isabelcastillo

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

gwen believed her, so she just headed for the attending’s lounge to get changed before turning to the waiting room. she was scrolling through her phone mindlessly when isabel returned. she got to her feet and was about to offer to carry her bag when she spoke. she looked towards the exit and then back at isabel. maybe this was slightly more complicated than what she had bargained for. she sighed, but her offer came out confidently nonetheless. “tell me what you need me to do and i’ll do it. or at least tell me what i need to know. i’m not leaving you here.”

“do you know a way out the back? or know anyone that can escort us out?” isabel was half joking but maybe if they had people around them, shaun wouldn’t try and speak to her. she knew she would have to explain to gwen what was happening eventually so she decided that it was better now than somewhere down the line. “my husband, camilla’s father, he’s waiting outside for me. i left him a month ago, he wasn’t a good guy. he hurt me a lot. in more ways than one. i came here to stay with a friend and she told him i was at her apartment...i can’t see him gwen, i don’t want him to hurt me again.”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

“which i understand,” gwen repeated. she studied the young woman carefully, but she didn’t dare ask anything else. not yet. it wasn’t any of her business, but she was making it her business to help. “and you promise you’re not just saying you’re going to run off?” she asked. hearing the phone ring, gwen’s eyes fell on isabel’s pocket. “you know what, i’ll wait here. get what you need but i’ll just… be here, okay?”

“i won’t run off.” isabel confirmed, despite not even being sure herself. she headed back to her office and once inside, she put camilla in the car seat and took her phone out of her pocket, she had six missed calls and a text from shaun it said ‘i’m waiting outside the hospital, i just want to talk and i want to see my daughter.’ the fear she felt was next to nothing she’d ever felt and she didn’t know what to do in that moment. she grabbed a bagful of things and camilla and headed back down to gwen. “told you i wouldn’t run, but i really think i should stay here, i could find an empty on call room...i just can’t go out there.”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

“i have ear plugs,” gwen shrugged. she rolled her eyes and hurriedly walked after the other woman. “seriously? i promise i’m not a murderer. and i know that’s what a murderer would say but i’m not. i just want to help.” she didn’t want to seem too pushy, but her heart was heavy. there was someone in need, and she was familiar with the pushing away. she did it all the time whenever anyone tried to help her. she knew her next comment was a low blow, but sometimes that was what it took. “your kid probably needs to sleep somewhere that actually gives her the support she needs. back problems make really fussy babies.” it wasn’t entirely logical but it was something. a protective mother would do anything for her child. 

“i don’t think you’re a murderer, i just — i don’t trust people and especially not around my daughter. i can tell you’re completely harmless i just can’t.” isabel looked down at the baby in her arms as gwen spoke again and her breath caught in her throat as she tried to hold back a sob. gwen was right though, isabel knew that sleeping in a car seat wasn’t ideal for the four month old and she felt so incredibly guilty. “fine. one night and i’ll be out of your hair. i just need to head up and grab some stuff.” her phone rang in her pocket and she didn’t even look but the feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that it was shaun.

[isabelcastillo]

“i have nightmares, bad ones.” isabel mumbled, she didn’t want to burden gwen like she had burdened everyone throughout her whole life so far. “i really don’t want to put you through any bother, i — we will be fine.” she looked down at the little girl in her arms, so peaceful and blissfully unaware of everything that was going on around her. isabel turned away from gwen and started to walk in the direction of her office again. “i’ll be fine, you can go now i’m sure you’ve got things you need to be doing.”

[isabelcastillo]

isabel nodded slowly, she really was just trying to do right by her daughter and she hoped that showed. “no — i couldn’t. i can’t do that to you, i’m sure you don’t want to be living with a four month old baby and a —.” she stopped herself before she could say anything else, she didn’t have it in her to explain about her husband. luckily at that moment there was a knock on the door and a nurse peeked in to say that the couple were waiting downstairs in the lobby. she looked around a little helplessly, she hadn’t thought this far ahead. she would either have to bring them into her office or go down with her baby, she decided on the latter. she knelt down in front of the little girl on her couch. “hey, there’s a nice lady and man here, they’re going to take you to their house tonight and they’re going to bring you back here tomorrow. you’ll see me again then and probably miss gwen but it’ll be nice for you to sleep in a comfy bed tonight won’t it?” the girl nodded and isabel reached over and picked up one of camilla’s stuffed bears and handed it to her, “you take him and your special magic pen and you’ll be a-okay, alright?” she stood up and smiled at gwen. “you want to come and see her get off safely?” she picked up all the paperwork that needed signing and with the paperwork and her daughter in her arms, she led the way down to the lobby.

