daylight's dying, run, baby, run, baby, run

[caughtinyourtangles]

Brooklyn had seen lots of scary things but she'd never been as scared as she was right now. 

Joey had been her friend and he'd tricked her and lied to her and she didn't know why. The man in the van had stuck a needle in her arm and it still hurt and itched and it had made her fall asleep for a long time and when she woke up her head had hurt so bad. She'd been in a cold and dirty basement and she'd heard people arguing upstairs. 

There was a yucky old table downstairs and an even yuckier bed that had spider webs under it, but she hid there anyway. It was really cold and she was getting hungry. She'd tried to be brave and find a way out by pushing the table against the wall and climbing up to the tiny widows that were way up there but she couldn't reach, and then she'd fallen down and cut her knee and it hurt. 

Eventually she'd just fallen asleep. 

When she woke up again, she heard more voices.

Different voices than before. They weren't mad, they were just talking. One was a lady, who sounded nice, like a teacher. The other was deeper but not mean sounding, just stern--also kind of like a teacher, or maybe a principal. 

Like before she crept up to the door so she could hear what they were saying, being careful to avoid the third step from the top because it creaked. She wasn't doing very good at being brave, like a Gryffindor, but she was being smart, like a Ravenclaw. 

She mostly heard mutterings at first, like they were a few rooms away, and only caught a sentence here and there--You're sure this is the place from the video?...the camera would've been in that corner...look at the dust over here--disturbed recently?--and she bit her lower lip trying to decide if they were nice people who might help her or just more of the bad people from before. Maybe she should hide again, maybe--

The top step creaked beneath her foot as she backed away from the door.

With a sharp gasp, Brooklyn hurried down the stairs, only slightly hobbled by her injured knee, and flung herself under the bed, as a flashlight beam turned in the direction of the basement door. 

On the other side of which, at the end of the hallway, Alex Reagan had felt her stomach attempt to leap up into her chest and had flung her hand out to grab Richard Strand's arm--looking, for a moment, like one of those reaction images snapped in haunted houses. Not only had she distinctly heard a creak, and what sounded like a frightened gasp, but there had been movement under the shadows of the door. 

Comments

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard's hand lifted to cover the hand now clinging to his arm, staring at the door where the sound had emanated from. It had startled him...but once the initial leap of his heart subsided, he easily calmed himself.

Because he'd caught the faint sound of footsteps behind that closed door--small, skittering steps that he only heard because they struck a primal chord in the back of his head, touched his lizard brain and ignited something other than fear in his chest.

He wasn't surprised Alex hadn't caught it--she'd never had children.

Still conscious of a possible threat, he lifted his hand to put a finger to his lips for Alex's benefit, then carefully dislodged her hand from his arm and urged her to take a step or two back, keeping her behind him.

Approaching the door quietly, Richard did his best to check the knob in silence...open. Turning it, he shone his light ahead of them when he found no one behind it.

More certain of their safety, he beckoned Alex to follow him and started down the stairs as he called out.

"We're not here to hurt you! I'm a doctor, I can help you."

[caughtinyourtangles]

Alex felt silly for it, but she tucked in close behind him and kept her free hand balled up in the back of Richard's coat, the other still holding her phone out to record...whatever was about to happen.

The steps down the stairs were steady and cautious, and Brooklyn crowded in even tighter under the bed, trying to make herself as small as possible. Grown-ups lied a lot...but lies felt like bee stings, sharp and then numb. This felt like holding cold things until it made your fingers ache--they were scared and they were worried and they weren't lying. They didn't want to hurt her.

Cautiously, Brooklyn edged her way to the end of the bed and peeked around the bedpost--then flinched and darted back when the light of the flashlight fell on her, though it was enough of a glance for them to see one hazel green eye, a smudged face, and a tangle of light brown hair.

"Oh my God," the lady breathed softly--less scared coming off of her and more shock, like pops of grease when you fry bacon.

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard fumbled behind him to put his hand on Alex’s shoulder, squeezing it to urge her not to say anything else. His gaze stayed focused on the spot where that bedraggled little face had been. That same visceral instinct ignited, filling him with a pure, burning rage that felt like it was charring his insides.

