"Updates on the search?" Alex demanded as she walked into the DEO the next morning.
"None yet, ma'am," Vasquez replied. "We swept the facility for DNA, looked at all the nearby traffic cameras to try and get a facial recognition match, and attempted to contact the person who anonymously gave the tip, but all leads are coming up empty. All we have is the notes and data that we recovered from the site, but most of them are written in code. I have some agents working on deciphering them, but it's slow going." She hesitated before continuing. "If I may, Director, I think our best bet in finding them is in getting the girl to talk. I understand that she experienced severe trauma, but she's our only shot at bringing these criminals to justice."
"I know," Alex sighed. "I just am not sure how to go about that conversation when she doesn't trust any of us yet." She sank into her chair at the main desk, rubbing her forehead. "Keep me updated on any leads. Maybe send an agent out to Al's bar, and other places with a large alien population, see if anyone knows about any illegal test sites." The agent nodded and went back to her desk as Alex turned on the computer.
She had just barely begun drafting an email to one of her contacts at the NCPD, asking him if he had any potential information on the case, when one of the rookie agents rushed into the atrium.
"Ma'am?" He asked, a note of urgency in his voice. Alex stood up immediately and began walking to the lab.
"What's going on?" She demanded.
"Nurse Collins sent me to get you, she said that the alien patient collapsed." They reached Alex's lab, and she entered hastily, seeing Selah convulsing on the bed.
"What happened?" Alex asked, going to the girl's side.
"She seems to be having a seizure," Collins replied. "My guess is that it is grand mal. I was asking her how the night went, and we were just talking normally when her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed."
"Heart rate?"
"93 BPM. A little high, but not concerning. Her breathing is normal."
"We'll just have to wait it out." Alex pulled a stool over to the bed and sat down. "Hey Selah, it's Alex," she murmured. "You're safe. You're at the DEO, and you're going to be okay."
They sat like that for the whole length of the seizure, Alex next to the bed quietly talking to her, and the nurse timing and monitoring Selah's breathing and heart rate. Alex couldn't help but think of when they first took Selah from the facility; how she had held the girl's hand on the ride to the DEO, gently talking to her and comforting her just as she was now. It seemed like much longer ago than only five days.
Eventually, Selah's convulsions slowed and her eyes began to flutter open.
"Hey, love," Alex said, sitting up a little bit. "How are you feeling?" Selah moved slowly, trying to prop herself up on her elbows, but she couldn't quite keep her balance. "Woah, take it easy. I've got you."
"I'm thirsty." Selah mumbled, her voice gravelly. The nurse rushed to get a bottle of water from the mini fridge and handed it to Alex.
"Here you go," Alex said. "I'll help you drink, okay?" She braced the girl's head and carefully moved the bottle to Selah's lips, letting her drink. "Slowly, love. If you do anything too fast right now, you could go back into a seizure, and we don't want that." She helped the girl lay back down once she had taken a drink, placing her head upon the pillow again.
"My head hurts," she grumbled, slurring her words slightly.
"I know. It will pass," Alex replied. "What was the total time?" she asked, turning to the nurse.
"Ten minutes and thirty-four seconds," Collins replied. "Breath rate and pulse remained stable the entire time."
"Thank you," Alex said. Selah blinked slowly and looked around the lab, her eyes bleary.
"Water?" She asked, listlessly moving her hand towards the bottle. Alex helped her drink again, stroking the girl's hair gently.
"How are you feeling?" She asked again. The girl sat up a little bit in bed, wincing at the effort. Collins moved the pillows to help prop her up better.
"Pretty gross still. Should be better soon."
"Has this happened before?" The nurse asked. Selah nodded slowly.
"It started when I first got to the lab," she said hoarsely. "With all the drugs I was on. Then they started testing them. They'd send a current through my brain to trigger seizures and then study my response with different drugs, and how it changed with the location of the wire-" she abruptly stopped talking, clearing her throat. "It got a lot worse after they put the port into my head for the power dampener."
"Hey," Alex said, tipping Selah's chin up with her thumb. "It's okay. You're going to be fine." The girl looked at Alex, her eyes sad. "How long does it typically take you to recover?"
"Fifteen to twenty minutes, maybe? It took longer at the beginning but eventually I started getting more used to it, and I'd get better faster."
"Okay," the doctor replied. "I'll stay here with you. Is it okay if I take your pulse and check your pupils, just to make sure everything is going back to normal? No bloodwork or anything invasive, I promise."
Selah looked at Alex for a second, her head tilted to one side, before clearing her throat again.
"Okay," she said.
"Thank you." Alex felt a wave of relief wash over her. This was the first time that Selah was letting her do anything remotely similar to a medical test, and it was a huge first step towards getting the girl to trust her. "Collins," she said, looking at the nurse. "Can you document this in the files and record everything that you saw, including any potential triggers?" The nurse nodded and left the lab as Alex pulled out a stethoscope and began taking the girl's pulse.
"Sorry about all the fuss," Selah said eventually. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"I wasn't scared," Alex replied automatically. The girl tilted her head and raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Okay, I was a little scared," she admitted. "I'm just glad you're safe."
"Me too." Selah replied quietly.
"Feeling any different now?"
"I bet I can move stuff again."
"That's always a plus," Alex said. The cord of her stethoscope began floating up, and she sighed. "Right, you mean telepathically. I forgot about that." Selah made the cord bounce up and down a few times before Alex swatted at it. "I'm trying to count your heart rate. That is not helping."
"Sorry," Selah said, laughing, and the stethoscope returned to normal. "You were at twenty-four."
"Thanks." Alex said dryly. She finished up the rest of the tests and began filling out a form for the girl's file, as Selah regained her strength and began telepathically opening and closing the drawers of the filing cabinet and cupboards behind Alex.
"I know what you're thinking," she said abruptly, snapping the DEO agent out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?" Alex asked, looking up from her work.
"I know what your're thinking," Selah repeated. "About the port. Say it." The agent set her pen down and sighed.
"I think that having a metal bolt screwed into your skull would cause inflammation, changes to the release of neurotransmitters, and interference to the blood-brain barrier. It's well documented that a traumatic injury to the brain, especially one where the skull is penetrated- can cause epilepsy. In my opinion the port is almost definitely worsening, if not completely causing your seizures, and the best form of treatment that I can think of is to remove it entirely. Everything else would just be a band-aid." Alex said slowly. "However," she added. "It is entirely up to you whether we remove it or not. I'm not going to force you to do anything, or pressure you to make any decisions. I just want you to know the facts of your situation."
The girl didn't say anything for a few moments, and she kept her eyes on the floor.
"I want it out," she said quietly, looking up at Alex. "Can you be the one to do it?"
"Of course," Alex replied.
.
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