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"Okay, she's sleeping." Carla stepped out of the room quietly.
"Good. How was she?"
"Bambi, I think she's been better." The nurse rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, so one of us will be with her at all times, okay? You know Elliot- she likes to have distractions. Carla, will you go get her some flowers or something for when she wakes up tomorrow morning?" J.D. asked.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"Good. Dr. Cox, she looks up to you- a little." J.D. paused, looking to his mentor. "Maybe you should talk to her or something, let her know you actually care."
"As I recall, I don't think I ever said I did." Perry raised an eyebrow.
"We all know you're a softie." Carla rolled her eyes.
"Turk, you and I will make sure that she's taken care of medically, and make sure we pursue this guy." When was the last time he was in control? But, this time, it looked like Carla wasn't going to take it and he wanted to help his friend. "I can't help but feel like we've forgotten something…"
"Have you guys seen Elliot?" Keith walked towards the group, dressed nicely in a suit. "She called to let me know she'd be late, but I haven't seen her all night."
"Oh." J.D. blinked at him. "Well, have fun guys, I have patients!" He scuttled away.
"Keith… Maybe you should wake for Elliot to hear this. She's sleeping, in there." Carla gestured.
"Is she okay?" He asked softly.
"Um… Sorta?" Turk supplied.
A bright light loomed over her, burning her eyes. Yawning, Elliot rubbed at them, blinking to adjust herself to the light. Oh, she was stiff- what was wrong with her? She could barely move without a flaming pain running through her limbs, spreading like wildfire. What the hell? Her sheets felt rough, and her usually comfortable pajamas foreign. The light was so bright, as if someone was trying to burn her eyes.
"Keith, why is the light on?" She mumbled out, covering them. Why was her voice so raspy, like she had been screaming? Why did her arm hurt, and what the butterfly bruises littering it, wh-
Oh my God, him, grabbing her, ripping her hair! She remembered, oh God, oh God, she remembered!
"Oh."
She sat up stiffly. No one had warned her about how sore she would be this morning! She wished they had, because this sure as hell surpassed her expectations. She rested her head against the headboard, flinching as the tender skin grazed it.
"Elliot! You're awake." J.D. smiled at her.
"Kiss me back!" A rough voice, jerking her to his lips.
"J.D… Hi." She looked at him, trying to shake the memory.
"How're you feeling?" He asked.
"Damn… Belt…" Dark fingers, fumbling with her belt. Don't touch me! She wants to scream it.
"I'll do it."
"Okay, I guess."
"Okay enough to talk to Keith?" Her friend gave her one of his familiar smiles.
"You guys didn't tell him?" She asked softly, blue eyes looking into his own. He nodded. What a relief! She could scarcely handle telling her fiancé as well.
"We thought it might be too much for you." He touched her hand gently.
Rough hands, clamping over her wrist, dragging her- oh God, if she gets past that gate to the dark tunnel beneath she will be killed! Struggle, Elliot, struggle!
"Thank you." She jerked her hand away, guilty eyes directed to the ground. He stared at her, slowly understanding, and she could feel his guilt in the room.
"Elliot, I wish I had gone with you. Like you offered." He said softly, suddenly serious. "This shouldn't have happened, not to you. You didn't deserve this."
"You're the worst bitch I've ever done this to!"
"J.D., you couldn't have guessed this would happen." She said softly, reminding herself all the while to keep her composure. It was nearly impossible, so maybe it was a relief when Dr. Cox came into the room.
"Nancy, Barbie." He nodded to each, as if it were a normal day, as if nothing had happened. Elliot could have kissed him for the kind act, even if it were for his own benefit.
"Hi Dr. Cox!" J.D. chirped. Elliot said nothing.
"And, as I am to take care of you despite the conflicting interests, how are you, Barbo?" Perry raised an eyebrow.
"I'm decent." She lowered her eyes, landing on a bruise on her arm.
"Stop fighting me!" A hand digging into her arm, shoving her against the tunnel wall.
"So, I am supposed to ask what exactly happened." Dr. Cox said in a carefree manner, as if it were a normal patient. Technically, Carla had instructed him to ask, but it made no difference to him if Elliot knew that detail.
"I can't talk about it right now, Dr. Cox." She glanced at him. "Okay? I'm sorry, I just…"
"Kiss me back!" And she does, desperate for this to end, certain she will die.
And suddenly the room was silent, both men staring at her as tears run down her cheeks and she whimpered softly. J.D. glanced at his mentor, and shrugged. He had no idea what had made the water works begin.
"I just remember what I forgot!" He suddenly gasped.
"I thought it was to tell her little boy toy." Dr. Cox raised an eyebrow.
"Do not let the Todd near this room." J.D. finished.
"My God, Nancy, did you come up with that one all by yourself?" He rolled his eyes. "Carla already has Ghandi on it."
"Elliot," J.D. returned his attention to her as her sniffles subsided, "Can you please tell us what happened? No one was really sure, it was so crazy in here."
"No." She laughed hollowly. "J.D., I can't even tell my own family. How pathetic is that?"
