OOOOOOO
AN: So sorry for they huge delay in posting this story! Blame it on real life! I've been traveling quite a bit recently and I've had family staying, so combine that with work and friendship obligations and you pretty much get the brick wall that was standing in the way of posting. My sincere apologies! Also, my great thanks go out to my great beta, Anne! She's provided my with a wealth of knowledge !
Part 2
Soon after Carol-Anne emerged from her coma, her mother's doctors were in touch to say that she had suffered a relapse. She had not taken the news of her daughter's brush with death well at all and as a result her recovery was knocked back substantially.
This didn't go down well at all with Carol-Anne. Mac had hesitated in telling her, knowing just how fragile the child's emotional state still was. But when Carol-Anne asked about visiting her mother once she was discharged, there was no way that Mac could avoid telling the truth. Carol-Anne would not be able to see her mother, because her doctors were now exploring a new avenue of treatment.
"What do you mean?" Carol-Anne asked Mac, her big brown eyes open wide.
"Your mom got a little upset when she heard you were so ill," Mac explained, "Her doctors think it would be too upsetting to let you see her, just yet. They're going to try some different types of treatment and see what happens…"
"So until she's stable again, I'm not going to be able to see her…" Carol-Anne surmised, beginning to tear up.
"It's only going to be for a little while, just while the medication takes effect again," Mac tried to console her.
"That's what they told me the last time," Carol-Anne whispered, angrily, "And it took months."
"The doctors will do everything in their power to help your mom, as quickly as they can," Mac told her, "I know you're angry at them for keeping you from seeing your mom, but…"
"I'm not angry at them," the child cut her off, tears splashing down onto her flushed cheeks, "I'm angry at myself…I did this…If I hadn't upset her…"
"This isn't your fault," Mac quickly tried to catch and hold her gaze.
When the child looked away, she put a hand to the side of her face and guided Carol-Anne to look at her.
"This is not your fault," Mac repeated, "There's every indication that the medication wasn't effectively controlling your mom's symptoms and she probably would have had to change medications anyway."
She could see that this didn't do much to reassure the child, so she sat down on the side of the bed and took Carol-Anne's hands in her own.
"This is just another small setback," she attempted again, "It's not ideal, but we'll overcome it just like we'll overcome everything else in our way; together, you and me, one obstacle at a time."
With a sniffle, Carol-Anne wiped her eyes and nodded.
"Can I…just…Please can I have…a hug?" she asked, quietly.
With a smile, Mac told her, "Of course you can…anytime. You only need to ask."
Mac closed her eyes as the small pair of arms wrapped around her and she did the same. The child was hugging her as if absorbing some of her strength. Mac was sure that she could spare some and was happy to do so, so that Carol-Anne could top-up some of her lacking reserves.
OOOO
"Make yourself comfortable around here," Mac told the young girl, setting the small suitcase on the bed, "I want you to feel like this is your home away from home."
Carol-Anne smiled, softly, her initial tension relieved and then the two of them unpacked her belongings.
The guestroom was hardly what you would call 'suiting' to a twelve-year-old girl, but it was warm and comfortable and the company was good enough, so this was what mattered the most to the child.
Her birthday, a few days before had been a bit of a bust because Carol-Anne had suffered one of her lowest days in the hospital, so Mac had not pushed her about anything that day.
A few days after she had moved into Mac's place, Harriet held a very small 'celebration' (if it really even could be called that, considering) for Carol-Anne's twelfth birthday. What she and Mac's friends at JAG did want to accomplish, however, was to show Mac and especially Carol-Anne that they were there to give support, if either of them needed it. By the end of the event, even though things were still a little strained, Harriet thought that their effort had been reasonably accomplished, at least where Mac was concerned. And the new ease that Mac now experienced, in reaction to this show of support was beginning to transmit to Carol-Anne. At first, Carol-Anne had stuck rigidly to Mac's side, most often clutching her hand tightly, especially when confronted with people she didn't know well. With time, she managed to settle down and even interact with the other children present. Paula and Rafael had brought all of their foster-kids along, even Jenny, who now seemed to be much more patient with Carol-Anne.
As they were getting something to eat, Paula confided that young Jenny had actually been very shaken after Carol-Anne had been hospitalized.
"She's not a cold person, really. She just finds it hard to connect with people. Jen's been through a lot of foster homes in the time that she's been in the system."
To the surprise of everyone at the party, the person who Carol-Anne seemed to spend the most time with (apart from Mac) was Admiral Chegwidden, who was currently in DC visiting. He'd been staying with the Roberts family, who had cared for his pet dog since AJ retired and left to travel and spend some time with his daughter.
As is the case with many animals, it seemed that the dog was intuitive as to just how fragile Carol-Anne was and acted accordingly. Carol-Anne giggled for the tenth time in only a half-hour, when the rambunctious pooch seemed to wait until she was talking to him before he went to lick her. Wiping her open mouth on her arm, she smiled at AJ, who was just as taken with the young child as she was with him. Mac took the opportunity to get some advice from him later on, while Carol-Anne was absorbed in a board game with Kev, the two Jens and Harm.
"It seems to me like you're doing a great job so far, Mac," AJ told her, complimenting her, "Harriet's told me a bit about what the poor girl's been through over the past few months and it seems to me that she's made some real progress in the time she's been with you. Just follow your instincts and I'm sure they'll lead you right."
OOOO
Mac, however, was unprepared for just how much Carol-Anne would need her in the next few weeks, even more so than she had needed either of her foster-parents during her stay with them. Night-time terrors plagued her and more often than not, she found her way to Mac's bedroom.
"C'mon in," Mac would hold the cover up in invitation and settle Carol-Anne in beside her.
With soft, comforting words, Mac was usually able to calm the child down enough until she was able to drop back to sleep.
OOOO
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" Mac asked as she frantically searched around the living room for her rogue shoe, "I should only be a couple of hours, but if you want, I can drop you off at Harriet's place and pick you up again when I'm finished."
Mac had been called to the brig in Norfolk urgently at the bidding of a client of hers and now she worried about leaving Carol-Anne on her own for the first time.
"No, I'll be okay," Carol-Anne shook her head, engrossed in a program on the Animal Planet channel on cable. She tore her eyes away long enough to take a quick glimpse underneath the couch, then reached under and pulled out Mac's missing shoe.
"Thank you," Mac told her, quickly pushing the shoe on and heading for the door. When she got there, she turned back for a second, as if to consider one last doubt in her head.
But Carol-Anne seemed perfectly content to sit and watch television. In fact, Mac actually doubted that the girl was still conscious of the world around her. In a way, it was good that she was able to get some respite from the troubles in her life. She had far more than her fair share of hardship in her young life.
With one last smile to herself, Mac ducked out the door and locked it after her. The sooner she got to Norfolk, the sooner this mess would get sorted out, then the sooner she would return home.
OOOO