He wished he believed in Hell. Some people deserved to burn.

“It’s okay—you’re safe.” He assured her, reaching the bottom of the stairs and shifting the flashlight beam to make sure he didn’t shine it in her eyes if she stuck her head out again. “I told you, I’m a doctor. Doctors have to make a promise that says as much, did you know that?”

He passed the light to Alex carefully, then moved slowly towards the bed. He made sure his footsteps made noise as he came to a stop about two feet from the bed and sank into a crouch.

“They swear an oath to do no harm, actually. It’s much more serious than a promise. And I can’t break it—my friend over here is watching very carefully. I would get in trouble...her name is Alex by the way, and I’m Dr. Strand.”

[caughtinyourtangles]

Brooklyn bit at her chapped lower lip, gnawing at the dry skin until she tasted the metally taste that meant she was bleeding a tiny bit, but her lips were too cold to really feel the sting much. With the flashlight she could see faces a little better, at least Dr. Strand's face. He had glasses and blue eyes and he was older and he looked like a doctor. She couldn't see Alex as well, but she could tell long hair and glasses and she thought she might be pretty.

"Do you got an identification?" she asked a bit weakly, scooting over to the edge of the bed but still keeping the leg of it between herself and Dr. Strand.

[extremelyfrustrating]

...oh.

There was something about that little voice, that dirty face—and she was asking for ID. She was scared and sharp as a tack, and it left him feeling raw inside.

“I sure do.” He replied for a nod, reaching slowly into his back pocket. “I just need to get my wallet, okay? It’s right here...”

Tugging out his wallet, he pulled out his driver’s license and slid it towards her before drawing his hand away.

“There you are. That’s me in the picture, see?”

[caughtinyourtangles]

It was what her teachers always said to do. Not to believe anyone was a police officer or anything until you saw their badge. Doctors have badges at hospitals but he wasn't at the hospital. Brooklyn picked up the little plastic card and studied it in thoughtful silence for a moment.

"Your hair's different..." Less shiny but he was probably just younger in the picture. "I think that's okay, though...Ms. Tabarly the social worker looks different in the picture on her badge."

Still hesitant, Brooklyn did finally edge her way out from beneath the bed, her dark blue jumper covered with dust and cobwebs and the right knee of her tights torn and bloodied, an ugly looking lump raised up on her knee. She looked from Dr. Strand to Alex, who she could see better now and she was pretty, and smiling in that way grown-ups smile when they're sad inside but trying not to show it. "Are...are all the bad people gone?"

[extremelyfrustrating]

"Yes, they are." he replied, his throat tightening briefly with a mixture of horror and guilt. He'd been disturbed by the news of Sebastian's abduction, but...it hadn't hit him like this. It hadn't grabbed his heart and ripped...

He hadn't seen Charlie in that little boy.

"They're gone, and they're not coming near you ever again." he assured her, offering her his hand. He filed away the mention of the social worker in the back of his head, more focused on the nasty lump on her knee at the moment. "Alex and I, we want to get you out of here. Get you cleaned up, fix your knee..."

He bit back a smile when he caught the tiny sound of a gurgling stomach in the quiet of the room.

"...and maybe get you something to eat. Do you like hamburgers? Pizza, perhaps?"

[caughtinyourtangles]

Brooklyn bit her lower lip but placed her hand in Dr. Strand's hand and let him help her up. She wobbled, quite a lot, wincing from her knee and from the way her head hurt real bad, like things beating on the inside of it. "I'm really hungry. And really thirsty."

While Richard pulled the little girl up, Alex shifted the flashlight and her phone from hand to hand so she could pull her arms out of the sleeves of her coat, then eased in cautiously and draped the battered brown leather around Brooklyn's little shoulders, enveloping her in instant warmth.

Brooklyn hadn't even realized how cold she was until the lady, Alex, gave her her coat, and she stuck her arms into the sleeves and huddled up inside the too-big draping of leather. It was a really cool looking coat, too, like people wear in magazines or on TV. "Thank you," she said quietly, offering Alex a hesitant smile, which Alex returned without a drop of hesitation.

