"Are you Dr. Crane?"
"I am." Niles replied, holding onto the sofa for support. "H-how is Daphne?"
"I'm Dr. Sandler." He said, extending his hand in greeting. "Ms. Moon is resting now. We stitched the gash on her forehead and inserted an IV in her arm to flush out the drugs."
"Drugs? Wh-what drugs?"
Dr. Sandler's face grew even grimmer. "I'm afraid that she was injected with a drug called Flunitrazepan, more commonly known as the date rape drug."
Niles felt sick. "Date rape? You mean that someone was trying to-." He lowered himself on to the uncomfortable sofa, burying his face into his hands. "Oh my God…"
"Dr. Crane what is your relationship to Ms. Moon?"
Niles' heart swelled at the sound of his angel's name and his well-contained tears resurfaced once more. "I-I love her… so much." He whispered.
"Dr. Crane your wife was very lucky." Dr. Sandler said. "The effects of the drug intake should be minimal. Do you have any idea how this happened?"
"She's not my…" Niles' voice trailed away, his heart squeezing with pain. The thought that she wasn't truly his was almost unbearable.
"Dr. Crane, do you know how your wife sustained her injuries or why these drugs were injected into her body?"
Again the word wife pained him and the guilt returned. "I-I don't know. We … we were watching a movie and I… fell asleep. I woke up and saw a note… she… went out to walk Eddie and-." He gasped in horror, suddenly remembering his father's beloved dog.
"Dear God!"
"Sir, are you all right?"
"Eddie… Oh my God... He's still in the car! I-is there an emergency animal hospital nearby?"
"As a matter of fact there is. Right up the road on 56th Avenue Northwest."
Muttering a quick thank you, Niles turned and ran to his car. Breathless when he arrived, he opened the back door and picked up the sleeping dog who whimpered as though in pain.
"It's okay, buddy. I've got you." Niles said. He gave Eddie a gentle hug and carefully put him in the front seat. But the instant he put the key into the ignition, Niles' heart pounded in his chest.
"Daphne…"
Frantically he climbed out of the car, not knowing what to do as he paced in a circle. "Dear God…"
He forced himself to calm down but it was nearly impossible. How could he have forgotten about his angel, the woman he loved so deeply? She must absolutely hate him!But then he shuddered with the realization that she had no idea what was going on as she lie unconscious in the hospital, and he feared that she never would.
He glanced at the trembling little dog, knowing that he couldn't in good conscience leave him alone again. And so, he took Eddie into his arms and took him into the emergency room. The receptionist looked at him in concern and even Niles had to admit that he had no idea what he needed to say.
"Sir, can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for Dr.…" His mind scrambled for the name of the doctor, a name that he simply couldn't recall. And then as though by fate, the doctor approached him.
"Is that Eddie?"
"Y-yes, but how is-."
"Ms. Moon is sleeping now. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that she's comfortable. I've given her some heavy medication that will help flush out the drugs. We've performed a number of tests, and-."
Stunned, Niles looked up. "T-tests?"
"Unfortunately because Ms. Moon was infected with Flunitrazepan, we can't be too careful. There's no telling what was on that needle or where it came from, so we're running tests to check for HIV, AIDS or any number of diseases, some of which could be life-threatening."
Again, Niles felt himself growing weaker and the doctor reached for his shoulder to steady him.
"Look, I know it's scary but we want to make sure that we've covered every possible avenue. We take injuries of this kind very seriously. Now, I want to keep Ms. Moon here overnight for observation and then you can take her home."
Eddie whined in his arms, but his tail wagged in contentment when Dr. Sandler scratched his head. "You'd better get this little guy to the vet."
"But what about-."
"We'll take good care of Ms. Moon. She'll be asleep for several hours, so why don't you come back in a little while?"
"A-all right."
Niles carried Eddie back to the car and carefully placed him on the front passenger seat, stroking his soft fur. "Don't worry, Eddie. We'll get you all taken care of."
He just hoped that he wasn't too late.
