TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TEN: CHECK-UPS AND LIES

"MAN? What man?" she set her sandwich down and craned her neck to try and peek out through the small window the door provided, Violet cocked her head to the side confused by her sudden worry.

"The man outside, he brought us food and let me see you." she stated, Margo turned to face the small girl her expression blank as she tried her best to remain calm, "Violet, what all have you told them?" she shook her head, she hadn't told them anything, at least not anything she could remember.

"I didn't tell them anything." she replied her throat tightening at the possibility of being scolded, Margo scooted to the side of her bed and watched the girl, "if anyone, even the man asks, you say I'm your mom, you understand me?" Violet nodded her head furrowing her eyebrows as she did so, she wanted to ask why she was being told she had to do this, but, she knew better than anyone to just go along with it.

"Now, you're going to go out there, and you're going to tell the man I'm awake." she paused only continuing when the girl nodded her head to say she'd been listening, "and then you're going to climb up here in the bed and lay next to me, okay?" Violet nodded her head slipping out of her chair and crossing the room to the door.

Just outside, at the desk, sat the man with his magazine in hand. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder in Margo's direction, she proceeded out into the hall and up to the edge of the desk. The man, having heard the sound of her small boots squeaking against the cold tile leaned over to look at her a small smile on his lips as he did so, "she up?" he questioned, Violet glanced over her shoulder once more nodding her head as she turned back to look at him.

"Well, I'll grab the nurse and be in there soon." he stated walking around the side of the desk before making his way down the hall and into another room, quick to not waste any time, Violet returned to Margo's room and climbed into the bed resting her cool body against the older girls.

"What if they don't believe us?" she turned her head to look at Margo worried they'd be found out and thrown to the curb, the older girl shook her head with a tight smile crossing her lips, "you're small, and we're both blonde. They should buy it." that made her feel better just the slightest, if Margo was confident it would work than she didn't see any reason to not be.

When the man entered the room, he gently knocked on the frame of the door watching as Violet snuggled her head into Margo's shoulder, he greeted them both with a warm smile as the nurse filed in behind him with a small box resting in her hands, "well hello there." he began looking from one girl to the next, "I don't think we've been properly introduced yet." he held out his hand to Margo waiting as she looked it over.

"I'm Marcus Navaili." the older girl pursed her lips slightly before reaching up and grabbing his hand, after a few moments he released her hand and pointed at the small girl, "pardon me for asking, but, how olds your girl?" Margo smiled- something any parent did at the mention of their child- "she's about to be nine." the man- Marcus- raised his eyebrows looking to Violet before offering her a smile, "you're awfully old." he joked watching as she dryly laughed.

She hadn't found it funny at all.

"May I ask how old you are?" Margo met the man's gaze, she hadn't been expecting that one, "twenty-six, my birthday was last month." he nodded, gesturing to the nurse he feigned an apologetic look, "sorry, figured I'd get in some small talk and get her some of the information she needs." Violet listened as the older girl stifled a laugh.

It seemed she was much better at playing pretend than Violet was.

"So, Violet tells me you have tests you're wanting to run?" Marcus furrowed an eyebrow before the girl beside her gave a small wave gesturing that she was the previously mentioned, "ahh, yes! We would like to run some tests, check out your leg, that type of stuff."

They carried on into silence for a few minutes before Margo reached her hand up to brush through Violet's thin silky hair, "and how long do you think all that will take? I don't like leaving her alone." Marcus shook his head quietly watching as Violet laid back into the girl's chest for added effect.

"Could be as long as three or four hours, I'd say if we start soon we could get it done in half that, maybe less." from behind him, the nurse gently poked his ribcage with the tip of her pen, "none of it requires sedatives, if she wants she can take the child along with her." she cast the small blonde a glance, "actually, I'll have Maureen join us, get the girl in for a checkup, god knows what she was exposed to out there." with his eyebrows raised, he returned his gaze to the blonde duo.

"Would you be fine with that? Getting the girl a check-up?" Margo bit her lip teasing the skin between her teeth, "I don't have to leave her, right?" the nurse nodded her head, she wouldn't try to separate them, there wasn't much of a point.

"Well, if you ladies are ready to get going, we can get Maureen and get this all started." Marcus beamed, he seemed overenthusiastic towards the situation, not that anyone cared, but, they did notice.

At least Margo and Violet did.

Both the girls exchanged a look before Violet nodded her confirmation on the subject, she was fine with getting a checkup. Turning back to meet Marcus' gaze, Margo gave him a nod before resting her chin atop the small girl's head and running her fingers through her hair once again.

