*Shaun's POV*
It's a normal day. November 17th. I forgot my umbrella. Dr. Glassman told me to just buy a new one, but I already have one. He told me to buy a raincoat. I told him I already have one. Then he offered me a ride home so I don't have to wait in the rain for the bus. I told him okay.
It's raining. I already knew that because I watch the weather channel. I forgot my umbrella. I should thank Dr. Glassman at lunch for offering me a ride. The rain smells like wet cigars and I don't want my clothes to smell like wet cigars. Laundry day is Sunday. And it's Wednesday.
I see Claire walking towards me as I enter the cafeteria. She smiles and then frowns,
"Why is your hair still wet?"
I tense up a little and don't reply. She catches herself and states, "Your hair is wet. I don't know why."
I answer, "I forgot my umbrella. I was busy fixing my cupboard." She laughs and asks,
"Is that why you were late?" I don't answer directly but I nod back.
Claire looks at her phone and says, "Well my break is almost over. I'll see you later Shaun." I watch her walk out the double doors behind me and step into the elevator. After the elevator doors closed I slowly brought my hand up from my side and wiggled it. But she didn't see since she was most likely already on the first floor.
"Shaun!" I hear someone call. I turn around and I see Dr. Glassman waving me over to his table. I look up at the cafeteria clock and realize I'm four minutes late. I walk over and sit down. He sets down a sandwich platter in front of me and I open my mouth to ask if he checked for pickles, but he cuts me off and states, "I've already checked." I shut my mouth.
"I'm four minutes late. I'm sorry." I say before picking up the fork and knife to eat. He shakes his head, "It's okay Shaun. It made my day to see you talking with people."
I give a short nod and state, "Claire is nice. I like her."
He raises a brow and asks, "Like? Or like-like?"
I shake my head and say, "We're just friends. She knows how to talk to me." He gives me a warm smile and I continue, "Thank you for offering me a ride."
Dr. Glassman shrugs, "It's no big deal." he picks up his sandwich and we eat in silence. At the end he asks, "How is everything going?"
I stiffen and he notices, he rephrases his question and states, "I hear you are doing well. Tell me how you feel lately."
I reply, "It's good. Everyone likes me. Even Dr. Melendez. He says I have a cool head. I told him that his head is cool too." Dr. Glassman laughs and chokes a little on his food. "What's funny? Did I make a joke?" I ask.
He explains, "I think he meant that you are cool-headed. Meaning you don't crack easily under stressful situations. Not that- oh god! (he laughs more)."
We throw away our trash together and I head back to the computer lab on the first floor to print up a file of a patient scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I need the file to know what the surgery is for. I step out of the elevator and turn to my right. At the end of the corridor is a computer room that is rarely used. It will be private and no one will steal the printer. As I passed by a room on my left there were ear-piercing screams inside and four nurses sprinted out. A security guard also sprinted out and tried to shut the door. A girl pushed against it and managed to slip out and dash down the hallway on all fours. I stand there trying to make sense of what was going on.
Dr. Melendez runs out of the same elevator I just came out of and spots me standing in the corridor. He shouts, "Murphy! Don't just stand there we have a code green!"
I follow him to the entrance and two security guards are holding down the girl. I observe her. She is covered head to toe in filth. Infected cuts and rashes covered her arms and legs. One of the guards grab the girl's arm, causing her to scream and try to bite his hand. Claire come up from behind me and is holding a syringe.
"Browne, hurry and give her some sedative. Then I want you and some nurses to take her to a private examination room." Dr. Melendez ordered. Claire nods and the guards forcibly hold the girl in place until the shot was given. In a couple of minutes the screeching girl went limp and nurses rushed forward to carry her away. Dr. Glassman came shortly and apologized for the trouble. He caught my eye and told me, "Go check on how the girl's doing. Make sure she doesn't escape the room again." I nod and make my way back to the private examination room. Cautiously, I open the door and poke my head inside. Claire looks up from what she was doing and greets, "Hi Shaun. Come over here and help me clean her wounds up." I sit down on the other side of the bed and assist. Claire shakes her head and murmurs, "Poor baby."
