Chapter 32
(Phoebe's POV)
Today is my first day back at work. I am showered and dressed. I look in the mirror as I finish curling my hair.
This past week has been nothing short of awful. There have been a lot of tears shed and hard conversations. My family has been so supportive and so has Nathan's. I am finally feeling a little better pain wise. I had a lot of stomach cramping.
I feel a kiss on my head and look into the mirror to see Nathan behind me. I smile and look at him. "You look beautiful" he says. He makes me blush daily.
"Thank you," I say.
"Are you ready to go?" He asks. He is in his scrubs.
"As I'll ever be," I say and go to walk past him. He grabs my wrist gently to stop me.
"Are you sure you want to go today? If you don't feel ready there is no shame in taking a couple of days off," He asks.
"I am ready, I promise," I say and smile. He leans down and kisses me.
"Bee," he says as we hug. I want to cry but I have done too much of that recently.
We get into the car and quietly drive to work. I am excited to be back. Nathan parks and I grab my bag. We walk in and usually where we bid goodbye for Nathan to go to his office he keeps walking with me.
"You really think I wasn't going to walk you to your office," I smile as we get into the elevator and ride to my office.
When I walk in I set down my bag and turn to see Nathan. "I'm okay," I say seeing the worry on his face.
"I know you will be," he says. I smile and he comes over to me.
"I love you," I say. He leans down kissing me.
"I love you more, Bee," he says and I smile as he heads out. I grab my chart and see the long list of patients I need to see.
I head down to Henry's room. He isn't actually on my list, but I want to see him. When I walk in I smile as I see Nathan and another doctor talking.
"Well long time no see," Dr. Moore says to me.
"Dr. Moore, Dr. Tegan," I shake both their hands.
"I didn't know you were scheduled to see him," Dr. Tegan says.
"Oh, I um I'm not, but I have been gone so I am following up," I say and he nods. I avoid Nathan's stare.
"Well that's fine. We are just scheduling his surgery," Dr. tegan says and I nod. He gets his stomach surgery soon.
I go up to the crib and when Henry sees me he pops up. "Bee bee play," he says and I smile.
I take Henry out of his crib and set him down on the mat. We play with his blue truck and watch Moana. The doctor sneak out but not before Nathan can squeeze my shoulder.
I smile at him and finish up my playtime with Henry. After I go and visit 3 new patients. Then I have to head down to the ED. I see Nathan is the doctor on the case that I am assigned to.
The case is a patient who's house got broken into while she was there. They don't think anything is wrong with her physically, but brought her in to double check. She is 10. The burgalors locked her in a closet and taped her hands and feet. Her parents are in Africa and her sister is supposed to be watching her. The sister was at the boyfriends and told her not to tell her parents.
After I finish reading her chart I head into her room. I knock and introduce myself. She looks terrified. I smile and sit at her level. She introduces herself as Paige.
"How are you feeling?" I ask her.
"I am scared," she says and I nod.
"That is okay to feel scared, but you don't need to feel scared here. The doctors and nurses and police are here to protect you," I say and she nods. I'm not convincing her.
We talk a bit more and I explain to her that what happened isn't her fault. I also explain the police are out looking for the guys that broke in. She hasn't cried yet, but she looks like she is about to.
"Would it be okay if my doctor friend came in and checked out your body for injuries?" I ask.
"I'm not hurt," she says and I nod.
"We want to be very sure that you aren't hurt before we send you home with Grandma. Sometimes our bodies have injuries that we can't see," I say. Like miscarriages I think to myself.
"I don't know," she says and I nod.
"Would it be more comfortable if I stayed while he examines you?" I ask her.
"Yes," she says quietly.
"The Doctors name is Dr. Moore and he is awesome. He is going to explain everything he does before he touches you okay?" I ask. She nods and looks scared.
"I'm going to be here the whole time," I say. I page Nathan and soon after we hear a knock.
She is in a hospital gown and is sitting on the bed. Getting her to change into a hospital gown was a fight. She really didn't want to take off her clothes which makes me think that something more might have happened.
"Hi Paige, I am Dr. Moore," Nathan says as he comes in and washes his hands. He grabs a pair of gloves but doesn't put them on. He sits in the stool and rolls over.
"So Paige, Nurse Tammy told me you said nothing hurts, and you feel okay. Is that right?" He asks and she nods looking anywhere but at him.
"Well that makes me happy to hear. We still are going to do a quick check to make you are healthy," he says and she looks down.
"is it okay if we start?" Nathan asks. Nathan always gives the kids the option to take a breather before he examines them.
"Do we have to?" She asks and seems to be growing upset.
