Chapter 5 –

Sam was perched on the bed as she watched Rachel sleep, Alice was stood at the end while Linda yawned widely and her stomach rumbled causing Sam to look at her watch.

"Linda its way past the end of your shift, go home and get some rest and something to eat."

Linda looked at Sam as she took a breath before she nodded her head.

"Ok but what about you?"

"I'm not leaving her."

Linda just smiled at Sam and reached across, patting her friend on the shoulder before she quietly left. Sam edged herself further on the bed as Rachel opened her eyes.

"You're still here?"

"Of course."

Sam smiled as she shifted on the bed, crossing her legs as she sat and looked at Rachel.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ok I guess."

"How is the pain?"

Sam watched carefully as Rachel glanced away from her shaking her head, her eyes catching sight of Alice as she left the end of the bed and walked nearer to her.

"Rachel can I ask you some questions?"

Sam glared at Alice as she spoke but then she saw the look of dejection on the detective's face and held back the barbed comment that was about to leave her mouth, allowing Rachel to make the decision.

"Can I have a drink?"

"Of course."

Sam leant across and got the glass of water, helping Rachel to take a few sips before she replaced the glass.

"Rachel can you tell me anything about yourself, your age, your name?"

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she could feel Sam's fingers intertwined with hers and felt that the woman would protect her.

"I don't know, they called me Rachel, nothing else."

"Where were you kept, a house?"

Rachel nodded her head as Alice smiled kindly at her.

"Can you remember your mum?"

"I think so."

"That's good, have you ever been to school?"

"I haven't been for a long time, one of the women taught me to read and write."

"So you were kept in the house all of the time?"

"Yes I was allowed out in the garden but only for a short time and not if there were guests around."

"Can I ask you about the tattoo on your leg?"

Rachel swallowed hard as she reached down with her free hand and covered the area with her hand.

"They told me that it made me part of their family."

"That's ok Rachel, listen you're doing really well, I just want to ask you a couple more questions."

Rachel nodded her head while Sam kept a careful watch over her.

"You told us earlier that the man rescued you, how did you escape?"

"They thought that I was dead, they took me somewhere to get rid of me but they got disturbed by this gang, they left me and then he found me."

Rachel's voice was breaking as she spoke, Sam reached across and brought her close as she looked at Alice.

"That's enough."

"I know, thank you Rachel."

Alice bowed her head as she moved down the bed but she didn't leave the cubicle, she didn't want to risk leaving them alone yet. Alice watched as Sam held onto Rachel, cradling her into her body as the girl's tears seeped into the light green scrubs, but they had gained her trust and Alice could only hope that she would be able to stop the Poseidon group this time.

Zoe carried the bag carefully as she walked through the corridor, it had just gone 5am and one of the quietest periods, if that was possible, in the ED, she didn't stop until she reached the cubicle. Gently Zoe eased the curtain open a crack and was unsurprised when Alice quickly stood up and towered over her.

"Oh sorry Doctor Hanna, come on in."

Alice quickly moved aside as Zoe nodded her head and entered, pulling the curtain tight across as she did.

"Please call me Zoe, here I brought you all some food and coffee."

Zoe smiled as she placed the bag on the chair left vacated by Alice before she walked further up the bed and saw that Sam was curled up awkwardly on the bed next to Rachel both of them slowly waking up as Zoe looked back at Alice.

"How have things been?"

"Quiet."

"Good morning you two!"

Zoe smiled as Sam sat up and stretched out her aching limbs before she looked at Zoe.

"What time is it?"

"Just gone 5am, can I have a word Sam?"

Sam rubbed her eyes as she carefully got off the bed, mindful not to aggravate Rachel's injuries, she turned and looked at Rachel before Alice moved towards the bed.

"Don't worry Rachel I'm not going anywhere."

Rachel nodded her head as Sam winked at her before she followed Zoe out of the cubicle, the two of them walking silently until they were in the sanctuary of Zoe's office. Zoe had already placed two cups of coffee on the desk before she had gone to find Sam and pushed one towards the younger doctor as they sat down.

"Thanks."

"Well you certainly look like you need it. So you stayed here last night?"

Sam sighed as she looked at Zoe, not knowing if Zoe was talking to her as a friend or as her boss.

"I couldn't leave her Zoe, I'm the only that she trusts, she won't let anyone else touch her, what would you have done?"

Sam picked up the coffee as she finished, she hadn't meant the anger in her voice but until she knew where Zoe was coming from Sam wasn't going to take any chances.

"I would have done the same Sam."

Zoe's voice was quiet as Sam nodded her head while she took a sip of the hot liquid.

"Sorry."

Zoe shrugged her shoulders as she watched Sam carefully.

"How is Rachel?"

"She's still confused and frightened, we managed to speak to her a little bit but she doesn't remember much."

"Well her blood results came back during the night, there are small traces of amphetamines in her system."

"I'm not surprised, are you going to move her up to paediatrics today?"

Sam looked anxiously at Zoe, she knew that Rachel had a long recovery ahead of her and the fact that they still didn't know her true identity or what had happened to her was hindering things.

"No I need to talk to DI Parker about what the next step is going to be."

Sam nodded her head as she stood up with Zoe joining her as they both walked back to find out what DI Parker's plans for keeping Rachel safe were.