Chapter 13
Memorial Hospital
Carthage, IL

Blake

My darling husband, I killed an entire medical staff today. I emptied my clip and took out everyone in the emergency room….

Alex Blake usually Skyped her husband when he was out of the country, but every so often she wished they would write more. Mentally composing letters gave her a certain calm and focus when needed, which was why she was composing one as she sat and watched the doctor poke and prod Susanna Holman. "It's really everywhere." He said. "Her skin is just…"

"Oculocutaneous albinism type 1a is extremely rare, doctor, but it's not unheard of." Blake said, crisply. "It's caused by an alteration of the tyrosinase gene, I believe, which prevents the body from developing pigment, and affects one in, oh, 40,000 if I'm remembering right."

"Oh, well, of course…"

"What we are looking for is evidence of abuse, physical assault, neglect, or any other criminal activity."

"Right…right."

Except for the Doctor. I rammed his nose back into his cranial cavity. It was remarkably satisfying.

The doctor went back to poking while Susanna sat there and endured a patient, somewhat amused smile on her face. Blake had volunteered to sit with her, both to ensure the proper chain of custody of any evidence and because it was her first ever medical exam and she needed a bit of help to get through it. Taking her temperature was a simple matter, but the blood pressure cuff might have actually left a bruise. And she flat out blushed when she had to unbutton the back of her dress a little to allow the doctor to listen to her heart and lungs. But that might have been more about this.

The reason being that they kept treating this brave, intelligent young woman like a sideshow freak in a carnival. It's a minor birth defect in the grand scheme of things, but they have to treat her like she's from another world.

Spencer, however, can't take his eyes off her for all the right reasons. I think this is the first time I've seen him pay more than technical attention to anything in the past year.

She wondered sometimes if Spencer honestly thought they hadn't noticed how he'd pulled away from everyone. He'd become even more physically reticent, had left his heart out of his work, had worn this quiet, low-grade depression like sackcloth. But on this case, even with the focus on Henry, she'd seen him start coming alive again. He's been enchanted, Blake thought, not something to build a relationship on, but perhaps the kind of thing needed to coax their Dr. Reid out of his shell and start working on one.

"Well, I'm not seeing anything major or emergent." The Doctor finally pronounced. "Severe cataracts, which may be complicated by something else, I'm not an expert. Not having those treated could be considered neglectful; also underweight, but not to the point of requiring hospitalization. Do you have any problems with eating, swallowing?"

"Only with not having enough," Susanna replied.

"Well there's your neglect right there. I'd also like her heart rate to be stronger. What kind of exercise do you get?"

"A fifteen minute walk around the farm every morning."

"Not enough. Your report says you've never left the farm, this is your first medical exam?" She nodded. "Never been vaccinated then?" She shook her head. "Get vaccinated, especially if you're going to live in a city. Gain twenty pounds. Keep walking every day; work yourself up to thirty minutes at a minimum. Wear sunscreen. See an expert for your eyes and your skin. Otherwise you're in remarkably good health. Still just…fascinating. I'm sorry."

"It's understandable. Thank you doctor." After the doctor left Black got up and closed the curtain, to stop the pointing and whispering on the other side of the glass door. "I'm sorry about that." She said. "Want some help with the buttons?"

"Please." Susanna held still while Blake helped with the buttons that ran down the back of her underdress, open for the exam. "At least he wasn't praying while he was doing it."

"Praying?"

"One of the beliefs held by followers of Pastor Goodwin is that people with birth defects are carriers of evil, sent to punish parents for sin. They believe that it is their Christian duty to support those children but getting too close will result in the evil somehow rubbing off. You're supposed to train those children to be wary of letting the evil escape while they're awake." She chuckled a little. "In practice it means being on your best behavior and having good manners all the time, to give the appearance of restraint. Not that difficult. But whenever people would come over and I'd be downstairs they would pray to keep any evil away, just in case, or so my parents told me. They always sent me upstairs quickly so I wouldn't upset the guests."

Blake had to just stop for a moment, the desire to rant and rend on this woman's behalf was so strong. "I keep thinking I've heard everything in this job." She finally said at last. "You do realize how ridiculous that is, yes?"

Susanna nodded. "I would go into the philosophical and theological reasons why that is ridiculous but we'd be here all night. I just hope it's cultural and I'm not that offensive to look at."

"It's cultural." Blake reassured her. "In this part of the country people value conformity. In other places they value the unique. I know women in the city who would spend thousands of dollars to have your hair and skin, trust me." Susanna slid off the exam table and accepted the arm Blake offered. Blake considered and decided to try planting a seed. "I know Spencer can't seem to take his eyes off you."

As she watched Susanna's cheeks turned a brilliant red. Ah, good. "He's been a wonderful friend so far." Was all she said though. "I don't know what I've done to deserve all of this."

"Well, you helped Henry for one thing."

"But that was just the right thing to do…"

"You would be surprised how few people do the right thing."

"Susanna! Susanna! Susanna!" A smaller voice yelled. They both stopped as Henry ran up and threw himself against Susanna's legs. "You didn't get forgotten!"

"Henry!" She laughed as she found his head and then carefully went down to his height, her skirt flaring out around her. "Nope. While it's not exactly the rapture I have not been left behind. Are you here to see the doctor too?"

Henry nodded. "Yep. He said I'm too skinny."

"Well I'm sure your Dad's gumbo will fix that right up."

Henry nodded again. "You should come home with me." He announced.

"Oh, I think your parents are going to be too busy with getting you home to have company."

"Are you going home? If you do, I'll get my dad to make your dad give you a light."

"Actually I don't know where I'm going."

"You know, our technical analyst volunteers as a victim's advocate. She's put together a list of resources if you're interested." Blake said, "Including a place to stay."

Susanna's face brightened as she stood, "In Washington?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I could…live in Washington? Can I live in Washington?"

"I still teach part-time at Georgetown. I've had a number of visually impaired students over the years; they never had a problem with it."

"And moving to a place in DC would put you close enough to come over for gumbo." Said a familiar southern drawl. They turned to find that Will and JJ had caught up with their son. "Will LaMontagne. This is my wife JJ. We owe you a debt."

"No." Susanna insisted. "I was just trying to do the right thing. I just wish I could have done more somehow…"

"In our line of work we see a lot of bad things happen to children in that situation." JJ told her. "None of that happened to Henry, mostly because of you. If there is anything we can do…"

"That offer extends to the whole family." Dave said as the rest of the team joined them.

"I just…I don't…" Susanna seemed completely at a loss.

Henry grabbed her hand and tugged. "Come to DC with us!" He insisted.

As they watched she gave in. "Yes." She said with a smile. "Just…yes."

It wasn't just Henry, Blake composed to her husband. It was the light in Spencer's eyes too.