Miss Ginny cheerfully greeted the receptionist at the front desk as usual, and received the same grunt of a reply. She went to the clipboard to sign in and immediately to the file cabinet where she searched for her special little patient's records. She was so happy to be back at work. Not only did she love her job of helping people who had no hope get better, but she loved her new special assignment to be the nurse to such a wonderfully interesting young boy. She flipped through the pages of his file and read about the written report from the previous day.
Her eyes widened as they read.
She clenched the file firmly and flew down the hallway, stopping the doctor that had 'treated' Roger the day before. She grabbed his arm forcefully and whirled him around. Miss Ginny waved the folder in his face. "What did you do to him?" she asked in angry panic. The doctor rolled his dull eyes. "You don't understand him, Virginia. He's dangerous. He won't ever be civilized until we break him."
"I think I know him better than just about anyone."
"You treat him as if he is a child."
"Because he is a child! A twelve-year-old little boy!"
"He's a monster! I had to send Martha to the hospital yesterday in an ambulance after that thing attacked her! She needed stitches! She's recuperating at home today because of your 'twelve-year-old little boy'! Is that how you want him to stay? Suppressing those feelings of absolute monstrosity, giving him the illusion that he's getting better, then release him into society where he'll realize that he is still capable of doing the terrible things he does?! Is that what you want, Virginia?!"
"Don't you tell me about how I handle my patient! I know what he needs because I'm close to him!"
"Never talk to me like that again! Learn your place, woman!"
"I'm not finished yet! Do you really think that giving him shock therapy and torture is going to get those feelings out of him? Don't you think that it only makes him angrier and more apt to explode?!"
"You are a nurse and I am a doctor! I will decide the correct treatment for my patients before anyone else! And if he should be reassigned to another nurse, hm?!"
Miss Ginny's breath caught. She stared at the red-faced man in horror, anger, and hopelessness. He swiftly turned his back. Miss Ginny hugged the file close to her, then turned and ran down the hallway, tears starting to leak down her face. She didn't stop until she reached the door that held her little boy inside. She pressed her forehead against the wood, finally letting out her sobs that she'd been restraining. She knew Roger wasn't a monster. He just wasn't. He was a lost little boy that had seen so much hate and cruelty in his life that it devastated him to the point of insanity. Miss Ginny put a hand over her eyes as she finished her crying. She wiped her eyes, dabbed at her face with a handkerchief, and turned the handle on the door.
Roger was laying on the floor facedown, feet pointing at the door. His eyes were open, but their usual brilliant gray had faded to a color that looked like cloud heavy with rain. The crescents under his eyes were even darker than usual. His lip twitched a bit, giving the appearance that he was talking to himself. Miss Ginny gasped when she saw him. She ran to his side, gingerly touching and stroking his face, telling him that everything was alright. She carefully scooped his weak frame into her arms and carried him to the bed. His body was so incredibly limp. After setting him down all propped up against the pillow, she tucked the blankets close to him and kissed his cheeks. He seemed completely lost. "Roger," she whispered. "Roger say something. Please speak to me. Oh, please just say anything. Please…" He didn't respond to even her voice. Miss Ginny took one of his fragile hands and cried onto it, begging him to forgive her and just say something that would reassure her that he was alright. She felt his fingers twitch. It was the kind of sensation of him giving her hand a quick, gentle squeeze. She looked up.
Roger's eyes were fixated off into space, his lower lip trembled, his skin was an icy pale. Miss Ginny touched his cheek. "Baby," she whispered. "Listen to me, my love. I'm not going to leave you again. I promise I won't. Oh, darling. Never. I won't let anyone else have you. That will never happen like that again. I promise. Oh, Roger…I promise." Roger gave the soft pulsation again as tears began to fall from his eyes.
It took hours before Roger was alert enough to talk a bit. It turned out that they'd given him the shock therapy and thrown him into his room, but he was too weak to even get up and lay in bed. Nobody had come to check on him. Nobody had brought him a thing to eat. He literally laid in pain on the cold floor for nearly twenty-four hours.
Miss Ginny cradled him in her arms and rocked him. "T-They…said you were babying me," Roger whimpered. "And they said…if I didn't behave, they'd take you away from me…Miss Ginny…please don't let them do that."
"I would never let that happen, baby. I promise."
"It was…my fault you g-got sick yesterday."
"No, no…of course not darling. Who told you that? I woke up with a slight fever and when I called my lover, he said he'd come over and take care of me. When he got to my apartment, he called work for me and said I wouldn't be coming. I just didn't feel up to anything."
"…D-Did he take good care of you?"
"Oh, yes he did. He's wonderful."
"What did he do?"
"He made me some soup and had me stay in bed; if I was going to take a nap, he'd lay with me right there so we'd both fall asleep. He cooled down my forehead, brought me blankets, everything."
"Do you love him?"
"Yes, I do very much."
"Does he love you?"
"Well of course he does. We've been dating for three years now. He tells me everyday."
Roger fell silent. He looked at the precious feather duster in his hands. "I want to meet him someday," he murmured. Miss Ginny nodded. A smile broke across her face. "Alright, sweetie. I think he'd love that. I tell him all about you." she answered. She thought of something, then took his tiny hands into hers. "Roger, I feel that I need to tell you…you're going to get more treatments like yesterday's. I tried to stop them, but they were insistent. But I'll be here every time. I'll make it hurt less. Alright? You won't be alone anymore. And every time you have to go through that torture, I'll have a treat for you after. How does that sound? Something different every time. That way you'll at least have something to look forward to."
Roger nodded. He loved his nurse so much for everything she'd done. And yet she still hadn't given up on him. Everyone else in the world had, but not her. She promised to stay with him no matter what. Roger let out a happy sigh. He didn't feel like such a beast whenever she treated him like a such a human.