38. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Beth
I almost had a heart attack when John asked the doctor to run a blood test for sedatives and sleeping pills. Had she drugged him? What had she given him? I didn’t have to ask because the doctor did.
“We think she may have drugged him yesterday afternoon,” John looked at me, sympathy written all over his face, while he answered the doctor, “and possibly last night.”
“Whatever it was is likely out of his system by now, but we’ll check just to make sure.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
The rest of the appointment was standard for a physical or checkup. Except it wasn’t in his pediatrician’s calm, colorful, kid-friendly office, but in the cold, sterile ER. Chase was brave and answered all the doctor’s questions. John helped him take the urine test for the sedatives. When it was time for the nurse to draw his blood, I held his hand because, as brave as he was, needles scared him. John stood near the door, offering quiet support.
I wish Doug was here . I appreciated John’s presence, but wanted Doug to hold my hand and tell me everything would be okay. To take care of me the way I was taking care of Chase.
“Can I have a lollipop?” Chase asked when the nurse thanked him for being so brave.
The nurse apologized, she didn’t have any.
Not getting a lollipop was the last straw. The flood gates opened as Chase lost his shit.
A fucking lollipop . It wasn’t even close to the worst thing he’d been through in the last thirty-six hours, but he was five and his reserves had run dry.
So had mine.
John stepped up and calmed Chase down.
I took a deep breath, reminding myself he’d been through hell and had been putting on a brave face.
So was I.
Chase stopped crying when John promised him a banana split with extra whip cream.
I used the tissues John handed me to wipe my face, while John wiped Chase’s.
“Can we get ice cream now?” Chase asked between sniffles.
“Not yet, Baby. We have to see the doctor again,” I answered. “Then we can go.”
“Before ice cream, we get to go talk to the nice policeman who came to help us today.” John phrased it in such a way as to make it sound fun. And to be fair, it usually was for Chase. “If you want, we can stop and buy him a donut.”
“Can I have one?” Chase asked.
John winked and answered, “Of course, but only if you get one for your mom too.”
Chase looked at his feet and asked in a shaky voice, “Am I in trouble?”
“No, he just wants to ask you some questions about what happened.” John used his best soothing dad voice. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who used nothing but his tone of voice to snap everyone at SSI to attention.
Chase loved going to the police station, but this time was different— they’d be asking him to relive his kidnapping. I don’t think he’s convinced he isn’t in trouble.
“Will you come with me, Uncle John?” Tears were forming in Chase’s eyes again.
I wished we didn’t have to take him to the PD, but the sooner it was done the sooner we could go home and start healing.
“Of course I will.” He walked over and high-fived Chase before ruffling his hair. “Then we’ll get ice cream.”
Chase smiled as he moved his head away from John’s hand. The normalcy of his action calmed my overwrought nerves. He’ll be okay . It might take some time, but he’d be okay.
After the doctor confirmed there were trace amounts of a sedative in Chase’s system, and reassured me there’d be no lasting side effects, he released us. John scooped up Chase and carried him to the waiting room, where a patiently waiting Doug stood when he saw us.
He opened his arms as I walked up to him, my need to be in his arms written all over my face. “Shh, it’ll be okay. I’m here,” he whispered near my ear as he stroked my hair.
I let a few tears fall before pulling myself back together. There’d be time to cry tonight, after Chase was asleep, safe in his own bed.
“Thank you,” I said as I wiped my tears, “I needed that.”
He smiled softly as he brushed my hair off my blotchy face, calming my nerves and adding a little energy to my depleted well.
“Uncle John said we can get donuts.” Chase interrupted the moment.
I turned just in time to see John’s smirk; the one with a ‘what took you so long’ vibe to it. Doug had been here the whole time, ready to hold and comfort me, but I’d been so focused on Chase I hadn’t noticed.
Doug didn’t miss a beat. “That’s good news because I’m starving.” He slid his hand down my arm to hold my hand before looking at John. “I talked to Meg, everyone’s gone back to the office to wait.”
“Thank you,” John answered. “Can you stay in touch and send updates?”
Doug nodded. “Of course.” He squeezed my hand as he talked to Chase. “You’re Aunt Mary and Auntie Meg want me to tell you they can’t wait to see you.”
“Can we bring them donuts too?” Chase asked John.
“I’m sure they’d like that,” John answered with a laugh.
My kid was going to buy out the bakery if he added anyone else to this list, because we couldn’t just buy donuts for Mary and Meg, we’d have to buy donuts for everyone at SSI.
True to his word, John let Chase pick out two dozen donuts to take to the station, and one for himself. Chase remembered to ask me what I wanted, then asked Doug if he wanted one too. John added three large coffees to the order. When Chase asked about the donuts for SSI, we told him we’d come back and buy more later. I tried to pay, but John insisted it was his treat. I was too exhausted to argue.
The chocolate glazed donut I ate on the short drive to the station was literally the best thing I’d ever tasted. It represented my son being home, safe and sound, and the loving people who surrounded us.
Chase told Doug all about his hospital visit in between bites of his powdered donut. John’s back seat would be a mess, but I didn’t think he’d mind.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Doug during all the chaos, but he’d been the entire time. I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing Chase safe in Doug’s arms. The warmth of his hand on my lower back. The soothing effect of his thumb rubbing the back of my hand. He stuck by my side, taking care of my every need, sometimes before I even knew I needed it. And I loved him for it.
