Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from NCIS.
A/N: I did some research, and at least here in Australia a "Code Grey" in a hospital is a dangerous patient, or a patient causing trouble – whether that be them being violent, abusive, etc. I don't know what the codes are in the US, so this will have to do. Oh, and this chapter is nearly twice as long as the others, and it's from Grace's perspective. Anyway, please read and review!
Chapter 21
Grace bowed her head slightly as she stood on the opposite side of the nurses station, trying to avoid eye contact with the attending nurse. The nurse was warm, friendly and spoke softly to Grace, yet Grace felt uneasy around her.
Around all of them. The doctors and nurses in Ward 2H were unknown to Grace, but they knew of the young girl's history and her escape from the hospital less than a week ago. She had been transferred to another ward with the hope of settling her down, but the new surroundings did nothing to calm her nerves or make her feel any better about the situation.
A middle aged female nurse with slightly greying hair stood next to Grace, one hand hovering above her shoulder with the intent on setting the child. Every time she touched Grace the young girl flinched, and the nurse was aware that the last time someone tried to get close to Grace she had lashed out at them.
The nurse behind the clear, reinforced glass window said something to her colleague before reaching under the desk to press a button. Grace's head shot up and her dark eyes became saucers at the loud, intrusive sound, and she tensed slightly as the middle aged nurse gripped her shoulder to stop her from moving too much. The opaque glass door shifted slightly as the locking mechanism was released, allowing the door to be opened. The middle aged nurse placed a hand on Grace's back, leading her through the doors.
Grace braced her bare feet against the floor, attempting to back away from the doors as they swung freely on their hinges. The nurse lent down to whisper something into Grace's ear, but she heard none of it. All she could do was focus on the sign on the wall on the other side of the doors – PSYCHIATRIC WARD. Fear latched onto Grace as she tried to get further away from the ward.
The nurse tried calming her, "Grace, sweetie, nobody's going to hurt you. You're safe here. Now why don't you come with me and we'll find you some nice toys to play with?"
A whimper escaped from Grace as she pulled away from the nurse, her thin hospital gown clinging to her damp skin. The tail of the cerise dressing down dragged along the ground as Grace fought, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
The nurse behind the desk reached for the button on the intercom, ready to call a Code Grey emergency.
"No!" Grace screamed as the middle aged nurse tried to gently guide her towards the doors, bringing the nurses to a standstill. The middle aged nurse, with one hand still on Grace's shoulder, looked across at the younger nurse behind the window. She dropped the intercom, exchanging a look with her colleague, knowing that this young girl was supposed to be mute.
Grace stopped struggling, her dark eyes darting from one face to another. Her laboured breathing slowly began to regulate as she realised she was no longer being guided towards the place which terrified her.
Her dark, slightly curly hair hung down to her shoulders, small ringlets at the ends. Dark eyes peered out from underneath the dark hair as she watched the nurses silently, trying to anticipate their next move. It was one of the more useful skills her father had taught her, one that she put to good use. She felt a sudden pang in her chest, one of sadness and confusion at the thought of her father.
She shook her head, her dark curls trailing away from her face. The young blonde nurse pressed the button under the desk once more to release the doors, then slowly headed towards the young girl. She knelt down in front of Grace, reaching for the girl's hand. Grace watched her movements, anticipating what she would do next and preparing to defend herself if necessary. That was another skill her father taught her – when and who to trust.
Grace's eyes trailed to the small rectangle badge on the blonde nurse's uniform. The nurse followed Grace's line of vision, reaching to hold the badge up for Grace to see.
"Grace? I'm Nurse Alana Evans, but you can call me Alana," her vibrant blue eyes looked straight into Grace's as she reached for her hand, "I'm going to go through those doors over there, and I'd really like it if you would come with me. Is that alright, Grace?"
Grace's eyes darted up to the middle aged nurse, who smiled softly, brushing a lock of greying hair behind her ears. A beeping sound was suddenly heard as she reached for the pager at her waist. She looked across at Alana, who nodded silently at her colleague. The other nurse turned to walk up the corridor, leaving Grace with the nurse.
"I bet you're pretty scared, going through those doors. But you know what? The people in there are really nice, and no one will hurt you or make you do anything you don't want to do. Okay?" She smiled gently, giving Grace's hand a squeeze. Grace looked down at her hand – she hadn't even noticed the nurse taking her hand, she'd been concentrating so much on what she was saying. Grace frowned slightly, but didn't reply.
Alana motioned across to some plastic seats sitting along the wall, asking Grace if she wanted to sit down. Grace nodded, bunching up her pink dressing gown as she sat down. She tucked her bare feet under the chair and reached one hand to grasp the gold chain around her neck.
Alana looked at the necklace held tightly in Grace's hand. "That's a lovely necklace, Grace. Did someone give that to you?"
Grace looked across at Alana, then down at the gold necklace clasped in her hand. She opened her palm to show her the charm – the Star of David. She looked straight at Alana's blue eyes, then slowly nodded.
"Did your mother give that to you?"
Grace nodded again, this time without hesitating. Alana thought she saw a small smile twitch at the corners of her mouth, before frowning solemnly once more.
