Disclaimer: I STILL don't own any of this. So, don't sue me!!!
Author's Note: The "stories/news releases" are fake. I just made them
up. So, don't sue me for that either.
_________________________________________________________
3 days later (after Ch. 2 happened)
Elizabeth sat down at the desk in her office. She had just gotten done
with an apendectomy, and she had a whole crapload of paperwork to do.
As she looked at the mail and mesages on her desk, a packet of papers
caught her eye. It was from Dr. Waliz. The note on the envelope said:
"Re: Robert Romano". Elizabeth ripped open the envelope. Attatched to
a piece of paper was a sticky note. It read: "Elizabeth: I found this
after researching the newspapers from Robert's hometown. This might
explain why he tried to commit suicide. I tried talking with him but I
got nothing out of him. I'll try again later, and get back to you when
I get back from my shift. Thanks, Dr. Waliz." Elizabeth picked up the
photocopied newspaper article and began to read:
Late-Night Car Crash Kills Two; Leaves Child Parentless
(UPI)- Richmond, Virginia A late-night car crash left two dead and
two others injured on Saturday evening. Nathan Romano and his wife,
Jane, were killed when their car was involved in a head-on collision
with a truck. Their son, Robert, was in the backseat at the time of the
accident. He was taken to St. Avera's Hospital and is listed in
critical condition at the time of this paper's publication. The driver
of the other vehicle was also taken to St. Avera's Hospital and was
treated and released later on that evening.
Following an autopsy this afternoon, the county coroner concluded that
the accident was most likely alcohol related. Nathan Romano's blood
alcohol level was recorded at .10. The county coroner also quoted about
further findings of the autopsy. "I found multiple fractured and
bruised bones on Mrs. Romano after examining her. There is also a quite
extensive medical history for this sort of injury on file here at the
hospital on both her and her son. Obviously, this would suggest that
this is also a domestic abuse case. Unfortunately, we may never know."
Since both parents are deceased and no relatives have been found yet,
the young boy is now under the custody of the Virginia State Social
Services. Unless a relative comes forth to claim custody of him, he
will be placed into foster care until further notice.
Funeral services for Nathan and Jane will be held tomorrow at
Resurection Church at 2:30 p.m.
Elizabeth was stunned. She had never known anything like this had
happened to Robert. First his parents die, and then they come to the
conclusion that his father beat both Robert and his mother. No wonder
he felt so alone. She stood up out of her desk, and walked out of her
office. She saw Shirley looking at her strange and she said "Oh,
Shirley, I'm going to go down to talk to Robert. I'll be back in awhile.
" Elizabeth said, walking past the nurses' station. "Oh...tell him
hello for me, okay?" Shirley said. Usually Shirley could have cared
less about Romano, but much like the rest of the hospital staff, she
somehow felt guilty for the guy.
Once Elizabeth got to Robert's room, she knocked on the door. "What?" A
sleepy Robert yelled as Elizabeth entered the room. "Oh God, Robert.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I'll come back later..."
Elizabeth said, feeling sorry that she had interupted on the one chance
he was actually sleeping. The anti-depressants had been keeping him
awake and so had his nightmares. "No, Elizabeth!" Robert yelled,
suddenly awake. "Please....please stay." he pleaded. "Well, only if you
want me to." Elizabeth said, taking a seat on the other bed in the
room. She noticed that he hadn't touched his lunch. "Wow...I never
realized how bad the cafeteria food is until now." Elizabeth said,
trying to lighten the mood. "Yea, I was hoping you could help me break
the rules, and run out to McDonald's or somewhere to get me some "real"
food." Robert said, smirking at Elizabeth. Elizabeth just burst out
laughing. "Hey, I'm not Chief of Staff for nothing." Robert said,
making Elizabeth laugh even harder. From what Elizabeth could tell, he
seemed better than three days ago. He actually smiled, he talked, he
seemed "human" again. "So, really...why are you down here, Elizabeth? I
know that you wouldn't just "come and visit" me for no reason. There's
got to be a reason why you came down here. Spill everything." Robert
said, his dark brown eyes piercing hers. "No, nothing, Robert...
honestly...I...." Elizabeth said, stammering over herself. "Elizabeth,
really...if you want to know something ask. Stop beating around the
bush, just ask. Whatever it is you want to know, it can't be worse than
that damn Dr. Waliz. The only thing he's good for is degrading people.
Remind me to fire him when I get back to work." Robert said, smirking
at the last comment. "Well, ummm..." Elizabeth said. Oh what the hell,
she was curious so she was going to ask. "I read somewhere about your
parents and I wondered if that had anything to do with you and the
whole suicide thing." Elizabeth said quickly in one breath. Robert just
sat back, stunned by the question. After a moment, he replied "How did
you know about my parents?", saying it in almost a barely audible
whisper. Elizabeth just shrugged, wanting him to answer her. Robert put
his hand to his bald head and rubbed his temples, sighing deeply. He
got up and walked across the room, sitting right next to Elizabeth. He
looked straight into her eyes. "If I tell you, you've got to keep this
to yourself. I don't want people knowing about my past and feeling
sorry for me. Please, if I tell you, I have to be able to trust you."
