"Where's my brother?"
Georgiana Darcy huffed as she reached the top step, thereby entering the tattoo shop where her brother Will worked. It was on the second floor of a building located on Washington Avenue, on the University of Minnesota's main campus and a block or two away from Fairview-University Medical Center. One of his colleagues popped his head up from his work. "Hi, George," he greeted. "Will's not here."
"Good. Can you look at this, Pete?" She turned around and pulled up the back of her shirt.
Pete looked up. He couldn't see what she wanted him to look at through the little window that allowed people to watch him work from his room, but it didn't matter; he was busy. "Does the buzzing needle and the human being in my room not clue you in to the fact that I'm working?" he asked in reply with some exasperation. "Get Owen to look at it."
"Owen!" she called, "c'mere!"
"What's the problem?" he asked as he walked out from his room.
"Look." Georgiana turned and pulled up her shirt again.
"Holy shit," popped out of Owen' mouth when he saw his friend's sister's back. "What the hell?"
"Is it bad?"
"Yeah," replied Owen. "You better see a doctor."
"No! I can't go to a doctor. Will'd find out. Plus, you know how I am about doctors."
"Deal with it, George, and go to a doctor and get that taken care of."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes," replied Owen, who heard footsteps behind him, but didn't turn around in enough time to prepare himself for the verbal outburst that assailed his ears.
"What the hell is this?!"
Georgiana jumped at the sound of her brother's voice, and Owen cursed.
"I'm working!" came Pete's voice from the other room.
Without looking up from his sister's back, Will Darcy apologized. Her pink hair twisted into twin braids at the sides of her head, Georgiana cringed as her brother inspected her back.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" His voice was strained and he had to concentrate to keep it down. "I told you that you couldn't get one 'till you were eighteen. You're only sixteen."
"I know, Will . . . I'm sorry." He touched her back gingerly; she sucked her breath in painfully. Her eyes teared up, but not just from the pain. She knew she had sorely disappointed her brother. He swore all the time when she wasn't around – a silly practice, since Georgiana didn't scruple to hold her tongue around her brother – but he never swore around her.
"What fucking moron did this to you? You're a minor, for God's sake."
"I'm not a little girl!" she protested, getting upset. "I've got a brain and can make my own decisions."
"Bad ones, apparently," he snapped back, "and you are a minor." A thought occurred to him, and the muscles in his shoulders tensed. "Did you see Dave Wickham for this?"
"Will, I-"
"Answer my question!" he stormed. "Did you go to Wickham?"
"Yes," she replied, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Will."
"How long have you had this?"
"Since Thursday."
"Did he use a clean needle?"
"I don't know."
"Have you been taking care of it?"
"Yes."
"That son of a bitch. How did he take the ink?"
"I don't know," wailed Georgiana.
"Well, Jesus, George, don't you pay attention to anything?" he barked.
"What does it matter?"
"Because," he snapped, "if he took the ink from the bottle instead of a sterile cup, then the ink is dirty, too, which makes it worse!" He touched his sister's skin again, gingerly, and sighed. "I have someone coming in for a touch up in a few minutes. When I'm done we're going to the clinic."
"But Will-"
"No buts, Georgiana." He removed his coat and tossed it over a chair. "I know you hate doctors, but you did this to yourself. Owen, would you get her some water, please?" Owen did as his friend asked. Will turned around and headed for his own room to get ready for his customer.
When she came in she seemed more interested in flirting with Will than in her tattoo, which was placed in a very intimate area of her person. By the time he was finally done with her, it was past eleven and the urgent care clinic was closed. Rather than letting Georgiana off the hook, however, he announced that they'd go to the emergency room. Before she knew it she was sitting on a creaky table covered in sterile white paper behind bluish curtains while doctors and nurses hustled around beyond them.
They waited for what seemed like eons. Several times Georgiana insisted that it would be better to wait until morning when the urgent care clinic opened; Will insisted several times that she stay put. Thoughts of old, scary nurses and drill-sergeant-like doctors swirling through her mind, Georgiana fidgeted through her pain as she watched Will flip disinterestedly through a magazine. When the curtains swished back, she jumped.
The nurse was tall and young and dark-haired, and she though smiled, it was obvious it was forced. "Georgiana?" she queried, her voice soft.
