“
Hey, Soph, I’m heading out for a run.”
“In this weather?”
“Yeah, I just need to blow off a little steam.”
“Okay, babe. Be careful, it’s wet.”
Adam leaned over and kissed Sophie on the top of her head.
Sophie sat in a rocking chair, holding Danny in her lap. He
sucked contentedly on his pacifier with his eyes closed, leaning
against Sophie’s chest. She caressed the top of his head as they
rocked.
“Mrs. Young?” A middle-aged woman Sophie didn’t recog
nize interrupted her brief respite of peace. “I’m Dottie from social
work. Jody is off today, and I’ve been asked to fill in for her on
some matters with her families. Okay if I ask you a few questions?”
“Oh. Sure, I’d be happy to answer questions, especially if
they’re about Danny’s discharge.”
The social worker hesitated. “I’m sorry, that’s not the case.
There has been a hold placed on his discharge.”
Sophie felt like she’d been hit in the stomach again. “What
do you mean ‘a hold’? What are you talking about?”
“DSS, the Department of Social Services, has asked that we
do an investigation into you and your husband. And your home.”
For a moment, Sophie couldn’t speak. Then she asked in a
tight voice, “What on earth are you talking about?”
Dottie sat down next to Sophie and put a hand on her arm.
Sophie yanked her arm away and glared at the woman.
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JULIE HATCH
Dottie lowered her voice. “One of the doctors has reported
that he is concerned about your husband’s propensity for over
indulging in alcohol. He’s been seen getting drunk at Evening
Rounds, and we need to make sure that, when Danny is ready to
go home, he’ll be going home to a safe environment. Once we’re
sure of a safe home environment, then he can be discharged. But
for now, we need to keep him here.” Her patronizing tone irri
tated the hell out of Sophie.
“And just so there are no surprises,” Dottie added in a quiet
tone, “you should know that if for some reason DSS doesn’t clear
him for discharge, he could be going to a foster home. A tempo
rary one, until things get sorted out.”
Sophie started to freak. “You’ve got to be kidding. My husband
does not have a drinking problem. You have your facts wrong!”
she said, jabbing her finger in Dottie’s face. “I am shocked at
what you’re saying. I’m beyond shocked!” Her voice rose. “I can’t
believe you’re treating me like this, like a hardened criminal. I
have done nothing wrong and neither has my husband. Danny
has two loving parents and a very safe and secure home.”
She bounced Danny up and down in her arms. “Where’s
Jody? Jody would never let this happen. She knows us. She’s met
with us and understands that we are good parents.”
“As I said, Jody is off today.”
Sophie couldn’t believe what she was hearing—how could
this be happening? Getting her son home was slipping away.
After all they’d been through, why now? Then a light went on.
She brought her emotions back in check. This was not the
time for histrionics. How dare he try to stop Danny’s discharge?
“Who made this complaint about my husband?”
“I really can’t say. It’s confidential.”
By now, Sophie was so worked up that Danny started to cry.
She put him down in his crib and asked the social worker to step
outside with her, leaving Danny with his nurse.
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THE VERY BEST OF CARE
Through gritted teeth, Sophie forced herself to not blow up
at the messenger. “This has Dr. Wagner written all over it. He is
holding up our discharge because we’re onto him.”
Rattled by what Sophie was saying, Dottie scurried back to
Danny’s cribside and quickly gathered her papers. “I don’t know
what you are referring to, Mrs. Young. I just know that our depart
ment is responsible for ensuring Danny’s safety once he leaves
the hospital.”
With her pile of papers wildly askew, she left.
Sophie saw red. She went to the unit secretary and asked very
politely to have Dr. Wagner paged. She waited for his call. Two
minutes later, the secretary handed the phone to Sophie.
“Thank you,” Sophie said. She turned her back to the staff
members milling around the desk. “What are you doing by holding
up Danny’s discharge? And on the ridiculous accusation of Adam
having a drinking problem? I think it was you who was drunk the
night your lips were flapping. But I haven’t said anything to any
body about that. Let social work do their investigating—they’ll
find out Adam is clean and sober and that you’re a lying son of a
bitch. Now stay away from me and my son.”
“You know I have the ultimate power, Mrs. Young, so why are
you doing this?”
“I don’t freakin’ care about your power. There’s always some
one higher up than you. And I will go above you. I’ll take you all
the way to the Supreme Court if I have to.”
Mitchell chuckled. “Oh, Mrs. Young, you have no idea what
you’re saying. I’ll warn you once more, you don’t know what
you’re doing. You don’t know who you’re messing with. You’d do
best to mind your own business and leave me to mine.”
Sophie took a deep breath. Don’t let him get to you. “Actu
ally, Dr. Wagner, Madeline now knows your business. Adam and
I have talked to her about our suspicions, and we have proof. It
wasn’t difficult to convince her to do some investigating. We’ve
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JULIE HATCH
had no problem going up the chain of command.”
She slammed the phone down, hoping she hurt his eardrum
with the loud bang. Immediately, she questioned what she had
just done. Would he punish them further?
Sophie got back to Danny’s pod just as the nurse was finish
ing up feeding him. She lifted him into her arms and put him
over her shoulder. She paced back and forth, patting him on his
back while thinking about Mitch Wagner. What if he really does
have the power to have Danny removed from my and Adam’s home
for good? This is so ridiculous. She bit her lower lip so hard she
tasted blood
