Green Oaks
Like any other medical-style facility, the walls and floors are done in neutral colors. A reception area/nurses station is set directly opposite the entrance doors, so that people can check in before moving throughout the building.
In-patient rooms begin on the second floor, and go up several levels depending upon the severity of the mental disorder.
Hope has been trying to get in to see the head nurse at the Green Oaks facility for /days/. Normally, she wouldn't be so adamant about setting up a meeting, but when she got a call that her sister was missing /overnight/ from the facility. Then when she got to the facility earlier today, she noticed a bite mark on her sister's neck.
THAT is when the parents got called, and they're currently flying to Dallas.
Which brings Hope to be storming into the head nurse's office. Angry. "She is not meant to be out after dark! What type of place is this, letting her out after dark? Don't you know what got her put in here in the first place? Stupid CoD's, trying to manipulate her and make her a meal and you just let her out after dark?!?"
Times are busy and there are demands that need to be met. Listening to some child with no real authority over her sister rattle on about non-issues is not at the top of the list of things to prioritize. Hope was put on a list and was going to be called for a sit down. Eventually.
Bursting into the office of the head nurse is not exactly the best way to earn compassion and respect. Sitting behind her desk is a middle-aged woman with glasses worn half down her nose.
"Excuse me," she speaks in low tone but with quite the authority. "I believe the point in her residency here is that she is supposed to get better, -not- to be sheltered." A pen is held lightly between the thumb and forefinger of both hands as she places her elbows on the desk. "The fear of what could happen is not enough to hold back her progression. Just because you are afraid of the dark does not mean that we have to encourage such behavior in her."
"To hold back her progression of what? Becoming vampire chow when she doesn't know any better? Her becoming dead is not a way that will help her progress in any manner." Hope's anger is at a breaking point, so much so that it takes all her willpower not to lunge across the desk and slap the smarmy woman across the face. "I have no fear of the dark, but I do have a real fear of what lurks within it. As should you." She calms herself, petting her hands down over her clothing and taking a deep breath. "I have contacted our parents, since you seem so loathe to talk to me. I will let them deal with you, and perhaps you will listen to the thousands of dollar bills that rush out of here due to your negligence."
The pen is placed down on the desk with quite a force as the nurse brings herself to stand. "Let your parents come. I can speak with them rationally. I've not had them barge into my office screaming yet, and I somehow doubt that I will not see such childish behavior from them." As angry as the nurse is in this situation she keeps her voice sounding rather calm. Practice from time around mental patients.
"Your sister is almost a miracle, advancing as quickly as she has. We'd be trying to make her remember exactly what happened if it wasn't for the fact that your family has outright forbid it. She actually stands a chance of recovering which is something that most of the people in here will never have. Are you suggesting we risk her sanity because of your overprotection?"
Sighing roughly the nurse pushes the glasses up her nose. "Vampires exist. I know this. I still go out at night and have never had a problem. Maybe if your sister knew what happened to her she might know what to stay away from." Not that Rose can actually remember.
"Why they hired you, Nurse Ratchett, I'll never know. You are incompetent. You let a psychiatric patient /escape/ for more than a twenty-four hour period." Hope holds up her hand to do a count off. "To the point where your nurses contacted /me/ several times /at school/ thinking I had somehow spirited her out of here." Point three comes. "She has recently /been bitten/ by a vampire. If you do not believe me, call her in here and ask her to roll her turtleneck down. You may think me paranoid, but I have a valid reason for it." After a brief pause, she snidely says, "It is because I watched the throat of our best friend torn out by one of those beasts. The same beast that rendered my sister incapable of thinking on her own, which is why /you/ are being paid the /big bucks/ to ensure her safety. Letting her out at night to become food for those creatures is not allowing her to be /safe/."
Hope glowers at the woman. Very deeply. "I have attempted to remind her what happened to her that night. Whatever the creature did is so strong as to put holes in her memory. She believes that our friend is her /brother/, and that he will be visiting here any day. /That/ is what you consider healthy enough to be wandering the streets alone at night?"
