"Put her on a bed, Sully," said Michaela, taking her stethoscope. "Colleen, I need you to clean her bruises. Be careful, so that we don't hurt her even more."
"All right, Ma," whispered Colleen, fighting tears. Noticing that, Dr. Mike gently squeezed her daughter's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "She'll be all right, Colleen. We will do everything we can."
As young girl nodded, Dr. Mike kissed her forehead and went back to where Atlantis lay on the bed, still unconscious. Dr. Mike checked for her pulse and then put on her stethoscope to listen to her lungs. In that moment, Atlantis' eyes fluttered opened and she gasped for air.
"ATLANTIS!!" yelped Heart, trying to get to her daughter, but Sully held her back.
"It's all right, Atlantis, it's all right," Dr. Mike said in a calming tone of voice. "Try to take slow, deep breaths."
"Dr. Mike?" whispered Atlantis, recognizing her face. Michaela softly smiled.
"Don't worry, Atlantis, we will help you," a voice that Atlantis didn't hear for years was here and her eyes followed the sound…to stop on Colleen's face. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw her dear friend.
"Colleen…" Atlantis choked on tears, afraid that all this was just a dream. Her breathing became rapid and that was when a cough attacked her. She pressed her palm on her mouth and Colleen watched in horror as drops of blood showed up between Atlantis' fingers.
Dr. Mike worriedly looked at Heart, "How long has she's been coughing like this?"
"I…I am not sure," sobbed Heart. "Two months…Maybe more."
Dr. Mike felt shivers going down her spine. She looked at Sully and he understood what she asked him to do without a word.
"Heart, let's wait in the hallways," he softly said. As Heart tried to protest, he added, "Atlantis will be just fine. Come on."
As Sully and Heart left the room, Dr. Mike took her stethoscope again and said to Atlantis, "Darling, I know that this might be a problem, but can you try to take in a few long, deep breaths for me so I can check your lungs?"
Accepting a napkin from Colleen and wiping the blood away from her shivering fingers, Atlantis nodded, and collecting all the strength that was left in her, she took few deep breaths, trying not to cough.
Colleen watched her Mother with concern. Dr. Mike's forehead creased as she listened to Atlantis' lungs and Colleen knew that it couldn't be good.
As she finished, Atlantis looked at her, afraid to ask… but knowing that she had to.
"What's wrong with me, Dr. Mike?"
Dr. Mike looked at Colleen, then back to Atlantis' pale face.
"I believe that you have a very bad case of pneumonia, Atlantis. Did you have a fever?"
"Yeah," whispered Atlantis, "it comes and goes, but I feel so weak." Her eyes filled with tears once again, "Am I going to die?"
Dr. Mike gently caressed Atlantis' hair. "I'll do everything to prevent that from happening. I promise you. You'll have to stay here in the clinic for some time."
Atlantis nodded, trying to stop the tears, but they flew down her cheeks like a river. She couldn't imagine that everything had come to an end… Not now.
~*~
Brian was pacing along the hallway, counting his steps. Matthew was sitting on a chair, with Atlantis' little son fast asleep on his lap. The poor child was so exhausted that he fell asleep in Matthew's arms even before they reached the hallway in front of recovery room.
Steps were heard and the Cooper brothers saw Heart and Sully approaching. Atlantis' mum was a wreck, she couldn't stop crying.
"Pa, how is Atlantis?" Brian was the first one to talk.
"Your Ma is still checking on her, but she woke up," replied Sully.
"My poor little girl," sobbed Heart. "I should have done something earlier, I should…"
"Calm down, Heart. You brought her here and that was a good decision. You know that Dr. Mike will do everything that's possible to help her," Sully tried to comfort her.
His words echoed in Hearts' ears. She knew that Dr. Mike would try everything, but she was just too afraid that it was too late.
It was then that her eyes noticed her sleeping grandchild…Her eyes went wide open as she saw who was holding Atlantis' son.
"Shhhh, he's asleep," whispered Matthew.
"I…I can't believe it that he lets you holding him," mumbled Heart, not even aware of what she was saying. "He is scared of strangers…" Noticing that she was telling way too much, she stopped.
Matthew didn't say anything, just glanced again at the sleeping child in his arms and then to the door of the recovery room.
"How come he's afraid of strangers?" asked Brian. Heart looked terrified at the young boy in front of her.
"I think that I better go get some food for both of them," mumbled Heart. Before anyone could react, she disappeared.
Matthew looked after her as she ran away, without even answering his brother's question. Something was bothering him about Heart. She was hiding something. Something big, something serious. Something that obviously affected both Atlantis and little Matthew. He didn't like that at all.
The child stirred in his arms and his eyes slowly opened, only to widen in fear the next moment as he saw Sully.
Matthew followed little boy's gaze and held the shivering child closer to him, not actually knowing what scared him so much.
"That's all right, don't be afraid," Brian quickly jumped in. "That's our Pa."
Hiding his face in Matthew's jacket, the little boy sobbed:
«No…Pa mean. Pa hurt Ma.»
The three men exchanged stunned and worried looks. Nobody knew what to say. Sully figured that it would be better if he went away in order to give the child a chance to calm down.
"Brian, will you go with me to Grace's so we can help Heart to get some food?" Sully looked at Brian. His son nodded and they both left.
Matthew was grateful to Sully for what he did. There would be plenty of time for Atlantis' son to get to know all new people, but right now it wasn't the right moment.
"It's all right, Matthew, they're gone," he said quietly, giving the child a soft rub along his shoulders. The little boy hesitated for a moment, then looked up and saw that there was really nobody else there except him and this nice man. He already started to trust him.
"Your Pa hurt your Ma?"
Sad, little Matthew nodded. "Mummy is very sick. My Pa found us again and he hurt Ma. He would hurt me too like he did before, but Mummy yelled to me to run and I did. I hid in the bushes near our house until he was gone." Saying that, the child broke down in tears.
"MATTHEW!!!! MATTHEW, RUN!!!!"
Matthew felt like the blood drained from his veins.
It was her. It was her he dreamed of that night.
He held the little boy closer to him, his own eyes filling with tears…But, his expression was determined.
He would find that bastard. And he would bring him to the face of justice.
His gaze went back to the doors of the recovery room. He leaned against the back of the chair, gently rocking the crying little boy in his arms.