Chapter 6
There was a soft knock at the door, and Audrey turned her attention away from the window and the sights outside. The door swung open to reveal Dr. Carlson. Audrey immediately took several steps backwards. She still wasn't sure if she completely trusted this woman.
Dr. Carlson smiled reassuringly, and held out her hand. "Relax, Audrey. I'm not going to hurt you. We need to run a few tests, though. I need you to come with me." Audrey shook her head, barely managing not to roll her eyes. Did they think she was stupid? Did they honestly think that she was going to willingly allow them to whisk her away somewhere and do God-knows-what to her? By now, she knew better. She had been beaten and tortured by Cheng's men far too many times to fall for any tricks.
Dr. Carlson held her hands in plain sight as she slowly stepped towards Audrey. "Wait," she said softly as Audrey began to back away. "Audrey, look at me. Look." She waited until the young woman hesitantly made eye contact with her. "I have something to say. Will you listen?"
Audrey knew what she wanted to say; she just had to make sure that it came out in English and not Mandarin Chinese. "No," she spat. "No. I won't." She was trembling. "Please, go. Go away."
The doctor hesitated, then nodded. "All right. I'm leaving." She looked at Audrey for a long moment, and then silently left the room.
-O-O-O-O-
Dr. Carlson nearly collided with Jack as she left Audrey's room. "How is she?" Jack asked.
Dr. Carlson shook her head. "The same. Audrey's still unsure on whether to trust me or not." She sighed. "I went in to talk with her and let her know that we need to run a few tests—an EKG, some x-rays, things like that. She's not buying it. She looked at me like I was crazy, and told me to get away from her. I could use your help, Jack. Audrey trusts you. You talk to her; she'll listen to you."
Jack nodded. "I'll try." Crossing his fingers, he opened the door and stepped into the room. "Audrey?" She glanced up, and her eyes lit up. Jack smiled. "Hi. I just ran into Dr. Carlson," Jack continued carefully. Something flickered in Audrey's eyes. "Audrey, do you trust me?" Jack asked quietly. Audrey nodded. "Take my word for it, then. Audrey, I promise you that Dr. Carlson is not going to hurt you. I give you my word. She's trying to help you. She wants to run some tests and figure out how to help you." Audrey shook her head. Jack sighed. "Come here." Audrey allowed Jack to lead her over to the window seat. He guided her down next to him, and gently pulled her close. "Look at me, Audie. I promise that I'll stay with you. I won't let anything happen to you. I will stay right next to you, holding your hand, and I won't let anyone hurt you. That's a promise." He took her hand in his. "Okay?"
Audrey lifted her head and met Jack's gaze. Slowly, hesitantly, she nodded. Jack gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Okay, then." He got to his feet. "Let me go find Dr. Carlson. I'll be right back."
Dr. Carlson was waiting just outside the door, and she looked at Jack expectantly. Jack gave a silent, curt nod. "Audrey agreed," he said quietly. "Go ahead."
The doctor nodded. "All right. Let me go find Dr. Besson. We'll come get you when we're ready." She turned, and hurried briskly down the hallway. Jack pushed the door open and went to join Audrey.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Dr. Besson poked his head into the room. "We're ready for you." Jack got to his feet and held out a hand to Audrey. Obediently, she allowed him to lead her out of the room and down the hallway. They followed Dr. Besson down the hallway to the dimly lit x-ray room. "We'll stop here first, and get some x-rays and an MRI," Dr. Besson said over his shoulder. "Then Dr. Carlson will come get you, and she'll take care of the EKG." He held out a hand to Audrey. "Come here, Audrey." She shook her head and took several rapid steps backward, and would have backed out the door if Jack hadn't caught her arm.
Dr. Besson and Jack spoke calmly and offered soothing reassurances. It took several minutes, but they finally convinced Audrey to agree to remain still and submit to the testing. Dr. Besson handed Jack a lead-lined apron. "You're welcome to stay with her." He smiled sympathetically at Audrey. "Everything's going to be just fine," he said soothingly. "Just relax."
