Runaway Train

Mother (Addie) Knows Best

Chapter Eleven

Mother(Addie) Knows Best

Addison had dragged both Derek and Amelia to the Emergency room. After everything that had happened recently with the girl, she wasn't willing to play around or take chances when it came to her health.

Amelia had continued to insist that she was fine and didn't need to see a doctor, however her weak tone and inability to walk on her own called her bluff. It wasn't that she truly believed she was fine, it was more that she was terrified of being in the hospital again after what had happened last time.

Derek had made the rare - and wise - decision to keep his mouth shut and follow Addison's lead. She had proved him wrong more than once when it came to his sister, and he knew better than to pick a fight with her when she was like this.

Amelia laid her head on Addison's shoulder while they waited for the doctor to speak to them after her exam. She was sleepy and bored and she wanted to go home.

An ER doctor had completed an exam on the teen when they had first arrived - albeit a rushed one. The bumbling intern had poked her a few times before finally finding a vein and taking some blood from her. Fortunately for Amelia, he had called on an experienced nurse to hook her up to an IV of saline fluids, as well as a dose of Zofran for her nausea.

It had now been roughly two hours since they had arrived, and Amelia's IV had already run through. Yet they were still impatiently waiting for an update from the doctor on her labs. In addition to the haphazard quality of the exam, Addison and Derek had become quickly irritated with this particular doctor's bedside manner, or lack thereof. He had not been very nice to Amelia, who had squealed in pain every time he'd stabbed her with the syringe.

Amelia would have normally complained but she hadn't wanted to push it when she knew people like her social worker seemed to lurk in the halls of hospitals.

Instead she had been waiting quietly, swinging her legs back and forth like a young child. Eventually giving in to her exhaustion, eyelids falling closed as she snuggled deeper into Derek's warm hoodie and became deadweight against Addison's side.

The next thing she knew she was being shaken awake by her brother. She blinked, slowly coming back around to her surroundings.

"Is the doctor back?" she inquired sleepily, rubbing at her eyes with a sleeve covered hand.

"You just missed him." Derek commented dryly, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"We let you sleep, but you didn't miss anything. All that quack said was that your lab results indicated symptoms of oncoming influenza, and he couldn't answer any specific questions for us before scurrying off. We've been waiting for another doctor ever since." He grumbled.

As medical school students and soon to be graduates, he and his wife knew how to read lab results, and they both knew that the intern should have been able to answer the standard questions they had asked him.

"I'm making you an appointment with a gynecologist too." Addison replied, ignoring her husband and charging forward as she always did. Although she agreed with him, they had no time to whine about that right now.

"And don't argue with me Amelia, you do need this. You've never been to one before and you have been sexually active, so you are long overdue for a check up. Also, it's very common for chronic stomach pain in women and teen girls to be related to the menstrual cycle." Addison lectured, happily sharing her knowledge on the subject.

Amelia groaned but didn't fight because not only was she absolutely exhausted, but once again, she didn't want to rock the boat.

"When?" The young brunette questioned in resignation, covering a yawn with her hand.