Daria: Winter Is Coming Hospital Part One

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to A Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background, and details belong to their respective owners. This work of fiction is written for recreation and for ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves any sort of financial compensation for this work (Although reviews would be nice).Readers interested in finding more about Daria or A Game of Thrones should seek out their creators' official books and videos.

Daria: Winter Is Coming*Daria: Winter Is Coming*Daria: Winter Is Coming

Daria sat down next to Rikka in the waiting room. Rikka soon nodded off and fell asleep, her head on Daria's shoulder. Daria resolved to stay awake until her Mom and Dad got there, but sleep crept up on her and she dozed off too. She stayed asleep just long enough to dream about a stag wandering down Glen Oaks before her mother woke her up and said "Daria, what is going on?".

Daria took several seconds to rouse herself to wakefulness, focused, and saw that Mom and Dad.

"Oh, Hi, Mom, Dad," she said. She felt a weight on her shoulder and saw that Rikka had fallen asleep and was still dozing against her shoulder. Wake up, Morgendorffer, she told herself.

"Uncle Ben fainted at the synagogue," she said. "The people at the Temple called Emergency Medical Services and they bought him here to the Cedars. Rikka tried calling out several times and either got a busy signal on the upstairs phone or got the downstairs answering machine. I was downstairs when she tried again, called a taxi, and came here."

"How about Ben?" said Jake.

"He was stable. They're keeping him here overnight for observation," said Daria. "They said he might be awake tomorrow if he hasn't woken up already."

"Thank God," Jake murmured.

"Why didn't you call us?" said Helen. "You have my emergency cell number, don't you? Also, don't you have Ben's phone?"

"Uncle Ben's phone was out of charge," said Daria. "Besides, I didn't think it would work. It's also your Date Night. Don't you guys usually keep your cell phone off?" She saw her Mom and Dad exchange guilty looks. "Besides, I left messages back at the house, I talked to the woman who brought Uncle Ben over here and to the hospital staff: she's a nurse. Uncle Ben's stable and they're keeping him overnight for observation. I wanted to be with Rikka until you guys got here and were ready to take us home."

Both Helen and Jake looked like they were looking for reasons to lash out at their daughter. Helen glared at her daughter, then said "Jakey, let's check at the nurse's station."

Together, Helen and Jake walked over to the nurse's station and questioned them about Uncle Ben's condition, getting the same information that Daria had earlier given them. They returned a couple of minutes later. They were still angry at their eldest daughter but realized that Daria had tried to do the best she could.

They came back to where Daria and Rikka were sitting. Rikka was still asleep and slumped against Dari's shoulder. "I want to remain here," said Jake.

"I think we all ought to go home and get some sleep," said Helen. "We can check on Ben in the morning."

Daria roused Rikka and Helen brought her up to speed. Like Jake, Rikka wanted to stay at the hospital until Uncle Ben woke up. It took some argument, but Helen was somehow able to convince Rikka that Uncle Ben was in good hands and that he would be safe overnight and that they could visit him the next day. Rikka grudgingly agreed to follow the other Morgendorffers out to the parking lot and rode back to the Morgendorffer Holdfast to spend the night.

-(((O-O)))—

Daria was groggy the next morning when the alarm clock went off. She expected that; yesterday night had been traumatic and she and Rikka didn't get home until very late.

She'd had weird dreams the night before: she didn't remember any of them very well except that she'd found herself wearing something like a medieval dress and catching a silver coin with a crowned stag on it. There was also a man, black-haired, well-dressed, with a booming laugh and built like a bear.

She looked over across the mattress. She was still sharing her room with Rikka. To her surprise, Rikka was still asleep.

"Rikka, time to get up," she said, nudging her adoptive cousin.

"Hunh, wha" said Rikka. She then muttered something in what Daria was sure was in Andal. Daria had rarely heard Rikka speak in Andal; when she did, she was usually upset.

Well, she has damn good reason to be upset, she thought.

She put on her bathrobe and headed to the bathroom. There were wet bath towels and fogged bathroom mirrors: Quinn must have already had her turn. She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth and went back to her bedroom to dress.

Rikka was up by the time Daria got back.

"Time to get up and at 'em, kid," said Daria.

"All right," Rikka grumbled sleepily. "Any news about Dad?"

"I don't know," said Daria. "I just got up."

The two girls dressed and went downstairs. Helen and Jake were seated at the breakfast table and gave Daria stern looks. The empty chair Uncle Ben had been using sat as a stark reminder of his absence.

"Good morning, Girls," said Helen. "We need to talk about last night. This is the first full-dress emergency we've had at home since the camping incident." Daria remembered the Glitterberry Incident all too well. "I think we all made mistakes and that things could have gone better."

