He looked back.
Both were thinking the same thing.
The last six months rearranged themselves.
The biological mother saw it happening.
“No.”
The father turned toward her.
“What did you give her?”
“Nothing.”
The child cried harder.
The nurse asked:
“Are there pills in your bag?”
The girl nodded.
The biological mother closed her eyes.
Only for a second.
But the stepmother saw.
“Where?”
The nurse asked.
The girl pointed toward the front pocket.
The nurse did not touch it immediately.
She called for the physician.
Hospital security kept everyone separated.
The father paced.
The biological mother demanded a lawyer.
Then said she wanted to leave.
Security told her she could wait in another area but not take anything belonging to the child.
The father nearly followed her.
The stepmother caught his wrist.
“Don't.”
He looked at her.
“I need answers.”
“You're not getting them from her in a hallway.”
“She gave our daughter something.”
“I know.”
His eyes flashed.
The stepmother lowered her voice.
“And if you lose control right now, you give her something else to use.”
The father stopped.
His breathing slowed gradually.
He looked toward his daughter.
His anger became shame.
“How did I not know?”
The stepmother squeezed his hand.
“We don't know anything yet.”
“I should have known.”
“Don't do that.”
“She was sick after visits.”
“We took her to doctors.”
“I thought anxiety.”
“So did I.”
He looked toward the child.
“She tried to tell us.”
The stepmother followed his gaze.
“Then we listen now.”
That sentence became the only thing either of them could control.
Listen now.
The physician returned.
A hospital social worker arrived soon after.
The small plastic pouch inside the backpack contained several tablets.
No label.
The staff handled them carefully.
Nobody guessed publicly at what they were.
The child's blood was drawn.
The girl answered questions with the stepmother beside her and her father several feet away so she did not feel surrounded.
The biological mother demanded to be present.
The hospital declined while evaluating a potential child-safety concern.
That decision caused another scene.
The stepmother heard shouting from down the hall.
She did not move.