Leslie Gets Mugged
Leslie didn’t know what happened- one minute she was walking down the street and the next a hand was grabbing her purse, wrenching it out of her grip and shoving her away.
She looked up in shock to see a man, who was gigantic- easily six foot tall, and for Leslie, who was just over five foot and pregnant with triplets- this was not good at all.
Luckily, he did nothing more than sprint away, her purse in tow, but then Leslie was left standing in the street with no purse and no phone and no emergency waffle.
Leslie could hear the blood pumping in her ears, realising that she had instinctively wrapped her hands around her bump in protection.
It was a miracle that he seemed much more interested in her purse, but then Leslie realised that she hadn’t even gotten a look at the face of the man who robbed a pregnant woman- something that was now banging through her skull, among a million other things.
God, it could have been so much worse. She needed to call Ben, but she couldn’t. Not only that, but she couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t she breathe? She needed to breathe, or she would die, and then the babies would die and Ben would have no wife or babies and Ann wouldn’t have a best friend.
She sunk to her knees, crying, but after what felt like eons, she heard a startled voice coming from nearby. Someone- a woman- was talking to her, asking her if she was alright.
“I- I don’t know,” Leslie admitted. She wanted to talk normally, but her voice was coming out in a soft whisper.
“What happened?” The woman was asking.
“Someone took my- my purse,” Leslie told her.
"Shit," the woman said, scanning the streets. "I'll call my squad."
"Will that really help?" Leslie asked, looking up at the woman and seeing an unfamiliar police badge. She was police, but she wasn't from around here.
“You’re shaking,” the woman said. Leslie wrapped her arms tighter around her bump, and the woman let out a soft gasp. “I’m going to call an ambulance, is that alright? I think you’re in shock, and you’re pregnant. You should go and get checked out.”
Hospital. Hospital meant a way to call Ben, and it also meant her best friend Ann.
“Okay,” Leslie whispered. “Okay.”
***
The next half an hour was a blur. That woman called an ambulance, which arrived at some point. Leslie hadn’t wanted to stand up yet- she didn’t trust her legs to work, but eventually two kind paramedics were talking to her in soft voices, easing her into a standing position and helping her into the ambulance. That woman asked if she needed to come with her.
“I’ll be fine,” Leslie whispered. “Thank you anyway.”
“Do you have anyone we can call?” one of the paramedics asked.
“Ben,” she said simply, and then recited his number off by heart. She caught the woman noting it down in a pad- a sweet gesture.
“I’ll call him,” she told Leslie. “And I’ll come with you.”
“Thank you,” Leslie said, touched. Her muscles wouldn’t smile, but she hoped the woman understood.
“No problem- I’m Amy by the way,” the woman said with a cheery grin.
She called Ben as soon as the ambulance was moving. Ben answered immediately.
“Uh, hello? Whos’ this?” he asked.
“I’m Sergeant Amy Santiago,” the woman hastily explained. “Listen, your wife’s purse was robbed. She’s physically fine but she’s a bit shaken so she’s going to the hospital, can you meet us there?”
“Of course!” Ben said instantly. “Can I speak to her?”
The woman- Amy something- handed her phone to Leslie, who gripped it tightly.
“Ben,” she whispered. “Hi, sorry.”
“Babe, I’m on my way. Just keep nice and calm, yeah? Everything’s fine.”
Leslie smiled. She knew from his tone of voice that he was trying not to panic himself, but she really appreciated how he spoke to her in such an even tone.
“I love you,” she said quickly.
“I love you too- I’m coming.”
***
When they got there, the paramedics took Leslie through into a room to be checked out.
“I’ll stay with you until Ben arrives,” Amy said gently.
As they were waiting, Amy was trying to keep Leslie distracted, so told her about how she worked as a police sergeant in New York, and only came to Pawnee on some crazy man hunt. Leslie wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth.
“I would have got that guy pinned to the ground if I had seen it happen,” Amy told her. Leslie winced, so she backtracked. “Anyway, I was just looking for the nearest stationary store for some binders when I saw you.”
Leslie’s brain perked up. Stationary- binders. This was something comforting that she could talk about.
“You were short just by a block or two,” Leslie told her. “There’s a really good one by JJ’s Diner- it has all the good tabs.”
“The good tabs?!” Amy replied, shocked. “I’ll have to go and check it out!”
Leslie smiled slightly, and Amy grinned back. Then a male nurse was sticking his head around the door. Leslie recognised him as one of Ann’s nurse friends.
“We’ve found Ben for you,” he told Leslie. “He’s coming. We’ve also got Ann on her way.”
Leslie nodded, feeling relief surge through her. Her husband and her best friend were coming.
She turned to Amy who liked the good tabs. “Thank you so much for everything. Do you want me to write down the address of that store?”
“Yes please!” Amy said, excitedly. “And no problem, I’m so glad you’re alright.”
***
Ann had not expected to get a paramedic burst in on her on her break and tell her that Leslie was in. Ann had texted Leslie- twice, actually, to no reply, but assumed that she was just busy. She felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach when she was told that Leslie had been mugged and all of her stuff- her phone, her purse- had been taken.
“Is she alright?!” Ann asked, leaping to her feet.
“We think so,” the paramedic told her. “She’s had quite a shock though.”
“Does Ben know?” Ann asked as she ran to the door.
“He’s on his way.”
Ann tore through the hospital corridors until she was bursting into the room Leslie was in. She let out a relieved gasp, charging over to Leslie and pulling her into a hug. Leslie was squeezing her tightly.
“Are you- are you alright?”
Leslie let out a shaky sob. “Yeah,” she replied, and Ann felt her heart break.
