They didn't get a chance to meet. Reasoning sensibly that this was neither the place nor the time, Stiles thanked the girl together with Charlie, and after settling the bill they left the café.
«Don't worry, son, you'll still have time to become friends, " the sheriff said, noticing how the boy turned around one last time, following her with a lingering gaze.
«Y‑yes, of course, " Stiles replied a bit hesitantly, realizing he'd been caught in the act.
Amid the man's encouraging laughter — who understood perfectly well what youth was all about — the pair jumped into the car and set off. Forks Community Hospital was just a couple of blocks away from the café, so after a few twists and turns through the streets they reached their destination.
As soon as they stepped out of the car, someone called out to Mr. Swan:
«Mr. Swan, good day.»
«Long time no see, Carlisle, " Charlie replied cheerfully, smiling.
They had known each other for a long time. Occasionally, medical work intersected with the duties of the Forks sheriff, and that was how their acquaintance had begun.
«How's work? How many residents of our town have you saved this time?» Swan continued, shaking the man's hand.
«Everything's unexpectedly calm today, " Carlisle said with a touch of joy. „I even have time to go out into the city, breathe some fresh air, and have lunch somewhere!"
«Oh-ho-ho, even the head doctors of the hospital need to rest, Mr. Cullen, " the future guardian replied jokingly. „Well, it was nice to see you, but we really must be going now."
«Um, yes, of course, I won't keep you, Sheriff, " Carlisle Cullen smiled.
When they had moved a good distance away and were already approaching the hospital entrance, Stiles suddenly said:
«That guy's weird… he didn't take his eyes off me the whole time you were talking, " the boy grimaced.
«He's a good man, Stiles. In fact, sometimes I wonder if Carlisle is too good for Forks. Many people think he could work at any other, more prestigious hospital in the state, but Cullen is here, and we're grateful for that.»
"Now that makes him even stranger in my eyes…" Stiles thought to himself, but said something completely different out loud.
«I see… he must really be a great person.»
«You bet, " the man chuckled awkwardly. „Come on, we've got a lot of work ahead of us and plenty of bureaucracy, " he concluded rather glumly—he hated paperwork more than anything.
But realizing what kind of situation had occurred, he knew he couldn't avoid it. That's why his heart felt extremely heavy and sad. Damn those who came up with all this!
When they entered the city hospital, it greeted them with a vast lobby and the smell of medical supplies. As soon as Charlie shared at the reception desk about the unusual case involving Stiles, both of them were immediately thrown into a full-fledged process.
It all started with a simple examination for external injuries, accompanied by a standard interview of the new patient. Stiles understood that lying could dig him even deeper, but the truth was something this world simply wouldn't accept.
So he improvised a story about how, after escaping from the orphanage, he had fallen onto something hard — most likely a rock — and lost consciousness. After that, they examined his head but naturally found no trace of injury or wound.
Then they stripped him completely, carefully searching for any signs of injections, violence, or perhaps even rape! At that moment, the bewildered teenager shrank so much that he was ready to curse everything just to make the procedure end.
Of course, nothing out of the ordinary was found. Outwardly, he was perfectly healthy. Moreover, he showed no signs of starvation. His height matched his weight exactly.
Now it was time to give blood samples. And only at that very moment did an unsettling thought cross Stiles's mind:
"Damn… I completely forgot I don't have insurance! Damn insurance, how much green will you cost me?" The boy's doubts were justified — there was no absolute certainty that the state would cover everything.
Especially if he truly didn't have medical insurance, the hospital wouldn't hesitate to inflate the final bill so much that he'd have to pay off that «treatment» for another ten years.
«Hey, kid, why so nervous? Are you afraid of needles?» Charlie put a hand on Stiles's shoulder, noticing the boy's inner turmoil.
«N‑no, I'm just not sure my insurance will cover all these tests, " Stiles whispered quietly. „Maybe we should run before it's too late, huh? There are more important things to do, after all…"
«Ha-ha, you really surprise me, Stiles!» Charlie almost laughed, seeing the boy's expression. «I can see you've really grown up and become a very thoughtful young man, ha-ha. You don't need to worry about that at all. All children registered in the orphanage have health insurance and receive free medical care. And considering you're also a victim, you shouldn't even think about it. Once we finish the examination, I'll file for guardianship over you… true, my daughter will be coming to visit soon, but don't worry — there are a couple of spare rooms in the house. First, I'll draw up a report; the director of your orphanage is already in a place that's not so distant and will stay there till the end of his days… damn state laws don't allow sending rapists straight to Hell via the electric chair. By the way, you're entitled to a $200,000 compensation, so don't worry about college and further education!»
While Charlie was busily filling out forms with testimonies and other incredibly important papers, they took Stiles's blood, did an X‑ray, and most likely also performed a head CT scan — the case was quite unusual.
By the time all the boy's torments ended in this branch of Hell, he was given a modest diagnosis of «amnesia» caused by nervous strain. This was followed by the arrival of a local psychologist who worked with the police but also maintained a private practice.
He asked very peculiar questions, posing some silly, meaningless inquiries. With each minute, Stiles felt increasingly uncomfortable sitting in the same room with this man — Mr. Dodge.
Is he really a psychologist? the thought flashed through the boy's mind. He seriously began to consider whether he should involve Nogitsune in his case.
«Ah, Carlisle, you're just in time. Could you spare me a couple of minutes?» the police sheriff looked at the hospital's chief doctor with concern.
«Mm, yes, of course. Has something serious happened?» the man immediately engaged in the conversation, noticing the sheriff's nervousness.
«Do you mind talking in your office?»
«Sure, let's go, " Mr. Cullen agreed. Once they entered the office, the conversation continued.
«So what's got you so suddenly worried, Charlie?»
«Tell me, can a person lose their memory due to severe stress?» the sheriff asked dryly.
«Of course, although it's very rare, it's quite possible. What exactly are you interested in?»
«Remember the boy I came here with? Well, he was kidnapped a couple of years ago, but the boy has no wounds, no bruises, no injection marks, nothing! And I can tell you it's definitely him! He disappeared from the orphanage — everything was cleverly staged to look like an escape, but in reality, once he left the orphanage walls, the boy was immobilized and sold to some dark‑skinned people in Utah… it all smells really bad, you know? It's not possible for a trail that suddenly went cold two years ago to just appear out of nowhere like this! Also, he remembers almost nothing… and then there are these strange murders involving bloodletting — some crazies are killing people and draining their blood… something strange is going on, sometimes it feels like there's some cult with demonic sacrifices sprouting right under my nose! Sorry, this is just getting to me…» Charlie finished his speech, sinking into a chair. The conversation had drained the sheriff, although he tried to act like everything was fine.
«I understand you, Charlie. I also have children of that age, and I can't think about this calmly—they could have been in his place. If you need any help from my side, you can definitely count on it!»
«Thank you, Carlisle, truly — thank you, " Mr. Swan got up from the black, leather‑upholstered chair and, after saying goodbye to Cullen, left his office.
Meanwhile, the psychologist's torture had ended, and when Stiles was ready to leave this purgatory, Charlie was waiting for him to drive to the city administration, where they would finalize all the paperwork, submit the documents to the network, remove his missing person status, and formalize the guardianship.
On the way, the sheriff explained to the youngster how to withdraw compensation funds if needed, once he gained access to the account.