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Alicin Wonderland
Part 5 - More Than Meets The Eye
by Lizz
1996—Day 1
Centre Infirmary
Exam Room 2
Once again, Alicin lay motionless on the table in the middle of the room, moderately sedated this time. Dr. Patrice dismissed the rest of the team for a half-hour break while she stayed at Alicin’s side. Earl quietly entered the room carrying two plastic basins, a small bottle of neutral pH skin cleanser, several washcloths and towels, and two long hospital gowns draped over his arm.
“Can I bring you something from the cafeteria, Dr. Patrice? Something to drink, maybe?”
“No, thanks, Earl. I’m fine for now.” She turned her head to look at him. “You know what you could do, though, is help me turn her so I can cut these pajamas off and get her ready for a bath.”
“At your service, Dr. Ma’am,” he said with a slight salute that drew a smile from the doctor. Twenty years on staff together permitted the occasional familiarity.
“Alicin? I’m Dr. Patrice and this is Earl.” Clearly, the young woman was not going to respond, but the doctor continued to speak slowly as if she could. “We’re going to help you turn over onto your stomach so we can get you out of these pajamas and into something more comfortable, but we need any help you can give us, okay? We’re starting now.”
Together Earl and the doctor slid Alicin to one edge of the table and folded the loose edge of the sheet back over her body to help stabilize the roll. “I’ll take care of her head and shoulders, Earl; you make sure her hips follow. Grip the sheet right about there, yes. I’ll push while you pull. On “three”…
When Alicin was finally in position, Dr. Patrice produced a pair of blunted scissors and cut the pajama shirt in half from neckline to hem and removed the two halves of the garment. Neither she nor her orderly were prepared for what they found. Alicin’s back was a canvas of deep scratches, bruises, scrapes and what appeared to be at least two bite marks on the top of one shoulder. The color of most of the bruises matched that of the four oval marks on Alicin’s left cheek. Some of the scrapes and scratches were red, indicating infection. Earl took in a sudden breath that made a hissing sound as it passed through his clenched teeth. Dr. Patrice’s stomach tightened. This was not what she had expected at all. She hooked two fingers under the elastic of the pants and lifted the waistband--more of the same. She heaved a sigh. “Oh, dear Jesus!” was all she could say. It was a prayer.
“Earl?”
“Yes, Doctor?” He was almost sure he knew what the doctor was going to say.
“I have to ask you to step back from this case for awhile, Earl. I know what it may sound like, but this…this just …“
“It’s okay. I know what you’re getting at. I saw enough in five years in the ER at Chicago Mercy to guess what this is. She’s not going to want to see my face when she wakes up.”
“Probably not. I’m sorry, Earl. You know how vital you are to this unit. I just don’t know what else to tell you.”
“Then tell me what I can do. I really don’t want to be reassigned, Doctor. If there is anything I can do behind the scenes, just name it. And I mean…anything. Something I can do, something I can find for you,” and here he leaned closer to Dr. Patrice and lowered his voice to just above a whisper, “someone you want me to find for you, just name it. You’ll have it.” He held the doctor’s gaze with his own for longer than was customary, just to make his point. Dr. Patrice was taken aback by Earl’s candor. She didn’t speak for a moment.
“Very well, you’re still active. And I think I know where you can begin.”
“Name it.”
“You have to admit there’s a lot about this situation that doesn’t add up yet and if Raines is in it there’s reason for caution.”
“Agreed.”
“I want Alicin quartered in the room that adjoins my office. For starters, you can turn it into a hospital room: bed, monitors, medical supplies, communications, video feed to the duty desk and anything else you can think of that I missed. Oh…that reminds me, Sydney is sending us Mr. Broots and a sweeper named Sam to set up security. Do you know them?”
“I have lunch with Broots a couple of times a week when we can get away. Our girls are about the same age. Sam I only know by reputation. I hear the Centre recruited him right out of the Citadel. On the wrestling team, I think. Also a martial arts trainer his junior and senior years. Tough cookie from what I hear.” Dr. Patrice was bemused by the revelations.
“They’re going to draw up a security plan for us. Look for them close to 3:00. I’d like you to show them around the unit. Then let them see Alicin’s room. They get full cooperation on this, Earl. Let me know as soon as the room is ready.” The doctor paused a moment to shift her train of thought. “While you work on that, we’ll take care of …this.” She was studying the damage to Alicin’s back. “Would you round up the others for me?” Earl nodded and left the room to page the team. Dr. Patrice finished removing the pajamas and covered Alicin with a soft cotton sheet.
