"You know they will. I'll personally go check on both of them in a bit, after they've had a chance to take care of them. I'll report back to you," Rachel promised.
Téa leaned back against the pillow and sighed. She shook her head in dismay. Suddenly she realized something. "Bo's not going to press charges against Todd for this, is he?" Téa sounded panic stricken.
"No!" Kevin stated firmly. "Téa, Bo was emphatic. He realized it wasn't Todd who stabbed him and that it isn't Todd who's out now."
"I'll bet Hank wasn't quiet so understanding," Téa declared. "Oh, Rachel. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that as a put down of your father. It's just that . . ."
"I know," Rachel cut Téa off. "Sick or well, Todd is not one of Daddy's favorite people. Téa, don't worry. Daddy is letting Bo call the shots."
"Not that any charges against Todd would stick under these circumstances," Téa proclaimed. She knew she would tear Hank to pieces in the courtroom if he even tried to prosecute Todd for this.
"We know that. Come on, Téa. Calm down. Todd is not in any trouble over this. Sam already warned Hank that he'd make mince meat out of him if he tried. With two ferocious lawyers on his side, Todd doesn't have to worry." Kevin made light of it to ease the tension.
Something else occurred to Téa. "Rachel, what about your mom? Has Nora been notified?"
"No. Bo asked me not to. He wants her to hear his voice telling her what happened so she won't be so upset."
"Madre de Dios. Nora's going to have even more reason to hate Todd now. She was finally coming around a little. Did she tell you that she saw Adam and finally believes that Todd is really sick? She actually said she understood her sister's motives for wanting to help." Téa asked Rachel.
"Mom told me about Adam. I know she does feel less resentful toward Susannah. She even mentioned inviting Susannah, Bill and his kids over for the first seder night."
"I have a feeling she is going to rethink that when she hears what happened," Téa guessed.
"Well, that will be my mom's problem. I think my aunt is doing the right thing and I think Bo is too. Todd needs to be helped. Man, I never thought I'd hear myself say that," Rachel confessed.
"I never thought I'd hear myself saying or thinking most of the things I've said and thought the past few months," Kevin admitted. "Rachel, one thing I know. No matter what your mom and dad think, Todd has been punished a thousand times over for everything he's ever done and he's still punishing himself."
Rachel nodded in agreement. She thought about what she had just seen. "Adam is amazing. Does he come out very often?"
"He came out, for the first time that we know of, a little over a week ago," Kevin informed Rachel. "He was out for a few days. God! So much has happened since then. It seems like a hundred years since Adam's been here. I was holding Adam when Todd came back. He totally freaked out when he realized I was holding him. Then I think it was Tom who came out. He's seven, and he has the world's biggest crush on Téa. Then Todd came back, then Rodd . . . was it Rodd?" Kevin looked toward Téa. Téa nodded. Kevin continued. "Then Todd came back. An animal alter came out. I think . . . God, I can't even remember. Tom came back, then Todd again. Todd's been switching so much. Then Téa got hurt and Starr visited. Todd stayed out. He held on like someone dangling off a sixty-story building. You know the rest. Pete came out and now Adam. We have no idea how long he'll be out or even if he'll be the one to wake up from the sedation."
Rachel tried to absorb everything Kevin said. "I don't know how you guys do it. How do you cope?"
"Most of the alters are the sweetest, most loving children you can ever meet. Rodd is a warm, loving generous man. Even Pete is really just a scared kid. I can honestly say it's a joy to know most of them."
Rachel heard the admiration and love in Kevin's voice. She saw it in his eyes as well. It was something she'd never expected between Kevin and Todd. "I can see that. Adam seemed as real a little boy as the kids I worked with."
"Téa, you should have seen Rachel with him," Kevin began. "She was great. She gave him her necklace to stim with and he quieted right down and went to sleep easily."
"You weren't half bad yourself." Rachel praised Kevin.
