Once again, I love all your reveiws!


"Miss Roberts?"

Neela inquired, parting the curtain that had been drawn around the girl's bed. Tanya Roberts looked up from where she lay apathetically on the sheets. It was plain to the intern that she had been crying. Recently.

"Are…are you alright?"

"Yeah." The young woman wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.

"I must have missed you as you left the cafeteria. The results of your blood test came back."

Neela moved to sit next to the bed, showing Tanya the brown envelope that held her results.

"Wh-what does it say?"

"It's confirmed that you are pregnant, but I'm afraid you also have Chlamydia." She let that sink in for a moment. Tears welled up in her patient's eyes, and the girl shook her head.

"No…no, I can't. He would have told me if he had…"

"Miss Roberts – Tanya – with all respect, your boyfriend told you that no contraception was needed." But Neela's tone was infinitely gentle, even if the words may have been harsh. "Tanya, did he hurt you?"

"Huh?"

"There is bruising around your vagina. I would normally diagnose that as a sign of rape…"

"No. It's not rape…" Tanya bit her lip, so hard it almost started bleeding. "It just…nothing. Forget I said it! I'd like to go home now!"

"You'll have to wait to get the medicine for Chlamydia, but then, yes. I can discharge you. But if Dave has been hurting you…"

"No, no. It's fine."


"Ray, have you seen her?"

"Who?" The young man took the x-ray down from the wall, and frowned at his girlfriend – or, as he reminded himself – his ex-girlfriend, after tonight.

"My patient. Tanya Roberts!"

"Oh her. The meds came down, so I discharged her."

"When?"

"Just now… Hey!" He ran after her as she sped off to the exit, catching Tanya Roberts by the arm.

"Tanya…if he's been hurting you…"

The girl looked close to tears. "He hasn't, OK?"

"He has, and you know it! Look, Tanya – it's still rape, even if it is your boyfriend."

Tanya blinked, a slow frown spreading over her face. "Huh?"

"Even if he told you it wasn't, it still is."

"It…it is?"

"Yes. Did he say it wasn't?"

She nodded. "Y-yeah. He said that because he was my boyfriend, nobody would listen to me…it wasn't rape…" Tears began to pour down her cheeks. "Oh my God…"

Neela hesitantly put an arm around the other girl's shoulders, and Tanya clung to her as sobs wracked her body. "Shh…shh…It'll be OK. He won't get you again…" She led the girl off to the family room, to call for police a psyche consult. But nobody could miss the expression of unnatural (for a doctor towards a patient) worry for Tanya on her face.

Ray was watching all this in astonishment. It had never occurred to him to question the word of a patient who swore that nothing was wrong – he just wasn't that kind of guy. It was most likely the same personality flaw that meant he hadn't asked Neela why she didn't respond to him, and had been so insensitive to all the signs that had been screaming at him ever since this morning…

How stand-offish she had been – even for her – since she had met Tanya Roberts…

And then it all clicked.

He knew what it meant. All at once, he knew what was wrong with Neela…


C'mon, people! Blatant clue there! If you can guess why Neela is being like this, you win a prize…