Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Friends Will Be Friends ❯ Honey, You'll Survive ( Chapter 15 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Honey you'll survive

Trowa, Marie, Sally and myself where left after the other doctor, Peterson, left in a huff. Sally had been tired when I

came and got her, but she handled herself like the trooper she had always been. Peace had not made her any softer, mentally

or physically. It had only hidden some of her more militant traits better.

"Duo said you had a bullet wound to the arm. How bad is it?" Sally asked as she led us down a corridor.

"A graze." Trowa verbally shrugged. I guess it's hard to shrug with someone in your arms.

"More like a chunk has been taken out."I amended for him. I don't think he was too happy with my input.

Sally opened a door and moved the slide so it read 'occupied', then held it open.

"And where do you think you are going, Mr Maxwell?" she asked me as I tried to slip in.

"Aw, Sal, you know I need to do a report, and it would be more accurate if I could put in there how badly Tro was hurt, as

well as Marie. Besides, I still need to get some details from her so we can start searching the missing persons databases."

I winked at Sally.

She sighed. Good, I was tired and not in the mood for a fight with her anyway.

"Okay, you can come in and get what you need while I get set up. After that, out. Got it?" She asked me.

I smiled at her, and she smiled back tiredly.

"Got it. I'll be quick." I promised her. But I did want to do a good job on my first report.

Trowa was already sitting in the chair next to the desk, having deposited Marie on the examination table. It was pretty

clear in which order he intended the examination to go.

"Here, let me take your jacket Tro, then Sally can take a look." I suggested.

"Good idea. In fact, Duo, why don't you set up the screen so Marie can change while I dig out some examination gowns? Trowa,

I'll need you to change into one of them too in a minute." Sally told us from where she was taking down jars, and various

instruments.

"Sure thing." I told her as I rode the mobile curtains around the examination table and pulled the curtain around the rest,

forming a neat little cubicle around the examination table. Sally turned around and handed one examination gown through the

curtains for Marie, and asked her to put it on, and put another on the desk next to Trowa before going back to her

cupboards.

"Let me have a quick look at that arm so I know what to get out?" she asked and Trowa looked at her for a moment, then

started to slowly, stiffly, take off his jacket. He wasn't moving right.

"Here, let me help you, buddy" I told him, and eased the sleeve off his hurt arm with him. As I glanced inside the jacket I

saw that the formerly yellow lining had a huge, deep red stain inside. With a sick feeling, I knew it was blood, and it

looked fresh and therefore had to be his.

"Sal? I think Trowa's back might be a priority." I was surprised by how calm my voice sounded. Obviously it must have got

Sally's attention though, as she turned around sharply and strode over. She took a quick glance at the back of Trowa's shirt

and frowned.

"Stay still Trowa. Marie, can you come out as soon as you've changed? " she asked, and she had barely finished before we

heard Marie hop off the examination table and move the curtain to the side. She looked uncomfortable in the examination gown

and her bare feet, and I can't blame her. Those things are scratchy as hell and drafty besides.

"Duo, I think I need some quality time now with my patients. Alone." Sally told me. Hey, I can take a hint.

"I'll be outside if you need me. Or when you're done. " I told Trowa and Sally, as I stood in the doorway. The door fell

shut behind me without either of them having responded. I sat down, in the hall on one of the chairs in front of the waiting

room.

After all, by the look of Trowa's shirt and jacket, he was going to need some serious painkillers, and anything that could

stop him hurting was likely to have him legally stoned out of his head. He was going to need help getting back to his

apartment.

********

Sally did not look happy as she moved the portable screen away from the examination table, but I imagine having two patients

to deal with instead of the more usual one was taxing on her after working with the other Preventers on the raid. We

sometimes forget that Sally regularly pulls double or even triple shifts in times like these.

"Trowa, please go and sit on the examination table. " she instructed me, holding a kidney shaped dish with some items in her

hands.

"I'm going to have to do a full examination on you both." She told us. "Anything I do on you, " she addressed Marie, "I'm

going to do on Trowa first, so you can see what I'm doing. Is that okay? " she asked.

I nodded. We both needed to be checked out, it was procedure after all. Besides, this would give Marie a chance to see

what would happen. That might help her a bit. After thinking for a bit, Marie nodded with a soft "Yes Doctor."

