Abigail - S01 E16

Story 4 weeks ago

Abigail - S01 E16

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 16

•••••
{ NEW MEMBER }

Abby’s face dropped and her mouth hung open. What is going on? What had happened while she was away? Did Marshall do anything to Tara simply because she is close to her? That can’t be possible, right? Yes, they had their differences and hated each other’s gut but that is not enough reason to hurt a patient just for spite. It makes no sense at all.

Abby could see the pain in the girl’s eyes. She was hurting de-ep down. But why? What could be the reason?

No reasonable human being will want to die without a reason. Everybody wants to live for a long time, grow old, and have many grandchildren. It is everyone’s dream and all that. So what could have made a thirteen years old girl like Tara want to die?

Since she has known the patient, she admired her bravery, happy and positive vibes, strength, and pretty face. However, the girl she was seeing right now was completely different from the patient whom she had known for six years.

Tara looked broken, scared, and angry. The emotions in her eyes are complex and complicated. But Abby was able to comprehend them.

“Tara…” She called out quietly, afraid that if she makes a louder sound, it will break the girl entirely. For some reason, she could see her little self in Tara. They look so alike at this point which she doesn’t want. She hated her childhood self. She hated the weak girl who would hide under a bed, letting out muffled cries while her mother gets beaten up in the living room. She hated the child who would sit there and let that monster hurt and break her and then remold her just to break her again like she meant absolutely nothing. She hated that child who could not fight for herself. That weak and pathetic child. And right now, she got reminded of that child while looking into Tara’s eyes and it scared the shit out of Abby. She doesn’t want Tara to be like her little self. She doesn’t want her to get broken. She knows how that feels. And fuc-k , it doesn’t feel good at all.

“Dr. Abby,” Tara cried harder, lowering her gaze while biting her bottom li-p as if trying to suppress her tears but it wasn’t working out well.

“Come here,” Abigail held her hand and bring her to sit on the hospital bed beside her. They both sat in silence. Tara was still crying while Abby watches her, squeezing her hand lightly in support and consolation. She didn’t know what to do at that point.

Abby was very good at consoling people. She knows how to bring out the strength in them. She knows the right button to press to make them feel better about themselves or the things around them. But right now, with Tara, she didn’t know what to do.

“What happened?” She finally asked after waiting for a few minutes which felt like hours. “Talk to me, kitten. Did Dr. Marshall do something bad? Did he hurt you? Please you are scaring me.”

Tara sniffled and looked into the doctor’s eyes. Her li-ps shivered and she started fidgeting with her fingers. “I am scared.”

“Why?”

“My mother came by last night,” She answered, looking away from Abby and moving her gaze to the open window.

Abby pinched her brows together, looking a little bit confused. Isn’t it a good thing that her mother came by? “Why don’t you look happy about it, Kitten?” She queried.

“She didn’t come here because she missed me, Dr. Abby. She came to give me a piece of her mind.” She answered.

“How do you mean? What did she say?”

Tara hesitated. “She is tired of paying my hospital bills. I don’t blame her neither do I hate her. She has every right to be exhausted from the huge responsibility. It is not easy. I get it. But that didn’t stop me from feeling sad and unwanted. It is not my fault that I have hepatitis B. I wish all the sickness can go away but they can’t. It is as if I have been cursed from birth. My mother hates me now. She said as from now henceforth she won’t be paying the hospital bills. And I should be ready to sort my life out by myself. What can a thirteen years old girl like me do? I am not an ordinary healthy child but a sick one! I can’t even leave the hospital, but if my mother stops paying for my treatment, I will surely get kicked out of here. I’m scared, Dr. Abby.”

Abigail let out a de-ep breath, running bet fingers throu-ghher hair while su-cking in a de-ep breath. “Is that why you said you want to die?”

“Is it not enough reason to want to die? I mean, I will stop being a burden on my mother and you won’t have to worry about seeing me.”

“What did you just say?”

“You think I don’t know you are also tired of me? I understand that you are mad at me for eating that cupcake and then, pretending to be okay when I wasn’t. I almost cost you your job. You have every right to be mad at me. But I am not the only one to be blamed here. You bought the cupcakes to surprise me. You are my doctor and yet you forget about the little but important detail about me. I shouldn’t blame you or hate you for it but you shouldn’t do the same either.”

Abby was shocked at the things flying out of Tara’s mouth. Where did she get all of these ideas from?

“What are you talking about, Tara?” She asked in a quiet voice.

“Dr. Marshall told me everything. He said you pleaded with him to take your spot because you were almost suspended from work. You hate me now, don’t you? You are also going to abandon me like my mother. Do I mean nothing to you all? What did I ever do you people to make you guys make me feel unwanted.” She snatched her hand from Abby’s grasp and got up from the bed. “I know I am sick but you are a doctor, you should be used to seeing sick people. You made me trust you. You made me love you. You made me admire you. And look, I feel so stupid in believing you when you said you had never leave my side.” She started crying all over again.