"You're welcome...sweetheart, can you tell us your name?"

Brooklyn chewed her lower lip, looking from Alex to Richard--she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. But they were nice. She could tell. "Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eleanor Manners."

"It's so nice to meet you, Brooklyn," Alex replied gently, helping her untuck her hair from the collar of the jacket. "Do you know how many days you've been here?" She glanced behind her, then pointed up at the slivers of windows. "Could you tell how many times the sun went down and came back up?"

Brooklyn frowned, resumed gnawing at her lower lip. "Well...It was day when Joey pushed me into the van, and then when I woke up, it was dark...and then it got day again and I heard the bad people yelling...and then it got night again and I fell asleep. Then it was day again and I heard you and Dr. Strand and I didn't know if you were more bad people or not, so I hid."

"So maybe two days?" Alex prodded gently, her smile still in place, but Brooklyn could feel other things behind it, things that tasted like metal and batteries on her tongue. "And...have you had anything to eat or drink since Joey pushed you in the van?"

"Just some water," Brooklyn replied, and she heard Alex sigh quietly in relief. "There was a bottle of water next to the bed. I wasn't gonna drink it cause I didn't know if it was okay but I got really thirsty."

[extremelyfrustrating]

Strand took advantage of Alex's conversation and fussing to check Brooklyn's knee, gently wrapping one hand around her leg to lightly probe the space behind and test the swelling with careful pressure.

"You did exactly the right thing, Brooklyn." he assured her once he was done, withdrawing his hand and offering her a small smile of his own. "That was incredibly smart. You're very brave and very clever--just like Harry Houdini."

Looking her in the eye, he reached out to gently try to smooth her tangled hair back from her forehead.

"And you've just made a daring escape from danger, like he used to do." he finished, then glanced at Alex. "Knee's a little swollen. Might have twisted it, but nothing's broken. I think the scrape and bruising is the worst of it."

[caughtinyourtangles]

Brooklyn winced a little at the probing, but she was obviously trying hard to put on a brave face and not cry out. "I fell down," she explained. "After I pushed the table over to try and get out the window. I wasn't tall enough and I fell and I tore my tights." Her chin wobbled a little. "I tried hard to get out, I really did. Am I gonna be in trouble?"

"No," Alex insisted immediately. "No, you're not gonna be in trouble. We're gonna get you somewhere safe, okay? Can you carry her?" she added to Richard in an undertone, standing up and getting out her phone. It didn't look like an ambulance was necessary, but this had clearly been a kidnapping, and the police would have to be notified. They could meet them at the hospital.

"I am gonna be in trouble," Brooklyn insisted quietly to Richard when Alex was on the phone, her little shoulders sagging beneath the shape of Alex's jacket. "I'm not supposed to leave the courtyard but Joey's my friend and he said he found a lost cat and Cathy will be mad at me for going with him and I tore my tights and my dress is dirty and she's gonna be really, really mad."

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard answered simply by shifting forward, opening his arms until Brooklyn stepped closer so he could scoop her up. Standing, with Brooklyn cradled against his chest, that raw feeling returned. An open wound, salted with a fury he hadn't felt in so many years...

"Brooklyn? Look at me." he instructed gently as he nodded for Alex to follow him up the stairs. "Look at my face: you are not in any trouble, and you won't be in any trouble. If someone says differently, I will talk to them. You were tricked, and that's not your fault. People can be tricked all the time, smart and careful people. Big, strong, powerful people. I know this, it's my job to know. I find people who trick others, and I make sure the world knows they're out there."

As they reached the top, Richard debated with himself for a moment, glanced at Alex over his shoulder...then turned back to Brooklyn.

"Can you tell me about Joey? So I can make sure people know he tricks little girls?"