Téa noticed that Rachel and Kevin were looking at each other with admiration. "Do you think one or both of you can go down to the ER and see how Adam and Bo are doing? I know you just got here and I appreciate your visiting me and the gift, but I . . ."
"It's okay." Rachel understood. "You can't relax until you know how they are."
"Can we get you anything?" Kevin asked.
Téa shook her head. "Just news on Adam, and please tell Bo I hope he's okay and thank him from me. Tell him I'm very grateful that he understands."
Rachel hugged Téa goodbye. Kevin patted Téa's hand and they left for the ER. Téa rested back against the pillow. She bit her lip. It did no good. The tears came. Téa turned on her side and cried into her pillow.
*****
"Commissioner, you have that filled and make sure to stay on those antibiotics for ten days. Don't stop taking them until the prescription is finished," the surgical resident who worked on Bo cautioned him.
"No problem. I hardly felt it when you stitched me up. You did a great job." Bo thanked him.
"That's because of the Lidocaine. When that wears off you may be in considerable pain. Make sure to have that prescription for painkillers filled as well," the doctor pressed.
"Will do. Thanks again," Bo said. "Listen, I know I can't use my cell phone here. Is there a phone I can use to call my wife? I need to let her know I'm okay and I need her to bring me a shirt."
"Why don't you sit tight and rest for a while. I'll have someone bring you some juice and some gelatin. I'll also have a phone brought to you," the doctor assured Bo.
*****
"Daddy," Rachel called to Hank as she and Kevin approached him in the waiting area. "How are they? Are Bo and Adam all right?"
"No one has told me anything about Adam." Hank sarcastically emphasized the name Adam. "And I didn't ask. Bo is doing fine. I was just in to see him. The doc says they did some kind of X-ray on Bo . . . a flat plate of the abdomen I think he called it. It showed there was no air in Bo's abdomen. He got lucky. He could have had some organ damage. They stitched him up. A few days on painkillers and antibiotics and he'll be fine. Baby, you can go in and see him if you want. I know he was waiting for them to bring him a phone so he could call your mom and give her the news. I figured I'd wait around until Nora got here."
"I'm going to find out about Adam," Kevin told Rachel. "If you see Bo, tell him I'm glad he's okay too and that I'll try to see him before he leaves."
*****
"Red . . . Red! . . . Listen to me . . . I'm fine! . . . it's just a flesh wound . . . I told you . . . Hank frightened Todd . . . he shouldn't have walked up to him that way . . . No! . . . I'm not blaming Hank . . . I don't care how it sounds. I'm not blaming him. I just think he should have had more sense . . . Todd is locked away . . . what more do you want . . . he's a patient on a lock-down psych unit . . . Susannah was right there . . . there was staff with him . . . Come on, Red. The guy had a right to see his wife . . . I'm sure Susannah thought he was well enough to go off the unit . . . Yeah, like you would really sue your own sister . . . is that what you want . . . to teach Susannah a lesson or do you want revenge on her from some childhood sibling rivalry thing? . . . Okay, I'm sorry. I just hate to hear you talk like that. I know underneath it all you love Susannah very much. I thought the two of you were working toward fixing your relationship . . . Todd didn't try to murder me. It was Pete and he thought I was his father. God only knows what that man did to him. Come on, Red. Show some compassion . . . I didn't almost die. Stop making such a big deal out of this. Look, I know you're upset. I understand and I don't blame you, but if you're going to carry on this way than I think I'll get Hank or . . . I don't want you coming here and giving Susannah a hard time and I certainly don't want you to give Viki and Sam a hard time. Sam is falling apart as it is . . ." Bo rolled his eyes. Now he had to listen to Nora go on about Todd being the cause of Sam falling apart. "Honey . . . Red! Maybe it's best you wait for me at home. Rachel can go get me a shirt and Hank can dri . . . yeah, Rachel's here."
