Thanks for the R&Rs! I might be busy this weekend and I didn't want to forget to put one up.

13

The clinic opened at 8:00. Elsie arrived for her shift. She yawned and flipped through the charts. This was going to be another uneventful day. Guys walking in for their treatments, a cold here and a sore throat there. She could socialize the day away and go home to iron her dress for church tomorrow. Sometimes she didn't mind the Saturdays, sometimes they were tremendously inconvenient. Without the kids coming over tomorrow, she could take The Lord's Day to relax and catch up on some reading. This one wouldn't be too bad. Not at all. She smiled as she unlocked the door and greeted the first of the patients walking in. Then made her way over to the counter and began chatting with the vets signing in. She hardly noticed when they appeared in the doorway.

"Elsie!" he called with as much breath as he could get.

She looked over to see Ace supported by the small blonde. She ran to them. Had he not been in such bad shape, she would have been overjoyed to see them together, but her concern overcame any happiness she momentarily felt.

"Lord Jesus in Heaven!! What happened to you?" she cried, "Let me take him, Amber." She turned to the nurse at the desk. "Triage him Agnes and get me a chair."

One of the vets grabbed a wheel chair and brought it over. "Elsie, can you call Fil for me? Have him come down?" Corny said.

Elsie immediately picked up the phone and dialed. She looked over the receiver at Amber. "Sit down girl, I need to talk to you….Yes, Sergeant McRoy? This is Elsie Jackson over at the VA clinic, I need to talk to Filbert, there's been an emergency……"

Amber sat down. She was sure that she was imagining all of this. The woman called her by her name. Amber was sure she was getting confused. She studied her hands as Elsie spoke and a man wheeled Corny away. There was just too much going on. None of this could be real, yet there were smells, sounds and sights she never experienced before. She looked around. A quick flurry of activity began as they walked in, now people were talking and finding seats as if nothing had gone on. She wanted to go home. Hide from the world and forget about this, but the tone of the lady's voice stuck her to that chair. She picked up a magazine and flipped through. No one paid a bit of attention to her. She started to relax.

Elsie came back out and searched for his chart. She scanned the room, the girl was still there. She scribbled a few notes and made her way over.

"Honey are you okay?" she said as she squatted down next to her.

Amber was startled. She looked up into the dark, kind face. "Yes, I'm fine."

Elsie knew to take things slowly. She understood from her studies that people like this could bolt or snap while in the middle of this much emotion, but she wanted to find out the story. Ace was first in to the doctor and his medical condition was far more important than his emotional one. The story would come from her.

"Can I get you anything?" Elsie asked, slipping into the chair next to hers.

Amber didn't look up, "No thank you. Really. I'm fine."

"Would you be so kind as to tell me what happened to him?" Elsie cajoled.

She sighed. "There were three of them. Young men, late teen or early twenties. They did it. It was horrible." A tear splashed onto her skirt. Elsie put a hand on her arm.

"Did you see them? Could you describe them?" she wondered how Amber fit into this mix but didn't prod.

"I saw them. They were kicking and punching. Over and over." She sniffed and searched her purse. Only the bloody handkerchief was there. She brought it out and shock began to set in.

Elsie pulled her own from her pocket, "Here…" she said, extracting the bloody one from Amber's hand. "use this." She stuffed the stained hanky away and out of her sight.

"Did you call the Police?" she asked, trying to distract the girl and bring her attention back.

Amber pulled her glasses off, wiped her eyes and hiccupped. "No. We had to get away. They could have come back and the bus came so we left." she turned to Elsie's kind face. "I didn't think it was real. But it is, isn't it?"

"It is Amber, it's real." She muttered without a thought.

The hanky dropped to the floor, "How do you know my name?"

The buzzer on the door sounded and Fil flew in as fast as he could swing on those crutches. The Salvation Army Sergeant quickly followed. His eyes scanned the room with great concern. He spotted Elsie and made his way over.

"What happened?" he bellowed, "Where is he?"

Elsie stood "He's being attended to. He's going to be okay. You take my seat."

Fil moved the crutches to the side, hoped to position and plopped down. "Elsie what happened? I haven't seen him all night. Was he on the streets?"

"I'm not sure Fil. We'll find out in good time. Let me go tell him you're here." She gave him a quick hug and hustled off.

Puzzle pieces were snapping into Amber's brain but none of them connecting. She knew the voice next to her. She knew the one legged vet. She hadn't seen him in a while. He hadn't been there for a bit and Stash told her of his good fortune in the shelter. She missed him, but continued to come for her weekly hot dog with Stash and the silent vet behind him. Fil and Stash and hot dogs and the silent vet. In the clothes that she washed last night. They called him Ace and he never looked up. Because if he had looked up, she would have seen his eyes. Those eyes. The ones that would give him away. Ace's face held Corny's eyes. Her hand flew up to her mouth and she gasped.

Fil looked over, "Mouse! What the hell are you doing here?"

The Ambulance screamed to a stop by the curb as she ran out the door.