=====
Dr. Patrice instructed her three associates to scrub for Alicin’s examination. She handed Joanna a clipboard that held an outline drawing of a human body, front and back views, and a pen with red ink at one end and blue at the other to record cuts and bruises.
“Just so you know, Alicin’s injuries are more extensive than we thought earlier. Joanna, you and I will be cataloging the surface injuries. Elinore and Naomi, I want you to bag her hands until you’re ready to take evidence from her fingernails.” The others exchanged glances at the word ‘evidence’.
Dr. Patrice tried to keep her voice steady as she continued. “Beginning now, we treat this as an assault.” Naomi had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realized where this examination could be headed. The doctor’s next order confirmed the nurse’s suspicion. “Elinore, call forensics and have them send us a rape kit-tell them we need it yesterday! Also tell them to send us a photographer. Then order up the portable x-ray unit.” Dr. Patrice exposed Alicin’s back to the waist as Elinore took a step toward the phone. One second later, Naomi tore off her mask and raced to the trash canister, where she presently gave up her lunch.
Joanna shouted, “Naomi!”
The nurse coughed and panted as she replied, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. “
“Deep breaths, Naomi! Deep breaths!” Dr. Patrice called out. “Elinore! Help her.” Naomi’s stomach contracted once more eliciting a string of strangled coughs and more panting. Elinore was at her friend’s side in an instant, wrapping one arm around Naomi’s waist and supporting her head with the other. Naomi was crying now.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Gracie. I’m so sorry,” she sobbed and rocked herself.
“Shh, shh, shh, it’s okay.”
“No! No! She needs me!” Naomi wailed on her way to losing control of her emotions completely.
“Naomi!” Elinore shouted.
“What?” came the choked reply.
“Just. Shut up. And breathe,” she said quietly, as she rubbed her friend’s back and placed a comforting kiss at the nape of her neck. This day, Elinore thought dryly, has turned into a train wreck.
=====
“Are you sure you don’t want help with that?” Dr. Patrice had offered to call for someone to assist Elinore, now that Naomi was in an unassigned room recovering from her near meltdown. The young nurse declined and set about collecting scrapings, swabs and other evidence to send off to forensics while the doctor completed the internal examination. Each sample was labeled, signed and logged to provide an unbroken chain of possession between E2 and the forensics lab on SL-3. Dr. Patrice would ask Earl to deliver the evidence.
It seemed that eternity had come and gone before the examination was finished. Joanna blinked back tears as she plotted Alicin’s injuries on the clipboard chart. The x-ray technician spent nearly thirty minutes exposing films. The photographer snapped three rolls of film showing injuries, placing a ruler next to each mark for perspective. Dr. Patrice kept her voice even while she described her findings into an overhead microphone. A medical secretary would transcribe the recording and issue a printed transcript within two hours of receiving it. When they had finished, no one moved to leave the room.
Dr. Patrice was first to speak. “You two may as well go home now. I can finish up here.”
“My shift’s not over yet,” Joanna observed. “Besides, Garrett’s going to a ball game tonight and the twins are spending the night out at the Rogers’ hunting camp. S’mores and all that, you know. I’ve got the evening to myself.”
“And you want me to believe that you want to spend it here?”
“What can I say?” She deadpanned. “Medicine is my life.”
“Nice try, Jo. I can’t ask you to do that. Go home.”
“You didn’t. And I’m staying.” The PA discarded her scrubs, put on fresh ones, and readied what she needed to bathe Alicin and dress her wounds. Dr. Patrice stared at her, trying to think of something to say.
“She’s not going to let you win this one, Doctor, and neither am I.” Elinore joined in. “We’re here for the duration.” And with that she bundled her scrubs tightly and lobbed them into the biohazard bin.
“Three points,” Dr. Patrice declared. “And don’t ever do that again!” she chided. “Since you insist, I’ll let you finish up here. I’m too tired to wrestle you two out the door. I need to find Sydney and bring him up to speed on this.” She turned and left without waiting for a reply.
“That’s Dr. Sydney to you, ma’am,” Joanna drawled in her best John Wayne voice. Elinore chuckled at the implication as they both turned their attention to Alicin.
=====
“Naomi?” Elinore whispered from the doorway. As her eyes were adjusting to the darkness of the room, Elinore could hear a low, pulsating moan from the direction of the bed. Her friend lay on top of the covers, curled into a tight tuck with her knees drawn up to her chin. “Naomi?” No response. After a few minutes, Elinore drew a chair to the bed and sat down. “Naomi, about what happened in E2?” Silence. “That wasn’t about Alicin, was it?” No answer. “Naomi, what is it?” No reaction. “ Is this about Sierra Leone?” Elinore knew a little of the civil war there.