For the next hour, Jack sat patiently by Audrey's side in the tiny, dimly-lit room as she endured several x-rays and a seemingly endless MRI scan. He could tell that Audrey was terrified, and he held her hand tightly and whispered soothing words, trying desperately to comfort her.
At last, after what felt like an eternity to everyone, Dr. Besson came back into the room and turned on the lights. "We're all finished," he announced. "You did great, Audrey. It's over now. You can relax." He extended a hand and helped Audrey sit up. "Just relax. Everything's fine." He motioned to Jack. "You can take her into the other room now. Dr. Carlson's waiting for you." With a nod, Jack got to his feet. He clasped Audrey's hand in his, and led her out the door and into the hallway.
Dr. Carlson was waiting in another room down the hallway. This room was brightly lit, with nothing "lurking" in the shadows. Audrey seemed a bit more willing to enter this room, and she followed Jack without protest. Suddenly, however, she stopped dead in her tracks and began to back up. "What is it?" Jack asked, bewildered. "Audrey, what? What's wrong?"
She shook her head rapidly. "No... no, no, no. Not again... please, no... no more." Tears were falling steadily down her cheeks, and she was trembling violently. "Please, no. No more. Don't do this. Please."
Dr. Carlson glanced at Jack. "What's going on? 'No more' what?"
In a split second, with almost horrifying clarity, Jack understood. "The EKG," he breathed. "Audrey's terrified of it." He met Dr. Carlson's gaze. "Don't you see?" She cocked her head, puzzled. "The ECT!" Jack exclaimed. "The electrodes, the monitor... The EKG machine looks like the machine that Cheng used during the electric shock treatment. Audrey thinks that you're going to torture her."
Dr. Carlson paled. "You're right. That's it." She looked at Audrey in horror. "I need that EKG, Jack... but it could destroy any trust that Audrey has in us. What do we do?"
"What we've been doing," Jack replied grimly. "Hold her and talk to her. And work fast."
Fear was choking Audrey; she couldn't breathe. Each wracking sob was followed by a frantic gasp for air. She pressed herself hard against the wall and willed it to absorb her and hide her. It didn't, and Dr. Carlson stepped closer. "Audrey..."
"No!" Audrey's scream echoed in the room, making her own ears hurt. Dr. Carlson looked startled. "No," Audrey yelled again. "Get away from me!" She scrambled backwards, propelling herself away from the doctor. "Leave me alone." Dr. Carlson placed a gentle hand on her arm. Audrey slapped it away. "Get your hands off of me!" But the doctor wouldn't let go. She maintained her firm grip, holding tightly to Audrey's arm. "Let go," Audrey shrieked, clawing wildly at the doctor's hands. "Let go. Let go! Let go of me!"
"Audrey. Audrey!" Jack grabbed her other arm, holding it firmly. Now she was trapped between the two of them. She struggled frantically, but Jack maintained his grip. He slid his other arm around Audrey's shoulder, holding her still and pressing her firmly against him. "Give us a minute, please," he said over his shoulder. Dr. Carlson hurried from the room, closing the door behind her. "We're alone now," Jack said quietly. "Just you and me, Audie. No one else. Just relax."
The room was silent. The only sounds were Audrey's ragged, panicked breaths. Jack cradled her tighter against his chest. "Easy, easy. Just relax. You're all right, Audrey. Everything's fine. Relax." Audrey's back and shoulders were tense and rigid. Jack slowly ran his hand over her shoulders, rubbing gently in slow, soothing circles. He worked all the tension from her neck and shoulders, and moved to her back. Gradually, he felt her relax and go limp in his arms. "That's it, nice and easy. Shh, shh. Everything's fine. I'm here. You're safe. Just relax."
