Twelve

"Marshall, I'm at the hospital. Get over here 'k?" Mary asked into her phone.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Marshall asked worried.

"Yeah, It's not me. It's Cheri," she explained.

"Okay, I will be there shortly," he said somewhat relieved to hear she was fine.

Mary snapped her phone shut as she headed down the hallway. As she approached the nurses' station, the younger nurse looked at her timidly.

'Yeah, that's right. I am definitely the wrong person to piss off.'

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we have been here for thirty minutes. I am in the flipping emergency room. Can you please help us?" Mary asked the nurse.

"I am sorry," she responded, "we are doing all we can."

"Go faster," she commanded as she turned to walk away.

She studied Cheri over closely. Mary could tell how much pain she was in. It was hard to tell sometimes, but nonetheless it was there.

"I'll get you in there soon," Mary told Cheri.

"'Kay."

The nurse walked into the room and walked over to Mary. "We are ready for her now." Turning towards Cheri she said, "You can come with me."

"Mrs. Denvick can come?" she asked.

"Only if you want her too."

Cheri looked up at Mary looking unsure.

"Do you want me to come?" Mary asked

"Umm… kind of," she asked feeling embarrassed.

"I won't leave. Not until you ask me to go, alright?"

"You know what? I change my mind. I'm okay. Let's just leave," Cheri begged.

"You're hurt. We have to stay and make sure you are okay. Please understand, I can't let you leave until you are checked out," Mary said while wishing they didn't have to be here as well.

"I thought you were my friend. You know, 'let me help you, I'll be there for you.' You're full of lies. You are not helping me by making me be here. Leave me alone," she yelled at Mary as she followed the nurse down the hall.

She was shaking as she entered the room. She was scared too.

'What are they going to do to me? I wish I didn't yell at her. I hope she knows I'm sorry. Mrs. Denvick, please come back…"

Mary stood there for a moment wondering if she was doing the right thing. It was weird. She never second-guessed herself, until now anyway. She didn't like it. She decided to change that.

She walked down the hall the nurse had led Cheri, and listened for them. She paused outside each door just long enough to hear if Cheri was in the room it led to and then moved on. Nine doors down, on the right side, she heard what she had been listening for.

At first the voice was muffled, as if she was mumbling. Then Mary could hear it loud and clear. Her 'please stop' and 'I don't want to do this' was coming through. She was immediately in Marshal-mode. She burst through the door earning looks of shock from both of them.

"What are you doing?" she asked the doctor.

"She is refusing help. I don't understand," the doctor managed, still shocked.

"I don't want to do this. I'm sorry."

She got up and Mary walked over to her.

"You can do it. I'll… stay?" she finished unsure if this was the right thing to do, or even if she wanted to. Again she was unsure. She shook her head and then brushed it off. Mary is starting to become too involved, too connected. It's something she is not sure how to deal with and it definitely scares her.

"Okay, I guess."

The doctor came back into the room. She had fixed Cheri's injuries as best she could. Cheri had no internal bleeding that was severe enough to do anything about, a fractured rib, and a minor break in her arm.

"Mrs. Denvick, can you please come with me for a moment, just into the hallway?"

"Sure. I'll be right back," she told Cheri.

The doctor followed her out and closed the door.

"I am not sure, but it appears to me Cheri may have Attachment Disorder. This is what is causing her to be so clingy to you. It is going to be hard to be away from you for long periods of time. This attachment may last a long time or a short time. If you leave, this bond will be broken, but oftentimes it is very hard on the child. It is caused by many things, but in this case I would say the cause is abuse and or neglect. I know this is a lot of information," she informed Mary.

"Can this be cured? Can she be helped?" Mary asked shocked.

"Slowly, if at all--It can be long and hard. For some it works, for others it does not."

"How?"

"Mary?" Marshall asked coming up behind her.

"It's alright," Mary told the doctor. "This is my… husband," she said remembering the story the Marshals gave them. "She's sick. And hurt," she told Marshall.

"It's alright. Come with me and I will tell you how to help her," the doctor said to them.

"Marshall, I don't know what to do anymore. I hate this," she said as she reached out an arm to lean against the wall. She told herself she was being weak, and that was something she could hardly stand.

"What do you hate?" Marshall asked, hoping that for once she would open up to him. Just a little bit, would be enough for now.

"This, Marshall. All of it. I just want things to be how they were. I want to be back in Albuquerque, where it is warm, and I can do the job I love."

"I know Mary, but you have a girl who needs you. You can do the job you love, well, kind of anyway. Help Cheri. I'll be right beside you."

"But you said-" she started.

"I know what I said, Mary. But I know that something is going on now, and we need to do what we were taught to do, whether we are supposed to or not, alright?"

"Thanks," she said quietly. "Now come on, I have a plan."