3 - Steadfast

Beep… Beep… Beep…

The room was still. Too still. Not a sound could be heard except her raspy intake of air. She laid still in the bed, unable to move. She could feel the straps wrapped tightly around her wrists and ankles.

She was a danger to herself.

That's what she remembered them saying last night when they sedated her.

Only she knew how wrong they were. She was far from being a danger to herself. Someone else was. She had to make them see that. Had to… somehow.

Opening her eyes, she looked around the room. The heart monitor beeped along while the IV pumped into her system. She felt groggy. Steadfastly so with all the drugs they gave her last night.

It was then that her body sensed I reawakening and a blinding pain shot through her so quickly, a scream escaped her mouth before she could think. Hot tears rolled down her cheek and her body involuntarily tried to break free of its restraints.

Images flashed behind her tightly closed lids. Memories of things passed but present in her fractured psyche. She could feel the blade of a knife digging into her side just as vividly as she could see it in her mind.

She screamed again, this time more out of fear than out of pain. The subliminal imagery too much too endure. Men with big hands covered her face and neck while others carried her away. A darkened hole. Her body cramped and stuffed as they locked within. She hadn't slept or eaten in days. She didn't know how she was going to survive but only knew she had to.

As one of the men grabbed her in her memory, she fought to free herself in reality. The restraints on her wrists and ankles were now this man's hands… and she couldn't tell the difference.

"Samantha!" a voice called her name. She opened her eyes to see a woman peering over her. Concern etched on the woman's face as she tried to calm the situation. "It's all right," she spoke softly. "You're all right."

"They're after me," Sam said with a look of pure terror on her face. Her voice was chilling even as sweat broke out across her brow. "They're going to find me."

The kind woman touched her forehead with a cool towel. "No one is after you, Samantha. No one is going to find you. No one, I promise. I want you to calm down. Focus on me."

That seemed to calm Sam down as the woman was allowed to gently lay her down on the pillow. Sam's vacant eyes slowly stopped scanning the room and she focused on the woman like she was asked. She recognized the face from last night when she was brought in. This was the face of the first person who had been kind to her in a very long while.

"Can you tell me who I am?"

Closing her eyes, Sam tried to catch her breath, "Dr. Winters."

The woman smiled. "That's right. I'm Lainey. Lainey Winters. Do you remember where you are?"

It took a bit longer for Sam's heart to stop racing. "New Hope Memorial Hospital," she answered finally.

"Right," Lainey smiled again. "What city?"

"London. L-London, England," Sam replied softly. Her voice had been reduced to a whisper now that her throat seemed to be hoarse from all the screaming she just did.

"Good," Lainey commended her. "I want you to remain calm, okay. I'm going to give you something to help you sleep," she kept her voice calm and even as to not upset the young woman.

"No," Sam protested but it was too late. "I don't want to sleep. I don't want to-"

Her sentence was cut off when her eyes drifted shut. She'd fallen into a calm rest…

- - -

Lucinda was seated at her desk going over some notes when there was a light knock on her office door. A moment later a head peered inside and Lucinda knew from the look on the person's face, this wasn't a friendly visit.

"Hi," Lainey greeted her friend and colleague. "You have a sec?"

Dropping her pen and the notepad she was reading on the desk, Lucinda looked up, "Yeah, sure. What's going on?"

Lainey stepped all the way into the office and closed the door - a big indication the subject matter was serious. She sat down on the sofa near the door. "I want you to look at a case for me."

A cross between a sigh of relief and a chuckle escaped Lucinda's mouth. Lainey only wanted her to be a consult. "Okay, sure."

Lainey stood from the couch and walked over to place a folder on the desk. Lucinda opened it as Lainey said, "Samantha McCall is her name. She was found wandering the streets last night…before showing up at the hospital covered in blood." Lucinda looked up from the file to Lainey's face briefly before Lainey continued, "At first, the cop thought she was drunk from the way she was staggering but her blood-alcohol level showed no indication she even sipped a drink last night."

Lucinda waited… this just had to get better. "Get to the part where she's covered in blood."

"Cop offers to escort her to her place of residence."

Lucinda looked at the residence listed on the form. "Eden Towers? She live in my building?"

Lainey shook her head. "No, her ID says Port Charles, New York." Brows furrowed in confusion, Lucinda let her friend continue. "This was around 12:05 am this morning. Forty five minutes later, she walks in downstairs covered in blood saying she's stabbed a man who raped her. Her clothes are torn, scratches on her body and everything is consistent until the rape-kit comes back negative."

Lucinda closed her eyes. "What about the man she stabbed?"

"Dead," Lainey confirmed. "Here's the interesting part."

"More interesting than the things you've just said?"

Smirking a bit, Lainey chose not to respond to that statement. "She claims that his name was Manny Ruiz."

"He's not?"

"ID says Calvin Richardson. Fingerprints confirm it."

"So where does Manny Ruiz come in?"

"That's where I need your help," Lainey said. She dropped her head briefly before staring back at Lucinda. "This girl is… broken. She's… classic case manic depression and exhibits signs of dementia and paranoia. She really needs help. But I really think something happened her to. Something… bad."

Lucinda sighed pensively. "What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to her. You're the leading specialist in cases like these."

Lucinda considered this, she would help this girl simply because Lainey asked her to. But she was still a doctor and a realistic one at that. She had to ask the tough questions. Starting with this one, "What if you're wrong? What if this girl is faking insanity to get out of murder charges?" As ludicrous as it sounded, since Lucinda believe anyone who could commit murder in cold-blood was mentally unstable, there were people who used insanity pleas - convincingly so - to escape murder charges… and it worked.

"I thought about that," Lainey said softly. Her face took on an entirely new expression when she said, "But I don't think anyone can fake the things I saw in this girl. It's bad, Lu. She's in torment."