Trauma of the Forest (Meadema)

~ Chapter 62: Helping Hands ~

They walked to the entrance of the police station, hand in hand, while Viv looked around carefully to make sure there really was no one there who had seen them, that there really was no one who would take another picture of them. But it was quiet, thankfully, no one around who would recognize them and start spreading rumors for the umpteenth time. At the reception desk sat a woman, who was reaching retirement age, who looked at them with a friendly smile.

'Hello ladies, what can I do for you?'. Viv immediately felt at ease with this woman, who radiated so much peace and kindness. Really a woman who doesn't work because she has to, but really from her heart. 'Good evening. Uhm... We are involved in the case surrounding the escape that took place this afternoon in London. We would like to talk to someone about this.' 

The woman immediately got a slightly worried look on her face and could hear from Viv's voice that it was urgent, that they couldn't waste a second. 'Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm going to quickly check the system to see who is on duty and who can help you in the best way possible'.

While the receptionist was busy going through the agenda, Viv felt Beth's head hit her shoulder again. She carefully turned her head and pressed a kiss to Beth's hair, while she ran her hand over Beth's arm and whispered in her ear. 'It's going to be okay, liefje. We're safe here. I promise you'll be able to sleep later.' Beth, whose eyes were almost closing, decided to stand up straight again, not to lean against Viv anymore, otherwise she was sure she would fall asleep from the exhaustion, despite all the stress and fear in her body.

The receptionist turned her attention back to Beth and Viv. 'Okay ladies, I'm going to take you to Kim and Liam. I'm sure they can help you tremendously with this'. What Beth and Viv didn't know was that the St Albans police force had just undergone a relaunch, in which all kinds of courses were given to officers. Kim, the female officer, specialist in victims who are dealing with trauma and, before training as a female officer, had completed a course in psychology and midwifery. Liam, worked as a marine for a few years, worked as a teacher for a few years, for which he also had to study psychology and has been working for the police for 10 years now. So whether these officers were suitable to help Beth and Viv, was no longer a question, it was a fact.

The receptionist brought them to an office, where she knocked on the door and took Beth and Viv into the room, where they saw that the officers were just starting their meal, as they had just come back from their patrol round. 'Uhm Kim, Liam, I have an emergency here regarding the case from the escape in London. Can you take care of these women?'. The trays of food were immediately pushed aside, Kim grabbed a notebook and Liam logged in on the laptop, which made Beth and Viv feel a bit guilty, so Viv decided to say something about it. 'Uhm, you can eat something in the meantime'.

But that was out of the question, these officers would eat later. 'Oh don't worry ma'am, we would much rather help you first. Just take a seat, we'll eat our food later'. Beth and Viv sat down, both on a chair, Beth's hand didn't leave Viv's hand for a second, needing Viv's touch to feel that she was still with her, that those men couldn't separate her from Viv with Viv being around her.

'Can we offer you something to drink and a biscuit to help you recover from what's going on?'. Viv was immediately enthusiastic. Beth hesitated, with all the fear coursing through her body she felt like she couldn't get a sip of drink or bite of food down, that her oesophagus was completely constricted. But she knew that she had to, that she had to make sure their baby got enough fluids and nutrients. So the female officer stood up, to make two cups of tea and get two biscuits in the corner of the room by the coffee maker, while the male officer was starting everything up.

The room was quiet, only the water dispenser and the typing on the laptop could be heard. Beth wanted to start crying again. One hand clamped in Viv's, the other slowly rubbing her belly. How could this be their fate again? After all the setbacks they had, it just wasn't over yet. Viv decided to reassure Beth once again. She hated that Beth felt this way, while, despite the little bit of panic that was forming inside her, she felt stronger than ever. It really felt like this was her revenge against those men.