Bo sighed. He realized he and Rachel had not yet told Nora about Téa. They had known what her reaction would be. "Red, Téa had an accident. She fell and hit her head. She's doing great now. She has to be here for a couple of days for observation . . . Yes, Todd was there when she fell and no it wasn't his fault. Téa lost her balance and fell . . . I know you like Téa . . . maybe we didn't tell you because we knew you'd react this way . . . I'm not telling Rachel to leave . . . she's in no danger from Todd . . . Adam, the little autistic boy you told me about, came out . . . You yourself told me he was just a baby. You know Rachel's not in any danger from him. Anyway, he's been heavily sedated. They're stitching him up . . . Because Pete did a lot more damage to his leg than he did to me . . . I was stupid. I know better than to try to take a weapon away from someone that way . . . I'm not making excuses for him. It's a fact. I acted foolishly and I should have known better . . . Rachel's a grown woman. I'm not telling her where she can and cannot visit . . . Red . . . Red. I don't think it is a good idea for you to come here . . . Red! . . . hello . . . shit!" Bo slammed the phone down.
*****
Susannah, Frank and Jeff were in the cubicle with Adam. Susannah insisted that Viki and Sam go to the cafeteria for some tea or something. They were both quite shaky by the time the surgeon began to stitch Adam up. She also gently pointed out that they were going to be in the way in such a small area.
"He's lucky that no real damage was done," the doctor who was suturing up Todd's leg commented to Susannah. He had just pulled and knotted the last of the forty-one stitches it took to close the wound Pete had self-inflicted. "In addition to the antibiotic, he's going to need a heavy duty painkiller when he wakes up," he further remarked.
"Maybe not," Susannah stated. "If the alter who was out when we sedated him is the one who wakes up, he may not feel the injury as much as some of the others."
The surgeon shook his head. "I've never seen an actual case of DID, not even during my psych rotation."
"You may have and not known it. Often DID patients are misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, mood disorders, personality disorders . . . some psychiatrists and psychologists still don't believe DID is a real disorder and refuse to make that diagnosis," Susannah informed him.
"I do know the patient has to meet the criteria for DID according to the DSM-IV," the young doctor stated. Susannah could see he was very curious about this.
"Yes. And to that end there are diagnostic tools we use. With kids we might use the Child Dissociative Checklist . . . The Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale . . . possibly The Imaginary Friends Questionnaire. With adults we have the adult version of the DES, the Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Disorders, the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule, the Diagnostic Drawing Series . . . most of these diagnostic tools are fairly new and have come out during the last decade or so. There are some rating systems that measure the degree of the severity of dissociation, like The BASK model of dissociation. Although that is not used that often these days. I can tell you that this patient has tested off the wall on DID symptomatology. There's some excellent information out there. Some of the leaders in the field are Frank Putnam, Colin Ross, Joyanna Silberg, Richard Kluft, Marlene Steinberg, Dorothy Lewis and others. If you're interested in the specifics you can stop by my office sometime and I can give you a reading list that will keep you busy for the next year."
"This sounds like one complicated patient."
"He is. Todd is severely ill. His system is one of the most complicated I've ever worked with. I've had little success with mapping, that is having Todd and the alters diagram their system for me. There are many alters. There are now thirty-six that we've either met or heard of. There may be more. It's possible that he might be poly-fragmented, meaning he has over a hundred alters, but I don't believe that to be the case. In most cases of poly-fragmentation there are multiple perpetrators. In Todd's case the perpetrator of abuse was his father. His mother contributed with passive abuse and abandonment, but as far as we know, she was not physically or sexually abusive and she did love him. Alters are still coming forward and many don't know each other. The upside is Todd has been having increased co-consciousness with some of the alters. I'd like to do journaling with Todd and the alters, but his conversion disorder, blindness, makes that impossible right now."
