Once Abandoned, Now Found

Chapter 24

Things didn't go well from there, starting with trying to take Alex's weight.

She had to stand an a black platform that would read off her weight, but Dr Smith told her that she couldn't have Teggs with her because he would change the result. Alex didn't hear "Teggs can't be with you because he will affect the result and then we won't know how much you weigh", she heard "Teggs can't be with you, blah blah, I'm mean".

After some tears a compromise was found, Teggs would be weighed alone first, and then Alex would get weighed with Teggs, his weight being subtracted to find Alex's weight.

At 4'11 and a quarter, Alex weighed a measly 72 pounds, 3 of those pounds coming from the food she had received from Maggie and Danni over the past week.

All the adults in the room knew that the examination was going to be the worst, for them and Alex.

A/N: Trigger warning for abuse. I'll mark when it ends for anyone who doesn't want to read it.

"Alright my little lady, how about we pop you up on the bed so I can have a good look at you" Dr Smith smiled, watching as her daughter hoisted Alex onto the bed and helped her lay flat.

"What I'm going to do is have a look at your body, if anything hurts you tell me okay?"

Alex nodded hesitantly and squeezed Teggs into her chest.

"If I see something that doesn't look okay, I'm going to tell you and I need you to try and say what happened okay?" Dr Smith checked in with Alex again before putting on a pair of gloves and standing next to the bed.

"Remember what Jane said about Teggs baby, if you squeeze him his magic will make you feel better" Maggie brushed her hand through Alex's hair, trying to keep her nerves under control for the sake of Alex.

"Okay, let's start with your right arm!"

Dr Smith carefully pulled Alex's arm towards her, and starting with her fingers, began to check for any marks. Running her fingers over Alex's arm, she frowned as she felt a bump, and taking a look at the angle, noticed that Alex's arm wasn't angled correctly.

"Alex honey, has anyone ever hurt your arm? Did it make a big noise, or hurt a lot for a long time?" Dr Smith asked carefully, noticing how it was preventing Alex from fully straightening the arm too.

Much to Dr Smith's unhappiness, Alex nodded.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Mr Mason threw me, I lan' on arm. 'Ig crack" Alex said solemnly, using her hands to make a snapping motion.

"I bet that hurt a lot" Dr Smith nodded, making a note in her file.

"'Es, bu' I no cry, I 'ood 'irl." Maggie and Danni were struggling to hold it together, Alex sounding proud that she didn't cry when a man broke her arm.

Dr Smith was quick to move on to prevent anyone crying, herself included. Multiple small burns were noted by Alex's shoulders, Dr Smith suspected cigarettes. All she could do at the moment was document everything, and then the police would be called to handle the rest.

Alex's left arm was in slightly better condition, a faint scar twisting from her outside wrist to inner elbow and some pocket scars being the only notable damage. The twisting scar was apparently from a whip.

The bruises on Alex's chest, back and stomach were healing thanks to Maggie and Danni's careful touch, but Dr Smith made a note to prescribe some cream that would help reduce the bruising quicker.

There were scars over Alex's stomach, almost all explained by a knife or glass. Dr Smith was ready to kill someone and she wasn't done.

Alex's right leg was the same as her arm, broken and then misaligned during the healing process, apparently, it came from the same incident.

All the scars, bruises, and bone damage was carefully recorded by Dr Smith, who was going to be phoning the police as soon as Alex's full examination was over.

A small moment of happiness came when Alex was eager to prove that she had all 10 fingers and 10 toes and wiggled them excitedly when Dr Smith jokingly miscounted. It wasn't enough happiness for the adults, but it was some.

A/N: Trigger warning over.

"Alright, you were very good for that, I think it's time for a treasure chest prize!" Dr Smith exclaimed, helping Alex jump off the bed.

"P'ize?" Alex asked, tilting one head to the side like a dog.

"A prize, it's a reward for being such a good girl" Dr Smith explained, tapping Alex on the nose.

Maggie and Danni stayed behind while Dr Smith took Alex out to the nurse's station, where they greeted Alex and helped her choose a small wrapped gift from their treasure chest.

"I know that Mum's gonna kill me later, but at least she likes Alex" Danni smiled, watching the interaction.

Dr Smith was (without ruining the surprise) teaching Alex how to unwrap the prize, sneakily pocketing a second to give to Alex at the end of the appointment.

"Like? Babe, your mum loves her more than she loves you" Maggie replied, kissing Danni on the cheek.

"True, it's only fair if your parents know now too, I mean, we can't deprive Alex of grandparents."

"She's going to get spoiled rotten." Maggie turned Danni's head so they were facing each other and leaned in for a kiss. With Alex in their lives, some of the special time they spent together had been lost (not that they were complaining), but being able to kiss each other, and remember the love was something they never grew tired of.

"'Ook, 'ook!" Alex grinned, bouncing up towards them, Dr Smith in tow.

"What did you get baby?" Danni and Maggie crouched down so they were closer to Alex's height, smiling as they watched Alex wiggle with excitement.

"''uzzle!" Alex showed them the small Disney princess puzzle.

It was 4 20 piece puzzles, each one representing an original Disney princess: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Belle.

"That's great bug! Did you know that Maggie is super good at puzzles?" Danni asked, mouthing a thank you to Dr Smith as Alex turned to Maggie wide-eyed.

"Uh, we do, we do 'gether?" Alex was suddenly shy, holding the box towards Maggie with wide eyes.

"Sure munchkin, once we get home we can do the puzzles together" Maggie smiled, pulling Alex into a hug.

"What happens now?" Danni asked as she was the first to stand up.

"I'm going to keep a record of everything, she'll need x-rays for her right arm, right leg and her chest, I want to rule out any more broken bones. I'm not an expert but I think there might be surgery needed for the arm and leg, she can't have them misaligned for the rest of her life. For now though, sight and mobility tests." Dr Smith explained quietly, Maggie overhearing enough while keeping Alex's attention.

"Hey Alex, do you want to come and meet a friend of mine?" Dr Smith asked, bending down to Alex's level.

Danni had gotten her height from her father, so Dr Smith didn't have to bend down too much to meet Alex's eyes.

"'nother f'end?" Alex's head tilted again causing a mass internal coo.

"Absolutely, and I bet if you're really good, he might have something for you!" Dr Smith said excitedly, offering a hand for Alex to hold.

"O'tay" Alex smiled, holding her hand and waddling along with her towards Dr Baker's office.

It was fair to say that Maggie and Danni were a little nervous, Alex's last interaction with a man hadn't ended well and they weren't sure how much more emotions they could handle.

After a short walk, they arrived at the office, Dr Smith showing Alex how to knock on the door.

Dr Baker was almost the complete opposite of Mr Witherstone, much to Maggie and Danni's delight.

A/N: There's gonna be a double update because things get cute.