Derek

When we arrived at the hospital, things seemed to be moving both in fast and slow motion. We hadn't waited around for the cops to come. Will stayed behind to handle that and to be sure that the Hastings' would all be arrested when they returned. Cole came with me, and since Riley wouldn't let me put her down, he carried Cam inside.

His hospital was the closest to us, and he started barking out orders to his staff as soon as we walked in. He laid Cam on a stretcher and they wheeled her away before I even knew what was happening. I wanted to follow her and not leave her alone for a second, but Cole stopped me.

"You can't go back there, man." He swallowed hard, his hand against my chest, holding me back. "I'll come get you as soon as I can, okay?"

"Where are they taking mommy?" Riley cried, burying her head into my shoulder.

Cole nodded towards Riley, making sure I realized that this was exactly where I needed to be. He was right, of course. Cam was in good hands now, and there was nothing I could do that would help her more than be there for Riley.

"Mommy is going to go with the doctors for a little while." I said, turning and heading towards the waiting room.

"She's going to be okay, right?" She asked. I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my own emotions in check.

"She's going to be just fine, Ry. Let's just go sit down, okay? Are you hungry?"

Every eye in the waiting room was on us now. Riley and Camryn's faces had been plastered all over the news for the last several weeks, and I had just come rushing into the Emergency Room with them. There would be a lot of things to clear up and answer over the next few days, but none of that mattered now.

A small part of me was relieved that the truth would come out. Robby was dead, and everyone would know what he had done. There would be no more hiding or sneaking around. That was only a small part of the battle now, though. Cam had to make it through.

Just thinking of the condition we found her in was paralyzing. If I had been just a little sooner. If I protected her better, or never brought her back here in the first place. If I checked the Hastings house to begin with. I just hadn't expected him to be so stupid to take her there, or them to be so vile that they would help him.

My mind was swirling as Riley curled up on my chest. I felt like I was living through a fog, still operating on adrenaline and in deep shock. I got her a snack, and she yawned once, falling asleep on my shoulder. After a while, Detective Mullins came into the ER and walked towards me.

"Derek. How is she?" He sat down next to us.

"She's back with the doctors now. We won't know anything for a while." I kept my voice quiet as not to wake Riley up. The poor thing was exhausted.

He nodded. "We found Robby, and I had officers out to find Senator Hastings and his wife. They'll be arrested as accomplices."

"Good." I said.

"I'm going to have to take an official statement from you, eventually. About... everything."

"Can it wait?"

"Of course it can. I'll have security officers posted here just in case. And I'll be in touch soon." He stood up and spoke with a few other cops who were in the ER and then went on his way.

It was another few hours before anyone came out to talk to me, and it wasn't Cole when someone finally came.

"Mr. Bennett?" A small nurse asked. Her scrubs were covered in blood.

I nodded. "How is she?"

"She's stable." She gave me a small smile. "She's being transferred to a room in ICU right now and your brother asked me to come get you. You both can come with me."

Relief washed over me, and I was almost overcome with emotion. Cam was going to be okay. She'd have a long road to recovery, but she was alive and she was on the mend and she was one step closer to finally being free.

Riley had woken up for a little while, but was asleep again. I carried her as I followed the nurse down the hall and saw Cole standing outside a door holding a clipboard.

He looked up when he heard us coming. "Derek, hey."

"How is she doing?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. Stable could mean a lot of things, and I knew Cole would be straight with me. I needed to know what we were dealing with.

"She's okay. Heavily sedated and resting now." He glanced towards Riley.

"I guess I should try to get in touch with her dad. Now that everything is out in the open."

Cole nodded. "I asked Kate to come get Riley. She needs a little bit of normalcy right now and hanging out in the hospital isn't going to do that."

I wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving Riley, but she would be much more comfortable if Kate took her home to be with the girls. She could sleep in a real bed and eat something other than vending machine snacks. And I could put my full attention on Cam.

A few minutes later, Kate came, and I was able to convince Riley to go with her for a while. We were both anxious for her to go, but I knew it was best. She would be as safe at home with Kate as she was here with me.

"Why don't you get yourself cleaned up? You can use the shower in the staff lounge down the hallway while we wait for her to wake up." Cole suggested when it was just the two of us. For the first time, I realized I still had blood on my hands and forearms.

"I want to know what's going on with Cam first." I insisted.

"Fine." Cole begrudgingly agreed. "But after, you're going to let me check out that cut on your head and you're going to go wash yourself up so she doesn't wake up to a bumbling idiot."

I let out a sharp laugh. "Deal."

"Like I said, she's stable and resting. Right now, that's what she needs most. He body needs to heal and rest will help. She had a lung collapse and a perforated spleen, but I was able to fix most of the damage and give her a few transfusions. So far, there is no brain bleed that I can see, but there is quite a bit of swelling, so I can't be a hundred percent sure. She'll be here for at least the next several days so I can keep an eye on things, but she's going to be okay."

I swallowed a lump in my throat, at a loss for words. Camryn was in the very best of hands with my brother. "Thank you."

Cole gave me a small smile. "She's lucky. That bastard put a beating on her, but most of it was superficial."

"Nothing he did was superficial." I bit my lip. Cam may be on the mend physically, but this wouldn't be something she got over easily. Robby and his torturous ways would haunt her for years to come, and I knew from experience that sometimes the emotional scars never healed. "Did he..."

I couldn't even bring myself to finish the sentence.

"There was a lot of trauma." Cole cut me off. "But the details aren't important. That will be something you can talk to her about. I'm still her doctor and even though you're my brother, there are things she might not want to share."

I nodded.

"Now, will you let me look at your head?" Cole put his hand on my forehead, cleaning the cut with an antiseptic wipe.

"Ow! Fuck!" I hissed, pulling away.

Cole rolled his eyes. "You're such a sissy."

"How about that shower?" I chuckled, seeing it as my only way out. Cole would insist on stitching me up if I stayed here.

"Down the hall." He nodded towards a door. "Take your time. It'll be awhile before she wakes up."

***If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence of any kind, please reach out to someone in your community. In the US, that number is 1-800-799-7233**