Disclaimer: I do not own Strong Medicine or the characters. They belong to Whoopi Goldberg, and Tammy Ader, and Lifetime TV. Special thanks to my sounding board, proof-reader, and fellow brainstormer, SallyJo! Thanks hon, you're the best!
The Following Week
"I'm ready." Marisa limped out of her room carrying her backpack.
"Ok honey. We'll leave in a minute." Lu put her empty coffee mug in the kitchen sink. She watched Marisa limp to the couch and immediately began to doubt her decision about sending the young girl back to school.
Marisa's left knee had healed enough that she no longer needed the wheelchair. Lu had hated having to put her in a wheelchair, but with her left wrist sprained as well, Marisa could not manage crutches. Her wrist was still bandaged, but healing nicely.
"Am I doing the right thing? Is it too soon to send her back?" Lu thought to herself. Marisa seemed ready to return, but at the same time she still looked timid.
"Mommy?" a little voice jolted Lu out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, honey?" She shook her head, suddenly realizing she was staring at Marisa.
"What's wrong?" the little girl carefully watched her face.
"Nothing," Lu came around the counter and sat beside Marisa on the couch. "Uh, listen sweetheart," she put her arm around her goddaughter, "Are you sure you are ready to go back to school? You don't have to go back yet, you can stay out and come to the clinic with me for another couple of days. If you want to, that is."
Marisa looked up, the worry showing in her eyes "I'm scared..."
"It's ok to be scared, honey." Lu rubbed her back.
"But I think I want to go to school." the young child picked nervously at her bandaged wrist.
"Ok then, to school it is." Lu smiled as she stood up and looked toward her son's room. "Marc? Do you want a ride to school? Marisa and I are about to leave."
"No thanks," Marc stuck his head into the living room, "Jeff is picking me up." He winked at Marisa and went to the refrigerator for a drink. A car horn sounded from the street below, "There he is." Marc grabbed his backpack and hurried toward the door. "Bye. See you guys tonight." he stopped briefly to kiss Lu on the cheek.
"Bye, kiddo. Stay out of trouble." she pulled the front of his baseball cap down over his eyes.
"Mommmm." he sighed as he opened the door.
"Whaaatttt?" she laughed as Marc shook his head and waved.
Lu turned back to Marisa, "Ready to go?"
The little girl looked up at her hesitantly, "Can I..." she stopped and looked away.
Lu put her finger under the child's chin and gently raised Marisa's head, "What is it, honey?"
"Can I call you mommy?" she asked still avoiding eye contact.
"You've been calling me mommy for a week." Lu smiled down at the young girl on the couch.
"I know...," Marisa finally met her godmother's gaze, "But is it ok?"
"Of course it is, baby." Lu picked the child up, hugged her tightly, and planted a kiss on her forehead.
Several hours later - lunch time at Skylar Park Elementary School
"Hey! Look! It's the cripple!" an older boy yelled and pointed.
A group of kids gathered around Marisa and poked fun at her.
"What's this thing?" another boy pulled on the bandage around her wrist as the girls laughed and whispered.
Marisa made her way over to a bench on the playground and sat down. The kids continued to pick at her.
"Oh look, she can't even walk across the playground!" a girl teased in a singsong voice.
"And she doesn't even have a mom!" the first boy got right up in Marisa's face.
Her eyes filled with tears, "Yes I do... and a big brother too."
The boy sneered at her, "My mom says that your mother died and left you with some doctor woman."
"Dr. Lu is my mom too," the tears spilling down her small face
"My dad says she is not your mother, she is just your guardian or something like that." a girl said from behind.
Marisa stood and limped toward the door. She carefully climbed the steps, trying to ignore the crowd of teasing kids hot on her heels.
"Don't you walk away from us!" One of the older boys yelled as he grabbed Marisa by her shoulder and pulled her back.
She cried as the older kids pushed her around like a rag doll, "Stop! Please!", she begged as she was bounced around and around. Her schoolmates' laughter rang in her ears as the oldest of the boys shoved Marisa forward. She toppled down the concrete steps and landed on her back with her left leg bent at an awkward angle. The kids scattered as the teacher on playground duty finally took notice and yelled for another teacher to call 911.
The duty teacher knelt beside Marisa to hold her still, "Don't move honey, you're going to be ok."
An older girl saw what happened and came from across the playground. Dropping to her knees, she took Marisa's hand, "I'm Celeste," she wiped the tears from the younger girl's face, "It's ok, don't cry."
The ambulance siren sounded in the distance as the teacher and Celeste tried to soothe Marisa.
The same time across town at the RWHC
"Yes, I'll take care of it." Lana hung up the phone and ran over to Andy's office. "Dr. Campbell," she knocked as she opened the door, "An ambulance is bringing Marisa to the ER... broken leg."
Andy looked up, shocked, "Wasn't today her first day back at school? How did that happen?"
"Schoolyard bullies." Lana followed the doctor to the office door.
"Where's Delgado?" Andy looked toward her partner's office.
"I haven't told her yet... thought you should get a head start and get to Marisa first. Lu's gonna flip and you know she will." Lana shot a pointed look in Andy's direction.
"Good thinking, Hawkins. Give me a minute before you tell her." Andy called over her shoulder as she rushed to the ER.
