Chapter Two: The Angel Glow
She woke up at six twenty that morning. It was a little later than usual for a workday, but Maria was so exhausted that she didn't mind that she was slightly behind schedule. She pulled herself up from the couch, grabbed her uniform, a light gray dress, and slipped it on over her bra and underwear (which she slept in the previous night). Next she went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl, a spoon, a box of cereal, and some milk. She prepared her breakfast and ate rather slowly to prevent indigestion. While she ate she sat on her bed and watched the early morning Gotham News.
By six forty-five, Maria had finished her breakfast and was drying her bowl. Alexis emerged from her bedroom and turned on the coffee pot, rubbing the sleep out of her bleary eyes. Maria tried a tired smile, and Alexis grinned back weakly.
"How is work coming along, Maria?" asked Alexis as she reached into a cupboard and grabbed a mug. Maria shrugged.
"It's certainly not the most glamorous job," she murmured, "but I enjoy it." Alexis's grin grew.
"I had a feeling you would like being a nurse. You always liked helping people, and you have a gift for it," she said. Shyly, Maria rubbed the back of her neck.
"Thanks, Alexis," she responded with a small smile. "That means a lot coming from you." She glanced towards the clock on the wall and said that she had to get going. After grabbing her coat, switchblade key, and shoes, she left the apartment and went towards the train station. She reached the asylum just in time for her shift to start. After clipping on her I.D., she went to the second floor to respond to a page.
She entered room 210 and found that it belonged to a woman. The woman lay on her bed curled up on her side, like she was trying to protect herself. Attaching her to the bed was a chained rope laced around her ankle. Quietly, Maria entered the room and looked down at her clipboard.
The patient was named Clarice Montellegro. She was nineteen, formerly a college student, and had been on suicide watch for the past couple of days. Bandages around her wrists marked where she had bled profusely, but not enough to take her own life.
"She's receiving a blood transfusion today," said Dr. Crane as he stepped into the room. "The rest of the team should be here soon." Maria turned around to face him. She hadn't seen him since the day before her first day on the job. He seemed just as cold and aloof as ever.
"Team? What do you mean by 'team'?" she asked.
"We need a team to keep her under control while I tranquilize her," he responded. "She's too volatile for one nurse to handle." Maria glanced towards Clarice. She was breathing normally; slow, quiet breaths. No strange noises leaked from her. She wasn't trembling or having a fit. She was perfectly sedate.
"Are you sure, Doctor? She seems fine," Maria said. A wry smile formed on Dr. Crane's lips.
"That's because you haven't approached her with a needle yet, Miss DuPont. Observe." He took a needle from the table another nurse brought in, which contained a clear solution, and took a few steps towards Clarice. Clarice peeked up upon hearing the footsteps and instantly drew back. She bore her teeth and made a hissing sound. "Come now, don't be afraid," he said to the patient, his voice icy and smooth. He took another step and she thrust herself backward and against the wall. Her entire form was shaking and her eyes were wide as she stared at Dr. Crane. She hit her body against the wall, either trying to scale or break through it. "It's just a little needle, nothing to be afraid of." He glanced over his shoulder towards Maria. "Do you see what I mean? I need her tied down to a chair before I can sedate her," he stated. Maria's stomach churned a little. The team of three, two nurses and an orderly, reached for Clarice and grabbed her by the limbs. Each nurse took an arm and shoulder while the orderly gripped her legs.
"Well, come on," one of the nurses hissed towards Maria, "help us out!" Maria, who was briefly dumbfounded, snapped out of her daze and rushed to help her colleagues. Clarice writhed in their grasps, kicking her legs fiercely at the doctor. Maria gripped one of Clarice's legs, giving the orderly a window to properly seize the leg on his side. Clarice was flailing her arms as well, but not nearly as strongly as she was kicking.
"There's something that's bothering her, and I don't think it's the needles," Maria pondered. She helped the rest of the team bring Clarice to a chair. The orderly gripped her legs tightly and knelt down, putting all of his weight on them, while Maria was positioned behind the chair holding down Clarice's shoulders. The other two nurses worked on tying Clarice to the chair. The whole time the patient relentlessly kicked at the orderly while writhing the rest of her body in an attempt to break free. Things became worse when Dr. Crane approached with the needle filled with the sedation drug. He tried to take Clarice's arm and hold it flat, but she was not cooperating, causing Dr. Crane to accidentally spew the serum out of the needle and onto the floor. Maria came out from behind the chair and volunteered to hold Clarice's arm down while Dr. Crane went to the table to get another dose. The nurses worked on cleaning up the mess and the orderly rushed out of the room to help with another, even stronger, patient. Clarice seemed to become calmer and was less reluctant to having her arm held out. However, once Dr. Crane approached with the needle, the patient began having a fit. She pulled at her binds and screamed and cried. The nurses rushed to hold her down. Maria, who had grabbed Clarice's legs, looked up at the traumatized patient and could see the sheer terror in her eyes. Clarice found herself unable to take her eyes off of Dr. Crane, even though he was the source of the fear. Maria's eyes widened.