"Hey Paige, remember what we talked about, sometimes our bodies have injuries we can't see from the outside," I say. "Dr. Moore and I just want to make sure you are safe," I say. She nods and starts fidgeting.
"Okay," she says.
"Well first thing I want to do is pretty easy," Nathan says and I stay sitting close to her.
"I am going to use my stethoscope and listen to your lungs and heart," Nathan says and she nods.
"I am going to undo the side of your gown and put it on your chest and then your back okay?" Nathan says and Paige freezes.
"No," she says and sits back.
"It is not going to hurt sweetheart," Nathan says. He puts it to his chest and shows her.
"I don't want it to go under my shirt," she says and Nathan looks at me catching on to what I am thinking.
"I have to put it to your skin to hear, how about you can undo the side for me and watch while I listen to your heart and lungs?" Nathan asks and she looks to me.
"It is super important for Dr. Moore to listen to your heart and lungs," I say and she looks to the ground.
"I don't want you to look," she says and Nathan and I both nod.
"I'll come over here, so I can't see is that okay?" I ask. She nods and unties the side of her gown and holds it down while Nathan tries not to look at her and listen to her heart.
I'm quietly examining her movements and behavior. She is terrified. I am happy Nathan understands this and is being gentle. He always is.
"Okay now I'm going to put it on your back," Nathan says and she nods. She is gripping her knees very tightly with her hands. I feel so bad, she is obviously terrified.
"Okay, now I am going to wrap this bracelet around your arm and take your blood pressure," Nathan says. She holds out her arm. When Nathan goes to push up the sleeve Paige Whimpers and pulls back.
"Did I hurt you?" Nathan asks. Paige starts to cry.
"Paige take a deep breath," I encourage her and she looks at both of us and pulls the blanket up more.
"Can you talk to us and tell us what is making you upset so we can fix it?" I ask.
"I don't want that on my arm," she says and I nod.
"Sweetheart, it doesn't hurt. It is going to give your arm a big hug," I say and she shakes her head.
"No," she says and I look to Nathan.
"It has to go on your arm, what can we do to make it more comfortable," Nathan asks. It is good to give them choice while enforcing what has to happen.
"I want you to do it and not look at it," she says and I am confused. It is her arm. I am dreading when he has to feel her stomach for any tenderness.
"Okay," Nathan says looking at me. I nod understanding what he is thinking. This child has had some kind of trauma. I page the nurse and ask for past trauma medical records for Paige.
"Paige, what happened here? Does this hurt?" I hear Nathan say and I turn to see a huge bruise in the shape of a hand on her upper arm. She also has burns from the tape that was wrapped tightly on her wrists and ankles.
"Nothing," she says and Nathan takes her arm and examines it.
"I don't think nothing happened," Nathan says as he unwraps her blood pressure cuff. He sits back down and we both come to sit in front of her giving her space.
"Paige, if something happened or someone hurt you it is important phoebe and I know so we can make sure you are safe and healthy," Nathan says and Paige starts crying.
"No, nothing happened," she cries.
"Sweetheart, it is safe to tell us. You are safe and protected here," I say. She shakes her head crying.
"Did someone tell you that you weren't allowed to tell us?" Nathan asks and I look at her. She starts nodding and crying even harder. I knew it. This is not normal behavior for a 10 year old.
"Paige, who told you that?" I ask.
"Please don't make me tell," she cries. I look to Nathan.
"You are safe here, Paige. Phoebe and I will protect you," Nathan says and looks at her.
"The police and Dr. Moore and i are keeping you safe. You don't have to be scared," I say and she shakes her head. She pulls the blanket over her and curls up in a ball. In that moment I know we have lost her and need a break. I page the nurses and say this is a possible assault.
"Paige, we are going to take a break okay. Dr. Moore isn't going to try to examine you for now," I say. I get her a bottle of water and I dim the lights. Nathan and i shut the door and look at her.
"What do you think will be best for her?" He asks.
"We need to examine her bottom line. I think after the break we really push for her to talk and let you examine her," I say.
"I agree, god knows what other bruises she has," he says and I nod. I feel so bad for this poor girl.
After 15 minutes we walk back in. Paige is staring at the TV. When she sees us she curls her legs into her. A defense mechanism. Nathan squats down by her.
"Sweetheart, we have to finish examining you. We want you to know that we are not going to let anyone hurt you. You can tell us anything and we will make sure it is fixed. We are not going to let anyone hurt you," Nathan says I nod and she looks at us.
"I'm scared," she says.
"Why are you scared?" I ask her.
"They said they'll kill mommy and daddy," she says and starts to cry. I look to Nathan and softly nod.
"Who did?" Nathan asks.
"The robbers," she says and I nod.
"Sweetheart the police are going to be watching you and your family. The robbers can't get to your family," I say and she starts to cry.
