We entered a room and a lady behind the desk looked startled as she saw me. She smiled at Diane, "Hello Diane, how are you doing today?"

Diane kept walking towards her, "I am doing well Nancy, thank you."

"Who is your new friend?"

I mostly hid behind Diane while she talked to the lady. Diane responded, "This is Laura. We just found her so we are here to see if she needs any vitamins or anything else. I am not sure if you wanted us to shower first or not. I do not have any spare clothes for her though."

I had a dress in my backpack. I was just about to speak when the nurse responded, "No need to shower first, I can give her a look over as she is. Then you can head for a shower and I will bring her some new clothes to wear until she visits the supply storage area."

Nancy led us to a room on the side and I followed behind Diane. They seemed to know one another pretty well, but I still wasn't sure about the energetic nurse. Diane closed the door behind us and seemed to be closely inspecting the room.

Nancy crouched down, "Hi there sweetie, I am just going to give you a check over. Can you please take off your shirt and pants for me?"

I don't recall anyone ever calling me sweetie before. Why did she want me to undress in this room? I looked up at Diane nervously. She smiled and nodded reassuringly, "It's okay Laura, everyone who comes here has the nurses look at them. I have done this many times."

I nodded and started to take my shirt and pants off. What had Diane done that she had needed to visit the nurses so many times? I guess if angels were often helping people in trouble that they were bound to get injured eventually.

Nancy came forward with a smile, "I am just going to pick you up and stand you on top of this table, okay?"

I nodded nervously and she put her hands under my arms and picked me up so I could stand on the table. My shoes were still damp from the snow, I had a hard time understanding why I was allowed to stand on a table without taking my shoes off. The lady didn't seem to even notice, "Does any part of your body hurt? A scratch or a bruise?"

I shook my head. The worst injury I had during the last few weeks was a paper cut.

Nancy nodded with a smile, "Okay, I am just going to feel your ribs and stomach, okay?"

I nodded, trying to hide my unease. I felt more like hiding than anything else. I don't recall being this nervous around people before Mom got sick. I really hoped that I wasn't getting sick. She started feeling my ribs and gently poking my stomach. She touched my sides and I couldn't restrain a giggle. Nancy chuckled and moved her hands away from my ticklish sides.

Before too long she stepped back with a grin, "Everything looks good. Possibly a bit of malnutrition, but nothing a week or so of decent food shouldn't fix. I will get you some vitamins though, just in case. Thank you Laura, you can get dressed now."

Diane stepped forward and held out her hand. I grabbed it and she helped me jump down to the floor so I could put my clothes back on. The room was a bit chilly. We left the room and went to a small sitting area. Diane and I sat on a big fluffy couch. Nancy dug around in a drawer and grabbed a lollipop, she came back and held it out for me, "Here you go, for being such a good girl."

It reminded me of the food in my house. I had absolutely no desire to eat it. I shook my head and politely declined, "Thank you, but I have already had too much candy this week."

Mom had always said that people usually didn't like to give kids too much sugar, so this should work in my favor. I almost laughed at the disbelief that crossed Nancy's face. She had obviously not expected me to decline candy. Diane was less restrained and chuckled freely at Nancy's expression. I heard her dig through her backpack that sat near her feet. I turned to watch her.

She pulled out a container and passed it to me. I quickly opened it in anticipation, "Ooh! Green things!" Various green plants greeted me. I hoped that they tasted as good as the ones she gave me earlier did. I smiled up at her, "They are all good to eat?"

Diane looked amused at my reaction and nodded. A small sound of joy escaped my lips, it sounded a lot like a squeal to my ears. I quickly started sampling the various plants. I picked up an odd looking plant that was quite common in the container, "What is this one?"

Diane was watching me, "Watercress, it grows by rivers. It tastes better in summer, but isn't bad in winter."

I wondered what it would taste like in summer. Guess I would have to wait and see. Diane told Nancy about how she had found me while I managed to eat everything in the container. The dandelions had a faint bitter flavor, while the clover had a sweet tangy aftertaste, the others also had slightly different tastes.

I handed the empty container back to Diane. Nancy smiled at me, "There are some toys in the corner if you want to play. We are going to visit for a bit longer."

Toys didn't interest me any more than the candy did. I didn't want to leave Diane either, in case she somehow disappeared. I shook my head, "No, thank you, I would rather stay by Diane."

I was resolved to remain polite, so as not to possibly irritate Diane. I was trying to be on my best behavior after all. She nodded and went over to a dresser and pulled out an electronic device and a pair of headphones and came back, "Do you like music? This device has songs and some games on it. You can play on it while sitting here."

