Chapter 3
"Hey, Calleigh." Horatio said as he walked up behind her. He had seen her as he passed the cafeteria and had to double back.
"Oh, Hi!" Calleigh smiled brightly, glancing at him while fixing her coffee. "How long did it take to process the warehouse?"
"A few hours. That dog tracked blood all over that place."
"That may not be such a bad thing. According to our vic, the dog got a piece of her attacker. Part of that blood is his."
"That's good news. I take it she's talking."
"A little. I don't have a full name, or any personal information. She told me everything she could about the attack, but I have a feeling if we turn her loose, it won't matter. She's gonna run."
"What did the kit show?"
"She was assaulted last night. The guy was brutal. There was evidence that he assaulted her himself, and again with a foreign object. She had a few nasty lacerations. Also, there was a lot of scar tissue; some as new as six months old to some as old as 7 or more years old. The nurse suspects abuse when she was younger. She's been sent for an MRI and some x-rays to rule out any other injuries. I told her I'd be back when she was done."
"Poor woman ran right into what she was trying to get away from. Do we know how old she is?"
"No. All I have to go on is Danny, the male spelling. Hey, Horatio?" Calleigh was more nervous now. She didn't look straight at him but down at her hands.
"Yes?"
"I don't know if I can work this case."
"Why not?"
"Danny. I have this overwhelming need to just protect her. To be able to hold her and tell her everything will be okay. There is also something so familiar about her, but I can't put my finger on it. My objectivity may be compromised."
"Is someone's biological clock ticking louder than it used to?" Horatio smiled.
"No! No… I'm a no baby zone." She smiled back at him.
They had both grabbed coffee and something to eat. Calleigh, being the person she is, chose a fruit salad while Horatio opted for a hamburger and fries. They ate quickly talking about little details of the case. Eric was processing trace and he had a rush on all the biologicals for DNA. They not only had to find the perpetrator, but who the victim is, and if there were more. Yes, this would be a fun case.
They headed for the elevators for the third floor, where Danny had been moved for hospitalization. They silently maneuvered through the wide halls, and, upon finding the one they needed, they encountered chaos. Something was definitely up. Nurses were running all over the place and security guards were being chastised mercilessly. Danny was screaming and fighting everyone that came into the room. Calleigh tossed her coffee cup and ran for the room, Horatio on her heels.
"Danny, what's wrong? What happened?" Calleigh forced herself to sound composed. She held up her hands to show she wasn't a threat.
"He was here! He put something in the bag! I thought he was a nurse, but then I saw his arm. It was all bandaged up and he had a bite mark on his hand from Max! And you know what…" She screamed as a nurse hurried in, "if someone would leave me a damn box of Kleenex, there wouldn't be blood everywhere from pulling the I.V. catheter!" Danny threw the pitcher from the table towards the nurse, who quickly spun and left. Blood still gushing from her arm, she went back to applying pressure on the surprisingly strong flow.
"Who was here?" Horatio asked calmly. Calleigh was glad because she wasn't sure she could breath.
"Gee, you know, I forgot to ask his name! I'll ask him next time he tries to kill me!" She responded contemptuously. "Jesus Christ, what am I, a freakin' mind reader?"
Amelia, the nurse from earlier, and the nurse Danny had screamed at hustled into the room with a tray. They sat it down on the rolling table and pulled it close. Without a word, one nurse began drawing up drugs while Amelia began prepping to re-cath. Danny's widened eyes honed in on the tray and her breathing sped up, with a mix of fear and anger and hatred.
"What are you doing?" Calleigh managed to say and sound composed.
"Annie's giving her a sedative, and I'm putting her I.V. back in. She needs them in for the second MRI. The first one was inconclusive, because she wouldn't stay still. If we need to prep for surgery, we won't have time later. She is at high risk if internal bleeding. Also, she may have a severe concussion. These are just precautions." Amelia explained.
Danny pulled her arm away, and kicked the table. All their instruments fell to the floor. "If you think for one second you are putting a needle in my arm while I am awake and alert and, oh yeah, just almost killed because of that, you fuckers have another thing coming!" The fear wasn't as intense in her eyes as her will to fight.
"She's combative, we have to sedate her." Amelia told the younger nurse.
"Yeah, well my fight or flight response is heavily weighted towards fight." Danny mumbled.
"Danny…" Calleigh moved over to the bed and put her hand on her shoulder opposite the frustrated nurses.
"NO! I have the right to refuse treatment. I am awake, hydrated, not in pain, not nauseous, my stomach isn't showing signs of internal bleeding, and I'm eating. I don't need that." Danny told Calleigh evenly while her eyes shifted between the one person she trusted and the man with her.
"You heard her." Calleigh told the nurses, who were growing angrier by the second.
"Calleigh…" Horatio warned.
"Horatio, please?" Calleigh held eye contact with Danny, who relaxed for the moment.
"You heard the ladies." Horatio stared the nurses down until they left in a huff.
"I want a nurse's assistant to bandage my arm so I can get out of here."
"We will go tell the nurse." Horatio said as he signaled Calleigh to follow him. Calleigh sighed and smiled at Danny before following him. They both knew he wasn't wanting to talk to the nurse.
Danny watched him pull her past the nurse's station, no doubt to talk about her. The security guard posted outside her door was flirting with an N.A. that was duty. Some grat defender of the injured he was. Slowly, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the closet. She had to hold on to the wall to keep the world from spinning, or at least to keep her balance while it was spinning. She rummaged around inside until she found something useful-- pair of scrubs. Finally feeling well enough to walk alone, she let go of the wall and shuffled towards the bathroom. So much for not being in pain, she felt like she had been hit by a bus! And she really, really had to throw up.
After she was changed, which no one had even noticed that she had even gotten out of bed, she made her way to the nurse's station. She had no belongings, so getting out of there would be easy once all the paperwork was taken care of.
"I'm checking myself out." She told the overworked nurse at the computer.
"I can't let you leave until you see the doctor."
"I'll sign a damn waiver."
"You know, sweetie, I need a guardian to sign all your paperwork. How's about you get back in bed and let me know when they get here." The nurse went back to the computer.
"Listen, Bitch," She realized too late how loud that was and how much attention she had attracted. "I am nineteen years old; last I checked that makes me an adult! I don't need anyone's permission to do anything! Except gamble and drink."
"Look Ma'am…" The nurse began.
"Is there a problem Danny?" Horatio's cool, even tone was starting to piss her off.
"I'm going to get out of here and this nurse is just getting my paperwork." She replied while glaring at the nurse.
"She can't leave AMA without proof of her age or a guardian's signature." The nurse implored.
"Wanna bet? You can't stop me from walking out of here. No one even noticed when I got out of bed and got dressed." Danny challenged and headed for the stairs. She hoped no one noticed the slight shuffle in her gait. It took all she had in her to walk even remotely close to correctly.
"Danny, wait!" Calleigh called. Danny simply stopped and turned to look at her. "We will take you into police protective custody and that means we can get you out of the hospital and we can still protect you. Please?" Calleigh stared at Danny, obviously avoiding the chastising gaze from Horatio.
"Deal." Danny said and hobbled back to them. Horatio really didn't want to take Calleigh off this case, but the more attached she got to this girl, the less choice he would have.