Author's Note: Please let me know what you think!
Chapter 3: Getting Supplies
"Is this really a good idea?" Davy asked as he and Peter pulled into the parking lot of the nearest drug store. "What if she is just a little..."
"Insane?" Peter asked. "I don't know; but if Mike and Micky trust her, then I trust them. Let's just get this stuff and get back home."
"Ok, but I really don't know what the stuff on this list is," Davy said looking at the paper Mike had given him before they left. "Save for maybe aspirin and calamine lotion."
"Let me see," Peter said getting out of the car. Davy handed Peter the list to him and he scanned it. There wasn't much on it, but Peter was at a loss to know what most of it was. "I don't know what this stuff is either."
"Do you think we should just ask someone?" Davy asked.
"Don't see why not," Peter answered. "Might go quicker." The pair walked into the store together, but didn't see anyone that could help them. Peter wandered around the store looking for someone to help them to no avail.
"No one's here," Davy muttered.
"Maybe we should just start looking," Peter said. "Maybe someone will come along then. The first thing we know is aspirin. Should be down here." Peter walked down an aisle that was full of decongestants and other pills. He quickly located a bottle of inexpensive aspirin and plucked it off the shelf.
"What's next?" Davy asked peering at the list in Peter's hand.
"Calamine lotion," Peter answered peering around the aisle. There were little pink glass bottles toward the end of the aisle. Walking towards them, Peter confirmed they were bottles of the lotion they needed.
"You really think she's got that many bug bites?" Davy asked.
"I trust Micky," Peter said. "If he says she does, I believe him. Think we should get a big bottle?"
"Yeah," Davy said. "I had poison ivy as a kid. Grandpa went through a whole bottle in a couple of days. And that was when I was small. Who knows how long Sarah's going to be with us and whatever we don't use on her now, we can save for later if we ever need it again." Davy grabbed a big bottle off the top shelf, which he could barely reach, before asking Peter what was next on the list.
"Witch hazel," Peter answered. "What is that?"
"I don't know," Davy answered.
"Can I help you?" said a bubbly woman behind him.
"Uh, yeah," Peter answered handing her the list. "We need these things."
"Oh," the woman said looking at the list. "Who's the lucky father?"
"Uh...neither of us," Davy said. "It's for a friend and we don't know anything about any of those things other than the aspirin and calamine lotion."
"Oh, well, follow me," the woman said walking towards another aisle. Peter and Davy followed closely behind her as she approached a shelf full of brown glass bottles. Peter looked at the labels on the bottle the woman grabbed. "This is your witch hazel. It helps with the swelling and soreness down there."
"Thanks," Davy said sounding a little grossed out taking it from her.
"Next are nursing and hygiene pads," the woman smiled.
"What exactly are those?" Davy asked curiously as they followed her down another aisle.
"You'll understand once you see them," the woman smiled turning down an aisle filled with cardboard boxes. Peter looked at the boxes and instantly realized what they were.
"Why do we need these?" Peter asked blushing a little. "She just had the baby. I thought when women were pregnant they didn't...uhm..."
"There will always be a little bleeding afterwards for a few days," the woman said. "I've had two of my own. I recommend these...their overnights and they'll hold a lot more."
"I'm gonna kill Micky when we get home," Davy muttered turning a bright shade of red.
"Davy, if Sarah needs this stuff, then someone has to get it for her," Peter said though he felt himself blush a bright shade of pink as well.
"Yeah, well, why couldn't he do it?" Davy asked.
"Because he has to take care of her," Peter answered.
"I know you boys must be highly embarrassed, but it's all perfectly normal," the woman smiled. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Is this all we need?" Davy asked.
"Just the nursing pads and you'll be set," she answered. "I'll even ring you up. How's that."
"Great," Davy muttered. "Let's just get this over with." The woman grabbed a box of nursing pads off the shelf in the next aisle and led them to the register. Even though Davy was letting his embarrassment turn to anger, she never once wavered from her smile or cheery demeanor. The boys paid and the woman even double-bagged the items noting how embarrassed Davy seemed about having someone see them with such personal items. She wished them good luck and they quickly walked out of the store.
"Well that was interesting," Peter said.
"Micky could at least have warned us," Davy grumbled.
"Sure," Peter said. "But we probably should also have known it would be personal stuff as soon as Mike realized that she was pregnant just from reading the list."
"Whatever," Davy answered with a snort. They drove the rest of the way home in silence. When they walked inside, Mike was emerging from their room holding a bowl.
"Did you guys get everything?" Mike asked.