[caughtinyourtangles]

"I thought doctors helped people when they were sick or hurt," Brooklyn replied, her brow furrowing with immediate suspicion. But the truth was, she felt safer being carried by Dr. Strand and being huddled up in Alex's coat than she could ever remember feeling before. After a moment, her expression smoothed out. "He used to live in my building. He's a big kid--he goes to high school. He's always been really nice to me even though everyone says he's a bad kid who gets in trouble a lot."

She felt stupid for being tricked; usually she knew better, but Joey was a kid, like her. Other kids didn't usually lie to her like grown-ups did. She should've paid better attention. She bit her lower lip and looked up at Alex a few steps ahead of them while she talked on the phone in a low, urgent voice. She wasn't stupid, she knew she was probably talking to the policemen. "Is Joey gonna get arrested? What about the bad men?"

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard had the good sense to look just slightly sheepish at getting caught. It seemed that he was forgiven fairly quickly, however, surprising him with her willingness to share information. It also broke his heart a little, just how perceptive she was. She had a sharp eye—she was smart, and it was physically painful to him knowing she was just going to end up back in the system once this was all over with...

“If there was any justice in the world, Joey would be tarred and feathered—and those bad men would suffer far worse.” Richard replied honestly as he watched Alex on the phone while they emerged from the house. “I have no tolerance for people who would hurt children.”

And without thinking, Richard found himself holding onto Brooklyn just a little bit tighter.

[caughtinyourtangles]

Brooklyn didn't know what tarred and feathered meant, but it sounded like a bad thing. She was sad about it because Joey had been her friend and even though he'd tricked her and she still didn't want bad things to happen to him.

She sniffled softly and put her head down on Richard's shoulder; after being scared for so long she was really, really tired all of the sudden.

Still on the phone, Alex hurried over to the car and opened the back door so Richard could load the little girl inside. "The police are gonna meet us at Children's," she informed him quietly, referring to a local pediatric emergency room. "I'm trying to call ahead so they--yes, I'm still here." Her tone shifted as she stepped away and circled the car, someone having clearly taken her off hold. "Uh-huh. Great. Okay. Thank you. We'll be there as soon as we can. You should sit with her," she added, her voice softening again as she hung up. "I'll drive."

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard settled Brooklyn into the car, straightening to face Alex just as she was getting off the phone.

“Good.” He agreed, fishing the keys out of his pocket and setting them in Alex’s hand—pausing to give her fingers a brief squeeze, part gratitude simply for her presence, and to get her attention.

“Regardless as to what you’re told, don’t stop recording anything.” He instructed quietly. “You can’t use it for your show, but we can use it to keep her safe. Promise me.”

[elevencalls]

The latter request didn't surprise Alex at all, but the former one did, and it showed in the way Alex's eyebrows lifted for a moment. Instinctively she wanted to argue, as she always did, but seeing that tired, smudged little face through the car window was more than enough of a convincing argument to persuade her.

"I promise." Her thumb skimmed lightly over Richard's fingers for a moment before she took her hand back and climbed into the driver's seat.

When Richard climbed into the back, he found Brooklyn studying him curiously. For a moment she'd felt a really nice feeling, like eating your favorite food ever and going to bed in your favorite pajamas with a full belly. A squishy and warm feeling. "Is Alex your girlfriend?" she whispered, leaning over as far as the seatbelt would allow and shielding her mouth with her hand.

[extremelyfrustrating]

The question caught Richard by surprise--and they way she delivered it was absolutely precious, nearly making him crack a smile.

Maintaining his composure, he frowned as he tried to figure out how to address it. Obviously, she wasn't...and yet Richard couldn't quite bring himself to say it out loud. It was absurd, but...

"She's not my girlfriend, but she is my very good friend." he finally replied, meeting Alex's gaze in the rear view mirror. He still wasn't smiling, but there was a little bit of a twinkle in his eye before he faced Brooklyn again.

"I might even go so far as to say she's my best friend. Besides Ruby, of course." Then he added, without even thinking...

"You'll meet her later."

[caughtinyourtangles]

Not having heard Brooklyn's whispered question, Alex was taken aback by the announcement that she was not only not Richard's girlfriend, but one of his best friends. Surprised even more by the remark that Brooklyn would meet Ruby, at some undisclosed point in the future. She wasn't sure what to do with any of that information.