[isabelcastillo]

if isabel’s nervous fidgeting didn’t give her away, the stammering “no” would have. “i — no. i’m not. that would be crazy right? who’d want to live in a hospital? i’m just a messy person and i like to have spare things close by.” a pathetic attempt at a lie and anyone could see that. she ran her fingers through her hair and picked her daughter up holding her close against her chest, half expecting someone to walk in and take her from her for being a terrible mom and letting her live in a tiny office. “don’t tell anyone.” she finally spoke, her voice soft and quiet. “i’ll be out of here soon, i promise and camilla is fine and i’ll have a better home for her soon. i’m a good mom, i swear.” it was almost as if she was convincing herself not just gwen. “i know how this looks, i — i see it all the time in this job but i’m okay.”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

gwen listened carefully to what she was being told. she was glad to hear that she was going somewhere that seemed reliable. even one night was important because it was perhaps the night that defined the rest of her life. there was a chance she’d wake up and have no parents and that would be it. she nodded and waited whilst she called. she talked to the girl quietly, and found herself the recipient of a hug as she told her about what she liked — frogs and apples. she’d just planted an apple tree with her mother the weekend before. her stories definitely didn’t make this any easier.

gwen’s shift had ended an hour ago but she had wanted to stay and make sure everything went okay. “affecting me? no i uh-” she cleared her throat and got to her feet, “she just reminds me of someone is all.” there was a twang of guilt at her continued refusal to mention her daughter. considering the offer she agreed. “okay. i can come with you, yeah. you might need to ask her some things, right? just in case.” she smiled slightly.

isabel didn’t question it when gwen denied that it was affecting her, everyone had their things and she wasn’t the person to question someone else on something like that. “so i need to grab my daughter from the daycare and then we’ll head up to my office. you’ll have to excuse the mess up there, i wasn’t expecting to have anyone in there.” it would be glaringly obvious when they walked into the office that isabel had been sleeping there so a little prewarning of the mess could help. there was a small couch where her pillow and blanket lay, a baby mat with some toys on the floor, food, diapers and wipes and a pile of clothes for her and camilla. she felt incredibly embarrassed at the thought of someone seeing it but she had a good feeling about gwen, she seemed like a good person. she picked up camilla from the daycare, it seemed ludicrous for a four month old to be in a daycare but it was the only place that isabel deemed safe, she wouldn’t trust anyone to have camilla and the daycare was so close to her office that she was mostly always available when her daughter needed feeding. with her daughter in her arms and gwen by her side with the little girl they headed up to her office. “like i said, sorry about the mess.” she reiterated as she opened the door. she moved some things so the girl could sit and she placed camilla on her mat in front of her, she held out a small toy to the girl with a smile. “she really likes this one if you want to play with her.”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

gwen nodded in agreement and took a second before joining isabel’s side. when she girl didn’t answer, she took it upon herself to crouch down in front of her and talk to her. she reminded her a little bit of her daughter - she had been a gentle soul too. she could tell this girl was the same. she was around the same age as hannah would have been - no older than five or six. “you’re going to be okay,” she said reassuringly. “isabel’s going to find you somewhere nice to stay for the night and tomorrow you can come right back here, okay? she’s a super awesome superhero called a social worker.” she rifled around in her pocket and took out a SGMW pen. “you’re going to have to take care of this for the night for me, okay? it’s a very special pen.” she leaned forward like she was telling a great secret. “it’s magic bravery pen.” she sat back and smiled softly. “so you’ve got to take care of it, okay? and when you get back here tomorrow you ask for gwen and i’ll see what i can do, okay?” 

she was met by silence for a few seconds before the girl nodded and said, “okay. i promise.” she took the pen and held on to it tightly, looking only slightly more content. 

gwen straightened up and looked at isabel with a small smile. “can you let me know when you find somewhere?” she asked.

