A New Family

Chapter One- Finding Her

It was a dark, gloomy morning as Cal slipped out of his bed. It was 6:30 in the morning. Too early for him, but he had to get to work at Holby City ED, where he was a doctor. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee when his younger brother, Ethan, walked in.

"Good morning," Ethan told his brother. He grabbed his mug and poured himself some coffee as well.

"Morning. You coming in today?" Cal asked.

"Yes. Same time as you actually. We can go together."

"Great. Well we better get dressed and get on our way. Wouldn't want to be late. Might rain today."

Both brothers went into their rooms and got ready for the day. When they walked out the door, it was still dark out. A suspicious looking man hurried past them, almost running.

"Wonder what he was doing? Oh, wait, let's take the trash out now," Ethan says, running inside to grab the trash. Once he got out, they turned the corner to where the dumpster was. Then, they saw it.

A girl, no older than 15, was lying on the ground. It was cold, but she was only wearing a light sweater. She had bruises on cuts on her face.

"Cal! Come quick!"

Cal rushed over to Ethan to help him with the girl. He noticed her long, brown hair was all knotted up, like it hadn't been cared for properly.

"Hello, can you hear me?" Cal asked, hoping to get a response. But the girl was unconscious.

"Ethan, call an ambulance, quick."

Ethan was on it. Before they answered he asked "Do you think she has something to do with that man we just saw?"

Cal shrugged. "Possibly."

Only 10 minutes passed when an ambulance arrived. Dixie and Iain hopped out to meet the brothers.

"Cal? Ethan? What's going on?" Dixie asked, looking confused.

"We just found her here. She's been unconscious the entire time. Her pulse and resps are low, so she may be hypothermic. She also looks like she hasn't been looking after herself properly." Ethan explained to the paramedics.

"Alright darling, can you hear me?" Dixie asked as she rubbed the girl's shoulder.

Then, the girl started to shift ever so slightly. She opened her eyes and panicked. She tried to get up, but people held her down.

"Hey, don't move. It's alright. Can you tell us your name?" Cal said trying to comfort her.

The girl said nothing. She started moaning, almost screaming.

"Alright, alright. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to help. Now, can you tell us what happened?" Iain explained.

The girl still said nothing. Her behavior was odd though.

"Do you think she could be autistic?" Cal asked.

"I think so. When we get back to the ED I'll call social services, maybe they know how to help." Dixie said.

They loaded the girl up into the ambulance. They gave her some pain relief to try to help calm her down, but it barely worked. After a short drive, they made it. Cal helped her off the ambulance, keeping a hand on her shoulder to guide her.

When they got inside, Connie walked up, surprised to see the brothers late. But as soon as she saw the girl, she forgot all about that.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"This is an unknown female, approximately 15 years. She was found by Cal and Ethan unconscious by the dumpster. All obs are normal although she has a low temperature. We also suspect she may be autistic. She hasn't spoken at all." Dixe explained as they walked to an empty cubicle.

"Alright, do you two want to get changed? It may be best she is treated by people she already knows." Connie asked, looking at the brothers.

When they came back, they saw Rita and Connie with the girl.

"Alright, how's it going?" Ethan asked.

"Well, she has several injuries to her face, arms, and back. Some of which are infected. She is also slightly hypothermic. But it's her body condition that concerns me." Connie said while she lifted up the girls shirt.

The girl's ribs were quite visible. "Oh, poor thing. Have you called social services?" Cal asked.

"Not yet. We really need to get her in a gown." Rita said.

"She probably wouldn't let us. She's been putting up a fight. She's just scared." Connie said.

"It may be best to give her a light sedative, just to calm her down. Then we can get her in a gown to examine her further. But we should really call social services, try to figure out who she is and what happened." Ethan said.

About 30 minutes later, the girl was half asleep and in a gown. The team found more injuried, including a very deap laceration on her thigh.

When social services arrived, the police was with them as well. Cal suddenly got worried.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Cal asked them.

"We were called about a found teen." one of the officers said.

"Umm, yes, I'm her doctor. She was found by my brother and I earlier this morning unconscious. We're also pretty sure she's autistic."

"Well, we got a call from the orphanage. Apparently they have an autistic teen who went missing last night."

"Oh no. Well, she's right over there. Is she the one?" Cal asked.

The other officer nodded. "Yes, that's her. How is she?"

"She's fine. Some injuries that are infected but otherwise perfectly fine. She was hypothermic but everything is back to normal."

"Good. Well, we've got the case worker here. She would like to speak to you."

Cal walked to an office where an young woman was sitting. She looked worried. He just hoped everything would be ok.......