The monitor in the hospital room beeped constantly. Instead of finding it reassuring, it made Callie want to scream. Ari was laying on the bed, attached to the monitor in question. Callie felt sick just looking at it. Ari was hooked up to an IV as well, and a blood pressure cuff was on her other arm, taking measurements at regular intervals. Ari remained peacefully asleep. At least, that's what Callie kept telling herself. She was just sleeping, and she would wake up in no time. The more she told herself that, the weaker it sounded.
How had this happened?
They celebrated Thanksgiving a couple weeks prior, and immediately after that, Ari became fixated on Christmas and all its trappings. She hadn't stopped talking about what she was going to make for Holden, what lights she wanted to hang up on their house, when she thought they needed to get a tree, and what presents Santa might be bringing her this year. She was full of life at the idea of Christmas, a sharp contrast to the image now in front of Callie.
She was at work when she got the call. She hadn't even asked about the boy, the one who was teasing Ari when whatever happened had happened. No one could explain it to her, not on the phone, and not at the hospital. There had been some sort of altercation, which was strange enough because Ari was exceptionally well-behaved. Something transpired, but all anyone could tell Callie was that Ari had attacked a boy in her class and injured him severely. Somehow, there was property damage to the room they had been in. Nearby students had been injured by debris from this, but those wounds were able to be managed by the school. After the attack, Ari had collapsed and remained unconscious since.
Callie had been at the hospital for four hours while the Emergency Department doctor had tests run and imaging of Ari's head to check for signs of a stroke, or a partial aneurism, anything that could explain her unconscious state. So far, nothing had panned out. Callie remained at Ari's side, holding her right hand carefully so as not to dislodge the pulse ox device attached to Ari's index finger.
"Miss Richards?"
The feminine voice snapped Callie out of her thoughts, and a quick glance showed the resident doctor.
"Yes? She still hasn't moved or opened her eyes," Callie explained quickly.
The doctor gave a small nod, seemingly unsurprised.
"We still aren't sure what's causing her persistent unconscious state. At this point in time, there's nothing emergent about her condition. What I'd like—"
Callie interrupted before the doctor could finish.
"Don't you dare tell me you're sending us home?!" she panicked.
"Not at all! I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. We are still worried about what is causing this, but it's going to take further examination and time to work up what might be going on. We're admitting her and transferring her case to neurology," the doctor continued to explain.
Callie nodded along numbly as the doctor finished explaining what would be happening. For today, Ari would receive nutrients through her IV. If she remained unconscious beyond 24 hours, a feeding tube would be placed. It was out of her ability to cope, hearing what was happening. Callie had called Holden and left him a message, but there was no answer, no text, nothing. She felt more alone that she had in a long time—and more helpless than she'd felt when Dan first died. It was only her and Ari, and now she didn't know if she would ever get her daughter back. That thought triggered something primal and extreme, and Callie began sobbing uncontrollably. She barely registered the doctor calling in a nurse as she hyperventilated, her vision dimming before going completely black.
"Miss Richards, can you open your eyes?" The feminine voice prompted her.
Callie complied and immediately squinted against the pin light that shined in her eyes.
"Where's Ari?" Callie tried to sit up quickly but the doctor held her down with unexpected strength.
"She's fine, Miss Richards, we're still in the room with her. You passed out. I know this is a lot to deal with, it's a reaction that can happen in extreme circumstances. We can run some tests on you if you'd like, just to check and make sure everything is okay."
"No, no, I'm fine."
Without her asking, the nurse standing nearby helped Callie sit up before she slowly stood. When nothing happened, the nurse let go and the doctor nodded.
"Okay. We're going to get to the bottom of this," she assured Callie. "The transport team will be here shortly, and she'll be set up in her own room."
Callie nodded numbly and took her place once more next to Ari. She bit her lip, wondering what she was going to do. Before she could think too much, her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Miss Richards? It's Lynette Brown calling. I wanted to check in and see how Ari was doing?"
"Oh, um, well, they don't know what's…what's going on. She's just not…she's not waking up."
Callie heard a muffled noise over the phone, as if Mrs. Brown was covering the receiver with her hand. There were two people speaking quietly before Mrs. Brown came back on the line.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Miss Richards, I truly am. I also apologize for having to make this call. It isn't one I ever thought I'd make, especially not for Ari," Mrs. Brown continued. "She's always so pleasant and a wonderful student."
"She…I'm sorry, I don't…what does that have to do with this?"
"Miss Richards, as you know we have a zero-tolerance policy for violence. The young man Ari attacked has a fractured jaw and a broken arm. His parents are threatening a lawsuit. Now, given Ari's condition, I don't think they'll pursue anything, but if all goes well and she wakes up soon, we can't have her return. It's against the zero-tolerance policy. You'll have a chance to appeal the decision by bringing this to the board of education. I can get you any information you need for that."
Callie paused for a moment, deciding quickly what she wanted to do.