“Tara, those are hurtful words. I am not like that and please don’t listen to whatever Dr. Marshall says.” She stood up to her feet as well. “I really care about you, kitten. You are like a little sister to me. And believe me, I didn’t switch positions with Marshall because I was tired of you. It was an order from the director. He heard what happened and decided to punish me. I was almost suspended but then again, he changed his mind and decided to just stop me from being your personal doctor. I even went over to his office to plead with him to have a change of heart but he wouldn’t listen. Nothing can be done, Tara. I’m sorry for not telling you this on time. And I’m sorry for making you feel unwanted but trust me, I will never abandon you and you are not worthless to me. You are a rare gem. And if anyone chooses to abandon you, then it is their loss.” She reached out to hold the girl’s hand and this time around Tara didn’t pull away. “You are an amazing girl. A sweet child. You don’t deserve all these you are going throu-ghand I swear it, I will make sure you get better, is that clear?”

Tara batted her lashes, sniffling. “You mean what you just said, Dr. Abby? You are not playing games with me, right?”

“I crossed my heart, kitten. I meant every damn word. You don’t trust me again?” She asked.

Tara immediately wrapped her arms around Abby, hugging her as tears streamed down her face. “Thank you for not being like my mother. Thank you for not abandoning me. Thank you so much. You owe my life.”

Abby smiled and hug-ged the girl back, exhaling de-eply. “You will be fine, okay? I promise you that.”

•••••

Robert and Emma entered the office at the same time and stood in front of their boss.

Mr. Desmond continued reading the file on the desk without acknowledging their presence even when he knew about their arrival.

After a few moments of them waiting and him reading, he finally looked up, adjusting the reading glas-she had on.

“Detective Emma, Detective Robert,” He called out with a smile on his face. “Please seat.”

“Thank you, sir.” They said in sync and took their seats opposite him.

“You called for us,” Emma stated.

Desmond nodded as he pushed the file aside and placed his elbow on the desk, leaning a little bit forward.

“Yes, I did.”

“Okay? Hope no problem?” Robert asked, looking somewhat concerned.

“No, no, of course not.” He waved them off. “Actually, I called you both here for an important reason. But first, I will have to congratulate you on solving the murder case. Though, I didn’t expect anything less because I trusted you two capability and intelligence.”

“Thank you, sir.” Robert and Emma appreciated.

“You don’t have to thank me. It is only right that I acknowledge and commend your efforts. You two are one of the best detectives we have here and I’m glad to be working with such smart and intelligent people like you two.”

Emma blus-hed while Robert smirked.

“Well, I think Emma is the smart one here. She is practically the one who solved the case.” Robert said.

Emma turned her gaze to look at him in shock.

“What? Please don’t say that. We work together. And no one is smarter than the other.” She told him.

“Of course, you will always deny how wonderful and amazing you are. Why am I not surprised?” He playfully shrugged, earning an eye roll and a smack on the chest from her.

Desmond chuckled while shaking his head. “It is nice seeing you both joke and tease each other like this.”

Emma cleared her throat, sitting upright after giving Robert a scolding gaze. “Forgive our unprofessional behavior, sir.”

“It’s fine. So tell me, have you two thought about adding a new member to the team?”

“A new member?” Robert asked at the same time Emma asked,

“What?”

Desmond hesitated as he noticed the discomfort look on their faces. They don’t seem to like the idea but the decision has already been made even before he called them over to his office.

“I know this is all too sudden and I should have given you heads-up before now,” He paused. “However, I didn’t say anything about it because of the case going on at that time. And now that it is over, I am letting you know.”

Emma and Robert exchanged glances.

“Bu… but we are fine working on our own without a third member. Three is a crowd, remember? And we might get distracted.” Emma stated.

“Trust me, you won’t get distracted. Ginny is a good and smart kid. She just graduated from college and would like to work as a detective. Additionally,” His eyes were solely on Emma when he said his next words. “Three heads are better than two heads.”

Robert’s brows creased as he processed his boss’s last words. “Wait, I thought it was two heads are better than one. Isn’t that right, Emma?” He faced her.

She sighed. “He is trying to make a point.”

Desmond gave out a toothy grin. “Ah, you understand what I’m trying to say.”

“Who is this girl exactly to you, sir? I don’t mean to sound rude or offend you in any way but you don’t just grant favors to people unless there is a deal or an exchange between you two.” Emma said.

Desmond cracked up, laughing loudly with his head thrown back.

“You know why I like you, Detective Emma?” He asked, straightening himself on the chair as he stopped laughing. Emma shook her head no. “You know how to read people’s minds. Damn, I respect you for that.”

“Uh… thank you?” She didn’t know what else to say other than that.

