Michael came through the door, hair still damp, smelling of soap and shaving cream. Jake followed closely behind. “Welcome back, Lacie,” he said with a smile. Lacie thought he looked tired, too, and realized that she was the source of his weariness as well. He lifted her lids – he had such a gentle touch – and peered into her eyes. “I’m Michael Callaghan. Do you remember me?”
She answered with a brief flutter of her eyelids, a slight movement of her head. Her fingers tried to grip the hand that held hers, filling her with warmth, but it was little more than a twitch.
“Good girl,” Michael praised. He felt her pulse, nodding. “Lacie, listen to me, sweetheart. Don’t try to talk; I want you to keep that mask on. Answer me with your eyes. One blink for yes, two for no. Can you understand what I’m saying?”
Another flutter.
“Excellent. You gave us quite a scare, but thankfully, you’re a lot stronger than you look.” He winked. Then his expression grew somber, but he kept his tone very soothing. “You had a hell of a lot of narcotics in your system, Lacie. In your weakened state, your body started shutting down. We’re flushing everything out, and you are doing beautifully. We’re going to have you hang out here for a while, make sure it’s all good.”
Michael proceeded to listen to her heart, then checked her reflexes with expert skill. “Okay, so here’s how it works. You rest. Period. We’ll take care of everything else. And if you feel any discomfort at all, you let us know. No heroics, no brave fronts. Got it?”
She blinked and nodded ever so slightly. Michael turned to Shane and grinned. “I wish all my patients were as accommodating as she is. I take it you’re staying?”
Shane nodded.
“Yeah, I thought so,” Michael said, but he didn’t seem annoyed. On the contrary, he seemed quite pleased. “We’ll bring in something more comfortable for you.”
“Mick...” Shane couldn’t find the words. Michael saved him the trouble. “Do me a favor, though. Eat something. And for God’s sake, take a shower, will you?”
Lacie’s eyes widened, but a quick glance showed Shane’s mouth twitching and Michael’s eyes dancing with amusement. She knew then that everything was going to be okay.
––––––––
The next day, Lacie was quietly discharged under Michael’s care. Officially, she had been treated for dehydration, exhaustion, and a few minor bumps and bruises incurred while on a hiking trip with friends. There was no reference to Craig or anything that happened while she was kept at the cabin. Lacie wondered vaguely what kind of influence Michael had to do that.
She was still weak, but remarkably improved. Michael said it would take a few weeks to start feeling normal again, at least physically. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be a recovering addict, but essentially, that’s what she was now.
The other stuff, well, that was even harder to deal with. No organic mix of detoxifying ingredients was going to help with that.
Rather than make the long ride back to Pine Ridge, they took Lacie to Kane’s cabin to give her a chance to rest and prepare before facing her family and the police back home. It was a plan for which Lacie was grateful. She needed to try to wrap her own mind around everything that happened before she could even hope to discuss it with anyone else.
Rebecca sat by Lacie’s side, adjusting her pillows and blankets, speaking in that quiet, gentle way she had. Michael suggested that Lacie might feel more comfortable speaking to her about the events that had occurred. So far she had spoken very little to any of them, other than to answer direct, medically relevant questions. She was content to simply hold Shane’s hand. When her eyes were open, they were on him and nothing else; she was afraid he would leave if she looked away.
*
Shane stepped out to give them some privacy, but promised Lacie he would be just outside in the next room. Only then did he lean against the wall and close his eyes. It was impossible to see it for anything but what it was: a gut wrenching pain that went so deep he wasn’t sure he would survive it. He ached for her, for what she had endured, for what was yet to come, vowing that he would do anything and everything in his power to make it easier for her.
He heard the murmurs of Rebecca’s soft, comforting voice through the door, knew she was addressing some of the more horrific events Lacie had been subjected to. Things he couldn’t bear to ask himself. While Rebecca wasn’t a doctor, she’d spent more than a decade in relief and aid organizations all over the world. She had seen more than her share of cruelty and violence, and the unmistakable air of kindness and serenity that surrounded her invited others to confide in her. There was no one Shane would have rather had with his croie.