Page 164 of Nocere

"Stella, this is Rebecca. She's my…" I paused my introduction to correct myself. "Mom."

"We've met." Stella shook her hand. "But not as Rosie's mom. Good to see you."

"You, too. How's our girl in there?"

"I haven't seen her this stressed before. She snapped at me twice, told a nurse off, and is earning herself a shiny new resident bitch title as we speak. She won't let anyone touch her mother, including me. Which is a problem, as you can imagine," explained Stella. "Her mother tried to reason with her, but Sam won't have it."

"Is anyone else here with them?" I asked, drawing in a slow breath to steady myself.

"Just the two of them. We did the scans and blood work before Sam arrived on the unit, but we can't discharge Mrs. Flynn without a proper exam."

"Was she unreasonable when she got down here?" Rebecca asked this time and Stella shook her head.

"No. We managed to move Mrs. Flynn to one of the closed rooms instead of the curtained areas which seemed to help a little, and security is outside the door." Stella glanced around when a few nurses walked by. "Ainsley's mom is in the room with them for now. Rosie, Sam works here and I don't want people seeing her so upset."

"I understand. Let me go to her." I wrung my hands together then shook them out. "I can help."

"Okay." Stella nodded toward the nurse's station again and we headed back toward the main portion of the floor.

Every bed in the E.R. had a patient receiving treatment, and the sheer number of people had me swallowing down the thickness in my throat. Rebecca kept her hand on my shoulder and Stella held her hand up when we made to pass one of the beds.

"Eyes ahead, Rosie. This is a trauma E.D.," she said.

"Got it." I held my breath for a second until we arrived at a quieter portion at the far end of the hall.

Of the four rooms, only one had two security guards standing outside and right away I knew the issue. "Stell, you need to get the guards away from the door."

"I'm not sure they'll let me…"

"There are two white men with guns blocking their movements." Anger balled my fists as I imagined Sam's terror on the other side of that door. "She's not going to let anyone in that room and she won't leave it either."

"I didn't consider that." Stella bit her lip, then glanced over her shoulder. "Let me see what I can do."

"Let me talk to them," offered Rebecca. "I might be able to help."

"She doesn't like guns." I looked down to Rebecca's gear belt. She unfastened her side holster and slipped it into the back of her pants under her jacket. I nodded and resolved to let her handle the security. "I'm gonna go in while you two do that." I inhaled deeply then moved between the security guards who offered me polite smiles when Stella escorted me to the entryway.

I opened the door, and immediately saw Sam pacing a hole in the floor beside her mother's bed. She didn't see me at first, and I listened as Mrs. Flynn attempted to reason with her. Ainsley's mother, Faye, offered me a gentle, but sad smile as she stood by the foot of the bed. She didn't move or speak, and I gathered that Sam could tolerate only silence from her.

"Samirah," Mrs. Flynn said, her tone soft as she continued in Arabic afterward. As healthy as ever, she sat on the edge of the bed, her sneaker-clad feet hanging off as if ready to go. The only difference in her appearance belonged to the small splint on her left wrist.

"Sami," I called out once the door shut. It stopped her in her tracks and she gripped the center of her scrub top, her complexion ashen and her eyes glued to the floor. She was an inch from crumbling and I took a few steps toward her. "Baby, it's okay. Come here."

"Rosie, I'm glad to see you," said Mrs. Flynn. "She's very upset. I...I can't reason with her."

"I understand, Mrs. Flynn. I'm happy you're okay. Sam is very worried for you." I held my hands out to Sam as I approached her. "Honey."

"Snowman," she said, her voice cracking at the end.

"I know, baby. I want all of this to stop, too. The security guards are leaving now and we can go. Come here to me." I stopped in front of her, and her eyes shot to mine like flaming daggers soaring out of a dark sky. She choked on a sob and rushed me like she'd done the day we left her mother's house. "I got you." I held her head to my shoulder and Mrs. Flynn cupped her hands over her mouth as she watched us. Faye placed her hand on Mrs. Flynn's back and the two women shared a hand squeeze.

Sam attempted to lift me, but she shook too hard to do so. "Easy, honey. Take a breath with me." She nodded and followed my breathing for a few rotations. "Rebecca and Stella are outside now. Rebecca will keep us safe, right?"

She nodded and let out a slow exhale. She held my hands so tightly that her nails dug crescents into my skin. No tears streamed her cheeks, but her frozen expression and vast pupils spoke only of the fear she continued to harbor.

"They need to check on your mom, Sami, so they can send her home. We have to let them," I told her, pulling her back into a hug. She rested her chin on my shoulder, and slowly the tension in her arms began to release. "Ainsley's mom is here, right? She'll take care of your mom."

Sam glanced over to the auburn-haired woman who offered her a chipper smile. "You trust me, Sam," she said. "You always have."

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