I was still holding Paige's little hand when the nurse came back into the room.
She looked at Kate first.
Then at Ryan.
She explained that the medical team was ready to continue Paige's examination.
Kate immediately stood.
"Do we have to move her again?"
The nurse answered gently.
"We need to complete the imaging the doctor ordered."
I looked at Paige.
Her eyes were half closed.
She looked so tired that I wanted everyone to leave her alone.
But I remembered what the resident had told me.
There could be injuries we hadn't seen.
And if there were, the doctors needed to find them.
Kate moved away from the bed.
Ryan stood beside her.
Neither said anything.
I stepped closer to the nurse.
"Can I stay with her?"
She explained that I could remain nearby when permitted, but certain parts of the examination would require the staff to work without us beside the equipment.
I nodded.
I had already learned that wanting to hold Paige didn't mean holding her was always the best thing.
Sometimes caring for her meant stepping aside.
That was harder than I expected.
The nurse checked Paige's blanket.
She made sure the injured leg was supported.
Then she prepared to take her for the additional X-rays.
Kate bent down.
"Mommy loves you, sweetheart."
Paige gave a small, tired cry.
My sister straightened quickly.
I saw tears in her eyes.
For a moment, I wanted to hug her.
But Ryan put his hand on her shoulder, and she leaned toward him.
I remained where I was.
I didn't know what to say.
The nurse took Paige for the examination.
The three of us were left in the room.
Without Paige there, the space felt strangely empty.
Her diaper bag was still beside the chair.
The green sleeper lay with her belongings.
I looked at both.
I remembered how normal everything had seemed when Kate brought them to my house.
Now I couldn't look at either object without thinking about the bruise.
Ryan moved toward the window.
Kate sat down.
I remained standing.
After a while, my sister spoke.
"Ally, why didn't you call me before taking her here?"
I turned toward her.
"Because she was screaming in pain."
"I would've come."
"I know."
Kate rubbed her forehead.
"I just wish you'd told me."
I sat opposite her.
"Kate, I found bruising under makeup on her thigh. Her leg was swollen, and she could barely move it."
She looked down.
"I didn't know it was that bad."
I waited.
I wanted her to explain how she could have changed Paige that morning without noticing.
But she didn't say anything else.
I finally asked,
"Did she scream when you changed her diaper?"
Kate pressed her lips together.
"She cried."
"Like she cried at my house?"
"I don't know, Ally."
Her voice became sharper.
"Babies cry."
I felt something tighten in my chest.
"Yes, they do. But babies don't normally have broken legs."
Ryan turned from the window.
"That's enough."
I looked at him.
"I wasn't trying to fight."
"Then stop questioning her."
I took a slow breath.
I knew Paige needed us to stay calm.
I also knew I couldn't pretend the questions weren't important.
"The doctors are asking the same things," I said.
Ryan looked away.
Kate wiped her eyes.
Nobody spoke for several minutes.
I heard footsteps outside.
A telephone rang somewhere down the hall.
Then a cart passed the doorway.
I tried to concentrate on those sounds.
Anything that kept me from imagining Paige being moved for another examination.
Eventually, a nurse returned.
She told us Paige had completed the imaging and would be brought back shortly.
I stood immediately.
"Was she okay?"
The nurse explained that the team had supported and monitored her during the procedure.
I nodded.
That was enough for the moment.
When Paige returned, I moved toward her bed.
Her face looked exhausted.
Her hair was slightly damp around her forehead.
I remembered seeing the same thing at my house.
Back then, I had been trying to work out why she wouldn't stop crying.
Now I knew at least part of the reason.
A broken leg.
I carefully touched her hand.
"Hey, sweetheart."
Her fingers moved against mine.
I felt a small amount of relief.
I knew a tiny movement didn't mean everything was fine.
But it meant she was responding to me.
I stayed beside her.
Kate sat on the other side.
Ryan stood near the door.
The room became quiet again.
I wondered whether the doctors would return quickly.
I wondered what the additional pictures would show.
I wanted them to find nothing.
I wanted them to say the fracture in her left leg was the only injury.
I kept repeating that hope silently.
Nothing else.
Please, nothing else.
When the resident returned, another physician accompanied her.
The new doctor introduced herself as part of the team helping evaluate Paige's injuries.
She spoke with Kate and Ryan first.
Then she acknowledged me.
I could tell from the way the doctors pulled their chairs closer that they needed to discuss something important.
Kate sat straighter.
"Did you find anything?"
The doctor looked at her.
"We've reviewed the additional images."
I held my breath.
She explained that the survey had shown another area of concern.
Something that required careful interpretation and further medical review.
For a moment, I didn't understand.
"Another injury?"
I asked.
The doctor nodded.
"There is a finding involving another bone that we need to evaluate."
Kate covered her mouth.
Ryan stared at the doctor.
"What does that mean?"
The physician explained that they were concerned Paige might have experienced an additional fracture.
I felt cold.
I looked down at my niece.
She was lying between us.
So small.
So helpless.
I had brought her to the hospital because of one swollen thigh.
Now there was concern about another bone.
I wanted to ask how many places a baby could be hurt without anyone realizing.
But I didn't.