"Sure," Davy said. "Didn't know we were getting feminine stuff."
"What did you expect, Davy?" Mike asked.
"Just some painkillers and bandages," Davy answered.
"Well, we have that stuff already," Mike answered. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. I'll give this stuff to Micky if you wanna clean up out here."
"She didn't eat?" Peter asked looking at the bowl of soup and noticing it was only half full.
"She ate some, but not much," Mike answered heavily. "Don't wanna shove too much down her throat anyway. It's been a few days since she ate. Eating too much now could overload her system."
"How is she?" Davy asked peering through the door.
"She's asleep finally," Mike answered. "She needs rest as much as she needs food and water. I'll make her something else to eat in the morning."
"But she ate and drank a little?" Peter asked.
"A little, but like I said, I don't wanna overdo it," Mike said.
"Is Micky gonna stay in there tonight?" Davy asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Mike said just as Micky emerged.
"You find everything alright?" Micky asked reaching for the bag.
"Yeah," Peter answered before Davy could show his contempt for Micky for having sent them on such an embarrassing errand. "The lady at the store picked stuff out for us. She recommended a few brands, too."
"Great," Micky said. "Thanks. Hey, I hope you guys don't mind, but I'm gonna stay in there with her tonight. You guys cool sleeping upstairs? You can duke it out over who gets my bed."
"That's fine, Micky," Peter said.
"Are you going to actually get some sleep?" Mike asked. "Or just watch her all night?"
"Well, I've still gotta wash her up a little," Micky said. "Hopefully I can do that without waking her up; I think she's out pretty solidly though. Then, yeah, I'll lay down, but I want to be there for her when she wakes up."
"Do you want any help?" Peter asked.
"Thanks, Pete, but I think I should just do this on my own," Micky said. "The more people surrounding and touching her right now, the more freaked out she's gonna be."
"You're really gonna..." Peter started nervously. "You know...put that stuff...the pads on yourself?"
"She's out cold, Peter," Micky said. "It's fine."
"But..." Peter started.
"It's fine, Peter," Micky said. "I've seen a woman before and someone has to do it. I can't let her just sit there in her own blood."
"It'll be fine, Pete," Mike added. "Just go upstairs and settle yourselves in. I'll bring some of your clothes up in a little bit."
"Is she gonna be here for a while?" Davy asked.
"More than likely," Mike said. "You guys ok with that?"
"Do we have a choice?" Davy muttered and walked toward the stairs.
"What's your problem, Davy?" Mike asked after him.
"I just don't understand why we're running out to the store buying pads and stuff for a girl we don't even know," Davy answered. "I get that she needs help and she's hurt, but I'm just not quite sure I buy her story. She was in a mental hospital for crying out loud! How do we not know that this whole tied up in the basement thing isn't all a figment of her paranoid imagination? We're broke and hungry ourselves. We can't afford to be taking this on."
"Davy, you didn't see her when we found her," Mike argued.
"I don't have to," Davy said. "She could be schizophrenic or something for all we know."
"Davy, I trust Mike and Micky's judgement," Peter said. "I think you're just upset about-"
"No, Peter, I'm not," Davy interrupted. "I trust doctors. Doctors don't hurt people! They help people like her! They don't tie people up in basements and take away their babies!"
"Not always," Micky said angrily.
"They take an oath!" Davy argued.
"So do cops, David," Micky spat back, "but how often do you read in the paper about a crooked cop being arrested? Or lawyers? Or judges? It happens! People in this world are corrupt and they take all sorts of civil service jobs!"
"Ok, both of you relax," Mike interceded. "Micky, take this stuff into Sarah and take care of her."
"I'll talk to Davy," Peter said following Davy as he stormed the rest of the way up the stairs. Davy slammed the door behind him, but Peter just opened it and followed him in.
"If you're just going to tell me how wrong I am, just leave now," Davy snapped.
"Yes and no," Peter said. "But either way, I'm not leaving. Look, I understand why you're upset. The whole thing bugs me a little, too. I can't imagine a doctor doing anything like that either, but I also trust Mike and Micky. And I know you do, too. What's really bugging you?"
"I don't know," Davy said. "Something feels weird about all this."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"Doesn't it seem weird to you that Micky is going so far out of his way to help this girl?" Davy asked.
"No," Peter answered. "It's the right thing. You can't tell me that if you found a girl in the middle of nowhere needing help you'd just walk away."
"No, but I'd take her to a hospital," Davy answered.
"Mike said she freaked out over going to the hospital," Peter answered.
