“I’m sorry. I can’t let you back there unless the patient has given us written permission,” the young girl at the reception desk says to us for the third time. “It’s the law.”

I take a deep breath, trying not to lose my shit. I realize this girl is just doing her job, but I really don’t give a fuck about the law. Rose needs us.

“Listen—” I look down at her badge and smile. “—Amy, I realize it’s the law, but she was unconscious when they brought her in. We need to be with her when she wakes.”

“I’m sorry, sir. But I can’t let you go back,” the woman repeats.

“We were there when they picked her up in the ambulance,” Asher says and waves his cast. “See this blood. I was holding her while we waited. She’ll want to see us.”

“I understand, sir,” she says. “But my hands are tied.”

“Is there a problem here?” A rather large man dressed in a security uniform approaches the desk and crosses his arms.

“No, problem,” I say.

Amy smiles up at the guy. “Don’t worry, Steve. I’ve got this under control.”

The guy looks over at Asher and narrows his eyes. “I’ll be right over there if you need me.”

“Fuck this. I’m calling Roger,” Asher says from behind me. “He’ll rattle some chains, reach out to the administrator, or something. They can’t keep us from seeing her.”

“Amy,” I say patiently as Asher walks away from the desk. “I know you’re just doing your job and I don’t want to get you in trouble. If you could just tell us what room she’s in. You wouldn’t be letting us in, and no one needs to know how we found out.”

“Sir. I can’t.” She looks around, checking to see if Security Steve is listening. “I really am sorry. I can get a note back to her if you want.”

No, I don’t want. The only thing I want is to see that Rose is awake and safe. I want to touch her. Hear her sweet voice. But I can tell, Amy isn’t going to budge. “Fine. Do you have some paper?”

Asher is pacing the hall, yelling into the phone. “They can’t keep us out. There must be something you can do.”

I find a quiet spot in the waiting room and watch him, watching for signs of a meltdown. It won’t do Rose any good for us to be kicked out of the hospital. This is the second time in almost as many weeks that I’ve found myself on the other side of a hospital security door waiting to hear the fate of someone that I care about.

The institutional blue and green room is suffocating. Other people surround us. Worried families and friends are huddled in small groups, whispering words of support. A tired toddler fusses in his mother’s arms as she tries to entertain her other two kids. I’m tired of it. Asher is right. There has to be something Roger can do legally to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. A power of attorney or something.

After getting off the phone, Asher stalks back over. A dark cloud of anger and frustration swirls around him, and the rest of the waiting room gives us a wide berth.

“Roger is going to see what he can do, but it doesn’t look good.”

“The girl at registration said she’d pass along a note,” I tell him. “Once she’s awake, she can sign the papers to let us back there.”

“What if she doesn’t want to see us?” Asher asks, echoing my own concerns. After all, she was taken because of us. Asher rakes a hand through his hair and squeezes his eyes shut. “What if she doesn’t wake up?”

“Yeah, and what if aliens land and we’re all enslaved,” I snap back. “This isn’t like you. We deal with the facts at hand and make plans. It’s how we always solve problems.”

Asher opens his eyes and stares back at me. With a nod of his head, he straightens, and I know he’s pulled his head back in the game.

“So a note, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m trying to figure out what to say.”

“Keep it simple. Let her know we’re here and want to see her. Tell her she has to sign off on us coming back and we’ll be waiting.”

I nod. Asher is right. There are a million things that need to be said, but that’s a conversation we need to have in person. One that can wait until we know Rose is safe and whole. I scribble a few lines on the hospital notepad, keeping it just to the basics, and then return to the reception area.

“Thank you, Amy,” I say. “I do appreciate your help. Let us know as soon as she asks for us.”

“No problem,” Amy says and looks back over her shoulder. She bites her lips and leans forward, beckoning me closer. “I checked, and she’s with the doctor now. So she’s awake. Once the doctor leaves, I’ll make sure she gets the note.”

“Thank you, again,” I say and return to my seat.

Now, it’s just a matter of waiting.