Brooklyn brightened a little, both at Alex's unspoken response (warm and fizzy, like cotton candy melting on her tongue, sour-sweet surprise) and the name Ruby which was very cool, because it was the name of one of the Crystal Gems. "Brooklyn, can you tell us anything about the bad people?" Alex prodded gently once they'd pulled away from the crumbling abandoned house and were back on more well travelled roads. "Did you hear anything, did you see anyone you could describe...?"

Brooklyn frowned, biting at her lower lip. "Well...I couldn't see them very good in the van. They put a needle in my arm and I went to sleep really fast. I couldn't see them in the house cause they left me in the basement and the door was stuck, but there were a bunch of voices and they were mad. A bunch of them said bad words and yelled a lot. One of them didn't, but he was scarier."

"How?" Alex asked, her tone still set to gently lead her through her story. "What made him scarier?"

"His voice made me feel like spiders on my skin," Brooklyn explained after a few moments of hesitation. Most people didn't like it when she talked about the feelings, so she usually didn't, but she didn't know how else to put it. "When he said things everyone else got really quiet."

"Can you remember anything that they said?"

"A lot of bad words," Brooklyn replied, wrinkling her nose. "I don't say those. They were yelling a lot at the same time. Then, I remember the scary one said, 'You know the a--the a-vuh-kit wanted it done legally' and 'we can't go forward now it's done make the call.' I didn't hear anything else after that. I think they left."

Alex didn't say anything out loud, but her lips most definitely moved over the word that she, at least, had picked up from a child's obvious struggle with an unfamiliar word. The Advocate, was what it sounded like to her.

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard was far more certain of the word than Alex, familiar with the mispronunciations of children her age. Glancing up again at Alex in the rear view mirror, he shared a grim look of concern before turning back to Brooklyn.

"That's good--that you don't swear." Richard declared, offering her a wink. "And it may not seem like it, but what you have to say is incredibly helpful. Now...you're very perceptive, so I think you already know that some police men will want to hear it, too. When we get to the hospital, after you've been looked at more closely, do you think you can tell them everything the same way you've told us?"

[caughtinyourtangles]

Brooklyn nodded quietly because she knew she had to, but her little shoulders sagged. In spite of Dr. Strand's insistence otherwise she just knew she was gonna be in trouble. Cathy wouldn't want to let her live with her anymore and Ms. Tabarly was gonna be disappointed that it didn't work out. Again. And not knowing where she'd have to stay next, if they'd be nice or if they'd be mean, was scary.

"I'll tell the truth," she replied with another somber nod. "I promise."

[extremelyfrustrating]

"Good girl." Richard replied gently, reaching out to smooth her tangled hair back again. He hated that grim little expression, but couldn't bring himself to say more--not until he'd spoken to his contacts at the hospital.

By the time they arrived at the ER, Richard had quietly sent a couple of text messages and made a few phone calls. When they pulled in, there were people waiting--including a couple of faces Richard had already accounted for.

Emerging from the car, he circled around to Brooklyn's side and helped her out, then lifted her back into the safety of his arms.

"Alex and I will be with you the whole time." he promised her, looking into Brooklyn's face. "Unless you say it's okay for me to go somewhere else. Agreed?"

[caughtinyourtangles]

Alex pulled the car beneath the overhang outside of the main doors, unsurprised to see people waiting. She put the car in park so Richard could get Brooklyn out, got out and jogged around the other side. She supposed she should park the car, but that could wait. There was a scared, traumatized kid that was the priority at the moment.

Brooklyn clung to Richard tightly and nodded against the shoulder she'd buried her face in. "Are they gonna put needles in?" she asked in a scared whisper, peering out hesitantly at the faces of the people waiting on them to see who and what they were, police officers or hospital workers. "Is it gonna hurt?"

[extremelyfrustrating]

"You might need a couple of shots." he admitted. "But you won't feel it--know why? Because you're going to show me how strong you are, and squeeze my hand as hard as you can when they give them to you--and if you can turn my fingers purple? I'll owe you an ice cream."

