Chapter 24

Theodore's POV

As we burst through the door, I saw her body going limp. We were too late. I knew she was miserable. Why didn't we do anything earlier?

I ran to the balcony and saw her lifeless body lying two stories down. I felt my heart squeeze and my gut gave me a wrenching feeling. I felt weak in the knees and nauseated. Words couldn't form themselves. I realised dad was standing beside me dumbstruck.

'Look what you did!' I shouted at them in anger as I saw grandma and John running to her. 'You drove her to this.' I continued as I ran out to see if I can help grandma.

Christian's POV

I felt a lump in my throat and tears streamed down my face. I couldn't believe what just happened. I looked at what once was my daughter is now a skeletal body; lifeless. I saw Ana from the corner of my eyes coming to the scene.

'No… You shouldn't…' I said as I tried to hold her.

'Move…' she said assertively as she moved forward. 'My baby…' she said as she ran down. I followed her suit, not knowing how we'll react to that scene…

Martina's POV

Everything felt heavy, but somehow I felt alive. I heard screams coming outside my room, but I couldn't care less. As the door burst open I smiled and let myself fall into the abyss. I kept falling and falling and falling… until I felt myself being restrained. I fought against those that tried to hold me down. Bright white light was everywhere. I heard faint voices around me. I looked around, and the sharp antiseptic smell hit my face. I saw my parents outside the glass door, and my brother…

Theodore's POV

We could see her struggle against the doctors whilst they held her down. She looked around and as she found my eyes she locked them with me. It broke my heart seeing her in that state.

'Mommyy! Dad!' She screamed. 'Help me…'

'Hold her down…' I heard one of the doctors tending to her.

'Let's go in the waiting room…' Grandma said as she tried to pull me away.

'No, I'm staying.'

'This will not help anyone…' She continued 'Come on… let the doctors work on her.'

Martina's POV

I felt panicked, out of control… Someone was holding me down… I looked around but soon was consumed by this wave of drowsiness, until everything felt heavy and dark.

Grace's POV

'Dr. Corday…' I started as I saw them wheel my granddaughter away.

'Grace... ' She started in her British English accent. 'That was a close call… She... um…'

'Corday are we choking here?' Romano followed suit. 'Grace, the girl is severely malnourished, she has an atrophied heart, broken leg which might take months to heal, concussion… ohh and she's anorexic.' He continued. '... but you knew that already Dr. Grey, since she's your granddaughter.'

'Romano, maybe you should be a little bit more considerate.' Corday replied

'Ha… Funny… Consideration should have been taken before things got this far.' He replied. I felt dumbstruck, but I knew he was right. ``We're admitting her in medicine for now. She needs to be monitored. After we see some considerable improvement, we will need to have a discussion on admitting her in an ED unit.''

'Thanks Romano…'

'Don't thank me Grace.' He replied as he started to make his way. 'Just take care of her.'

Christian's POV

'When can we see her mother?'

'Not now Christian… She needs some time to get better.'

'How did we not see this coming?' Ana asked again.

'Ana, it's useless trying to see how you didn't see this coming.' John stepped in.

'No John… they should reflect on how they missed this completely.' Teddy added. 'I just can't fathom how you as her parents let her get this far…'

'We are not mentioning she ….' I started looking concerned.

'What dad? That she tried to commit suicide?' Teddy added. 'You're that embarrassed this will tarnish your reputation?'

'No Theodore…' I harshly replied.

'We're worried about her future… Anyone that can get hands on her medical history…'

'We left that detail out from her file, however, having said that we all need to sit down and make a plan for her…' John added. 'Just go home tonight, have some rest and tomorrow meet me in my office at 9am. We'll have a discussion then.'

'We can do it now…' Ana replied

'No Ana, it's useless. It's been a very challenging evening, and you all need to be fresh when we discuss the next steps.'

'Can I say goodbye before we leave?' Teddy asked.

'Teddy, it's better if you let her rest.' My mother explained.

'I'll stay for the night, making sure that when she wakes up, someone will be there to explain things for her.' John replied

'I can do that…' I interjected.

'Christian, this very family might have been what drove her to stand over the ledge and jump…' He replied sternly.

'John, we only wanted what's best for her.' Ana replied

'Unfortunately it wasn't enough.'

'Let's all calm down.' My mother interjected. 'You 3 go home, rest, prepare a bag for her in the morning as she will be staying with us for quite a while. Come back in the morning and we'll all have a discussion.' She replied as we all stood up hesitantly and made our way.

Grace's POV

'John, that was out of line…' I started as they all left.

'I know… I don't think I'm the right person to treat her…' He replied as he sat down and ran his hands through his hair. 'I'm too close…'

'You know as much as I do that at the moment that decision is not up to us. Your relative relationship is too complex…'

'It doesn't feel like that…'

'Ana and Christian need to make the decision in changing her therapist. Right now some familiarity might do her good. She might feel that she is not completely abandoned by her family.'

'She's not…'

'I know she's not… But she needs to comprehend it.'

