by Doc
Kerry sat on the couch next to Kim who had guided Kerry there after her tears stopped flowing. It was a small couch that Kerry sometimes would relaxed on after a tuff meeting or one of the shifts she insisted on doing in the ER. Her office wasn't too big but there was no way she was parting with her little couch.
'Thanks Kim.' Kerry sounded apologetic.
'You are very welcome Kerry.' Her arm was still around Kerry's shoulder. She pulled her a little closer.
'I'll help her Kim. I'll do whatever I can. She needs to come here though. Do you think her grandparents will approve? They don't know you're here, when you tell them they'll hit the roof. Is Stevie well enough to travel here?'
So many questions quickly asked. Kim took a moment to process them. ' How do know her grandparents didn't send me here with their blessing?' Kim didn't need Kerry to answer, she pulled back and the knowing look let her know, she knew the grandparents almost as well as she knew Stevie. 'They won't be pleased. I'm not sure if they will permit her to come here.' Kim thought about that. All this, traveling to Chicago, putting Kerry through the heartache of reliving old memories might be for nothing if the grandparents don't agree to Stevie seeing Kerry again.
'I think Stevie will be well enough to travel. I think it'll do her good to come here and see you. She'll expect something big, expect all her troubles to go away but that won't happen. She'll be high and ecstatic but that won't last and when she comes down she'll come down hard and fast.' Kim sat up and looked Kerry in the eye, 'Are you ready for that Kerry? Are you prepared for it?'
'I've been there before, remember?'
Kim was firm but compassionate. 'Yes Kerry, but this time Stevie's grown. She has been through more. She might not have that same trust she once had. And Kerry, you have a child of your own now. You won't be able to be there for her 24/7 like you once were. That will be a huge shock to her too. She'll expect things to be the same but they are not and that might be one of the things that brings her crashing back down to earth. Can you handle that Kerry...?'
Kerry interrupted Kim. 'Kim, I know.' Kim looked at her. Kerry saw the look, she wasn't convinced. 'Everything Kim, that I have told you only scratches the surface of the relationship we shared. I went through so much with her and yes, things are different but they are also the same. We will find a way to communicate again. We will find a way to trust again. It will be hard. I will have to give up a lot again without sacrificing anything. Kim, I know what I am agreeing too. There will be ground rules set out from the beginning, there will have to be for us to know where we all stand. I don't know what they are now but we will figure it out.' Kerry stopped. Kim knew she wanted to go on.
'Kim.' Kerry's voice was clam and clear but full of authority. 'There's one thing you have to be aware of when you go back and talk to Stevie. You have to make out that I only hinted at what her parents did to her. You have to be clever though and make it clear that I hinted that they hurt her. Nothing more nothing less. You have to do it like that. You have to make it clear that that's all I hinted at. Ask questions in a round about way that lets her know this, let her know you are fishing for more that I would not give you enough to conclude anything. But only about physical violence.'
Kim got it. She wondered what more Kerry knew but she knew Kerry would never tell her. For her own piece of mind she had to ask anyway. 'They did more than beat her didn't they?'
'Kim, I can't tell you anymore than I have. But under no circumstance do you ask her that. If you do you will lose her forever. I found out the hard way how you deal with her and how you ask her questions and although she has changed greatly some things I'm sure will remain the same for a longtime to come.
Listening intently to Kerry, Kim nodded, understanding. She had so much to process. She wondered how long they had been there on the couch and in the office. It would be hard not to let on that she knew Stevie. had been harmed by her parents. Everything Kerry was telling her not to say she already had said to Stevie.
'I'm looking forward to seeing her Kim. I'm afraid also. I won't get my hopes up incase she doesn't come.'
'I'll talk to her grandparents when I arrive bac...' The look on Kerry's face stopped Kim mid sentence.
'Go to Stevie first. Talk to her and tell her. If you stand any chance, she has to be the one that tells her grandparents. If you go to them first they will dismiss it and dismiss you in the same breath. You will never see her again Kim.' Kerry's voice was low, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear this secret information she was sharing.
Kim smiled. At that moment, that very second she wanted to kiss Kerry. She wouldn't. She couldn't, the damage it would do would be incalculable.
'When do you leave Kim?'
Kim was a little surprised. 'I guess whenever the next flight is.'
'Would you like to get something to eat. I know it's a little late for lunch and a little early for dinner but we could start a new trend.' Kerry laughed. Kim joined her.
'I'd like that Kerry. What about Henry?'
'He's away with a friend today. He'll be back around 5ish. I like to be in when arrives back after he's been out. His friends mom wanted to do something with them as a thank you for me helping her get a job and looking after Kevin. She's a very nice woman.'
Kim smiled and Kerry saw the meaning behind it.
Kerry rolled her eyes. 'She's straight Kim. A good friend. There's nothing in it.' She playfully slapped Kim's arm.
'Shall we go?' Kerry asked.
Kim didn't want to let this moment go. The moment where she almost kissed Kerry. The moment they got close again. The moment trust was reborn between them. the moment she held Kerry in her arms again. But like all moments, they pass. Kerry stood and went to retrieve her things and put her jacket on. Kim watched, holding onto the moment as long as she could. She followed Kerry in getting ready to leave the hospital.
Entering the elevator both women knew all eyes were on them. The doors closed and they looked at each other. Neither had to say anything they both knew word of them leaving the hospital together would get around the hospital.
Kim wondered what they would think if they knew all the new things she had just learned about Dr. Weaver. Would they be shocked? Would they be surprised? Would they cheer her for having the courage to take a young life and run with it to save it? Would they jeer her for not following the rules? And finally she wondered what will they say about Stevie when she arrives? If she didn't know anything about the Kerry/Stevie relationship, Kim was more than sure no one else did.