As they approached the gathering, Richard tried to help by pointing out people and explaining what they wanted...finishing with his ace in the hole.

"Those people in uniform are here to keep you safe--that man and woman in business clothes? They're detectives, and the ones you'll have to talk to. Those are technicians that will look at you before the doctor--that's the doctor right there...and that is Miss April. She's a social worker, but she doesn't work for the county, she works for the hospital. She's going to ask you some questions about Cathy and Joey and...well, probably Alex and me. She might also ask you where you want to stay for a while--just tell her the truth, okay? She's a good friend of mine, and she won't tell anyone what you say. Not even me."

[caughtinyourtangles]

"Please follow me, Dr. Strand," said a youngish lady in powder blue scrubs, blonde hair in a high ponytail and a kind smile on her face. "My name is Rachel. We're going to set Miss Brooklyn up in the SANE area. It's quieter there," she added, more for Alex and Richard's benefit than for Brooklyn's, since they would know better what that meant. "Less like a hospital."

Brooklyn had been through that enough to know what he meant, so she nodded again but refused to relinquish her hold on him until she had to. Thankfully, other than the nurse coaxing her out of hiding to get her on the bed and into a little pink hospital gown patterned with tiny green flowers, no one really tried--and even then Brooklyn just went from Richard's arms to a slightly surprised Alex's, who wasn't sure what to do for a moment or two, having absolutely zero experience with kids. Instinct kicked in, however, and kicked in hard when Brooklyn sniffled and buried her face in the curve of neck.

"I can help her," she assured the nurse, soothingly stroking Brooklyn's tangled, slightly dirty hair. "It's okay. We'll just pull the curtain real quick. Dr. Strand will be on the other side. Okay?"

The nurse nodded--she was nice, Brooklyn could tell, but she just wasn't ready to trust yet--and handed Alex a couple of plastic bags. "If you would, put her clothes in this. For the detectives."

"Can you--can we clean her face?" Alex asked quietly, helping Brooklyn with her jumper and her tights, taking care with her injured knee.

"We're gonna have to take photographs first," the nurse replied apologetically, wheeling a cart over. "We'll get it over with as fast as we can, I promise. Could you wait on the other side of the curtain, please?"

"I'd rather not leave her," Alex protested but Brooklyn, having spent the entire time contemplating the nurse in silence said, "It's okay. She's nice. You won't go far, right?"

"I promise I won't," Alex confirmed, fussing the sheets into place and joining Richard on the other side of the pulled curtain. Once she was out of Brooklyn's eyeline she crumbled a little, ducking her head and pressing the heel of her hand against her forehead. The nurse was good at her job, she could tell just by listening--Brooklyn giggled softly a time or two while the nurse talked to her and made jokes throughout the exam, took her photographs and swabs and fingernail scrapings and whatever else, though Alex knew they weren't going to find anything useful. "What was that all about?" she asked Strand in a low, near whisper, lifting her head after a moment. "With the social worker?"

[extremelyfrustrating]

It took Richard a moment to answer, frozen as he was by Alex’s distress. Everything in him burned to...do something to take it from her, to offer some measure of comfort. He didn’t often see her in such a vulnerable moment, ever the impartial journalist, but he understood this breaking point, this moment when it was too much and too evil and not even professional pride was enough...

“Short term foster care.” He confessed quietly. “I had a case some years back—demonic possession. A young boy with a severe mental illness and abusive parents. He would only have suffered further in the system, and he responded well to Ruby, so...April pulled some strings. The Institute acquired a short term foster care license and he spent six weeks in her custody until we located a cousin that took him in.”

He looked towards the curtain, his heart lodging in his throat.

“That girl knows how to identify authorities, and she’s familiar with a social worker’s identification. She has all the hallmarks of an institutional youth—and she’s incredibly smart, Alex, not to mention perceptive. I...something had to be done.”

[elevencalls]

Alex's lips parted in surprise and slowly, after a few moments of stunned silence, closed again. Somehow, all of PNWS's research into Strand and the Strand Institute had completely missed that tidbit of information.

