Safe Haven

Living with the Burzeks

"My name is Connor. Who are you?" He asked.

"Charlie," she answered timidly.

"Alright, Charlie. Is Jay your dad?" He asked and she nodded, "I want to go to my daddy," she whispered.

"Yeah, I know. Your daddy is sleeping soundly. He's in intensive care. This is a room where we can take good care of your daddy. Your daddy is still in critical condition. He needs a lot of rest and we have to bring a lot of patience, okay?" Connor explained and turned to the adults, "He's in an artificial coma, but I'm optimistic that we can start the recovery in the next 48 hours."

"What's a coma?" Charlie asked curiously.

"That's when a person sleeps deeply and you can't wake them up with anything. They often sleep for days to recover better." Connor tried to explain to the girl without frightening her.

"He's sleeping?" Said Charlie and Connor nodded.

Kim and Adam took Charlie into their midst and led the little girl into Jay's room. He was connected to many devices.

"Stay with us, huh?" Adam said as Charlie wanted to sprint to Jay. He held his little hand. Of course Charlie should see, talk or even touch her dad, but she should be careful.

"Uncle Adam, when does daddy wake up?" Charlie asked as Kim set the girl down on a small open space on the bed.

"Until he recovers," Adam said.

"When did he recover?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Charlie, sweetheart, your Uncle Will and Connor will take good care of your daddy." Kim smiled sadly, "You stay with us."

CPDCPDCPD

Charlie laid awake in bed. In a foreign guest room. Well, the room was not that foreign. She had stayed overnight with Adam and Kim. She could not sleep and did not want to close her eyes again. Too big was her fear to experience the dream again. She crept quietly out of bed, padded around the apartment, and slipped into the middle of Kim and Adam, awakened by the 4-year-old's movement.

"Hey Cece," Kim muttered as Charlie cuddled up to her.

"I'm scared," Charlie whispered.

"You know, kiddo, your father is a strong man. He'll always fight for you and do his best to win," Adam said.

"I want to go to my daddy." She cried softly.

"We know. You stay with us until your daddy gets better, huh?" Kim said, gently stroking her hair, "We'll visit him every day."

"You promise?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Kim smiled sadly. She did not want to imagine how horrible it had been for the four-year-old to see her dad bleeding on the floor. She was sure that Jay had done everything not to worry the child any more.

"You know, Cece, we can have a nice day tomorrow. I get both of us sick at work and in nursery school and then we go to the zoo, huh?" Adam asked and Kim scowled at him. It was a cute idea, but she seriously doubted that the kid was fond of zoo.

"Can we just go to Daddy?" Charlie asked hopefully, "I don't want Daddy to be alone."

"Oh, sweetheart, your dad isn't alone. Your Uncle Will and Aunt Nat are there," Kim said.

"But I better take care of him!" Charlie said, "When I'm sick, Daddy will stay with me. I want to be there for daddy!"

CPDCPDCPD

The next day, Adam and Kim drove to the Med with Charlie.

She clung tightly to her teddy bear as she followed the couple.

Charlie sat back down on the bed and put her teddy bear in the crook of her father's arm.

"Officer Bear is taking care of you, Daddy," Charlie said. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her little arms wandered around his neck, her head resting on his chest. Charlie sensed her father's breath and heartbeat.

Will stood next to Charlie. At first he was not at all pleased by his brother's plan to raise a child. He even tried to talk him out of it. But that moment showed him that Jay was indeed a very good father for Charlie. Jay and Charlie were an inseparable team.

"Charlie, we have to go to the district." Kim said, holding her hand to Charlie.

"I'll stay," she whispered. Worried, Adam and Kim looked at each other. For most of the day, Charlie was lying in the bed next to Jay. She did not eat or drink. She refused.

"We need your help to find the offender," Kim said. Hank found the man, which had to be identified. The neighbor will do it, but somehow Kim and Adam wanted to lure the girl from the ICU.

"You know, kiddo, we need your help." Adam winked. "Afterwards we'll order a big pizza, huh?"

"Your uncle Will promised to call right away when Jay wakes up," Kim said.

Charlie nodded in agreement and turned briefly to her dad, "I love you, Daddy." She gently kissed his cheek. Then she reached for Kim's hand.

CPDCPDCPD

At the station, Adam demanded a phantom drawing from Charlie so they could catch the bad man. Charlie hid in the break room and tried to paint the person.

It was nothing else than an occupational therapy for Charlie, because actually Hank Voight and the intelligence has tracked down the offender and locked him in the cage.

"Let me see," Toni said curiously, looking at her drawing. It showed a big black man with a hoodie and a gun. Next to it laid a white man on the red ground. Antonio swallowed hard. It may not be a good idea to give the child such an unnecessary job.

"You were with your daddy when it happened?" Toni asked and Charlie nodded, "I ran to him after the man ran out of the apartment."

Antonio looked into her brown eyes. So far, nobody probably asked how Charlie felt.

"How are you, Cece?" Toni asked and Charlie shrugged her slender shoulder.

"You're scared, huh?" Toni said, "But I can promise you Charlie, Jay's a damn good cop and he would give anything for you."

"Last night, I dreamed Daddy would never come back," Charlie said sadly.

"And I can assure you that Jay will always come back to you because we all look after each other well," Toni said.