7/21/2019: Updated to the published version.
James carried Leah's limp form to the scanner himself. He joined Doc in the control room, and whenever she needed to be moved, he did it himself. When the scans were complete, he brought her back to her room and laid her in the bed. He tucked her in and sat beside her.
Doc came in later and told James the good news. "She's in very good health overall. I didn't find anything wrong on the scans, but we still need to do a gynecological exam."
"Why?"
"We need to get a PAP smear. It's the best way to detect abnormal cells, which are the first sign of cervical cancer. Might be best to do it while she's out."
James thought about it. "Can't it wait if it's just about early detection? I just mean like a few weeks."
Doc nodded. "I suppose, but it's quick, and if she's going to fight it, I'd rather do it with her unconscious."
"Won't she know?"
"She'd probably feel a little sore, yeah."
James shook his head. "Then, no. She'd feel violated. It would take me ten times as long as it's already going to take before she lets me touch her. I want her to trust me."
Doc nodded.
After a moment, James added, "Besides, won't the exam be easier for her if she's been sexually active for a while?"
"It will. It may have hurt her before because she was unaccustomed to being stretched open."
James smiled. "I can fix that."
Doc laughed.
James thought of something else. "Can you tell from the scans if she is a virgin?"
"No." Doc smiled. "Just treat her like one regardless."
James nodded and smiled. He stayed by Leah's side and read a book until she woke up a couple of hours later. He heard her groan and was instantly by her side again.
* * * *
Leah opened her eyes, feeling very groggy. She looked up at James and frowned. She mentally checked through her body, sensing if there were any indications that they had done anything to her. It was a great relief not to feel any soreness, especially between her legs.
James smiled down at her and brushed his fingers through her hair. "Feeling okay?"
She answered, "I feel drunk," croaking through her parched throat.
James got her some water, which she drank down greedily. He refilled it again. "I'll get Doc and some dinner for you."
"I'm not hungry," she said as he left the room, but he didn't acknowledge it.
He returned with Doc about fifteen minutes later and laid a tray on a table, which he then pushed over her lap. He raised the back of the bed so she could sit up. He took the cover off the tray, and she looked at it. It was steak, potatoes, and broccoli. It looked good, but she wasn't hungry. She was too nervous, worried that they had found the Depo Prevera in her system. She looked at Doc.
Doc smiled at her. "You are in good health generally, Leah. I found nothing to worry about, but you need to gain weight. I believe your low body fat is to blame for your lack of periods. This was common among female athletes like gymnasts before the plague. Have you always been so thin?"
She nodded.
"And you've been exercising a lot, doing manual labor?"
She nodded again.
"You need to stop that, no need for it now that you're with us. You're protected here. I want you to eat several meals throughout the day. They can be small, you don't have to stuff yourself, but they should be high in good fats. I'll want you back weekly for weight checks. When you put on some weight, your periods will start."
She was relieved that he had found an answer, but she knew it was the wrong one. If she did gain weight and her periods still didn't start, which they wouldn't, he would begin searching for another answer. He'd probably find it too. The Depo had stopped them.
She didn't say anything, and James was looking at her curiously. "Aren't you relieved?"
She shook her head slightly, and James frowned.
"Is it because you don't believe that is the answer?"
She thought, No, but nodded because that was an answer he would obviously accept.
He gave her a little smile. "Only one way to find out." He unrolled the silverware from the napkin and put the napkin on her lap. "Eat up."
"My stomach is upset."
James looked at Doc who said, "Probably an after effect of the sedative. You'll feel better if you eat."
"I don't think I can."
James picked up the knife and fork and began cutting the steak into small bites. "Try. Just eat a bite at a time and see if it helps."
She shook her head no.
He coaxed, "Come on, Leah, it's steak. When was the last time you had steak?"
"Last night."
He tilted his head. "Seriously?"
"Cows are everywhere."
He smiled. "You killed a cow?"
She nodded like it was no big deal, because it wasn't to her. He looked impressed, and she frowned. She didn't want to impress him.
