This Is The Moment (9-1-1: Lone Star)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Avery walks out of O'Hare Airport with her bag on her back. She gets out her burner phone and finds a motel that takes cash. Once she finds one, she orders an Uber there.

Twenty minutes later, Avery is arriving at the motel.  She walks up to the desk and notices a sign that indicates it's a "no questions asked" kind of motel so she feels she'll be able to get a room without showing her ID.

'How can I help?' The desk clerk questions.

'Do you have any rooms available for two weeks?' Avery asks the desk clerk. The desk clerk looks down at the computer and after a moment, looks back at Avery.

'We do.' They nod. 'It will be two grand.'

'Is cash okay?' Avery asks, getting an envelope out of her backpack. She's been saving money up over the years and still has a huge chunk of inheritance left over from her mom.

'Cash is fine. I'll just need a name.' The desk clerk replies.

'Kate Strand.' Avery says.

.

It's been a couple of days. Avery hasn't left her motel room much since she's been sleeping so she decides to go on a walk. She gets ready and tries to not look like herself by wearing things she wouldn't usually wear before leaving. As she's walking around, she's not paying much attention to where she's going. A half-hour later, She's about to cross a street despite it being busy and the crosswalk signal being red. She's about to step into the road when someone pulls her back into the sidewalk. She turns around and sees a police officer - Detective Jay Halstead - who is doing overtime on patrol.

'You should pay attention to where you're going.' He tells her seriously.

'Sorry, I was in a world of my own.' Avery shakes her head. 'Thank you.'

'Are you okay?' He asks, noting that she's not focusing on him.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Avery nods, faking a smile. 'Sorry about causing trouble.' She turns around and walks off before Jay can say or do anything else. Jay makes sure to take note of her appearance and where he is just in case before carrying on with his patrol.

.

The next day, Avery finds herself in the waiting room of Gaffney Chicago Medical Centre ER, better known as Chicago Med. She's been there a few hours but hasn't checked in. Dr Charles is just arriving on shift. As he's walking past Avery, he notices some fresh cuts under her wrists, poking out under her sleeve, and that she's bouncing her knees and looking around. He walks up to Nurse Leah, the admissions nurse.

'Leah?' He starts. Leah looks up at him. 'That young girl over there, has she checked in?' He subtly points over to Avery. Leah looks over at her and then back at Dr Charles.

'No.' Leah shakes her head. 'She's been here a few hours, I assumed she was waiting for someone.'

'Right.' Dr Charles nods. He takes off his coat and hands it to Leah alongside his bag. 'Watch these for me.' Leah nods and places them under the desk out of the way as Dr Charles walks over to Avery. When he reaches her, he sits down next to her. 'Hi.' Avery looks at him. 'I'm Daniel, one of the doctors here. What's your name?' Avery stays silent. 'That's okay, you don't need to tell me.' He nods. 'What brings you here?'

'I-I don't know.' Avery shakes her head. 'I was just on a walk and ended up here.'

'Do you mind if I take a look at your wrists?' Dr Charles asks. Avery looks down, sees the cuts that are showing and pulls down her sleeves.

'I'm fine.' Avery shakes her head. 'I probably shouldn't have come here.' Avery stands.

'I'm afraid I can't let you leave.' Dr Charles also stands up. He waves over security. Two security guards walk toward them.