Robert said, a sad expression on his face the whole time. Elizabeth
looked back into the big, brown eyes that looked intently at her. "I
promise that whatever you tell me will not be told ever again. That's a
promise, Robert." Elizabeth said, whispering. Robert nodded and closed
his eyes and began talking. "I remember that night like last night. I
was at home playing. Mom was cooking dinner and Dad wasn't home yet. It
was snowing really hard, a blizzard, and it was about 8 o'clock in the
evening. I remember Dad stumbling through the door, yelling at Mom the
whole way there. He was really really drunk. He was always drunk, but
that night it was at an all-time high. He started arguing with my mom
and yelling at her, calling her stupid. I walked into the kitchen
because I didn't want him to yell anymore. I grabbed hold of his arm
and told him to leave her alone. His fist came flying back and hit me
square in the jaw, slamming me back into the wall." Robert said, as his
eyes stared off into the distance, forcing him to remember the horrid
memory. As he said that last sentance, he brought his hand up to his
jaw, as if feeling the pain all over again. Then he continued. "He
yelled at us and beat me and mom some more. We all then got into the
car, Dad was driving, yelling the whole way. I didn't know where we
were going. It was late, and the weather was bad. Dad was really mad.
I remember Mom seeing headlights and screaming. There was a truck in
front of us, and it hit us, and that's all I remember before waking up
in the hospital." Robert said, swallowing hard. Elizabeth was horrified
. Tears began to slide down her cheeks, as they had been all week. "And
is that why you...why you...tried...commit....???" Elizabeth said,
whispering and crying at the same time. "I was alone for so long.
Nobody understood me. Nobody loved me. I didn't want to be like my dad.
I didn't want people to hate me. I ruined it here. I don't deserve to
be here. I just wanted it to be over with." Robert said, the look on
his face just breaking her heart. He was trying so hard to hide back
tears. He was after all, Robert Romano: Chief of Staff. If he cried,
he'd never hear the end of it. If he cried it meant he was weak, that's
what his dad had taught him. Totally throwing what his dad said out the
window, the tears that had been built up for *so* long finally began
spilling over. He began to sob, hugging Elizabeth. Elizabeth hugged him
back, unable to hold back the sobs that she felt inside. Through her
tears, she whispered: "It'll get better. Give it time, it'll get better
. I promise. I'll make it better." And with that, they both sat there
and continued to cry.
__________________________________________________
While I KNOW that Robert would NEVER cry, I PROMISE this won't happen
again. I just need a "tie-in" chapter. The story gets better, I PROMISE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE R&R!!!!!!!!!!!
Author's Note: The "stories/news releases" are fake. I just made them
up. So, don't sue me for that either.
_________________________________________________________
3 days later (after Ch. 2 happened)
Elizabeth sat down at the desk in her office. She had just gotten done
with an apendectomy, and she had a whole crapload of paperwork to do.
As she looked at the mail and mesages on her desk, a packet of papers
caught her eye. It was from Dr. Waliz. The note on the envelope said:
"Re: Robert Romano". Elizabeth ripped open the envelope. Attatched to
a piece of paper was a sticky note. It read: "Elizabeth: I found this
after researching the newspapers from Robert's hometown. This might
explain why he tried to commit suicide. I tried talking with him but I
got nothing out of him. I'll try again later, and get back to you when
I get back from my shift. Thanks, Dr. Waliz." Elizabeth picked up the
photocopied newspaper article and began to read:
Late-Night Car Crash Kills Two; Leaves Child Parentless
(UPI)- Richmond, Virginia A late-night car crash left two dead and
two others injured on Saturday evening. Nathan Romano and his wife,
Jane, were killed when their car was involved in a head-on collision
with a truck. Their son, Robert, was in the backseat at the time of the
accident. He was taken to St. Avera's Hospital and is listed in
critical condition at the time of this paper's publication. The driver
of the other vehicle was also taken to St. Avera's Hospital and was
treated and released later on that evening.
Following an autopsy this afternoon, the county coroner concluded that
the accident was most likely alcohol related. Nathan Romano's blood
alcohol level was recorded at .10. The county coroner also quoted about
further findings of the autopsy. "I found multiple fractured and
bruised bones on Mrs. Romano after examining her. There is also a quite
extensive medical history for this sort of injury on file here at the
hospital on both her and her son. Obviously, this would suggest that
this is also a domestic abuse case. Unfortunately, we may never know."
Since both parents are deceased and no relatives have been found yet,
the young boy is now under the custody of the Virginia State Social
Services. Unless a relative comes forth to claim custody of him, he
will be placed into foster care until further notice.
Funeral services for Nathan and Jane will be held tomorrow at
Resurection Church at 2:30 p.m.
Elizabeth was stunned. She had never known anything like this had
happened to Robert. First his parents die, and then they come to the
conclusion that his father beat both Robert and his mother. No wonder
he felt so alone. She stood up out of her desk, and walked out of her
office. She saw Shirley looking at her strange and she said "Oh,
Shirley, I'm going to go down to talk to Robert. I'll be back in awhile.
