Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...

Chapter 23: Take Care Taranee

Hay Lin's POV

I waited for a sign of the other girls until the last bell rang, but I was the only one here today. As I finally headed to class I checked my phone for any missed messages or texts. Nothing. Zip. Nada.

It's the last day of school, I guess I should have known.

I hate being alone. I don't do lonely well.

It took forever for lunch to arrive, hopefully Eric came to school today. Why isn't anyone answering my calls?

Taranee's POV

I really hate this place.

I mean, I know I need to be here and I know I'll get to leave soon...but being here twice in two days is a little much.

"Hey," Irma came in carrying two steaming cups. One she handed to me, one she kept for herself. For a second she stared at me, I remembered that my lip was still split, my eye was black and swollen and part of my face was bruised. Add the deep bruises on my back and I had a complete set.

"Do I look horrendous?" I asked.

Irma managed a small smile and said almost convincingly, "Nah, you look great."

Something about the way she said great...

"Uh huh," I said as I lifted the cup to my mouth. The soothing scent of chocolate told me she'd brought me hot cocoa before I took my first sip.

Gotta love best friends – they bring you chocolate to cheer you up.

"No really...it's just that I remember being the one in the hospital bruised and beaten."

"Oh, yeah. That's right the whole Martin incident." Or should I say incidents. Now it was my turn to stare at Irma.

"You know, I think you're my new hero, because you didn't just let him make you a victim. Every time he attacked, you fought back until you won. I don't know if I have that kind of strength to ever stand up to my mom when it really matters."

Irma sat down in a chair across from me, and said somberly, "I don't know Taranee, I think you're pretty strong. I don't think I could even process the idea of having to leave home. I'm so dependent on my family for support. My life would be hell right now if my parents hadn't been so supportive...I don't even want to think about it."

We both went silent, each lost in our thoughts.

Irma's POV

"So," breaking the silence, I asked, "did they tell you anything while I was gone?"

"Nope nobody's been back in-"

"Taranee!" Hay Lin and Elyon sobbed in unison as they burst into the room. Gloomy-faced, Cornelia followed a few steps behind.

I watched Taranee's face brighten as three of our friends joined us. There really is strength in numbers. I felt stronger...safer...from just their presence. I thought to myself all we need now is Will to get here to have the complete set.

No sooner than I thought it, Will slipped into the room before the door could close, completing our gathering.

Elyon and Hay had flown immediately to the bedside and were peppering Taranee with questions. Cornelia has never been good with hospitals, so it was no surprise that she hung back looking queasy just being in the hospital.

Will took up a spot at the foot of the bed and asked in a clear voice cutting through the Hay and Elyon's murmured inquiries, "What happened?"

Taranee looked lost and ashamed. I could tell that the thought of rehashing the details of the beating for a fourth time today was not easy.

"Tee, I can explain it if you want," I offered. Everyone's eyes went from Taranee to me and back again as she answered.

"No. I'll tell them."

Our friends already knew that Mrs. Cook had attacked Taranee the day before. But none of us, not even the doctors had gotten the full details – that Mrs. Cook had not just used her hands and fists but had kicked Taranee as she huddled on the floor. At some point she had grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the door and used it to beat her too. It was scary to think how badly Taranee could have been hurt if Nigel hadn't jumped in to protect her. Sadly he was still too late to save Taranee from two cracked ribs and deeply bruised kidneys.

The deep bruising of Taranee's back and kidneys hadn't shown up when she was first brought to the hospital. But with time, the internal bruising and blood had put pressure on her kidneys causing additional inflammation. They had immediately admitted Taranee and after an MRI, had hooked her up to an IV of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics.

At this point we weren't sure how long they'd be keeping her or what affect all of this would have on her court appointment tomorrow. But we were pretty sure there was something serious that we hadn't been told yet, because Mrs. H and the doctor hadn't come back to the room for quite a while.

They had even pulled Nigel away for another interview about the attack. Caleb had left with my dad, why they left or when they'd be back was unknown. So until the other girls came, it had just been me and Taranee...waiting.

Cornelia fell into the chair closest to the door, she still looked a little green. Hay Lin was not content to take one of the open chairs but gently crawled onto the very edge of the bed and wrapped her arm around Taranee, offering wordless comfort in her warm hug.

Will shook her head, then asked, "So are you okay? When will you be able to go home?"

At the mention of the word 'home', tears began to roll slowly down Taranee's cheeks.

Not realizing her mistake, Will began to stammer, "Wha...wha...what's wrong?"

This time I stepped into help Tee out.

"Uh, Will, you don't know this yet, but Taranee's not planning on going back home."

Tentatively, Will asked, "Ever? So that's a good thing right? She'll be able to stay with you or Hay's family right?"

"Um, no she's going to apply for emancipation. The court date is tomorrow."

"Wow," chimed Hay, "boy did I miss a lot by going to school today."

Oh man! I had forgot that today was the last day of school! Taranee, Caleb, and Nigel with me had completely missed our chance to clean out our lockers and say good-bye for the summer.