"Peter?" Lana called.
"In here." his voice came from one of the exam rooms.
She stuck her head in the room, "Get out here and mind the phone and the desk for a few minutes."
"Everything ok?" Peter rose from the stool where he had been sitting.
"No," Lana took his arm and pulled him out the door, "Marisa's hurt again, I've got to go tell Lu."
"Oh no!" Peter sat down at the desk and picked up the phone on its' second ring, "RWHC."
Lana slowly pushed Lu's office door open, "Hey, kid?"
The doctor looked up from her paperwork. "Yeah?"
"Don't fly off the handle but..." the receptionist leaned over the desk to get eye level with her friend.
Lu put down her pen and rubbed her eyes, "I don't have time for games, Lana. What is it?"
"Marisa was just brought to the ER in an ambulance." Lana reached for her friend's hand. A look of pure panic crossed Lu's face. Lana quickly continued, trying to calm the young doctor, "Her leg is broken, but Dr. Campbell is already with her."
Lu stood and slowly walked around the desk, shock and disbelief written all over her face. The receptionist wrapped an arm around her waist and opened the office door, "Come on kid. Let Lana take..."
Lu suddenly broke away from Lana's embrace and ran toward the ER as fast as her legs would carry her.
"How did she take it?" Peter came to meet Lana, his forehead creased with concern.
"She didn't say a word, not one word." Lana rubbed the back of her neck.
Later that afternoon
Peter walked in the ER, "Where's Dr. Delgado?", he tapped a nurse on the shoulder.
"Bay four." She responded without looking up from her patient.
He went over and stepped between the curtains. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Lu sitting on Marisa's bed, one leg hanging off the side, and her arm around the young girl. "Well, hi there Little Miss," Peter pulled a stuffed puppy from behind his back and placed it on the bed beside Marisa, "How are you feeling?"
"My leg hurts." she rubbed her bright pink cast.
"Dr. Campbell will give you something to help in a little while sweetheart." Lu rubbed the little girl's back.
Peter walked around the bed and put his hand on her shoulder, "You want to go take a break? I'll stay with Marisa."
"No, it's ok." she glanced up at him from where she was sitting on the gurney.
"Lu, you need..." he started to protest.
"Peter. Not now." her glare was enough that he knew not to push her.
The curtain parted again as Andy walked in, "Riggs. Delgado." She nodded her head in greeting, then glanced down at the chart in her hands. "It looks good, no concussion. I'll give you some morphine for the pain and you can go home." Andy ruffled Marisa's hair and turned to a passing nurse. "I need 4mg morphine." The nurse quickly returned with the requested medicine. Andy took the syringe and gave the young girl the shot. "I'll get the discharge papers and then you can take her home Delgado." She patted Marisa's shoulder.
"I'll be back in a few minutes sweetheart." Lu looked at the little girl and stood up.
"Nooooooooooo!" Marisa clung to her godmother's hand.
"I'll be right back baby, I promise. It's ok." Lu extracted her hand from the vice-like grip. "Andy. Wait." She followed her partner and Peter a short distance. Catching a nurse by the arm, Lu paused for a moment, "My kid is in Bay four, terrified. I have to take care of something, but I'll be back soon."
"No problem, Dr. Delgado." the nurse scurried toward Marisa's bay.
"Where's Lana?" Lu turned back toward her colleagues
Ten minutes later, the four friends sat at Lana's desk.
"Marisa is really upset. One of the things that the kids were teasing her about is her mom. They said that she doesn't have a real mom.", Lu rested her head on her hand, "I was hoping for some insight on how to handle this situation." she looked up hopefully.
"Now Lu, you know better than that," Lana shook her pink feathered pen, "Of course she has a real mom! She has YOU!"
Lu gave her a sad smile, "Yeah, but I know I don't even come close to Rita."
Peter leaned back in his chair, "Rita trusted you enough to leave her daughter to you. That tells me she thought that you are a good mom."
Lana repositioned herself in the chair, "She thought that you are the best one to be there for Marisa when she couldn't be. Why else would she have trusted her most prized possession to your care?" her no nonsense logic cut straight to the core and a brief silence fell over the group.
"Delgado," clearing her throat, Andy was the first to break the silence, "Have you thought about adoption?"
Looking up at her friend, Lu sighed, "Yeah, that is one thing I was looking for advice on. I don't want Marisa to think I am trying to take her real mom's place."
"She wouldn't think that, she already calls you mommy." Peter pointed out.
"Just ask her how she feels about it, that's the only way you are gonna know the right thing to do." Lana lifted the coffee mug to her mouth.
"Thanks guys," Lu rose from her chair and retrieved her purse from under the desk, "I'm going to take Marisa home, I think I will have a talk with her tonight."
"Bye Lu", "See you later", "Good Night", the sounds of her friends' farewells followed her down the hall as she waved over her shoulder.
Watching Lu disappear through the ER doors, Lana turned back to the other doctor, "Dr. Campbell?"
"Yes, Hawkins. Now." Andy disappeared into her office.
"Battle Stations." Peter joked as Lana picked up the phone and began to dial.
Their plan quickly swung full force into action. Lu was going to get some rest... like it or not...