isabel smiled as gwen interacted with the little girl, she was a complete natural. she wondered if gwen had ever considered a career change into social work. she definitely seemed to have what it took to do it and she got more out of the girl than what isabel had managed to do. she nodded with a smile when gwen spoke to her. “sure, of course, i have a lovely older couple that i think would be perfect to take her, they are two of the sweetest people i had ever met and i know for sure that if something ever happened to me they are the kind of people i would like my daughter to be with. i’ll give them a call right now if you stay with her for a moment.” isabel stepped away out of earshot of the girl and phoned the couple. she explained the situation and they were more than happy to take the little girl in. she stepped back to where gwen and the girl were and smiled at gwen. “we’re all set, they’ll be here as soon as they can. my shift is just about over but i can take her with me to get my daughter from the daycare and take her up to my office to wait. i don’t have anywhere important to be right away. i have emergency snacks up there. you’re welcome to join us until they get here if you don’t have anything else to do, i can see this case is affecting you. ”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

carina tilted her head to the side slightly, considering what she was being told. “okay,” she agreed. “but i will have to stay near because i think we will be going into early labour soon.” she paused, “what happened to the other social worker? i paged ah- what is her name? i forget. what happened to her?” she asked curiously. she wanted to let the young girl rest for a little while longer, whilst she still could. “then you are probably best,” she smiled encouragingly. 

“that’s fine, i would prefer to have you close by anyway. i don’t think i could deliver a baby.” isabel let out a nervous chuckle and shrugged at the mention of the other social worker, “i’ve actually been working mostly alone since i got here so i’ve not really met anyone on the team but i can call up and get her if you’d prefer?” isabel didn’t want to step on any toes, so she would stay out of things if need be.

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

gwen frowned, eyeing the woman up suspiciously. “right. well, i have been here overnight and you’re right. it’s not exactly a great place for a kid to stay.” she had worked plenty of nights, but something about how the woman worded that didn’t sit right with her. she decided to question it after they had dealt with the kid that needed their help. “yeah, no. i’ll come,” she promised. “do you think we should tell her that her parents probably aren’t going to make it? i hate getting rid of that last bit of hope.”

“for right now, i’m going to say no. she’s probably already terrified i don’t want to cause her more stress and upset when she’s already going through it.” isabel walked slowly over to young girl and smiled as she sat beside her. “hey, i’m isabel and i’m a social worker, you doing okay?” when the girl didn’t respond, isabel looked up at the doctor pleadingly, she was at a loss here, her job never got easier. “you know, your parents have the best doctors looking after them right now, but i think for tonight you need to have a comfortable and safe place to sleep. the beds here aren’t all that great and the chairs even less but i have a few lovely people ready to take you in for the night until we get hold of some family. does that sound okay?”

[isabelcastillo]

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

gwen was inclined to agree, especially considering they had yet to figure out where to put her. she felt an obligation to the little girl to do right by her now, especially since she hadn’t really been keen to talk to anyone else. “she’s shy,” gwen warned. “my resident tried to talk to her but i think she caught on to how nervous he was. i don’t think he’s done the whole child-with-parents thing much yet. i think she only spoke to me because i bribed her with candy,” she admitted.

“I think it’s going to be a case of temporary foster care, I have some couples lined up that may be able to take her in but she might not be happy with that but honestly staying in the hospital wouldn’t be good. it’s not comfortable and it’s so noisy here overnight, i mean, not that i’ve been here overnight...” isabel was kicking herself for saying too much, she didn’t want anyone to know she was sleeping in the hospital that was embarrassing. “i’ll have a talk with her, you mind coming in? you have a rapport with her.”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

closed / carina + isabel ( @isabelcastillo​ )

carina had been called down when a young woman came in with pain and no other symptoms. after a brief conversation she made some realisations about the girl. not only was she six months pregnant but she was sixteen and, although she didn’t admit it, probably homeless. she paged social and waited outside the girl’s room by the nurse’s desk. she looked up when she spotted someone with the right badge.

“you are from social work, yes?” she asked. “the patient’s asleep just now but i-” she slid a piece of paper with information on it towards the newcomer, “have this for you. she would not give anyone her home address or her last name or anything. very helpful.”

