TW: Depictions of abuse/violence against a minor. (Finn has a flashback)

Scared

CHAPTER 11

A routine began to form without my knowledge after meeting Officer Easton Thatcher. Every morning, I walked into the clinic to be greeted by Aaliyah next to the man himself, holding a coffee out for me with a cocky grin on his face. 

Today had been no different, aside from the lack of Aaliyah's presence. She had gotten carried away with trying to find a permanent solution to the reporters still staked outside the clinic. It had already been two days since they showed up and, although their numbers had dwindled, the amount of reporters that remained was still hefty.

"I hope you know, buying me coffee every day doesn't mean anything to me other than free caffeine." I jabbed, quirking an eyebrow at the man. The tone in my voice fell flat, though, and I tried to hide the flush rising to my face as Easton smiled. I hated to admit how his hot coffees and warm eyes were starting to melt away at the walls I had built around myself. 

"'Course not. I just can't imagine spending my day with you uncaffeinated." The bastard had the audacity to wink after saying that, so I just rolled my eyes and brushed past him. The sooner we could start working with Jax, the better. 

The situation had only grown more dire. With practically the whole state aware of Jax's case, it was no longer safe for him to leave the premises. No relatives of his had been identified as of yet, and we still couldn't get a sample of the boy's blood without him panicking. 

Today was yet another session with Jax to hopefully get him more comfortable with needles. I found myself adoring any time I spent with the kid, however it would be a lie to say I wasn't dreading the day ahead. I hadn't been near Easton without Aaliyah since the first day Jax arrived at the clinic and I, unfortunately, found myself anxious at the thought. 

I wasn't sure why. It wasn't like I was going to be alone with the man and we had work to do, so our focus wouldn't even be on each other. 

Before I could ponder on it too long, the both of us reached Jax's room. 

A sigh escaped my lips as I pushed the door open. I immediately set my coffee on the counter by the entrance before turning my eyes toward the boy. 

He was curled up on the spinning stool, eyes caught on something out the window. He looked up when we walked in and gave one of his rare smiles. It was small, like they usually were, but his eyes gained a little sparkle which showed it was genuine. 

"Hey, Kid. How are we doing today?" I asked as I took a seat on the windowsill, back to the window so I could look at the boy. Officer Thatcher remained by the door, watching quietly. 

"Fine, if it weren't for you coming in to prepare me for a needle." He joked, and wasn't that something? A child that only just narrowly escaped something so traumatic, and there he sat, cracking a joke like he was any other kid in the world that dreaded a regular doctor's appointment. 

I smiled sadly in response, but enjoyed the little huff of a laugh that Easton let slip. 

"I'm sorry, bud. No needles in the room today, though, I promise. I wanted to just have a chat, see if we can talk about the source of your fear. Then, we can go from there. Does that sound okay?" 

Jax's brown tufts of hair shook with his head as he nodded. 

"Sure." He sighed and it was endearing how Jax tried so hard to act tough even though I could see how much he was dreading the discussion. 

I had a feeling I knew why needles were so iffy for Jax, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. I hoped it wasn't what I thought, but it was naive of me to when I knew firsthand how horrible the hunters could be. 

"Do you feel ready to tell me what you think has caused this fear?" I asked calmly, not liking the way Jax's shoulders tensed as he looked at the ground. 

"Whatever gets this over with quicker." He sighed, straightening himself up as if preparing physically for the answer to my question. 

"It's the wolfsbane. They insert it with a needle, a tiny one. I didn't think it would hurt the first time—I had my blood drawn before so I wasn't scared of it—but then, it started burning and. . ." His voice cracked as he trailed off and my heart cracked with it. 

Just like I thought.

Officer Thatcher was quiet, but I picked up on the way he tensed at the boy's words. The truth of how horrible the anti-werewolf organization had been was always a hard pill to swallow for those unaffected by them. 

Before I could think of what to say, Jax spoke up again. "You know, they make you watch. Tell you if you close your eyes, they'll put you in front of the lights again. No one wants to be in front of the lights." 

