Dark Halliwell- I am very glad you review, and I'm also very glad you enjoy this! Hopefully you'll stay with me over the summer ;)
Charmed4life- Thank you very much
Karinka-chan- Thanks, I look forward to reading your future reviews
Padme the 2nd- Comas are too clichéd aren't they? I was so mad at myself for making them end up in the hospital, it really was a place I didn't wanna right, nevertheless I have to get out of this pickle don't I?
Inni- Yes, at least they're alive ;-)
Psychokitty- Thanks :-D
Blackcat- I hope you like.
This chapter and all the rest of the chapters are dedicated to Eve, Anna, (for writing support and ideas), and all of my reviewers for motivating me.
PrueEverything happened so quickly that I can't possibly remember anymore. I just found out what happened, pieced things together, but I still can't believe it. I fill out the forms in the hospital room, trying to ignore the pain that is shooting up my arm. I look over at Andy who is filling out mine, since he knows enough about me to do that. He gently takes my hand and strokes it softly. I concentrate on Phoebe's form.
My hand shakes, 'Name: Phoebe Marie Halliwell. Age: 15 years. Parent or guardian: Penelope Halliwell, and Prudence Halliwell. Medical history…'
"Can you fill out your insurance stuff for me, Prue?" Andy asks slowly.
"Sure," I say, my voice has never been so awkward. I take the papers and start filling them out. He leans over me, looking at the forms, stroking my hair, now. "So where did you put Ava?" I realize I am trying to sound as if nothing had just happened.
"Oh I left her with my partner, Inspector Morris. He came around to help with the you know who situation, and asked if I wanted his wife and kids to take care of Ava. I said yes of course. Morris is a good guy. Ava would be scared anyhow."
"That makes at least two of us." I find myself leaning on him, and a doctor comes over to us.
"Mrs. and Mr. Halliwell I presume." The doctor watches us exchange odd glances.
"Yes." I say, and don't even know why I say it. Andy looks at me like he's confused, but then relaxes.
"Alright. We took your sisters to a recovery unit, and they will be checked for evidence of sexual harassment." I flinch at these words. "We'll let you see them in a bit. The younger girl is up, but the older one, Piper hasn't yet become conscious."
"Oh god." I can hear Andy saying.
"Mrs. Halliwell," The doctor introduces himself, "I'm Dr. Ford, and I have to ask you to hand those forms over to your husband. We need to examine you."
"Um, okay." I thrust the forms into Andy's hands and give him a little 'I'm okay' smile. I let Dr. Ford lead me away.
He brings me into a stiff white hospital room, and points to the changing table. I hop on it, and sit down. "Prue Halliwell." He talks very fast, with a bit of a Boston accent. "Right, I have some of your medical history here. Hmmm. It says you're not married-
"Uh," My cheeks start to flush, "I'm actually not. I just said that in the heat of the moment."
"Okay." Dr. Ford says, looking confused. "It seems your grandmother, your care-taker is in this hospital with a heart problem."
"Yes."
"Does your family have a history of heart problems?" He asks seriously.
"Not that I know of, besides Grams."
"Are you taking care of your sisters?" He looks at me, my whole self-sitting there. God I must look so stupid.
"Yes I am. After all, I am of age to be a legal guardian, and Grams hasn't gone anywhere, so we still see her from time to time." My voice is quick and practically sounds like I'm lying.
"Ok. So these marks are all from your sister's boyfriend, yes?"
"Yeah." I feel myself swallow a lump in my throat.
He comes over to me, and gently takes my arm in his gloved hand. "It definitely looks like he was trying to take control of you." He turns it over and I wince. "It's not a break, but it is very swollen." He looks into my eyes, with his big dark ones. "Are you sure it was her boyfriend." He says it as a statement, rather than a question.
"Yes! There is no one else in our family who would hurt a fly."
"So he did this to all three of you?"
My heart beats faster and faster, whom are they trying to accuse of this?
PhoebeI'm in a daze. It's like no one wants me to know exactly what happened, for fear that I'll break. The person who's pushing me, stops at a door with about ten tens written on it. Surprise, we're in room ten. Prue and Andy were cornered into another room, and so now I'm all alone. I have no clue where Piper is, but I'm really worried about her. I can't stop thinking about what Ryder said to her when he came. He said that they made a deal… What if I never get to find out what that deal was about? What if I can never thank Piper for saving me?
"How are you feeling?" A doctor asks me. She has dark hair, and hazel eyes, dressed in not scrubs, but a black shirt, and horrible blue stripy pants that don't accentuate her figure at all. She wears a long white jacket and a nametag on the front that is covered by a fold, so I can't quite get her name.
"Like shit." I say, perfectly serious, although I want to laugh at her pursed expression.
"Ah, well, understandable."
"What's your name?" I can't help but wince a little at the pain of one of my ankles, and of course, the sight of her stripy pants.
"Dr. Dalsoni, but if you want you can call me Erica." She looks at my medical records on a clipboard and makes a note.
Heh. "That's funny, I have a teacher with the same last name."
"Oh really?" She says smiling sweetly. "I've got a sister-in-law who teaches. Maybe it's the same person. Olivia Dalsoni?"
Great. Now she's going to blab to Mrs. Dalsoni about everything, and she's going to try to give me some more psych lessons. "Huh. Ummm. I don't know. Probably." Of course, it's Mrs. Dalsoni, how could it not be?
"Yes, well my sister-in-law is a great person." She looks at my bruises, and asks me to strip down to my bra and underwear. Great.