"Right. Trowa, I know you're back is bleeding and your arm is. Marie, your form says your leg is hurt?"

"A bullet crease above the knee. I disinfected it and put a pressure bandage on it. It was bleeding sluggishly at the time."

I told her. Nothing like giving our doctor all the relevant information. Sally frowned.

"Marie, I'm going to unwrap your leg and give you a painkiller. I'm going to do that first, and them I'm going to give Trowa

the same one. Anything else I do I'll do to Trowa first, is that okay?"

"Will it put me to sleep?" Marie asked, timidly.

"No hun, it won't. I'm going to smear a little of this cream on your leg. It's what's known as a topical analgesic. An

analgesic is a painkiller, it will make your leg go a bit numb so I can give you an injection with some more painkiller."

Sally explained, pointing to some of the items on the dish. Seeing as there were no objections, she put on a pair of rubber

gloves, then asked Marie to lift her gown slightly. Carefully unwrapping the bandage, I could see from the bed that the

bleeding had if not stopped, then nearly stopped. Sally worked quickly, smearing the cream a bit above and below the cut,

then inserting a fine needle and injecting some fluid in the tissue. Marie of course, sat there watching. She seemed

fascinated by it all.

"That didn't hurt at all!" she told us, surprised when Sally was done. Sally chuckled, and I found myself smiling too.

"Now, you stay right there while that works in, and I take a look at Trowa's back and arm." Sally ordered Marie, and she

nodded, swinging her good leg and sitting forward eagerly. If I didn't know better I'd say she was looking forward to a

show. Then again, she did seem to be naturally curious.

Sally left her bowl of instruments on the desk and went back to her cupboards, taking out another kidney shaped dish with a

few additional items to the other one and came up behind me.

"I'm going to cut your shirt off. It's ruined anyway." she told me after replacing her gloves with a fresh set. She didn't

wait for me to say anything before starting to carefully cut away the shirt.

I tried to stay calm when she gently pulled away the pieces from the various scrapes, but I couldn't help wincing once or

twice.

"Oh Trowa!" I heard Sally whisper softly behind me, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond. "What did they do to you?" she

asked next.

"I believe it was belt buckle." I told her.

"You've got twelve or thirteen gouges on your back, depending on how you count. Some of them have scabbed over, but a few of

them look like they're infecting. I take it they weren't cleaned?"

I knew a rhetorical question when I heard one. I shrugged. I could feel her gently smearing some of the analgesic salve onto

my back, a courtesy we don't usually bother with asking for. The needle they use for the analgesic they inject is fine

enough, and it's not like any of us can't take a jab or to. She worked carefully though, and I could feel the pressure

where she was injecting the painkiller before my back went pleasantly tingly and numb. A blessed relief.

"Now, let's have a look at that arm." she ordered. I held out my arm patiently, and she cut what was left of the sleeve off.

Looking down at it, I could see it was still oozing slightly. Probably from the use I had been giving it, and the fact I'd

never bothered to put a bandage on it.

"And what, exactly, classification did you give yourself, Agent Barton?" Sally asked me, angrily. Oops, I was in trouble

now. I wasn't certain I had the patience to face an angry doctor right now. I was tired, hurting, and wanted to just get out

of here.

"A nine." I told her evenly.

"That's what I seem to remember. Trowa, your back has been flayed open and you're still losing blood from your arm. You were

in no condition to work triage! You should have classified yourself as a seven at worst, if not a six. I'm not sure I should

discharge you without at least getting a unit or two of blood into you." she ranted at me.

"Doctor, I did what I believed best for all concerned. No blood." I told her coolly. My patience was getting thin, and I

could see Marie shrinking back in her chair, looking worried. "My back isn't seriously injured, a few scrapes at best. There

were victims there, people there, who needed your services far more urgently than myself."

Sally seemed to deflate a bit as she gently injected some analgesic into my arm.

"I know, but dammit, you shouldn't have had to wait that long for one of us to see to you. And I'm sorry. I should have

realised you were hurt earlier." She apologised.

"You were busy with a heart patient. They take priority. It wasn't as if I told you either. " I told her gently as she took

off her gloves.