I was afraid of the answer.
Kate began crying.
"How can that happen?"
The doctor didn't claim to know.
She explained that the team needed to review the imaging carefully and consider the medical history.
She also explained that the timing of different injuries could be difficult to determine precisely.
I listened closely.
I didn't want to misunderstand anything.
I didn't want to turn a medical concern into a certainty before the doctors had finished.
But the possibility alone was enough to frighten me.
Paige might have been hurting in more than one place.
And no one had warned me.
The doctor asked Kate whether Paige had experienced any previous accidents or injuries.
Kate shook her head.
"No."
She asked Ryan the same question.
He said he couldn't think of anything.
The physician remained calm.
She asked about Paige's health.
Her feeding.
Her development.
Any known medical conditions.
Any previous hospital visits.
Kate answered what she could.
I listened without interrupting.
These were things I didn't know well enough to explain.
I was Paige's aunt.
I loved her.
But I wasn't the person who cared for her every day.
That distinction mattered.
The doctor needed information from the people who knew her routine.
I watched Kate answer.
Sometimes quickly.
Sometimes after a pause.
Ryan added a few details.
I tried not to interpret every hesitation.
I reminded myself that frightened parents might struggle to remember things clearly.
I was frightened too.
I had already forgotten ordinary details from my own morning until someone asked about them.
Still, one fact remained.
Neither parent had described an accident that explained Paige's broken leg.
And now there was another finding the doctors were concerned about.
The physician explained that the evaluation would continue.
She said the medical team would review the images and determine what treatment and follow-up Paige needed.
Kate asked whether Paige would remain in the hospital.
The doctor said they expected to keep her under care while the examination and safety planning continued.
Ryan rubbed his face.
"How long?"
The doctor couldn't give him a definite answer.
I watched him lower his hand.
He looked tired.
I wondered whether he'd slept the night before.
Then I remembered Paige had apparently been restless.
I wondered who had stayed awake with her.
Kate?
Ryan?
Both?
I didn't know.
And suddenly I realized how many ordinary questions about that night still had no answers.
The doctor returned to the injury in Paige's left leg.
She explained that the team would continue managing the fracture and her pain.
I felt grateful for that.
No matter what the investigation uncovered, Paige needed treatment.
She needed rest.
She needed adults who could understand what she couldn't say.
The doctor asked whether we had any questions.
Kate wanted to know whether the additional finding meant Paige had been injured before Saturday.
The physician answered carefully.
She said some imaging findings could suggest different stages of healing, but conclusions about timing required specialist review.
I paid attention to every word.
Different stages of healing.
I had not thought about that before.
I had been imagining one terrible incident.
One unexplained injury.
One morning when something had gone wrong.
Now I had to consider that Paige's pain might not have begun that Saturday.
I looked at my niece again.
I thought about all the times she'd been described as fussy.
All the times someone might have assumed she was tired.
Hungry.
Teething.
I couldn't know whether any of those earlier moments were connected.
But the possibility frightened me.
The doctor finished speaking.
She told Kate and Ryan that the team would keep them informed.
Then she stepped out with the resident.
I remained beside Paige.
I needed a moment before I could speak.
Kate was crying quietly.
Ryan stood near her.
I looked at the blanket covering Paige's legs.
There had been a time that morning when I wanted to find something simple underneath her clothes.
A diaper irritation.
A tight seam.
Something that could be fixed in a few minutes.
Instead, I had found bruising.
And that had led us here.
To doctors discussing fractures and possible injuries we hadn't known existed.
Kate looked at me.
"Ally, I didn't know."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
I wanted to believe her.
More than anything, I wanted to believe her.
But I also needed to understand what she meant.
Didn't know about the fracture?
Didn't know about the bruise?
Didn't know about the makeup?
Didn't know Paige was in pain?
I couldn't ask all those questions while she was crying.
So I asked one.
"Did you know she was hurting?"
Kate looked at Paige.
"I thought it was her teeth."
I looked down.
The words no longer gave me comfort.
They only reminded me of how easily the explanation had been accepted.
I had accepted it too.
For twenty minutes, I had believed the same thing.
Until Paige screamed when I moved my hand.
I couldn't forget that sound.
And I couldn't stop wondering how long she'd been trying to tell the adults around her that something was wrong.
I remained beside her until the nurse returned.
The nurse checked Paige and adjusted her blanket.
She asked how we were doing.
Nobody gave a real answer.
I think she understood.
After she left, I looked at the clock.
The morning had turned into afternoon.
I had expected Kate and Ryan to pick Paige up after shopping.
Instead, we were still in the hospital.
And the doctors were no longer asking only how one leg had been injured.
They were trying to understand whether there had been more.
I touched Paige's hand again.
Her fingers closed weakly around mine.
I leaned toward her.
"You don't have to explain anything, sweetheart."
My eyes filled.
"That's our job now."
Click here to continue reading: PART 10: The Doctor Explained Why Paige’s Injuries Raised Serious Questions, and Kate’s Account of the Night Began to Change
My Sister Left Her Six-Month-Old Daughter With Me That Saturday, and One Strange Thing She Said Kept Coming Back to Me
Part 9 of 20
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