Love? It happened fast, but I was definitely in love with him .
More than once I could have sworn I saw love in his eyes when he looked at me. It was all a bit too much to deal with, and I wanted to push it to the back of my mind, but it kept creeping back to the front.
I’d been worried about falling for another protective alpha male who risked his life to help others, but it turned out I had a type because it was one of the things I loved about him.
Watching Doug give Chase his full attention, and seeing Chase so comfortable with Doug, was enough to melt my heart. I caught Doug’s gaze over Chase’s head, smiled, and mouthed, "thank you." His brief nod was interrupted by Chase, but not before I saw it.
Chase wanted everyone to go with him to give his statement and refused to let go of Doug’s hand as we walked across the parking lot.
Doug got down on one knee and explained, “We can’t all go with you Little Man, but I promise I’ll wait inside, near the door.”
Chase looked at me, and then at John, who nodded, and then back to Doug. Chase stared at his feet as he said, “okay,” in a soft voice. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was afraid. God, I just want to hug him . I wanted to reassure him, but also didn’t want to embarrass him when he was trying so hard to be brave in front of the guys.
“You’ve been so brave through all of this.” Doug asked, “Can you be brave and hold your mom’s and Uncle John’s hands, so they feel brave too?” He addressed Chase’s fears in a way I never would have thought because I couldn’t see past my maternal need to comfort.
He’ll make a great dad .
John took the cue. He balanced the boxes of donuts on one hand and held the other out for Chase.
Chase released Doug’s hand and asked, “Will you be okay without me?”
“It’ll be hard, but I’ll be okay,” Doug answered.
“But who’ll watch out for you?” Chase asked, clearly wanting to avoid going inside.
“Chase, we have to go in now.” John used a subdued version of his command voice. He wiggled his fingers at Chase in invitation. “The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll finish.”
Chase lifted his chin and squared his shoulders.
Where’d he learn that? The guys at SSI, no doubt.
Chase took my hand. “Let’s go Mommy.” The only outward sign of his fear was the death grip he had on my hand. I was sure he was holding on to John for dear life too.
You’d be so proud, Phil. He’s terrified, but he’s not letting it stop him.
It took less than thirty minutes for Chase to give his statement. It would have taken even less time, but once Chase met the officer, who he conned into letting him have another donut, he relaxed and turned into his talkative self. The officer was patient as he answered more questions than he asked. He gave Chase a mini plastic badge after Chase said, “I’m going to be a policeman someday.”
Chase needed to use the bathroom, so John took him. Before he did, he handed the officer his phone with a video queued up for the officer to watch while they were gone.
A few seconds in, the officer looked at me and said, “You have a remarkable son, Mrs. Wyatt.”
“Thank you.”
When the door opened, he stopped the video. He handed John a business card and asked him to email a copy of the video before shaking his hand. “We have everything we need. You’re free to go.”
Thank God. All I wanted to do was go home and hug my son.
“You’re a very brave little boy-”
“I’m a little man, Mr. Doug says so.”
I laughed. That’s my kid .
The officer hid his laugh with a cough. “My apologies. You’re a very brave little man.” He held out his hand for Chase. “It was nice to meet you.”
Chase shook his hand, “Nice to meet you too.”
Before we left, John gave the officer his business card and told him to call if he needed anything else from SSI.
I wanted to ask the officer what would happen to Mrs. Smith but not in front of Chase, so I asked John to take him out front. I was furious with Smith for taking Chase, but I also felt sorry for her. I knew what it felt like to lose a husband and could only imagine how much the grief would be multiplied if I’d lost a son at the same time. She deserved to go to jail for what she did, but she needed a level of professional help and care she couldn’t get there.
“What will happen to Mrs. Smith?”
“She’ll most likely be released to a mental hospital for evaluation before going to trial. Beyond that, I don’t know.”
I nodded. A mental hospital wasn’t much better than jail, but at least they could help her.
On the ride home, Chase reminded us about getting ice cream. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t let him have ice cream after eating two donuts, but today I was more than happy to get him all the ice cream he could eat. I’ll worry about the belly aches later .
“Why don’t we go to the Ice Cream Palace and get ice cream for everyone, then go back to the SSI office. What do you think, Chase?” I asked, hoping he’d forget about the donuts he wanted to get them.
He nodded so enthusiastically I thought his head would break off. “We can get ice cream for Auntie Meg and Uncle Jack. And Uncle Jamie. And Mr. AJ. Will Aunt Mary be there? Because she’ll be sad if we don’t bring her something…”
Chase went on for awhile, talking about what we should get for everyone. My thought had been to get him whatever he wanted and grab a few half gallons for everyone else to share. But no, Chase was on a mission to get everyone what he thought their favorite flavor would be. I made a mental note to add Agents Jones and Maxwell to the list, just in case.
I could hear John chuckling from the front seat as I made eye contact with Doug and shrugged.
His ear-to-ear smile mirrored my own.
Having to spend a small fortune so he could buy everyone ice cream was a problem I was happy to have.