Another doctor stuck her head in the door and told the young surgeon he was needed elsewhere. Susannah smiled. She could see he hated to tear himself away from their conversation. She remembered her own keen interest and excitement in the field of Dissociative Disorders particularly DID, when she first started out as a psychiatrist. She wondered if he would eventually switch specialties the way she had.
"Well, good luck to you and Todd. It sounds like you have your hands full with this one." The surgeon glanced at Adam one more time as they dressed his newly stitched wound and he left.
Kevin approached cubicle twelve as the young doctor left. "Todd Manning's in there, right? I'm family." Kevin stated.
"Yes. He's all stitched up. They're dressing his wound now. His psychiatrist is in there with him."
"Susannah. Is Adam okay?" Kevin asked as he stepped into the cubicle.
Susannah waved Kevin all the way in. "He's doing okay. We'll be taking him back to his room in about fifteen minutes. How's Bo? Have you seen him?"
"No. I saw Hank. He said Bo's fine. They did some kind of X-ray to be sure. Hank did say Bo was going to call Nora."
Susannah sighed. "My sister is not going to be in the best of moods when she gets here."
"I think that's a safe bet," Kevin responded.
"Kevin, I'm very happy that you were there when Adam came out. You were very good with him."
"I was surprised he not only remembered me, but that song," Kevin stated.
"Some children with autism have excellent memories. I'm grateful that Adam seems to be one of them. I'm extremely happy that he was able to retain some of the experiences of his last time out. If we are not able to build on what he learns each time he's out, it will make working with him almost impossible," Susannah explained.
Kevin stepped over to where Adam lay on the gurney, sound asleep. Kevin kissed Adam's forehead. "Look at his face," Kevin pointed out. "You can tell it's still Adam."
Susannah looked down at Adam and smiled. "I know. I've already told the staff on seven to get out Adam's special blankets and make the bed with them. I'm not sure how long he'll be out. Once he's fully awake, I'd like to start doing ABA with him again."
"Sam's gonna love that!" Kevin shook his head in dismay. He knew Sam hated seeing Adam forced to do anything.
"Who knows? Perhaps he'll feel better about it this time around," Susannah stated optimistically.
"Hi. Is it all right for me to be in here?" Rachel stuck her head through the cubical curtain.
"Sure, honey. Come on in." Susannah held her open arms out to Rachel. They hugged each other.
"Rachel, I want to thank you for your assistance with Adam." Susannah praised her niece. "Both you and Kevin were extremely helpful. You both made things a lot easier for this little boy."
Rachel looked at Adam. His sweet, innocent, youthful face mesmerized her. "Kevin explained some things about Todd's condition to me. Mom told me about Adam. Still, I could never have imagined him if I hadn't seen him with my own eyes." Rachel gently stroked Adam's head. She stated at him for another few seconds. "Aunt Susannah. I know I'm not in any way a professional yet, and I have a long way to go to get my degree." Rachel prefaced her request. "If it's all right with you, and with Viki and Sam, I would very much like to work with Adam. If he's the one who stays out long enough for ABA therapy," Rachel added.
Susannah hesitated for a moment. It wasn't that she didn't believe Rachel wasn't qualified. Rachel had demonstrated that the training she'd already been through had paid off. "Rachel, are you prepared for your mom's possible reaction to you working with Adam, especially after what happened today?" Susannah knew her sister well.
"I know Mom will be upset and afraid for me. I'm not a kid anymore. She's going to have to trust me to make decisions for myself and if she can't . . . well . . . then she's just going to have to learn to live with my decisions whether she agrees with them or not."
"Rachel, I'm not trying to offend you, but I have to ask you this." Susannah looked her niece in the eye. "Do you want to work with Adam to get back at your mom in some way?"
For a second, Rachel's feelings were hurt. She quickly got over it and realized why Susannah asked. "No. I don't think so," Rachel said honestly. "I loved working with children with autism. It's what I want to do with my life. Adam has touched something deep within me. I felt it the second I laid eyes on him. I suppose a part of me feels I owe Todd. I won't deny that, but I think it's Adam . . . he shows so much potential. I want to help him connect and find his way in this world with whatever time he has to spend in it."
