The McRae Series 01 - Twelve Days Sam and Rachel

something like that to me. And the children... No wonder they were so scared."
    "I know."
    Sam heard footsteps and looked up to see a woman in a white coat coming down the hall, a tag that identified her as a doctor. She paused in front of them and said, "You're friends of Mrs. Greene's?"
    Rachel hastily dried her tears and together they faced the doctor. "We're taking care of her children," Sam said. "They want to know how she is."
    "She doesn't seem to have any neurological damage from the head injury, which had us worried because she hadn't regained consciousness before today." There was an odd look on the doctor's face. "But... it's going to be a long road. I would say as little as possible at this moment to her children."
    Sam frowned, wondering what was being left unsaid. Finally he settled for asking, "She's going to be here for a while? Days? Weeks?"
    "Weeks, at least," the doctor said, excusing herself and walking back into Annie's room.
    Sam stood there for a moment, facing his wife, holding her by her arms, hating this look on her face. It brought back too many memories of too many bad times. "It's late," he said finally. "The kids have to be exhausted. Let's take them home."
    Rachel nodded, slipped her arm around his waist, and together they walked back down the hallway to the waiting room and tried not to look so grim once they got there. They had children to take care of.
    * * *
    They'd talked briefly with Miriam before she left the house. She said as far as they were concerned, nothing had changed. The children were still wards of the state, and Sam and Rachel were still their foster parents. It was hard to say what would happen next. There might be relatives of Annie's or even her husband's who might come forward and want to take care of them. Relatives who could provide a stable home were normally favored over strangers.
    If there was no one but Sam and Rachel to care for them, Miriam didn't know what might happen when Annie Greene was released from the hospital, how a judge might view her leaving them alone in that motel, even if it was only supposed to be for the day. They'd all have to wait and see.
    They got back to the house and put the kids to bed, and then together they faced a house filled with the ghosts of the Christmas just past. Someone had left the lights on the tree and the ones on the outside of the house on. They blinked with annoying regularity, seeming to mock the events of the day. There were presents all over the place. Everything seemed as disorganized and scattered as the house was, and the day that was supposed to be so special, so magical, was ending in such disarray.
    Sam didn't even know what to hope for anymore. He wanted the children to be happy and safe. He wondered if they ever would be with their mother. He had a knot in his stomach just thinking about giving them back to her. He wanted to be their safe harbor, the one place they could always turn to.
    And then there was Rachel. He was supposed to leave in the morning, but he wasn't going anywhere for now. And he owed it to his friend to tell him something about the apartment. If it had been just twenty-four hours ago, Sam would have said he was staying, that he and Rachel could make this work.
    But this was his and Rachel's worst nightmare come true.
    Sam looked up the staircase and dreaded going up there, had a sinking feeling about what he would find. She hadn't come down since she went to check on Emma, and that had been thirty minutes ago.
    Just a month ago, Sam would never have thought of going up there to see if she was okay. He'd have known she wasn't and been out of ideas about how he might help. He'd have hidden in his office and hoped she was asleep by the time he came inside. Because he would have exhausted every bit of energy he had trying to make her feel better and been dying to escape the misery in this house. He didn't feel that way now, but he was simply afraid of going back to living the way they had for so long.
    Slowly, dread dogging his every step, he climbed to the second floor and went from bedroom to bedroom. Zach and the baby were asleep. So was Emma. His and Rachel's bedroom was empty, but the bathroom door was closed.
    How many times had he found her weeping in the bathtub? How many times had he walked away. This time he stood by the door and said, "Rachel?"
    "Yes?" she called out.
    He heard the sound of water lapping against the sides of the tub and sagged against the door. "I just wanted to