Fragile // 5sos [under MAJOR reconstruction!]

Nine.

Revised.

The next day rolled around and she totally forgot about the parents and the physio; she was buzzing about her newfound friends. Of course, there was that nagging voice in the back of her head to stop her from getting so close to them, to not trust them. They will hurt you, they will destroy you even more than you are. She tried to ignore it because that's what the psychologist had told her, which was further encouraged by Melinda, but it was very difficult.

It was early in the afternoon, since she was used to sleeping most of the day to work during the night. This was going to be a hard habit to break, and she needed to break it, since Melinda couldn't keep up with waking up at 3 in the morning to a distressed Dru over the baby pager and having to drive all the way to hospital to calm her down and put her to sleep again. Dru was currently in a bodysuit made for a prepubescent preteen and was in the shallow end of the hospital pool made for physiotherapy. The instructor was holding her hand and Melinda stood on the sidelines, watching carefully of her progress.

Melinda had specifically requested having an all female staff to look after Dru; she had a specific type of Androphobia, which is an extreme fear of adult men, most typically being alone with them or having more than one around her. This was the reason for the all female staff in the areas where it could happen, with the exception of Dr. Oakley, since he specialised in traumatic breaks and had a degree in social services.

After the pool session, she had to go back to her room and clean up so she could see her parents. She felt nervous, particularly because she didn't know how to react. Happy? Upset? Angry? She was a cocktail of emotions ready to be shaken. After drying off with the help of Melinda, she was back in bed watching her favourite cartoons. Melinda noticed that Dru was the most comfortable with a cup of jelly in one hand as she watched the TV. She needed to be most calm, so she sneaked another jelly cup in her favourite flavour, blueberry, and gave it to the girl. Without saying thank you, she smiled at the cup and took it, ripping the lid open and digging in. She looked like a small child in the best way, as if only such a simple thing could make her the happiest thing in the world, despite all that had happened to her.

In the elevator, accompanied by none other than Melinda herself, were two very nervous and teary eyed women, both in their mid thirties with a small toddler attached to one's leg. She sucked on her dummy and played with her small teddy, unknowing of the surprise that was behind the door labelled 217.

"Karen and Sarah, is it? And this is little Sadie?" She asked, smiling at the little girl who played with her teddy. The two nodded nervously, clinging onto each other in comfort. "Well, this is Dru. Please, no sudden movements, she doesn't know who you are. No sudden movements either, and she doesn't like to be touched." The two nodded vigorously and Melinda knocked on the door. Again, Dru didn't answer as always, but she quickly put the chocolates away that she had stashed all those weeks ago. They were extremely soft and probably off by then, but she didn't know that. She shut the drawer and her eyes watched the door open. Melinda came in with two strangers, until it dawned on Dru that these people must have been her parents. 

Her eyes widened and she kept glancing at Melinda in fear as the two women were choking on their tears. Dru recognised one of them as the woman from the image she had laying on her bedside table. She took it and looked at it, then looked at the woman again, confirming that this was indeed her mother. She wondered who the other woman was. The little girl looked up at the TV and gasped excitedly, dropping her teddy and running up to the side of her bed.

"Clifford!" She cried out, watching the big red dog jump around the screen. Dru watched her in terror, wondering what the hell that thing was and why it was so small. It took her a moment to realise that she too was that small once, and she took a deep breath.  She unconsciously pressed her panic button and Melinda could feel the buzzing in her pocket. She quickly looked at Sarah and she immediately acted; she pulled Sadie away from the bed and Karen picked her up. She wailed in protest and Dru flinched at the loud sound.

"Dru." Sarah whispered, slowly walking up to her. She went onto her knees shakily and looked up at the girl in the bed. Dru looked back, feeling sympathetic towards the woman, but she felt nothing else. What else was she supposed to feel? She couldn't believe that this woman was someone that she had to be close with, and she didn't feel like she needed to. Sarah held her hand out for Dru's, and she quickly looked up at Melinda. Melinda smiled and quietly encouraged her, but Dru slowly put her hands in her lap and away from the woman's outstretched hands. 

"I like this TV show as well." Dru said, as her attention diverted to the little girl who was singing along to the theme song. She didn't respond; she merely sucked on her fingers as her big dewy eyes were set on the TV. Karen smiled at Dru, she she wiped at her blotchy cheeks.

"It's Sadie's favourite. Something you two have in common." She replied, and Dru turned back to Melinda. 

"Dru, this is Sarah. She is your mother. This is Karen, Sarah's partner, and their daughter Sadie. She's your sister." Melinda introduced, which should have happened before this whole shit show started. Dru looked down at the woman on her knees, watching her tears glistening in the light. She quickly had a flashback to her sister back at the base, who was balling her eyes out because she had got in trouble with the bosses. Dru wiped her tears away and consoled her lovingly.

She raised her hand and mindlessly wiped the woman's tears away, wondering why she was so upset. Sarah paused in shock, but quickly smiled and choked on more tears as she almost laughed with happiness.

"You should stop crying." Dru informed, and Sarah smiled and quickly wiped her cheeks.

"I should, shouldn't I?" She laughed, and took a tissue from the bedside table and blew her nose. Those were Dru's tissues; she narrowed her eyes at the woman for taking her property, and Melinda seemed to notice as she quickly intervened.

"Dru, I'm proud of you for sharing your tissues. That's very nice of you." She said slowly, and Dru quickly stopped glaring.

"Do you have chocolate?" Dru asked the lady holding the child, and she quickly taken aback by the question. 

"Oh, no I don't. But we can get some for you, if you'd like?" She responded, and Dru was satisfied with that answer. She wondered if they would be able to afford such a luxury, and she felt guilty for asking, but these two women should at least offer something to her; for all Dru knew they could have handed her over to the two kidnappers and said adios.

The reunion lasted all afternoon. The two women sat with Dru and watched her favourite show with her, and Karen dropped Sadie off at her dad's and brought back some takeout dinner and some chocolate for Dru. Dru had never had takeout before, but she was soon in love with the fried rice that they had given her. Every so often, Melinda came in and checked up on her, but Dru felt weird when she wasn't around. She felt more happy and safe with Melinda, not with these strangers.