Marcus offered the nurse a smile before he retreated out into the hall, the woman watched them with curious eyes, as if she had a few questions she wanted to ask but knew they were out of place, instead, she turned to greet the next woman that entered with Marcus, throwing his hands out to his sides, he gestured from the girls to the woman, "ladies, this is Maureen, she'll be giving Violet her checkup today." she waved at the smaller of the two a small smile parting her lips as she approached.

"How we doing today?" she questioned pulling her stethoscope from around her neck, "we feeling okay Mom?" Margo took a moment to respond the question having startled her, she hadn't expected to be called by that, but then again, after the details they'd fed their hosts, she wasn't entirely surprised.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm feeling fine, just a little pain in my leg." Maureen softly nodded her head in the direction of the girl, "what about you sweetheart? Any coughing? Bleeding from abnormal places like your mouth or ears?" Violet furrowed her eyebrows annoyed with the sudden onslaught of questions, why did she need to know so much?

"No, maybe a little bit of bleeding from my middle finger, from having to use it too much." the nurse looked up at her with a look of disappointment, "Mom, any noticed bleeding from abnormal places?" Margo pursed her lips before giving a curt shake of the head, "what she said." the nurse restrained herself from replying and instead gestured to Violet's chest, "can I listen to your heart for a moment?" the girl frowned turning to Margo to answer.

The older girl shook her head, "it's fine, it's part of every checkup."

Letting out a sigh, the girl scooted forward so she was closer to the nurse and waited for the cool metal to press into the material of her shirt, it took a few moments for the feeling to hit her, and when it did, she wasn't all that irritated with it, just shocked at the coolness of the object.

Maureen gently moved the stethoscope around the broad area where her heart resided quietly listening to the soft beats of the girls thumping heart, once she seemed satisfied with her findings, she motioned for Violet to turn around so she could press the stethoscope to the girls back as well.

Once she'd turned around, Violet latched onto Margo's hand finding some comfort in the warm set of fingers as they curled around her own, all in all, the little girl didn't dislike her as much anymore.

She offered the small child a smile as Maureen pressed the stethoscope to Violets back, the child trained her gaze on Margo daring herself not to move or turn around, she wanted to get this done as quickly as possible with no further delays.

The other woman moved to the counter across the room- where Marcus had set their tray of food earlier- opening one of the overhead cabinets, she shuffled through the contents for a few sparse seconds before pulling out a small plastic container of unsterilized needles.

Maureen, pulling away from the girl, hung her stethoscope around the base of her neck where it had rested beforehand and took a step back so the other nurse could perform the next task.

Marcus- currently out of the way- seemed to be comfortable in the chair Violet had occupied the night prior his head leaned into his hand as he absently watched with less excitement than before. While all this transpired, Margo watched with steady eyes as the woman prepared an empty blood bag along with a few vials and the needle she'd previously removed from the cabinet.

Violet was turned around, watching Maureen before her eyes settled on the other nurse, she didn't seem enthusiastic either, the nurse seemed to have caught their stares offering both a subtle smile while gesturing to the blood bag, "don't worry sweetheart, this isn't for you." from behind, Margo watched as the girl visibly relaxed, she seemed to have been put off by the idea of having blood drawn.

Margo wished she didn't have to get it.

She remembered the feeling as if it were clockwork, each year for training- with Stan- she was forced to get a checkup, her regular physical, and bloodwork with additional shots, all of which she hated more than she currently hated Stan.

The sting seemed to dull over the years though, as well as her attitude towards Stan during training, god, how she ached to be in training just then.

Even if it meant she'd have to see Stan.

It meant getting away from this hell that had taken over the Earth, the same hell that had ripped Mitch from her and left a bullet wound across her leg.

At the same time, she was fine with it.

Fine with the gunshot, fine with not knowing where Mitch was, fine with having Violet with her, and fine being wherever the hell it was that they were.

The other nurse- her name still not being stated- approached Margo, stopped at the bedside taking a half step back before smiling and meeting Violets gaze, "could you get down for a few moments? I just need to take some of your mothers blood for testing." Violet didn't argue, aware that she didn't need to draw extra attention to the fact that she acted far older than what she'd told them.

Quietly slipping out of the bed, she made her way around the side and crouched down on the floor to watch, Margo glanced in her direction holding out her hand to the girl as she seemed far more scared than she let on. Violet carefully reached her hand out and grabbed onto Margo's relief spilling through her at the familiar warmth.

As the woman sterilized the needled and began to bring it closer to the girl's skin, she found herself turning away, she really didn't want to see the blood.

Not again.

TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TEN: CHECK-UPS AND LIES