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A/N: This chapter carries a warning for difficult content.
Chapter 14
"Excuse me, is Dr. Friend working tonight?" Vivian asked the intake nurse at St. Luke's emergency room.
He looked at his schedule and nodded, "Yep. Do you need medical assistance?'
"No," she pulled her badge, "one of my coworkers is on her way and I think Dr. Friend is just the person to see her."
"I'll page her for you. Why don't you have a seat over there," he pointed to the back wall of chairs, "and I'll have her come out."
"Thanks." The ER wasn't very busy so Vivian didn't have to wait long.
A tall, slender, light-skinned African American woman stepped though the doorway, "Vivian? What are you doing down here? Are you hurt?" She motioned for Vivian to come with her and led her to a private room down a short hallway.
"I'm fine, Marilynn. But my friend, Samantha, is on her way. Martin called and asked me to meet them here and I asked for you," Vivian perched on the gurney.
"Samantha and Martin? The colleagues you keep talking about? Why are they headed here?" Dr. Marilynn Friend sat next to Vivian on the gurney.
Vivian sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, "I'll tell you what I know, Mari. The rest, we'll have to see when Sam gets here." She proceeded to tell the doctor about the past eleven weeks of stalking, paying special attention to the destruction of Sam's apartment and the most recent gifts.
"Yikes! Poor girl!"
"And poor Martin. This hasn't been easy on him either. I don't think it could be easy, knowing your girlfriend's the target of a stalker," Vivian replied.
There was a soft knock on the door, "Excuse me, Dr. Friend. I think your patient's arrived." Behind the burly nurse, Vivian could see Martin carrying Samantha.
"Bring her in," Dr. Friend called, hoping off the gurney and handing Vivian a hospital gown. "I'm going to ask you to help her into that before I come back in, Viv. She knows you. It'll be easier on her to have you here."
Vivian just nodded and took the gown. She watched Martin put Samantha onto the gurney.
Martin stood back from the gurney and swallowed hard, Sam looked so lost. He leaned over and whispered, "I'll be outside if you need me. I love you." He smiled weakly at Vivian and left the two women alone.
"Hi, Sam," Vivian moved closer.
Samantha looked at her friend with bright eyes, "I tried to stop him, Viv. I really tried!"
Vivian went into mother-hen mode, "Shh, Samantha. I know you did everything you could. I know you did. Shh, sweetie." She reached over and pulled Sam into her arms, rocking gently, "Shh, it'll be all right. You're safe now." When Vivian could feel Sam calming down she decided it was time to get her treated. "Do you remember the doctor that was in here earlier? That's Dr. Marilynn Friend and she's going to take care of you, Samantha."
"You know her? You trust her?" Sam was leery. It had taken less than an hour to shatter her trust in others.
"Yes, I trust her, Sam. She's my sister-in-law and one of the best trauma doctors in the city," Vivian held the gown open in front of Sam and started to pull down the comforter. Once her arms were free, Vivian could see the awful swelling of her left wrist and Samantha's back-up weapon still firmly gripped in her right hand. "Let it go, Samantha. He can't hurt you here," Vivian pried the gun from Sam's hand and eased her arm into the gown, tucking the gun into her own pocket. Even more gently, she eased Sam's left arm into the gown.
Vivian was shocked to see the number of bruises on Sam's body, but even more shocking were the bite marks on her chest. Whoever did this to her was certifiable. Helping Samantha work free from the comforter, Vivian found a blanket folded under the gurney and spread it over her, brushing her hair back from her face and looked deep into her big eyes, "I'm staying right here, Sam. I promise. Don't worry." Once Vivian pulled the gun from Sam's hand, she hadn't let go for an instant and once she was completely free from the comforter, her grip tightened.
A knock at the door announced the doctor's return, "Everything ok, Vivian?"
She looked to Sam who nodded, "Yep, we're good. Samantha? This is my sister-in-law, Dr. Marilynn Friend." Vivian tipped her head in the doctor's direction, "Mari's the best."
"Hello, Samantha," Marilynn kept her voice low and moved slowly to Sam's side. "That wrist looks painful. Can I splint it for you?" she waited for permission before doing anything.
A soft sigh of relief escaped Sam when the splint went on. Outside support meant she didn't have to try to keep it still on her own. "Thanks."
"No problem," Dr. Friend pulled a tray closer. "I'd like to help you more. May I?" She didn't miss the flicker of Sam's eyes to Vivian and back, "Oh, don't worry, Viv's staying. I know she vouched for me, but you don't know me. And I'll tell you what I'm doing every step of the way, all right?"
