Ana followed Auguste down the hallway.
Every agent they passed snapped to attention, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
Auguste pushed open the door to the Pediatric ICU.
A blood-curdling scream tore through the air, vibrating in Ana's teeth.
Leo was thrashing wildly on the hospital bed.
Two nurses were trying to hold his arms down, but the IV in his hand had already ripped loose, dripping blood onto the sheets.
Auguste rushed forward, reaching out to grab his son.
Leo shrieked, batting his father's hands away with pure terror in his eyes.
"Don't touch me!"
The boy was drowning in a severe PTSD flashback.
Ana's medical instincts kicked in, overriding her fear of the men in the room.
She shoved past a nurse and stepped right up to the bed.
She placed both of her hands firmly on Leo's tear-soaked cheeks.
"Leo. Look at me. You are safe." Her voice was steady, warm, and absolute.
Leo's screams hitched in his throat.
He opened his swollen, red eyes and stared at her.
For three seconds, the room was completely still.
Then, Leo's tiny hands shot out, his fingers twisting into the fabric of Ana's white coat.
He buried his face into her chest and sobbed.
"Mommy!"
Ana's entire body went rigid.
Her hands hovered in the air, paralyzed.
She looked up, her eyes wide with shock, straight into Auguste's face.
Auguste's pupils constricted to pinpricks.
His face was a mask of complex, dark emotions.
Ana tried to gently peel the boy's fingers off her coat.
"Sweetheart, I'm just the doctor who gave you blood-"
The moment she pulled back, Leo let out a piercing shriek.
The heart monitor started blaring again.
Leo slammed the back of his head against the pillow, trying to hurt himself.
"Stop!" the ER director yelled. "If his blood pressure spikes, his internal sutures will rupture!"
Auguste grabbed Ana's wrist, his grip bruising.
"Hold him," he ordered through gritted teeth. "Play along."
Ana swallowed the lump in her throat and wrapped her arms tightly around the boy.
She rubbed his back, her voice shaking.
"Mommy is here. I'm not going anywhere."
The magic word worked instantly.
Leo stopped thrashing and wrapped his arms around her neck in a death grip.
The alarms in the room silenced.
Auguste stood at the foot of the bed, watching his son cling to a stranger.
His eyes were dark pools of ink.
Ana shifted her weight, trying to find a comfortable angle.
Leo whimpered in his sleep, his grip tightening.
Ana kicked off her shoes and awkwardly climbed onto the narrow hospital bed.
She leaned back against the headboard, letting Leo rest his full weight on her chest.
His breathing finally slowed into a deep sleep.
After twenty minutes, Ana's left arm went completely numb.
"Can you help me lay him flat?" she whispered to Auguste.
Auguste reached out, his large hand hovering over his son's back.
Leo let out a distressed whine in his sleep.
Auguste's hand froze.
He slowly pulled his arm back and looked at Ana with cold indifference.
"Stay exactly where you are."
Ana glared at him, her jaw tight. "Am I supposed to be a human mattress forever?"