“Just try to keep breathing normally,” Ann soothed. “The paramedics checked you over, remember? The babies are all fine, I promise.”
She leaned over and kissed Leslie’s forehead. “Shh, I’ve got you. I’m here.”
Leslie got quite overwhelmed when Ben too burst through the door- Ann stepped back to give him some room, and he gave her a grateful smile.
“Oh honey,” he said quickly. “How are you doing?”
“He mugged me,” Leslie said, feeling some of her nerve return. “That bastard.”
“I phoned the police and told them,” that Amy woman said as she was by the door. “They’re on the hunt for him.”
Everyone knew it probably wouldn't get solved. It wasn't the best reassurance in the world, especially since the crime had already happened.
“Thanks,” Ben said, surprised that there was someone else here, but then Leslie was grinning. This stranger had made her feel safe when she was in trouble, not by being police, but by talking about the good tabs, and she appreciated it.
“Thank you so much, Amy. Don’t forget to get the ascending tabs and the industrial strength binders. And call me next time you're in Pawnee!”
"Will do, Leslie!"
"Amy left, and Leslie sagged into Ben.
“Who was that?” Ben asked.
“She helped me,” Leslie explained. “And she kept me calm talking about binders.”
Ben chuckled, but Leslie was nodding.
“I’m serious!” she continued. “I actually found someone else who loves binders as much as me!”
Ben watched Ann checking Leslie’s pulse as she spoke to Ben. She looked up, smiling.
“Your vitals are good,” she told her. “And the babies are okay.”
“That’s good,” Leslie said, leaning back into Ben. “But he could have hurt our babies,” she added in a whisper.
Ben leaned over to kiss her forehead, before looking at Leslie with understanding eyes.
“You’re safe,” he told her gently. “How about we take some nice deep breaths, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Leslie said softly. “I was doing them before- like how you taught me. I remembered the ones I read about online and wrote in the pregnancy wellness binder I made.”
Ben laughed shakily. “Oh my god, I love you so much.”
Ann watched them with a smile, and Leslie turned to Ann, before looking back at Ben.
“You guys got here so quickly, I love you so much.”
“We love you too,” Ben told her. “Maybe in different ways.”
“Or not,” Ann said with a shrug, before laughing. Leslie laughed too. Then she sighed.
“Imagine being able to walk down the street and not be anxious.”
Ann sighed slowly. “I know."
“I wanted the walk,” Leslie said slowly. “I'd been cooped up all day, I wanted fresh air and look what I get.”
Ann rubbed her arm in understanding, keeping Leslie calm. Ben watched the exchange, hating the sobering reality that fell on them. Walking wasn’t always safe, even in broad daylight.
“I hope they find my purse. I need to cancel my card.”
“I’ll get on that for you,” Ann said, standing. “And I’ll leave you too to have a rest. Love you, Les.”
“Love you too, Ann.”
Ann left, and Leslie was left with Ben, who was holding her, running his hand over her stomach.
“Some people,” she muttered. “Who would rob a pregnant lady?”
Ben wanted to make sure she kept calm, so kissed her gently. “You’re safe now. If I ever see that bastard, I’m going to punch him so hard he won’t know his own name.”
“He was over six foot,” Leslie said, giggling nervously.
“I’ll still do it,” Ben replied. “I’m usually a pacifist, but anyone who tries to hurt my family are going down.”
“You’re like a sexy Optimus Prime,” Leslie said, putting her hand on top of his. Ben quirked an eyebrow.
“I thought you hated those movies,” he said slowly. “You told me it was a blur of CGI confusion and loud noises that are a sensory overload.”
“Okay fine, you’re not Optimus Prime. You’re a sexy accountant who loves his family.”
“Hell yeah.”
“And I’m a pacifist too, but I sort of wish I could have punched him as well. Even though punching him wouldn’t have ended well.”
Ben kissed her head. He was thinking about her safety, and it was a swirling mess of how fucked up the country was that she didn’t feel safe walking alone. It was a mess. He wanted to protect her and the babies from everything. Leslie must have read his mind, because she snuggled tighter to him.
“I know,” she whispered. “It’s a mess. But I know I’ve got so many people looking out for me. I’ll just drive home from now on.”
Ben hated that that was the reality. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Hey,” Leslie said to him. “We’re all safe. I'll speak to the City Councillers, try and get something started with safer streets. It's about time. We're going to make change happen, Ben. I promise.”
Leslie was thinking practically, now the stress was gone. But all Ben could think about was how it had already happened, and change was coming after the fact. It wasn't good enough.
"You and Ann, you're both used to this stuff. It's..." Ben didn't know what to say. As a man, he didn't know how to help. He felt disgusted. He felt... he felt terrible.
"We're going to make change happen," Leslie assured him. "It's an unfortunate reality for most women, and not even just women, Ben."
"I know," Ben replied. He knew. He had been pushing for safer streets when Leslie was running for City Council- something Leslie herself had suggested, and doing the research into it had shocked him. He felt a privilege, and he didn't know how to feel. It felt so, so wrong.
"I know it's a lot," Leslie told him.
"It's not okay that you guys expect this. We need to... do something."
"We do," Leslie replied. "If I was still on City Council, I'd be pushing for it more. We'll find a way. I want Pawnee to be safe for everyone."
"And I'll help you," he assured her. "I'll do anything it takes."
"Thank you, Ben," Leslie said with a happy sigh. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Ben wanted to continue the conversation, but then softly shook his head. Not now. He wasn’t going to overthink the reality of it all- how unsafe it really was for so many people out there. Right now he just needed to hold his wife, rubbing her swollen belly, making sure she felt safe. And right then, she did.