"Stop moving around, Tessa." The woman admonished sternly, unsettled by her daughter's total disregard to the potential harm she was causing.
Tessa, however, was not exactly feeling accommodating. "I told you mother, I'm fine."
"You're a doctor now, are you?" The overprotective parent returned quickly.
Earning a disgusted look from her daughter. "I wasn't hurt, mother. Will you please stop hovering?"
"Fine." The mother threw her hands up in frustration, taking a short step back from her daughter.
Her husband quickly stepped in, attempting to ease the tension. "You're sure your not hurt, Tessie?"
"He wasn't violent with me, Papa." The younger woman told him softly. "He only hurt Richie."
"How is the boy?" Her father questioned kindly.
Causing tears to well in the frustrated woman's eyes. "They won't tell me. They can't release information without parental consent."
"Speaking of, what has come of Duncan?" Eugenia asked flatly.
As a tear escaped, Tessa desperately attempted to keep herself composed in front of her parents. "I don't know. No one will tell me anything."
"Well, that is absolutely ridiculous." Eugenia spat, enraged to see the younger woman brought to the point of tears.
The anger did little to sooth her daughter, though. "We're not married, mother. Apparently you were right. Legalities really are essential."
"Of course they are." The woman dismissed the younger blonde's admission. "But this is an extreme situation. Surely the authorities can be a bit more accommodating."
"I've tried, mother. They won't even speak with me. The officer at the door won't even acknowledge the fact that Richie is at this hospital. We came in together for God's sake and the man won't even admit that he's here." Tessa told her, defeat evident in the daughter's voice.
It was not a sound her mother wanted to hear. The pain her daughter was obviously enduring pushed the woman into action. Heading purposefully towards the door, the woman was more than a little abrupt as she announced her destination. "That's it. I'm going to talk to this officer and straighten things out once and for all."
"Mother." Tessa's voice followed her mother as the woman stepped out of the room. Looking over at her father, she smiled at the slight shrug the man provided in response.
"When's the doctor coming?" Richie questioned impatiently.
Immediately causing his father to tense. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just want to know when I can get out of here." The teen reassured him.
The man let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Relax, Rich. It's good that you're here. You're hurt."
"I'm fine." Richie replied sullenly.
Earning himself a knowing look from the Immortal. "Uh-huh. Somehow I think I'll feel a bit better when I hear that from the doctor."
Rolling his eyes at the man, the teen dodged Duncan's attempt to ruffle his curls.
As Ms. Noel continued to argue with the guard, the door swung open and Aldrich quickly joined his wife, obviously attempting to reason with the woman. It was only as the door swung backwards that he able to catch a quick glimpse of Tessa. She was alone and utterly unsupervised. Slipping down the hall as inconspicuously as he could, the man slipped behind the guard as he dealt with the wonderfully distracting Noels.
Walking into the room, he was relieved to see that Tessa was looking the other direction. He hated to startle her, but knew it was absolutely necessary. He could hardly trust her not to scream out. Her recent display of defiance made it very clear that she was still falling victim to her family's wicked brainwashing. It would take time and loving attention to remedy his wife and son's attitudes. It would take a great deal of work, indeed. He had no doubt he was up to the challenge.
Searching desperately through her purse, Tessa became increasingly frustrated about her inability to find what she was looking for. She was becoming as illogical as her parents. Thinking such a thing would actually be of any use. Still, it would at least provide a bit of comfort. And, at this point, comfort would definitely be a plus.
Continuing her intense search, the woman didn't even notice that someone else had walked into the room.