Lost Love

Nic's day off

Nic woke up to the sound of the shower running. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Today was her first day off in a while. She wished Conrad could stay home with her but the hospital needed as much help as they could get. A blizzard was headed toward Atlanta and no one knew how bad it would be. Conrad walked out of the bathroom and saw Nic was awake. "Good morning beautiful." He said smiling. Nic smiled at him. She stood up and came over to him. Conrad wrapped his arms around her as she layed her head on his chest. Nic closed her eyes and stood there listening to his heartbeat. Conrad leaned down and kissed the top of Nic's head. "I better get going. If you need anything call me. Please stay inside. This blizzard is supposed to get bad." He said not wanting to let go. Nic nodded. "I promise I'll stay inside." She said as they pulled apart. Before he left the house Nic kissed him goodbye and said "I love you." Conrad smiled. "I love you too." Nic watched out the front window as he drove away in his car. It was already starting to snow outside. After Conrad left Nic took a shower and had some breakfast.

A few hours later Nic was watching the snow fall outside when her phone notified her that she had a text. It was from Conrad. "How are you doing? I miss you.💕" Nic smiled. "I'm good. Just relaxing. I miss you too.💜" she replied back. It was just after noon and Nic's stomach growled. She stuck her phone in her pocket and went to the kitchen. She had just finished lunch and was settling in on the couch when she heard noises on the porch. She looked out the window thinking maybe Conrad was coming home early. But she could see that his car wasn't in the driveway. As soon as she opened the door she saw a young child laying unconscious on the porch. She had very little clothes on and Nic could see that she looked thin. She quickly slipped her boots on and stepped onto the porch. Nic knelt down next to the girl and felt for a pulse. It was faint but she could feel it. She picked up the girl and brought her inside out of the cold. Nic layed her on the couch and grabbed a blanket. Before she covered her up she checked for other injuries. She noticed what appeared to be bruises on the little girl's throat. They looked like finger marks. Nic then lifted the shirt the little girl was wearing. She got tears in her eyes when she saw that the girls ribs were bruised as well. She took a deep breath the covered her with a blanket to keep her warm. She then stepped into the kitchen to call Conrad.

Conrad was on his lunch break when his phone rang. He saw it was Nic and smiled. His smile quickly turned into a frown when she told him she was bringing in the little girl as soon as she got off the phone. When Conrad heard her say there were signs of abuse he said "I'll meet you there. I love you." They both ended their call so Nic could get there quickly. Conrad ran down to the ER as fast as he could. When he got there Devon was at the front desk. "Woah Conrad slow down. Are you ok?" Devon asked. "Nic's on the way with a little girl. She said there are signs of abuse. She's alive but her pulse is weak." He managed to get out between breaths. Conrad managed to catch his breath eventually. Back at the house Nic got her coat on then picked the little girl up. She had started her car to make sure it was warm when they got in. The little girl was still unconscious as Nic strapped her in in the front seat. She got in and drove as fast as she could to Chastain. Nic pulled up to the ER and went to the passenger side. She opened the door and gathered the girl in her arms. She still was wrapped in the blanket Nic had given her back at the house.

Nic walked into the ER and was immediately met by Conrad and Devon. They took her over to a bed where Nic lay the girl down and removed the blanket. Devon hooked her up to the heart monitor while Conrad began examining her injuries. Conrad listened to her heart then her lungs. "Lungs and heart sound clear." He said lifting her shirt to check her other injuries. Nic had to step away as she couldn't handle seeing all the bruises on the young girl's body. Conrad could tell she had broken ribs. As for the bruising around her throat he suspected that her abuser had tried to choke her. He planned to keep an eye on her throughout the night. She was breathing on her own which was a good sign. He gave her some painkillers and had Devon go call social services. He went to go talk to Nic and make sure she was ok. He held Nic in his arms and kissed her head.

A few hours later Nic was sitting near the little girl's bed holding her hand. She was kind of falling asleep when she felt the girl move her hand. Nic looked up and was watching as she blinked a couple times then opened her eyes. The young girl looked at Nic still kind of out of it. "Hey sweety. I'm Nic. Your at Chastain memorial hospital. Do you remember anything?" Nic asked softly still holding her hand. The little girl shook her head no. "It's ok sweety. Your safe. Can you tell me your name?" She asked seeing Conrad coming over. She put her hand out to tell him to wait a minute. "I'm S-Sonny." She said nervously watching Conrad. Nic noticed and said "Nice to meet you. That's Conrad. He won't hurt you. We live together. He wants to meet you." Sonny just nodded and Nic motioned for Conrad to come over. "Hey kiddo how are you feeling?" He asked standing on the other side of the bed. Sonny didn't reply and reached for Nic. "Your ok sweety." Nic said trying to keep her calm. Conrad wanted to listen to her heart and lungs again. Nic stood up and sat down on the little girl's bed. "Sweetheart Conrad wants to listen to your heart and lungs. He's not going to hurt you. Will you let him if I sit here with you?" She asked giving Sonny a reassuring smile. Sonny nodded and just sat there quietly as Conrad listened. He finished up then went to take a closer look at the bruising on her neck. As soon as he got too close Sonny started to panic and started hitting him. "Hey hey easy. I'm not going to hurt you." Conrad said calmly while backing up to let her have some space. "Sonny I'm going to go talk to Conrad. I'll be right back." Nic said. Sonny nodded and lay back down in the bed.

Nic and Conrad were talking by the front desk when a woman approached them. "Hi I'm with social services. I'm looking for Dr. Conrad Hawkins." She said. Conrad held out his hand. "I'm Conrad. Your probably here about the little girl. She's right over there." He pointed over to the bed where the little girl appeared to have fallen asleep again. Conrad walked over to the bed with the woman. Nic stayed back by the front desk in the ER. She knew the young girl would be taken to a foster home once she was healthy enough. She couldn't handle the thought of having to say goodbye to the girl. She had taken a liking to Sonny even though they both didn't really know each other too well. Nic felt tears form in her eyes. Before anyone else could notice Nic walked out of the building and drove home. Conrad was still with the woman from social services. He took a quick glance towards the front desk in the ER. Nic was nowhere to be seen.