"Lynette…if I may, where do you get off? First of all, isn't this a call the principal or superintendent should be making? Secondly, I'm sitting in a hospital room with my daughter who's unconscious and can't be woken! Something that happened in your school! For all I know, this boy did something to my daughter who, as you put it, has always been a wonderful student! How do I know he didn't do something, or the school didn't delay treatment of some sort, and that's why she can't wake up? Honestly, I've had enough. This entire call was in poor taste, and I'm embarrassed for you," she said before hanging up.
Callie felt proud for all of two seconds before her world crumbled once more. Her beautiful daughter continued to lay there, steadily breathing but never moving or waking.
Nothing changed for an entire day other than Ari's room. As the emergency department resident had informed her, she was transferred to a room after being admitted officially to the hospital. There were several doctors from Neurology who had spoken with Callie to gain insight, but so far they were stumped. None of the tests they ordered provided any information, and at this point Ari had a feeding tube. Callie had slept for a few hours in the chair in Ari's new room and was staying awake only from coffee that the nurse on duty kept bringing her out of pity.
A knock at the door of Ari's room jolted her already-frayed nerves, and Callie almost dropped the cup of coffee she was cradling.
"Miss Richards? Hi, I'm Special Agent Crosby, this is my partner, Special Agent Nash. We'd like to ask you a few questions," a deep voice announced.
Callie looked up at the man who spoke, Agent Crosby, and saw a tall man with short hair and toned features. He was tall, but his partner was even taller.
He's like a giant or something, Callie thought.
The giant, Agent Nash, had longish hair and was wearing an apologetic smile on his face.
"Wait, I'm sorry, Special Agents? Like FBI? Why is the FBI here?"
Agent Crosby glanced over at Ari for the first time, a dark look crossing his face briefly.
"We've been sent to investigate the events that took place yesterday at the…" he paused as he flipped through a notebook "Hamilton Community Elementary School."
"I don't…wait, what? I still don't understand why this has anything to do with us," Callie repeated.
Agent Nash offered a sympathetic smile.
"I understand, Miss Richards, and I do apologize for the situation. We would like nothing more than to leave you and your daughter alone to recuperate. Unfortunately, our office sent us over and we have to do a thorough investigation before we can leave. The sooner we can get a few things answered, the sooner we can leave. How's that sound?"
Callie bit her lip, still confused about why the FBI was investigating. Agent Nash seemed genuine and as though he just wanted to help, however he could.
"Okay. Well, I'll try to help answer your questions, but the only one who has answers is Ari."
Agent Crosby lifted an eyebrow.
"Well, any chance then that you could wake up Sleeping Beauty over here and have her give us a hand?"
Callie narrowed her eyes, both shocked and furious at the agent's comment.
"I would, Special Agent, but seeing as she's currently unconscious since the events in question and even the doctors can't figure out why, that's gonna be a little hard to do," she growled.
Both agents looked surprised at that information, and even more surprised when Agent Crosby's trousers caught on fire at the bottom of the pant legs.
"Oh, shit! Shit!" he said, grabbing the pitcher of water that was on the tray near Ari's bed and dumping it on his pants, extinguishing the flames.
Callie watched him and the other agent exchange expressions, seemingly having an entire conversation without words. After a few moments, Agent Crosby gave a small nod and looked back at Callie.
"Miss Richards, I'm sorry for taking up your time today. It's possible our office received some incorrect information. We'll follow up if we have any questions, but in the meantime, I think we're done here. We're sorry for what you're going through, and we wish your daughter a speedy recovery."
Callie bit her lip as she silently watched the agents leave, wondering what had just happened. After a quick glance at Ari, who remained still in her unconscious state, Callie moved to the door, intending to catch up to the agents and question them instead of being the one getting questioned. The whole situation was too strange to ignore, and she wanted answers. If she couldn't get answers about Ari, she was going to get answers about why they were here.
She caught a glimpse of the agents in the hall talking quietly, just one room down. She pressed herself against the wall and strained to hear what they had to say.
"…a little witchy or something, you know?" Agent Crosby said.
"I don't know, Dean. If it was witchcraft, don't you think she'd do a spell to wake up the daughter?"
"Who knows? Maybe she did a spell on the kid in the first place and that's why she went bananas on that kid. Maybe this is a consequence of it. But, Sammy, the fire. She lit my pants on fire. With her mind. If that doesn't scream witchcraft, I don't know what does. Freakin' witches. I hate witches!"
"We don't know what it is, but clearly we need to get some answers. Let's go to the school before we see the boy who was injured, Darren Ericsson."
"Yeah. Okay. Think we should bring Cas in on this one? Might not be a bad idea if it is something witchy. You can never have enough back up with witches."
"It's your call, Dean, if you think he's up for it. I mean, he just got back from Purgatory. Were you at full capacity when you first got topside?"
"Hey, my 60% is a normal person's 110%. Plus, a weakened angel is still better than nothing."
Callie's eyes widened at the exchange, and she bit her lip worriedly.