"Yes," said the girl herself, her nervousness not helped.
"I'm Lizzy," she said as she set a file down behind Georgiana. "How are you tonight?"
"I'm okay," she replied timidly as Lizzy took her vitals.
"Looks like you have an infection?" She snapped on some gloves as Georgiana nodded. "Can you show me, please?" She lifted her shirt, indicating that it was on her back. "When did you get this tattoo?"
"I got it Thursday."
"And you think the infection is from the tattoo?"
"Yes."
Lizzy looked up at the man sitting with her patient. Both ears were pierced, and since he had removed his coat and was wearing a sleeveless shirt – one with Jimi Hendrix's face imprinted on it, no less – she saw that there was an elaborate tribal-looking design tattooed around each bicep. "Did you do this?" she asked pointedly.
"Absolutely not," he replied, offended.
She looked back at Georgiana's infection. "Are you a minor, Georgiana?"
"Yes. I'm sixteen."
"And who are you?" she asked of the man, her look not softening.
Will grimaced. "I'm her brother."
Lizzy looked up, a brow cocked. "Where are your parents?" she asked, her tone flat.
"Dead."
She was unmoved. "Are you her legal guardian?"
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"Will Darcy."
Lizzy studied Georgiana's back for a moment longer, and pressed on areas of her back around the infection and asked her some questions. "Dr. Bingley will be here in just a moment," she said to Georgiana, who stood and turned.
She caught Lizzy's big dewy eyes and held them for a moment. Lizzy didn't know why, but she tilted her head, knowing that the young girl had something to say.
She almost didn't say it. "Don't," she breathed, her look absolutely pleading. "I know what you're going to do . . . please don't."
"What am I going to do?" asked Lizzy, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest.
"Don't call social services. Please. We've been through enough – my brother's been through enough with them."
Lizzy's gaze flicked between Georgiana and Will for a moment. "What brings you to that conclusion?"
"Because she tries to haul me away because of stupid things that I do. It's not his fault, it's mine, but she blames Will. It's not fair."
Lizzy gazed at Georgiana a moment, and then turned and looked at Will, whose face was openly astonished. She pulled a stool close to the table where Georgiana sat, and sat down. "Who is she?"
"Catherine DeBourgh," she replied. "She works for Hennepin County and ever since my dad died she's tried to put me in a home, just 'cuz of what Will does for a living."
Lizzy looked over Georgiana for a quiet moment. She looked healthy, other than the infection on her back, though she could've done without the pink hair and the hoop through one side of her nose. It seemed she was aware that she'd done something stupid, which was in her favor, and it clearly upset her that she might be taken away from her brother. "Why don't you tell me about that tattoo?" she asked quietly.
"I went behind Will's back," she explained. "I went to a guy who I knew would do it even though he knows I'm underage."
"A friend of yours?" asked Lizzy of the brother, her left eyebrow arched.
"Absolutely not," Will repeated. "Not since he-"
Georgiana turned and snapped at her brother. "Will!"
Will looked up at Lizzy, whose curiosity was obvious. "Pierced her nose." They exchanged a look for a moment. "You know, this isn't any of your business."
"I have a responsibility to my patients, and to minors in particular," she replied. "That makes it my business." Lizzy swallowed. "Dr. Bingley will be in to see you in just a moment." With that, she stood and disappeared behind the faded blue curtain.
Georgiana watched her go, and her eyes filled with tears. "Will!" she exclaimed again, not in reproach, but in fear.
Will stood and took his sister in his arms. "I'm not going to let them take you away," he whispered into her hair. "George, I promised when Dad died that I'd always take care of you, and I always will." He gingerly rubbed her upper back. "I'll talk to the doctor when he gets in here. That nurse doesn't have any right to talk to social services, or to threaten that she's going to."
After a moment, Georgiana settled down, and soon enough, a tall, blonde woman in a white coat swished back the curtain. She smiled; Georgiana pondered that she looked a little like the nurse. "Hello; I'm Dr. Bingley."
Will was about to open his mouth to say his piece about Nurse Lizzy, but was cut short when he saw she had followed the doctor. Will made a curt greeting to the doctor; Georgiana looked with big eyes to Lizzy, who surprisingly smiled comfortingly.
