December 24, 2004

Joan had blacked out again on the way to the hospital. She awoke soon after she'd been wheeled into the ER. She was initially a bit startled to wake up in unfamiliar surroundings again. She looked up and saw DoctorGod, who was working at cleaning the various cuts and wounds on her face and neck.

"I'm here, Joan."

"Were you ever there with me in that room?"

"I was always with you. I never left you. I never would. I'm always there even if you can't see or hear Me, remember?"

"Then why did you let this stuff happen to me? I was so scared."

"I know you were afraid. I was afraid for you too. You faced evil, and you know I don't use that word lightly."

"You didn't answer my – oh, never mind. You don't do that."

"I know you want to know why, Joan. You know that there is always a purpose in what I do. We'll talk more later, but you need to rest now. And your family is on their way. You need to see them, and they need to see you. Rest for awhile. I won't be far away."

As Joan closed her eyes, she felt the same gentle touch to her cheek as she had before. She opened her eyes again, and DoctorGod smiled at her. "I told you I was there. Now rest."

Will, Helen, Kevin, Luke, Grace, and Adam piled into Will and Kevin's cars and headed for the hospital quickly. Officer Marks gave them a police escort so they could get there faster. The occupants of both cars were silent. They knew Joan was alive, but nothing of what condition she could be in. God only knew what had happened to her in the past three days.

Six frantic looking people burst into the ER. Toni was at the desk and walked over to them. "How is she?" asked Will.

"She was conscious when we found her, but they said she blacked out in the ambulance on the way here. I haven't heard anything else", replied Toni.

"Where is she? I need to see her", said Helen.

Toni grabbed a nurse. "Joan Girardi's family is here. Can you take them to her?"

The nurse looked at the group of people in front of her. "Well, just the parents. Come on." Helen and Will followed her through a door, leaving the others in the waiting area.

They reached the room Joan was in, and Helen stopped in her tracks at the sight of her daughter. She was so pale, as white as the sheets she was laying on, except for horrible looking cuts and bruises on her face, arms, and neck. A sob escaped her as Will put an arm around her shoulders. Joan's eyes fluttered open. "Mom?" she asked softly.

Helen rushed to her. "Joan, my baby. " The rest of her words were lost in her tears as she embraced her daughter. Joan started to cry too as her mother held her.

Will walked around to the other side of the bed and took Joan's hand in his. "Hey, honey. It's ok now. No one will hurt you." His heart nearly broke at the way she said "Daddy" and looked up at him. She looked so lost and small and scared. And there was that horrible looking gash on her cheek. His sadness turned to rage. How could anyone hurt his little girl?

Just then a doctor and nurse came in, along with Toni. "We'll need everyone to clear out so we can do an exam and get a statement," said the doctor. Another nurse came in and handed something to the first. "Here's the rape kit," she said softly. Will and Helen both froze, and shared a pained, stunned look.

Will immediately turned left the room. Helen pulled away slightly, as if to follow Will and comply with the doctor's wishes to leave, but Joan grasped her mother's hand and arm in a death grip. "Mama, no! Stay with me!" Joan hadn't called her Mama since she was 6. Helen looked at the doctor and announced, "I'm NOT leaving her." The doctor just nodded and started to examine the cuts on Joan's face and neck. "Joan, can you tell me what he did to you? Did he rape you?"

Joan drew in a shuddering breath and paused before responding. "He…touched me…everywhere" with the last word in a whisper. Helen put her other arm around Joan and hugged her.

"Did he do anything else?"

"I don't know. He kept injecting me with something. I was out a lot of the time. I just don't know." She began to tremble and her eyes, along with Helen's, filled with tears. Helen hugged her tighter.

We'll examine you and find out, ok?" said the doctor. Joan looked at her, afraid. "I know this is frightening for you. We'll do this as quickly as possible."

Helen helped Joan lie down and stroked her hair away from her face as the doctor began the exam. Joan still hadn't released her grip on Helen's other hand.

"Ssh, sweetheart, it's gonna be ok," Helen attempted to soothe her daughter as she whimpered a bit.