"It's not pathetic, Elliot. It was… awful what happened to you." J.D. covered himself. It was not awful; it was horrendous. The night before, Carla could barely stop Turk and him from going out and looking for the asshole. No one had a right to hurt his friend, especially not like this.
Horrible, Elliot mused.
"You're the worst bitch I've ever done this to!"
On the ground, broken bottles ripping open her back, as she cowers below the standing man.
Dr. Cox stiffened himself as the blonde flinched, gripping the sheets tightly. Why Barbie? Of all the damn people in this hospital, it had to be Barbie. Granted, he knew he would have lost it if it had happened to Carla instead, but this was Barbie! His intern, the first to stand up to him honestly. He remembered how strong she was that day, with Molly's words in her ear. Now, staring at her broken form, he wanted to destroy the man that had hurt her.
"I guess." She twisted the blanket in her hands, hardly able to breathe. "You know, the police officer told me a girl not much older than me was raped and killed in the same place. I guess I'm lucky then, huh?"
No, not really. J.D. didn't voice this thought, and instead gave her a half hearted nod.
"Lucky?" Dr. Cox muttered before he could stop himself. "You know, Barbo, I think that you may be a little off on that assumption, because no rape patient is lucky. Ever."
She didn't reply, just continued to muse on her own thoughts.
"Elliot?" Keith walked in. He gasped at her condition, rushing to sit by her. "Oh my God, Elliot, what happened to you?"
"You said you told him!" Elliot shrieked.
"I did. Elliot, he means the bruises and stuff." J.D. explained softly.
"Babe, are you okay?" He sat beside her, gently brushing some hair from her eyes.
Dark, running, a rough hand entangled in her hair and pulling her to the ground.
She jerked back, eyes wide with alarm.
"Is she okay?" He glanced at Dr. Cox.
"Well, I would guess not from the way she's acting, but that may just be a beginners guess. Weren't you two getting married next week?" He asked.
"Damn!" Elliot cursed under her breath.
"Elliot… You cursed." J.D. blinked at her.
"I should have… I mean…" She groaned tearfully, pulling away from Keith's comfort. Why hadn't she told him she was engaged? Wouldn't he have taken pity on the young bride? "No more than a freakin' college student." She recalled her earlier lie.
"What?" Keith looked at her.
"I just… Told him some lies, so maybe he'd pity me and let me go. I told him I was still in college. I should have told him I was engaged!"
She now received the strange looks from all three men.
"Hey girl!" He gives her a strange look. "What's your name?"
"Elliot." She mumbles, scared he will still kill her.
"Elliot. Take care of yourself!" Same strange look, digging to her soul, breaking her apart when she wants to hurt him.
"I will." And he is gone.
"Elliot…" Carla walked in. "Honey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." No, she was not.
"Ho-kay, now while I normally would not care, I believe Barbie is a little over stimulated right now, so you all should probably leave so I can check her bruises and discharge her." Dr. Cox interrupted Carla's reply. One by one, they filed out.
"Thank you." She said softly.
"Alright, Barbo, now you've got to show me your bruises. And calm down, I will not be touching you unless absolutely necessary." He added, noting the look of fear on her face. He had used his normal tone, sounding sarcastic; yet why did, this time, everything feel so different?
As she nervously let him take off her hospital gown, he remembered why- he cared about her, damn it all, and it killed him to see her like this.
"Did you know him?" He found himself asking softly, checking the small cuts littering her back among the bruises. They had been cleaned well.
"No. I don't even know his name." She sniffed as she turned to face him. She felt vulnerable, empty, broken- and everything hurt. She was glad he had given her a bra from home to cover with before he looked at her, as uncomfortable as it already was.
"Why the hell-" He stopped himself, trying to remain detached as he examined her injuries. He ignored the growing fury when he saw the fingerprint bruises, the small crescent cuts made only by nails. He kept it at bay when he saw the strangulation marks, the dark bruising on the inside of her legs. He narrowly avoided exploding at the gun shot wound.
So, it didn't make sense that a small slap mark on her face should upset him so much.
"What the hell happened to you, Elliot?" He demanded suddenly, turning to stare at her. "What the hell did this guy do to you?"
Her face slowly crumbled, and soon she was sobbing, mumbling as she went.
"It hurt… A-And then, he shoved me, beat me, and I couldn't br-breathe, I knew he was gonna k-kill me!" She sobbed. "And… I kissed him back, like he said! I kissed him back, I undid my belt, I unbuttoned my shirt, because I thought he w-would kill me anyway, I-I thought it might give me a chance of living!"
And she collapsed against him, unintelligible in her sobs that wracked her body and hurt so badly.
If Perry listened closely, he could hear her mantra:
"I kissed him back… I kissed him back…"
"You have to do this." Carla offered the phone to her friend a few hours later, both girls sitting in Elliot's apartment. Turk sat on Carla's other side, and J.D. beside him. Dr. Cox, surprisingly, found himself planted in an arm chair off a distance, while Keith got drinks in the kitchen. "They have a right to know."
