The Assessment

CHAPTER 4

I could feel my hands begin to shake with not knowing what to expect, but what I did know was that a little boy needed help. I had to compartmentalize everything else to the back of my mind. Hopefully, the officer would do the same.

I readjusted the sunglasses back onto the bride of my nose and took a breath as I stepped out of the exam room. My supposed mate let me lead the way to the others.

Aaliyah, Dr. Chen, and another LPD officer were circled together in front of the window, chatting quietly as we reached them.

”It amazes me every day how you get them to open up to you. Even just a little bit, Dr. Hope.” Dr. Chen commented as the small group all focused their attention on us. I could feel the presence of the officer standing behind me as I came to a stop and forced myself to maintain eye contact with the group. They were all looking at me in wonder and that made it even harder to keep eye contact.

“I’ve never seen a victim offer information to someone they just met after escaping. I’m speechless.” The officer spoke up from behind me in awe and a small part of me couldn’t help but preen at the praise. A bigger part of me though, knew deep down that once this man learned the reason behind my ability to connect with the child quickly, he wouldn’t be so eager to compliment.

“Thank you, um—?” Trailing off as I turned toward the man. I couldn’t believe I spent half an hour in the same room as my mate and never caught his name.

“Officer Thatcher, or Easton. It’s nice to meet you.” Easton offered me his hand to shake and I swallowed my anxiety down as I forced the trembling in my hands to let up enough to accept.

“Easton. Thank you.” His name rolled off my tongue and I loved the way it sounded from my own mouth. I couldn’t bring myself to look into his eyes now that we stood so close, so I kept my gaze steady on his chin. His larger hand wrapped around mine with ease, the warmth giving me a sense of security I hadn’t felt in the Gods only knew how long. He shook my hand with confidence and I quickly reclaimed it, clearing my throat as I returned my attention to the rest of the group.

Aaliyah looked at me closely with a brow raised, but I ignored the look as we had much more pressing matters at hand.

“Offered information? What did he say?” The other LPD officer spoke up, glancing between Easton and I with curiosity in his gaze.

“Another child, his friend. Jax told us that ‘they’ killed her. Said her name was Aimee.” Easton replied. A somber look fell on the group’s faces at that.

“Wait, did you say Jax? He gave you his name?” Aaliyah asked, surprised.

“Oh, yes. Sorry, it slipped my mind.” I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly in response, looking down at my shoes.

“Are you kidding? Don’t you dare apologize. This is already so much more than I thought anybody would’ve gotten out of the kid tonight.” Everyone nodded in agreement and heat rose to my cheeks.

“Right, well,” I started, clearing my throat, “although it wasn’t much, from the time I spent with him I’ve managed to learn a few things. To start with, he is sensitive to light and sound so we need to keep it darker for his eyes and try to speak softly to him. Don’t try to have him lay down on the exam table, he definitely would have an episode—a PTSD episode in case that wasn’t obvious—so make sure anyone else going in there is aware of that. It’s best we stick to a small group of people going in and withhold from adding any new people to it as much as possible. It would probably be best for me to stick around for anything else he needs, and if an officer needs to go back in the room it should be Officer Thatcher. Jax seemed okay with him sitting in with us. We don’t need to add to his stress by making him deal with new people constantly. 

“Also, if approaching him isn’t necessary, anyone going in should give him space. Don’t try to touch him, even if you want to comfort him. I can promise more often than not that attempting to comfort with physical contact only makes things worse. Anyone going in should also try to make themselves appear smaller. Body language is all that Jax has had to lean on for who knows how long. The people that hurt him would not have done so slouched in on themselves. And if you need to approach him, try not to tower above him. Abusers are proud and it’s very clear to me that Jax does not respond well to people who present themselves confidently, as that has not gone well for him in the past.” 

