What's she Worth to You?

Navy

I take both her hands in mine and look her in her eyes.

"Tell me what you saw," I whisper and she looks down trying to remember.

"We were in the bathroom," she says shakily in her horse and tired voice. "And they were holding me under the water, because I wouldn't tell them where she was..." she pauses, her breathing gets caught in the back of her throat, staggering as her panic intensifies. She looks up and I can see the pain and confusion in her eyes.
"Who is she? Where did she go? I don't get it, I-I don't understand-"

"Shh, hey, take a breath. I don't know yet, we won't know until you remember more." She shakes her head.

"No, no! No, I don't want to wait that long, I can't wait that long!"

"Honey, this is all up to you," I murmur, pushing her hair out of her face.
"All of this, everything we came here to do depends on your memories," I pause, trying to catch my breath.
"But they're not going to come back all at once," I whisper and watch a tear fall over her cheek.
"I wish that I could tell you that its going to be easy, but it's just not the truth..." I apply a hand to her cheek and she looks up at me with a tear stained face.
"Hey, I'm not giving up on you," I whisper. She nods, tears still drizzling down her face.
"C'mere," I whisper and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She leans her head against my chest and silently cries into my shirt. I feel my heart breaking for her, and tighten the hug even further. She grabs the fabric of my shirt and pulls it into her fist, her body bouncing as she cries. I gently run my hands through her hair, attempting to calm her down.

Jay walks into the room, but she's too distraught to even notice. We make eye contact for a moment, but then his eyes fall over the girl, and I watch his being fill with sorrow. He begins to walk over and I silently shake my head, mouthing the word no over and over, but he continues.
He lays a hand on her back and she looks up, making eye contact with him.

And for once, she doesn't look frightened. She doesn't look afraid, she looks relieved. A small broken smile spreads across her face and an exhausted laugh escapes her lips. She takes his hand and squeezes it tightly. He leans in and wraps his arms around her, as well. And we just stand there, like our own little broken family, comforting her for what seems like forever.

***

I run my fingers through her damp hair and brush it out gently.

"Tell me a little about what happened in your memory, what did the people look like?" I ask and she hesitates to answer.

"The one who was asking me all the questions," she pauses, "he had dark hair, and light eyes..." Her voice fades out and she shakes her head. "I-I don't know, I can't remember,"

"Try to remember, honey." She tries but can't seem to think of anything. "What was his voice like, what did he sound like?" She takes a deep breath.

"Angry... His voice was angry, and pure,"

"Did he have an accent, or anything special to his voice?" Jay interjects, but she shakes her head sadly.

"No, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, honey, we'll find him." I lay my hand on her shoulder and she jerks up.

"Wait!" She yells, as her breathing gets louder and more intense. "A tattoo..." She whispers. "He had a tattoo on his shoulder."

"What did it look like? What did you see?"

"An eagle," she takes a moment to think. "Holding something in his feet..." I look to Jay quickly.

"Navy," Jay says and I nod.

"He was in the navy." A smile spreads across my lips and I turn back to her.
"We're gonna find him, honey. I promise."

***

I pull down the covers of her bed and lay her down, tucking her in.  I lean over the bed and take both her small hands.

"I'm right down the hall if you need anything," I whisper and she smiles.

"Okay." I kiss her forehead and run a hand over her face.

"Do you feel safe here, sweet heart?" She slowly nods, her eyelids drooping, closing as the drugs that Will prescribed kick in.

"Yes..." she drags the word out as she fights to stay awake.

"Goodnight sweet girl," I whisper as the drugs pull her under and she falls asleep.