Susannah smiled. Rachel said exactly what she was hoping to hear. "If Sam and Viki have no objections, I'd love to have you on our team," Susannah told her niece and gave her a big hug.
*****
"Oh my God!" Nora exclaimed when she stepped into the cubicle Bo was in and saw his bandaged abdomen. Nora had not even bothered looking for Hank in the waiting area. She rushed right to the back to see Bo.
"Hey, Red. I tried to tell you not to come. I'd have been home within the hour. Please stay calm. It's just a flesh wound."
Nora stared into Bo's eyes and shook her head slightly. She caressed his cheek then slapped it lightly. "Idiot!" Bo smiled. Nora's tone turned what she said into a term of endearment. "He could have killed you."
"Nah. It was a small scissors. The double cheeseburger I had for lunch acted as a buffer." Bo tried to lighten Nora's mood.
"A double cheeseburger! Great! Then you could have had a heart attack before Todd almost killed you."
Bo put his arms around Nora's waist and pulled her close to him. "What do you say we go home and see how much action these stitches can take?"
"Mmmmm," Nora purred. "Did they accidentally give you Viagra instead of a painkiller?"
"Don't think I'm gonna need it," Bo purred back. He patted Nora's behind.
"If I knew near death experiences turned you on this way, I'd have tried to kill you myself," Nora quipped.
Bo was relieved that Nora seemed to have calmed down on the way to the hospital. "Not even close, Red. You're not gonna get rid of me that easily."
"Oh, Bo," Nora stopped joking. She hugged Bo tightly.
Bo hugged her in return. He rubbed her back. "Red, come on. I swear. It was no big deal. It's a flesh wound. I'm not even going to have to take any time off from work. Just forget about it."
"Todd is dangerous. You can't deny that," Nora declared firmly.
"And that's why he's in a mental hospital. He's more dangerous to himself than he is to anyone else. Honey, he's sick. He didn't know what he was doing. Pete came out. He's a kid. He's a kid who was horribly abused. He thought we were there to take him to prison."
"Prison! For what?"
"For killing Georgie," Bo said softly. He could see Nora was shocked.
"Doesn't he remember that Rachel went to Statesville for that?"
"Red, I don’t know what he remembers or knows. All I know is that he was terrified that we were there to take him to prison and then he thought I was his dad coming at him. Pete never meant to hurt me."
"And Todd never meant to kill Suede Pruitt. He never meant to get Patrick shot. People have a way of getting hurt and killed around Todd whether he or one of his alters means it or not!"
"Why don't we head home? I have to stop at a pharmacy and have these filled." Bo took the two prescriptions out of his pocket. I should eat light tonight. Maybe we can pick up a pint of Chunky Monkey?"
"Oh, yeah. That's light." Nora teased and smiled. "Only if you make it two pints." Nora hesitated for a moment. "First I want to see if Rachel is still here. If she's not with you, she probably went back to see Téa."
"She might be with Hank. Did you check the waiting area?"
"No," Nora admitted. "I rushed right in to see you. So do we have to wait for a doctor to discharge you?"
"No," Bo answered. "He already did. All the paperwork is done. He said I can leave whenever I was ready."
"Oh, here." Nora handed Bo a shirt that she had in the bag she was carrying. "I should ask them to give me the one you were wearing as evidence."
"Red, don't start," Bo cautioned.
"Just joking," Nora announced.
Bo put the shirt on and put his jacket on. He and Nora were going to go to the waiting room to let Hank and Rachel, if she were with him, know that it was okay to leave.
