Chapter 3: Dazed and Confused

Cassie arrived back at the hospital at 8:30. Her original plan was to beat Dr. Barnes there, but Gabriel insisted she eat and shower first because the girl was still unconscious. Cassie didn't really see why she couldn't take her time.

She took a long, hot shower, enjoying the time she had before going back to the hospital. She stopped at a Starbucks a few blocks from the hospital for coffee because she knew Gabriel probably needed it.

Cassie knew she didn't have to go back, but something about this girl really made Cassie worried for her. She didn't know why and that was slightly bothersome to her.

"She's upstairs," Dr. Barnes told Cassie when she came into the hospital; the two walked to room 307 where the girl was in. "I had her moved out of ICU when I came in because she was stable enough to be moved."

The way Pamela talked told Cassie there was something else.

"What is it?" She asked cautiously, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

Pamela stopped, prompting Cassie to stop as well, but Gabriel kept going, taking a deep breath.

"She's awake," The doctor sighed.

Cassie raised an eyebrow, not seeing what was so bad about. It was wonderful news actually. Unless she was still sick or something.

Pamela noticed the expression on the younger woman's face and tried to explain.

"It's not bad, she's just–"

A loud clatter cut her off, scaring Cassie and causing her to jump, before a loud voice shouted, "I don't want to talk to anyone unless that girl from last night is here!"

Cassie looked at Pamela briefly before jogging to the door.

Why did she want to see Cassie?

Gabriel and a male nurse were standing in front of the girl from the night before, who was standing in the farthest corner of the room, looking like a scared, caged animal ready to attack anyone who got too close. She held the IV stand – with the needle still in her arm, looking like it was pulling something fierce, and it was a miracle it was tearing the skin – holding it as though it were a weapon or shield for defense.

She looked over at the door when she noticed Cassie standing there.

"Can you please tell these guys to back the hell away from me?" She asked, trying to hide her obvious fear with anger and annoyance.

"We're only trying to help you, sweet cheeks." Gabriel tried yet again to explain to the girl.

Cassie saw the girl flinch slightly at the nickname, and tensed more, her grip on the stand tightening.

"I don't know what for. I'm fine and don't need any help." Her eyes looked wildly back and forth between both men.

"Gabe, based on what happened to her, do you really expect her to trust men right now?" Cassie asked as though he were an idiot.

"She almost ripped the IV out of her arm when she woke up," the nurse turned to Doctor Barnes, though it was obvious he was talking to Cassie. "we were only trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself and she flipped out."

Cassie noticed a bruise on the side of the guy's head and she wondered if the girl threw something or hit him in her attempt to protect herself.

"Were you the one who was checking in on her when she woke up?" Cassie asked, narrowing her eyes.

The guy hesitated, but answered. "Yeah, but –"

"Then my point still stands." Cassie put her hands on her hips. "Leave. Dr. Barnes and I will handle her." Her voice was calm but firm as she spoke, not leaving any room for argument.

The nurse looked ticked off as he stormed past Cassie, mumbling something unintelligible as he did, throwing nasty glances back at the girl, who stuck her tongue out at him like a child.

Gabriel refused to leave the room, so he instead chose to stand close to the door, behind Cassie and the doctor in order to seem less intimidating to the girl.

"Can you sit back on the bed now?" Dr. Barnes asked from the door; the girl gave a hesitant nod, her whole demeanor changing in seconds.

Cassie thought her mood swing was odd, but with what happened to her, who knows what all was going through her mind.

"What did you mean?" The girl asked once she was back on the bed, her IV stand upright as it was supposed to be next to her bed.

Cassie took a few steps towards the bed before catching herself and stopping a few feet away.

"What do you mean?" She asked the girl in reply.

"You said 'based on what happened to me, I wouldn't trust men', what did you mean?" The girl finally looked up at Cassie and the light skinned girl could see the question and a hint of fear in her eyes.

Cassie couldn't really tell what color the girl's eyes were because every time she moved her head, her eyes went from blue to green to sometimes even hazel. Cassie was simply mesmerized before she came back to herself and the topic at hand.

The three standing looked at each other before looking back to the girl. Pamela was the one to step forward, giving the girl a critical look.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

The girl blinked her eyes in confusion, obviously trying to recall a thought that was just too stubborn to come into the light. She continued to bite her lip; Cassie noticed she did that every time someone asked her a question.

"I remember being really cold and wet and in pain. There was pain everywhere. I was walking through some trees and down a street, when this car almost hit me," She shook her head as though the action would cause her memories to unscramble, or even reveal themselves; her light brown – practically blonde – locks brushing over her shoulders and into her face. "it's a really sketchy blur, but I remember you." She looked over at Cassie. "I remember you helping me, then…I don't know. That nurse was standing over me and I freaked. Then you all came in."

No one really knew what to say at first, causing the room to fall silent. The girl seemed to fall back into her mind, trying to recall anything else that might be helpful, but this wasn't an easy feat.

After a while, the girl seemed to come back to herself, realization flooding her because she really couldn't remember anything. Not how she ended up out there. If her family was out there looking for her, they wouldn't know the first place to start. Hell, she didn't even know where she was. And then there was the matter of who did this to her. What if it wasn't an accident? What if they were looking for her because they weren't finished with what they started or they thought she might talk? She didn't remember anything, but they didn't know that, so what the fuck was she gonna do if they did find her? Not like she remembered what they looked like.

Out of nowhere, the heart monitor attached to the girl's arm began to beep erratically, causing everyone to jump.

Dr. Barnes looked from the monitor to the girl, keeping her voice calm and inviting when she spoke, "Sweetheart, I need for you to take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?" Pamela made sure not to step too close to the brunette, still a bit unsure how the young girl would react.

Though the girl seemed, once again, lost in herself; her chest rising and falling with the intensity of her breathing.

