Fragile // 5sos [under MAJOR reconstruction!]

Twelve.

Throughout the whole night, the feeling of her mother stroking her hair kept her company, but it did not make her sleep well. She just couldn't bring herself to close her eyes and fall; it was unnatural to her and she just couldn't do it properly. It would take a long time for her sleep cycle to go back to normal, since she's been like that for the last 5 years.

Nevertheless, she got up at the same time as everyone else did, and soon the house was no longer full of whispers and muffled footsteps. Karen was yelling out to Sadie to clean up her toys in her room and Sarah was cooking up pancakes in the kitchen. Dru felt very out of place when they all sat at the dining table and ate their pancakes, but soon enough her mother placed a hearty stack in front of her and urged her to eat it.

"I've got chocolate sauce. I know you like chocolate." She tempted, and Dru immediately perked up and looked at her in expectation. She smiled in satisfaction as she drizzled the sauce all over each pancake on her plate. The two women watched in slight shock as Dru picked up the soaked pancake, rolled it up and shoved the whole thing in her mouth, even though there was a knife and fork right next to her.

"Dru, honey. You eat with these." Karen said, holding up her knife and fork. Dru, her mouth covered in chocolate and full of pancake, picked up the silver objects and held it the same way as Karen did. She watched as she cut the pancake in a small piece, stabbed it with the fork, and brought it up to her mouth. "See?"

Dru nodded and copied her actions, finding it relatively easy to do. She preferred her hands, but this way was less messy. She licked her mouth all over and took a big gulp of the orange juice that sat in her glass and continued to eat. She looked exactly like her five year old sister did; small and messy and full of life.

"So, we've decided that it would be best for you to be home schooled until you feel comfortable enough to go to school. You don't ever have to go, of course, but the option is there for you. Today, we're going to the hospital for a check up and a diet plan, and then we'll go shopping for some new clothes. How does that sound?" Sarah explained, but Dru was too busy savouring the taste of her pancakes to care about what she was saying. Karen smiled at Sarah and she returned the favour, then continued to keep eating as if she never said anything.

After breakfast, Sarah helped Dru shower and get ready and they were soon off to the hospital. Dru had been memorising how to get to the hospital from her new house, just in case she needed to see Melinda in an emergency. Left, right, straight, left, left. She remembered the turns as best as she could, and she hoped that she had more opportunities to remember. The three arrived at the hospital after dropping Sadie off at a friend's house and they went inside. They were buzzed into Dr. Oakley's office and on the way there, Dru spotted Melinda inside a patient's room. She made an excited noise and went inside the room without knocking before her parents could stop her.

"Melinda!" She said enthusiastically, and the woman turned and beamed at the newly transformed girl.

"Dru! Oh my, look at you! You're so beautiful." She laughed, grabbing the girl's hands in delight. Dru smiled at her and wrapped her arms around the woman, exactly like when she did it to her mum. She thought that it symbolised love and comfort, and so she wanted to share it with Melinda. Melinda cooed and returned the hug, smiling at the young girl. "How about we catch up later, yeah? I think you have somewhere to be."

Dru nodded and waved goodbye to her, and her parents took her closely and they all walked to Dr. Oakley's office as a unit. Sarah and Karen shared concerned and hurt looks that Dru was able to show a stranger that level of affection and not to them.

Dr. Oakley was a fat old man with a kind face that had rosy cheeks hidden by a mess of white hair. His rounded glasses made him look like Santa Claus and his large smile emphasised his deep wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. The three sat down after greeting him and they talked through Dru's plan.

"Dru, how are you feeling?" He asked her, but she was still staring at the diagram of a human eye sitting right in front of her on his desk. She looked up and nodded, returning to the interesting piece of information. He looked at her in concern, then looked at Sarah. "Has she showed any signs of discomfort?"

"Well, she hasn't really showed any signs of anything, to be honest." She said disappointingly, but Dru wasn't listening. "Her nurse, Melinda, used to give her chocolate to make her answer questions. Do you have any chocolate?"

"I do actually. I usually give it to my younger patients, but I guess she is an exception." The doctor said, then pulled on his drawer and revealed a large sac of small one serve lollies. He took out a small Mars bar and showed it to Dru. Her eyes lingered on the small treat and looked up at the Doctor.

"For me?" She asked, holding her hand out expectantly, but he kept it close.

"You can have it if you answer a question of mine." He said, and she pulled her hand away but nodded nonetheless.

"Does anything hurt?" He asked, and she nodded. "Tell me more."

She looked down at her ankle and held onto her side. "My ankle hurts when I stand on it and my side stabs me when I breathe. My knuckles are also bad." She explained eagerly, then held her hand out again. He nodded and gave her the treat, then took notes on what she said.

"Am I allowed to check out your hands?" He asked, but she was busy chewing on her treat. He got up and walked over to her, sitting on the little wheeled stool and sat next to her. "May I?"

She looked at him curiously, but when he reached out to her free hand, she understood and gave him her hands.

"Can I have another one?" She asked, as he very carefully applied pressure and felt the bones. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Of course." He wrote down what he felt and turned to Sarah. "I'm going to check her ribcage, is that alright?"

Sarah nodded, but gestured to her daughter. "You should ask Dru if you can."

"Can I lift your shirt to look at your side?" He asked, and she looked at Sarah as if asking for permission. Sarah nodded quickly and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, where she nodded to him.

"I get two now, don't I?" She asked as he carefully lifted her shirt to look at the bruised area. He nodded distractedly and carefully pushed on the area. She flinched and moved away from him, holding onto her side in offence. He took note and quickly gave her three more treats. She smiled at them and kept quiet for the whole session.

"Now, could you please stand on the scales?" He asked, and Sarah helped her up onto the scale as she kept eating her treats. The meter went up rapidly, switching between 39 and 40, before resting on 39.5 kilograms.

He muttered under his breath and wrote the number down before they all sat back down in their seats. Dru continued to eat her treats as the adults talked about her diet, and she kept looking out the window through the door, hoping to see a glimpse of Melinda walking past. She didn't walk past.