I explained everything that happened that night on the way to the hospital, filling Quinn in on Remy's attempts to kill me, the bullets Eric took to save me, and the various things Hunter had said. We didn't discuss the very last part of my time in Red Ditch, though; he couldn't bear to hear about it again, and I didn't have the strength to discuss it any more.
"I didn't anticipate this scenario," he admitted at the end, "you having to incapacitate someone, without it looking like you were ever there. I guess I'd better teach you how to make it look like they had accident when you take someone down," he concluded.
I just nodded, and stayed silent as he used the last few minutes of the drive to start planning my next few lessons in his head.
When we got to the hospital, I found out where Hunter was and we headed straight there. We found Dr. Patel tending to him.
The doctor was extremely relieved to see us. I 'heard' he was glad he might finally be able to leave; his shift had ended hours before, and his wife hated when he came home late. He felt he had to stay though, because Hunter cried and screamed when anyone else tried to touch him. He had tried to get Hunter to sleep so he could go home for a while, but my nephew simply wouldn't relax; he kept asking for me instead. Dr Patel had concluded the child was too traumatized to relax in the hospital, but he hoped my presence would soothe him, and seeing the way Hunter brightened when he saw us confirmed that for him.
"Aunt Sookie!" Hunter yelled excitedly when he saw us there, seemingly oblivious to the plaster cast that ran from his fingers all the way to his armpit. "Uncle John! See, I knew they'd come," he told the doctor.
He sat up in bed and hugged us both enthusiastically, hitting me with his new plaster cast as he flung his arm around me. I rubbed my ribs for a second, then turned to greet the doctor, who was thinking how well the disguise I wore the last few times he'd seen me had worked.
"Dr. Patel," I said warmly, shaking his hand.
"Miss Stackhouse," the doctor smiled, then leaned in closer to whisper conspiratorially. "I really wouldn't have recognized you if Hunter hadn't told me who you were."
"Good," I smiled back. "I hope you understand why I was so secretive... if Hunter's Dad ever finds out I brought him here..."
Dr. Patel just nodded, and I 'heard' that he understood why I would fear Hunter's father.
"This is my boyfriend, John Quinn," I introduced him, and the two men shook hands.
Dr. Patel quickly sized up Quinn, and I was surprised by the accuracy of the doctor's assessment: he figured Quinn wasn't someone to mess with, but also somehow knew he was the kind of man who would never hurt anyone unless provoked. He decided in about two seconds that my boyfriend was exactly the kind of protector Hunter and I needed, but I caught hardly any of the thought process that led him to that conclusion. It was as though the physical observations he made - that Quinn was huge and exceptionally strong; that he had scars dating from around fifteen years ago on every visible bit of skin; that those scars were caused by violence rather than accidental injury; that there was genuine affection in the way he hugged Hunter; that the gentle, careful way a man his size has to handle a child came easily to him; and that Hunter was so delighted to see him - simply added up to that conclusion.
Then he clicked back into medical mode, somehow reading the scars on Quinn's arms to reveal that most were animal bites or scratches. As soon as he realized that, he made a quick visual check of the way Quinn's muscles attached to his bones, saw some very subtle difference to human anatomy, and chided himself for taking so long to realize he was a shifter. One more quick, darting glance told him that Quinn had a couple of patches of scar tissue on his scalp where hair would never grow back, and he briefly wondered whether something about shifter physiology stopped him having the hair transplants doctors would normally use to disguise the scars - or whether he simply chose to shave the remaining hair off instead. I made a mental note to ask Quinn about it; it had never occurred to me that his hair style might be a result of something other than simple preference, and I was curious about it now.
I had already known Dr. Patel was observant - he spotted something unusual about both Hunter's and my skin that told him we were a little different to other people the very first time we came in - but seeing how much he could 'read' from Quinn's scars was almost surreal. I briefly felt sympathy for him, knowing how hard it is to see things others don't, but then realized his ability wasn't a 'gift' like mine or Hunter's, but was instead the result of many years of careful observation and study.
It's still hard for him, Hunter told me silently. His wife had a baby before they got married. He knows and he can't say anything. He hates it.
I won't, he then added, just as I went to remind him not to say things like that out loud.
"Is he going to be OK?" I asked the doctor. "What happened to him? They didn't tell me much on the phone."