'How are you so strong? How can you handle this without …' He started as I sat down beside him.

'You think I'm not breaking inside? You think seeing my granddaughter lifeless on the ground did not affect me?' I rhetorically asked as I felt tears stream down my face. 'I can't break down now John… She needs someone strong, a pillar, someone to count on. Her family needs someone strong. They need to understand.'

'Yeah... ' He replied as he checked the time. 'I better head next to her…' He continued as he stood up and made his way. 'I'll see you tomorrow?' He asked hopefully.

'You will John.'

Martina's POV

I felt myself coming in and out of consciousness. White light and people I couldn't recognise. Sharp pain in my leg; the strong antiseptic smell, the hard background underneath where I was, commotion, felt myself being moved, but I don't feel like opening my eyes. I tried to move but everything felt heavy. This time I wanted to see what was holding me down. I opened my eyes slowly and found my leg propelled upwards in what looked like plaster. I got confused as I didn't remember falling… I looked around and found myself hooked up to a drip, a monitor and a few leeds coming out of my chest. I moved my other hand to try and pull the drip out but a strong hand stopped me immediately.

John's POV

'Hey hey… not too fast…' I said as I stopped her from pulling her cannula out. She looked up hesitantly but I could see her confusion. I decided to give her the answers. 'You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?'

'I… I'm not sure.' She replied as I checked the latest results in her chart.

'Huh…' I mostly said to myself. 'Let me ask you this Martina. Were you smoking something?'

'Um… yeah…' she replied as she looked out the window. 'I just.. Um… I needed something to relax…' She replied as I moved back next to her in her line of sight. I looked her straight in the eyes, she looked tired, exhausted, and there was a dark tint in her eyes, a heaviness that I couldn't explain. 'When can I go home?

'Not for a while Martina.' I explained. 'So you don't remember going over the ledge and jumping from your room?' I confronted her.

'No… I'm not talking about that…' She replied assertively as she started pulling her leg from the sling that was holding it up. 'I'm going home.' she said again as she pulled off her cannula in one move and started pulling at all the leeds. I moved quickly to hold her before letting her hit the ground. Nurse Jackson came running as the monitor started beeping.

'Stop fighting me!'

'No, just let… me… go…' she said as she hit my chest. I held her stronger.

'Doctor' Nurse Jackson said as she came to help me hold her off. She was not giving up on her fight.

'Get me 2 of Haldol.' I ordered whilst she went quickly and got the vial. I held her down whilst Jacskon administered the drug in her thigh. I felt her fight subside and her body going limp. It wasn't long till she let us get her back into bed.

'She's going to be a handful; isn't she?' Nurse Jackson asked whilst I chuckled. 'You should go home John.' She smiled. 'She's going to be out of it, and we're going to take good care of her.'

'Anything happens…'

'Anything happens, Nurse Katie will page you.' She smiled as I made my way to the door.

Christian's POV

We barely slept. All of us probably had the same feelings, questions… Ana and Gail started prepping her stuff whilst Theodore ensured to advise her friends on what's happening. For the next couple of days… or months, she needed to have everything covered. I started looking for a tutor as for sure she'd want to keep busy.

The drive to John's office was quiet; you could feel the hesitancy. Theodore has formed this resentment which in all honesty has no place at the moment. We need to see how we can help her. Ana on the other hand seemed out of it. This feels like a dream but it's not.

'Mr. and Mrs. Grey, Dr. Flynn will see you now.' The assistant said as she took us out of our thoughts. We walked in hesitantly, not sure what's awaiting us. My mother had what seemed to be Tina's file in her hands. We took a seat and just waited for the news to dawn on us.

'How are you?' John started. 'Can I offer you coffee, tea, water?'

'Coffee would be great…' Theodore replied. 'How is she? Did she wake up? Does she remember?'

'Right to it then…' John replied as his assistant came in with 5 cups of coffee. 'She has woken up at around 2 in the morning…' He started '... there seems to be no mental deficits, she can move, talk… That's post accident. She's lucky she came out of it with just a broken leg. We had to sedate as she did put up a fight. Results show that the she was high before…' he continued

'High?' Ana and I asked shocked, unaware of any of this

'I knew…' Theodore replied as he let his gaze fall down. 'I knew she was smoking and I did nothing. So if she wasn't high she wouldn't have…'

'No.' John stopped him. 'She still would have done it. I think it made her feel more at ease and probably relaxed. Theodore. you could have done nothing to stop this.'

'Following further evaluations.' Mum started. 'We need to make you aware that this will not be an easy road. Martina will only be in the hospital till her leg heals and till she gains 15 pounds. Other than that we cannot keep her in hospital.'

'What do you mean grandma?' Theodore asked. 'She's sick… 15 pounds won't even make her normal weight.'

'We know that Theodore.' John interjected. 'The eating disorder's unit is seeing younger and younger ages with the average age dropping to from onset of 15/16 to 8, 9 and 10 year olds. Unfortunately these clients take precedence.'

'Martina is considered too old to be treated immediately, and considering she already sees as psychiatrist and is in a nuclear family household, she is at the bottom of the waiting list.'