"Can't it wait?" She asked softly.
"No." Carla glanced at the scribbled number for the Reids residence in her hand.
"Carla, please, I… They were so excited about the wedding." Elliot frowned. "Daddy will be so disappointed in me."
"Barbie, he's a doctor, and a damn bad one if he would even think to be upset with you for what happened." Dr. Cox supplied darkly. Something about having her break down against him, something about the way she was so horrified with herself for something any woman would have done, made him feel… angry. And, surprisingly, not with her, but the bastard that had dared to make her so weak and hurting.
"Yes, Elliot, and you need to tell them!" Carla sighed and dialed the number herself. "Mr. Reid? Hello, this is Nurse Espinosa- I work with your daughter… No, sir. I'm going to hand the phone to Elliot now. She has something to tell you."
"Daddy? Oh God, you guys, I can't… I can't do this!" Elliot squeaked, running a hand through her hair and flinching as it tugged at the delicate scalp. "No, Daddy, I'm not pregnant… Yes, I know, Thank God, but um… See, Daddy, last night I was beaten and raped in a park."
Elliot paused. Had she truly said it, admitted it aloud? She bit back a sob. She had to keep her composure on the phone, with her father. He- she couldn't disappoint him.
"N-No, I'm okay, I think. I just needed a few stitches and a bullet removed- yes, Daddy, it was at gunpoint." She paused, as if he had said something that bothered her. "Yes, I think that Keith understands that we need to push the wedding date back some. He's a doctor too, Daddy, and he saw some of my bruises! I need to heal!"
Keith came back into the room, offering a glass of water to his fiancé. She hardly noticed through her tears.
"Yeah, I'll come visit this week. S-Sure thing. Will Barry be there? Okay, good, I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you too."
After she hung up, she stared at the phone in her hand for a few minutes. The room was uncomfortably quiet, as J.D. noted. It was rarely quiet around Elliot Reid. But something had changed, just the previous night, and he wondered if things would ever be the way they were once.
"Elliot…" Carla said hesitantly. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah." No. "I'm good."
"Are you sure?" J.D. gently touched her knee.
Jerkily squeezing her bare waist, the dark hands bruising her flesh. She flinches as the nails pop the skin one by one, and tries to pull away.
"Do not fight!" He threatens in her ear.
"I'm fine, you guys!" She snapped, jerking her knee away. "Just a little stressed, just a little tired. I'll be okay."
"So, you're going to see your family for a little while?" Keith asked gently, easing her back into safer conversation. "Do you need me to stay here, let you handle this on your own?"
"Yeah. When my dad repeated what I said, I heard my brother Bradley pretty much freaking out in the back round." She sighed. J.D. nodded; so it did run in the family. "Looks like I'll have to deal with all four brothers, and my parents."
"Maybe everyone will be normal around each other for something like this." Turk offered.
"Yeah. Right." Elliot huffed. "But I'll probably stay for about a week, and let everything heal up a little before I go back to the hospital. Please, you guys, try to keep this quiet."
"Barbie, by now the whole hospital knows." Dr. Cox interrupted. "I mean, for God's sake- you looked like hell. Word spreads fast, even without Nurse Roberts."
As the group slowly headed home, J.D. took her aside.
"Elliot, I know you and I know you're not okay. Call me, let me know how you're doing. Okay?" He touched her arm. Was it really six years ago that they had met, timid interns more afraid of Dr. Kelso than killing a patient? Now, so far along, and they were still so close- which made this much harder.
"I will, J.D. Bye." She shut the door as he left. She leaned against the door, trying to breathe, trying to think. Oh, how long ago had she been planning her wedding to Keith, doubting herself? She looked at her fiancé, so kind and gentle on the couch. How could she explain how she felt?
She sucked in a deep breath- oh God, why did everything hurt so badly? No, she could never explain the way she felt to him. Her neuroses, once so important, hardly matter now. Soiled, stained, ruined- can she never again be Dr. Reid, helping someone else through something hard.
She remembered a rape patient- Lisa, if she remembered correctly- just a few months ago.
"You can't understand how I feel, Dr. Reid." The small girl had whimpered tearfully. "All I want to do it go and hide, and every time someone touches me I feel his hands."
Well, she thought as she remembered J.D.'s gentle touch on her arm, that was very true. But Lisa hadn't mentioned that awful feeling of humiliation, of shame! Dr. Cox had seen her, in hysterics. But he didn't show it. Breathing out, she went to sit with Keith before she left the next day.
She was grateful when he opted to sleep on the couch.
"Elliot!" Barry stopped short at the sight of his sister. She had dressed in clean clothes, granted a bit bulky, but there was no hiding what had happened. "Oh my God… Dad told me, but Jesus Christ!"
"Hey Barry." She said numbly, already irritated to be home. "Can we not talk about it?" She was sore- almost worse than the day before- and her head was aching.
"Yeah. Come on, little girl, we're going home." He touched her shoulder.
"Shut up, bitch!" Her shoulder slams against the wall.
And Elliot Reid jerked away from her brother, suddenly very, very lonely.