Part 4

Paul eyes widened, and he snorted. There was no other way to describe it--as much as she wanted to give it a loftier name, Alex had to call it like she heard it. And she definitely heard a snort. Even worse, he started to laugh.

Now really. That's just rude.

"Well? Do you know her?"

Paul had a hard time meeting Alex's eyes. "No, no, it's nothing like that. I told you already that I'm here for you." He looked almost embarrassed. "The name was on Elkins' notepad. I did some reading while he was drilling you. He was so focused on getting a confession that I really don't think he noticed."

"Oh." She wished she had something more eloquent to respond with, but her mind was still reeling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the family he had pointed out earlier getting up from the couch. She watched them for a few seconds and then turned back to face him again. "How did you know they were going to leave so soon?"

She had to follow him over to the couch to hear his reply.

I spend more time running after this guy....

"The stuff. And the doctor. They had to have been here a while for all those toys to spread out like that. And the doctor was talking to them--that usually means a patient is leaving, or being transferred, or they can go visit or something."

Alex was quiet for a moment. Her brain was not just reeling, it was downright sluggish. And this was a lot for it to take in. "It sounds like you're done this before," she said, finally.

But before Paul could answer, Frank emerged from the big, locked, ER doors. He walked over and said, "She's in surgery now. The doctor will come and see you afterwards to give you an update. I'd say it'll probably be at least two hours before you hear anything." They nodded, and he went back to the desk, where a nervous looking woman was waiting for him.

As he walked away, Alex whispered, "But what kind of surgery is it?"

Paul hesitated before replying. "Well, as 'family', we should probably know already. I didn't think it would look right to ask. Anyway, we'll know when the doctor comes out."

Alex leaned back onto the couch and yawned. Again, information overload. "Yeah."

I am so lame.

Paul moved down to the far end of the couch. "Go ahead--sleep for a while. There's not a lot of other things to do. I'll wake you up when the doctor comes."

Alex nodded vaguely, and took off her shoes. I'm not going to argue with that.

She curled up on the couch, leaving just enough room for Paul at the other end. As her eyes began to close, she watched Frank lead the nervous woman away, then shut them completely as one last beam of light bounced off his head. She was fast asleep within minutes.

***

Alex's eyes snapped open, and her head un-snuggled from the pillow faster than she would have believed. Paul hand jumped from her shoulder just as quickly, and he crouched down beside her head.

"Sorry--I didn't mean to scare you. But the doctor's coming."

She rubbed her eyes, mumbling in slight confusion as she tried to sit up. She couldn't. Looking down at the couch, she saw the problem; she was tangled up in the blanket from her car.

How did that get here?

Books from her backseat were piled on the coffee table in front of her as well. It looked like Paul had made a trip to the parking lot while she slept.

Paul stood, realizing her predicament, and helped pull the blanket off, then sat down beside her. By that time, the doctor had arrived.

“I'm Dr. Fischer. You're here about Ms. Stromberg?”

Alex nodded as she examined him. He had short, short hair, and a goatee, both of which were light brown. He wore the usual nasty green scrubs, nametag, and stethoscope around his neck. His metal rimmed glasses kept sliding down his nose, so it was a constant struggle to keep them back as he peered down at the clipboard in his hands. His eyes did not appear to be particularly kind.

Dr. Fischer cleared his throat, then began. "Well, she's out of surgery--we wanted to get the baby into detox as soon as possible, so I ordered an emergency Caesarean. She was about 38 weeks along, so he should be fine, as long as he makes it through the next couple of days." He paused to flip over the top page of the chart. And she'll be...." he seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "...as well as she ever is within a few weeks. Her recovery from surgery may even keep her off the streets long enough to sober her up for a while. I assume child services will be coming for this baby as well?"

While Alex was not altogether surprised at what the doctor seemed to be saying, it still hit her like a sack of potatoes to the chest. With a throat still thick from her nap, she licked her lips and croaked out, "As well?"

The good doctor looked uncomfortable. "You didn't know? This is the second child she's had at our hospital, but I'd say there have been at least two more." He added, almost as an afterthought, "She ends up here fairly frequently--but no family has ever come before." He looked up from his notebook and peered at them closely for the first time. "How exactly are you related to her?"