"Let's have a look at your back. You'll have to lay down on your tummy."
Lizzy helped her up on the table. "Do you want a pillow, Georgiana?" She nodded, and Lizzy dug under the table to pull out a squeaky pillow and tuck it in her arms under her chest. "I'm just going to tuck your shirt into your bra," she said as she did so, "and scoot your jeans down a little."
"Okay . . ." Dr. Bingley mumbled as she looked over Georgiana's infection. She issued some instructions to Lizzy, who left and came back with some things wrapped in plastic. She stepped closer to Georgiana so that she could look her in the face as she explained what she was going to do. She paused to see how her young patient took this information, and was pleased to note that her brother held tightly to her hand. "Ready?"
"Okay," whispered Georgiana.
"We'll get this taken care of and you'll feel better within about twenty four hours. I'll be right back."
"She's just going to go get the medication," explained Lizzy, catching Will's eyes. They were deep dark chocolate pools; silken, they shone with his emotions and though she could tell he was mad, she liked them very much. She was quiet for a moment, wanting to sink into those eyes, but he looked away. She swallowed and spoke again. "I didn't mean to be so crabby earlier," she said by way of apology. "It's been a long night."
Will nodded in acknowledgement; Georgiana studied her with open interest. Lizzy considered that she would have been as mad as Will was, were their situations reversed. She smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood. "I know how these crazy pink-haired teenagers have minds of their own. I have three little sisters myself. Seventeen, sixteen, and fourteen."
Dr. Bingley chose that moment to re-appear. Lizzy noted that Georgiana tensed up; knowing that the doctor could handle the procedure on her own, she sat on a stool by her head and held the hand that her brother wasn't holding. Before she began, Lizzy caught her eye. "She's going to swab the infection with a topical antibiotic. It's going to hurt," she warned the younger girl gently. "She's going to poke around a little and make sure that the infection isn't deeper than she thinks it is. It shouldn't take long, though."
"How long?" asked Georgiana, clearly frightened.
Lizzy looked up at Dr. Bingley. "What do you think?"
"Two minutes," smiled the doctor, snapping on her gloves. "Tops."
"I'll set my stop watch for you," said Lizzy as she removed it from her wrist and set it on the table so Georgiana could watch it. "Don't worry, she's a good doctor," she said, trying to soothe her patient. "She's my cousin."
Georgiana smiled tightly at the nurse. "I know you're trying to make me feel better," she said, "but could you just get it over with?"
The good doctor obliged her, and Georgiana squeezed both her brother's and the nurse's hands. Dr. Bingley announced that she was finished before Lizzy's stop watched beeped, and Georgiana caught her breath and let go of the hands she held.
Dr. Bingley issued her care instructions while Lizzy gathered some bandages and ointment for Georgiana to take home. She removed her gloves and washed her hands, and with a smile, she discharged Georgiana and told her to go home and get some sleep.
Georgiana gingerly got up off the table and her brother helped her on with her coat. Lizzy handed her a brown paper bag with her medications in it. She caught Will's eyes again. "I'm sorry," she said.
"I shouldn't have to explain myself to some self-righteous nurse with no clue as to who I am and how I care for my sister."
Lizzy looked away and sighed. There was nothing she could say right now to make it better.
He was quiet, gazing at her profile for a moment. "Thank you for making my sister feel at ease."
She turned to look at him, not knowing whether to be amused by his sudden change from anger to gratitude or not. Both emotions were sincere, she knew, but she wished she could be as certain that the second one helped soften the first. She wasn't concerned that he'd speak to hospital administration about her behavior. She was just concerned that he thought she was meddlesome and mean-spirited. Not that it would matter, she told herself. It's not like you'd ever see him again.
She watched Georgiana and Will walk away. "He's cute," said a voice next to her.
Lizzy smiled at Dr. Bingley. "Yeah," she said. "Cute and apparently available, and even if by some miracle our paths happen to cross again, will never ever speak to me."
The doctor slipped her arm around her cousin's shoulders. "You did the right thing."
She sighed. She watched as Officer Wickham and a short, plump, imposing woman, whom she had seen far too many times in the ER, approach the young woman with the pink braids and her cute brother. "I hope so, Janie."
(c) 2008 J. H. Thompson
