Doctor Tayo stepped out of the room and powerwalked over to the nurse's station a twenty feet away.
"Swanson, I need you to call the attending OB/GYN, and have her perform a rape kit on the girl in room 4316." The male nurse looked up at her in shock. "Make it emergent." He nodded at her and quickly walked down the hallway. Tayo sighed to herself, and reached for her cellphone. "Does anyone have the number of the man that brought that girl in?" Another nurse handed her a slip of paper with Mr. Schuester's number scrawled on it. The doctor stepped towards the wall out of the way of the other doctors and nurses.
Tayo took a slow breath, trying to plan what she was about to say to the man.
Oh and by the way, in addition to being beaten senseless, the sixteen-year-old girl you brought in was ravaged in an alley by some drunk motherfucker.
The phone rang startlingly. It was nearly 9:00 at night, and Will Schuester was preparing for a glass of wine and the bad movie of the night. He let out an exasperated sigh; it was probably his ex-wife trying to plan yet another get-together for the two of them.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Schuester, this is Dr. Tayo from St. Rita's Hospital. I'm calling about the girl you brought in yesterday." Will began to sweat nervously. Had something happened to her? She hadn't had any surgeries planned, so it would have been impossible for her to die on the table…
"How is she? Is she doing okay?"
"I think you need to come back to the hospital."
"Tonight?" He could hear the grimness in the doctor's voice and wracked his brains for something else, some other reason why he needed to return.
"Yes, sir. It's vital that you come as soon as possible."
"I'm on my way." He was out his front door within thirty seconds.
Will jogged down the hallway towards Santana's room. There were no doctors running around, so she couldn't be dying. Oh GOD, she was already dead! He had left her there alone and she had died with no one to care for her. His heart was racing in utter terror and he began to sprint down the hallway, nearly mowing down everyone in his path. Dr. Tayo suddenly appeared and forced him to a sliding stop. The look in her eyes was enough to tell him that something else horrendous had happened to the teenager.
Although he never would have admitted it verbally, Will cared about all his Glee kids like they were his own sons and daughters, Santana especially. Having seen the pain she had gone through over the last year, he knew that she had built herself a thick wall, but the little girl hiding behind it was just as terrified, if not more so, than the other teenagers in the group. He had seen her through multiple romances, and had tried to support her as best he could as she came to terms with her feelings about her fellow Glee Clubber, Brittany. He had seen the tears streaming down her normally frigid face as she sang Landslide with Ms. Holliday and Brittany, and wanted nothing more than to hold the sobbing Santana in his arms after seeing her get so openly rejected.
Dr. Tayo gestured him to a seat outside Santana's room. As Will passed the open door, he caught a glimpse of the unconscious girl still in the bed. She was still alive, he realized with a heavy exhale of relief. He sat heavily next to the doctor, who stared directly at him.
"What I am about to tell you," Tayo began, "is something I would never wish on even my worst enemies. This is going to be difficult to hear, but I need to tell you so you can fully understand the pain that Ms. Lopez is going through." She took a heavy breath. "Santana wasn't mugged two nights ago. She was raped."
Will had to struggle to scrape his jaw from the floor. He felt like he had been hit in the chest with a baseball bat; rape? No. Not possible. This had to be some kind of cruel sick joke. His mouth wouldn't, couldn't form the syllables to respond.
"I need to call her parents to authorize a rape kit, since she is underage."
Will finally spoke. "Her mom's out of town. I don't even know if her dad is still in the picture."
"If we can't get a hold of them, you'll have to authorize, being her guardian of the hour."
Will had never expected this much responsibility from caring for a child, albeit an almost grown one. Parents should never have to deal with making decisions about their daughter after she had been… he couldn't even think the word. It made him nauseous to think that some dirtbag had found it appropriate to violate a child.
"Can I talk to her first?"
The doctor nodded. "We need a decision as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the less viable the evidence becomes."
Will nodded and stepped into Santana's room. She was still fast asleep, her head tilted to the side. He sat heavily in the chair next to her bed and placed his hand on hers, feeling tears in his eyes.
"I will never leave you, Santana. As long as I live, I will protect you." The tears oozed their way down his unshaven face. "I will never let anyone hurt you ever again. This I promise you. I will never, ever let anyone hurt –" She stirred, opening her eyes blearily, before realizing that he was sitting there.
"Mr. Schuester," she mumbled. "It's late. Shouldn't you be at –" she faltered at the heartbroken look he was giving her and the tears on his face. He wasn't speaking, but had his hand on hers. "Why are you…" She broke off, realizing that look of pity and sorrow as the face of someone who knew something awful.
She stared at him through slowly blurring eyes. Almost accusatorily, she spoke, her voice shaking.
"You know."