Adopted by Mean Girls

I Will Win the War (Part 1)

**Erika's POV**

I didn't recognize the caller ID, but answered my phone anyway, "Hello?"

"Is this... Erika Henningsen?"

"Uhm, yeah, who is this?"

"My name is Dr. Maddison Parkers, I'm a pediatrician at New York Children's Hospital. I'm calling on behalf of your daughter, Comet."

"Is everything okay?" I put my phone on speaker and started changing out of my costume and back into my street clothes.

"There was an incident on her way home from school. She was brought in five minutes ago..."

I didn't fail to notice the sympathetic look that Reneé was giving me while I ran a make-up wipe across my face and simultaneously tried to put on my shoes and listen to the information Dr. Parkers was giving me.

"I am on my way right now. Thank you for calling me, Dr. Parker," I said, grabbing my coat and bag and putting my phone into my pocket as I ran to the stage manager's office. "I'm sorry," I told Lauren, the ASM, "I just got a call from a doctor at New York Children's Hospital. I have to go."

Lauren assured me it was fine and that she'd let Tee know I was out. I ran out of the August Wilson and called Taylor as I waited impatiently for the subway. She promised she'd meet me at the hospital and let the cast know. The subway could not have come too soon and it felt like a year must have passed before the door finally opened at the station I wanted. 

True to her promise, Taylor was standing in the waiting room of the hospital when I arrived.

"Is she okay?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Taylor admitted, "They won't tell me anything."

I stormed right up to the nurses' station, blinded by worry, "Excuse me, I'm looking for my daughter, Comet Henningsen-Louderman. I got a call from a Dr. Maddison Parkers that she was here."

The nurse typed something on his computer and pointed to double doors with the words EMERGENCY ROOM written in red letters.

"Through those doors, bed seven," he told us, "As far as I know, Comet is okay."

"Thank you," I breathed, grabbing Taylor's wrist and dragging her through the doors.

We found Comet sitting on the side of a bed with her arm on one of those rolling table-things while a doctor stitched her arm. Her eyes were closed tightly and her other hand was clutching the side of the bed tight enough that her knuckles were turning white.

"Comet!" Taylor and I ran over to her.

"Mom!" Comet peeked at us through one eye and relaxed slightly when I sat down beside her, "Taylor!"

"What are you doing here, Meadowlark?" I asked softly.

"Yeah," Taylor added, "What happened?"

"We were walking home from school when this dude came out of no where and started hitting on me," Comet explained, rolling her eyes, cringing when her gaze landed on the needle going in and out of her arm, "Casper got the worst of it."

The curtain behind Taylor was pushed back to reveal Casper in the bed beside us.

"Nice to see you, Erika, Taylor," Casper flicked two fingers at us, "Trust us - it looks worse than it actually is. I got mostly bruises and a broken nose," He motioned to the butterfly bandage on his face, "Comet got the blade."

"Are you two okay?" Taylor asked as I held my daughter tighter.

"Yeah," Casper nodded, groaning slightly with the motion. Taylor clicked her tongue sympathetically and squeezed his shoulder.