Page 59 of Pain
Bryon's phone rang, and he glanced at Matt as he looked at who was calling. "It's Beau." He answered the call, nodding as he listened to whatever was being said. When he hung up, he looked back at Matt. "She's at the hospital. Beau has seen her, but not examined her. He verifies it's Faith. She's alert and scared, but he said she has no visible injuries as of now."
Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, for a moment, hoping that no visible injuries might mean she hadn't been…. He shook his head. He'd seen the pictures. He knew she had been abused. Just because they couldn't see them didn't mean there weren't injuries. He was sure once she was examined they would find some.
He hated the thought of his ten-year-old daughter having to go through the exams that she would have to. No child should ever have to be put through that. He wondered if they could knock her out before doing anything.
"He's waiting for them to officially call him in to examine her and will call once he knows anything more," Bryon told him.
"What if they don't call him in?"
"Only a handful of doctors are trained in handling child sexual assault cases. Beau is one of them. Since he's there, it makes sense they'd just have him help instead of calling another doctor in," Carter said.
Matt nodded. "I want to see her."
"I know you do, but if you go running in there, they are going to wonder how you knew. They'll investigate you for what Xander and Kasey did. It's too big a risk. We have to wait." Dyson pulled another water out of the fridge.
"Grab me one," Xander asked.
"Me too." Kasey stepped into the kitchen.
It was nearly an hour before Matt's phone finally rang. He picked it up on the second ring, hoping he could keep his voice level and not give away that he already knew they had his daughter. "Hello?"
"Mr. Springton, this is Detective Michaels. We've found Faith. She is at Children's Hospital right now. Can I send someone to pick you up?"
Matt's heart pounded. "You found her? Is she okay?"
"Doctors are examining her now. She is alert and is asking for you. I can have a car pick you up in ten minutes."
"No, that is okay. I have a friend here who can drive me." He looked up at Xander, who nodded.
"Just come into the emergency room and ask for me. We can go from there." The detective hung up.
Matt struggled to stay standing. Hearing the detective say she was there made it all real. Not that he didn't trust the team, but having the police call him meant he could be with his daughter. After months of worrying about her, she'd be back in his arms. He swore he'd never let her go again.
"You'll drive me?" He looked at Xander even though he'd already gotten an answer.
"Anything you need." Xander continued to stay right by his side.
"What do you need from us?" Bryon asked as Matt started for the door.
"Nothing now, you guys have all done enough. Thank you. I'll pay you back somehow, but right now, I just need my daughter." Matt walked out the door, not looking back.
Xander had the car unlocked by the time they got to it, and once inside, neither said a word. Matt was glad because his mind was racing, and he didn't know what to say about everything anyway.
He'd imagined this moment for so long, but now that it was really happening, he had no idea what he was supposed to do or say. How was he supposed to help Faith heal from everything she'd gone through? How was he supposed to be enough to let her know that it would never happen again?
Xander lit a cigarette, occasionally glancing over at him. "Are you okay?"
"Scared to death. What do I say to her?"
"How about a simple I love you. I bet that's what she needs to hear more than anything."
Matt nodded. "I should have thought and grabbed her zebra. I didn't think about grabbing anything for her."
"Do you want to tell me what to grab and I can go get it and bring it back? They'll probably keep her for a few days for evaluation," Xander asked.
"Would you mind? I don't want to have to leave her."
"Of course, I don't mind. Reach in the glovebox, there's a pen and paper in there. Write down what you'll need, both for her and you." Xander stopped at a red light. "I want you both as comfortable as you can be."
