"Hello Miss Palmer, how are you feeling now?" Sheriff inquired as he entered the room.

"Good morning Sheriff, I'm good," Hailey replied with a meek smile.

Dr. Miller appeared in Her view as Sheriff moved aside.

"That's good. So, who were those or Him?" The Sheriff inquired.

Hailey acted clueless, for a moment as if she didn't know what was the Sheriff talking about.

"Your assailant, to be more clear in case you could not get me." Sheriff cleared his words.

"Assailant? Sorry but right now I can't recall anything. It might be because of the alcohol I consumed." Hailey muttered looking away as if embarrassed to confess it.

The Sheriff shared a look with Dr. Miller, as He was the one who announced her alcohol-free last night.

"It's ok Miss, sometimes it happens out of the shock I guess. According to Dr. Miller, you had no trace of alcohol." Sheriff said with composure.

"But I'm telling you, I had a few shots. And that was enough for me to lose my senses." Hailey replied a bit irritated.

The Dr. and Sheriff shared a look before Sheriff took a step to leave the room, "In case you recall, anything about your assailant. I'm just a call away." He added before closing the door behind.

"Whom are you trying to save?" Arthur blurted out in anger, turning to Hailey.

"Excuse me!" Hailey took a back for a second as She wasn't expecting it.

"You got me right. I said that you are saving your attacker. Who is he? Your boyfriend? Or some rough customer?"

"That's not a thing to worry about for you! And mind your tongue Doctor! Customer! What do you think of yourself? You can't say anything about me, just because I'm a single mother."
Tears of anger and frustration started to roll on her cheeks.

"Exactly, I can't. And the same way, you have no right to challenge my skills. Last night when they brought you here, torn and almost dead! I was the one who had to attend to you. And I can give it in writing, that you were not drunk at all!" Arthur opposed her statement aggressively.

For a moment Hailey sat still in surprise. She never interacted with Dr. Arthur Miller directly. And now when she has to, he was using such words for her that She was fighting with him.

That too while knowing herself to be on the wrong side of the argument.

Her brain cells worked with lightning speed. Giving her a glimpse of all the horrible things this argument can lead her to. At the same time much disastrous things, if she let him win and file the case!

"Look Doctor, I'm not questioning your knowledge or skills in medical science." She finally found words to support her thoughts, "I'm just asking you to stay out of my matter. You are treating my daughter. Please concentrate on her, not on my professional or personal affairs."

"And that's what I was doing before you landed here!" Arthur replied with bitterness as her words 'My Daughter' had stung him.

At the same time, Meril and Luke entered the room as Their earlier argument was enough to alarm the staff.

"By the way, it's really good to know that you still remember that you have A Daughter, who is ill and needs her mother. To take care of her instead of hanging out with her abusive boyfriend or God knows whom." Arthur added sarcastically before turning away to leave.

"How many times I need to say, 'Do your damn Job Doc! My personal or professional life isn't your matter of concern." Hailey finally lost her self control and started to yell,

"You might have forgotten but I will have to pay for your damn bills and I will pay You. Anyhow! Even if I needed to sell myself. I will!"

"Disgusting! You women are like that only! Whatever wrong you do or happen to you. You find one excuse or another or simply some innocent creature to blame for your rash decision." Arthur approached back to her bed aggressively.

Luke stepped between him and her before he could reach her.

Meril at the same time held Hailey who stood up with the same aggression.

"Arthur, calm down you are taking it somewhere else," Luke murmured in his ear, holding his shoulders, trying to pacify him.

"I'm not taking it anywhere Luke. This woman has already taken it somewhere else. She is telling me my Damn Job! Being a young daughter's mother is this her job? To represent herself as a bloody victim! Who can't stand for herself? Is this what she wants to teach that innocent Cora?"
Arthur screeched in anger while Luke tried to take him out of the room.

Hailey felt a pang in her heart but quickly came back more aggressively,

"I'm playing no victim, Mr. Miller! She is my daughter and I know what to teach her or not. I am teaching my daughter to be strong enough to deal with people like you who can say anything without giving a second thought about other's sentiments. I'm teaching her to respect humans, not their way of earning a livelihood!" Hailey retaliated on his earlier remark.

For a second Arthur stood still comprehending the intensity of his earlier statement of boyfriend or customer. Before he could reply, Luke succeeded to drag him out of her room.

On the other hand, Hailey fell on the ground crying bitterly.

"Hail, relax. Shuu... Come here." Meril dragged her broken friend into her arms to calm her.

"What's wrong with you? I have never seen you fight like that with anyone for ages." Meril exclaimed while Hailey kept crying bitterly, hugging her firmly.

"What Dr. Miller was talking about? Why I feel it's about your assaulter?
Please tell me that you have given your manager's name." Meril pulled herself away from Hailey to look into her eyes.

Hailey withdrew back to her bed while wiping her face. As if her question had brought her back to reality.

"I'm asking something, Hailey." Meril inquired with concern.

"No, I didn't. As he was not responsible for this." Hailey replied calmly adjusting her comforter.

"What! he hasn't done this? Then who did this?" Meril inquired, this time with curiosity.

"I don't know." She replied as if wanted to end the conversation, "Meril, can you please call my manager and ask him to see me as soon as possible."

"He has come already. I was going to ask him about last night only but before that, a nurse informed us about the iconic fight between you and Dr. Miller." Meril answered blankly.

"Please, get him in." Hailey sat back, all alert as if she was fine.

"Why are you so eager to talk to him, Hailey?"

"Meril, he was the one who saved me. If I'm sitting here in front of you, it's because of his creepy habit of following me home after my shift. When I was attacked, he was the one who called the cops and saved me." Hailey gave her reason for the eagerness to see the man.

For a moment Meril could not trust what she had just heard. The man whom she always thought the second greatest trouble of her friend's life had saved her.

She called the man in, to meet Hailey. When Hailey thanked him for his bravery Meril couldn't believe but wonder. That man was genuinely fond of Hailey and accepted that he used to follow her after her shifts just to make sure that She reached her place safely.

But the greatest surprise was yet to unfold for her.

"I hope the Sheriff hasn't talked to you about it yet." Hailey inquired softly.

"He asked me about it, Hail. And I have told him what I had seen."

"Please say you didn't give him any name," Hailey said with a bit of nervousness.

"No, I couldn't as those men were not our regular customers. But I have been asked to visit the police station to describe them, to their sketch artist. I am not sure about the third one but I had seen that tall, hoody guy and that one with the pierced eyebrow. "

"Please don't do that. Tell them you can't recall anything about any of them." Hailey pleaded.

"Hailey! What are you doing? And why?" Meril intervened at her words.

"Meril, please! I know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it." Hailey stopped Meril before she could say anything else.

"Hailey, you don't need to be scared of them. They will be behind bars..."

"I don't have time to get into all this. You all know well, how much time and money I need for Cora. The time I will have to spend on this issue can be used to make money for my girl." She gave her reason.

"And more than that I don't want her to know that her mother was working in a bar, and got assaulted by a bunch of drunk men." She mentioned controlling her shaking voice.

The manager got up and left both friends. Assuring Hailey to rejoin her night job whenever she gets discharge.

Meril could do nothing but hug her friend. Somewhere she still had doubts about the reasons given by Hailey.