"Are you blaming me?" said Rikka.

"No, Sweetie," said Helen. "You handled yourself very well. I'm talking to Daria and Quinn as well as ourselves."

"Like we're supposed to be at school in just over an hour," said Quinn.

"We'll talk about it this evening," Helen replied.

"What about Dad?" said Rikka.

"I'm going to drive over to the hospital to check on him," said Jake. "If he's ready, I'll see about bringing him home."

"Thanks, Uncle Jake," Rikka said quietly.

"Hey, kiddo, he's my brother, you know," Jake said gently.

-(((O-O)))—

Jake drove the girls over to school, then drove back home to deal with his appointments. He only had two that morning, and one in the afternoon. One of them was with a new prospect, the other was with an established client. He hated the thought of browning off the new prospect, but Ben came first. He was relieved when he called to cancel and they agreed to reschedule.

Jake then drove over to the hospital. Ben had been moved to an upstairs room which he shared with a couple of other patients. Seeing Ben in hospital clothing was very upsetting: the man he remembered as his hale, hearty older brother looked very thin and frail.

"Jakey," said Ben.

"Ben," said Jake.

"What happened last night?" said Ben.

"You fainted while you were at Temple," said Jake. "The Gebbai and a woman from the congregation called EMS and brought you here."

"What about Rikka?" said Ben.

"Rikka called home several times but finally got Daria," said Jake. "She left messages, then came over here to be with Rikka until we got here. They were together when we got here."

"Good," said Ben. "Your eldest has a good head on her shoulders."

"Thanks," said Jake.

"Jake, we need to talk about custody ," said Ben. "It's time to get moving. We need to sign the custody agreements and do it while I'm awake and alert."

"Ben, you're still good for a while yet," said Jake.

"No, Jakey, soon," said Ben. "Let's do it while I still can. If I kick off, I want Rikka to be with you and Helen. I don't want Rikka to go to Breeze. Rikka doesn't want it either."

"We can talk about it with Helen—" Jake began.

"Soon, Jakey, soon," said Ben, his head collapsed on the pillow.

To Jake's alarm, Ben's head fell back the pillow. His brother looked very tired. This thing must have taken more out of Ben than he'd thought.

Ben rested a couple of minutes, then spoke again. "Jakey, at the very least, go for temporary custody," he said. His eyes closed.

Jake stared at his older brother, trying to regain some emotional balance. A nurse walked over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Morgendorffer," she said. "Your brother needs some rest. Maybe you should let him rest for a while?"

That scared Jake even more. He and Helen had meant to talk things over before getting Rikka's custody, but they'd not made the time and things were now moving too fast. Ben said temporary custody, he said to himself, get temporary custody. He walked out into the hallway, pulled out his cell phone and called Helen's office.

-(((O-O)))—

"Vitale, Horowitz, Riordan, Schrecter, Schrecter, and Schrecter, how can I help you?" said the receptionist who'd answered Jake's phone call.

"This is Jacob Morgendorffer," said Jake, "My wife Helen is an associate with your firm. I'd like to speak to her, please."

"Certainly, Mr. Morgendorffer," said the receptionist. "I'll try to put you through."

For a miracle, Helen wasn't on the phone or talking to a client. After a brief chat with Marianne, Helen's assistant, Jake's call went through.

"Hi, Jakey," said Helen. "How's Ben?"

"Not so good," said Jake. "The doctors haven't told me anything yet, but by the looks of him, he's going to have to be in the hospital for at least one more night. And I'm not so sure he can come home without 24 hour care."

"Oh, my," said Helen. "I am so sorry, Jakey."

"One more thing," said Jake. "Ben says that we ought to get the papers filled out for getting temporary custody for Rikka while he's still conscious and alert. He's real insistent about it, and the way he looks, we probably need to get them filled out in the next day or two."

"Do you really think things are that bad?" said Helen.

"I don't know, honey, I'm not a doctor," said Jake. Helen frowned at the tone of Jakey's voice: she seldom heard him sound so weak and helpless. "But he has a point. We need to get those papers filled out soon. If we wait to long, Ben might not be in a condition to sign anything."

Helen continued to frown. She had been looking forward to seeing both Daria and Quinn go off to college and then have an empty nest. She did not really want to take on another child. In an ideal world, she would have allowed Breeze to assume custody of the daughter she knew and had cared for for just over two years.

