“Hey Daisy,” I said, as I walked into her room. She was feeding her baby, and if it weren’t for the swollen and bruised face and arms, she would have looked like any other normal mother nursing her newborn.

But I could see she wasn’t like any other mother. Not from the bruises and swelling, but by the haunted look in her eyes. By the way she jumped every single time the door opened, her eyes darting over at the door with fear.

“Hi, Jason,” she murmured, smiling up at me.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Still in a lot of pain every time I move, but I’m handling it.”

Handling it. Something told me she knew how to handle pain, too. I felt the urge to scoop her up and hug her, to somehow comfort the two of them. But I had to stay professional. Hugs weren’t part of the equation.

“We’re going to be moving you out of critical care and into your own room for a few days so you can have a little peace and quiet before you go home.”

“Oh,” she said, her eyes filling with sadness. “When will that be?”

“You’ll be moved in the next hour or so,” I replied.

“No, I mean when will I be released? To go…,” she paused, looking away from me before continuing, “…home.”

“Well, lets not worry about that too soon. I’m transferring your care over to one of our primary physicians and they’ll decide when you’re ready to be discharged.”

“Another doctor?” She asked, with a frown. “Why can’t you be my doctor?”

“I work in the trauma department, the emergency room.”

“Oh,” she replied, her voice low and sad. “So I won’t see you again?”

“I’ll make sure to stop in and check on you, okay?” My heart dropped at her sadness. This young lady should be full of joy and glowing with good health. Instead, she was obviously afraid and worried.

“Thank you,” she said, looking away. I pretended not to notice the tears in her eyes. A knock sounded at the door and a police officer I knew poked his head in.

“Is this a good time?” Officer Reynolds asked me.

I looked down at Daisy and she shook her head frantically.

“I think our patient needs a little more time,” I said, nodding firmly. I looked over at Daisy and flashed her a reassuring smile. “Be right back.”

I walked out and asked the officer if he could return later.

“Sure, Jason, but the Chief is really getting on my ass about this. Wants a statement at least. Looks like she was beaten up pretty badly. We don’t even have her name or address or anything. Did you establish next-of-kin yet?”

“I haven’t pried very deeply. She says her name is Daisy. That’s all I know.”

“Well, maybe you can convince her to talk to us sooner than later?” he asked.

“I’ll do my best,” I said.

“You always do,” he smiled.

“Thanks, Officer. I’ll be in touch.”

“Have a great day,” he said, walking away. I walked back into Daisy’s room and pulled a chair up beside her bed.

“I postponed their questions for a bit,” I said.

“Thank you so much,” she replied, flashing me a grateful look.

“Can we talk, Daisy?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said.

“Would you like to tell me what happened to you? Who did this to you?”

Her eyes grew wide with fear and my heart broke. Rage filled my veins as I thought about someone beating a pregnant woman, any woman, for that matter.

“I don’t know,” she muttered, looking away.

“You don’t know?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Okay. Is there someone we can call? A husband? A boyfriend? Your mother?”

She scoffed and shook her head.

“No.”

“No…” I said, shaking my head. “Not anyone? A friend?”

“No.”

I nodded, thinking what else to ask.

“So, the cops are going to want to know a lot more, Daisy. They’ll want to know who you were with and where you were before you were attacked. They’ll want to know where you work, where you live, all of that.”

She looked over at me again, her eyes filled with panic.

“Can’t you just tell them I don’t know anything and ask them to leave me alone?”

“I wish I could, but they’ll want to speak to you directly.”

“Fine,” she said, shaking her head. “But I don’t remember anything.”

“You knew your name, though, right? You know where you live and all that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well that’s a start, isn’t it? They can piece together what happened to you, starting backwards.”

“Whatever,” she muttered, clearly becoming frustrated. She pulled her son in close to her chest.

“What’s his name?”

“Who?”

“Your son.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling down at him. “Alex. Alexander.”

“That’s a nice name,” I said. “He’s doing really well. It’s a miracle, really. Whoever hurt you could have easily hurt the baby, too. But somehow, he survived just fine. He’s a lucky boy.”

She nodded quietly, staring down at him, as I watched them.

Another knock sounded at the door and Jenn peeked her head in.

“Doctor Boone? Can I talk to you a moment?”

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Daisy as I walked outside.

“There’s a woman here named Ruby who wants to see Daisy. Says she’s her mother.”

“There is?”

“Well, she called her by another name - Scarlet - but she insists on seeing the pregnant woman brought in the other day.”

“That’s weird,” I said. “Let me go talk to Daisy, see what she says.”

I walked back in the room.

“Daisy, do you know a woman named Ruby? She says she’s here to see you.”

Her mouth fell open and she promptly slammed it shut. She looked away from me and shook her head.

“I don’t know anyone named Ruby.”

“Really? She says she’s your mother.”

“My mother is dead.”

She still wouldn’t look at me. Her mouth was pressed into a firm line, and I knew she wouldn’t talk. Whatever happened to this woman, whoever did this to her, she was still afraid of them.

“Okay, then. Must be a mistake. I’ll take care of it.”

I walked to the door, pausing to look back at her, trying to control the urges washing over me. There was nothing I could do for her, other than making sure she had the best care while she was in the hospital, but did I wish there was more I could do?

You bet your ass I did.

“Tell the woman to leave,” I told Jenn. “She’s got the wrong girl.”

“Will do, Doctor,” she said, walking away.

I watched her walk away, her curvy ass swaying temptingly. But I didn’t see it, not really.

I was distracted.

Haunted by Daisy’s frightened green eyes…