I have never been much of a modest-self conscious person, but I hate doing this in front of doctors. It makes me feel like a stripper or something. I don't know them. I have trouble getting off my shirt, because I can only do it with one hand, and Dr. Dalsoni has to help me with my pants because I can't stand up.
She keeps on checking my bruises and makes notes on the clipboard. "So honey, how much do you remember from this?"
"Oh god, just it was all a blur… My boyfriend came, and I was mad at him, and he tried to kiss me…" The last thing I want is to talk about Ryder, I've been trying so hard not to think of him. It's hard not to… After all, he's the reason why I'm here. I can remember that much.
"Did you kiss him back?"
"At first, but he said I wasn't doing it well enough." She nods, and writes a note on the clipboard. I lean over to see what's on it, but she keeps it covered.
"What did he do when you didn't do what he wanted?"
"Hit me." I am trying so hard not to think. Not to care, that I am by a doctor's standards, and now counted as a statistic as an abuse victim. I continue, like if I say so many words, then I won't have to think. "He hurt me, and I fought back, then Piper my sister, jumped on him, trying to stop him. But she's really small so…"
"Do you remember him doing anything sexual to you?"
"No…" Oh god. Don't think, Phoebe. Don't think.
"Okay. Looks like you've got a broken wrist." She casually says, and talks about some other things I don't listen to. I concentrate on the different colors in the carpet, and try to count how many colors there are.
Someone comes in, and it looks like they're the police, but what do I know? They exchange notes with the doctor, and she tells them my verdict, how many broken and sprained bones there are, and how she thinks I might have been sexually abused because there were bruises down my stomach, and my thighs. How… She doesn't think he raped me, but how I was definitely sexually harassed, and that I should get counseling or something, and really try to piece everything together. I can feel myself gulp back random tears, and… still trying not to think…
"Would you like to see your sister?" Dr. Dalsoni suddenly pats my back, "She's waking up."
"Piper?"
"Yes."
I put my clothes on and suddenly I'm pushed from my wheelchair into another room, and Piper is moving a bit on one of the beds.
Dr. Dalsoni goes over to her, "Sweetie are you alright?"
Piper's eyes flutter open, and blink a few times. She can't talk.
The nurse who has been tending to her says, "If she weren't so small, this wouldn't have happened to her. She's not a good weight for someone who's almost seventeen."
"Huh." Dr. Dalsoni says. I close my eyes, trying to shut everything out, trying not to feel my body cool against the cloth of the wheelchair.
Two people come in, and I squeeze my eyes shut, I don't want to have to deal with any more doctors and nurses. A male voice talks, "Did they take Ryder in?"
"Yes." The policeperson in the room says, "He's got a right to a trial, but there's too much evidence against him to find him innocent."
I open my eyes, because the first male who spoke was Andy. "Andy." I say weakly, and look at Prue who has her arms around him.
Piper
I wake up in the middle of the night, not being able to think. I don't remember anything that happened, except for the fact that a few hours- or years earlier, I was awake in the hospital room and I saw Prue and Andy, and Phoebe. I remember Ryder, I think, Ryder who did this to me. The bastard. One person is sleeping in a bed next to me and it's Phoebe. At first my voice doesn't work, but then, weakly, I say, "Phoebe?"
"Hey Pip." Comes the reply, traveling thickly from the darkness to my ears. "You're up?"
"Yeah, I am."
"That's good. I was worried there." Phoebe sits up, and I can hear her cry a little in pain. I try to sit up, but my stomach cramps up and I lean over my bed, and heave into a little container next to me. I take a breath and cry. "Piper, there's something wrong with you. Even before the whole… thing."
I catch my breath a bit, and cough, "N-no."
"Whatever." Comes the reply. "So what do you remember that happened?"
"J-just that he was kicking you, and I jumped on him, and he threw my off, and kicked me."
"And?" Phoebe asks; I can barely see her worried face in the darkness.
"And I tried to scream, and I guess I did, but blacked out."
"I-in…" Phoebe starts, and doesn't finish. She sounds like she's keeping back tears.
"What are you trying to say?" I ask, as gently as I can, although I am feeling very nauseous again.
"Di-id he do a-anything…?" She's fully crying now, trying to turn her sobbing into coughs.
"Sweetie, what do you mean?" I wish I could come over to here right now, but I'm in a little too much pain for that.
"Y'know." She tries to catch her sobs, but ends up crying even more. "Like s-sex."
"Oh my god, you think he did that to you?"
"I-I don't k-know." Phoebe shakes her head, and I can tell she's really scared.
"Where was Prue in all of this?" I ask quietly.
"She and Andy c-came in and called 911."
"Where's she now?"
"A-at home probably."
Someone comes in and turns the light on. I can see that Phoebe's face is tear streaked and pale, and she's got bruises all over.
"Piper, you're awake." The person who turned the lights on says, "I'm Dr. Dalsoni."
Hmm, that sounds like one of the old teachers that I once had. She notices that I've thrown up, and calls someone to clean it up so she can ask us questions.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"It's eight in the morning, let me just open your shades." Dr. Dalsoni looks very tired, and I think she's probably stayed here all night. "Your sister and her boyfriend are going to be coming in later today. And we're actually letting you guys get out of the hospital, but on strict bed rest, and visits from doctors. You alright with that?"
"Yeah, definitely." I say, with a smile on.
"Dr. Dalsoni?" Phoebe asks quietly.
"Yes honey?"
"What uh, did… h-he do to me?"
"What honey?"
Phoebe looks at me expecting me to fill her in, because she can't seem to talk anymore.
"Did he like s-sexually harass her?"
TBC... Maybe if I'm good I'll post a bit before I leave for camp... I just gotta get my priorities in order, especially since i have finals this week (ugh)