Midge sat on a metal chair, his legs pulled up and his arms wrapped around them. He knew that deep down he was probably hungry and cold, but the only thing he felt was scared. The officers he'd been picked up by were actually no meaner than the ones he left behind at the store. The ride over had been fine until they turned the sirens on but even that hadn't been too bad.
When he arrived, they stripped him of his bracelet and shoes along with the few dollars he had in his pocket. Now he was sitting in a stupid cage and waiting. He heard footsteps and then looked up when a voice spoke to him.
"You can come make your phone call now. Follow me."
He trailed behind to a huge phone attached to the wall and simply stared at it. He had no idea what Scott's phone number was, it was just in his phone, already programmed. "Can you find a number for me?"
"Here's the book. You've got 2 minutes."
He opened it up, realizing it was alphabetical and looked frantically for Scott but he wasn't there. Then he realized the names were by last name first so he searched for Hoying and then Scott, but it proved useless. "He is not in this book."
"Can't help you. If you get booked you'll get a defender and he can help you. Let's go."
He sat back on his chair, his waiting broken by dinner being brought to him. He nibbled a bit but stopped when he heard his name. A moment later two guards were at his door.
"Medical exam, let's go."
One of the guards led him into a room only slightly larger than his cage while the other waited outside. There was a desk on one wall, a cabinet full of supplies, and a bed in the center.
"Put this on, Doc will be in shortly" the guard said, handing him a small robe.
Midge started to put it over his clothes until the guard stopped him.
"NO, strip and put it on."
"What is happening?"
"Medical exam, freak. Heard you have a tail. Now strip and put that on, times a-wasting."
Midge looked up from the floor for just a moment but couldn't face the guard. He quickly slid off his shirt and put the small robe on, then slipped his pants off. The door opened then as a middle-aged man walked in.
"I'm Doctor Kline. Lay on your front on the table."
"No, I .... but.... what are you going to do to me? May I ask?"
"It's just an exam. Lay down please."
He lay down stiffly and tried to relax, to calm his mind and go to his happy place. He thought of laying on Scott's couch, his head in his lap while they watched a movie. He tried to block out the feeling of the doctor's hands on him, pinching and prodding at the base of his tail.
"Midge?" Doctor Kline asked.
"Yes?"
"I asked if you can move it."
"I can move my tail."
"Show me."
He did, hearing the gasps from the group who were now assembled, filling in every corner of the room.
"Were you born with this tail?" the doctor asked.
"Yes."
"Please sit up so I can continue your examination."
Midge sat, his legs hanging over the edge of the table while people stared at him and watched everything the doctor did. His ears were found and released so they stood upright again. All 4 were thoroughly checked, and the doctor spent a long time looking at his ears and mouth, down his throat and into his nose.
"You are amazing. Please lay back."
His belly was prodded and poked, his peni$ and balls thoroughly examined before the doctor moved down to his as$. Apparently his legs were fairly uninteresting because that part went fairly quickly.
"Alright, you're finished. I'm going to swab your cheek and draw some blood and then you will return to your cell."
He watched the blood slowly filling vial after vial. He thought he was done after the fifth but the doctor simply switched arms and filled 3 more.
"He will need to be escorted. He may be a bit light-headed so please watch him carefully. Make sure he is fed and has enough blankets to stay warm." Doctor Kline told the guards.
"Let's go, pussy boy" the guard joked, grabbing Midge by the elbow.
He was almost glad to see his cage again. He was cold and tired, so he curled into a ball on the smelly, bumpy mattress and cuddled under his thin blanket. He wished he had a pillow to hold but he didn't even have one for his head. It was okay, he had been through much, much worse. He told himself that repeatedly and even though it was true, it did little to ease the sadness or fear.
He wondered where Scott was, if he was warm at home and snuggling Wyatt. He wondered if he would look for him, and if he would be allowed to go back if Scott managed to find him. He finally fell asleep thinking about him, pretending that the cold wall at his back was instead his Scott, here with him.