*****
As Bo and Nora stepped out of the cubicle Bo had been in, they saw Susannah, Kevin and Rachel walk alongside Adam's gurney, as Jeff and Frank guided it along. They hadn't bothered waiting for patient transport. Even though it was obvious that Adam was in a deep sleep, Nora's calm vanished when she saw her child walking so close to him. Nora rushed over to them. Bo followed, moving as quickly as he could under the circumstances.
"Are you out of your mind!" Nora directed this at Susannah. "First you allow a dangerous patient to run amok all over the hospital and now you put Rachel in harm's way!"
"Mom, please! Don't start. Aunt Susannah did no such thing."
"Please take Adam upstairs and get him settled in," Susannah directed Frank and Jeff.
They quickly pushed the gurney toward the elevator. "It's gonna hit the fan," Jeff remarked to Frank on the way.
"What . . . are you defending her?" Nora looked at Rachel like she couldn't believe what she was saying. "Look at what happened to Bo. Okay, Todd is sick. But you!" Nora pointed to Susannah. "You should have known better. I imagine the hospital administrators will think that too."
"Red!" Bo snapped angrily.
"Nora, if you want to discuss this, please come to my office in a little while. Right now I want to be there when they get Adam settled in his own bed."
"You should have thought about keeping all of them in their own bed before Todd, or Pete or whoever the Hell it was, almost stabbed Bo to death!"
"I'm the one who insisted Todd be let off the unit. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with me!" Sam yelled to Nora from across the room. He and Viki had come back to the ER through the back way.
"Come on you two," Bo looked at Nora and then at Sam. "This is an emergency room. Keep it down."
Nora and Sam noticed ER personnel and visitors alike staring at them. They also noticed the security guard looking their way.
"Okay, I'm not going to press this now. I just want it to go on record that I think Susannah showed very poor judgment and so did you Sam. What in God's name made you think Todd was ready to leave his unit?"
"Todd did fine! He was able to handle monumental amounts of stress today and he was there for Téa and Starr. His wife and daughter needed him and he was there for them." Viki stated with pride, as she defended Susannah and Sam's actions.
"He was doing great, until Hank opened up his big mouth and terrified Todd," Sam added.
Remembering where she was, Nora held her temper and any further comments. "I need to get Bo home. Come on Rachel."
"Mom, I'm not ready to leave yet."
"Haven't you seen Téa yet?" Nora asked.
"Yes. I promised her I'd come back and let her know how Adam was doing. Then I want to wait around for Adam to wake up."
"What! Why on earth do you need to wait for him to wake up?" Nora queried.
"We'll talk about it later. Why don't you get Bo home now," Rachel suggested.
Nora didn't like the sound of this. "Why do you need to wait for him to wake up?" Nora emphasized every word.
"I want to get to know him. I'm going to be working with him. If it's all right with Viki and Sam," Rachel added.
Bo rolled his eyes in anticipation of Nora's reaction. "You're . . . tell me I didn't hear you say you're going to be working with Todd. Susannah! You're not really going to place Rachel in this kind of dangerous situation? Sam? Viki? you're not going to allow this?"
Sam and Viki said "no" and "yes" simultaneously and respectively. They exchanged looks.
"Why do you want to work with him?" Sam asked suspiciously. Before he gave Rachel a chance to answer, he accused. "Do you want to find some way at getting back at Todd because he forced you to confess to killing Georgie?"
Rachel was shocked that he would think this. "No. I swear. I-I had some training and worked with children with autism when I was in Statesville. I'm planning on going to Llanview U to continue my studies. I think I can help Adam. If anything, I feel I owe Todd something for all the months of misery and suffering I put him through because I didn't have the guts to come forward."
"You don't owe him an explanation," Nora interjected. She was furious that Sam was making accusations toward her child. "Rachel, it doesn't matter whether Sam or Viki want you to work with Adam. You're not going to do that!"