"You're thinking she's gonna need emergency placement...and you're volunteering. I...wow." That was what he'd meant, that she'd meet Ruby later; he'd had this thought even before the subject of The Advocate had come up in the conversation. She didn't know why it surprised her so much, that Brooklyn had pulled so hard at Richard's heartstrings; even Alex could look at her and see a strong resemblance to Charlie.

[extremelyfrustrating]

"You didn't find it because I didn't want it to be found." Richard reassured her, misinterpreting the quiet utterance of surprise. "Once the possession was discredited, we kept as much of the situation off book as we could for the boy's welfare--public exposure would only have done more damage. Our license lapsed after he was placed...but April's a bit of a maverick when it comes to the best interests of a child."

And, from the look on Strand's face, it was pretty clear that he felt it was one of her better qualities.

[elevencalls]

Alex studied him for a moment in silence, a small, soft smile lingering on her lips. "No one would ever accuse you of doing things halfway, Dr. Strand," she quipped, her smile fading a little. "About what she overheard...The Advocate, and make the call...doesn't it seem way too convenient that we just happened to get an anonymous tip about a black tapes case that just happens to lead us to a kidnapped child? Cause it feels to me like we were being set up."

[extremelyfrustrating]

"By a conspirator involved with the abduction, that's my hypothesis." Richard agreed. "And...laying aside the validity of grand supernatural conspiracies for one moment, it's one of the reasons I want Brooklyn somewhere safe."

He hesitated, meeting Alex's gaze for only an instant before looking away again.

"Keeping my family at a distance to protect them...it didn't work before. Whatever this is, I'm involved in it--and anyone associated with me, including that child, could come under fire. I have--"

He cut himself off, biting his tongue physically to stop himself from saying more.

About the burning in his gut, pushing at his instincts over his rationale--making him certain, in ways that had visions of Bobby Maimes dancing through his head, that Brooklyn would be at risk if she wasn't by his side.

[elevencalls]

Alex wasn't used to seeing that much emotions from Richard--not even when he got angry at her. It made the moments where something raw flickered across his face that much more intense. And, as it always did, it made Alex want to take it away. Soothe it, and him, until he was steady again, back to his unflinching, taciturn, slightly arrogant self.

He wanted to protect the girl, and Alex wanted to protect him.

She moved in a little, reaching out with one hand, her fingers bumping lightly against his, her lips parting to tell him it was okay. It would all be fine. And the nurse chose that moment to pull the curtain back, making Alex jump a little and step back. "We're all done here," she announced, barely looking up from the chart and the color coded plastic bags in her hands. "I'll hand deliver all of this to the detectives. Someone will be in soon for a blood draw, but you can clean her up, I'm sure it would make her feel better. There's a bathroom right through there--if she needs to pee there are some sample cups in the cabinet to collect it. I doubt we'll get anything useful on the UDS, but--"

"Procedure," Alex said before the nurse could, nodding her understanding and laying her hand briefly on Richard's arm before moving towards the bathroom.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, was tapping at an electronic tablet the nurse had given her, moving her finger over brightly colored flowers to connect them and make them bloom. She looked up at Richard and beamed. "She said I was very brave and I did great and look," she held up two brightly colored stickers still on their paper backing, each emblazoned with a crest, one in blue and one in red. "I got Hogwarts stickers!"

[extremelyfrustrating]

The brush of her fingers startled Richard briefly, but he didn't pull away, only looked into her face. As Alex's lips parted, he felt some kind of gap starting to close--a cool hand reaching for fevered skin, a pillar to lean against appearing in the middle of an endless race...

The curtain being whisked aside broke the spell, drawing Richard's attention back to Brooklyn. With a quiet murmur of thanks to the nurse, he moved to Brooklyn's side, managing a smile for her benefit as she brandished her stickers proudly.

"That's remarkable." he assured her with the perfect honesty of an adult well aware that, to the child, it was. He frowned thoughtfully, studying both. "I'm sorry to say I don't know much about Harry Potter, but Ruby's read the books...the blue is Ravenclaw, isn't it? Ruby always tells me I'm a Ravenclaw."

