The Guardian

Chapter Nine

Michael passed a twenty-something woman as she entered Julianna's room. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Hi. I'm Allyson Drager. I'm looking for Julianna Tennyson."

"She's asleep right now. I'm Dr. Michael Asher. I was just talking to her, and I'd like to set up an appointment to talk to her again. She's asleep now, but I was hoping that we could set up that appointment before she wakes up."

"We can do that. Is there any lasting damage to Julianna from the drugs that she was given?"

"Heavens, no. She'll feel off for a few days, but she'll come out of this just fine. The emergency doctor was able to get to her in time to save her."

"I was there. Someone rung the doorbell and, when I went to answer the door, Julianna was lying on the stoop." Allyson sounded as upset as she would have been if it was her own child, and Michael was pleased to hear the care in her voice. He thought that he'd have to mention it to Seth.

"Then she must have crawled home. She doesn't remember anything, which is in line with the amount of drug that was given to her. She said that she blacked out."

Allyson looked surprised. "Can that happen? That she could have done something but not remember?"

Michael shrugged. "That's the nature of that drug. That's why it's such a powerful date rape drug. It blanks the victim's mind. The victim may have been conscious the whole time, but the confusion that is associated with the drug makes it unlikely that the victim will remember what happened. This means that people can be raped and the victim will know nothing until it's too late to do anything about it. GHB is a terrible drug."

Allyson looked worried. "That's what she was drugged with?"

"Yes, it was. Her tox screens came back screaming high. She was definitely drugged."

Allyson paused. Then, in a rush she articulated her worst fear, "do you think there was any chance she did this to herself?"

Michael shook his head. "No. No one would choose to take GHB. From what the police can ascertain, she was fed the drug when she had a cola. The sweet taste of the cola masked the salty taste of the drug. She never knew what was coming."

Allyson sighed in relief, and her shoulders slumped with released tension. "Thank God. I know the emergency physician said she didn't take the medication purposely herself either, but I wanted to make sure. Julianna has been making such great strides with us."

Michael smiled sympathetically. "And she'll continue to do well with you. She spoke quite positively about the home and about you personally."

Allyson smiled in relief. "I'm glad. I'm very happy with how well she's been doing."

"I'd like to talk to her again."

"What kind of doctor are you?" She yanked her purse strap higher on her shoulder as it started to slip off and reached inside to retrieve her agenda.

"I'm a psychiatrist." He pulled out his card and wrote his cell number on the back. He handed it over to her, and she shoved it into her agenda. "I think I can help Julianna. When does she have available time to see me?"

"As far as I remember, she doesn't have anything to do other than go to school for the next few weeks." She looked in her agenda but didn't see anything written down for Julianna. "How sick is she? When should she go back to school?" She looked up at him in question.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'd wait until I can see her again before you send her back to school. She'll have to deal with people talking about her and pointing fingers at her. Sure, she can talk to you at any time, but I suspect she's a pretty private person." Allyson nodded as Michael said, "I'd like to make sure she's aware she can also talk to me. I want to build up her support system before you send her back to school. I know I have an appointment available after school tomorrow, at five o'clock. I'd like to see her then. Do you think that you can arrange to have her come to my office?"