll file the affidavit with Judge Foster. You remember him, so I know we'll have no issues getting custody of her while we sort all this out. In the meantime, my supervisor has notified the police that she's been found." Blaine jumped, his arms tightening around the girl in his lap. "Don't worry," Alexandra soothed, raising her hand to advise him to stay seated. "She won't be taken away from you. She deserves all the love and patience you can give her, okay? She's had a bit of a hard life so far." He nodded softly.
"All right now, young man," Maggie said. "Ariel, which is what I plan on continuing to call the girl, because Gertrude is simply the worst name ever," And Maggie's eyes twinkled with mirth. "She needs to get home. She'll be waking up for real soon, and the best thing to do is have her in a safe, familiar place when she awakes. Let's go home." Turning to Alexandra and Tara, Maggie clasped the other women's hands, her face breaking into a beautiful smile. "Thank you, ladies. You know if you need anything from me, just ask, okay?" Alexandra and Tara both nodded and the newborn family of three made their way from the hospital.
So there you have it! A new family, a new friend, and a new lease on life for a couple of very special people. Feel free to bug me on Twitter or Tumblr or here to get me to keep writing this! Potikanda for everything! XD
