Short fic writing trip

Adoption fic 10

What was once a sterile, cold environment had quickly become warm with jovial conversation and the lingering smell of cold fries. She never would've thought she'd enjoy a hospital so much, yet she believed no place was more comfortable and homey despite all the needles in her arms. Much of the late afternoon into the evening was spent following the threads of seemingly unrelated topics and many tangents with equally dramatic gestures. She quickly began to overlook the identities of her rooms occupants, seeing them more as almost friends. She had no real reference for what a friend was like, considering the only people she got close to were her siblings, whom were all too young and looked to her as a role model rather than an equal, and Emily, which obviously was not someone she would ever call a friend. She wasn't sure what a group of friends was like, but she'd wager that it felt a lot like this. Occasionally nurses would pop in to check on her, some reacted as expected once they noticed who exactly was in the room, some joined in and added to their conversations, but none ever stayed more than a few minutes. It was peaceful in the slight chaos of the interactions, but there was only so much energy you could foster after such an eventful day. As if perfectly timed, a doctor came in just as a lull in the conversation settled over them.

"Hello! My name is Dr. Kalough, I'm here to oversee your discharge. It looks like you took quite the hit there." The tall dark man smiled brightly at her, flipping though his clipboard to look over her visit's records. "bruised ribs, broken nose, several small lacerations, some internal bleeding. Sounds like quite the fight you got into."

"It wasn't a fight." Frank muttered, distracting the doctor momentarily. He brought his composure back together and started up again.

"Well, as of right now you should be good to go, we just want to monitor you for one more night. After that, we'll prescribe you some antibiotics and pain meds, and you're free to continue resting at home!" Dr. Kalough gave another cheery smile, but once his eyes scanned the next page of her case, it dropped immediately in confusion.

"Well, if that's an option. It's noted here you have no legal address. Or any existing medical records." He paused and squinted, as if not sure he was reading the paper correctly. "Or even a legal name or date of birth. Do you happen to know why none of that is listed?"

She froze. What?

"What?"

Dr. Kalough flipped though the papers once more, shaking his head. "There's nothing listed here, no identification was found when you were brought in, so I suppose you're counted as a Jane Doe for the time being, but it wasn't marked in here, only that they couldn't find anything on you. Must have been a mistake."

Jane Doe? Was there really no records of her anywhere? How did she have nothing to legitimize her existence? She knew the orphanage was fast and loose with legal stuff, and her parents never taught her her own name or birthday, but she figured it was all because of how she grew up, not because it genuinely didn't exist. She always thought she'd get her name and birthday and all her papers when she turned 18, not that she was sure when that would be, once the orphanage kicked her out. She couldn't be too far from it, she believed she was about 16 at this point. And while she was perfectly content with her title of Sis, that didn't do anyone any good in the real world. How was she supposed to explain all of that when she herself didn't even know why, just that it was?

"I don't have any records? I mean, I'm not really a Jane Doe right? I know who I am and I don't have amnesia or anything like that. I just don't know any legal things about myself. I was never given any documents or told about where they are, and I mostly grew up on nicknames. I don't remember ever really celebrating my birthday either. But that doesn't make me a Jane Doe, does it? There has to be something out there about me, right?"