Naomi drew in a ragged breath as she sat up and swung her long legs over the side of the bed. “I’ve not told anyone since it happened. I thought I had moved on.” She began to sob and lifted her hands to cover her face.
“From what?” Elinore gently urged her on.
With a sigh, she continued in her soft, accented voice. “When the rebels came to our village, no one was safe. They came at night and dragged the men and young boys to the front of the church. One by one they were asked to join the resistance and one by one those who refused were taken inside and killed. The soldiers used machetes to preserve their bullets. My sister Grace and I watched mother try to pull our father and brother away from them. When mamam fell, Grace ran to her and was dragged off by more soldiers. They were beating her when someone grabbed my arm and forced me under one of the houses to hide.
“I can still hear the people crying. No one dared come out in the daytime, so we hid under the houses and in the tall grass and gardens until the sun went down. There were so many dead! So many!” Elinore took her friend’s hands in her own and held them firmly.
“I found Grace. She was lying in a neighbor’s flower garden. She was…so…so...hurt. They beat her. They dragged her to…to…. They committed acts of unspeakable evil in that beautiful garden, and then they just left her to die. When Dr. Patrice drew back the sheet, I saw Grace. I was looking at her ebony skin bleeding from her abuse. I smelled the village and heard the crying. I felt the fear and the revulsion when I saw what they had done to her. Oh, God! I didn’t help her! She was right there in front of me and there was nothing I could do for her!”
Naomi slumped forward and Elinore stood to gather her friend into an embrace. “Sh…sh…sh,” She whispered in an attempt to calm the other woman’s sobs. “I’m sorry that your sister died the way she did, but what happened to her was not your fault. You were in grave danger as well. What happened was not your fault! It was Alicin in front of you in that room and you did help her. And you will help her again. It’s what you do. And you’re very good at it. Your work as a nurse is Grace’s legacy, Naomi.” The other woman was inconsolable. “Go ahead and cry it out.” She hugged Naomi tighter, smoothing her hair with one hand, as a sympathetic tear spilled onto her own cheek and raced to her chin. “I had no idea you were carrying all this around inside.”
=====
End Part 5
TBC
Feedback sought after
Part 5 - More Than Meets The Eye
by Lizz
1996—Day 1
Centre Infirmary
Exam Room 2
Once again, Alicin lay motionless on the table in the middle of the room, moderately sedated this time. Dr. Patrice dismissed the rest of the team for a half-hour break while she stayed at Alicin’s side. Earl quietly entered the room carrying two plastic basins, a small bottle of neutral pH skin cleanser, several washcloths and towels, and two long hospital gowns draped over his arm.
“Can I bring you something from the cafeteria, Dr. Patrice? Something to drink, maybe?”
“No, thanks, Earl. I’m fine for now.” She turned her head to look at him. “You know what you could do, though, is help me turn her so I can cut these pajamas off and get her ready for a bath.”
“At your service, Dr. Ma’am,” he said with a slight salute that drew a smile from the doctor. Twenty years on staff together permitted the occasional familiarity.
“Alicin? I’m Dr. Patrice and this is Earl.” Clearly, the young woman was not going to respond, but the doctor continued to speak slowly as if she could. “We’re going to help you turn over onto your stomach so we can get you out of these pajamas and into something more comfortable, but we need any help you can give us, okay? We’re starting now.”
Together Earl and the doctor slid Alicin to one edge of the table and folded the loose edge of the sheet back over her body to help stabilize the roll. “I’ll take care of her head and shoulders, Earl; you make sure her hips follow. Grip the sheet right about there, yes. I’ll push while you pull. On “three”…
When Alicin was finally in position, Dr. Patrice produced a pair of blunted scissors and cut the pajama shirt in half from neckline to hem and removed the two halves of the garment. Neither she nor her orderly were prepared for what they found. Alicin’s back was a canvas of deep scratches, bruises, scrapes and what appeared to be at least two bite marks on the top of one shoulder. The color of most of the bruises matched that of the four oval marks on Alicin’s left cheek. Some of the scrapes and scratches were red, indicating infection. Earl took in a sudden breath that made a hissing sound as it passed through his clenched teeth. Dr. Patrice’s stomach tightened. This was not what she had expected at all. She hooked two fingers under the elastic of the pants and lifted the waistband--more of the same. She heaved a sigh. “Oh, dear Jesus!” was all she could say. It was a prayer.
“Earl?”
