Will had not seen his mother's lover since her funeral. It was, therefore, quite an odd feeling when he approached him and his sister, along with the woman who wanted nothing better than to separate them. "Officer Wickham," he said, nodding in greeting.
"Hi, Will." He was obviously just as uncomfortable as Will was.
A wrinkle appeared in his brow as he addressed his nemesis. "Ms. DeBourgh."
"What happened this time?" she demanded, loud enough for the whole ER to hear. Some heads turned.
"Your son tattooed George with a dirty needle," snapped Will at Officer Wickham. "We were just getting it taken care of, and we were leaving."
Officer Wickham looked rather uncomfortable, and turned to Catherine. "What did you say the problem was?" he asked.
"I'm having this young lady taken into foster care," she said, pointing at Georgiana. "And I want this young man arrested for child endangerment."
Officer Wickham hoisted an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because he consistently puts this girl in harm's way," she said. "He's a tattoo artist; he has very seedy clientele and she spends all kinds of time at his little shop and she's obviously been corrupted."
Officer Wickham rolled his eyes. "You got papers, Cat?" he asked, snapping his gum.
"Don't talk down to me!" snapped Catherine. "I'll have your badge."
"You're a social worker, not the mayor," replied Officer Wickham in a cool tone. "Unless you can produce an order of some kind I'll just be on my way. Since it's two-thirty in the morning, I doubt you can." Catherine opened her mouth to protest; he held up a finger. "And if you make a scene in the ER, I'll arrest you. I don't need no stinkin' papers for that."
Catherine only cocked her head at Officer Wickham, let an indignant sound come out of her mouth, and turned with a huff to walk away. Will watched her head straight for the triage desk, where a short, plump, oily male nurse sat, and exchanged what appeared to be heated words with him.
"Sorry about that," Officer Wickham was saying. "She just grabbed me on the way in. I was on my way out. Do you want to get something to eat?"
Will's look had softened a little. "Thanks for getting rid of her," he said, trying to ignore his offer.
"She bugs us all the time," said Georgiana timidly.
"Are you okay?" asked Wickham of Georgiana, rumpling his brow. "I'm sorry that David was careless."
"Can't really expect much else," snapped Will before he knew it was coming out of his mouth. He looked at Officer Wickham a little sheepishly then, and then looked at the floor. "Sorry. That was mean."
Wickham shook his head. "It's all right. Do you want to grab something to eat?"
Before Will could decline, Georgiana piped up. "I do," she said. "I'm starved."
They found the hospital cafeteria; Will declined anything but coffee, but Georgiana and Wickham ate. "When did you see David?" Wickham asked of Georgiana as he munched on a sandwich.
"Thursday," she replied, stuffing her mouth with another bite of her salad.
"Is he all right?"
Will looked up from his coffee cup. "You mean you don't know?"
"No," replied Wickham. "I haven't seen David in over a year."
Will and Georgiana exchanged a look. "Dave never said anything about that," said Georgiana. "He kind of made it sound like you guys had just had a fight."
"I called about a week ago," said Wickham. "I try to call; I try to go to his shop . . . I never catch him there. I don't know where he lives anymore. Any time we talk we wind up fighting. I bring up his drinking and he shuts down."
"He wasn't drinking when I saw him," said Georgiana. She took another bite of her salad, thinking. "Though he did say he didn't feel well. He was probably hung over."
Wickham nodded; Will looked away. They were silent for a long moment before the officer made an attempt to change subjects. "So . . . you guys look good. You look healthy anyway. You look a little tired, Will, and I confess I never really cared for pink hair." He smiled a little at Georgiana; she smiled a little in return.
"We're managing," said Will. "It's kind of been hard since Dad died, with that witch DeBourgh breathing down my neck."
"I know some people at DHS," said Officer Wickham. "I can see what I can do for you . . . seems to me like you're doing okay."
Will looked him over. "You'd do that?"
Wickham nodded. "Sure . . . and can I ask something?"
"Sure," replied Will, taking the last sip of his coffee.
"Do you remember any male nurses in the ER who attended you?"
"No," said Will, shaking his head. He turned to Georgiana, who shook hers as well. "Why?"
