Demons (An AU Nathan Gardner Story)

Chapter 15 - Aftermath

Fifteen minutes later, Nathan was giving a statement to a different officer, Burt at his side, his entire body shaking with anger at David and fear for Sydney. An hour and a half after that and a doctor was looking for the person who brought Sydney in.

"Sir, are you related to her?" the doctor asked.

"I'm her fiancé," he lied, knowing it was going to be the only way he could see her. Burt was on Nathan's side, backing up his story; Nathan already explained to him that there was no other family to be there with her.

The doctor was solemn. "She's..." He paused, knowing he needed to change his wording before he said it. "Why don't we sit down, Mister..." Nathan felt his stomach turn and couldn't find his voice.

"It's okay, Nate," Burt said, his voice calm, almost soothing. He guided Nathan to a chair, then looked at the doctor, whom he knew well; he saw him quite frequently when it came to a few domestic cases. "Doc, this is Nathan Gardner - he's a good friend of mine. Nate, this is Doctor Benning - he's the best here in the ER. Sydney's in good hands, I promise."

The doctor looked at Nathan, his eyes concerned, but his tone kind. "She'll be all right. There is no permanent damage to her esophagus. The bruising on her neck is rather deep, but we found no fractures. She will likely, however, suffer from a good deal of pain for a few days when trying to speak of swallow. Her ankle is severely sprained and she has three cracked ribs..."

"Her head," Nathan rasped, interrupting the doctor. "There was...there was so much blood."

The doctor nodded. "Head wounds often seem worse than they really are, though she does have a concussion and we stitched the back of her head." He looked Nathan over. "Has anyone looked at you, Nathan?"

"I'm fine." He looked down at his shirt. "The blood's not mine."

"Your hand." Doctor Benning's eyes cast down. The knuckles on Nathan's right hand were skinned, dried blood crusting over them. Nathan hadn't even felt it.

"Fuck," he grumbled. He looked back to the doctor. "Can I see her?"

"There is a nurse with her now, cleaning her up. Let's get your hand taken care of and then I can take you to her." Nathan nodded, understanding that he was best off listening to the doctor to get to Sydney quicker.

"I'll see you in a bit, Nate," Burt said, patting his back.

Once behind a curtain in another part of the ER, a dire conversation began. "One of the doctors here," Nathan said, anger welling inside him once again, "did this to her."

"What?" Doctor Benning's eyes went wide.

"David Kerter...he..."

"David?...D...wait, that's..." He remembered seeing Sydney once before, years earlier at a fundraiser with David. "I'm not questioning, but...are you certain?"

"His face did this to my hand." He looked down at the floor. "I..."

"You told the police?" Nathan nodded. "Do they have him?"

"I don't know yet."

The doctor's voice became distant for a moment. "Something's been off with him for weeks." Doctor Benning finished bandaging Nathan's hand, then led him down the hall to Sydney's room - Burt had an officer standing outside of it for Nathan's future peace of mind. There was not good news to be given.

"Now, Nathan, she's not awake and...it looks worse than it is, I promise." He put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "When she opens her eyes, don't panic. There was some hemorrhaging in her left eye and it will take a little while to heal." He motioned for Nathan to go into the room.