“I want a Gatorade! What’s that?” Kate asked excitedly. It was obvious she was blissfully unaware of the situation, unlike Braden.
“Tell him we need two Gatorades. Now run! Please.” I tried to not freak him out, but I needed his little feet to get a move on.
I had scooped Raegan up with my injured arm and I knew if I tried to transfer her over, I would likely pull something. I walked slowly, trying to not jostle my burning shoulder in the process. When we made it inside, all eyes were immediately focused on us. Braden had likely just run past all of them and they were curious.
“Hey, what’s going on?” April, the desk clerk, asked softly.
“I think she’s having a low blood pressure episode.” My mom used to get spells like this sometimes, which was the only reason I had half a guess. I looked down at her and her eyes were open, but she seemed exhausted.
“Hey, Frank’s back there having lunch with his wife!” She perked up with this information but I gave her a look, wondering if I should give Frank a cookie for having a wife or for having one that would actually want to come see him. Why was April wasting my time? Her expression instantly flipped and she said, “His wife is an RN, sorry! I keep forgetting you don’t know what goes on around here anymore.”
“Oh, thank God! Grab her and bring her to Chief’s office for me.” I spoke to her over my shoulder as Kate and I made my way up the stairs. My dad’s office was the only one with a couch.
As I turned the corner toward his door, Charlie and Braden came barreling down the hallway with Gatorades in their hands. I knew Charlie kept a ton with him. He was always downing the yellow-colored sports drink. They all followed me into my father’s office and my Dad looked up at the sudden intrusion with wide eyes.
“What the hell did you do to her, son?” His words felt incriminating, but his tone told me otherwise.
“I think it’s her blood pressure.”
“Move, please,” a soft elderly voice called out. I looked up as I placed Raegan on the couch and watched a little old lady with white hair part the crowd with authority. She carried a large bag in her arms.
Frank walked in behind her and placed a chair in front of the couch for his wife to sit on. I knelt down in front of Raegan, offered her the Gatorade, and she lazily sipped at it. I heard Charlie behind me explain to the kids how he had envelopes in his office that they could put stamps on for him. I knew he was just trying to be nice by getting the kids out of the way, but I didn’t want Kate out of the way.
“Leave them here, Charlie,” I said without turning around.
“She’ll be okay, my office is the next door over.”
“She’s fine here.” My voice was final.
“Actually, if we could get the psych evaluations going, it would move this process along for all three of them,” my dad said from where he still sat at his desk.
“I don’t know…” I hesitated. “I think we should wait for Raegan to be fully present.”
“The counselor will need to speak with them individually so it will take a lot of time, son. They’ll be okay. Her office is across the hall.”
I turned to look at both children standing against the wall with their little hands clasped together. They had already been through so much, but I knew they didn’t really understand any of it. I got up, leaving Raegan with the nurse. I looked back at her and then back at the kids. Why was I getting so caught up in all three of them? My sole focus was on Kate, but I wouldn’t lie and say Raegan and Braden weren’t creeping under my skin as well.
“Hey guys, remember how Raegan explained we were all gonna have to talk to a nice lady today? Well, I think it’s time to do that while Rae takes a little nap. I wish one of us could go in with you, but you’ll be fine. You can color pictures and she might even have some paint.” Both of their faces perked up at the mention of drawing pictures. “We will be right here when you get out, okay? And if you don’t want to talk anymore, just come right back here to me.”
“I’ll go!” Kate excitedly called out.
“No, Kate. I’ll go first. Mama needs you to help her get better,” Braden said. Kate happily complied and scampered across the room toward Raegan.
I squatted down in front of Braden. “That’s awfully brave of you,” I told him.
“I need to go first to make sure it’s okay for Kate.” He shrugged his shoulders casually.
“You’re a great brother, Braden.” It was hard for me to say that word. I still couldn’t call Raegan Kate’s mother, but I had to remember this was all they knew. I pushed out my clenched fist in his direction. He stared at it in confusion. “When guys agree on something or they respect each other, they bump their fists together.” He reached his closed fist out and lightly tapped mine. “Thank you for protecting her.”
I stood up and ushered him to the doorway. The psychologist was standing in her doorway observing our little talk. She smiled warmly and gestured for him to enter her bright, friendly room. I’d had many victims and their children go in there in the past. The Victims Service Unit offered crisis counseling and sought to make their occupants feel comfortable enough to divulge information.
“Hey, don’t pressure him to talk, okay? He’s real quiet.” She nodded her head with a smile. In that moment, I wished that I knew more about Braden—something I could contribute to give him an easier time. This is why we should have waited for Raegan. “If he seems at all upset or uncomfortable, I want him to come out. Immediately. I also don’t think you’ll get much. As far as I can tell, Raegan kept the whole situation from them.”
“I would never pressure anyone, Mr. Parker,” she responded.
She shut her door, closing her and Braden off from the rest of us, and I felt a pang in my gut. Raegan would want to know her son was in there, and I didn’t like him being separated from the rest of us. I’m not sure where this pack mentality of mine had suddenly come from, but I was feeling like pieces of me were scattered when we weren’t all together. I liked it better when we were all locked away in the hotel room.
“What happened here?” Frank’s wife asked, breaking up my new and scary thoughts. I watched as she pulled a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope out of her bag.
Quickly, I explained everything I knew and then I had to ask, “You carry all this medical stuff around with you?”
“You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had to use these outside of the hospital. Besides, I was just on my way to Lutheran Med for my shift, so I like to keep all my belongings with me.”
“I’m glad you do,” I whispered.
“Can you elevate her legs for me?”
I immediately complied, using my duffel bag to prop her feet up on the couch. It was weird to see someone like this. Raegan was awake, but she wasn’t taking in her surroundings so it was like she wasn’t fully there. I was glad she was at least conscious enough to drink the Gatorade to replenish some of her minerals. I felt dad and Charlie hovering behind me, trying to glance over my shoulder. Kate leaned up against the wall close to the couch, trying to closely observe everyone helping.
I dug around in Raegan’s backpack and pulled out all of the medicine bottles with her name on them. I handed them to the lady next to me, explaining how Raegan had said she missed taking them this morning. As she read the different labels, I didn’t miss the distinct ‘hmmph’ sound she made at a certain bottle.
With a quick twist, she had the top off and poured two white tablets into her wrinkled hand. “Get her to take these, please.”