Medical Opinion
As we neared the hospital, which was close to the more upscale part of Iacon, there were more and more aristocrats and government officials around. Now, instead of getting confused or jealous looks from the passers-by, I was getting glares from those who obviously thought it was disgusting that I was in the company of this beautiful femme. At this point, though, I felt like I was just walking around on clouds, and I ignored their glances. Eventually, the femme looks up at me and says the first thing she's said in a while.
"So... What's your name? We don't both have to be nameless, right?" I blinked. I had forgotten to tell her my name!
"Oh, sorry, my name's Probe."
She grinned. "Nice to meet you, Probe. How much farther to the hospital?" In response to her question, I pointed down the street at a large gray building. I never really liked how the hospital looked, it was a massive, squat building that sprawled out over an area that three buildings could have covered. To me, it looked like a creature ready to pounce, but I never really liked hospitals, anyway.
The sliding doors parted with a whoosh, and we stepped into the quiet lobby. Walking up to the receptionist, I said, "I found this femme lying in an alley while I was walking, and she doesn't know who she is or what she was doing in the alley." The receptionist, whose nametag read "Telea," looked up at me like I was trying to pull something.
"Okay, sir, the doctor will be with you shortly," she replied tonelessly, and went back to filing her fingernails. I led the femme over to the waiting room, and we had a seat in those uncomfortable chairs they always have. I knew all the magazines would be utter scrap like they always are, so I didn't even bother looking them over. Instead, I turned my attention to the femme sitting next to me.
"So what do you remember? I mean, before I found you?" She looked down, thinking as hard as she could. I wondered if she was ever gonna get anywhere with this remembering stuff. To my surprise, however, she looked up.
"All I remember... is-is falling. I couldn't really see anything but lights everywhere, it must've been night. And I must've landed on my head, or something, because that's all I remember." I could see tears welling up in her optics. "I...I don't even know where I came from, or if I have any family, or anything. It's like all I have is just me, right here." I was about to tell her she had me too, but since we had just met, I was still nervous talking to her, and it only came out as: "Mmm hmm."
At that moment, some femme came walking through a door from where the examining rooms are, and says, "the doctor will see you now." I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but I didn't want to seem like a slag-head, so I held it back. The nurse led us back to a room and left us there. After another short wait, Ratchet walked into the room.
"Let me guess, you only bonded once, and you're not sure if she's spark-"
My optics widened and I could feel my face burning. "Oh, no, nothing like that. I-I found her in an alley and she doesn't remember her name or anything." I looked over at the femme and saw her blushing also.
Ratchet walked over to the femme. "Well, I can't do much in the way of restoring memories, but I'll give you a diagnostic..." He took out a little tool and swept a laser beam from her head to her feet. Turning the display toward him, he surveyed the results. "Hmm... well... That's odd..." I was really getting worried now, I was starting to become protective of the helpless femme and wanted to know what was wrong. So I asked.
"What's odd? Is it really bad?" Ratchet looked up at me, seeming slightly anooyed.
"Hold on, gimme a minute, I'm thinkin'." Impatiently, I waited as he mulled his findings over in his head. After about a minute, he said, "Well. It seems... from what this scan says... that this femme..."
"Yes?"
Another glare. "This femme... Is incapable of transformation." Over on the table, she gasped. I gasped also. I didn't think such a thing was possible, and it was the wierdest thing I'd ever heard.
"So... She just doesn't have an alternate mode yet, or...?" I asked, still in disbelief.
"She couldn't scan a vehicle if she wanted to." He answered my question. I looked over at her, and met her optics. She looked terrified. I turned back to Ratchet.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this, I've never even heard about it." He looked over at her and continued. "I may need you to stay at the hospital for a while, so we can... Well, so we can study you. And while you're here, we'll help you with your amnesia." She looked questioningly over at me. I knew she'd be safe here, so I nodded. She smiled gratefully.
The femme took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll stay."