"You went to school today?" Cornelia pipped up, staring over the foot of the bed at Hay Lin like she was some sort of alien.

"Cornelia! Hay! Focus!" Will all but begged. I was sort of glad I hadn't said anything about the lockers.

"Why can't she just get one of your parents as her guardian?"

"No," Taranee answered Will, "Because if I miss any check-in because of our Guardian responsibilities, my mom could use it as ammunition at not just me but them. If I'm at Irma's house they could even try to take her baby."

My stomach sank as hard and fast as it did the first time I heard that piece of news. It didn't get any better the second time around. Taranee sniffed and bit her lip trying to hold back a fresh wave of tears.

"Oh man Taranee, I'm sorry. I didn't know...I didn't mean," Will moved to the side of the bed, taking Taranee's hand. I thought she would start crying too.

Elyon had quietly moved from the bedside to the window. There she stood still and quiet a look of total horror on her face. I could only imagine what she was thinking...would she still come back to be with us or would all of this craziness convince her that it would be better to stay in nice quiet Meridian?

"Elyon...are you OK?" I asked softly, I think everyone but me had forgotten she was here with us. I wanted to remind the other girls that we need to help her handle all this news.

With wide eyes, Elyon nodded slowly. We watched as her mouth opened slightly as her face twisted as about to speak, but not a sound came out. Then as if she thought better of it, she closed her mouth and walked out of the room without saying a word.

"I'll go," Cornelia sighed, then added, "Elyon cries from watching After School Specials, so I know this is all a lot for her to handle.

"Tell me about it," Taranee agreed somberly.

"Um Taranee," Will started, as she pulled an envelope out of the pocket of her cargo pants, "I'm giving this back to you."

It was the envelope with the $7,238 that Taranee had generously given to her yesterday. Seeing the envelope in Will's hand, Taranee began to shake her head.

"No Will, I gave that to you."

"Listen Taranee, I think with everything going like it is, you're going to need your savings more than me. I mean just think for a minute, I've got someplace to stay and a job – granted I'll won't be rich, but I have a place to call home and a source of income."

Will had a point, her part time job at the pet shop and being able to stay with our families were two points in her favor. While Taranee had no idea where she would be staying after tomorrow's court appearance and she'd never had a job.

For that matter... I've never had a job either.

Taranee thought about it for a second then nodded and accepted the envelope back, then set it on the table beside her bed.

Cornelia all but dragged a teary-eyed Elyon back into the room. Elyon peaked out from behind Cornelia as if she were afraid the boogeyman was going to jump out and grab her.

"Come on, Elyon," Cornelia groused clinching Elyon's hand. "We all understand, it's okay to cry."

At Cornelia's words, Elyon's face wrinkled up as she burst into a fresh rain of tears, sobbing, "But I don't want her to see me crying...I don't want to make it worseeeee.."

Man, I never realized just how good a set of lungs that girl has, cause her voice seemed to bounce off the walls and suddenly Taranee's rooms seemed two sizes smaller.

I watched Cornelia roll her eyes as she wrapped her arm around the petite blond.

"Shhh, it's okay," Cornelia soothed as she patted her back. Hay Lin and Will moved in and began patting her too.

Taranee and I just stayed out of the way. Taranee because she'd been ordered to stay still until the doctor came back and me because I'm not the person to go to if you're crying and upset. I'm more the girl to see if you need a good joke or smart alec comeback.

When Elyon's crying, finally slowed (and did I mention that the girl can wail?) she peaked up at Taranee and mumbled, "I'm sorry."

I was amazed as Taranee gave a small but genuine smile and said, "Don't worry about it.

I added, "Yeah, you have no idea how much crying has been going around lately. You'll need to cry a little longer just to catch up."

At that everyone, including Elyon broke into a smile.

As the mood in the room was now lighter, Will began to tell us about Matt's plan as we waited for Mrs. Hale and the doctor to return.

We finished catching up on Will's day and all of the excitement at my house, but still no Mrs. Hale. Our stomachs began to growl, so Hay and I made a run to the vending machines.

We snacked and talked about Saturday. Even with all of this tragedy going on, one positive thing was coming out of it – we would all be at the wedding.

Cornelia's POV

My mom talked to the doctor for such a long time, we ran out of things to do. We switched on the television and we watched American Idol in silence as we waited.

I could tell that Irma was concerned about why Caleb hadn't come back or called. She checked her phone every two minutes, finally she stopped putting it back into her pocket and just kept it in her hand to make it easier to glance at the screen.

"Caleb...where are you?" She muttered as she checked the phone just before 8 pm.

Then I remembered I hadn't seen or talked to Peter since Monday. It was only two days but it seemed like an eternity. I wanted so badly to see him, hear his voice, just to know he was okay.

I guess the other girls were wondering the same thing about their respective boyfriend's as each began checking their respective cell phone. I mean where were Matt, Eric and for that matter Nigel? Wasn't he here in the hospital too? Shouldn't he have come and check on Taranee by now?