"Grace, I want to take you through those doors over there and introduce you to a friend of mine. She wants to talk you."
Something flashed across Grace's eyes, for only half a second, but Alana recognised it as the same look she had when she had first arrived at the ward. "But you don't have to say anything if you don't want to," she paused for a second and considered what to say next, "How about I call your mother to come sit with you while you're here?"
Grace spun around, a perplexed look on her face. "My mother?" she said in a quiet voice, barely a whisper.
Once again Alana was taken aback by the sound of Grace speaking, but decided to wait a while to ask her about the more painful subjects. She needed Grace to trust her first.
Alana smiled, "I'm sure she's worried about you. Wouldn't you like us to call her to come see you?"
The look on Grace's face was a combination of hope and curiosity, something the young nurse couldn't pin down. She waited in silence for Grace to answer, letting her think about it for a moment. The truth was, the hospital had a legal obligation to contact the next of kin whenever someone was admitted to hospital, and in this case it was Grace's mother. The hospital was well aware of Melanie Rothman's history of substance abuse, and whilst they were reluctant to contact the young girl's mother, they had an obligation to do so. Grace didn't have any known living relatives in the country on her mother's side, and all relatives on her father's side were either deceased or living overseas.
Grace looked straight at Alana, sighing quietly before nodding.
"Alright," Alana said, "How about we go sit down in the play room, right over there?"
She pointed in the direction of some opaque glass windows and doors with the words FAMILY ROOM printed on the door. Grace followed Alana towards the door and headed towards the brightly coloured room and sat down on the mauve sofa, pulling her knees close to her chest.
Alana handed Grace a blanket to keep warm and stuck her head out the door to speak to another nurse, then turned back to Grace. The young girl was lying on her side, her head resting on a cerise pillow that matched the colour of her dressing gown, the blanket pulled up to her nose. Alana couldn't see her eyes and didn't know whether she was awake or not.
Grace's eyes began to droop as the stress and pain of the recent events overcame her, the warm blanket wrapped around her and Alana's presence comforting her somewhat.
The next thing Grace knew she could feel a hand on her shoulder and Alana's vibrant blue eyes stared into hers. "Grace, your mother's here."
Grace sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and running a hand though her tousled hair. Alana kept a hand on Grace's arm as a figure appeared in the doorway.
Tall and thin with pasty white skin, the woman had her arms crossed and she was shifting from foot to foot. A loud cough rattled through her chest as a hand flew up to her mouth, bony fingers covering her mouth. Grace stared at her, taking in the shoulder length, red dyed hair with various coloured entwined in the strands, pulled back in a rough ponytail. Her light brown eyes darted around the room, unwilling to look at anyone, especially Grace.
Alana smiled, reaching up to brush a hand across Grace's cheek. "Grace? Did you hear what I said? Your mother's here."
Grace's eyes darted to Alana's, her dark eyes wide with confusion and uneasiness. The colour drained from Grace's cheeks as Melanie Rothman headed over to the young girl, standing next to the sofa Grace was sitting on.
Melanie didn't look at or acknowledge Grace, but turned her attention to Alana. "She right to leave 'ere?"
Alana began to speak when a small sound stopped her.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Alana frowned, reaching to place a hand on Grace's arm, but the young girl pushed it away firmly. "Grace, what's wrong?"
"It's all her fault. Everything's her fault." Grace pulled the blanket closer to her, manoeuvring herself so she was further away from Melanie.
"Grace, I'm sure whatever's bothering you isn't as bad as it seems. Your mother - " Alana began, but Grace cut her off.
"No! She's not my mother!" she pushed herself up so she was standing on the sofa, her hands pressed firmly against the wall so that she dropped the blanket, "She isn't my mother!"
Melanie rolled her eyes, stepping forward to grab Grace roughly by the arm, "Stop it, alright? You're makin' a scene." Then to Alana, "The kid doesn't know what she's talkin' about."
Anger flashed over Grace's face as she jumped off the couch, the cords of the dressing gown tripping her up and sending her sprawling. She landed on her hands and knees as Alana reached to help her up. This time Grace didn't resist, falling into the nurse's arms, tears running down her face as sobs racked her chest.
"She's lying!" Grace sobbed, "She thinks I don't know what she did!"
Alana tried to comfort Grace, looking up for a second to wave off a few doctors and nurses who had appeared in the doorway.
Melanie stayed where she was, still shifting from foot to foot. "Listen kid, you don't know what you're talkin' about!"
Grace stopped crying as she swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. She pulled away from Alana, watching Melanie with fear and anger.
"It was you, wasn't it? Daddy didn't do it – you did."
Melanie stepped forward, pulling Grace closer to her and putting a hand over her mouth to quieten her. Alana tried to stop her, but Grace had already retaliated, kicking out at Melanie.
"Don't touch me!" she screamed, lashing out at Melanie.
"Grace, please calm down." Alana tried to calm her, once again telling the doctors and nurses gathering in the doorway that everything was under control.
"No! I'm not going with her! She hates me, she'll do it again!"
Alana gently took Grace by the shoulders, looking her square in the eyes, "Do what, Grace?"
"She'll kill me. Just like she killed Ebony."
A/N: Please read and review!