“Well, Ginny is actually my daughter. Only daughter, to be precise. She is my everything and I’m ready to climb the highest mountain for her sake. As I said, she is a good kid and won’t cause any trouble.”

Emma knew for sure that her boss wasn’t telling them all this because he wanted their opinion on the matter. He doesn’t care whether or not they are okay with a new member joining their team. After all, this member was his daughter and he just said with his mouth that he was willing and ready to do anything for her.

I can’t say no even if I wanted to. Emma said in her head, forcing a smile to her face.

“Okay then. Is she going to work with us as a full-time detective or??”

“She will start as an intern first. You and Robert are going to put her throu-ghthe process of investigating, gathering evidence, and capturing murderers. I trust you two to do a good job and make her just as intelligent and smart as you are in the job. You can do that for me, right?”

“Sure. What do you say, Robert?” She asked her partner.

Robert sighed as he shrugged off his shoulders. “As long as you are fine then I’m fine. It’s not like we even have a choice in this.” He mumbled the last part to himself.

“When do we get to see her?” Emma queried.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door.

Desmond smiled. “She is already here. Come in.”

The door opened and a young girl who seem to be in her early twenties entered.

“Hey,” She said dryly, having a de-ep frown on her face. Her blue eyes sparkled, reminding them of the blue sea and clear sky. She has brown long hair and was wearing a white crop top and blue jeans.

“Hi, honey. Please come in and say hello to your seniors.” Desmond said.

“Honestly, Dad, I told you I don’t want to do_” Her voice trailed off when her eyes fell upon Robert who was staring back at her. “Oh, hi.”

“Hi.” He replied.

“Ginny, I know you don’t want to do this job but…” Desmond began to talk but his daughter cut him off, rudely.

“Stop talking, Dad. Who is this fine man? Hello, I am Ginny.” She stretched out her hand to Robert for a handshake, smiling. “And you are?”

“Detective Robert,” Robert answered and shook hands with her.

“Permit me to say this, but you are as handsome as fuc-k . Damnnnn.”

Robert was lost for words. He was shocked at the girl’s bluntness and boldness. She has a sa-ssy and rude attitude based on how she has acted since she got into the office.

Desmond cleared his throat, trying to grab Ginny’s attention but she refused to look away from Robert. She shamelessly gawked at him, twirling her hair around her index finger while biting her bottom li-p, seductively.

Wait, is this the good and smart kid? Or is there a mixed up somewhere? Emma couldn’t stop herself from wondering.

“Uhm, Ginny, right?” Emma said, grabbing the girl’s attention and finally pulling her eyes from Robert’s face. “I am Detective Emma,”

Ginny tilted her head to the side and studied her carefully. After a while, she shrugged and simply said. “Okay.”

What the hell!? Emma felt like putting the girl in her place but refrained from doing that and held back her anger and frustration.

“Ginny, can you be more professional and show some respect to your seniors?” Desmond said.

She turned to look at him, raising a brow. “And who said I wasn’t professional or respectful?” She moved her gaze to Emma. “Do you have a problem with my attitude, ma’am?”

“Uh…”

Ginny didn’t wait for Emma to finish talking when she asked the same question to Robert. “What about you, Handsome?” She smiled. “Do you have a problem with my attitude?”

“Well, not really but…”

“You see.” She cut him off, staring back at her father. “They don’t have a problem with me.” She paused. “You know I said I don’t want to be an intern? I changed my mind.”

“Oh.” Desmond was taken aback by that and smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

“I know, right? But on one condition. I get to work alongside Detective Robert.”

“You will be working alongside Robert and Emma. You will be joining their team.”

“Emma?” She repeated with a scowl on her face, glaring at the young lady she was just meeting for the first time in her life. “Hmm.”

“Yeah. That reminds me, Detective Emma here,” Desmond handed her the same file he has been reading when they walked in. “that’s your next case with the team. I look forward to a successful investigation.”

Emma held unto the file without opening it. “Okay, sir.”

He stared at his daughter. “Your very first case with the team, make daddy proud, okay?”

She gave him a fake smile and then turned her focus back to Robert.

“You can go now.” Desmond shooed them away, leaning back into the seat.

“So, Detective Robert, can you show me around?” She wiggled her brows, locking arms with him as they stepped out of the office.

Emma felt so angry and disgusted with the girl’s attitude. Who the hell acts like this?

She walked towards the door and just when she twisted the doorknob, her boss said something from behind, bringing a halt to her movement.

“Take care of my daughter, Detective Emma. I am leaving her under your care.”

“Of course.” Emma gro-aned at the back of her throat as she left the office, shutting the door behind her.

She watched as Ginny pressed her body against Robert’s like a leech while they walked down the hallway.

“I don’t like her.” Emma mumbled to herself, gripping the file she was holding tight.