"How exactly does Micky know what to do?" Davy asked. "If she really has the kinds of injuries Micky says she does, she belongs in a hospital. How can Micky expect to be able to take care of her better than a hospital?"
"I don't know, Davy," Peter answered. "But Mike agrees with him. And that says enough for me. Mike is always the responsible one, right? Mike is always the voice of reason. If Mike says she's ok to stay here, then I believe him. Yes, I think it's weird Micky knows what to do, but maybe he's helped deliver babies or something before we met him. He doesn't really talk about his past ever. Just that he was born and raised here." Davy didn't answer right away; he sat on the edge of Mike's bed and stared at his shoes.
"If a doctor could really do this to a person..." Davy said finally. "What does that mean about the world we live in. I think I just don't want to believe it. If it's true..."
"I know, Davy," Peter said. "I don't like to think there are people like that out there any more than you do, but there are."
"I've never heard anything like this before," Davy said.
"Yeah, well, Mike likes to hide that stuff from us," Peter said. "You ever notice how he changes the channel when the news starts getting dark and how he usually throws away the whole paper except the want ads and stuff about gigs?"
"I thought he just didn't like hearing about that stuff," Davy said.
"Peter's right," Mike said in the doorway. "I was trying to hide it from you. You guys don't need to know how evil the world can really be."
"Well you can't hide it from us anymore," Peter said.
"I'm sorry, Mike," Davy said. "I didn't mean to snap; I just don't want to believe a doctor could really hurt someone like that. Doctors are supposed to be there to help us. We're supposed to be able to trust them."
"I know, Davy," Mike answered. "And most are trustworthy, but there's always one or two bad apples in the bunch."
"How mad is Micky at me?" Davy asked.
"He'll be fine," Mike said. "You can talk to him in the morning. He's just more concerned for Sarah right now. For now, why don't you guys get settled in for bed. It's getting late." Once Peter was assured that Davy had calmed down a little, Peter went to start getting ready for bed. He checked in a little on Sarah and Micky to find Micky softly washing her arms. Micky looked upset, but Peter thought it best to just leave him alone so he just walked upstairs to tell Davy he could jump in the shower now. When Davy had finished his shower, they drew short straws to see who would sleep on the floor and who would get Micky's bed. Peter cheated a little and made sure that he drew his straw really short to make sure Davy would get the bed. Mike however came in and told Peter to crash on his bed for the night because Mike was going to just crash on the couch in case Micky needed anything in the night. Mike left before Peter could argue so Peter crawled into Mike's bed and drifted off rather quickly.
Peter woke up hearing screams and nearly fell out of Mike's bed. He heard a thud as Davy jumped up and tripped over Micky's boots to get to the door. Peter stopped long enough to help Davy up and the two raced down the stairs. Sarah was screaming inside their room and by the time they got there, she was fighting Mike and Micky off as they tried to calm her down. Her arms flailed around and she actually managed to punch Mike in the shoulder and Micky in the face as she screamed for them to get off her and leave her alone.
"Sarah, calm down," Micky said sitting on the edge of her bed next to her. "It's me; it's Micky. It's just us. Calm down."
"Get off me!" Sarah screamed.
"Relax, Sarah," Mike pled. Peter and Davy weren't sure what to do, but Peter tried to rush in and hold her arms so she wouldn't hit Mike and Davy again.
"No!" Mike exclaimed as soon as Peter reached out for Sarah's wrists. "Don't touch her wrists. That'll make it worse."
"Sarah," Micky said over Mike. "It was a nightmare, ok. It was a nightmare. It's over. Look at me. It's over. It was just a dream." Sarah stopped and looked at Micky for a second frozen in fear. Suddenly, relief washed over her face for a split second before she crumpled into Micky's arms and began sobbing. Mike closed his eyes and let out a long breath in relief before moving to shoo Davy and Peter out of the room.
"She'll be ok now," Mike said. "She just had a nightmare. Sorry it woke you guys up. Head back to bed."
"It's morning," Davy mumbled looking at the sun coming up outside. "Might as well just start the day. I can make some breakfast for her." Peter didn't say anything; he stared at Micky holding Sarah for a moment. He was rocking her back and forth like a child and he had started singing a song to her while rubbing one hand over her back and the other caressing her hair. She was still sobbing, but Peter could tell Micky was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", which he thought was a little odd; it was almost like something you would sing to a child who was scared. Peter understood now how Davy felt there was something weird going on with the girl. That wasn't exactly the song he would choose to sing in order to calm someone down, but for some reason, Micky had chosen it and it seemed to be working.