December 5th (Then)

[lesliethompkins]

Life in the pursuit of service. Her father had laughed out loud. No attempt was made to hide his bemusement. When he realized she was serious, it mutated into anger. No daughter of his was going to throw away promises of a profitable life. Leslie Thompkins was his little girl. She could have had anything she wanted. But medical school?! Why?!

"So you can waste your time on those who can't pay for your services? Leslie. Think about it."

She did. She thought about it out of respect for her father. Her mind once it was made however would not be dissuaded. Her father in turn respected her desire. The East Side Clinic was born half a decade later. Patients trickled in and bills accumulated at an alarming rate. Her determination dwindled. Finances darkened. She told no one at first, determined to find the elusive solution herself. She could go to others in the medical community. Charitable foundations. Her family. Friends. She didn't.

Had her father been right? Had her overabundance of idealism overshadowed her good sense? Would the dream die before it rose to its full potential? After months of deliberation, she recognized not idealism but pride would be her downfall.

She sought funding, anyway and every way she could.

Five years later, the clinic blossoms under the care of the Wayne Foundation. No other present can compare. Now or then.

She's readying to leave for the night when an unfamiliar visitor arrives.

Comments

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The visitor is scared.

Anything else at the moment is hard to determine, as she's clutched her arms around herself. As she stands in the waiting room at the clinic, no one else present at the moment, she keeps looking around. It seems she's expecting someone to show up at any moment.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

Some come to the clinic for reasons other than medical treatment. For as long as it's been open, the clinic has been a haven. At first glance, the young woman doesn't seem to be injured in any way. Those who are frightened and scared though are often capable of hiding a multitude of things.

"Dear? Are you hurt?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"I...."

There are shadows under her eyes. There is no trust there for this woman. None. She doesn't have anywhere else to go.

Clenching her teeth together, she swallows, speaking quietly, "I need help."

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

Trust is earned. The young woman's hesitance doesn't bother her in the least. They don't know each other at all. There's no reason for this stranger to place faith in her. Helping is what she does though. And help is what she'll offer.

"I'll help any way I can, dear." Pause. "What's your name?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"S... Maggie."

There is no guilt anymore in giving her sister's name to people she doesn't know. There was at one point but Maggie... Well, hopefully she's in a better place than this doing well for herself.

There is a look around the room again - toward the entrance.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

Leslie knows by the delivery that her young visitor has given her a false name. It doesn't matter though. All that matters is the appeal for help.

"I'm Leslie, Maggie." She watches eyes wander restlessly.

"There's some hot chocolate in the lunch room. Would you like to sit down? Get warmed up for a couple minutes?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"I..." She looks toward Leslie, "Can we go somewhere... medical? I..." The girl obviously doesn't want to talk about it out here.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

"Of course." She gestures towards the hallway she just emerged from. "First door on your right, dear."

The first door on the right leads to an empty exam room. They are in fact the only two people left in the building.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

Coming into the room, she boosts herself up onto the table and gnaws on her bottom lip. Carefully, she lets the coat she's wrapped up in slide open some.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

She takes a few moments to lock the clinic entrance before joining Maggie in the smaller room. The doctor takes a seat across from her on a stool. It places Leslie lower than her new patient, a position most people find disarming. There's silence as Leslie waits for her to speak.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

Carefully, she unwraps herself from the coat, she has on and it starts to become apparent what she needs help with.

Who ever hit her did a very good job of making sure that it wouldn't be visible at first. If Leslie had to guess, this young woman has been the victim of more than one assault in the past few days. The bruises are aging differently, at the very least.

"I.... I need some..." Her hands rest on her abdomen, nervously.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

The intake of breath is sharp. The look on her face? Aghast. She comes off the stool to get a better look. "Maggie-"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"I need to..." Whatever it is she needs to do, she's having a hard time talking about it. The shocked look is mostly ignored - right now she isn't at all sure where it comes from - pity or disgust or what.

There is a determined set to her face as she makes a decision. "I need an exam, tests, to make sure I don't have anything."

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

The shocked look is a result of compassion. No one deserves the kind of treatment she appears to have received.

"I can test you for a number of things, dear. Is there something in particular you think you have?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"..... Everything. I don't know."

She looks down at herself, "I wasn't protected." The words are quiet as she speaks them.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

She nods in understanding.

That one statement gives her just about everything she needs to know. Medically speaking. Leslie can't help but wonder if Maggie's "partner" was also responsible for the littering of bruises.

The process takes close to thirty minutes. She doesn't bother to ask the young woman if she has the time. Maggie is here, now. There's no sense making her second guess the decision.

A few pointed questions and Leslie covers the bases.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The needles are shyed away from just a little but she knows it is needed. For the most part, she doesn't say anything at all, just sits there. The tests are all clean but Maggie, or whatever her name really is, does not seem entirely trustful of the results.

It takes a bit but finally there is a, "Thank you," from the sullen girl who cannot yet be out of her teens.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

"You're very welcome," is the automatic response. The swiftness of the reply does little to detract from the sincerity.

There may still be reason for concern on the young woman's part. Some of the test results will take a few days to come back. She says as much.

Leslie pauses over the newly organized medical file. "What name should I put on this, dear?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The girl looks at the woman for a few moments in silence.

"I'm going to have to come back."

There is a dull sort of certainty there.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

She offers a solemn nod in response. Any chances of this being a quick in and a quick out are dashed. "Do you have a place to stay, dear?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"Yeah."

She does. In fact, if she doesn't get back there soon enough there will be hell to pay for it but she doesn't really care. This was more important.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

Maybe she should have worded that particular question a bit differently. "Do you have a safe place to stay?"

Statistics state most violence is rendered by an individual or individuals known to the victim. The neighborhood doesn't help either. The East Side has been good to few.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The girl makes a face, a small one but it is still there. "There isn't anywhere like that."

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

Her face remains impassive. "And if I told you there was?"

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The expression on her face pretty much says everything. "Look... Thanks for the thought but I've been in the system and it sucks."

A pause as she starts to wrap herself up again, "What... What do I owe you?"

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

Leslie is the clinic's director as well as chief physician. It makes decisions like this an easy one. "Come back in two days for the remainder of the test results and we'll talk about it then."

The medical file in her hand still doesn't a name on it.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The teenaged girl nods a little, belting the jacket around her slightly too thin form. "Okay."

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

She places the file aside and reaches into a drawer for something else.

"Maggie, I don't know what your situation is or what will meet you when you get home. There's an emergency number on the front door of the clinic. If you're in trouble, don't hesitate to use it."

Her tone of voice is serious.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

The girl looks at the doctor for a few moments in silence before she asks, "When I come back? I want to talk about ... birth control."

Because while she's safe, not being safe is bad for business, there are times when the choices are not in her hands.

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

It pains her to think of a girl this young engaging in intercourse. Although the personal side cringes, the professional side accepts that it happens. She reaches out her hand towards Maggie. Resting in her palm is a small stack of plastic packages. They're on the same wavelength evidently.

"I don't know if you'll always have the choice..." she comments sadly. "But if you do, it's the very best I can offer."

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

"I know." The condoms are taken. It never hurts to have more. Especially for free, apparently.

"Maybe... Pills or something? Later. I can hide them if I have to."

[lesliethompkins.livejournal.com]

She nods. "When you come back, dear."