"Is my auntie free?" Ellie nervously asked as she arrived at the ED.
"She's in resus" Rash explained "I don't know how long she'll be".
"Do you want me to tell her you are here?" Charlie asked noticing that the girl had tears in her eyes. Ellie nodded and ended up bursting into tears.
Charlie quickly disappeared through to resus.
"Doctor Nash, your niece has just arrived and she's crying. She wants you" Charlie explained.
"Crap, I can't leave him until he is stable" Stevie said, "Can you ask her to go to Faith?"
Charlie nodded and exited the room.
"Your aunt will be as quick as she can. She's wondering if you can go and see Faith just now" Charlie explained, and Ellie thought for a moment. She wasn't ready to go to Faith, it was her aunt that she wanted and only her aunt.
"Oh, look who it is" Charlie said "Faith!"
The woman came over as she was called.
"I'm just away on my break" Faith said jumping in not wanting to be placed with another patient.
"It's not for a patient, it's for this one" Charlie said putting his hand around Ellie's shoulder.
"Oh Ellie" Faith said as she walked towards the girl.
"What's wrong?" Faith asked putting her arms out and allowing the girl to fall into them.
"I want my auntie" Ellie admitted before bursting into tears again.
"Come on" Faith said guiding the girl to the staff room.
"Listen you don't have to tell me anything. We can wait for Stevie and then you can tell her but please let me comfort you. I can't have you all sad and crying" Faith explained, and Ellie nodded allowing herself to fall back into the arms of her aunt's best friend. Faith kept a tight arm around the girl and tried her best to calm her down.
"Sorry, sorry" Stevie said as she flew into the staff room.
"What's the matter?" Stevie said opening her arms for her niece. Stevie rubbed the girl's back but could feel the girl burst into tears again.
"Have you told Faith?" Stevie asked and Ellie shook her head.
"No, I wanted to wait for you" She managed to get out and Stevie nodded.
"Okay, well I'm here now. Can you tell me?" Stevie encouraged.
"I'm bleeding" Ellie whispered, and Stevie nodded. She knew that it wouldn't be long until the girl started but she was still surprised and knew that it would have upset the girl.
"I'll help you, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You could have told Faith though" Stevie explained, and Ellie nodded.
"I know, but I just wanted to tell you first" Ellie admitted hiding into her aunt.
"Okay, we'll go and get you sorted. Do you want to tell Faith first?" Stevie asked noticing that the woman was still in the room but had moved away to give the girl and her niece some space. Ellie nodded.
She walked over to the other woman who stood up when she saw her walking closer.
"You okay?" Faith asked and Ellie nodded. She moved towards the girl who engulfed her in a tight hug.
"I've started my periods, sorry I just wanted to tell my auntie first" She admitted whispering it into Faith's ear, and Faith smiled.
"I understand that, don't worry about it" Faith said. Stevie watched on before interrupting them as she was in a rush.
"Right, come on Ellie, let's get this sorted before I get called away again" Stevie explained opening her arms for her niece. They walked over to Stevie's locker and quickly looked through the locker. Stevie actually had spare underwear and pyjamas for the girl just in case she ended up needing to spend the night for some reason.
"Take these" Stevie said handing them to her niece as well as a sanitary pad.
"I'm not carrying that!" Ellie replied moving her hands upright in defence. Stevie laughed before walking to the toilet with the girl.
"You saw how I put one on before, yeah? Can you do it yourself?" Stevie asked and Ellie nodded.
"Call me if you need me, won't you?" Stevie said before pushing the girl into the toilet. Ellie quickly sorted herself out.
"Stevie, what do I do with my dirty pants?" Ellie asked nervously.
"Eh, how bad are they?" Stevie asked. Ellie didn't reply straight away so Stevie knocked on the door and waited for it to be opened.
"Just bin them, it'll be easier" Stevie said taking the pants from the girl.
"Are you okay?" Stevie asked and Ellie nodded standing up so that she was ready to leave.
"It's not very comfortable" Ellie admitted.
"The boy short pants won't help. Listen, we'll nip to the supermarket once my shift has finished and get everything sorted" Stevie said as they walked out of the cubicle. They both washed their hands before returning to staff room.
"I'll try to be quick" Stevie said before kissing the girl on the head and encouraging her to sit down.
"Thought this might help" Faith said as she watched Stevie exiting the room. She handed the girl a hot water bottle.
"Thank you" Ellie said blushing slightly as she held the bottle tightly against her stomach. It was really starting to hurt now.
"No worries, do you want a hug?" Faith asked and Ellie nodded. Faith smiled and sat down next to the girl. She quickly pulled the girl into her arms and lay back.
"How are you feel?" Faith asked and Ellie shrugged. She didn't have the words to explain it to others. Faith just looked at the girl giving her time to think things through.
"I'm not sure, a bit weird but Stevie had spoken to me about it a lot so I knew I could tell her" Ellie admitted.
"And you understand everything?" Faith asked, "You know like why you get periods and things?"
Ellie nodded.
"Auntie Stevie explained it all to me. She used some doctor language too but then went over it all which was really helpful" Ellie explained, and Faith smiled.
"She's pretty good that one" Faith said, and Ellie nodded.
"I thought it was going to be really embarrassing but she made me feel so much better about it. I wasn't embarrassed and I know that when other stuff happens, I can speak to her about it too" Ellie mumbled into Faith's chest and Faith smiled.
