***
“How’s Scarlett doing this afternoon? Do you think she’ll be able to leave here tomorrow?”
Sergio grimaced at David’s question. “A few hours ago I would have said nothing and nobody was going to prevent that girl from walking out of this place tomorrow, whether you authorized it or not. She was feisty and determined and stubborn as hell. But now - well, it’s pretty obvious something’s wrong. She refuses to talk to me, didn’t eat a bite of her lunch, and she’s curled up in bed staring at the wall like she’s half comatose or something. I’ve teased, begged, threatened, tough loved her. Nothing. Like talking to a brick wall. Maybe you’ll have more success. Good luck, Doc. You’ll need it with Miss Congeniality in there.”
David frowned as he knocked briefly on the opened door to Scarlett’s room before walking inside.
“Hi, Scarlett,” he began cheerfully. “I wanted to see how you were feeling this afternoon, figure out if we could maybe spring you from this place tomorrow. But Sergio tells me you’re not feeling well, that you didn’t eat any lunch. Want to tell me what that’s all about?”
There was no response from the small lump curled up in the bed, the bedding hiding all but the top of her rumpled red gold head. She was turned away from him facing the windows, but he could tell from the slight movements of her body that she wasn’t sleeping. Sighing, he carried a chair over to the side of the bed she was facing, realizing that Sergio hadn’t been kidding about how tough this was going to be.
“I’m going to tell you right now that I’ll keep bugging you until you tell me the truth,” he cautioned. “For once I’ve got nothing else on my schedule for the rest of the day, just some paperwork to get caught up on that I’d really rather not go through. So, as the saying goes, resistance is futile, Scarlett. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong.”
There was a small shrug of her shoulder, but she kept her face turned into the pillow. “I don’t care,” she mumbled.
“Okay,” he agreed easily. “But you should know that you’re not going anywhere either until you tell me what’s bugging you. If you’re not eating, and you keep exhibiting signs of a major depression like this, I could very easily keep you in this hospital for another week. At least.”
That got an instant reaction from her, as she flung off the bedcovers and surged upright into a sitting position. Her hair was a wild tangle of curls, and her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes spitting fire. But as pissed off as she looked, David was also well aware that she’d been crying - a lot, judging from the reddened whites of her eyes, and the dried traces of tears on her cheeks.
“You can’t do that,” she hissed. “You promised I wouldn’t have to stay more than a couple of nights.”
He leaned back in his chair leisurely. “That was before all this.” He waved a hand around the room. “Before you refused to eat lunch, or communicate with your nurse, or do much of anything but stare at the walls for a few hours.”
He reached out and placed a gentle hand on her forearm. “And before you were sad or upset enough to cry your eyes out. I’m guessing that wasn’t from the pain, because you could have easily asked Sergio for something to help with that. How is the pain today?”
Another shrug. “Better than yesterday,” she admitted, her voice still hoarse from the anesthesia tube. “I overdid it awhile ago with walking a little too far, but that’s not the reason I was crying.”
David arched a brow. “As I said, I’ve got all day, Scarlett. The longer you keep holding me off, the longer you have to stay right here. So tell me, hmm?”
She sighed, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her shins, her chin propped on her forearms. “It’s stupid, really. I don’t even know why I cried or felt sad. Maybe the meds are messing with my hormones or something.”
“Maybe. But I don’t think that’s the real reason. Do you?”
Scarlett turned her head towards the doorway, as though unable to look him in the eye. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. “I did something sort of dumb,” she admitted. “I went for a second walk before lunch, didn’t tell Sergio or anyone, just slipped out when no one was watching. I - I went up to the ICU department.”
David was startled at this confession. “Why in the world would you have felt compelled to do something like that?” he queried. “Not to peek in at Hannah, I would hope? I mean, you already knew she was being kept in isolation. Not even her own family is being allowed in to see her right now and - ah. Now I understand.”
She snuffled loudly. “I was careful not to be seen,” she told him in a small voice, sounding like a little girl who’d been caught doing something naughty. “They were all sitting in the waiting room. Ten of them in all. All just sitting around waiting to hear any news about Hannah, even though they already knew they couldn’t see or talk to her. They were just simply there. To support her, even if she wasn’t aware. Because they loved her and were worried about her. Because they were her family. And it occurred to me yet again that I didn’t have anyone waiting to see me. That the only people who had even bothered to check on me were my boss and my former foster mothers. People who aren’t even related to me. And I guess I just felt really alone, more so than normal. And I know it’s sort of mean, but I couldn’t help feeling jealous of Hannah, in spite of how sick she is. Especially after I saw all those gifts people had sent her.”
David frowned. “What gifts? She’s absolutely not supposed to have anything in her room.”
“She doesn’t. At least, that’s what the nurses who were putting some of her gifts into this storage closet or room were saying. I happened to walk by as they were adding more presents to the pile. They said they’ve never had a patient who received so many gifts - flowers and balloons and all these gift baskets and stuffed animals and stuff. Like this pink pony that was almost as big as me.”
Tears started trickling silently down her cheeks, and she looked so miserable that his heart felt like it was being broken in two at the sight of her.
“I really wanted that pony,” she whispered brokenly. “Stupid of me, I know, given that I’m a grown woman. But I never had nice stuff like that when I was a kid, and for some reason I’ve been fixated on that damned pink pony for hours now. Especially after I got back here and realized I didn’t even have a fucking get well card or a single daisy, while Hannah has a whole room full of stuff. And I know she’s real sick, and I feel so bad for her, but, well, I - ”
“Feel bad for yourself, too,” finished David sorrowfully. “Oh, Scarlett, I’m so sorry that you had to see all that. Not just Hannah’s pile of presents but the family all assembled there. I take it your um - Neil hasn’t stopped by to see how you are? Or to thank you?”
She snorted in disbelief. “Hell, no. My guess is that now he’s gotten what he wants for the daughter he cares about, he’s once again conveniently forgotten that his other daughter even exists. I didn’t expect him to care, though. Or to stop by or even call. I stopped being disappointed by my father a long, long time ago.”