"They said they will. They showed me the gun, please don't make me tell," she says.
"Paige, nobody is going to hurt you. I promise. We have the police and the doctors here to protect you," Nathan says and she looks at him terrified.
"I promise you are safe here," Nathan says and she looks at Nathan as if to examine his face. Nathan puts out his hand and Paige looks at him. She slowly puts her hand out and puts it in his. Nathan holds it and looks at her. This is good trust building.
"You are safe here with us," Nathan says and she starts to cry again.
"Why did the bad guys say you couldn't tell us?" Nathan asks. His gaze is locked on her.
"They hurt me," she says and I write that down.
"Where?" Nathan asks. She starts to cry and Nathan rubs her hand.
"It's okay, take your time," I say to Paige.
"They kicked me and hit me. They made me," she tries to talk and it's too much. I can't understand her.
"Shhh, take a deep breath with me," I say and guide her through deep breathing.
"What did they make you do?" I ask her.
"They made me take off my shirt," she says.
"Okay, what did they do after?" Nathan asks trying not to coerce her into talking.
"They hurt me again. Then they took off my pants they all ran away," she says and we nod.
"Okay, did they take off your underwear?" Nathan asks and she shakes her head no. She wipes her eyes and I pass her a tissue.
"Okay, Paige thank you for telling us. We are going to get the bad guys who did this," Nathan says and she fidgets.
"Can I be done?" She asks.
"Not yet sweetheart. Dr Moore is going to finish examining you," I say. I know this is going to be a fight as Nathan is now going to have to check her full body.
"Paige, like phoebe said sometimes our bodies have injuries on the inside and we can't see. So I want to check your belly," Nathan says.
After screaming crying, we have Paige laying down. When Nathan lifts her hospital gown to see her stomach she starts sobbing trying to pull away. Nathan gently holds her there.
"Paige, Paige look at me," Nathan squats down by her. I am holding her gown up.
"We are not going to hurt you. We are here to keep you safe. Take a deep breath like phoebe showed you," Nathan says gently. She has taken to Nathan. Just like claire did. He has a way of dealing with people who are inconsolable.
"I am going to use two hands and push on different spots on your belly. If one spot hurts you tell me okay?" Nathan asks. She doesn't respond but keeps crying. She isn't kicking and hitting us away though so that's a plus.
Her stomach has small bruises and burst blood vessels. Nathan presses on different spots. After he has to check her legs. After this she is done. We both know that. We have to keep her here overnight for observation now.
I set up her to have a nurse stationed with her so she is not alone. Nathan and I both talk to a detective to give our statements. We deescalate the situation and Paige asks if we can come see her tomorrow. Not we, if Nathan can.
After I go into my office. I am done for the day. I grab my bag and jacket. I walk out and head down to Nathan's office. I get stopped by a nurse asking a couple of more questions about Paige. I have her all set up for the night. That was a tough case. Hopefully it all works out well.
When I walk in there is a woman in scrubs. They are both laughing and she looks comfortable sitting in the chair across from his desk. She is absolutely stunning. She has blonde curls and reminds me of Ava.
"Oh I'm sorry," I say and go to close the door.
"No, no I was just leaving," she says. I have never seen her in my life. I avoid eye contact and stare at Nathan's diplomas on the wall.
"Thank you Dr. Moore," she says and flashes a perfect white smile. I'm surprised there wasn't a sound effect to it. She walks past me and I check her out as she goes. I try to not let it affect me. It's a coworker. Sometimes I get a tad bit jealous.
"That was my new intern. She missed her first day last week and came to clear things up," Nathan says and I nod.
"Well, looks like you weren't too upset," I say and realize how bitchy and envious that sounded.
"Sorry," I palm my forehead shaking my head as I sit.
"Bee," he says and I shake my head.
"No no I was wrong. It's okay. I trust you," I say and Nathan stands up and comes and squats down in front of me so we are at eye level with each other as I sit. He cups my cheeks and forces me to look at him.
"You, my sweet girl, mean the world to me. I only have eyes for you. The only girl in the world that I want to see is you, look at your finger," he says and shows me my wedding ring.
"You are it for me," he says and I nod.
"I'm sorry just after today I'm on edge," I say and shake my head forcing a smile. Nathan leans forward kissing me and stands up.
"You handled today better than anyone. You are so good at what you do," he says and I smile. I stand up too and we look at each other.
"You are stunning," he says and I half smile.
"Come here," he says and I walk into his arms. I inhale his scent. This is my favorite place in the entire world.
All of a sudden my phone rings. I go in my bag and grab it. It is Maisy.
"I am in labor," she says and those are four words I wasn't ready to hear.