"Hey," Cassie took the girl's hand, going on a hunch, "no one's gonna hurt you. You're safe."

Everyone held their breaths, uncertain what else to do.

After some time, the EKG machine began to slow and the brunette let out a long breath.

"Okay," Cassie exhaled the breath she hadn't even realized she was still holding. "Do you think you can tell us your name at least?"

Cassie wasn't quite sure what set off the girl's small panic attack, but she hoped asking a simpler question wouldn't do it again.

After a heartbeat, the girl looked up at Cassie with a shudder, her eyes scared, all the anger and fire from when she was fighting off Gabriel and the nurse long gone. It only made Cassie want to help ease the girl's problems and worries even more than before.

"I-I don't know," she replied, the fear in her eyes reflected in her voice.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Gabriel asked incredulously.

The brunette must have taken the deputy's tone as something more than disbelieving because her answer was one part fear, two parts anger.

"You asked and I told you. I can't remember anything before that night. Not even my own name!"

A part of her knew the man didn't mean anything by the way he said that but for some strange reason, it still made her angry; the anger seemed to smother some of her fear, even if only for a short while.

"It's possible that the drugs in your system are still affecting you, if this is the case then your memories should return within two or three days. But the more logical explanation is that you're suffering from PTSD, and your brain is trying to keep you from remembering whatever you experienced by repressing those memories."

"But she doesn't remember anything, including her own name, not just whatever happened to her." Cassie piped in, not quite following the doctor.

"The impact of the 'event' seem to have caused her long-term memory to shut down; depending on how severe or traumatic her memories might be, it might take a minute for her memories to return. This could take days to weeks or even years. No one really knows, but as time goes on, she should be able to remember things in small portions. But I have to caution you," Dr. Barnes turned to the girl on the bed, who is looking frightened once more. "you have to take it slow. Rushing your brain's retrieval of your memories could have undesired effects."

"What kind of 'undesired effects'?" Gabriel asked cautiously. He didn't want to scare the girl, but she deserved to know what could happen to her if she did start to remember.

"Night terrors, stress, anxiety. That's why you need to let this happen on its own. Rushing this process is basically like trying to force someone to do something they just aren't ready for. And they retaliate. So take things slow and you should be fine." Dr. Barnes gave her most comforting smile to help reassure the girl some because she was beginning to look more and more scared and confused.

Cassie wasn't really any better off. She was internally freaking out over this news. She had planned to help this girl get her memories back in any way she could, but that wasn't really an option anymore with the suddenly revealed consequences it might have on the younger girl's mind.

Not to mention the fact that if this girl really was running from someone and she got her memories back, she might have to suffer whatever those memories held, along with whatever else her body might throw at her. She was scared now, but she wasn't so freaked out that she couldn't socialize. Cassie was pretty sure that wouldn't be the case if anything like that happened.

As a matter of fact, Cassie was relatively sure that when this girl started to interact with the world again, she would grow out of her temporary state of fear. It was understandable to be scared for a while with temporary amnesia. Anyone would be. As long as nothing pushed her memories prematurely, everything should be fine.

"So what do we do now?" The girl asked, looking over at Gabriel, still obviously trying to keep her fear and nervousness under control.

"The sheriff was called away. Some incident a couple towns over so you're gonna have to stay at the station until he gets back. Once the doctor gives you the 'OK' to leave that is." Gabriel looked at Pamela as he spoke the last part.

"She can be discharged now. I don't have anything else for her." Pamela looked over at the girl and spoke, "I hope you get your memories back soon, and I'm sorry I couldn't do any more to help."

The girl smiled up at the doctor. "You did all you could. If it weren't for you, and Cassie, of course, I probably wouldn't be alive. I can't thank you enough."

"I was only doing my job. I'll go start the discharge paperwork. Deputy, you'll have to sign her out into police custody." Dr. Barnes said to Gabriel, who nodded, before walking out of the room.

"Hey Gabe, can I talk to you in the hall right quick?" Cassie asked, already heading out the door without waiting for an answer.

"We'll be right back. Not going any farther than just outside the door." Gabriel said to the girl when her face contorted into confusion with a tinge of fear.

Only when she nodded did Gabriel join Cassie out in the hallway.

"What's up?" He asked, though not loud enough for the girl to hear through the door.

"I want her to come home with me," Cassie stated bluntly.

"E-excuse me?" The dark haired deputy stuttered, unsure he heard his friend clearly.

"She should be somewhere she can at least attempt to get back to normal, and who can do that at a police station? On top of that, if there is someone looking for her, the first place they're going to look is either a hospital or…"

"The police station." Gabriel finished, connecting the dots."

"Exactly. And since no one knows what they look like, one of them could walk in claiming to be her brother and no one would ever know the difference. Not even her."

"So you want to hide her out at your place until…when?"

"However long it takes. Be it when the sheriff comes back, till she gets her memory back, or whatever. My mom isn't coming back for a while anyway. I could use the company."

Gabriel thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of letting the girl go home with his best friend.

On the downside, if whoever was after the girl found her, then Cassie would be caught in the crossfire.

But on the upside, Cassie's parents' house was so far out of the way, either the sheriff would be back or the girl would get her memory back before anything could happen.

"Okay," He said simply.

"Okay?" Cassie asked skeptically, not quite sure she believed how quick Gabriel was to approve of her idea. She expected at least a little resistance.

"Yeah, your right, and we should hopefully figure everything out before something happens. Plus, she seems to respond to you better. I wonder why that is." Gabriel feigned skepticism. He was pretty sure why that was, but he wanted Cassie to figure it out on her own.

Cassie shrugged. "What can I say? The girl's a great judge of character."

Gabriel laughed as Cassie overdramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder and playfully strutted back into the room.