Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 13

Jenna read the note and nodded.

The nosy nurse came back in with a Sierra Mist. "I thought you might like a soda. I'm a big Coke fan, and I'd miss the fizz if I didn't get to have one for a while."

Jenna turned the pad over so the nurse would not see what was written on it and handed it to Dana. The nurse watched the exchange suspiciously and then looked expectantly at Jenna who reached for the can.

"Here, I'll open it for you," the nurse said and took a straw out of her pocket and gave it to Jenna.

The straw was not in the paper wrapper. Dana took it from Jenna and asked the nurse, "Aren't these supposed to come in a wrapper?"

"Oh yes," the nurse said and reached into her pocket for one that was in the wrapper. "I grabbed the wrong one." The nurse's phone buzzed in her front pocket. "Excuse me. I have to take this. Got a sick kid at home."

Dana watched the nurse step away and start texting. Then the nurse lifted the phone slightly, and it appeared she'd taken a picture of Jenna. Dana looked at Jenna, who'd seen the same thing. She looked up at Dana with questioning eyes.

"I'm going to call the office again to see if the people who claimed to be your parents showed up." Dana put a protective hand on Jenna's shoulder and hit speed dial on her phone.

Jonas answered on the second ring. "The team is on their way."

"So the parents were able to be validated? Great! That's fantastic. I'm sure Sarah will be excited to hear that," Dana said.

"Is something going on there?" Jonas asked.

"The nurses were hoping to have a name to call her by," Dana said.

Jonas was quiet for a few minutes, and then he asked, "You think one of the nurses pegged her for the girl in the Amber Alert?"

"Maybe." Dana was trying to figure out how to convey the urgency of getting Jenna out of there. "We definitely need to get her parents here so they can take over her care."

"Can't talk?" he asked.

"No. She's still pretty shaken up. I think her parents being here would make her feel safe," Dana said.

"Is there a nurse in there asking too many questions?" he asked.

"Yes, that's exactly right," Dana said.

"Got it. I'll put a call into the administrator and get information on all the nurses who've been involved with her," he said.

"So, you think the parents are going to want to take her to their family physician," Dana said and smiled at the nurse who looked up from her texting with an angry expression and started texting faster.

"Is she in a good enough condition to leave?" he asked.

"Oh, that's not going to matter," Dana said looking at Jenna. "I'm sure Sarah would much rather have the rest of her treatment with her family doctor. I don't see any reason why her parents couldn't take her to their doctor today. They live in Tell City. Going that far is not going to do any damage."

"Since Ruby already took your catheter out, would you like me to help you go to the bathroom?" the nurse asked.

Jenna grabbed Dana's arm. Dana looked at the nurse's name tag and said, "I'll help her, Sharon. Now that she knows who she is and why she is here, I think she's a little afraid of new people."

"Are you sure?" Sharon asked.

Jenna nodded.

"Okay," Sharon said and shrugged. "Call me if you need anything."

Jenna nodded again, and Dana said, "Thank you. We will."

When the nurse was out of the room, Dana started helping Jenna out of bed. "Let's get you dressed and ready to run if necessary. I have a bad feeling about Ruby."

Jenna pointed to her chest as if to say, "Me too."

Jonas texted to let her know he'd talked to the administrator. Jenna's release papers were being put together, and the extraction team would be there in about twenty minutes.

Inside the bathroom, Dana opened the bag she'd brought with her the third day on this assignment. She'd had a feeling they might have to make a run for it at some point, so she picked up some new clothes for Jenna. She pulled a pair of jeans out of the bag. "I did a little measuring while you were sleeping. These might be a little big, but that's better than them being too tight."

Dana helped Jenna dress as quickly as she could, but Jenna was still weak and groggy from the medicine. Once Jenna was dressed, Dana smiled at how well she'd done guessing the sizes. The clothes fit Jenna pretty well. She helped Jenna use the restroom and then they went back out to the bed. Dana put socks and shoes on Jenna's feet and looked at her watch. The extraction team should be getting there any second. She leaned close to Jenna and whispered. "Don't forget to act like these are your parents and that you are excited to see them."