The Bright Lights Of The ER
The sliding doors of the emergency room opened quickly, and within seconds a nurse rushed toward Rowan with a gurney.
“How old is she?”
“Three,” Rowan replied, his voice tight. “She has a high fever, she barely responds when we talk to her, she hasn’t eaten, and I think the kids have been alone for too long.”
The nurse’s expression grew more serious immediately, though her voice remained calm and steady.
“We’re taking her back right now.”
Another nurse knelt down beside Micah and spoke softly.
**“Hey there, sweetheart. Do you want to stay with your dad while we help your sister?”**
Micah held tightly onto Rowan’s pant leg and nodded without saying a word.
Rowan crouched beside him as hospital staff wheeled Elsie away down the hallway.
**“They’re helping her,”** he said quietly. **“And I’m not going anywhere.”**
Micah’s eyes filled with tears.
**“She’s going to be okay… right?”**
Rowan had never made a promise with so much hope and so little certainty at the same time.
**“Yes,”** he said softly. **“She’s going to be okay.”**
While the doctors examined Elsie, Rowan spoke with the registration desk, giving every detail he could remember. A few minutes later he repeated the same story again for a hospital social worker, and then once more for another staff member from pediatric intake.
He explained the custody arrangement between him and Delaney, her message earlier in the week saying she might be staying with friends, the calls that kept going straight to voicemail, and the quiet house he had found when he arrived. He also told them something Micah had said in the car—that this was not the first time their mother had left them alone, only the first time it had lasted this long.
The social worker, a calm woman wearing silver glasses and holding a small notepad, looked up at him.
“Do you know where the children’s mother is right now?”
Rowan shook his head slowly.
**“No. I haven’t heard from her since Friday.”**
The woman nodded and wrote something down before asking another question.
“Are you willing to take temporary full responsibility for the children while we complete our report?”
Rowan answered without hesitation.
**“I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep them safe.”**
After what felt like an entire day packed into forty long minutes, the doctor finally returned.
Elsie now had a small IV in her arm, and a little color had started to return to her cheeks.
“She’s stable,” the doctor said gently. “She was severely dehydrated, and she also has a stomach infection that became much harder on her because she hadn’t been eating properly. We’re going to keep her here for observation, but you brought her in at the right time.”
Rowan closed his eyes for a moment and released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.
Micah looked up at him immediately.
**“Can I see her?”**
The doctor gave a warm smile.
**“Soon. She’s resting right now, but she’s being well taken care of.”**
Rowan placed his hand gently on the back of Micah’s neck, and only then did he realize his son was still shaking slightly.
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