Cry, Wolf, Cry

Ch.13 - Call From The ER

 Theodore smiled when he saw the picture of Caiti and him pull up on his caller ID, "Hey."

"Hello, Theodore?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"My name is Dr. Phish. I'm calling for Caiti. She's having a panic attack and we may have to sedate her. When I mentioned this she gasped your name and pointed at her phone. I"

"She's in the ER? You know her?"

"Yes, I'm her regular physician."

"I'll be right there. Tell her that." He hung up his phone and took the fastest route he could think of to get to the hospital. He parked and ran inside, asking to speak with Dr. Phish. The nurse looked at him questioningly and he gritted his teeth, "Dr. Phish called me because my girlfriend is here in the ER having panic attack! I know you have protocol, but when the doctor himself called me that should tell you how severe the situation is."

Phish walked out of the room, "Theodore? Come this way."

Theodore moved as quickly as he could over to Dr. Phish and was pointed to Caiti lying in a bed. She smiled at him from her fetal position and he rushed to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him, gently rocking her. "Just breathe. You can do this. You can do anything."

Dr. Phish watched them for a moment before looking up at Caiti's monitor. She had always asked that the monitor be muted so she didn't have to hear it beeping and Phish made a point of making sure he stayed near her when she was anywhere in the hospital that wasn't a scheduled visit. Her heart rate was slowing towards normal. Phish nodded and waved a nurse over, whispering something to her as Theodore held Caiti, stroking her hair. She started uncurling from her fetal position and wrapped her arms around Theodore, squeezing him and gripping his jacket so hard her knuckles were turning white.

Theodore kissed her forehead and noticed she was cold, "Sweetheart, loosen your grip for a second. I'm not leaving. I'm going to put my jacket on you. You feel cold." She loosened her grip slightly and he did exactly what he told her he would. He put his jacket over her shoulders before pulling her close to him again.

Dr. Phish pulled up a chair near the bed when Caiti's heart rate had slowed closer to normal, "We didn't have to use sedation, obviously. I was hoping that once you got here, Theodore, that she would start calming down."

"What happened?" Caiti had fallen asleep in Theodore's arms and he wanted some answers from Dr. Phish.

"I don't know. All I do know is that she came into the ER because she had a panic attack. I was nearby delivering some files to another doctor who asked for my thoughts on something and recognized Caiti. The nurse in training at the desk hadn't been near a panic attack before and didn't know what to do. I brought Caiti back here and it got so bad that, like I told you, I told her if she didn't calm we'd have to use sedation which was when she held her phone out and pointed at your name on the top of her screen and gasped your name and the word call. She'd never asked that before and I told Caiti when she first started seeing me that I would always respect her wishes and wants as well as her needs."

"Thank you for calling me. How soon do you think I can take her back to her house?"

"You could probably take her now. Her heart rate's been down to normal for a while now. She must feel extremely safe around you." Theodore blinked as Dr. Phish continued, "If you don't already understand that then it's not my place to explain. I just know that Caiti has always had a neighbor bring her in when she's started having panic attacks and she's never before asked me to call someone like she asked me to call you."

Theodore looked at her and kissed her head before he turned back to Dr. Phish, "Where's her phone? And what paperwork do I need to sign to take her home?"

Dr. Phish held out a form and once Theodore signed it he handed him Caiti's phone as well as his card, "Call me if something happens."

Theodore nodded and picked Caiti up, carrying her to his car and buckling her in beside him so he could keep an arm around her as he drove her to Liam and Anna's since he didn't know which key Caiti had was her own and he didn't want to wake her by going through her pockets.

He took her inside and into his room, leaving his coat on her as he laid her on his bed and moved in behind her to hold her. He stayed awake through the night, just watching her sleep.