Page 1 of Heal
CHAPTER ONE
Beau sat down with a hot cup of coffee, glad to be off his feet for a few minutes. It had been crazy in the emergency room all day, and he was glad for the short break. He'd set more broken bones and given more stitches than he'd probably ever done in a day, and it was only two in the afternoon. He still had another five hours before he would be off work and able to relax.
Not that he was complaining. He loved helping children. Being a pediatrician was his dream job, and he was good at what he did.
So far today, there hadn't been any serious injuries, and that was good. Broken bones and cuts were part of growing up. While he hated to see any child in pain, the injuries would heal with no issues later on in life. Days like today were ones he loved.
He took a sip of his coffee as he scanned through his phone, reading the messages that he had to ignore while working. He smiled seeing one from Faith. She was one of his best friends despite her being only fifteen years old. She was the daughter of his friends, Xander and Matt. Ever since they'd met, she'd sworn that she wanted to become a doctor like he was, and he'd welcomed the chance to mentor her as much as he could even though she was young.
He'd met Faith after she'd been found and saved from the kidnapper and rapist who had held her. She'd been traumatized by the experience, and he hated remembering how scared she'd been when he'd had to treat her injuries when she'd gotten to the hospital. She was a brave girl, and had somehow found a way to get through the trauma and was recovering. Now she was turning into a typical teenage girl, following rock stars, using a vocabulary he didn't understand, and showing interest in boys.
The fact she was interested in boys made him happy. He'd worried that her rape would make her hesitant to form relationships, and while she still wasn't dating, the fact she was showing interest gave him hope that someday she could lead a normal life and have a great relationship with someone who loved her.
He often let her come to shadow him around the emergency room, assisting him with simple things when he wasn't busy. He had to be careful about what he allowed her to do, but he loved how attentive she was when she was with him. The girl had a passion for medicine, and he looked forward to seeing what she did with it in the years to come.
"Dr. Maddington, we have four Code Ones coming in. Two males and two females. Ages range from three to sixteen." Nurse White stood in the doorway. "I've called Fran to come in to help with the females. One male is reported to have visible rectal injuries, but I'm told the other three show no or very little visible injuries."
Beau stood, leaving his coffee on the table. "CPS?"
"Child Protective Services has been notified." Nurse White sighed. "I'd hoped we'd get through the week without any of these cases."
"You and me both." Beau rolled his shoulders. "ETA?"
"They're about ten minutes out. Exam rooms are set up. I'll let you know if I get any updates." She turned and hurried away.
Beau ran his fingers through his hair, dreading the next few hours. He was one of three doctors at the hospital specially trained to handle children who had been sexually abused. Along with a handful of nurses, they would do all they could to make sure the children were as comfortable as possible while the team tried to collect whatever evidence they could while treating the children and any injuries they might have. This was part of the job he hated, but was also glad he had the training and the ability to help those who needed him. He just wished it was a part of his training he never had to use.
Making his way to the main desk, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text to his friend, Bryon, who ran an underground team of pedophile hunters who would hunt down the worst perverts in society and make them pay for what they did. The team called STK had been successful in saving a lot of women and children, but they always worked as a team and alerted each other as to what they were doing. This wasn't one of the cases STK had handled, and that meant he needed to collect all the information he could about the case so he could get it to Bryon and the other members of the team. They might not be able to get their hands on the pervert, but they would follow the case and make sure if the man ever got out of prison that they had eyes on him in case he ever offended again. If he did, then STK would get involved and handle the case themselves, making sure the man could never hurt another child again.
"What do we have, Beau?" Fran asked as she walked through the door. She was one of the other doctors who was trained to obtain a rape kit and examine the children who were victims of such horrible crimes.
"I'm not sure yet. Two boys, two girls, but that's all I know." Beau sighed.
Fran pinched the bridge of her nose. "Family?"
"No word on family or where they are coming from." Beau would make sure to find out the details later. Whoever did this to the children was going to pay one way or another. He was proud to be part of the STK team. While he never took an active role in the hunt, he was always there in any medical capacity they needed, and he would gladly share any information he could get about the case with the team so they could follow up on it.
"I'll take room one." Fran swept past him, pulling off her sweater as she headed to get ready to receive the patients.
Beau followed, pulling out a yellow gown from the cart by the exam room door.
Waiting was the worst part. Not knowing what injuries he was about to see or what trauma the child had been through was the worst. His mind always went to the darkest places, but then again, sadly, many times the children he treated had faced much worse than even his mind could imagine.
The noise from the receiving area told him at least one patient had arrived. He steadied his nerves as he waited to see if it was a male or female.
"Female, age sixteen. Bruising and cuts on the arms and legs, but no visible signs of any other injuries." The EMT walked along the gurney as he pushed it through the hall.
Beau stayed to the side, letting Fran step up to meet the girl. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he guessed Fran was gently introducing herself as she tried to relax the girl for the horrible exams that were going to have to take place once they made sure there were no serious injuries that needed to be treated first.
The fact that children had to even undergo such exams turned Beau's stomach. How anyone could ever hurt an innocent child was beyond him. More than once he'd had to step back to keep from going after a parent or trusted caregiver when he'd found signs of abuse. It was only his training and his need to see the person punished by the law that kept him from beating them to a pulp himself.
"No. Get away!"
The loud scream echoed through the hallway, and Beau turned to find the young girl trying to climb off the gurney as she was kicking at Fran.
Beau rushed to help, moving between two young nurses. "Hey, easy. No one is trying to hurt you." His gaze traveled over the too thin teen as he looked for injuries. "My name is Dr. Maddington. Can you tell me what the problem is?"
The girl was old enough for him to talk to as an adult. He had no doubt after whatever she'd been through there was no need to speak to her the way he would a much younger child.
