The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 35 - Bad News Only

The doctor had been beaming from ear to ear when he had welcomed us into the room. He had joked around with Kara and made her feel comfortable. But when he had started to ask more questions, and she'd admitted that she hadn't been sleeping well and that she sometimes felt like her body was 'on fire,' that smile had faded away.

The last twenty minutes had been spent on an ultrasound. He had been moving the probe over her stomach again and again, hardly saying a word. I had no idea what the mess of grey on the screen was supposed to show, so it felt like a very long time for me. Even longer for Kara, who winced every time he repositioned the probe.

Eventually, the doctor hung the probe up and began to wipe away the gel with paper towel. "I'm going to have to ask, sweetheart — I'm sorry. These scars you've got ... what happened?"

Kara chewed on her lip. "Operations. They said it was to make me better, but I always felt worse afterwards, so I'm not sure that was true."

He nodded solemnly. We'd already explained her background to him, so he didn't look the slightest bit surprised. "Did they explain what they were doing? I'm wondering about this one in particular."

He was pointing to the longest scar. It was below her belly button. The others were all tiny in comparison, and it was clearly the most recent. The edges were puckered, and it had yet to fade to white.

"That one? Oh, they wanted to collect a sample," she said.

"Collect a sample," he repeated back. "They didn't say what kind?"

"No."

"Were you having periods before that surgery?" he asked.

"Yes," she mumbled. "They weren't very regular, though."

"Did you have any periods afterwards?"

Kara shook her head.

The doctor stared at her long a moment, and then he sighed. "Okay. I'm a bit worried about the way your ovaries are looking on this scan, so I'd like to do some blood tests. We'll check your hormonal levels and get a better idea of what's going on."

Kara nodded along. There wasn't a single crease on her forehead, and I did wonder if she understood the significance of this. "Sure. I guess. If you think it's a good idea."

"I do," he said. "I'd also like to have a chat with your friend, if that's okay?"

Kara said it was. And so I followed him into the next room when he went to collect a needle and blood tubes and a tourniquet.

"I know she's over sixteen," he began, "but she doesn't strike me as entirely compos mentis. Would you be willing to act as a guardian until she does turn eighteen? Unless there's someone more suited? A parent, perhaps?"

"She doesn't have anyone else," I replied, wishing I could say otherwise. "You can do the bloods — of course you can. Goddess knows it won't be her first time seeing a needle."

He grimaced, and I knew he'd noticed the mess they had made of her veins.

"What do you think the scar is?" I asked him. Kara hadn't been curious about the questions, but I was. They'd been much too pointed.

He didn't answer to start with, and I was beginning to doubt he ever would when he finally said, in a much-too quiet voice, "I'm concerned because it looks like the correct location and size for an oophorectomy."

"A what?"

"I couldn't find her left ovary on the ultrasound," the doctor explained. Again, he was very hesitant. "And well, taking into consideration what you've told me about these people ... I have a horrible suspicion that they've removed it. The right ovary, unfortunately, doesn't look functional. It's absolutely tiny. I'll need to do the blood tests, but ... chances are, she's in ovarian failure."