"I'm sorry, I know this is uncomfortable, but we'll be through in just a minute" said the doctor. "There. Ok, you can sit back up if you want."

But Joan just curled into a ball, tears slipping out of her eyes. Helen, in tears herself, rubbed her back, wishing there was something more she could do.

Toni touched Helen lightly on the shoulder. "I need to get a statement from her and I think it would be better if you waited outside for this. I promise I'll keep it as short as possible."

Helen was hesitant to leave, but she leaned close to Joan and said, "Honey? I'll be right outside the door. I'll be back in soon, I promise." Joan nodded slightly, and Helen made her exit after pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Meanwhile, everyone else was in the waiting area, with Will wearing a trench in the floor with his pacing and the other four sitting silently. He had called the station, wanting to know if they had found Graves. They had to find him. And when they did, Will wanted five minutes alone in a room with him. Just five minutes. He'd kill him and save the taxpayers the expense of a trial. Just then, his cell phone rang.

"Girardi"

"He's dead."

"What?"

"He was driving back to the house when he spotted the squad cars and took off. We chased him, and he eventually ran a red light into the path of a semi. He was killed instantly."

"Thanks for letting me know."

Will knew he should be relieved, but he somehow felt cheated out of the opportunity to kill the bastard himself. Still pacing, he noticed his wife leave Joan's room and went over to her, and the others followed at a small distance. Helen went straight into Will's arms, crying. "Oh Will! My poor baby!" Will held her tight. "Was she…"

"I don't know. She doesn't remember everything, and the doctor didn't say." The others guessed what they were talking about, and stayed silent, even as the doctor approached.

"Mr. and Mrs. Girardi? Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private" she said, noticing the group standing there.

"Hey, she's our sister", said Kevin, "We want to know what's going on. Is she going to be ok?"

"Your sister's physical injuries are not that serious. But I really should speak with just your parents," the doctor replied.

"We'll fill you in later, Kev," said Will.

"No," piped in Luke. "What are you not telling us? What does she mean, 'her physical injuries are not that serious'. What -"

"Shut it, Geek!" Grace interrupted. "Let's just go sit back down and let them talk to the doctor."

"But"

"The only butt should be yours in a chair. Move!"

Grace went back to the waiting area with Kevin and Luke behind her. Adam followed a little more slowly wondering, like Luke, what they weren't saying.

"So…" asked Will once the others had left.

"Well, I found no sign of penetration or related injury, and the labs came back negative for fluids, so I think it's safe to say she wasn't raped," disclosed the doctor. Both Will and Helen literally sagged in their relief as she said this. "Blood loss from those knife wounds appears to be minor. I can recommend a plastic surgeon who can help repair those, especially the one on her cheek. She's also a little malnourished and dehydrated. We've got her on an IV to fix that."

"But what about whatever she was injected with," asked Helen.

"The officers that found her also found vials and a syringe. Knowing what it was really helped. The levels in her system aren't in a dangerous range, and I'm guessing it had been several hours at least since the last injection when she was found. Otherwise she never would have been conscious to call out for help. All in all, she's really not in too bad shape, physically, considering everything she's gone through. But as I am sure you are aware, the psychological and emotional damage is far greater. It's not going to be easy recovering from this. I can also recommend a psychologist for her to talk to. She specializes in victims of sexual assault, and although Joan wasn't raped, the trauma she experienced is similar."

"When can we bring her home?"

"Normally, I would say we should keep her a couple of days. But in this case, it may be better for her, mentally, if she's at home. We'll monitor her for today, and if things are looking ok, we'll send her home this evening. But I'd still want to see her tomorrow, regardless."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome. Now, you've got a worried bunch of people in the waiting area to talk to. I'll check back in about an hour."

As the doctor left, Toni came out of Joan's room and approached Will and Helen. "I think I got everything I need. But I told her to contact me if she remembers anything else"

"Thanks," said Will. But you won't need it for a trial. Graves is dead. Killed trying to escape."

"Thank God!" replied Helen and Toni in unison.

"I'm going back in with her. Will you let the kids know what's going on?" asked Helen.