My music player had broken some time ago and I had really missed music. I nodded eagerly, I couldn't wait to hear music again. She pressed a few buttons and handed it to me, "There we go, it is playing music and I opened up a game."

I put the headphones on and heard music from the movie Fantasia. I dimly remembered Mickey Mouse with the broom that refused to lie down, the dancing centaurs, and the winged horses. The game involved a maze and numbers. I walked my person through the maze adding up numbers to get through the various levels. It had been a long time since I did math, but they were really easy, like 3+2.

I got lost in the game for a while. I glanced over as Nancy stood up and left the room. I leaned against Diane and resumed my game. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, it felt really nice and relaxing. I snuggled a bit closer into her side. It felt almost odd to be able to lean against something warm.

Nancy came back with some stuff in her arms. She went to pass it to Diane and I reluctantly leaned forward so Diane could grab them. I couldn't hear what Nancy was saying over the music. Diane looked down at me, clearly wanting to talk, so I pulled my headphones off.

Diane grinned at me, "Feel like going for a hot shower and getting clean?"

I felt my eyes go wide. Clean? Hot water? I hadn't managed to clean up for months. I jumped to my feet in excitement, "Yes, please!" I remembered the music player in my hand and hesitated. I really loved music, but I knew I had to return it. I would miss it despite only playing with it for a short time. I held it out to Nancy, "Thank you for letting me play with it."

Nancy smiled at me as she took it, "My pleasure. Always feel free to stop by and visit."

Diane got up and I followed her as she led me down the hall. We went into a room with ten shower stalls and a bathtub along the far wall. Diane headed for the bathtub and started running the water, "There, we will let that fill up a bit before you get in. Then I can help you wash your hair. I have special hair stuff to help get those knots out of your hair."

I was getting excited. My brush didn't work well and I hadn't been able to get some of the knots in my hair out in a long time. The knots bothered me, I hoped she could get them out without pulling my hair too much. It was just us in here so I relaxed and started getting undressed.

Diane wandered over to the nearby shower. This one just had a curtain divider and she turned the water in the shower on as well, "Can you get undressed and have a quick rinse with some soap in here? Then I can help you the rest of the way in the bath."

She passed me a pump bottle with some light green liquid in it, "Here is a special soap, it foams when you use it. It smells like peppermint too. Use as much as you need."

I quickly took the soap and got into the warm shower. It was kind of fun to run the foamy soap over my arms and legs. Wherever I rubbed it, the dirt would just roll away leaving my pale skin showing. Before too long, I couldn't see any more dirty skin. I had emptied about a quarter of the soap bottle though.

Diane had left the one side of the shower curtain open so I could see her and the tub. She had turned the bath off, and I wondered if I could get into it, "Am I clean enough to get in the bath now?"

She grinned at me, "Sure, just hop into the tub. I will turn off the water for you."

I left the shower and climbed into the tub. I watched her lean over to turn the shower off before coming over to me. She grabbed a washcloth and put some soap on it, "Could you stand up please? I will clean your back."

I stood up and turned around and she scrubbed my back clean. "Okay you can get back in the water now, I am just going to rinse this in the sink so it doesn't get your water too dirty. I will be right back."

I sunk into the warm water and watched her as she walked to the sink near the door. I was somewhat worried she would just walk out of the door and disappear. She seemed to think that this place was safe and angels were known for disappearing once people were out of danger. I relaxed once she started walking back.

She picked up a brush and a bottle of conditioner, "Can you please get your hair wet?"

I quickly dunked my head to get my hair wet, happy she would try to get the knots out of my hair. I leaned against the tub so she could easily reach my hair. It was really relaxing as she gently worked my hair this way and that way. I almost fell asleep. It took her quite a while, but eventually she was able to run the brush through my hair without finding any knots or tangles in my waist long hair. She pronounced my hair done and I quickly rinsed off the last of the conditioner and got out of the tub.

It felt so good to be clean. I got dressed and skipped around Diane happily, "I'm clean!"

She chuckled, "Yes, you are very clean. Do you want me to give your hair a small trim?"

I skipped in front of her, "Yes please!"

I hoped that the knots wouldn't come back so easily if she trimmed my hair. She brushed my hair straight and I heard the snipping of scissors. "There, that looks much better. It isn't the greatest since I am not good at cutting hair, but we can go see the hair dresser in a few days for something better."

My hair wasn't much shorter, but it looked so much better since the hair was all the same length now. She led me down the hallway, heading somewhere to get me some clothing. I was glad that she seemed to know where she was going.