When my mom and Dr. Signh came into the room, we let out a collective sigh of relief.

Looking first at Taranee's chart, the doctor said, "Well let's see how you are doing now." Then he came over and placed one hand on her wrist and quickly took her pulse. Dr Signh pulled out a small light and flashed it in Taranee's eyes and sort of hummed, "Ummhmm."

While the doctor gave Taranee a quick once over, a nurse came in and began preparing her other arm for a blood draw.

As the nurse wrapped the plastic band around her arm, the doctor began, "Well Taranee, after talking with Mrs. Hale at length we are going to release you tonight."

Taranee's face lit up like a Christmas tree, but before she could say a word, the doctor continued, "Mind you, I think it would be best if you stayed on an IV for a few more hours, I am certain that discharging you will not impede you in anyway...as long as you take it easy for the next week and return for follow-up care. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Taranee squealed.

"Also, you will need oral anti-inflammatory meds," he continued, "to aid your healing. I can't stress enough how precarious the condition of your kidneys is right now. We will need to keep a close eye on you, because the worse case scenarios are not pretty. We want to see you make a 100% recovery."

Of course, Taranee picked up on 'worse case' and asked, "Worse case? What else could go wrong?"

"Well kidneys are very important for cleaning waste from blood, the very worse case is that damaged kidneys could shut down and send you into renal failure. If that happens you could die, or need dialysis or a transplant. Less that worse case scenario, damaged kidneys could prevent you from having kids later in life. I know that's not a concern for you now, but you're so young it would be a shame to see you loose your options before you even had a chance at a full life."

Taranee gulped and my stomach dropped for her. She really didn't deserve this.

She nodded intently as the doctor droned on through her medication schedule and return visits, as well as what symptoms would mean she need to be brought back to the emergency room.

My mom began herding us out of the room as the doctor moved to leave, saying, "Let's give Taranee a minute to get dressed."

When we finally walked out the front door of the hospital, my dad was parked by the door in our Expedition SUV. Good thing too, it seats 8. I didn't know when my mom called him or what she did with her car.

It was 9:30 pm at night when we pulled out of the hospital parking lot and 10:00 pm when we got to Irma's house. My nerves had been would so tight all day, I had thought I would be ready to go home and pass out. But for some reason I wasn't even the slightest bit sleepy. And from what I could tell none of the other girls were ready for bed.

As Taranee climbed the stairs, Irma's mom looked at us and asked, "Did any of you eat yet?"

"We each had a candy bar at around 8:00 – Hay Lin wouldn't let us have anything else from the machines because we have to fit into our dresses on Saturday," Will huffed.

"Well I have an idea...why don't you all go and get some of Irma's pajamas and have a sleep over with Taranee and Irma. I'll go and fix you all a 'light' meal. Is that okay, Hay?" Mrs. Lair asked with a twinkling smile.

Hay Lin beamed with her own 100 watt smile as she nodded yes.

The girls waited at the bottom of the stairs as my mom and dad took turns giving me hugs and kisses, then turned to leave waving goodbye to Mrs. Lair. That's when I remembered, my mom's car and asked, "Hey mom, do you have to go back to the hospital to get your car?"

"Oh, honey, I drove home and rode back with your dad once I had convinced the doctor to discharge Taranee."

I raised my eyebrow at her.

"You convinced him to let her out of the hospital...why?"

"Because Taranee's court date tomorrow is an emergency session, its her one and only opportunity to get emancipated. If she doesn't show up, no matter how serious the reason, I'm pretty sure the judge will side with her mother. The judge needs to see Taranee and hear from her mouth what's been going on. Emancipation is not easy to obtain, you have to overwhelmingly convince the judge that it is in your best interest."

"Um," Hay Lin interrupted, "Mrs. Hale, does Taranee have a chance? I mean they wouldn't make her go back there...would they?"

"Girls, Taranee has a very good chance, I wouldn't be handling her case otherwise. No parent should treat their flesh and blood the way Taranee has been treated. And even though today has been long and stressful it has a good point: Teresa Cook will not be able to deny the inhumane damage she did to her daughter. A severe injury like this and Taranee's outstanding school and volunteer records almost guarantee her request will be granted. But she has to show up."

"But what abo-"

"Girls, that's enough for tonight, Liz needs some rest so she can walk all over Teresa Cook tomorrow. So stop worrying and go up stairs and keep Taranee company," Mrs. Lair directed as she came back into the room holding a plate with cheese and crackers in one hand and a bowl of grapes in the other.

"Here take this upstairs and let Taranee get a little food in her before you all go to sleep. I'll make up the couches for two of you. One of you can stay with Taranee.

My parents called out their good-night wishes and closed the door behind them. Will and I each grabbed a dish and headed up the stairs.

"I'll bring up some hot chocolate for you girls," Mrs. Lair called as we retreated out of sight.

Cheers!