"Mom, I'm almost thirty years old. You don't seriously believe you can still tell me what I can and cannot do!" Rachel turned to Sam and Viki. "I'm sorry. This was not the time to ask you about this. If you don't want me working with Adam, I'll understand. I just want you to know that I was very moved by him and I wouldn't hurt him for the world. I only want to help him. I'm going to see Téa now. I'll stop by Aunt Susannah's office later. If you've made your decision by then, please let me know." Rachel started to walk away.
"Rachel," Nora called after her.
Rachel turned back. "Mom, I know you're very upset right now. I also know you love me. I'm not doing this to hurt you. This isn't about you. I'm an adult and you're going to have to learn to accept that. You can disagree all you want with my decisions. All I ask is that you respect them and me and don't expect me to live my life as you see fit." Rachel kissed Nora on the cheek and left the area.
Susannah, Kevin and Bo were very proud of Rachel at that moment.
"Adam's going to be out for a while yet, right?" Kevin asked Susannah.
"He should not be coming out of sedation for another couple of hours," Susannah replied.
"Mom, Sam, do you need me to do or get anything for you?"
Viki looked in Sam's direction. He shook his head. "No, sweetheart. Thank you. We're okay."
"Then I'm going to catch up with Rachel," Kevin announced. He headed off after her.
"Let's go home, Red. Everyone needs some time to regroup," Bo announced firmly.
"This is your fault!" Nora accused Susannah. "You put it in her mind to do this."
"Rachel is her own woman, Nora. I think she just made that perfectly clear," Susannah pointed out.
Nora looked daggers at Susannah. "If anything happens to my daughter, I'll never forgive you."
"Nora, you know Adam is a baby. He won't hurt Rachel." Viki tried to reason with her.
Nora laughed at the irony of the situation. "Look around, Viki! We're standing here, in the ER! Why, because one of those so-called children stabbed my husband! Am I the only one left on the face of the earth who can see that Todd, in any way, shape or form, is not fit to be around innocent people, especially if one of those people is Rachel!"
"No, you're not the only one." Hank had come into the ER to see if Nora had gotten there and to find Rachel and ask her if she wanted a lift home. "What's this about Rachel being around Todd?"
Nora turned to Hank. "Haven't you heard the latest? Rachel has been enlisted into working with Todd by her loving aunt."
"No way! My daughter is not going near that psychopath again."
"No Sam!" Viki pleaded. She held onto his arm. She saw he was about to go after Hank.
Sam held back. He was breathing hard and erratically, as he tried to control himself.
"That's it! Nora, we're leaving. Hank, this isn't the time or place. You're the DA. I'm sure you don't want to be involved in an incident in the ER," Bo proclaimed.
Hank turned to Susannah. "I always thought you had more sense than this." He then turned to Nora. "Don't worry. Rachel won't be working with Todd. She's not thinking clearly now. Give her time to come to her senses." Hank patted Nora's arm and left the ER.
"God! What a mess this is," Viki whispered to Susannah.
"Red?" Bo started to head for the exit.
Nora turned to Susannah. "I can't believe you hate me so much that you would want to hurt Rachel to get to me?"
"Red!" Bo called sharply. He glanced into Susannah's eyes for a second and shook his head slightly. It was enough to let Susannah know that he hoped she would not take Nora's words to heart.
Nora left with Bo.
"Susannah, I'm sorry." Viki took Susannah's hand. "Nora is very upset. I'm sure she didn't mean most of what she said. I don't think Hank meant it either. They both know how much you love Rachel."
"I understand their concerns. I can handle their anger and I'm happy to see that Rachel seems so much better about handling their disapproval. I don't want you or Sam to feel pressured about Rachel working with Adam. She will understand if you decide against it." Susannah placed her hand on Sam's arm. "I believe Rachel was being honest with you and with herself when she said that Adam got to her and that's why she wants to work with him. You saw for yourself that she was good with him. Again, I know she will understand if you don't feel comfortable with her working with Adam. Now, I'd better go upstairs and see how our boy is doing?" Susannah patted Sam's arm and squeezed Viki's hand.