"Okay. So you like steak enough to kill a cow yourself." He stabbed a small piece of meat and held it towards her mouth. "Try it."
"Can I have my backpack now?"
James frowned. "Why?"
"I want my photo album." She really just wanted to make sure she still had possession of the pack since she hadn't seen it since the truck. Wanting her album was a better excuse since he hadn't wanted to give her the clothes. Most people had kept photos only electronically, but Leah had wanted to make a scrapbook when she was in her early teens. She had continued adding to it, only the best pictures from the thousands that had been taken, and now it was something she treasured.
He raised the fork again. "Try a bite, and I'll get it. I'll let you look at it as long as you keep taking bites now and then. Deal?"
Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment, but she opened her mouth. James fed her the small piece of steak. She took it and began to chew. It was missing the creole seasoning she usually put on it but otherwise good. He set down the fork and left the room.
Doc was still there. She looked at him. He said, "James is good man, Leah. Let him take care of you."
"I can take care of myself."
"Not well enough to avoid being caught by him, right?"
She frowned. "He doesn't play fair. He lies."
"What did he lie to you about?"
"He said if I told him I wanted to be left alone, he would go. Then he said he wouldn't knock me off my bike. He didn't go, and he did knock me off my bike."
Doc smiled. "That was while he was trying to catch you. He'd have done what he had to do. Tell him now that honesty is important to you, and I bet he won't lie to you again."
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it because James came through the door just then. Doc took his leave and disappeared quietly. James had her black backpack with him. She sat up more and held her hands out.
He put the pack on the sofa. "Take another bite."
She frowned but did so. He opened the pack and began to take things out of it. She gulped the half-chewed steak down, panicking. "Hey! That's my stuff!"
He smirked. "Just checking for more weapons, dearest." He laid out her clothes, energy bars, vitamins, and photo album across the sofa. Then he opened the cigar box and pawed through it.
She said, "Careful!" because that box contained all her mementos, and some were fragile.
Apparently finding nothing dangerous in there, he closed it and set it down. He took the towel out of the bottom and shook it out. There was nothing inside it. He turned the pack itself upside down, shook it several times, and felt around inside. Leah felt panic rising up from her stomach. She held her breath and willed her stitches to stay in place. They held, and he set the pack down on the sofa. He picked the photo album up and brought it to her, but he stopped short.
He asked, "What's wrong? You're white as a ghost."
She forced herself to relax. "I was afraid you would break something." She would not be telling him that honesty was important to her, since she planned on lying to him frequently.
"If it didn't break when the bike fell, it's hardly going to break from my touching it. Everything in the box looked okay to me."
She consciously let out a relieved breath and held her hand out again.
"Take another bite." He smiled at her.
She frowned but did so as he pulled up a chair, set the album on the bed beside her hip, and opened it up. She looked down at the first photo as she chewed.
He asked, "Your parents?"
"Yes." That picture had been taken on their wedding day.
"What were their names?"
"John and Jenny."
He smiled. "J's, isn't that a coincidence?" He started to turn the page but stopped. "Try the potatoes."
"Are you going to make me eat for every photo?"
He grinned. "No, just every page turn."
She narrowed her eyes at him but put a small clump of potatoes in her mouth. They were smooth and tasted of cream and butter. She hadn't had fresh dairy products in a very long time, and it tasted amazing. They went through the book that way. She had to keep up the pretense but also found it soothing to look at the pictures of her family and remember better times.
The next two pages showed pictures of her mother pregnant and the boys as tiny tots. Then there were several pages of the boys as small children. One of them had dark hair, and the other was almost blonde. James asked, "These are your brothers?"
She nodded. "That's Frank with the dark hair and Benji with the blonde."
Another page turn showed Jenny pregnant again, turned to the side and showing how big she was. Then there was baby Leah with a full head of dark hair. James grinned. "You were born with all that hair?"
"So they tell me."
When they got to the pictures of her from two to six years old, James kept glancing up at her with a silly smile on his face. Finally, she asked, "What?"
