Chapter 4: Trauma
1182 Words
Chapter Four
Fiona slipped out of Room 36 and gently closed the door behind her.
The silence in the corridor felt strange after the tense conversation she'd just had with Lieutenant Colonel Kieran Grey Ashford. He hadn't given her much. Every answer had been short, guarded, carefully measured. Yet beneath the cold exterior, she could sense something deeper—something wounded.
She exhaled slowly and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
It had been a long day.
The fluorescent lights overhead cast pale reflections across the polished hospital floors as she started toward her office. All she wanted was ten minutes alone to review his file and organize her thoughts.
Her phone buzzed in the pocket of her white coat.
A smile immediately tugged at her lips.
"TJ."
She answered before the second ring.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"Hi, Mom."
The sound of her son's voice instantly eased some of the tension in her shoulders.
"How was your day?" he asked.
Fiona laughed softly.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"Maybe."
"Did you finish your homework?"
"Yes."
"All of it?"
A pause.
"TJ."
"Okay, most of it."
She shook her head.
"I knew it."
"I'll finish the rest tomorrow."
"You said that yesterday."
"Mom..."
The dramatic groan made her smile.
"Fine. I'll finish it."
"Good."
She turned down another corridor.
"Have you had dinner?"
"Yes."
"What did you eat?"
"Pasta."
"Vegetables?"
Another pause.
"TJ."
"There were vegetables in the sauce."
"That barely counts."
"Still counts."
Fiona laughed.
"Have you brushed your teeth?"
"Mom."
"That's not an answer."
"Yes."
"Are you in bed?"
"Yes."
"Tucked in?"
"TJ groaned loudly."
"Mom, I'm twelve."
"And?"
"I'm not five."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Yes, I'm tucked in."
"Good."
"You ask the same questions every night."
"And you'll answer them every night."
She heard him chuckle.
For a few precious moments, everything felt normal.
Not hospital normal.
Not military-patient normal.
Just mother-and-son normal.
Then suddenly—
CRASH!
A loud noise echoed through the hallway.
Fiona froze.
The sound was sharp and violent, like glass shattering against the floor.
"What was that?" TJ asked immediately.
"I don't know."
A second crash followed.
Then another.
Voices erupted somewhere down the corridor.
A nurse shouted.
Someone screamed.
Fiona's heart skipped.
"TJ, stay on the line."
"Mom?"
She was already moving.
Doctors and nurses were rushing toward the psychiatric wing.
Patients were shouting from their rooms.
A metal tray clattered across the floor.
Another scream pierced the air.
Fiona's stomach tightened.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then she realized where the commotion was coming from.
Room 36.
Her pulse spiked.
"Oh no."
She broke into a run.
"Mom? What's happening?"
"TJ, I need you to stay calm."
"You're scaring me."
"I'm okay."
She rounded the corner.
Several nurses were gathered outside Room 36.
One of them looked terrified.
Another had blood running down her arm from a scratch.
"What happened?" Fiona demanded.
The nurse looked up.
"He just snapped."
Fiona frowned.
"What?"
"He was fine one minute. Then he started yelling."
A loud crash came from inside.
Something hit the wall.
Everyone jumped.
The shouting continued.
Grey's voice.
But it didn't sound like the controlled officer she'd spoken with minutes ago.
It sounded raw.
Panicked.
Terrified.
Almost desperate.
Inside the room, something else shattered.
"Get away from me!"
His voice thundered through the hallway.
"Get out!"
The nurses exchanged worried looks.
"He keeps saying somebody's there," one whispered.
Fiona's expression darkened.
"Open the door."
"Doctor—"
"Now."
A nurse handed her the keycard.
The moment the door unlocked, Fiona stepped inside.
The room looked like a battlefield.
A chair lay overturned.
Medical equipment had been knocked onto the floor.
Glass covered part of the room.
Grey stood beside the bed.
Breathing hard.
His eyes darted wildly around the room.
His hands were shaking.
Deep red scratch marks covered his forearms.
As if he'd been clawing at his own skin.
"Kieran."
His head snapped toward her.
For a second he didn't seem to recognize her.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
Then his gaze moved toward the empty corner of the room.
"No."
He stumbled backward.
"No, no, no."
"Kieran."
"They're here."
His voice cracked.
"They're here."
Fiona slowly approached.
"Nobody's here."
"Yes, they are!"
He pointed violently toward the corner.
"Can't you see them?"
His breathing became even faster.
The panic in his eyes was heartbreaking.
Fiona recognized the signs immediately.
A severe psychological episode.
Possibly triggered by trauma.
Possibly a flashback.
Possibly something he'd been suppressing for months.
"Kieran, listen to me."
"They won't leave."
His hands clawed at his hair.
"They won't leave me alone."
"Look at me."
"No!"
Another object flew across the room.
It struck the wall and shattered.
Outside the room, staff flinched.
Fiona refused to move.
"Kieran."
Her voice remained calm.
Steady.
Professional.
"I need you to focus on me."
His eyes darted back toward her.
"They're screaming."
The words came out broken.
"They keep screaming."
Fiona's heart tightened.
War memories.
The realization hit immediately.
Whatever he was seeing wasn't happening now.
It was happening in his mind.
A memory.
A nightmare.
A trauma that refused to stay buried.
"Kieran."
She took another careful step forward.
"You're in Canada."
His breathing hitched.
"You're safe."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"You're at St. Catherine Medical Centre."
His eyes flickered.
"You're in Room 36."
Another flicker.
"You're not on a battlefield."
The room grew quiet.
For the first time, he hesitated.
She continued.
"My name is Dr. Fiona Kennigton-Harper."
His gaze slowly focused.
"You met me this morning."
His breathing remained uneven.
But it was slowing.
Just slightly.
"You're safe."
"No one's going to hurt you."
The tension in his shoulders began to loosen.
Outside, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Everyone watched.
Fiona kept her voice low.
Calm.
Steady.
"You can hear me, can't you?"
A long pause.
Then—
"Yes."
The word was barely audible.
"Good."
Another breath.
Another pause.
The panic started fading from his eyes.
"The screaming..."
His voice trembled.
"It's gone."
"Yes."
He looked around the room.
Confusion replaced fear.
As awareness returned, he finally saw the damage.
The broken equipment.
The shattered glass.
The scratches covering his arms.
Shame flashed across his face.
His shoulders slumped.
"I..."
His voice cracked.
"I did this."
Fiona nodded gently.
"It's okay."
"No."
He stared at the floor.
"It isn't."
The strong military officer she'd met earlier seemed gone.
In his place stood a man carrying far more pain than he'd ever allowed anyone to see.
For several moments neither of them spoke.
Then Fiona's phone vibrated.
She had almost forgotten.
"TJ."
The call was still connected.
"Oh my goodness."
She lifted the phone.
"Sweetheart?"
"Mom?"
His small voice sounded worried.
"Are you okay?"
Fiona looked at Grey.
Then at the shattered room.
Then at the frightened nurses waiting outside.
A difficult road stretched ahead.
For both her patient and herself.
But at least now she understood one thing.
Lieutenant Colonel Kieran Grey Ashford wasn't simply quiet or difficult.
He was fighting a battle nobody else could see.
And judging by what she'd just witnessed—
he was losing.
- Writer
