Alexander felt awful as he held 839 still, his eyes closing as he tried to ignore the fear and anger in her tone. He had not wanted to hurt her or make her doubt that he was here as much to keep the doctors safe as he was to keep the patient safe from mistreatment. Pressing the side of his head against hers for a moment before pulling back to avoid any headbutting, Alexander whispered softly, “I’m sorry 839. I’m not going to let them hurt you, but I can’t let you hurt them. Please, just sit still and they will not hurt you, I promise you. I will keep you safe.”
Looking up as the door opened and the nurse came in, Alexander watched them closely, his eyes locked on their every move until they apologized to him. Tightening his grip slightly so that 839 could not move and hurt the nurse, Alexander lowered his eyes and tried to ignore the sounds of discomfort that left the girl. Holding her still as she was forced to swallow, Alexander looked up at the nurse when they backed away. Nodding, he spoke in a deep voice, “She is not going to hurt you, she is worn the fuck out. Please, go get her a plate of food. I’ll feed her again. Also, thank you for the pills.”
Holding her and humming softly as the nurse stepped out of the room, Alexander moved his hand that had been doubled up on her wrists and rubbed her arm gently. He moved from humming to singing softly for her, “Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.”
Rocking back and forth gently to try to calm her down, Alexander spoke in a low voice, “They are going to get you food and then you are going to get to eat. How does that sound?” After he asked, he lowered his head and placed his chin on her shoulder. He knew the nurse would be coming back shortly with food, so there was no point in removing his hold on her just to do it all again.
Rocking back and forth to establish the rhythm again, he continued singing the