"We didn't allow her out at night. If you recall, day passes were to be issued to help her readjust to the public." One hand finds her hip as the nurse continues to stand her ground. Behind her desk. "We were doing what we were supposed to do. She's the one who decided to stay out. That was her decision, not an accident. Have you possibly thought that she's trying to figure out what she wants and not what everyone else wants her to?"
Nurse Ratchett shakes her head and sighs again. Children. "Just because she was part of an attack once does not mean that she will remain the target of vampires. She's in a new state and things are different here. I may not care for the beasts myself but we don't have random vampire attacks like the one she went through."
In all honesty, the institute simply lost track of Rose. Several many times. "My staff also should not be calling you. This is not your issue, unless you're under the belief that you can do a better job caring for someone who is mentally ill. Until the time that you prove you can, I'm not going to stand here and let some child tell me how to do my job."
"She is in a new state, but still she was the victim of a vampire attack last evening. She has the bite marks to prove it." Hope folds her arms over her chest, just waiting for the nurse to claim differently. "That right there is negligence," she points out. "So while I am not telling you how to do your job, I /am/ requesting that since we are paying you so much, that my sister gets the /actual/ care we have paid for. If not, I will tell my parents to have her moved to a better facility."
Hope snorts a bit, unladylike, but there it is. "That is where you are wrong. This /is/ my issue, as it has always been. Whether I am responsible monetarily or not."
Oh, the marks have already been noticed. It was hard to ignore them after the way Rose flipped out about it all. "There's no telling that is what they are," the nurse does argue. "They're not deep and the marks are certainly far from the scene you described from years ago. Until we know what happened we can't overreact, and as I recall your sister doesn't know what happened." Mental patients seems to love using that excuse when they don't want to get in trouble for doing something stupid. It isn't said but it certainly is implied.
Nurse Ratchett tilts her head and continues to hold her ground. "Well, until you are financially and legally responsible, then you aren't responsible." Yes, the nurse is going there. "You can tell your family anything that you'd like but I am holding my ground, young lady. We are not going to feed into her paranoia. That isn't healthy." Besides, Rose seems to be enjoying herself while out and about.
"They may not be deep, but I am well versed in what fang marks look like. If you choose not to believe me because you consider me to be irresponsible," Hope scoffs at that. The implication being that she is not the one that let a mental patient escape multiple times. "Then we can bring in a specialist to tell you so. As it is, unless you can keep Faith from going missing, I no longer think that this facility is right for her. At the moment, I speak in proxy of my parents, who can be reached by phone if you wish to hear this from their own mouths. They are not exactly pleased about having to fly out here, due to you /losing/ their daughter. Someone who is mentally unstable should not be out wandering around on their /own/." Hope taps a finger to her arm, and frowns. "If that is not agreeable to you, then I will contact the family lawyer and get him involved as well."
Threats are not well tolerated and she will not back down. "So your solution is that we lock your sister up and never let her see life outside these walls? I personally believe that is unreasonable. If you're looking to imprison her, might I suggest the fine correctional facilities that Texas has to offer?"
Ratchett places her hands on top of the desk and begins to lean over, as if examining Hope closely. "Have you spoken with her at all, or seen what she's been bringing back? Your sister is making friends. She's finding things that she needs in her life. Then again, I -am- just a nurse. What would I know about anything like that."
"Yes, I have seen the tattoo and the bite marks. These are not the type of friends she should be having." Hope's frown suggests that the nurse is at fault for this as well. "These are not the type of friends that my parents will be pleased to hear she is making." Rolling her eyes skyward, the girl exhales a sigh. "There is a difference between having her out on supervised day visits, and having her run amok on the streets. The latter is dangerous, whether you will admit to it or not. Whereas the former would allow her to have freedoms, /and/ keep her safe." One, two, three. Deep inhalation and exhalation. "You /are/ just a nurse. You have no idea as to who she was as a person before your facility was chosen. You are not her family."