"The three largest bones in his arm all have severe fractures," Dr. Patel told me somberly. "He's very lucky he didn't need surgery. It doesn't seem like the growth plates were damaged though, which is positive. If the fractures get a chance to heal properly, there shouldn't be any lasting deformity. His arm has to be treated carefully for that to happen, though. If he takes any more trauma before the bone's fully healed, he could have problems with his arm for the rest of his life. Even a minor fall could cause big problems."
I just nodded, understanding the subtext clearly: it was more important than ever to get Hunter away from his Dad, so his arm would have a chance to set properly and heal, without the risk of being hurt again.
"His father did this?" I asked tentatively, even though I already knew the answer.
The doctor nodded. "The police have taken him to the station now."
I 'heard' that Dr. Patel had to treat Remy as well - he was the only doctor on duty that night in the tiny rural hospital - and he'd found it hard to listen to Hunter's father ranting about how evil his son is, when he'd treated so many of the child's injuries. 'Hearing' the things Remy said about my nephew made me all the more determined to care for Hunter myself, so he'd be safe.
"Dr. Patel," I began, already using a pleading tone, "is there any way Hunter could come home with me, when you're done treating him? I'm his only living relative on his Mom's side. Well, apart from my brother, but he's in no position to care for a child. His Dad's family... they have some problems. I just wish there was some way I could look after him for a while, at least until his arm heals."
The doctor was thinking hard about what he should do. I 'heard' that the nurse I spoke to earlier had passed on my comments about Hunter's family situation, and the doctor had jumped to the conclusion (correctly, as it turned out) that Remy learned his child disciplinary practices at the hands of his own father.
"The decision about who cares for him isn't mine," he told me cautiously, although he had already decided to let Hunter leave with me, "but medically, it would be best if he goes home now. We've done all we can to treat the fractures, his arm just needs time to heal. He's scared to sleep here, so he needs to go somewhere he feels safer. He's been asking to go to your place, and he already seems more relaxed with you both here. It's not procedure to release a child into the care of anyone except a parent or guardian, but the police did say his father will be in jail for a while when he left here, days at least. With his mother gone, I'm not sure who else I could send him home with... I don't see any other relative volunteering to look after him right now, and it's always preferable for a child to be with family than in care. I doubt he'd be any more relaxed in a stranger's house than he would here."
He was trying out his reasoning for sending Hunter home with us, checking that it sounded as sensible aloud as it did in his head before he committed to doing something so unusual. Pleased with the logic of his argument, he decided he was going to bend the rules.
"OK, I think it would be best if he went home with both of you," he finally concluded.
I was so glad I threw my arms around him before I could think better of it, hugging him more tightly that I probably should've. My strength surprised him, confirming his suspicions that Hunter and I were a little different - but unlike most people, he wasn't scared of that.
"Thank you so much," I gushed. "I'm so glad I can keep him safe, even if it's just for a few days. I've been so worried about him, I'm so relieved he'll be with me so I can make sure he's properly cared for. Thank you so much."
"We're both really relieved," Quinn agreed, shaking the doctor's hand again, with a great deal more enthusiasm this time. "Thank you."
He couldn't stop smiling; I could feel that he was looking forward to having Hunter around.
"You can come stay with me for a little while, Hunter," I told my nephew, sitting down beside him on his hospital bed. "Would you like that?"
He nodded for about ten seconds, then burst into tears, as everything that had happened to him in the last few weeks finally caught up with him. I put my arms around him and he clung to me, sobbing, for a couple of minutes before finally calming down.
"Thanks for letting me go to Aunt Sookie's," he told the doctor as he blew his nose loudly. "Can I get out of here now?"
Hunter wouldn't let go of me for a second, and that made the doctor even more certain he was doing the right thing. He got the paperwork ready in record time, making sure we were long gone before anyone could intervene. He was mentally practicing his explanation for letting Hunter go home with me, but he was convinced that even if he was reprimanded for doing this, it would be worth it to know the child wouldn't be coming in with any more broken bones. He just hoped Child Protective Services saw things the same way he did.
Barely half an hour after I got to the hospital, Hunter had been signed over to my care, and the three of us headed back to Bon Temps. My nephew, who wouldn't sleep for a moment in the hospital bed, nodded off the second Quinn started the car and slept the whole way home.