" Elizabeth said, walking past the nurses' station. "Oh...tell him
hello for me, okay?" Shirley said. Usually Shirley could have cared
less about Romano, but much like the rest of the hospital staff, she
somehow felt guilty for the guy.
Once Elizabeth got to Robert's room, she knocked on the door. "What?" A
sleepy Robert yelled as Elizabeth entered the room. "Oh God, Robert.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I'll come back later..."
Elizabeth said, feeling sorry that she had interupted on the one chance
he was actually sleeping. The anti-depressants had been keeping him
awake and so had his nightmares. "No, Elizabeth!" Robert yelled,
suddenly awake. "Please....please stay." he pleaded. "Well, only if you
want me to." Elizabeth said, taking a seat on the other bed in the
room. She noticed that he hadn't touched his lunch. "Wow...I never
realized how bad the cafeteria food is until now." Elizabeth said,
trying to lighten the mood. "Yea, I was hoping you could help me break
the rules, and run out to McDonald's or somewhere to get me some "real"
food." Robert said, smirking at Elizabeth. Elizabeth just burst out
laughing. "Hey, I'm not Chief of Staff for nothing." Robert said,
making Elizabeth laugh even harder. From what Elizabeth could tell, he
seemed better than three days ago. He actually smiled, he talked, he
seemed "human" again. "So, really...why are you down here, Elizabeth? I
know that you wouldn't just "come and visit" me for no reason. There's
got to be a reason why you came down here. Spill everything." Robert
said, his dark brown eyes piercing hers. "No, nothing, Robert...
honestly...I...." Elizabeth said, stammering over herself. "Elizabeth,
really...if you want to know something ask. Stop beating around the
bush, just ask. Whatever it is you want to know, it can't be worse than
that damn Dr. Waliz. The only thing he's good for is degrading people.
Remind me to fire him when I get back to work." Robert said, smirking
at the last comment. "Well, ummm..." Elizabeth said. Oh what the hell,
she was curious so she was going to ask. "I read somewhere about your
parents and I wondered if that had anything to do with you and the
whole suicide thing." Elizabeth said quickly in one breath. Robert just
sat back, stunned by the question. After a moment, he replied "How did
you know about my parents?", saying it in almost a barely audible
whisper. Elizabeth just shrugged, wanting him to answer her. Robert put
his hand to his bald head and rubbed his temples, sighing deeply. He
got up and walked across the room, sitting right next to Elizabeth. He
looked straight into her eyes. "If I tell you, you've got to keep this
to yourself. I don't want people knowing about my past and feeling
sorry for me. Please, if I tell you, I have to be able to trust you."
Robert said, a sad expression on his face the whole time. Elizabeth
looked back into the big, brown eyes that looked intently at her. "I
promise that whatever you tell me will not be told ever again. That's a
promise, Robert." Elizabeth said, whispering. Robert nodded and closed
his eyes and began talking. "I remember that night like last night. I
was at home playing. Mom was cooking dinner and Dad wasn't home yet. It
was snowing really hard, a blizzard, and it was about 8 o'clock in the
evening. I remember Dad stumbling through the door, yelling at Mom the
whole way there. He was really really drunk. He was always drunk, but
that night it was at an all-time high. He started arguing with my mom
and yelling at her, calling her stupid. I walked into the kitchen
because I didn't want him to yell anymore. I grabbed hold of his arm
and told him to leave her alone. His fist came flying back and hit me
square in the jaw, slamming me back into the wall." Robert said, as his
eyes stared off into the distance, forcing him to remember the horrid
memory. As he said that last sentance, he brought his hand up to his
jaw, as if feeling the pain all over again. Then he continued. "He
yelled at us and beat me and mom some more. We all then got into the
car, Dad was driving, yelling the whole way. I didn't know where we
were going. It was late, and the weather was bad. Dad was really mad.
I remember Mom seeing headlights and screaming. There was a truck in
front of us, and it hit us, and that's all I remember before waking up
in the hospital." Robert said, swallowing hard. Elizabeth was horrified
. Tears began to slide down her cheeks, as they had been all week. "And
is that why you...why you...tried...commit....???" Elizabeth said,
whispering and crying at the same time. "I was alone for so long.
Nobody understood me. Nobody loved me. I didn't want to be like my dad.
I didn't want people to hate me. I ruined it here. I don't deserve to
be here. I just wanted it to be over with." Robert said, the look on
his face just breaking her heart. He was trying so hard to hide back
tears. He was after all, Robert Romano: Chief of Staff. If he cried,
he'd never hear the end of it. If he cried it meant he was weak, that's
what his dad had taught him. Totally throwing what his dad said out the
window, the tears that had been built up for *so* long finally began
spilling over. He began to sob, hugging Elizabeth. Elizabeth hugged him
back, unable to hold back the sobs that she felt inside. Through her
tears, she whispered: "It'll get better. Give it time, it'll get better
. I promise. I'll make it better." And with that, they both sat there
and continued to cry.
__________________________________________________
While I KNOW that Robert would NEVER cry, I PROMISE this won't happen
again. I just need a "tie-in" chapter. The story gets better, I PROMISE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE R&R!!!!!!!!!!!