The McRae Series 01 - Twelve Days Sam and Rachel

anything did happen to her, someone there would take care of her children. So she left them, thinking it would just be for a few hours. She was so scared when she finally regained consciousness and realized how much time had passed. I didn't think we'd ever get her to calm down enough to even tell us what was wrong. And when she found out they'd spent three days there all by themselves..."
    "Monster," Annie whispered. "You must have thought..."
    "It's all right," Rachel claimed. "They're fine now. Emma took good care of them. You would have been so proud of her. This whole time... She's so good with them, so strong."
    Annie nodded gratefully.
    "She didn't get very far with her own mother," the nurse said. "Her mother's already raising two of her other grandchildren, and she didn't think she could handle any more. And someone Annie knew must have seen her in town and called her husband, because the next thing she knew, he took her and left her for dead on the side of the road."
    "I messed it all up," Annie said. "Everything."
    "You don't have to worry about the children right now," Sam said. "Whatever time you need to get back on your feet... And Rachel's family knows almost everybody in Baxter. I'm sure we know someone who could help you get a job, a place to stay. Whatever you need."
    Annie smiled at him, truly smiled. "I forget sometimes.... There are good people left in this world.... But..."
    "It's more than that," the nurse said. "She's had me asking about the two of you. She knows how much you've always wanted children, that it's just never worked out. Your aunt said the nicest things about both of you, that she's sure you'd make wonderful parents. So did your minister. And even the mayor."
    "I don't understand," Sam said. "What does she want from us?"
    "Dying," she said. "I'm dying."
    "No," Rachel said.
    "It's not the beating," the nurse said. "It's her kidneys. That's why she was so desperate, why she came back here. She's dying, and she needs someone to raise her children for her."
    "You," Annie whispered. "Both of you."
    Rachel didn't say a word. Neither did Sam. They were too stunned.
    "She wants you to be sure. To take some time to think it through. She doesn't have long, but she wants you to be sure."
    "What's wrong with her?" Rachel asked.
    "She developed kidney disease, from the damage done years ago from the beatings, which worsened with the added strain of the pregnancy, and now with the added stress of the beating, her kidneys have shut down."
    "But she could get a transplant, couldn't she?" Sam asked.
    The nurse shook her head. "Maybe if she'd tried to get help sooner. But she let it go on for so long. The damage adds up, and at times, if there's a lot of trauma to the body and one organ starts to shut down, the other organs start to shut down, too. I'm afraid she's in organ failure, so far gone that no one would ever put her on a waiting list for a transplant."
    "Not now, you mean?"
    "You don't understand. She's not going to get better."
    "You're just going to let her die?" Sam asked.
    "She probably wouldn't live through the surgery, even if she could get on the list and last long enough to get a transplant. I'm sorry. I know that seems harsh. But there are never enough organs to go around. We set strict criteria for patients who get them. The idea is that if only so many people are ever going to get a transplant, we want it to be people with a good chance of surviving," the nurse said. "Annie's accepted that. The only thing she's worried about now is her children."
    "What about her husband?" Sam asked.
    "The sheriff's been here. They videotaped her testimony, and he promised her husband's going to prison for what he's done to her. Her mother doesn't want the children. Annie's afraid no one will," the nurse said. "Your aunt told her if she picked someone to take them that the courts would likely give a great deal of weight to her request. Your aunt didn't think you'd have any trouble getting approval to adopt them, if that's what you want."
    Again, Rachel just sat there, overwhelmed. This woman was dying. She was going to have to leave this earth and leave three young, helpless children behind. It was staggering to think about.
    It was only three days ago that Rachel had really come to terms with the loss of her baby and truly known in her heart that her baby was fine, in a place where no one would ever hurt her. But Annie Greene was leaving her children to the mercy of an often-cruel world, faced