"Yeah. Then I'll be back in," Will replied as Helen entered Joan's room.

Joan was still curled into a ball when her mother approached her. "Honey? I just talked to the doctor, and you're ok. Everything's gonna be ok, I promise. The man that took you, he's dead. He can never, ever hurt you again." Will came back after talking to the kids and sending them home, telling them they would be able to see Joan there, later, and to get some sleep. He stood next to his wife until Joan fell asleep and each took a chair to sit next to her.

The day passed pretty quickly. Joan, still feeling the effects of the sedative, was asleep much of the time. She remembered God had said they would talk later, and she tried to stay awake, but she was just so tired. Nurses had brought in more comfortable chairs for Helen and Will, and they both dozed on and off much of the day, their lack of sleep during the week catching up with them. Doctors were in to check on Joan often, and by evening told Helen and Will it was safe to take her home.

Joan was nearly asleep again after the car ride home. Will picked her up out of the back seat and carried her into the house and up the stairs to her room, past the worried looks of Kevin, Luke, Grace, and Adam. Before following her husband and daughter upstairs, Helen told Grace and Adam to head home, since Joan probably wouldn't be awake long, and to call tomorrow to see how she was. Helen helped her daughter into her pyjamas and tucked her into bed as Kevin and Luke came up to the doorway. "Can we see her?"

"Of course. But don't stay too long, ok?"

The boys entered to room slowly. They were so happy their sister was alive and here with them, but they didn't really know how to act around her.

"Hey, squirt, nice of you to get home in time for Christmas. Luke and I were going to open all your presents tomorrow", Kevin joked. "Funny. Sorry to disappoint you", Joan replied. "Yeah, well, I was really looking forward to adding something pretty to my wardrobe." Joan laughed a little. "Well, you do need all the help you can get to look good. It would pretty much take a miracle though." Her brothers both breathed a sigh of relief. Joan was still Joan. Luke noticed her eyelids drooping and finally said "We'll let you go to sleep now. I'm happy you're home Joan. We all really missed you." The boys left the room as Helen came back in with a glass of water and some medication. "Here you go, honey. It's just some antibiotics to prevent infection in those cuts." Joan took the pills, and then lay down again. Helen stayed with her until Joan's breathing indicated she was sleeping.

A couple hours later, the family was awakened by horrible screams coming from Joan's room. Helen and Will were in there in a flash, with Luke and Kevin not far behind. Joan had somehow managed to tangle herself in the sheets and was trying desperately to free herself. Helen put her arms around her and tried to calm her down while Will got her untangled. "Ssh, ssh, it's just a dream. You're home and safe. No one will hurt you now." Joan was shaking violently as she continued to cry. "It's ok, sweetheart, it's ok. Nobody's gonna hurt you. Ssh." She quieted, but clung to her mother tightly. Helen looked at the worried expressions on Will's, Kevin's, and Luke's faces. "You guys go on back to bed. I'll stay with her."

Helen rubbed Joan's back until she fell asleep again. She sighed as she looked down at her daughter, thankful that she was home, but worried about what they next days would bring. As much as she wished it was all over, she knew it really wasn't. The ordeal of the last few days would be with Joan, with all of them, for awhile. Will came back into the room and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "She asleep?"

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna sit with her awhile though, in case she wakes up again. I though you had gone back to bed."

Will pulled up the desk chair and sat down. "I did. But I wanted to check on her again. Part of me can't believe she's really home."

"I know. I keep looking at her, thinking how lucky we are, how close we came to losing her. I prayed so hard…"

"Me too."

Helen looked at her husband in surprise.

"I know, I know. But I didn't know what else to do. After we got that sweater in the mail, I felt so helpless, and I had no where else to turn."

"Looks like our prayers were answered."

"Looks like it." Will looked over at his now peacefully sleeping daughter and noticed the clock.

"Hey Helen?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."

NOTE: I'm updating early today! I've got to head out for some holiday family bonding. This is the last update for awhile. I will add to the story over the next week, just not daily. Keep those reviews coming! Merry Christmas, everyone.