"You were incredibly cute, Leah."
She didn't say anything to that. There was a picture of her sitting on Frank's shoulders. It was one of her favorite pictures, and she lifted her hand to touch the photograph through the protective film. The hole in her heart ached when she thought about her brothers. Suddenly, she turned the page herself, and James let her. He didn't make her eat for that one.
The next page had a picture of her parents dancing together. James smiled again. "Were your parents very much in love, Leah?"
"Yes. They were always like teenagers, dancing, kissing in front of us. Benji would say ewww or TMI, but they just laughed. It was nice really, to see them so much in love, and they loved all of us. They were the best parents."
"I'm glad you had them. You'll be a great mom too, Leah. They showed you how."
Leah frowned. She stuffed a big forkful of potatoes into her mouth and flipped a chunk of the book over, skipping a bunch of pages. James raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything.
The photographs in the new section were of the kids in their early teens. They were on some different boats, fishing, and in front of a fishing camp on the water. James grinned and asked, "You fish?" She gave him a look that said 'obviously' and pointed to one where she was pulling up a big redfish at the end of a line. "But you like it?"
"Yes, I liked being out there, on the water, even more than the actual fishing. I've always liked water."
"You swim?"
"Of course."
"We could get a house with a swimming pool later if you like."
She didn't want to even think about living with the man. "I prefer swimming in open water - oceans, rivers, and lakes." They looked through photographs of the three teens hunting with their father as well. James gave her another smile but didn't say anything that time.
They came to an 8x10 of Leah dressed for prom. She was wearing a royal blue, strapless dress with a lacy skirt that puffed out from her waist. The skirt didn't reach her knees. Below it, she was wearing black patterned hosiery and royal blue high heels. Matching blue, elbow length gloves were on her arms. One hand was fisted at her waist and she was leaning over slightly, giving the camera flirty attitude. The whole ensemble and her poufy hair were very 1980's, since that was the theme for prom.
James pulled the book back and looked closely at the picture. "Holy moley. Leah! I thought you were a tomboy?"
She reached for the book, but he held it out of her reach, continuing to stare at the picture. "It was prom."
"Look at your breasts, and those legs." He peered at her, at least what he could see of her in the bed, which wasn't much because the tray table was over her. He grinned at her anyway and looked back at the picture. "I don't suppose you still have this dress?"
"No. Give it back." She reached for it again.
He reluctantly set the book back by her hip, but she tried to turn another large group of pages over, so he pulled it away again. "Uh uh." He turned to the next page. His jaw dropped again, and he put his nose in the book. She couldn't see what he was looking at, but she knew there were more pictures of her in that dress, at the prom, with friends, and her date, on those pages.
He turned the book around, holding it up for her to see, but still out of her reach. His finger was pressing on the professional photo of Leah and her date in front of the themed background. "Who's this?"
"My date. It was junior prom."
His eyebrow rose, just on the left side, and she wondered how he did that. He did it often actually. He said, "There's a senior prom?" like she had been keeping the Holy Grail from him.
"Of course."
He glanced back at the book. "Don't change the subject. What was your date's name? Was he your boyfriend?"
She frowned at him and wondered if he was jealous. "Brad, and yeah, I guess. We dated for a couple of months at the end of junior year."
"Was it serious?"
"No." She wasn't volunteering any more. That seemed to satisfy him, and he turned the page again. She knew there were pictures of her friends on those pages, casual times when they were just out having fun. She would be back in jeans and T-shirts in those photos. He pointed out another guy who had his arm around her. "What about this one?"
"Tom."
"Boyfriend?"
She frowned at him. "You really are obsessed, aren't you?"
He grinned at her. "Yes. Answer the question."
"No." She meant she wouldn't answer the question, but he took it as the answer and proceeded forward. He came to the senior prom photos. She knew it because his jaw dropped again. His fingers ran over the page, and a shiver ran through her body as if he had caressed her. It made her fidget and move around in the bed. "James," she complained.
