Stitches of Life

No Good at Saying Sorry

"She didn't mean it." The woman spoke frantically. "It was an accident. She really didn't mean it. She's sorry. Maddy, tell 'em you're sorry."

"Wait, she's the shooter?" Cristina's eyes widened at the news.

"Somebody page the Chief." Hunt told us before following George inside with the other patient, leaving Cristina and I with the mother and daughter.

"Why don't you let me take Maddy so I can look her over, okay?" I suggested to the mother as I led her and Maddy inside, Cristina hurrying to follow after Hunt and George, clearly wanting to be on the bloodier case.

"She didn't mean it." She told me again, passing Maddy over into my arms.

"I know," I gave a small nod as I carried Maddy over to one of the beds while a nurse showed her mother to another. As I sat Maddy down on the bed I spotted Arizona making her way towards me, a small smile on her face as Maddy looked up at her.

"Hi, Maddy." Arizona greeted the young girl as I carefully removed her pink sweatshirt. Blood was staining her green and white polka dotted shirt, likely her father's blood. "My name's Arizona and this is my friend Beth. I'm just gonna take a look at you."

"Can you tell us if anything hurts?" I asked the young girl. She remained quiet, but I saw her eyes flicker to her left arm. "Your arm?"

"Maddy, how's this feel? Does it hurt when I do this?" Arizona gently took her arm in her hands, applying light pressure to it. Maddy just shook her head. "Good."

"Now what about this cut?" I tilted her head to the side, focusing my attention on the cut on her right cheek. "Can you tell us how you got this big cut on your face?"

"She's scared." Maddy's mom spoke for her as she got up from her own bed to sit next to Maddy, making Arizona and I look at her. "She's scared she did a bad thing and you're gonna take her away from me."

"The police will want to talk to both of you about how Maddy got the gun." Webber spoke up as he joined us.

"We called Social Services, and they'll be here soon." Arizona added. "And they'll give you all the support that you need to come back from this. And nobody is gonna take you away from your mom. Okay, Maddy? You hear me?"

"It hit her in the face- the gun, the kickback." Mrs. Carlson told us.

"Huh." I frowned, looking back at the cut. "'Cause this doesn't look like-"

"That's how she got the cut." Mrs. Carlson cut me off. "Her daddy shoots targets in the backyard. He put the gun down for a minute. It was stupid. It was really stupid. She never meant to hurt him."

"Okay, you'll tell the police that, and it'll- it'll be okay." Webber nodded. "Everything will be okay."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is my daddy gonna die?" Maddy asked me as I sat in front of her, starting to clean the cut on her face while Webber finished up with her mother's arm.

"I don't know." I was honest with her. "I hope not."

"How come?" Her voice was soft as she spoke.

"How come what?" I asked, pulling on a fresh pair of gloves.

"How come he don't die? I shot him lots of times." She told me. I felt myself freeze for a moment at her words, my gaze drifting over to Webber and Mrs. Carlson, finding them both looking at Maddy and I already. "How come he don't die?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"She's just a little girl, a baby." Mrs. Carlson told Webber and I, as well as the police officers and social worker that had arrived to get their statements. "She wasn't really trying to kill him. She was... She doesn't even understand what that means. She was just trying to stop him. She was only trying to stop him."