I am a horrible person. I know. I am very very very sorry. I would like to thank everyone who continued to review in my absence, and everyones continuous support. You guys are amazing.

This is a short chapter, but I will try to update in a few days, I hope you enjoy it!

Previously:

As I turn the corner, out of the nurses' station, a familiar voice calls my name.

"Nurse Jackson! Wait a minute!" I turn around and find myself face to face with Macy and Emma's social worker, Thomas.

"I am kind of in a time crunch right now, Thomas, can I meet with you after?" I glance back up at the clock, the red hand passing through the black numbers once again.

"I'm sorry this is urgent."

"What is it? Are Emma and Macy okay?" I ask, worried for the wellbeing of both girls.

"Well Macy is good as far as I know…" Of course it is about Emma.

"What is the matter with Emma?" I ask. It is now 12: 57, three minutes before she is scheduled to be out of surgery, I have to be there.

"Her dad is suing for custody."

Nurse Jackson's POV***

I stare at Thomas in disbelief, "What do you mean suing for custody?" he couldn't possibly mean that Emma's father is trying to get her back.

"Daniel's lawyer stopped by the offices this afternoon and handed us the papers." Shaking my head, I look helplessly back to the clock, time is running out. "Dana, I need to talk to Dr. Jacobsen, and Dr. Samuels about this whole situation."

"Look, Emma is in surgery, I need to go. I promised I would be there when she woke up." Turning away from him, I rush to the elevator, my eyes watching the clock the whole way. My feet carry me to the Post Op rooms, almost like riding a cloud. She has no clue what is coming. She has no clue that the person who left her lone in the world, is coming back to ruin her life. In addition to the feeding tube, I'm worried about this being too much for Emma to handle.

Once in the Post Op room, I watch as Dr. Jacobsen wheels Emma in her bed out of the OR. The new tube is coming out of her nose, just like it was a few years ago, and the end ready to be attached to an IV. "Dr. Jacobsen," the words come out as barely a whisper, I don't want what I am going to say, to become a reality. "Dr. Jacobsen, we need to talk." The gray haired man turns around, just noticing that I have been standing here.

"Nurse Jackson? I thought you were going to meet Emma in her room?" he holds a hand up to the nurses pushing Emma's bed, telling them to wait a minute before bringing her up. On the bed, she seems so small, so helpless, and innocent. The darkness of her hair makes Emma's face look so pale, almost ghostly.

"Thomas from social services is here, he wants to talk to you and Dr. Samuels."

"Why?' one simple word, one simple question raises so many more. Why is Daniel suing? What does he want with Emma? Why now? Why at all?

"You should really talk to him about it. I will bring her back up to the room and meet you down in the conference room," I grab onto the railing of the bed, and start pushing towards the elevator I just got off of.

While listening to the dings of the elevator when we reach each floor, the girl on the gurney stirs as the anesthesia wears off. A shaking hand comes from her side, and goes to her face, fingering the plastic tubing. Exiting the machine, we turn down the hallway and into her shared room. Macy, thankfully is nowhere to be found. "Ah…" Emma tries to speak, but no words come out. Her eyes flicker open, those beautiful, hazel eyes.

"Shh Shh, just relax baby girl, you're alright," I take her hand in mine, the thin fingers grabbing on tightly.

"T-Take it out, p-please." Emma's other hand once again reaches for the feeding tube, desperately trying to pull the tape off of her cheek.

"No, no, Emma. Leave it alone." I blink back the tears forming in my eyes, I promised her I would protect her. I promised her the first time she confided in me with some secrets of her past life that she would be safe. That I would keep her safe.

"D-Don't l-leave m-me." Emma's eyelids close slowly, and I gently rub her forehead trying to get her to fall back to sleep, the sleep she will need to make her strong when the time comes.

When her breathing evens out, I remove my hand from hers, and stand, wiping the tears off my face. With a deep breath, I straighten out the scrubs, and make my way to the conference room.

"Daniel doesn't have a case. There may be a way that we can keep Emma in state care." Thomas sits at the head of the conference table, in front of three doctors, Dr. Samuels, Dr. Jacobsen, and Dr. McAndrew. "However, if he can prove to the judge that he is a suitable father, with no drug use, no relationship with her mother, things like that, he could get her back."

"So what do we have to do? We can't just let her father come back like that," the anger boils inside me. How could a person that hasn't been here in so long, have this much power over Emma's future?

Thomas looks around at the adults at the table. "That is up to us. We need to prove to the court that Emma has improved while under state custody. The feeding tube could help, if Emma gains some weight. But we can also have people testify to help her. Nurse Jackson, you have been Emma's nurse since she got here, correct?"

I nod, "Since the first minute she got out of that ambulance, I have been there."

"You can tell the judge everything that she has went through while staying here. And Doctors, you can tell about progress, treatment, things like that. We will do everything in our power to keep Emma in our care."

Flashback Nurse Jackson's POV***

"Did you know that like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different?" Emma sits on her bed, a new book from the hospital library open on her covers.

"Really? That's interesting," I place a tray of food on her bedside table, and slide over next to the girl, keeping enough space between her so I don't spark a panic attack.

She smiles up to me, "It is so cool there is a library here, I love all the books," Emma leafs through the pages, thinking about the small, barely noticeable space that holds a few books.

"I see you like reading. That's a good thing."

Emma stays silent for a few minutes, biting the corner of her lip. "My mommy didn't let me go to the library. She didn't really let me do anything." This remarkable girl sitting next to me, acts like what she just said isn't that big of a deal.

"Emma, you can do whatever your sweet heart desires. You are safe here, I will make sure of it."

I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you thought!

Until next time~

KDanceWriteDream