"The tattoo?" Now this is something that's not been brought to her attention. She'll have to have a full medical examination ordered on Rose: once Hope is far, far away. "What I've seen from Faith are trinkets, phone numbers and stories of friends that seem to be concerned for her. Tell me, how many friends have you made since you moved to Dallas? And how many of her old friends associate with her now?" Oh, yes. Ratchett believes that she's made a rather stern point.
"And have you at any point taken the time to look at everything that is going on in this institution? We are filled with patients who require twenty four hour attention. We can't send our staff out on supervised visits just because some spoiled girl believes that it's needed." The corners of her lips actually curl at something funny. "And when was the last time that your parents were actually here? She believes her parents are evil and chooses to surround herself with others."
Hope just grins when she's asked about that. Aha! Proof that the nurse hasn't been as vigilant with her sister's care as she claims to be. "I actually have plenty of friends here in Dallas." An entire church filled with them. "Ones that I was planning on slowly introducing my sister to. In fact, several would likely volunteer to supervise her outings if you refuse to have someone who we /pay/ to do it." Financial responsibility may not be hers, but the bills are sent to her to forward to her parents. She knows what care is paid for, and what is sorely lacking.
"I know full well that you have other patients to contend with, but a facility like this should have round the clock supervision. Especially considering that we /pay/ you for such services," she reiterates. "As for our parents, one of your associates told them to stop coming around because it was upsetting Faith too much. Otherwise, they would have moved here to the city to visit as much as I do."
Now she's struck a nerve. "You're speaking out of turn, Miss Tyler. I will not sit here and discuss the health of your sister with you as opposed to her actual parents." There are laws that can be sited but Ratchett knows that all the proper paperwork has already been filled out to include Hope in things. "When they get here, I will make myself available for an in-depth conversation about the care plan for your sister."
That smug smile returns as she stands straight once more. "Until that happens, you get to be the one to explain to Faith why she's now on lock down." Yes, lock down is going to be ordered. "But we'll be holding you to our visitation policies, so you'll have a short time frame to do this before we'll have to ask you to leave."
Oh, and she knows she's struck a nerve, since the nurse is going all policy on her. Hope just smiles, prettily. "I have no issues explaining things to her. I never have. Despite her mental failings, she has no trouble understanding or responding to me." Sure, she'll be upset for a while, but she can put it in terms wherein her sister will forgive her.
As though an afterthought, she taps her finger to her cheek. "I do hope you will remember to include me in that conversation. It would be difficult for me to help Faith out if I have no idea as to what's going on."
"With a sister like you, Miss Tyler, I would hate to see someone who was out to hurt Faith." Arms cross before the chest of Nurse Ratchett as she glares at the sane twin. "I do warn you, however, that if you send your sister into an episode while speaking with her we will have to request that you do not return until your parents do. Her health is far more important, after all."
Policy, oh yes. It is her institution and she'll deny Hope everything she can and hold her sister hostage for as long as she legally can. It's a horrible move but until everything is sorted out it is for the best. For all she knows, Hope will try to sneak her sister out. "You'll see that Faith will be quite safe here."
"I honestly wish I could believe that you held her safety above all else, but I have already seen that not to be true." Hope doubts Faith will be safe here, and so she makes a note to contact other institutions before the flight lands. Just to have the information at the ready, should it be required. "If you will excuse me, I will see to my sister now." And just possibly see if one of her Fellowship friends can be planted here as part of the nursing staff.
One of her friends very likely may be brought on staff, but what a harsh hiring policy they have. It could take weeks to bring in someone new. Nurse Ratchett is going to be suspect of most things that Hope can come up with. Too bad she still hasn't realized how Faith manages to sneak out as often as she has. "You have fifteen minutes before she's needed for one of her sessions." Funny how she hasn't stopped to look at the time.
"Amazing how you figured that out without looking at the clock. Do all her sessions start at three minutes past the hour?" Hope just shakes her head, then makes her way out of the office to find her sister and explain what is going on. She can deal with the fallout better than anyone else can, and if it comes to it, she'll go out and buy another ham-ham.