I correct, "She's not a baby. She's a child."
Claire gives me a look I don't understand, "You know what I mean."
I didn't know what she meant, but I kept my mouth closed. I ask, "Are her parents here? They must be worried. She is severely injured." Claire shakes her head and says, "We don't know Shaun. She just arrived in an ambulance unconscious. So far we know nothing about her."
"We could run a DNA test." I suggest. The door opens and two people walk in; one is Dr. Melendez and the other is wearing a social services vest. Dr. Melendez speaks first, "No need Dr. Murphy. We know who she is."
The man from social services says, "Her name is Amelia Warren. We received a call this morning from neighbors when they've been hearing non-stop screaming for a week. We couldn't find the father on the property, but found her in the basement of the house with several dozen other dogs. It appears that her father was secretly in the dog farming business."
I'm still focusing on cleaning the girl's wounds, if they are not treated immediately bacteria will start to permeate the bloodstream and then we will be forced to amputate her limbs. Claire on the other hand gapes up at the men in shock and then looks back at Amelia's face, then she turns back to them. "Oh my god. This is- um. What's gonna happen now?"
"Social services will investigate the house and police will interrogate the parents. Then she will be sent to live with relatives or be adopted."
It wasn't the social service worker that spoke though, it was me. They looked at me in shock and the social service worker confirmed, "Yes... that's correct."
Claire asks me, "How do you know that?"
When I didn't respond she repeats, "You know the process. And I don't."
I answer, "Something like this happened to my brother and I. My rabbit went to heaven. We ran away. My brother went to heaven. Police brought me home. I refused. I had no relatives. So Dr. Glassman took me in." the room is silent as I finished cleaning her wounds up. "All done."
The girl lets out something similar to a whimper and shifts in bed. I remark, "She's waking up."
Dr. Melendez gives me a look I don't know, but I've seen that look before. He comments, "Thank you Captain Obvious."
"Your welcome." I state. Claire gives Dr. Melendez a look I don't understand. The girl's eyes open and she sees the four of us in the room. She let's out a low growl and struggles against the restraints. "Give her more sedative. Then we can continue examining her for any further injuries." Dr. Melendez orders. I reply, "We can't give her more. She's a child."
Claire explains, "That last shot should've knocked her out for at least another two hours. We can't afford to give her anymore without risking the chance of cardiac arrest."
"Which can be fatal for her in her weakened state." Dr. Melendez concludes. Claire asks, "So what should we do?"
I suggest, "We could try to calm her down."
The girl screams and shakes the bed with her tantrum. Causing all of us to take a step back.
"Or we can wait till she falls asleep." Claire adds.
Dr. Melendez turns to me and says, "I'm making you stay here and watch her like a hawk. Page me the second she falls asleep. I'll take on the examination from there."
The girl snarls and snaps at Claire and I. Claire's eyes widen and she whispers to me, "If you really need help, call me and I'll bring Jared to assist." She smiles and pats my shoulder, "Good luck."
I respond, "Luck does not exist. I still have a 50% chance of getting rabies." She laughs and asks, "Was that a joke?"
I shrug, "Maybe?"
Dr. Melendez, Claire, and the social worker left the room quickly as the girl roared at them. I sit down next to her and she immediatley tries to bite me. I sit still and stare at her. Grabbing the washcloth and bowl of warm water, I slowly clean the dirt. Usually the nurses would do this, but I don't think they would come in. She snarls and growls but I continue dabbing the cloth into the water and softly wiping her pale skin. I started at her feet, which were luckily tied to the railings of the bed. She squirmed but quickly calmed down at the soothing motion.