"Dr. Crane, get away from her!" Maria exclaimed as she stood.
"Why should I do that?" Dr. Crane questioned, a little annoyed.
"Don't you understand? She's afraid of you!"
"Yes, Miss DuPont, we've established that already," responded Dr. Crane as he tried to insert the needle again, but to no avail.
"No, you said she's afraid of needles. She's actually afraid of you, Dr. Crane. And not just you. She's afraid of all men!" Dr. Crane looked at her. She bit her lip, her legs shaking, her mind realizing what she just did. What gave her the right, a mere nurse, to defy the judgment of a doctor, her superior? Her stomach flip-flopped. Dr. Crane stood. He was taller than her by at least five inches. In his school days he was known for his lanky, skeletal frame. He looked down at her with those cold blue eyes of his. That stare made her freeze. She could barely catch her breath.
"What makes you so sure of that, Miss DuPont?" he asked.
"Just…leave the room…leave the room and you'll see," she stammered. A sigh escaped his lips and he removed his glasses.
"We really don't have time-"
"Please, let me give her the needle. It will go by much faster if I do it. Just watch, please. Go into the hallway and watch through the window," Maria spat out quickly. She was breathing heavily like she was afraid for her life. She would argue that she feared Dr. Crane himself more than Clarice feared the man.
Dr. Crane stared at Maria. He could see the determination flaring in her olive green eyes. She wanted to help this poor woman. She wanted to understand her. He hadn't seen passion like that in a colleague for a long time. He had to agree, and so he handed the needle to Maria, stepped into the hallway, and closed the door, from where he would simply watch through a small window.
"What do you think you're doing?" one of the nurses hissed.
"Please, trust me on this," Maria said calmly, trying to regain her composure. Holding the needle, Maria approached the chair Clarice was tied to. She was wiggling some, trying to escape from the chair, but at least she wasn't violently kicking and screaming. "Ssssh," Maria gently hushed the patient as she knelt beside her. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she murmured. She made sure to look straight into Clarice's wide, terrified blue eyes. They were a lovely shade of dark ocean blue. Maria reached out and softly gripped Clarice's shoulder, hoping that she could build a connection between the two of them. Clarice stared back at Maria, silent, her breaths slowing down. Her eyes seemed to weakly cry "Help me…"
Clarice's eyelids drooped closed. Maria had administered the drug. The patient's entire body went limp and she threatened to slide out of the chair. The nurses heaved relieved sighs, and Maria beamed. She glanced towards the window, where Dr. Crane was watching with one hand on his chin as if he was taking interest. She nodded, and Dr. Crane opened the door. His face was statue-esque, stone cold and relaying no emotion. He slid his glasses over his eyes, his gaze on the sleeping patient.
"I assume you know how to perform a blood transfusion, Miss DuPont. Since you seem to be doing well with this patient, I'll leave it to you," he stated coldly. Maria stared at him with wide eyes.
"B-but…Dr. Crane I have other patients-"
"Shelia and Jacqueline can take care of that," he interrupted, referring to the other two nurses. They nodded and Maria switched clipboards with Shelia, who was supposed to perform the transfusion. The nurses helped Maria bring Clarice to her bed, and Maria set up the blood bags. She then inserted the needle into Clarice's arm and began the transfusion.
The procedure would take about four hours to complete, which meant that Maria was stuck in the room until someone else came to supervise the process. After getting the circulation starting, Maria glanced around the room in search of some reading material to pass the time. Clarice's file had been left on the table near the door, so Maria decided she should read it (already she had broken the rule of reading the file of a patient before taking action, but no one seemed to notice that).
The file was rather thick because it contained two sets of records from two different hospitals. The papers in the back were from Gotham General Hospital and had details on a variety of internal injuries she received. Most of the injuries were located in her lower area, but it seemed like she suffered some head trauma also. Following the hospital records were police reports showing that she had been found at the scene of a drug bust. The reports showed that she had been frequenting the dealer for some time, and the hard drugs she had gotten into already began to take a toll on her system. Moreover, the injuries she suffered from were results of a brutal rape.
"That must be why she's afraid of men," Maria murmured. She glanced towards Clarice, who was sleeping peacefully as the blood was being transferred into her system. "How could they not realize that? Did they not read her files?" A sigh fell from her. "Or maybe they never cared enough."