"Well," Wickham wiped his mouth. "You remember the little fat one at the triage desk when we left that talked to Cat?" Will nodded. "The guy's name is Billy Collins. For some time I've suspected that he's been leaking information on children who come to the ER to Cat. Whenever a kid comes in – a little baby or a young adult – he calls and tells her all the information that he knows, she comes down, and exercises all the power that the doctors who happen to be on staff at the time will let her."
"So you think he called her?" Will asked. Wickham nodded. "He didn't. The nurse did."
"The nurse?" repeated Wickham. "What nurse?"
"Her name was Lizzy," said Georgiana.
"Lizzy." Wickham cocked an eyebrow. "Kinda tall, dark hair?"
"Yeah, that's the one," confirmed Georgiana, a little disgust evident in her voice.
"Oh, I don't think she would've called," said Wickham. "She couldn't anyway; a doctor has to make that call."
"She could've told that doctor. Or any doctor."
"Trust me, guys," said Wickham as he finished off his sandwich, "Lizzy didn't call Cat." It was too bad that the pair of them already seemed to hate her, since from the moment he met that slightly tortured nurse, he thought she'd be perfect for his best friend's son. "Well," he said, "I need to get back on duty. It's good to see you kids."
Will and Georgiana stood and smiled at Officer Wickham. "Let me know if you two need anything . . . and I'll call my friend Ed at DHS." He kissed Georgiana's cheek and wanted to shake Will's hand, but knew Will didn't want to return the gesture. "See you guys around, huh?"
Will watched his back for a moment. "Hey, Wick," he called before he knew it was coming out of his mouth.
Officer Wickham turned around and stepped a few paces closer to Will. "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
Wickham smiled, more warm and genuine than he had in a long time, nodded, and turned back to his duties.
Lizzy stepped quietly into the busy office, feeling quite conspicuous and out of place. She donned one of the visitor's badges that lay on the counter of the front desk and waited to be attended. After a few minutes, a short, plump woman with obvious green eye shadow greeted her in a gravelly voice.
"What can I do for you, dear?" she asked.
Well, that's decidedly inappropriate for a government office, thought Lizzy. "I'm here to see Ed Gardiner," she replied. "I have an appointment."
"Oh, do you?" she drawled, and forced a smile. "Mr. Gardiner doesn't usually make appointments with clients."
"I'm not a client," replied Lizzy.
"You aren't, huh?"
"No."
The woman sat in her chair and looked back at Lizzy, making no attempt to retrieve Mr. Gardiner. "Well, what's this about, then?"
"I don't think that's any of your business," replied Lizzy, obviously offended.
"Jaaaan," came a deep voice from behind the receptionist. "What's the problem?"
Lizzy shot Jan a dirty look and then lifted her eyes to greet a tall, middle-aged man in shirtsleeves. "My name is Lizzy Bennet," she said. "I have an appointment with Mr. Gardiner."
"You're in luck," he declared. "That's me."
Lizzy smiled. Mr. Gardiner showed her to his office, and offered her coffee, which she accepted with another smile. When they were settled, Mr. Gardiner asked her how she was.
"Oh, I'm fine," she replied. "I'm about to head to work. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me the other day."
"Not a problem, Lizzy," he replied. "Here are those papers that I need you to sign."
"Um . . . okay," she replied, and then went on to review with Mr. Gardiner the papers that he wanted her to sign that detailed how too many times she had seen Catherine DeBourgh intervening in situations where intervention wasn't necessary. They reviewed what she had had to say about Billy Collins and about the night the Darcys came into the ER. She went over again how she had watched Billy like a hawk and then, even though he hadn't admitted them, she had heard him on his cell phone talking in a hushed voice about a young woman and a tattoo.
When she was finished, Mr. Gardiner looked at her, a kind expression in his eyes. "Are you sure you want to sign these, Lizzy?"
"Yes," she replied, putting pen to paper. "I feel bad for the guy," she shrugged. "Trying to bring up a teenager with someone who doesn't really have their best interests in mind, breathing down his neck. And that poor girl lost both her folks, and now she's petrified that she's going to be taken away from her brother."
"And let me just ask again . . . you haven't got anything to do with Will or Georgiana at all?"