Who are these men? There's no way they're FBI agents…they're insane. Absolutely insane! Witches? Purgatory? Angels?
She moved away from the wall, not wanting to hear anything else. She had too much to deal with already. No one knew if Ari would even wake up, and after more tests than she knew existed, no one could explain what happened to cause it. Adding angels and witches to the mix was too much. All of it was too much.
Callie returned to her seat at Ari's bedside and picked up her hand. It was warm, and she could feel the rhythmic pulsing of blood through veins at Ari's wrist. It was steady and strong, yet Ari remained unconscious. She thought about how different it might be if Dan were still here. She wouldn't be alone, wouldn't have to manage this mess and deal with the crazy FBI agents and keep an eye on Ari and…she sighed and shook her head, interrupting the spiral of negativity that would leave her feeling like she couldn't breathe. She knew because she'd already gone down that road six times since Ari was moved to this room. The worst place for her was to be alone with her thoughts right now.
As if the universe was answering her plea for a distraction, her phone began buzzing. Holden's name flashed across the screen, and Callie fumbled to answer one-handed, unwilling to let go of Ari's hand again.
"Thank God," Callie breathed.
"I'm a bit south of God," Holden replied. "What's going on, love?"
"Ari's in the hospital, she…something happened at school. They can't tell me, they don't know, no one can explain…the doctors did tests but she won't wake up, and I—" Callie choked on the words, unable to continue. Tears began pouring from her eyes and she did her best to quiet her sobs, but it was no use. She was inconsolable, unable to hear any response from him. At some point her hearing tuned back in, his voice roaring.
"—bloody well better give me an answer or I'll rip them to shreds!" Holden was shouting.
"It's…I just need you here, I can't…can you please come? Please, I can't…I can't do this alone," Callie said, her voice growing softer as she spoke.
Immediately Holden's tone changed.
"Of course, love. Where do you need me, with you at the hospital? Or at the school, demanding answers?"
"Here, please," she whispered. "Room 4208."
"I'll be there in five," Holden said before hanging up.
Callie stared at Ari, who remained silent and unconscious through the entire call. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting, but on some level, Callie hoped that Ari might sense the emotional pain and return to the waking world. She had to remind herself that Ari wasn't asleep and wasn't choosing to stay away.
"Callie, come here," Holden's voice called to her.
Callie glanced over at him in surprise.
Has it been five minutes already?
She wasn't sure, but she wasn't paying much attention to time unless it involved waiting on the results of another test, and there hadn't been new ones ordered since the results from the morning testing came back. She shook her head, convincing herself that more time had passed. There was no way Holden could've appeared that suddenly. It wasn't as though he could teleport, and she was positive he hadn't been at the hospital.
Callie released Ari's hand after a moment and stood up, allowing Holden to wrap his arms around her and hug her tightly. She stood still for a few seconds before returning the hug, tears immediately flowing steadily again. He rubbed her back while she cried, whispering small comforts in her ear.
"I don't know what to do," she said once her tears subsided. "Should I take her somewhere else? Get another opinion?"
They both looked at Ari in the bed, and Holden shook his head, his expression stern.
"No. You shouldn't have to do anything. It's the responsibility of these INCOMPETENT MORONS WHO CALL THEMSELVES DOCTORS!"
Callie flinched away at his shouting, completely thrown off. He seemed to go from comforting and caring to raging bull with the flip of a switch.
Maybe this is just his way of dealing with the stress.
"I'm sorry, love, I didn't mean to frighten you," Holden said when he noticed her reaction.
"It's okay, I just…I need help."
"How can I help? What is it you need me to do?"
"I don't know if I should keep her here. What if the doctors here are missing something and she's going untreated because of it? What if that boy did something to her first and caused this? It didn't make any sense that she would attack him."
Holden stiffened beside her.
"What boy?"
His voice sent a chill through Callie. He spoke almost as though he was devoid of all emotion and care, a different extreme from the compassion he had shown her just a few minutes ago. He sounded almost evil.
"The one they're saying Ari attacked. They said she attacked him, and caused damage to the room they were in, and then she collapsed."
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"
Holden was staring at her in confusion and disbelief.
"I don't know, the school couldn't tell me much, and they said that the boy had a broken arm and broken jaw, and now they've kicked Ari out of the school because of their zero-tolerance policy."
"I'll take care of it," Holden said stiffly. "I'll get my contacts looking for a better doctor or different hospital as well, and we'll get it sorted. She's going to be okay, Callie."
Holden's expression softened as he stared at Ari on the hospital bed. He picked up her hand gently and kissed it, sending a wave of emotion through Callie as she watched. Holden loved Ari as much as she did.
"You'll be right as rain in no time, Lady Arella."
Holden put her hand down gently before giving Callie a nod. She bit her lip and attempted a grateful smile; one she was sure failed as he pulled her in for another hug immediately after.
"Right as rain, my Queen. I promise."
