***
At the ER, the nurses quickly realized that if they were going to adequately assess Lucy for any injuries—she had none, but they wouldn’t take the word of a civilian—they’d need to allow her to shower first. Which was just fine with her. It felt so good getting all the goo out of her hair and sluiced from her body. When she emerged, the nurses had taken all her dirty clothes but left her a clean pair of scrubs and a bag with all her belongings.
Feeling like a refugee, barefoot and soaking wet, Lucy limped down the hall to the waiting area, her ankle screaming for mercy.
Screams that were immediately stifled when she saw Megan waiting for her. She rushed to hug her tight. “Are you all right?”
The question was a mother’s reflex. Megan laughed, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Me? You’re the one who went swimming with gators.”
Neither of them mentioned the humans armed with guns—mundane danger compared to alligators.
“Is Mateo okay?” Lucy asked. The nurses wouldn’t tell her anything, FBI agent or not. And none of Mateo’s family were in the waiting room, which could be a good sign or a bad one.
“He’s fine. They said he was drugged with ketamine. He’s a bit dehydrated, they want to watch him overnight. The pastor’s really sick, but they said he’ll make it. And Chief Hayden is in surgery, something about a brain injury and swelling. I’m not sure about her.”
Lucy didn’t have much sympathy for the chief. She understood about putting your family first, but Hayden had also sworn to protect and serve innocents like Mateo.
“Gant told me what you did, deciding to trust him, sending him to help.”
Megan looked up, a guarded expression on her face. “I had to decide if he was one of the good guys or not—had to trust my gut since I didn’t have anything else to go on.” She blew her breath out, her shoulders sagging. “It was hard, Mom. Really, really hard. If I was wrong, he could have killed you.”
Could have killed Megan as well. Lucy squeezed her tighter. “You did good. I’m proud of you.”
They separated and Megan nodded to the plastic bag in Lucy’s hand. “Is my phone in there? Hope it’s okay because Dad said to call him.”
As Lucy fished in the bag for the phone, Megan pulled her down the hall. “Mateo and his family wan to see you, say thanks.”
Despite Lucy’s slow, stumbling gait—she was half tempted to borrow a cane from the ER—Megan practically danced beside her, obviously still high on adrenaline.
“You know,” Megan continued, “Officer Gant said they’d need a new police chief after all this. Said you’d be perfect for the job.”
Ahh… was this what had Megan so excited? “Would you want to move here, so far away from your friends?”
Megan considered it. “No. I mean, it’s nice here and all, but I’d be bored. And Chief Hayden seemed like she worked like all the time—I want you to spend more time with me and Dad, not less. Besides, if you were chief in a small town like this, all the kids would know it—it’d be worse then you sending me to a convent!”
Lucy stifled her chuckle. “Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“Yeah, right. But seriously, Mom, I know you’re not happy with the way your job is now. You can’t let the FBI keep you behind a desk—it’s making you miserable.”
“You’d want to stay in Pittsburgh, right?” They pretty much had to with Nick’s job. “That’d be okay with you?”
“Sure. My friends are all there and my soccer team and I like my school. Wait. Did you find a job somewhere else? You didn’t turn it down just because of me?”
Oh, to be fourteen and have the world revolve around you. Lucy stopped and smiled at her daughter. She reached a hand to tame one of Megan’s wayward curls.
“I would have, if it came to that. Your and Dad’s happiness mean more to me than any job.” It hurt to say the words; Lucy had always believed her job was who she was, not just what she did. But she finally understood—Hayden was wrong. She’d thought it had to be either/or, family or protect and serve the community who trusted her with their lives.
There were other ways to serve. And she didn’t have to carry a badge to do it. But before she could devote herself to anyone else, she needed to take care of herself and her family.
“I have a few options. We’ll talk more when we get home,” she told Megan. “But you’re right. I’m miserable behind a desk. It’s time to leave the FBI and move on.”
Megan nodded with a wisdom greater than her years. “I think you’re doing the right thing. Remember what Grams always said, every new beginning is the start of a new adventure.”