With tears still falling down her cheeks, Audrey tilted her head and glanced up at Jack. Her lips moved soundlessly as she tried to force out the words that she wanted. Jack placed a finger over her lips, shushing her. "Don't talk now. Just take it easy." Slowly, Audrey relaxed and rested her head on Jack's chest. "Good girl," Jack murmured into her ear. "Everything's fine." He stepped towards the door. "I'm going to go get Dr. Carlson now." Audrey grabbed wildly at Jack's arm, shaking her head pleadingly. "Easy, Audie," Jack whispered. "Easy. It's all right. Dr. Carlson's not going to hurt you, Audrey. I promise. You're safe." The doctor was waiting just outside the door, watching through the glass wall. Jack made eye contact with her and motioned for her to enter the room. Audrey tensed as Dr. Carlson stepped through the door. "Shh," Jack soothed. "You're safe. She's not going to hurt you." He nodded to Dr. Carlson. "Work fast. She won't stay calm for long."
Dr. Carlson stepped towards Audrey, holding a handful of stickers and gelled pads. "These are what we use to take the EKG reading," she said to Jack. "I need you to convince Audrey to let me put them on her." Audrey was already shaking her head. Her eyes were wide, and sheer terror was written plainly across her face.
Suddenly, Jack had an idea. "Put them on me." Dr. Carlson's eyebrow arched. "You heard me. Put the electrodes on me," Jack repeated. "If Audrey sees that you aren't hurting me, maybe she'll agree."
Dr. Carlson nodded. "It can't hurt. It's worth a try. All right, then, that's what we'll do. Come here." Obligingly, Jack sat down on the edge of the examining table and held out his arms. Quickly, efficiently, Dr. Carlson began applying the electrodes to Jack's neck and arms.
Audrey's eyes widened. "Jack..." She turned fiercely on Dr. Carlson, glaring at her. "Let him go."
"Audrey, it's all right," Jack soothed. "She's not going to hurt me. I'm fine." He held out his hand. "Come here." Audrey was trembling violently. "She's not hurting me," Jack said calmly. "See?" He nodded to Dr. Carlson. She finished applying the electrodes, and reached over to the EKG machine. Expertly, she keyed a set of commands into it and pressed a series of buttons. Audrey tensed as the machine began to beep. "Audrey." Jack kept his voice low and soothing. "Look. Nothing's happening. I'm not in pain. Everything's fine." He watched green lines march across the screen in peaks and valleys as the machine measured his heart rate and pulse. "See? Look. I'm fine." He glanced at Dr. Carlson. "You can unhook me now."
"Or maybe I should keep you hooked to it, and check you over while I've got the opportunity," the doctor replied, smiling slyly.
"No way," Jack protested. "That was not the deal. Audrey's your patient, not me."
Dr. Carlson laughed. "All right, all right. I'll let you go." She began to peel away the stickers that dotted Jack's neck and arms. "There, you're free. Now it's Audrey's turn. Think she'll agree?"
Jack turned to Audrey and displayed his arms. "EKG's are not ECT's. I did not get electrocuted. See, I'm fine. No red marks, no burns. I'm fine," he repeated as Audrey inspected his wrist closely. "No one hurt me." He motioned to Dr. Carlson. "Will you let her work now?" Audrey seemed to be considering the question. At last, she nodded hesitantly. Jack smiled. "Okay." He took her hand in his, and gently ran his thumb over her palm. "I'll stay right here. Everything's going to be fine."
"Okay, Audrey." Dr. Carlson smiled reassuringly. "Lie down for me." She eased Audrey down until the young woman was lying flat on her back on the table. Jack remained next to Audrey, keeping his gaze locked on hers and holding her hand, as Dr. Carlson applied the stickers and electrodes to the pulse points on Audrey's forehead, neck, chest, wrists, and ankles. "There we go," she said calmly. "Let's see what we've got here." Audrey tensed as the EKG began to beep and hum. "Easy," Dr. Carlson said soothingly. "You're all right. Everything's fine." Audrey was trembling, but she clung to Jack's hand and remained still and silent. She followed the EKG with her eyes as the green lines marched steadily across the screen.
"All finished," Dr. Carlson announced a few minutes later, turning the machine off. She unhooked the wires that were attached to the electrodes on Audrey's body, and began to peel off the stickers. "That wasn't too bad, was it? There we go. You can go now." She patted Audrey's shoulder and smiled.
Without a word, Jack led Audrey back to her room.
6