Sam thought for a moment before nodding.
"Good. I want to start with a couple of questions. First, do you know the man who did this to you?"
Vivian held her breath. For eleven weeks they had been chasing her stalker though old cases and new, without finding even a fingerprint to point them in the right direction.
Biting her lower lip, Sam nodded.
"Who?" the question escaped Vivian before she could even stop herself.
Samantha closed her eyes, feeling the tears start to leak out again. "J—j—jack," she whispered.
"Jack? As in Jack, your boss?" Marilynn asked. She had heard about him from Vivian, but had never met the man. Seeing the injuries he inflicted on her patient, she was glad. If she ever met him, he wouldn't leave the meeting a whole man.
Vivian felt her knees give way and sank into a chair Mari had brought over. Her grip on Sam's hand tightened and she closed her own eyes. Jack stalked Samantha? He did it under all of their noses? Why? Why would he do such a thing? She had seen flashes of Jack's temper as he interviewed suspects, but she never though he'd turn that temper on someone he once claimed to love. Her eyes flew open when she heard Sam whimper.
"I tried to stop him, Viv," Sam cried harder. "I used everything I ever learned, but he was stronger, bigger. He knew all the counters. I couldn't get away, Viv! I couldn't!" her voice rose until she was almost screaming.
"Shh," Vivian pushed aside her own horror at Jack's actions to focus on Samantha. No matter what she thought about her boss, her primary focus had to be Sam, it had to be. "Shh, sweetie, shh," Vivian wiped the tears from Sam's cheeks for her, "I believe you, Sam. I know you did everything right. Calm down now. We believe you."
Marilynn forced Sam to look at her, "I'm going to say this several times. Vivian will too. What happened tonight wasn't your fault, Samantha. Say it. Say, 'It wasn't my fault' and mean it." Over the course of her career Dr. Friend had treated more cases of rape committed by someone known to the victim than she could count. If Samantha was ever going to recover emotionally, she had to start believing she wasn't at fault.
"It…it wasn't…it wasn't my…my fault," Sam stuttered through her tears but said it with conviction.
"Good girl!" Marilynn smiled. "Keep saying it, Samantha. Even if it's only in your head, keep saying it." She let the smile fall from her face, "Now for a harder question. When was your last period?"
"Um, almost three weeks," Sam whispered. Suddenly her brain kicked in, her thoughts ran a mile a minute and she closed her eyes.
Marilynn caught Vivian's gaze and they both winced. Dr. Friend reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a pad, "Samantha, I'm writing you a prescription for the morning-after pill series. You're going to take the first pill tonight and the second tomorrow. It isn't a 100 guarantee…"
"But better than the alternative," Sam finished for her. "Although, with the past three months, the only way I've been remotely regular is thanks to the pill," she bit her lower lip, "Isn't it just like the pill anyway?"
"In a way," the doctor explained, "essentially they are the same drug, just different dosages at different rates of delivery. And since we know the pill isn't 100 effective either, better to err on the side of caution."
Sam nodded and squeezed Viv's hand tighter, "After him stalking me, that would be too much."
Vivian pulled her into a hug, "I agree." The knot in her belly tightened and Vivian wondered again what had possessed Jack to stalk and rape his former lover.
"I have one last question before I start my exam," Dr. Friend made sure she had eye contact, "It's the hardest question because it has long-term effects. Do you want to press charges?"
Sam looked to Vivian, "I don't know."
Vivian returned her look, "I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, Sam. You're a Federal Officer. You have to report any crime that happens to you or that you witness." Part of her wished she could tell Sam that she didn't have to. That she could get cleaned up and go home and forget all about what happened tonight and the previous eleven weeks; but she couldn't do that.
But what Vivian said seemed to have the opposite effect than she feared. Sam's eyes lost some of the haunted look they had and she seemed stronger than before. Her grip on Vivian's hand eased, "Yes," she said, her voice strong, "I want to press charges. It's my job to protect others when I can. I can do that now. I'm pressing charges!"
Bending close to her ear, Vivian whispered, "I'm so proud of you!"
Sam leaned her head towards Vivian and met her eyes, "Just don't leave, ok?" a little of the fear crept back into her eyes. Doing her job was one thing; dealing with the personal side, the physical side, that was a completely separate thing and Sam knew she needed Vivian's moral support if she was going to go through the whole process.
"I'm right here, Samantha. The whole way."