"What the hell does that mean?!… Look, I've got thirty submissives who need emergency placement! Three of them are being released from the hospital this afternoon, and they have nowhere to go!… Just have him call me when he gets in!"
Don Cragen slammed the phone down and huffed, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. It was only 8:45 in the morning and he needed more coffee.
"Sir, we just got a call back from the director at Rosewood informing us that they currently only have one available bed, and Worthington says they have no beds available. Also, Olivia is here to see you." Lena Petrovsky walked into her boss's office with a clipboard.
"Send Olivia in." Don scribbled his signature on Lena's clipboard. He wasn't expecting to see Olivia today, but she always brightened his mood.
"Hi, Daddy." Olivia walked in and kissed his cheek. He was not her biological father, but he was the closest thing to a parent that she had.
"Hi, baby. Did I forget that we set up a meeting?" Don tried to remember everything on his schedule for the day.
"No, sir. I'm here on my own. Do you have time?"
"I always have time for you. I'm just waiting to hear back from the director of Kincaid regarding availability. So far, Rosewood is the only Transition Station that has any vacancies, and they only have one bed. I'm hoping that Kincaid will have at least two, since we have three submissives that need a place to go today."
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." Olivia sat down and carefully explained her desire to take in one of the recently rescued submissives.
Don listened intently. This was highly unusual. Normally, when a submissive or a group of submissives were removed from an abusive situation, they were evaluated at the hospital, and then, if they didn't need a long-term hospital stay, they were sent to one of the three Transition Stations in New York where they would live and receive counseling and any necessary therapy until a proper home could be found for them. Don had been at this job for quite some time and could count on one hand the number of times a submissive went from the hospital straight to a Dominant's home. It wasn't unheard of, but it was extremely rare.
"What does Alex think about all this?" Don asked, knowing that Olivia would never make a decision to take in another submissive without Alex's input.
"It was her idea, actually. Michaela was freaking out and wouldn't let me out of her sight, so I called Alex down to the hospital to keep her company while I was working, and I guess they hit it off." Olivia explained.
"I'm sending Abbie down to the hospital to be with her when she gets discharged. If you like, you can go with Abbie and figure out from there what Michaela wants. If she wants to go with you, then you can take her from the hospital to your house. Abbie can give you all the necessary paperwork and all the literature you're required to read. If Michaela doesn't want to go with you, Abbie will take her to one of the Transition Stations."
"Hi, Michaela. My name is Abbie Carmichael, and I believe you've already met Detective Benson." Abbie spoke kindly to the redhead sitting in the hospital bed.
"Hi, Michaela. How are you feeling?" Olivia asked with a smile.
"I'm fine, Ma'am. Hello, Miss Carmichael." Michaela replied respectfully. She had been given a warm shower and a meal as soon as she arrived at the hospital, and it felt really good to be clean and have a full belly. She was also wearing a clean pair of sweats that the hospital had given her.
"So, we hear you're ready to be discharged from the hospital, and that's great news. While we wait for the doctor to come, though, we need to talk. I work for Submissive Placement Services. Do you know what my job is?" Abbie asked.
"No, Ma'am." Michaela replied honestly.
"Well, my job is to help you transition to a new home and make sure that you are safe. The ring of Dominants that you were involved in was an illegal ring, which wasn't your fault, and I'm here to help you make sure that everything is legal this time around. Now, Detective Benson has informed us that she is willing to welcome you into her home as her submissive. What we need to know is if that is something that you want. If you don't want to go with her, then I will take you to a place called a Transition Station and you will live there until a permanent placement can be found for you."
"What do you say, sweetheart? Do you want to come live with me and Alex?" Olivia smiled.
Michaela considered her options. She'd heard of Transition Stations before. They weren't horrible. They were clean and provided you with three meals a day, a warm bed, and a roof over your head. They were just a stop along the way, though, and there was no way of knowing whether you would be there for a few days or a few months, which was just par for the course in Michaela's life. On the other hand, if she went with Olivia, she might be able to somehow prove that she was worth keeping permanently. She was straight and didn't know how to have sex with a woman, but she could learn if it meant that Olivia would keep her. Alex appeared to be well cared for and happy, so even if Olivia didn't keep her permanently, there was at least some hope that she would be treated somewhat decently before she had to leave.
"Yes, Ma'am. I would like to go with you." Michaela said after a long moment. As soon as the words left her mouth, she began to get scared.
What if Alex wasn't truly as well cared for and happy as she seemed? What if Michaela had just signed herself up for more of the same abuse she had just been rescued from? Olivia seemed genuine, but so had many other people in Michaela's life, and she had been proven wrong every single time. But the words had left her lips and she couldn't take them back. She had sealed her own fate and now she deserved whatever happened to her.
"That's great news. Well, Olivia, you've done this before, so here is the same set of paperwork that you filled out for Alex. Take it home with you and mail it to my office once it is complete. Oh, and here is the literature you are required to read. Michaela, you are required to go through counseling, so I will set that up for you."
At that moment, the doctor came in to look over Michaela's bruises and check her lungs once more before signing off on her discharge papers. The doctor sent a nurse in to unhook Michaela's IV, and then Michaela found herself being wheeled out of the hospital to Olivia's car. She had nothing except the clothes on her back.
"Alex!" Olivia opened the door to the apartment and ushered Michaela inside.
Michaela looked around. The apartment wasn't huge, but it was a decent size and definitely nicer than anywhere she had ever lived before. It was clean and warmly decorated. It wasn't dusty and dark. There were no mice running around. The walls and carpet were intact. She assumed there was plenty of hot water in a place as nice as this. Whether she would be allowed to use it was another matter, but she wasn't going to think about that right now.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. Casey called me." Alex suddenly appeared from down the hall. She dropped to her knees at Olivia's feet and kissed the back of her right hand both in greeting and in apology for not coming immediately when called. She was supposed to come right away when Olivia called her unless she was in the bathroom.
"Up." Olivia beckoned, and turned Alex to the side, giving her one solid spank to her bottom. Alex winced, but did not cry out. Olivia immediately turned Alex back to face her and kissed her forehead, nose, and lips to assure Alex that it was a minor correction and was forgiven. Michaela jumped slightly when Olivia's hand made contact with Alex's bottom, and her jaw nearly hit the floor when she realized that this one swat was all that Alex was going to get.
Olivia reached into a drawer and pulled out a thick notebook and a pen before sitting down on the couch and making herself comfortable.
"Alex, position two. Michaela, watch what Alex does and do the same, please." Olivia instructed kindly.