But it wasn't an ideal world. Breeze had been the one who'd left her marriage with Ben and had surrendered her custody of Rikka to him. According to Ben and Rikka, she'd made no effort to stay in contact with either of them. Helen could imagine Ben possibly making contact difficult or outright impossible, deleting any e-mails or destroying any letters or cards Breeze might have sent her adoptive daughter, but her conversations with Melanie and with Ruth seemed to corroborate Ben's and Rikka's version of the story. Perhaps not enough to stand in court, but seemingly true enough.

If it came to that, she'd be willing to let Breeze argue for her right to gain Rikka's custody, but it would have to be on a ground of Helen's choosing and on her own terms. If Rikka's relations with Breeze were as bad as Rikka and Ben had said, she and Jake would retain custody of the girl and raise her as their own daughter.

She pursed her lips, thinking of a plan of action. Jake was an alarmist. On the other hand, if matters did have to go through the courts, it would be a lot easier if she, Jake, and Ben had documents signed and ready asking for the Maryland courts to grant her and Jake custody of Rikka while Ben was awake and alert.

This was a lot more stress than she usually dealt with. She needed to get up and take a break. She stood up from her desk, meaning to visit the communal coffee machines. She stepped out of her office just as Marianne was answering the phone.

"Helen, it's Eric," she said. "He wants to talk to you."

Helen's eyes narrowed. He probably wants me to shoulder more of his workload, she thought. Not right now he doesn't.

"Marianne, could you tell him I stepped out, please?" she said.

To her surprise, the coffee machines had an unusual visitor: Mr. Vitale, one of her firm's senior partners. Usually the partners had their own coffee pots.

"Good morning, Helen," said Mr. Vitale. "How's work and family? I liked what I heard about the Lyman case. That was really good work."

"Thank you, sir," said Helen.

"It was good work," Mr. Vitale replied. "Keep it up!"

Mr. Vitale noted her expression and body language. "You look distracted," he continued. "Is there something going on a home? This isn't a Dickens novel, but I like to think that this firm is something like a family. Is there something wrong?"

Carpe Diem, Helen, said a voice in Helen's head. Ask for Mr. Vitale's help. Don't let Eric walk all over you this time.

"Yes, sir," said Helen. "My brother-in-law is staying over at my house. He's dying of cancer. He's got an orphan girl he adopted. He wants me and Jake to get custody after he dies."

"We don't do family law here, but I can help," he said. "Any complications?"

"Divorce, the other adoptive parent has been out of contact with the Dad and the girl for nearly two years. The girl is a foreigner, not a US citizen," said Helen.

"What sort of custody arrangements did the parents have?" said Mr. Vitale.

"I'm not sure," said Helen. "According to my brother-in-law, he was granted sole custody. If his ex had visitation rights, she stopped using them years ago."

"You know sometimes Immigration tries to place foreign-born children back with their nearest relatives," said Mr. Vitale.

"Easier said than done," said Helen. "Rikka's Westerosi and her mother was murdered when she and some of her siblings materialized in Mountain Home."

And her father's deceased, thought Mr. Vitale.

"We don't practice family law here, but I can make a referral," said Mr. Vitale. "Anything else you need?"

"Eric has a habit of piling extra work on me when I'm facing a family emergency," said Helen. "I'd like to ask him to back off a little for the next couple of weeks."

"I'll look into that," said Mr. Vitale. "If it's too nosy, how sick is your brother-in-law?"

"Very," Helen replied. "My husband called from the hospital and said that he might not be able to come home."

"I'll try to get someone from Love, Troth and Kitchens to send some information over today," said Mr. Vitale. They practice family law. We and they often work together."

"Thank you, sir," Helen said gratefully. If she didn't have a spring in her step when she returned to her office, she was in a happier mood than before she'd left it to visit the coffee machines.

-(((O-O)))—

Helen's afternoon proved busy. Just as she'd suspected, Eric had planned to load some more case-work above and beyond what he'd already given her. This time she said no and heard Eric change his tack, from dangling the promise of junior partnership in front of her to intimating that she wasn't making a full effort for the firm. Helen replied that she had a family emergency come up, and that she'd already discussed matters with Mr. Vitale. That caused Eric to back off a little.

Despite Eric's comments, Helen was able to return to work and she was able to write what she thought was a credible analysis of the arguments their opponents were using a brief they'd filed against their client.

An e-mail notice popped up while Helen was typing her next point. She glanced at it instead of reflexively closing the window. To her surprise, it was from Love, Troth and Kitchens and the subject line was titled Form For Filing For Temporary Child Custody. Could it be, she thought. She finished typing the memorandum, then shot copies off to the other attorneys working on the case. Her task done, she opened the e-mail. The letter had an attachment: a blank form for filing for temporary child custody in the state of Maryland.

Now she was ready to go see Jake and Ben at the hospital.

S'All right.