"I know that that is exactly what your auntie wants" Faith explained, and Ellie smiled. They sat for a bit longer before Faith had to return to work.
"Do you want to go and get yourself some food from the canteen?" Stevie said, "Might help you feel a bit better."
Stevie put her arms around the girl and gave her a tight hug. Ellie nodded, she was feeling a big light-headed and glad that her aunt had suggested this.
Ellie returned about 15 minutes later with chips and returned to the staffroom. She was beginning to feel slightly better once she had started eating and when she finished, she quickly nipped to the bathroom.
She was shocked at the amount of blood on the pad as it had only been just over 2 hours since she put it on. She knew that she needed to find her aunt and get another one.
She returned to the ward and noticed her aunt writing up notes in the nurses' station.
"Did you get me a cake?" Stevie demanded and Ellie nodded before snuggling up against her aunt.
"What's up?" Stevie asked suspiciously.
"I need another pad" Ellie whispered, and Stevie looked at her.
"Already?" Stevie asked surprised and Ellie nodded.
"It's really heavy" Ellie admitted, and Stevie nodded quickly giving the girl another pad.
"Don't worry, we'll have another little chat when I finish" Stevie explained, and Ellie nodded. That made her feel better as she knew that her aunt would ensure that she spoke to her.
Ellie returned to the bathroom and quickly sorted herself out before returning to the staff room. She snuggled up on the sofa with her hot water bottle and her phone.
"Were you having a snooze there?" Stevie asked as she entered the room and Ellie jumped up.
"Sorry, I was really tired" Ellie admitted, and Stevie nodded.
"We'll keep a close eye" Stevie said slightly worrying about the change in her niece.
"Let's head home" Stevie said and Ellie nodded as she stood up and grabbed her bag. She followed her aunt out of the hospital and they quickly drove home.
"I think we need a takeaway tonight" Stevie said putting her arms around the young girl's shoulders.
"You need to keep your strength up when it's your time of the month" Stevie said kissing the girl on the head.
"Do you always get a takeaway on your period?" Ellie asked.
"Nah but it makes me want one more. You've settled right into my cycle but you might be irregular for a while" Stevie said.
"So you are on your period too?" Ellie asked shocked and Stevie nodded.
"Yeah" Stevie shrugged.
"How come you didn't say anything?" Ellie asked.
"I'm used to it, but I wouldn't hide it from you. You would have probably noticed when you saw pads and tampons in the bathroom. I just started this morning at work" Stevie shrugged, and Ellie nodded.
"Right, can you put your bag away?" Stevie asked as she quickly put the takeaway order on her phone. She was getting more confident at knowing what the girl liked. Ellie stood up quickly and took her bag with her. She stopped and swayed slightly.
"Oh, are you okay?" Stevie asked stepping in to steady the girl.
"This happened before. I feel like I'm going to faint" Ellie admitted and Stevie nodded.
"I'm a bit worried about your iron levels especially with your period being so heavy" Stevie admitted, "I want you to stay off school tomorrow so I can keep an eye on you. It should settle after the second day."
Ellie nodded, that made her feel better. She wasn't too sure if she'd manage to handle her period at school having only just started today.
It didn't take long for the takeaway to arrive, and they quickly got tucked in. Stevie loved seeing the difference in how the girl acted this time compared to the previous time. She could see how much more settled the girl was now.
"Right, let's pop to the supermarket and get you some things" Stevie instructed.
"Can I go to the toilet first" Ellie admitted "I think I'll need another you know."
"In the bathroom under the sink. Don't worry" Stevie said as she followed the girl into the bathroom to show her where they were. She put her arm on the girl's back before exiting the room.
They headed to tesco's and quickly went to the underwear section.
"Right, let's go for these" Stevie said getting the smallest size she could of simply black briefs.
"It'll be better for keeping the pad in place" Stevie explained. They then went to the sanitary products section.
"I'll get a range. I think these teen ones are cute as they are smaller and fit better into your pants but if your periods are still heavy, they won't be enough. I've got night pads at home that are longer and will cope with a heavier flow" Stevie explained, and Ellie nodded. She liked how her aunt explained everything to her but was still slightly embarrassed that she was doing this in public.
"Omg, I know them boys. You need to buy all this yourself. Pretend I'm not with you" Ellie said prancing around when she noticed some boys at the self service check out. Stevie laughed as the girl ran off ahead of her and waited at the exit.
Stevie knew better than to push the girl so made sure that she bought a bag to put all the products in rather than embarrass her in front of the boys in her year.
"Phew, I'm so glad you got a bag" Ellie admitted as soon as her aunt arrived at the exit.
"I know, I'm the best" Stevie said putting her spare arm around the girl again.
"You know, I'm so proud of you" Stevie said kissing the girl on the head.
"You've handled this so well" Stevie explained and Ellie smiled.
"It's just because you prepared me so well. I'm so thankful for having you" Ellie said and Stevie smiled.
They soon arrived home and stuck a movie on. They settled on the sofa and by the end of the movie Ellie had drifted off to sleep.
"Come on, bed now" Stevie said as she gently helped the girl up. She managed to wake the girl up enough to encourage her into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
"Come and give me a cuddle" Stevie instructed as the girl returned. Ellie flopped into bed and snuggled tightly against her aunt's chest.
"Thank you so much for today" Ellie said.
"No worries at all, I love you so much" Stevie whispered into the girl's ear.
"I love you too" Ellie said before falling into a gentle sleep.
Sorry it's been so long! I've been really busy the last week or so.