The Apprentice

Never Alone

"Natalie, a word?" Will called her away from the desk and led her into the doctor's lounge.

"What's going on?" Dr. Manning wondered as the door closed behind her.

"Okay, Callie has been having stomach pain all day. She literally fell to the floor crying in pain." Will stated.

"What?!" She gasped.

"She had some vaginal bleeding and started vomiting so I did a few tests and..." He hesitated, unable to believe what he was about to tell her. "Her HCG levels were elevated."

"Wait, her HCG? That's not possible unless..." Natalie came to a realization. "No. There's no way!" She shrieked.

"I'm sorry. But with her hormones elevated, the vaginal trauma, her other injuries sustained when she went missing, all the evidence is pointing towards assault. The P.D. are on their way to talk to her. She wanted you to know first, but she didn't want you to worry about her."

"Where is she now?"

"Treatment five"

Natalie raced out of the doctor's lounge.

***

"Callie?" She rasped as she burst into the room to see Callie still crying in April's arms. She wasted no time and threw her arms around the young brunette. "Hey... It's gonna be okay." She spoke soothingly.

"I-I wanted to tell y-you."

"Don't worry about that now." She assured, pulling out of the hug. "I know this is still new, but I want you to be able to trust me. Especially with something like this."

"I was scared."

"I know, Sweetie." Natalie smiled sadly. "But as long as I'm a part of your life, you are never going through anything alone. Do you understand me?"

"But then what?"

"What do you mean?" Dr. Manning wondered.

"What am I gonna do when you get tired of me?" Callie wondered.

"What? Is that why you won't let me in? Because you think I'm gonna abandon you?" Natalie realized. Callie shrugged.

"Why not? Everybody else does. It's what they do. I figured it was only a matter of time." Callie mentioned.

"Look, Sweetie. I know you've been through a lot, and it's gonna take some time to adjust. But, I'm not going anywhere." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I wanted to wait until things had calmed down before giving you this, but I guess you could use it now."

Callie unfolded the paper and read the contents on the page. Her movements stilled as she stared in shock.

"You- I-" She stuttered, glancing up at Natalie, then back down to the paper in her hand. "You wanna adopt me?"

"Is that okay with you?" She smiled. Callie started to smile but hesitated.

"But, what about-" She glanced down as her arm reached across her stomach.

"Listen, I know it's not an ideal situation.." Natalie explained. "But, you have options. And whatever you decide to do, I will support you." She assured.

"Options..." Callie repeated to herself as she glanced over at Will's Ipad, still displaying her HCG results. She shook herself out of her daydream and turned her attention back to Dr. Manning. "I don't have to decide today, right?"

"Of course not, Sweetie. Just take it easy."

***