“yeah, that’s me.” isabel frowned a little as she read the sheet of paper about the young girl, this wasn’t good. she sighed and folded her arms, she needed to think about this before she went in all guns blazing. “she’s probably scared, i think we just need to make her feel comfortable, i was going to suggest us both going in but i think it would be better if just one of us goes in so as not to overwhelm her. i have a daughter but she’s considerably younger but i can try and see if she’ll speak to me. i’ll also call into the police department and see if there’s any missing children in the area that match her description. she could be a runaway and have parents out there worried sick about her.” isabel ran her hands through her hair with another sigh. “i’ve been in a somewhat similar situation so i think i could use that to relate to her.”

[isabelcastillo]

ofseattles​:

Franklin had gone down to the first floor on his way out. He didn’t expect to hear anything, but then his pager lit up with a message about a child needing a social worker. Why had he gotten that page? He knew it had to be a mistake, but he went to the ER anyway. “Are you the social worker that was meant to get this page?” He held his up, hoping she was. 

“actually, i am.” isabel smiled apologetically. “sorry you got the page, i got one too so i’m not entirely sure why you got it as well but here we are.” she folded her arms across her chest and sighed as she saw the kid in question, a baby around the same age as camilla. her face dropped as she thought about how easy it would’ve been for camilla to be that baby with her in the hospital because of shaun. “i’m going to see if there’s anyone else on call to deal with this one, do you happen to know anyone?”

[isabelcastillo]

lostatseattle​:

gwen had been dealing with the kid’s parents that morning but no one had been able to figure anything else out about the family. she had paged for a social worker as soon as she could because the resident on her service allegedly ‘forgot’. it definitely wasn’t the best day ever. “social, right? she’s over there. she doesn’t know anyone’s number but her parents and they’re…” she gave a look that indicated the obvious. “i guess that’s where you come in.”

“oh...well crap. i’ll see what she says, see if i can get anything from her.” isabel sighed a little and readied herself to head over to talk to the young girl. “i’m going to give my boss a call, she might be better equipped to deal with this, especially with there being no other family anywhere in the area. i want to keep the girl safe and comfortable and i really don’t think that the hospital is the place for that.”

[isabelcastillo]

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera in Knives Out (2019) dir. Rian Johnson

[isabelcastillo]

self para.

isabel had just finished a shift at the hospital and she picked camilla up from the daycare and headed home, home being her friend’s apartment. with the baby in the carseat, she grabbed her keys out of her purse when she heard a familiar voice behind the door, shaun was in there. her heart raced as she ran as fast as she could down the stairs of the building and back to her car. she was freaking out and didn’t know where she was going to go. she decided to go straight back to the hospital, she felt like they would be safe there.

she received a text message on her way to the hospital, it was from the friend that she was staying with it said: i don’t know when you’re due home but shaun is here, he seems genuinely sorry. isabel couldn’t believe it, she had considered this person her friend and she had let her abusive boyfriend in the place that isabel had called home for the last month. isabel found her way to her office where she placed the car seat down on a chair before sinking down to the ground in a puddle of tears. she hated that her daughter had to see her this way, but luckily she was too young to really understand what was going on, it was scary to think that she would have to explain it one day when she was old enough to understand, thankfully that was a long way off.

isabel could hear a voice outside her office but couldn’t understand what they were saying, her anxiety was on another level and she was convinced that it was him. lucky for her, even if he came to the hospital, they would never be able to tell him where her office was so she was able to calm herself down a little.

isabel had no idea where she would stay full time, she couldn’t stay in her office permanently because all of her belongings were in her friend’s apartment and it just wasn’t practical, but there was no way in hell that she was going back to the apartment when there was a possibility of shaun being there. she decided that she would stay in her office as long as she could, she would go to the daycare and see if there was anything that they could help with. camilla was exclusively breastfed so she didn’t have to worry about feeding her, she could feed herself in the canteen too. it wouldn’t be comfortable but she would feel a hell of a lot safer in the place where there were security measures in place to protect her. she was at a loss mostly, she wanted a divorce but she couldn’t face him, he wouldn’t let her divorce him, he’d told her so before. he would twist everything and he would somehow make her out to be the bad guy and her life would just be ruined more than it already was.

isabel regretted everything that she had done to this point, she knew that if her childhood had been better she may have been more equipped to deal with all of this better, if she hadn’t picked the college she went to she would have never met shaun, if she’d seen the warning signs sooner she wouldn’t be sobbing in her office right now with her four month old daughter laying in her carseat.