“Yes, Doctor?” He was almost sure he knew what the doctor was going to say.
“I have to ask you to step back from this case for awhile, Earl. I know what it may sound like, but this…this just …“
“It’s okay. I know what you’re getting at. I saw enough in five years in the ER at Chicago Mercy to guess what this is. She’s not going to want to see my face when she wakes up.”
“Probably not. I’m sorry, Earl. You know how vital you are to this unit. I just don’t know what else to tell you.”
“Then tell me what I can do. I really don’t want to be reassigned, Doctor. If there is anything I can do behind the scenes, just name it. And I mean…anything. Something I can do, something I can find for you,” and here he leaned closer to Dr. Patrice and lowered his voice to just above a whisper, “someone you want me to find for you, just name it. You’ll have it.” He held the doctor’s gaze with his own for longer than was customary, just to make his point. Dr. Patrice was taken aback by Earl’s candor. She didn’t speak for a moment.
“Very well, you’re still active. And I think I know where you can begin.”
“Name it.”
“You have to admit there’s a lot about this situation that doesn’t add up yet and if Raines is in it there’s reason for caution.”
“Agreed.”
“I want Alicin quartered in the room that adjoins my office. For starters, you can turn it into a hospital room: bed, monitors, medical supplies, communications, video feed to the duty desk and anything else you can think of that I missed. Oh…that reminds me, Sydney is sending us Mr. Broots and a sweeper named Sam to set up security. Do you know them?”
“I have lunch with Broots a couple of times a week when we can get away. Our girls are about the same age. Sam I only know by reputation. I hear the Centre recruited him right out of the Citadel. On the wrestling team, I think. Also a martial arts trainer his junior and senior years. Tough cookie from what I hear.” Dr. Patrice was bemused by the revelations.
“They’re going to draw up a security plan for us. Look for them close to 3:00. I’d like you to show them around the unit. Then let them see Alicin’s room. They get full cooperation on this, Earl. Let me know as soon as the room is ready.” The doctor paused a moment to shift her train of thought. “While you work on that, we’ll take care of …this.” She was studying the damage to Alicin’s back. “Would you round up the others for me?” Earl nodded and left the room to page the team. Dr. Patrice finished removing the pajamas and covered Alicin with a soft cotton sheet.
=====
Dr. Patrice instructed her three associates to scrub for Alicin’s examination. She handed Joanna a clipboard that held an outline drawing of a human body, front and back views, and a pen with red ink at one end and blue at the other to record cuts and bruises.
“Just so you know, Alicin’s injuries are more extensive than we thought earlier. Joanna, you and I will be cataloging the surface injuries. Elinore and Naomi, I want you to bag her hands until you’re ready to take evidence from her fingernails.” The others exchanged glances at the word ‘evidence’.
Dr. Patrice tried to keep her voice steady as she continued. “Beginning now, we treat this as an assault.” Naomi had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realized where this examination could be headed. The doctor’s next order confirmed the nurse’s suspicion. “Elinore, call forensics and have them send us a rape kit-tell them we need it yesterday! Also tell them to send us a photographer. Then order up the portable x-ray unit.” Dr. Patrice exposed Alicin’s back to the waist as Elinore took a step toward the phone. One second later, Naomi tore off her mask and raced to the trash canister, where she presently gave up her lunch.
Joanna shouted, “Naomi!”
The nurse coughed and panted as she replied, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. “
“Deep breaths, Naomi! Deep breaths!” Dr. Patrice called out. “Elinore! Help her.” Naomi’s stomach contracted once more eliciting a string of strangled coughs and more panting. Elinore was at her friend’s side in an instant, wrapping one arm around Naomi’s waist and supporting her head with the other. Naomi was crying now.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Gracie. I’m so sorry,” she sobbed and rocked herself.
“Shh, shh, shh, it’s okay.”
“No! No! She needs me!” Naomi wailed on her way to losing control of her emotions completely.
“Naomi!” Elinore shouted.
“What?” came the choked reply.
“Just. Shut up. And breathe,” she said quietly, as she rubbed her friend’s back and placed a comforting kiss at the nape of her neck. This day, Elinore thought dryly, has turned into a train wreck.
=====
“Are you sure you don’t want help with that?” Dr. Patrice had offered to call for someone to assist Elinore, now that Naomi was in an unassigned room recovering from her near meltdown. The young nurse declined and set about collecting scrapings, swabs and other evidence to send off to forensics while the doctor completed the internal examination. Each sample was labeled, signed and logged to provide an unbroken chain of possession between E2 and the forensics lab on SL-3. Dr. Patrice would ask Earl to deliver the evidence.