Sally cleaned and stitched up my back next, the entire procedure taking a while but only interrupted by one or two twinges

through the painkiller. She then covered my back with a thick layer of neoskin to help it heal and keep it clean.

She wheeled Marie's chair over, and showed her exactly how she was stitching up my arm. Marie was fascinated. That kid is a

regular sponge. By now the analgesic was wearing off, and the last few stitches were almost painful and my back was sending

me messages now, detailing the abuse it had taken at both Walden's ill meaning hands and Sally's well intended ministrations.

"I think the painkiller will need a top-up." I told her, and she frowned offering me some more painkillers for my back. I

declined. I still had a report to make out to Lady Une. Sally wasn't happy, but turned her attentions on Marie, injecting

some more painkiller and then stitching up the wound neatly with eight tiny stitches before covering it with Neoskin and

another bandage.

"I'm going to give you both some antibiotics to help keep everything from infecting, but first I need to take some samples

from both of you. Marie, if you'd just go through that door, and give me a urine sample?" she handed Marie a cup to take

with her, and Marie dutifully went.

"I need you to take a blood sample as well. And to have it checked for any truth drugs you can." I told her as she handed me

a cup as well and I awaited my turn in the little room.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I can't remember at least 24 hours, and I have these track marks as well as a reason to believe they injected

me with several truth serums. "

"I'll have the lab check for you, but you've been with us for at least twelve hours. The chance that they are going to find

anything more than traces is minuscule unless they used very strong drugs." Sally pointed out. I nodded, I knew that.

"You should probably do a rape kit as well. On Marie." I clarified.

"What about yourself? And is that blood on your chin?" she asked, coming closer to peer at it.

Just then Marie came back in, with her cupful and I saw my chance to escape into the small bathroom.

When I came back in with my sample, I saw Sally performing some tests on Marie's sample so I put mine down next to hers.

She approached me with a few more instruments that I knew well. In short order she'd taken my blood pressure, pulse, heart

rate, and checked me out for signs of concussion as well as a few of my reflexes. Then she did the same to Marie, scrawling

things on our charts in turn. Then she weighed and measured us and took some blood from both of us.

Taking out a doll from one of the cupboards, I think I knew what was coming. It was a tool she had used before, on child

victims. She would get them to point out where they were hurt on the doll, instead of on themselves. It was supposed to be

easier on them. I wasn't sure if it would still work on Marie, she seemed to be fairly sensible and definitely interested in

medical science.

"Marie, did any of the people you were with hurt you?" Sally asked. Marie hesitated, then nodded.

"Can you point out to me on the doll here they hurt you?" Marie looked at the doll disdainfully, then stood up, walked over

to one of the walls and peered intently at a chart of the eye.

"Everywhere. Not all at the same time though. If I was bad, they hit me." she told us.

"Does anywhere hurt right now?" Sally asked. Marie shrugged, then shook her head.

"I'm going to get them to take a full body scan of you, just to make sure you don't have any broken bones that healed

wrongly. " she said, scribbling some more on Marie's chart.

"What about you Trowa?" she asked me.

"Just the back." I clarified.

"They hit him with a belt." Marie told Sally.

"I'll send you for that body scan as well, just to make sure." Sally announced, making some scribbles on my chart. I

shrugged. It wouldn't make much difference to me, and it wouldn't take too long I hoped. I wanted sleep in the worst way.

"Now Marie, this is very important. Do you know what rape is?" Sally asked, crouching down so she was at Marie's eye height.

Marie took this in, then nodded.

"I need to know, were you raped? It's not your fault if they did that to you, but I need to know so I can make sure you're

safe and healthy." she explained softly. I wasn't sure if I wanted an answer. Suspicion was bad enough. Marie confirmed it

out loud though, and if Walden or any of his cronies had have been there right then, I would have beaten them to a small

bloody pulp. And then wanted to do it again.

I heard movement, and then Sally was standing next to me again.

"What about you, Trowa? Did they rape you?" she asked me gently. I didn't know what to say.

"Does it have anything to do with the blood on your chin?" she asked, taking out a sample cloth and gently wiping it with

sterilised water. I was surprised how much pink came off. She put it in an evidence jar afterwards.