I counted off on my fingers the many things that needed to be noted about Jax as I continued, “No one should bring up Aimee to him again, he was clearly scared of broaching the subject. I’d ask that all conversation with him be kept light and to avoid questioning him about his time with the hunters, but I understand that some things are unavoidable. Hm, what else?” I scratched the side of my head as I thought over the short interaction I had with Jax, making sure I covered everything important to keep his experience here as pleasant as possible.

The small group of doctors and officers looked at me with wide eyes as I finally glanced up from the floor, hanging onto my every word. 

I snapped my fingers as I remembered another important tidbit. 

“Oh, also, please do your best to remain neutral, even if he offers information or says something unsettling. The less absurd of a reaction we offer, the safer he’ll feel. He needs to know we’re here to help him and listen to what he’s willing to share rather than judge him for his experiences and please, for the love of the Moon Goddess, do not act surprised if he talks to one of you for the first time.”

Taking a deep breath, I finished with, “I think that covers it for now. I wish I had been able to thoroughly assess him, but I’m sure I’ll learn more within the first few days of his stay here. I’ll keep you all updated.”

“Goddess! I always forget how good you are at that.” Dr. Chen speaks up after a few moments of shocked silence.

“That’s why I called him. I’d apologize for waking you up so early, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere in my heart to feel bad for having you here. You connect with these kids in ways most of us will probably never understand.” Aaliyah piped up, smiling sheepishly as she took in the shocked looks of the group, “Yes, this is a regular occurrence. We, honest to the Moon Goddess herself, would be lost without Dr. Hope.”

My face flushed bright red as I waved a hand dismissively at Aaliyah’s words, “Don’t be ridiculous. This clinic wouldn’t even exist without you, Aaliyah.”

Aaliyah’s dimples were put on display, a wide smile overtaking her features at my words. 

“Right, yes, okay. But, how long before we can get a location? The sooner we can find where the hunters are hiding, the better.” The other LPD officer asked with a harsh tone, a hand running through his disheveled brunette hair as annoyance simmered through his brown eyes. 

“Richards.” Officer Thatcher hissed, a disapproving look on his face as he addressed the other man. I couldn’t help but compare the two officers. Easton Thatcher’s brown eyes, though pensive with frustration, were so much warmer than Officer Richards’. I shook my head to derail that train of thought. 

“Look, I don’t mean to be rude here, but you know as well as I do that every second counts, Easton.” 

“Frankly, I wouldn’t even bother. The hunters are more than likely gone by now. Every time a werewolf escapes, the anti-werewolf organizations pack up ship and head for the hills to avoid this exact situation.’ I piped up, glancing between the two much taller men as they stared each other down. 

Officer Richards rose a brow in my direction, looking about ready to make some sort of comment before someone else beat him to the punch, “Dr. Hope is right. No reason at all to scare the kid more than he already is for information that would practically be useless to us now, anyway.” 

I didn’t have much time to bask in the way  ‘Dr. Hope’ sounded coming from Officer Thatcher’s lips before another voice chimed in. 

“Listen, arguing about this will get us nowhere. As the owner of this clinic, I will not let anyone interrogate my patients if it’s useless to the grand scheme of things. The poor kid has been through far too much, he needs rest. And I’m willing to bet the rest of you do, too. We’ll regroup later today, but for the love of the Moon Goddess, get away from my patient’s exam room. Go get a coffee from the cafeteria or something, I don’t care.” Leave it to Aaliyah Davis to know just what to say, “Dr. Hope, I’ll page you if you’re needed, but stay close by just in case.”

I gave her a nod of acknowledgement as the group silently dispersed. 

Eventually the only two left in the hallway were Officer Easton Thatcher and I. 

A/N~ Ooooo, they're alone now hehe <.< Pssst, you can now read chapter 5 of WiaV on Patreon and Ream if you wanna see what Easton and Finn talk about while they're alone. Plus, things get a little crazy. . .I'm talking CODE GREY kinda crazy;) Link below to find out what happens next <3

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QoTD: How impressed do you think Easton is right now?;)