It seemed that eternity had come and gone before the examination was finished. Joanna blinked back tears as she plotted Alicin’s injuries on the clipboard chart. The x-ray technician spent nearly thirty minutes exposing films. The photographer snapped three rolls of film showing injuries, placing a ruler next to each mark for perspective. Dr. Patrice kept her voice even while she described her findings into an overhead microphone. A medical secretary would transcribe the recording and issue a printed transcript within two hours of receiving it. When they had finished, no one moved to leave the room.
Dr. Patrice was first to speak. “You two may as well go home now. I can finish up here.”
“My shift’s not over yet,” Joanna observed. “Besides, Garrett’s going to a ball game tonight and the twins are spending the night out at the Rogers’ hunting camp. S’mores and all that, you know. I’ve got the evening to myself.”
“And you want me to believe that you want to spend it here?”
“What can I say?” She deadpanned. “Medicine is my life.”
“Nice try, Jo. I can’t ask you to do that. Go home.”
“You didn’t. And I’m staying.” The PA discarded her scrubs, put on fresh ones, and readied what she needed to bathe Alicin and dress her wounds. Dr. Patrice stared at her, trying to think of something to say.
“She’s not going to let you win this one, Doctor, and neither am I.” Elinore joined in. “We’re here for the duration.” And with that she bundled her scrubs tightly and lobbed them into the biohazard bin.
“Three points,” Dr. Patrice declared. “And don’t ever do that again!” she chided. “Since you insist, I’ll let you finish up here. I’m too tired to wrestle you two out the door. I need to find Sydney and bring him up to speed on this.” She turned and left without waiting for a reply.
“That’s Dr. Sydney to you, ma’am,” Joanna drawled in her best John Wayne voice. Elinore chuckled at the implication as they both turned their attention to Alicin.
=====
“Naomi?” Elinore whispered from the doorway. As her eyes were adjusting to the darkness of the room, Elinore could hear a low, pulsating moan from the direction of the bed. Her friend lay on top of the covers, curled into a tight tuck with her knees drawn up to her chin. “Naomi?” No response. After a few minutes, Elinore drew a chair to the bed and sat down. “Naomi, about what happened in E2?” Silence. “That wasn’t about Alicin, was it?” No answer. “Naomi, what is it?” No reaction. “ Is this about Sierra Leone?” Elinore knew a little of the civil war there.
Naomi drew in a ragged breath as she sat up and swung her long legs over the side of the bed. “I’ve not told anyone since it happened. I thought I had moved on.” She began to sob and lifted her hands to cover her face.
“From what?” Elinore gently urged her on.
With a sigh, she continued in her soft, accented voice. “When the rebels came to our village, no one was safe. They came at night and dragged the men and young boys to the front of the church. One by one they were asked to join the resistance and one by one those who refused were taken inside and killed. The soldiers used machetes to preserve their bullets. My sister Grace and I watched mother try to pull our father and brother away from them. When mamam fell, Grace ran to her and was dragged off by more soldiers. They were beating her when someone grabbed my arm and forced me under one of the houses to hide.
“I can still hear the people crying. No one dared come out in the daytime, so we hid under the houses and in the tall grass and gardens until the sun went down. There were so many dead! So many!” Elinore took her friend’s hands in her own and held them firmly.
“I found Grace. She was lying in a neighbor’s flower garden. She was…so…so...hurt. They beat her. They dragged her to…to…. They committed acts of unspeakable evil in that beautiful garden, and then they just left her to die. When Dr. Patrice drew back the sheet, I saw Grace. I was looking at her ebony skin bleeding from her abuse. I smelled the village and heard the crying. I felt the fear and the revulsion when I saw what they had done to her. Oh, God! I didn’t help her! She was right there in front of me and there was nothing I could do for her!”
Naomi slumped forward and Elinore stood to gather her friend into an embrace. “Sh…sh…sh,” She whispered in an attempt to calm the other woman’s sobs. “I’m sorry that your sister died the way she did, but what happened to her was not your fault. You were in grave danger as well. What happened was not your fault! It was Alicin in front of you in that room and you did help her. And you will help her again. It’s what you do. And you’re very good at it. Your work as a nurse is Grace’s legacy, Naomi.” The other woman was inconsolable. “Go ahead and cry it out.” She hugged Naomi tighter, smoothing her hair with one hand, as a sympathetic tear spilled onto her own cheek and raced to her chin. “I had no idea you were carrying all this around inside.”
=====
End Part 5
TBC
Feedback sought after