[caughtinyourtangles]

"You are absolutely a Ravenclaw," Alex called from the bathroom over the quite hissing and splashing of running water.

Brooklyn giggled happily and held the stickers to her chest with the enthusiasm of a child who not only loved something but was wholly unaccustomed to being given things--or having other adults share her enthusiasm. And yet, she thought nothing of setting the tablet aside and peeling the sticker off of the backing to press it on Richard's chest, like a badge. "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," she recited with a big smile. "Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are my favorite houses. I can never decide which one I like best, because I like school and I like learning but I wanna be brave and strong too."

[extremelyfrustrating]

Richard was a little taken aback by Brooklyn parting with one of her prizes to adhere the Ravenclaw sticker to his chest. She did it so easily, and with that smile he had not yet seen...

He couldn't quite stop himself from looking down at it, smoothing a hand over it to make sure it stayed put--knew immediately no award he'd ever won could ever be as precious.

"Well, fortunately you're both." he declared with a smile he didn't bother to hide, looking up again--and then melting into a deeply pensive expression--all while he deliberately ignored Alex's commentary from the bathroom.

"We should really figure out a portmanteau for the two, so you can identify yourself correctly." he mused. "Combine the names into one. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor...Gryffinclaw? Ravendor?..."

[caughtinyourtangles]

"You can't be two houses, you can only be one," Brooklyn protested, crinkling her nose with a soft giggle.

"Why not?" Alex challenged as she left the bathroom with a damp washcloth, and proceeded to gently take Brooklyn's chin in her hand so she could wipe away the smudges. "I think it should be Gryffinclaw. Like...a griffon's claw. That sounds better."

"They--pleh!--they have talons like--pleh!--like birds," Brooklyn replied, making a bit of a face and sticking out her tongue whenever the damp cloth got near her mouth. "What house are you, Miss--pleh!--Miss Alex?"

"Me?" Alex squinted one eye closed and pursed her lips, pretending to think it over. "Probably...what would you call a Hufflepuff, Slytherin hybrid?" She had to fight back the urge to laugh at the way Brooklyn's eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped comedically, but she used the moment of shock to its full efficiency and made quicker work of scrubbing her face while she was squirming less. "You're thinking of all Slytherins as mean and evil I bet. Mostly, though, I'm probably a Hufflepuff. Just a very ambitious Hufflepuff."

Her face now clean, Brooklyn pursed her lips thoughtfully and swiped any residual dampness from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I guess that's okay. Long as you wouldn't be a Death Eater."

"Never ever," Alex promised, swiping an X over her heart with her finger before dropping the washcloth in a tray and retrieving the jacket she'd draped over Brooklyn earlier to put it back on. "I'd be very pro-muggle. Cross my heart. Dr. Strand has no idea what we're talking about," she observed with a laugh, fussing her collar into place. "You should see if you can talk him into reading the books. Or at least watching the movies."

"They're really good," Brooklyn assured Richard with an almost somber nod. "Hermione is my favorite. I dressed up as her for Halloween last year. She's very, very smart and she gets the best grades in her classes alway. If I were a Gryffindor I'd want to be one like her."

[extremelyfrustrating]

"She sounds like a lovely young lady--well, if we're not talking about you." Richard replied with a small smile. "Because I don't think even this Hermione is half as smart or half as pretty as you are."

It was all he could manage, sitting there watching Alex clean Brooklyn's face off with the little girl scrunching her face and grunting whenever the wet cloth got near her mouth. There was something about it, watching them together, with the way he found himself desperate to take care of this child...

"Richard?"

Richard glanced over his shoulder. April's head was peeking around the curtain, a worried expression on her face as she discreetly beckoned to him.

"I'll be right back." Richard promised, resting a hand on Brooklyn's ankle to give it a reassuring squeeze. Glancing at Alex, his features stayed neutral, but his eyes were lit with unguarded worry.

"Watch her." he whispered before standing to join April outside.