Chapter 2

The journey to the hospital was peaceful. Tim was so deep in thought that he let his partner drive, so unlikely that it worried her. What had just fallen on him was huge and he was going to have to exteriorize at some point to not explode.

Once there, the policeman got out of the car and rushed inside. Despite the urgency of the situation, the brunette interrupted him so that he landed.

"Lucy, I have to go. Please let me go. I have to see her," he began on the verge of getting annoyed. He knew that everything she did was for his good. Only he had trouble thinking properly.

"Of course, you have to go, but not in this state. You're barely able to talk let alone drive so we're going to sit down for two minutes because rushing headlong is the last thing to do," she started approaching him, not hesitating to oscillate between tenderness and determination. Seeing that he couldn't bend her, Bradford backed up and went to sit on a bench outside the hospital.

"I know you're not wrong. I don't know what to do. It's all so huge," he breathed, trying to calm himself down.

"It's normal. I mean, your life just changed in an instant. Only, no matter how valid those feelings are, you can't let them overwhelm you. There's a little girl nearby who's terrified, lost, and traumatized. She's going to need you to be strong for her, to help her feel safe again."

"What happens if I don't know what to do?"

"I am convinced that you will succeed. You will be a wonderful father. You supported me after my abduction. You managed to make me feel safe and you helped me trust myself again. You were great with Angela after Guatemala. You helped both of us grieve Jackson. I know Tamara adores you and Genny also could never have handled everything your father did if you hadn't protected her so much."

"Thank you," he whispered grateful and unaccustomed to so many compliments.

"There is no problem. I know that talking is not your habit and that my way of psychoanalyzing everything can be annoying but if you need to untangle everything that goes through your head, you can count on me," the young brunette retorted taking his hand again. She felt her heart melt at this contact, like every time they touch. However, she pushed those feelings to the back of her mind, thinking they were unrequited.

"I have a daughter. That's crazy," he smiled slightly. Despite the difficulties and all the emotions brought by the situation, he could not help but be animated by an important feeling of joy. He had dreamed so much of becoming a father.

"It's true… Are you ready to go?" Chen asked, feeling him calmer. She knew how much he had always wanted to have a family and Lucy was happy that he could have this chance, despite the circumstances. She would never understand Isabel. Addiction is an extremely serious disease but she did not understand how it was possible to abandon a wonderful man like Tim, hide her child from him, and above all make her daughter suffer so much.

In comfortable silence, they made their way to the pediatric ward of the hospital. They were told the room number by a nurse. Only, they were interrupted by meeting Tim's former parents-in-law.

"Robert, Grace, I don't know what to say. I'm sincerely sorry, Bradford announced, hugging them briefly. Despite everything that had happened and the fact that he hadn't stayed in touch with them, they had always gotten on wonderfully well with the duo. He almost thought of them as the parents they never really had.

"Thank you, we should apologize. Even if we were expecting this kind of news, we would never have imagined that she would hide something like that from us, that she would deprive you of your daughter, and that she could hurt her so much. My god, poor little one," the woman whispered, visibly in shock and overwhelmed with grief.

"You have nothing to do with it. Even if I'm still really in shock, this is not the time to feel guilty. The most important thing is to be there for Rose now."

"You are right my boy. Despite the difficulty of the situation, we couldn't have imagined a better father for our daughter. We always thought you'd be perfect for this role back when you and Izzie were married… Excuse me but who are you?" Tim's stepfather asked, puzzled, looking at Lucy who was standing in the background, discreetly observing the scene.

"Robert, Grace, this is Officer Lucy Chen. She's my partner," Tim announced simply. He had used neither the term colleague nor friend because neither of the two stuck. Indeed, despite the denial in which he had mired himself, he knew that they were much more than that.

"Madam, sir, it is an honor to meet you despite the tragic circumstances. Tim has told me a lot about you. I wanted to offer you my sincere condolences. If you need anything, do not hesitate," the young woman stated with her usual benevolence. The couple thanked her immediately, aware that if their ex-son-in-law trusted her enough to bring her, it was because she must be important to him.

"Have you been able to see her?" Bradford asked feverishly, anxious and anxious to meet his daughter.

"No, not yet, we just arrived. The social worker and the doctor wanted to see us before. It seems that she refuses to speak or eat."

"I heard about it," the sergeant whispered, saddened.

They continued to discuss all four for a few minutes before being joined by the professionals who took care of the child.

"Are you Rose Bradford's family?" Two women asked, one in a white blouse, the other in a business suit. The assembly nodded, still unaccustomed to their new reality.

"How is she, doctor?" Tim questioned bluntly.

"Physically, she is not too bad. She was not injured during the attack. However, we are going to keep her for a few days for examinations because she is dehydrated and anemic. We're going to give her IVs and make sure it won't have any long-term impact. We also have to make sure that she received the care she needed as a baby, especially her vaccines, because we have very little information on the medical follow-up she received. As the police explained to you, her X-rays show us that she suffered several fractures which were not treated. Despite this, we are hopeful that with a little time and appropriate care, she will have absolutely no sequelae. That's all we know for now. We cannot say that she has a medical file worthy of the name. We also have very little information concerning the prenatal follow-up of your ex-wife, which is a little worrying, particularly because of her addiction."

"Do you think Isabel used drugs during her pregnancy?" Grace was revolted and distressed by her daughter behavior.

"We can't be sure. It's a possibility, but Rose doesn't seem to have the classic symptoms of narcotics, which is good news."

"That's it already a win... Psychologically, how is she? Does she know who we are?" Robert asked. Being also a former police officer, he had the opportunity to see many traumatized children. He knew very well that none of them reacted the same way.

"I was able to talk to her about what happened and who you were but I got no response. However, I remain convinced that she understands what we say to her. She is very alert, even too much, and extremely observant. She draws and pays attention for certain books given to her. It is clear that she has no intellectual or cognitive impairment."

"She doesn't feel safe so she chooses not to speak to maintain some semblance of control. Can't say that's surprising given what she's just been through," Lucy interrupted as if it were a no-brainer. Between her traumas, her work in the police, and her educational background, the beautiful brunette understood very well the behavior of the little girl. It didn't worry her that much, speech could take a while to come back, but it wasn't disabling. What worried her more was her refusal to eat. Given her precarious state of health, she needed to regain her strength. When she met the sergeant's gaze, she knew he had come to the same conclusion. After all, he had been in this place as a child.

"Do you think we can see her?" the two elders asked. The social worker nodded and they walked to Rose's room. When they were about to enter Lucy stepped back slightly.

"I think it's best that I stay outside. She's already been confronted with a lot of new faces since yesterday so maybe it's better to take it easy… But, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just staying here," the policewoman concluded, observing Tim's panicked gaze. It pained her to see him so upset. Only, she was also honored that he allowed himself to be so vulnerable in front of her because few people got to see that side of him.

"You're probably right. Lucy… How am I supposed to get her to trust me? After all, she doesn't know me and she must be terrified and confused."

"I'm sure you'll get there. You know better than anyone what a child needs to feel safe. It might take a bit of time, given the magnitude of what she's been through, but you'll get there," the young woman whispered confidently and soothingly.

After these words of support, the policeman turned around and prepared to enter the room to meet his daughter, still not realizing how his life was going to be turned upside down.