My breath hitched. 

***

"Don't fucking close your eyes. Keep 'em open or we'll sew him open, you hear me?" The man behind me snarled in my ear, forcing my head back up roughly and toward the blinding lights in front of me. 

I had already been there for what felt like hours, but there was no way to tell for sure. My eyes were watering and felt like they were on fire all at once. I couldn’t see anything other than the brightness. 

"Your freakish healing abilities aren't working too well now, are they?" He scoffed, walking away for a brief moment to write something down in his notebook somewhere behind me. 

I couldn't see the man, but I knew he had on some form of eye protection and could hear the scribble of his pen. I was willing to concentrate on anything else to distract myself from the blinding headache. Anything to try and forget where I was and what was happening.

Scared didn’t even begin to sum up how I felt, but I was slowly starting to learn what to expect. I fell back into that predictably until I could see Lex again.

The rest of our session went by in a flash, but I could tell Jax had picked up on my unease and I felt horrible about it. I was the doctor, the one meant to help him work through his trauma. I wasn't supposed to be triggered with my own when a patient was confiding in me. 

All in all, I was able to talk through some things he could do to help with the flashbacks. I reinforced the 3-3-3 method, but I also mentioned having ice cubes near him when we finally got around to taking his blood so that he could hold one in his palm. The cold would hopefully distract him long enough to do it. 

Of course, I wanted to be able to hold a needle while I sat next to Jax first. Then, we could move up from there. 

For now, though, my focus was stolen by one Easton Thatcher. He had been eerily silent since we left Jax's room and just followed me to the on call room like a lost puppy. I almost told him to leave me alone, as I usually would, but something stopped me.

His usually warm brown eyes were cold and distant as he sat at the kitchen island in the middle of the room, hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee I wondered vaguely if he even remembered making. 

Chewing my lip in thought, I hesitantly approached the officer.

"Hey, you okay?"

Easton looked surprised I said anything at all, let alone about his wellbeing. It hurt to see that he probably thought I didn't care for him, but I was the one who made him think that, after all. 

"Hm? Oh, yeah." He sniffed, rubbing a hand down his face. 

My eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure?" I gently pried, speaking softly so he could tell I was being sincere. 

That seemed to get his attention as he finally looked up at me.

For a second, I wondered if he was going to respond. He stared at me for a minute before he abruptly stood up and started pacing.

I had never seen him like that before. Most of the time, Easton was cocky and cracking jokes or serious when the situation called for it. But, to see him so uncomfortable? That was definitely a first for me. 

"I just— I don't understand."

His hands were tugging on his hair as he paced. I didn't know what to do, but it pained me to see him like that. Without much thought, I decided to just follow my instinct. 

"Easton." I whispered, closing the distance between us and reaching for him. 

He looked at me with wide eyes as I halted his movements, his hands now held gently between my own. 

"Tell me what's going on." 

That was all it took for him to finally talk.

"Just, to hear what those people did to Jax. . .How could someone treat a child like that? I mean, did you see him? He was so scared just talking about what they did!" He looked frantic as he tried to piece together how humans could be so cruel. 

I didn't know what to tell him. That question had been bouncing around my head for years. An answer to it had yet to be found. 

Instead of replying, I wrapped my arms around his midsection and tugged him against me. It felt right, but I couldn't help feeling unsettled at first. 

I couldn't remember the last time I was that close to another person. I didn't like to be, it made me feel suffocated and reminded me of too many things I'd rather not remember. Yet somehow, it only took a few seconds for the tension to leave my shoulders and I melted into his chest. 

After recovering from his shock, Easton wrapped me up in his arms and hugged me back with everything he had, letting a sigh escape him as his head rested atop mine. I wasn't sure who needed it more. 

Everywhere we were touching tingled pleasantly, a faint buzzing under my skin. It was comforting and I found myself nuzzling my cheek against his chest, soaking in as much warmth as I could. 

For the first time in a long while, I felt safe. Sheltered. Like nothing could touch me. 

Like I was finally home. 

That single thought scared me more than anything ever had before.