He grinned at her and showed her the page he was looking at. Leah was pictured in a slinky, red, satin dress with a slit straight up to her thigh. Her hair was down and straight there, pulled over one shoulder. He pointed to the one where she was with her date. The young man's arms were wrapped around her waist, and his cheek was pressed against her hair, as they both smiled at the camera. "This one?"
She refused to do more than glance at the photograph. Instead, she looked at James. "None of your business."
"Oh, he was definitely your boyfriend."
"What makes you think that?"
He grinned. "He's tall and skinny. He was your scrawny geek. Wasn't he?"
She frowned at him and said, "None of your business," again. "I don't want to look at it anymore. Put it away."
He looked so saddened by this request, giving her puppy dog eyes. "Awww, come on, Leah. I wanna look. We're almost done." He flipped through the next several pages at a quicker pace. He seemed to have forgotten entirely about making her eat.
When he came to the most recent pictures at the back, he turned the book around again. "Is this Benji?"
She nodded. "He's all grown up there."
"He was a big man."
"Still is, as far as I know."
"Didn't he die in the plague?"
"I'm not sure, but I don't think so. He's why I came to Texas, to look for him. He wasn't in his house, no body either. I thought he might have gone to New Orleans to look for me. I had left a note at my house. I kept leaving notes for him, still do."
James gave her a sad look. "Surely he would have found you by now then."
She said defensively, "I think he found my note, knew I was safe, and went to New York for Frank."
"Easy, girl. I'm not telling you to give up hope."
"I won't. He's going to find my last note and come bust me out of here."
James fought a smile but wasn't entirely successful. "Your brother is welcome here, but he isn't taking you anywhere." He pointed out another grown man. "Frank?"
She nodded again. Frank was a big man too, muscular, like James actually. James closed the book and looked at her plate. She had gotten down about half the food. James offered, "I'll let you look through the box if you eat some more."
She shook her head. "I'm stuffed."
He nodded and put the album on the sofa. "Ready for sleep then?"
She shook her head. The sedative had worn off now that she had eaten, and she had slept six hours under its influence. "I'm not tired, but I would like another shower."
He smiled. "All right, but afterwards you go to bed."
She frowned. "I'd also like you to stop bossing me around."
He grinned. "What do I get in exchange for that?"
"I might hate you a little less."
He laughed. "I'll wait for a better offer then." He pulled the table away from her bed and helped her up. He was still smiling as he tugged her against his body and wrapped his arms around her.
She felt air on her backside and only then noticed her second hospital gown was missing. She reached back, trying to bring the closure together. "Where is my second gown?"
"I took it off before I put you in the scanner."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Did you look at me while I was unconscious?"
He smiled again. "Of course. I was watching over you the whole time."
She kept one hand on the material at her back and tried to push him away with the other. "You know what I mean."
Still smiling, he said, "I only took the second gown off, not the first, and only because you were getting tangled up. When I see you naked for the first time, I want you conscious." He lowered his head to kiss her, but she turned her head, so he kissed her cheek. "You don't want to try to bite my tongue?"
"I'd rather take a shower."
He grinned. "I could join you if you like."
"No, thanks."
Still grinning, he let her go. She walked towards the sofa and reached to pick up her jeans and T-shirt, but he said, "You can't sleep in those Leah. Leave them. Get another gown."
"They're indecent."
He smiled. "Grab two again then. I'll get you some more clothes, including nightgowns, tomorrow." He joined her by the sofa and began to repack her bag, taking the clothes from her reach.
She sighed and went to the cabinet, got two gowns, and went to the shower. She spent another two hours under the hot spray and tried to think of a way out of this mess. The only thing she was able to come up with was a resolve to gather as much information as possible. Knowledge was power. She had to find out how well guarded the perimeter was, when the guards changed, and how people got past them.
When she returned to the room, James was gone and so was her pack. She was tired, and it was very late at night, or quite early in the morning depending on how you looked at it, so she did go to sleep.