Lizzy smiled ruefully. "No . . . I'm pretty sure if Will even remembers me, he doesn't think well of me. I wasn't very nice when they came in . . . I had a tough night, and . . . well . . ."
Mr. Gardiner smiled. "Thank you for stopping by to sign these," he said. As the two of them exchanged a few closing civilities, neither one noticed a tall, pink-haired young lady and her brother step in front of Mr. Gardiner's office door.
At first, Will was both surprised and agitated to find Nurse Lizzy looking steadfastly at Mr. Gardiner; for some reason, however, all he could think of was that she looked fantastic. To begin with, her lips were covered with a wet pink gloss and he couldn't help but let his eyes linger there for a moment. She wore her uniform, a typical hospital blue arrangement with bright white shoes, and all that thick, walnut hair was swept away from her face and off her shoulders to a fat, loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. Her big bright eyes, though fixed on Mr. Gardiner, struck Will with their artlessness, and he squeezed Georgiana's hand. "I think it's okay," he whispered.
Georgiana raised her eyebrow at her brother. "You hated her a couple of days ago," she hissed.
She didn't look like that a couple of days ago, thought Will. Aloud, he said, "I don't think Ed would be smiling if she came to tell him I was a horrible guardian."
"Well, what would she be here for?" asked his sister.
"First, you're assuming this is about us. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's about her."
"I doubt it," countered Georgiana, crossing her arms.
Will turned to her and laid his hands on her shoulders. "George," he started, but she cut him off.
"We'll just wait for her," she said. "And don't give me that look and tell me it's rude. I don't want to get rid of DeBourgh just to have some other bitch like her interfere."
Will looked over his sister and saw that she was perfectly serious. "Okay," he said quietly. "We can wait. But cut back on the swears, please."
She raised her eyebrows at him, still feeling rather punchy. "You're not my dad."
"I'm only too aware of that, Georgiana."
She knew she had said too much; it was a habit she seemed to be unable to break. She just cringed at the ache she could see in her brother's eyes, and then turned away.
"Well, hello there," came a cheerful, deep voice, and Will turned to see Ed Gardiner smiling at him. Nurse Lizzy was nowhere to be seen. "How are you, Will? Georgiana?"
Will swallowed and wanted to ask where Lizzy had gone. "Um . . . we're fine," he replied.
"We wanna talk to you," spewed Georgiana. "About Ms. DeBourgh."
Will was surprised when Ed smiled kindly. "Why don't we have a seat in my office?"
Georgiana forged ahead and plopped herself in the chair that Lizzy had most recently occupied. Will followed her and Ed closed the door behind them. "I do have some news for you about Ms. DeBourgh," he began. "She's been reassigned to some different cases."
Will turned to look at his sister and could not hide the triumphant gleam in his eye. She turned to look at him, a little sheepishly. "How come?" she asked, considerably more quiet.
"Oh, just something we do from time to time," lied Ed. He settled into his chair and leaned back a little. "But in any case, I'm glad you dropped by. Yesterday I spoke to a friend of yours – an Officer Wickham. If I'm not mistaken, he was a friend of your father's?"
"Yes," replied Will quietly. "They were best friends . . . partners."
"It was a bit of a surprise to find out he knew you two. I've known George for about ten years." Unable to hide his curiosity, Will leaned forward a little and asked what Officer Wickham had to say about them. "Oh, he was very complimentary," replied Ed.
"I'm glad," said Will. "Did he tell you about George?"
"About her visit to the ER? Sure. Is everything all right?" He smiled at Georgiana. She nodded and looked away. "Excellent. What was it that you wanted to talk about?"
Will looked at Mr. Gardiner. "Well . . . we just wanted to talk to you about Ms. DeBourgh. She's been overbearing, and . . . well, I guess it doesn't matter. She's going away." He looked at Georgiana. She looked away.
"I believe your new case worker is in today," said Ed. "Would you like to meet him?" Will stood and nodded, a little dazed that all his frustrations seemed to have melted away in the span of a few moments. He couldn't help but think that Lizzy's visit to Mr. Gardiner had more than a little to do with it, and he couldn't help the little glimmer of hope beginning inside of him that maybe some time soon, they would again cross paths.
(c) 2008 J. H. Thompson
