Persistence

Madeline Series One-Shot #4

By Danielle Smiley-Face

~*~*~*~

Madeline put her dishes in the sink before heading to the living room to grab her school bag. Miss Parker didn’t hear her enter- she had her back turned and was bent at the waist, clutching her abdomen.

“Park, what’s wrong?” Madeline rushed to her side.

The woman straightened, slamming her impenetrable mask into place, “Just a little gas. I’m fine.”

Madeline’s grey eyes looked her over suspiciously. Knowing Parker as well as she did, she could easily see through the façade, identifying the real amount of pain her guardian was actually in.

“You’ve seemed stressed lately.  It could be your ulcer again. You need to go to the doctor.”

“Madeline, I’m fine.” she said through gritted teeth- from annoyance or pain, Madeline wasn’t sure.

“You still should get it checked out today.”

Miss Parker breezed by her with a glare that would make most people soil their pants and headed out the door without another word. Madeline just rolled her eyes and followed.

“What are you doing?” Miss Parker asked when Madeline opened the passenger side door.

“Going to the doctor with you.” Madeline said evenly as she got in and buckled her seat belt.

Madeline knew annoyance was heading towards anger but refused to back down.

“I told you, I! Don’t! Need! To! Go! To! The! Doctor!”

“Yeah, well, you are.” was the calm reply.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Park’s jaw clench as she put the car in reverse and peeled out of the driveway. The ride was silent and uncomfortable. For once, Madeline was at a loss about how to dissipate the tension. After what seemed like forever, they finally pulled into Miss Parker’s reserved spot. Not a word was spoken as they headed to Miss Parker’s office.

Madeline took a seat on the couch while Parker settled behind her desk. After a few minutes, she spoke without looking up from the file in front of her.

“You’re missing school for no reason, Madeline. I’m not going to the doctor.”

“I’m not leaving until you do.” Madeline replied resolutely, wishing she’d thought to grab a book on her way out of the house. She was beginning to think Park’s stubbornness rivaled her own.

She sat quietly on the couch for over an hour and a half, Miss Parker completely ignoring her. She saw, rather than heard, the sharp intake of breath as Park’s hand unconsciously went to her abdomen again for a brief second.

Madeline‘s quiet, “I saw that.” earned her a scorching glare. The girl refused to look away, their gaze finally broken by the phone ringing.

“WHAT?!” Miss Parker practically shouted.

It was certainly the harshest greeting Madeline had ever seen her use, and she felt bad to be the cause of the caller’s verbal lashing.

“Fine. I’ll be right there.” Park slammed the phone down and stalked from the room, Madeline right behind.

Broots and Sydney were bent over the tech’s computer when the women entered.

“Don’t ask.” Parker barked before they could open their mouths.

Madeline hung back out of earshot to give them some privacy. She had to resist the temptation to read their lips and see if they were talking about Jarod. The Pretender was the only one who knew her father had taught her the skill in grade school and she didn’t want to risk exposing the secret because it could come in handy someday.

She waited patiently against the wall across from the air vents while the three employees did their thing. After making sure they weren’t paying attention to her, she flashed a brief smile to the man peering out at her from behind the grate.

There was just enough light for her to see him sign, ^Miss Parker’s ulcer back.^

She used her body to shield her left hand so she could reply, ^Yes.^

^Miss Parker’s stubborn.^

^Yes.^ she lamented.

^Don’t give up.^ he encouraged her before slipping back into the shadows as Parker breezed by without so much as a glance at her ward.

Madeline waved at Broots and Sydney before hurrying after her. They made a brief stop in a part of SL-19 that Madeline wasn’t familiar with. She respectfully kept her distance until Park was finished and on the move again.

There was a small cluster of people waiting for the elevator when they arrived but they all could see the anger radiating off the fearsome Miss Parker and wisely decided to wait for the next one.

Madeline entered first and pushed the button that would deposit them in the medical wing. Miss Parker’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she pushed the button to return to her office.

Madeline felt the fear that had been with her since first seeing her guardian doubled over rising as they stood on opposite sides of the elevator Catherine Parker had been shot in.

“Please, Park--” she began.

“When we get back to my office, Sam is going to drive you home and you will go to school.”

“No, Park! You need to go to the doctor. I’m not leaving your side until you do.”

Parker stopped the elevator and turned towards her, furious.

“You do not tell me what to do.” Park’s words were harsh and deliberate, she had never spoken to Madeline like that before.

“So, what?” Madeline said with a quiver in her voice caused by equal amounts fear for her death and wrath. “Your ulcer ruptures again and when you fucking flatline again and they can’t revive you, what the hell’s going to happen to me?”

It was the first time in their three years together that Miss Parker had ever heard Madeline swear, and that more than anything gave her pause.

“I’m not going to die.”

Tears filled the teenager’s eyes as she remembered the last time Parker‘s ulcer acted up.

“This is how it started last time and you know it. You ignored it and look what happened. You needed emergency surgery and then you died. For a minute and twenty-three seconds, you were dead, Park. I can’t stand it if another person I love dies.” her voice broke and the tears started to fall as she continued, “I just can’t. My parents and Tommy were enough.”

To hell with the security cameras, Miss Parker decided as she wrapped her arms around the trembling girl before whispering, “After the doctor‘s, you are going to school.”

Madeline gratefully returned the hug and they stayed like that for a minute before Madeline pulled away to dry her tears and Miss Parker reactivated the elevator. She shot daggers at the security camera in the hopes that the guard on duty would value his life enough to erase the last few minutes of footage.