As I continued, I spoke softly to her, "You are very filthy. It is very likely your wounds are infected. They must hurt." She lets out a low whine. I finish her legs and feet. I observe her arms and carefully clean around the scratches, so she won't yelp. She snaps at my hand when I accidentally wipe over one of the stitched wounds. Luckily I withdrew my hand in time.
"That wasn't nice." I state. She growls. I finish wiping around her raw hands and grab a new cloth. "I'm going to clean your face now." I say, before slowly wiping a cheek. By now she looked very calm and let me brush her forehead. She makes small sounds and her eyelids droop. I grab a pair of scissors next to me and her eyes fly open once more. She screams and I put the scissors away. I hold up my hands, showing there is nothing in them.
"I'm not going to hurt you. You are safe." I say. She squirms against the restraints again and bares her teeth. Jared opens the door and I walk outside.
"You made good progress there Shaun." he comments. I ask, "How long were you watching?" He shrugs and says, "Well I saw her calm down around you. Which is a different response for once."
I ask, "What does that mean?"
Jared shrugs and hands me a file, I open it and quickly scan the information. He responds, "Nothing, just I'm glad you're okay. You need help?" I shake my head no. He purses his lips and nods, "Yeah well okay, just be careful. Dr. Melendez won't be pleased if he finds out you lost an arm."
I ask incredulously, "Why would I lose an arm?" He opens his mouth, closes it, then finally says, "Oh well, um, never mind. Be careful. Call us if you need anything."
I reply, "Okay. Thank you for your concern." He leaves and goes back up the elevator. I go back inside the room and the girl snaps her focus towards me. "Hello. I never introduced myself. My name is Dr. Shaun Murphy, I am a resident at St. Bonaventure Hospital."
She doesn't move and her facial expression doesn't change.
I add, "I know your name already. You are Amelia Warren. Age 7. Caucasian female. Height 3 ft and 4in. Weight 41 pounds." I pick up the scissors again and she growls, then tugs at the restraints. I explain, "I am going to cut your hair. I will not hurt you if you don't move."
I sit down next to her and show her the scissors. She watches them warily and continues squirming. I look at her hands writhing in the restraints. I untie the restraints of her hands and her left foot. But I leave the right foot tied so she can't try to run. She scoots away from me on the bed and frantically waves her arms to ward off the scissors.
"You are scared. That is normal. I don't like haircuts either. Can I cut your hair?" I ask.
She shakes her head no. I hold the scissors up to her, "Do you want to cut it yourself?"
She shakes her head no.
"I need to cut your hair so I can check for head injuries. You are too unstable to go into an MRI. I'm sorry, I must cut your hair." I explain, "It will not hurt."
"I promise." I state. She doesn't move this time so I moved in to cut her hair. I gently hold a lock of hair up and slowly snip the tangled clumps. She flinches at each snip and tries to back away, causing me to accidentally tug her hair. She screeches and savagely bites my hand. I drop the scissors on the floor and speed walk out of the room. I carefully lock it shut and run almost immediately into Dr. Melendez. He sees my bleeding hand and his eyes widen.
"You need help taking care of that Murphy?" He asks in concern. I shake my head and reply, "It hurts. But I'm a doctor. I can take care of it myself."
"Well if you need extra help grab a nurse or one of your colleagues." He continues on his way and turns a corner down another hallway.
I stand there in the corridor. Still a little stunned from how Amelia Warren; age 7, caucasian female, height 3 ft and 4in, weight 41 pounds; was able to snap at my hand so quickly without me even able to react. After several futile tries to tend the bite wound on my own, I follow Dr. Melendez's advice and grab a nurse.
And the nurse definitely does not own an umbrella, because her clothes are still slightly damp, which causes it to smell like rain, which reminds me of old wet cigars.
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A/N: Comments and suggestions are always appreciated! If you thought the writing quality in this chapter was weird, read it again with Shaun's voice speaking in your head. I thought it would be a good idea to capture a story from his point of view. Thank you!~