Veritas Vitae - "His Tenebris Moenibus" Spin Off One Shots

DNA Doesn't Make a Family

Eleven had what some would call a phobia of needles. After 12 years in the lab and being injected hundreds of times with shit that would make her feel queasy, tired, or just plain bad, it was no wonder. She was trying her best to overcome it, though. Joyce had Eleven get her standard vaccines while under her care and a yearly flu shot since then.

Still, Eleven flinched when her biology teacher held up a small pen shaped device in front of the room and said "needle."

"You're all going to get one of these and a small needle. Follow the directions on your worksheet, but essentially you're going to load the needle inside, press the opening to the tip of your finger, then press the button. It's only a small prick. For some of you, you'll have to squeeze a little bit to get the blood out, others will gush a bit. Once you have a flow, squeeze two small drops onto your slides and come to the front." Her teacher said.

Eleven gulped as a pen and needle were given to her, but she kept her hands steady as she loaded the needle. She twisted the tip so the needle was at the longest setting before aligning the pen with her left pointer finger.

Three... two... one. She thought, squeezing her eyes shut and hitting the button. Eleven felt a sharp prick and she pulled the pen away. A small bead of blood emerged and she let out a sigh of relief. Needles she hated, blood she was a bit more used to.

As instructed, Eleven managed to get two small drops on her glass slide before she stopped the flow with a tissue. She held it against her finger as she walked up to the front. When it was her turn, her teacher put a few drops of yellow liquid on one drop and a few drops of blue liquid on the other. He mixed them a bit with a toothpick and showed the slide to Eleven.

"Do you see those small specks, Jane?" He asked, gesturing to the blue puddle. Eleven looked, seeing slowly growing spots in the blue liquid. "That's your blood reacting to the Anti-A antigen. You have Type A blood."

Eleven nodded before taking the slide back to clean it. She paused, remembering something.

"You wanted us to fill out our squares, right?" She asked.

"Correct. Just to see how it was passed down from your parents." Her teacher answered. Eleven flinched.

"I... I'd have to ask my aunt. About Ma- my mom's type."

"Ah, right. Tell you what, I'll give you the weekend to get that information and you can hand in the worksheet on Monday."

Eleven nodded in thanks. Her teachers didn't know about her full situation. If asked, they knew her mother had to give her up after an accident and she was taken into Hopper's custody. But she still had contact with Becky, her mother's sister. Eleven'd just give her a quick call over the weekend and ask.

The blue and yellow liquids washed off the slide when Eleven stuck it under the sink. She dried it with a paper towel and returned it to the slide box, getting back to her seat and filling out the questions she could on the worksheet.

***

"How are you doing, Jane? Is everything going okay?" Becky asked after she had picked up the phone.

"Good. I actually had a question. In school, we have to fill out pun...pun-net squares for class. Do you know Mama's blood type?"

"Terry and I are both O Negative."

"And Mama's boyfriend?"

"Hmm... Oh, what did his papers say? B Positive."

Eleven's nose wrinkled. She daydreamed in class and didn't always pay attention, but even she knew something didn't add up.