'So what does this mean?' I asked unsure of what the future holds.

'This means that she will not get the proper help she needs right now.'

'Can't you do something?' Ana asked. 'She's not well…'

'She would have to get severely worse before she will be admitted.' My mother explained.

'Worse than she is?' Theodore asked as he stood up and started pacing away.

'Unless…' My mother continued.

'Unless?' I asked.

'You need to declare that she tried to commit suicide and will admit her right away.'

'No… out of the question.' Ana replied. 'There has to be another way. We won't tarnish her reputation…'

'Ana, I know you have the best interest at heart… but we will need to declare that she is a danger to herself and needs immediate care.' John explained. 'If we don't do this, she will be discharged in the next couple of weeks. She will only succumb further into this spiral and I don't think she will pull through if she continues down this road.'

'She will have therapy with you, visits with you mother…' I replied as I started pacing myself whilst Theodore stared at me from where he was sitting on the couch.

'That's another thing Christian. I don't think I am the right person to help Martina.' John continued. 'I'm too close too her, to you…'

'You see us…' I reasoned.

'For very different reasons.' He explained.

'We have another psychiatrist that you can make use of purely for Martina… Dr. Charles is renowned for his eclectic ways…' My mother explained.

'No, she will not see any other doctor other than you 2. I don't want anyone to give our business to any sleazy tabloid.'

'That's all you care about? Some sleazy tabloid?' Theodore confronted.

'You don't understand Theodore.' I replied sternly.

'What don't I understand? Martina will not get the help she needs if her psychiatrist doctor is too close to her. They are suggesting a damned alternative! You don't want to report that she tried to commit suicide - fine… they just told you that she is at the bottom of the waiting list and they will be sending her home. You know how much success we had in getting her to eat… Now you don't want her to see someone that might slow down the rate she's drowning at?'

'Theodore just please… Stop it!' Ana replied exasperated.

'Mum…' He started again.

'Theodore. Stop!' She sternly replied.

'Fine… have this conversation without me then.' He replied as grabbed his suit jacket and left the room.

'Ted…' Ana said as she got up to go after him.

'Stay Ana…' My mother replied. 'I'll go talk to him.'

Grace's POV

'Theodore…' I called whilst he kept walking away. 'Teddy…' I said again as I caught up to him. I grabbed him from his arm and turned him. I saw a young boy with his eyes broken red. I could tell he was crying. It was a rarity to see him like this. I pulled him in a loving hug and he just dug his face into my shoulder.

'They're not doing anything…' He finally said as I pulled us to a nearby bench in the courtyard of the hospital. 'I miss her grandma. I miss her honest smile.. I miss having those talks with her. Lately it's been like I'm living with a ghost. It's like she never came back from St. Catherine's. She's on a mission of self destruction...and I'm just sitting here idle doing nothing, because my parents don't want to do anything remotely to help her; out of what...fear that someone knows she might have an eating disorder? Tried to commit suicide?'

'Teddy you are her brother… this is not your responsibility to.'

'It is my responsibility to keep her safe. It is my responsibility to show her that there is more to life than this.' He said sternly. 'I just want my parents to wake up from this dream they're living in and just take charge of this situation. I mean… tell me something that will help us. What can I do to help her?'

'There's only one thing you can do…'

'What is it? Tell me and I'll do it.'

'Support her, be there for her, and be ready to catch her when she falls.' I explained. 'Anorexia is a very… manipulative disease. Martina doesn't even understand herself what this is. She's isolated, alone, depressed… She needs to find the joys of life.'

'She's going to get worse isn't she?' He asked. I didn't want to answer him so I just let silence sweep in and give him some time to collect his thoughts. 'Can I see her?' he asked again, looking all hopeful to me. I got up and realised that it would probably help them both.

Theodore's POV

She quickly got up and asked me to follow her. We took a few elevators and finally we were in the ward where Martina was in.

'You have 10 minutes.' She smiled as she went to the nurse's station.

'Is this your grandson?' A nurse asked, all smiling. She felt like a warm person and I was sure her job was done with the utmost care.

'Yes nurse Jackson.' My grandma smiled as she started singing some papers.

'She's in room 12.' Nurse Jackson smiled as I followed her to Martina's room.

As I entered, I was greeted with a lifeless person staring ahead with an untouched tray in front.

'Martina' I called gently as I went to sit in the empty chair around the table. She looked hesitantly and almost afraid. Her eyes locked to mine.. I could see tears forming… 'Hey, hey…' I said as I wiped her tears away. 'What's wrong?'

'I don't belong here Teddy…' She said. 'They won't let me come home…' she replied. I moved swiftly and hugged her tight. I felt her body tremble in my arms. I just wanted to take her pain away.

'Honey, you need to get better.' I lifted her so easily and pulled her on my lap. I rubbed her back gently but was terrified at hurting her. Couldn't understand how she doesn't seem to be at imminent danger to the Ed unit. I let silence take over and just remained there for her. My phone started ringing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please Review

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx