No Matter What

Chapter 40

"Hi, everyone." Stacey said walking through the garage into the kitchen where Maggie, Liz and Larry were all sitting. Maggie had finally talked Mike into taking a nap now that everyone was safe. "I hope it's okay that I just walked in."

Maggie stood up and hugged her, taking her coat. "Stacey Ann, you are family. You just walk right in whenever you want."

"Which you did." Larry winked as he poured Stacey a cup of coffee. "Come sit."

Stacey nodded as she put her doctor's bag down. "Where are they? How are they?"

"I looked at Don's arm and the bullet did just grazed him." Larry explained to Stacey. "I think he wanted a little time with Meryl."

Liz looked at Stacey. "I am actually glad it is just us. Don texted me and said that he and Meryl wanted her to talk to me about what happened. Don thinks it was a PTSD episode but as Larry has shared everything with me, I am not sure that it is. I think it is medical."

"Okay." Stacey nodded as she tried to move from being a cousin who was greatly worried about her favorite cousin and his wife, to a doctor. "What DID happen?"

Larry told Stacey everything from Don seeing the text to them driving to Brad and Jane's, to coming back to the house. How Don was able to get through to her. How Meryl was in a daze. How the gun went off. And everything and anything in between. "That is everything that I know."

"Aunt Jane didn't see any of you, right?" Stacey asked as Larry shook his head. "The car?"

Liz nodded. "Larry drove me to get it, and Larry had it moved so Jane wouldn't see."

"Thank god." Stacey breathed. "And this is why Don didn't want to come to the hospital? He is afraid a report would be filed?"

Larry nodded. "Even if he had you as a doctor, wouldn't you have to put this in the medical notes?"

"Yeah." Stacey nodded then got a sly smile on her face. "I am not on the clock and I am not in the hospital now, so I won't have to. My cousin knows the deal."

Maggie laughed at Stacey. "He does, and we are just so grateful that you came out here."

"Don and Meryl are family, you all are family." Stacey was thinking everything and she looked at Liz. "Lizzie, you said that you didn't think this was merely a PTSD episode."

Liz nodded as she took a sip of her coffee. "I don't. Not by everything that Larry explained to me, and her disoriented state when she got back. Yes, she has had PTSD, which is completely understandable after everything she has gone through the last several days."

"Not to mention YEARS." Maggie went into protective mode. "After what Jane has done to them, I want to take Mike's gun over there."

Larry tried not to laugh at his mother, knowing she would never do that. "Ma, please don't say that in front of the police."

"She basically blacked out. She doesn't remember driving over there. She doesn't remember getting in the lock box and getting Mike's gun." Liz was explaining. "This just doesn't feel like a PTSD episode."

Larry placed his hand on his wife's leg and jumped in. "She's right. Her eyes were vacant when we got there. Her voice was monotone. She sounded like a robot. It wasn't until Don broke through to her that she was herself. That's when she dropped the gun and it went off. She was horrified, of course."

"I agree with you, Lizzie." Stacey was thinking through this. "Okay, I want to go in and stitch Don up. Lizzie, would you go in with me and we can both talk to them?"

Liz immediately nodded. "Of course. What are you thinking?"

"I want to do some brain scans. I really do think that her concussion has worsened from the stress." Stacey saw the smirk on Liz's face. "And I think you do as well."