They only made it halfway down the near-silent hallway before Hannah's doctor opened the door to another patient's room and entered the hallway.
"Oh, good," he said as he started in their direction. "I've been trying to track you two down."
"We needed to get our boys on their way," Elliot explained.
"It's no problem," the doctor reassured them. "Hannah's doing as well as we would expect, but she is unresponsive to all members of our staff. It would be helpful to get even a brief health history, but no one can get her to say anything." The doctor's voice remained kind, but it was laced with obvious frustration.
"Do you want us to try?" Olivia asked. "I'm not sure how open she will be, but maybe we will have more luck."
Elliot hoped that would be the case. He half expected Hannah to close her mouth as a quiet rebellion for sending Noah away. Sure, Hannah spoke in front of them but never with them directly. They were banking on Noah's reassurances to be enough to get Hannah talking, but that was in no way guaranteed.
The doctor unclipped a small packet from the clipboard situated beneath his iPad. "Normally we try to get all our information digitized, but I think in this case it might be better to have the paper copy available to fill out as she provides useful information."
He held out the packet, and Olivia stepped forward to take it. "We will see what we can get. I think getting any personal information from her might be a slow process, but she may surprise us."
The doctor nodded. "I hope so. We've got CPS stopping by later this afternoon. Right now she needs rest, but that can be accomplished anywhere. I'd like to release her tomorrow sometime, but we might have to wait until CPS finds an appropriate foster family for her."
Elliot felt himself screaming on the inside. A foster family? No way. This kid wouldn't talk to anyone, and yet the hospital felt like she was healthy enough to be released. It didn't feel right. At all.
"She can't stay here for a few more days? She just had abdominal surgery. Feels a little soon to kick her to the curb." Elliot did his best to moderate his tone, but the thought of Hannah being sent to a house full of perfect strangers felt wrong.
"We don't have unlimited funding," the doctor remained emotionless and factual despite Elliot's obviously rising temper.
Elliot folded his arms over his chest and stepped closer to the doctor. He wasn't exactly trying to intimidate the man, but the heat in his eyes must have been obvious because he felt Olivia's gentle hand on his chest and her voice in his ear, "Same team, El." He pulled a tight breath through his nose. Her tone said more than the words she spoke. She was calling off the bulldog. She was telling him to stand down.
His eyes shot to hers, but one look told him she would not be backing down, and she would rip into him if he continued to escalate the current conversation into a full argument.
He stepped back with the gentle guiding pressure of her fingers. Once she was certain he wouldn't jump back into the heat of it all she turned back towards the doctor. "We will talk to CPS when they get here and weigh her options." It was a diplomatic response, but it did nothing to quell the fierce indignation building in his chest.
The doctor appeared suddenly eager to make an exit, so he quickly handed Olivia a pen. "I'll let you know when CPS gives us an appointment time. See what information you can get. Let one of the nurses know if you find out anything useful."
He took another step around Olivia and Elliot. "Let me know if I can help with anything." With that, he spun on his heel and walked away as quickly as he could without being obvious in his retreat.
"Elliot," Olivia scolded him.
"I know I know." He did know that his reaction was a little over the top, but it still felt justified. "But funding? Really? They're just gonna send her to some random family. She's traumatized. But all anyone is worried about is funding."
"But we aren't. Let's get in there so she's not alone and see if we can get her to talk a little. He said CPS wouldn't be here for a while yet. Her hand rested on his chest once more, this time in a gentle, affectionate gesture. "I need you to breathe. She will clam up if she senses how strung up you are. We will figure this out. Okay?"
He took a slow breath before nodding. She was right, of course. Steamrolling everyone wouldn't provide the outcome he wanted for this girl. He had to color within the lines for a little bit, and maybe they could work out a situation that would truly benefit Hannah.
"Okay. Yeah," he breathed the words out. Let's check in on her. I don't want her to be alone." His words echoed Noah's constant concern the day before. Something about the image of this petite girl nearly dead on the forest floor—alone—made him hesitant to leave her alone ever again.
-000-
Before entering Hannah's room, Olivia looked over the paperwork provided by the doctor. The only thing filled out was Hannah's name written in the doctor's scrawl. She blew out a sigh. The document was long, and she wasn't sure if she could get Hannah to give her a last name or even her birthday. Olivia made a mental decision to start with her last name. If they could get a last name, maybe they could look up birth records or school enrollment if she had ever attended. That felt like a good place to start.
Elliot reached for the handle and opened the door for her. When they entered the room, they found Hannah lying on her good side, stuffed dog tucked under her arm, and eyes unfocused, looking in the direction of the wall.
"Hey, Hannah," Elliot kept his volume down, but her head whipped around all the same.
Hannah didn't return the greeting, but her eyes softened, and Olivia took that as a sign that she didn't mind them being there.
Elliot brought a second chair to the bedside so they both could sit next to her and hopefully get her talking.
"Hi," Olivia said with a smile as she sat in the cushioned chair Elliot had pulled over. He took his place next to her but remained quiet, allowing her to take the lead.
Hannah didn't respond, but her attention was directed in Olivia's direction, which seemed like a good sign.
"Do you like dogs?" Olivia asked, gesturing to the stuffed animal tucked under her arm.
Hannah shrugged noncommittally, but her hold on the stuffed animal tightened.
"That one is pretty cute. Noah was worried you wouldn't like it, but I figured you would."
Hannah nodded. Olivia felt grateful that Hannah was communicating with them in any way, including gestures. Speaking would be ideal, but for now she would take what she could get.