I resorted back to more formal terminology to hide my discomfort.

"I was not anally penetrated." I told her.

"What about orally?" she asked further. I shrugged, then realised she couldn't see that.

"I bit his tongue." I evaded.

"I'm glad you hurt him, but that does mean I'm going to have to monitor you for the next year as well. He may have been

carrying diseases in his blood that we can't detect yet." Ah, yes, the infamous spacers disease. Detectable only after a

three to nine month incubation period, lethal, very contagious and so far incurable. Joy.

Sally put up the screens again, around the bed, and I blocked off the sounds of what she was doing with Marie as best as I

could, covering my ears with my hands and covering my ears. I didn't need to hear this, and she didn't need me to hear this.

I opened and uncovered them again when someone tapped on my arm, and Sally told me it was my turn as Marie huddled down

into the chair next to the desk. She gave me a very gentle and thorough examination next, citing that she needed to make

sure everything was checked. Needless to say, I was very glad that was over.

As Sally scribbled some more, I straightened the paper gown as best I could while avoiding both the ladies eyes. She gave us

both a slip of paper, then handed us two bathrobes. Mine was too short and everything stuck out, and Marie was swamped in

hers. She then had two orderlies wheel us both to the scanning department, and ordered us to come back afterwards with the

results, despite my objections that I could walk. Marie seemed to enjoy the ride.

I saw Duo waiting outside on the way over, but no sign of Lady Une. Maybe he could tell me where she was. I wanted to get

this over with and admit to my failings as soon as possible. I hated this waiting. Duo wasn't there when the orderlies

brought us back. Scanning had taken a bare minute or so, and all we had had to do was get up and stand on the designated

place, so by the time we got back Sally had barely had time to update our charts with her findings and get out the next set

of instruments.

She slotted the chips with the results into the projector and a hologram of each of us came up, gender-neutralised of

course, though I knew she could turn that on if she had to. She quickly stripped back flesh, then blood vessels, muscles,

tendons and organs until finally she was down to the bare bones of each of us. Enlarging Marie's first, she zoomed in on

various area's and scribbled some more.

"Did you break your arm before or during this?" Sally asked.

"Before. I fell off the swings." Marie told her.

"And the rib?"

"I didn't know I'd broken a rib."

"It's mostly healed now, so I'm not going to wrap it, but this rib here." she zoomed in and pointed out one of the floating

ribs" was broken, I'd say about three or four weeks ago. Marie nodded and Sally zoomed back out, then brought up mine.

Ah, yes, I haven't had a look at my bones that often. I twas pretty clear though that I'd broken a few more than Marie had.

Or a lot more, I should say. Luckily Sally knew my bones better than I did, and had a copy of the previous scan to compare

it to.

"No new breaks for you Trowa." she told me.

"Well, the good news is that I've run the tests on your blood ad urine and neither of you is diabetic or pregnant, suffering

from any of the known STD's, mumps, measles, chickenpox, rubella or spacers disease." Sally announced, and Marie giggled.

"Trowa can't get pregnant!"

"No, but I promised I'd do anything I did on you on him first. There are still a few of the blood tests that will take a bit

longer to run, but I should have those results back in a few weeks. As it is I want to see you both back in five days to

take out the stitches and every three months for a year for blood tests. Trowa, you know how to keep the dressings clean,

right?" she asked me. Yes, we'd all done this before. I'd see to Marie's, though how I was going to manage my back was

beyond me. Maybe I could ask one of the others to come over and help.

Sally came up with some more injections, and I willingly held out my arm.

"I'm giving you both some tablets to follow up on the injections, just to stay on the safe side. " She told me as she gave

me as second jab. "And the painkiller I've given you should last you for at least eight hours. " Damn her, I still needed to

make a report! I could feel my brain turning into cotton wool though, as she gave Marie some as well. She then opened the

door and called Duo in, giving him some instructions. I'm not sure what, my brain had turned to rubber by now. I don't know

why, but I sat there watching him with this big goofy grin on my face. I could feel it, but I couldn't stop it. of course,

it didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes.

I know he came up to me and asked me something, but I can't tell you what I answered, or if it was coherent. All I know is

that Sally chuckled, as did he, and that his laughing made me smile as he led me out of the room.