"Hannah," she said gently. "We need to get some medical information from you so the doctors know how best to help you." Hannah's eyes widened a little. "Nothing too scary. Promise. We don't have to talk about anything you are uncomfortable about, okay?"
Hannah chewed her lip nervously before nodding.
"Good," Olivia gave Hannah a warm, reassuring smile. "We have your first name on the form, but we could use a last name."
Her eyes widen even further before she shook her head vigorously. That seemed like a basic enough question, but Olivia promised not to press her, so she continued on without skipping a beat. "How about your birthday?"
Hannah's eyes dropped. "I don't know." Her voice was heartbreakingly sad. "We…we didn't celebrate birthdays or anything."
Olivia's heart pounded nervously. She was talking, and Olivia knew she had to tread carefully in her attempts to keep the conversation flowing.
"That's okay. Don't worry." She scribbled the word fall in the corner of the paper. "How old are you?"
"I'm turning thirteen." Her voice lacked the excitement typical of a girl entering her teen years.
Olivia jotted the number thirteen in the corner of the paper. For a moment, she stared at the document and all of its blank spaces. It felt like a visual reminder of the air of mystery surrounding this girl. The more she thought about it, the more her gut told her to put the paper away.
Trusting that feeling, she passed the paper to Elliot, who lifted an eyebrow in question. "Put it somewhere," she instructed. She didn't want the pressure of filling out a form. She just wanted to talk, and maybe if she was lucky they could glean something useful in a more organic way.
Olivia leaned forward and clasped her hands together, resting them on her knee. "I want to try something. I want to ask you some questions, but it's only fair if you get to ask some questions in return." Olivia noted the glint of intrigue in Hannah's deep blue eyes. "You can ask me or Elliot anything. If anyone doesn't want to answer a question, we can pass."
Hannah considered the idea and eventually nodded. "Okay," she whispered.
"How about you go first?" Olivia suggested.
Hannah thought for a moment before her soft voice voiced her question. "Are you guys cops?"
Elliot chuckled beside her. "How'd you know?"
She shrugged. "You just look like cops. You told me she," her eyes drifted to Olivia, "helps a lot of women and kids, so I wondered if you were cops or social workers or something. You look more like cops than social workers."
"Yes," Olivia smiled. "We work with the NYPD."
Hannah showed some recognition about what that meant. She remained silent until Olivia realized it was her turn to ask a question.
She settled on something super benign. "What's your favorite color?"
"That's easy." Hanna lifted her wrist to show off the small teal bead attached to her bracelet. "Teal."
"Nice," Olivia said with approval. "Your turn."
"Why are you guys here? I'm pretty sure New York City is pretty far from here."
Olivia chuckled lightly and nudged Elliot with her knee. "Wanna answer that one?"
He smirked a little. "Well, Olivia wouldn't be anywhere near bugs, trees, and wild animals," she rolled her eyes, and he laughed in response. "But my boys like the outdoors. I brought them all out here for a fishing trip."
Hannah nodded. "That makes sense." She gave Olivia a look over before adding. "Yeah, you don't look like the outside type."
Elliot burst into laughter and Olivia smacked his arm. "He's laughing because you're right. I'm definitely a born and raised city girl."
"Not me," Hannah shook her head. "I've never been to a big city." She dropped her eyes on her hands. "Any city really."
Olivia's heart rejoiced. Hannah was providing information unprompted.
"So, you were born here then?" Olivia asked the question, fully anticipating that Hannah might dodge the question. To her surprise, Hannah answered honestly.
"I don't know. We never talked about stuff like that. I don't remember living anywhere else, but I don't know if I was born here or anything."
Olivia resisted the urge to cut in with a follow-up question and bit her tongue until Hannah asked, "You're both cops, but Noah looked like... I don't know. I guess I'm just asking if you guys are married or something."
Olivia felt her heart pounding. Hannah's innocent question felt anything but innocent considering Olivia had found a ring in a drawer only days before.
Elliot came to her rescue. "No. We're not married. We worked together for a long time. We've only been, uh, dating, I guess, for a year or so."
"I wondered. You seemed… I don't know." She shook her head, and they let the subject drop.
Olivia wanted to ask about her parents, but based on Hannah's hesitancy with talking about her family, Olivia tried a different angle.
"What do you like to do for fun? Do you have friends?" Olivia noticed Hannah's arm subconsciously tightening around the stuffed dog. For a moment Olivia thought Hannah would pass on the question, but to her surprise, Hannah answered.
"There's not a lot of time for fun stuff. Sometimes in the summer the days are a little longer so I can get chores done before it gets dark. I like making stuff. My…my sister..." her eyes filled with tears. "She liked braiding flower stems and clovers together."
"That sounds like it would be fun."
"I guess. I liked it because she liked it. It was fun when we did it together."
Olivia decided to push her luck. "What's your sister's name?"
Hannah's eyes focused intently on Olivi through her dewy tears. Olivia could see the wheels in her mind ticking as she tried to decide whether or not to trust a woman she had just met. Her eyes moved to Elliot, who appeared to be holding his breath, waiting for my response.
"Um. Rebekah. I uh, I always called her Bekah, you know, when uh, my parents weren't around. They were pretty strict about us, um, using our full names."
"Oh. I like that name."
"Me too," Hannah replied with an edge of sadness in her voice.
A knock on the door sent all eyes in the direction of the door. The handle clicked, and an unfamiliar face popped in.
"Is this a good time?" The woman moved fully into the room, and Olivia immediately noticed the ID attached to a colorful lanyard around the woman's neck. Child protective services. This woman was a social worker.