RED

fifteen

DR. ALEX STORM

I sit still in the low lit, pale room with only the sound of the heart beat monitor beeping in my ears. The rhythm of it feels like a lullaby that wants to send me off to sleep. Coming from the very heart of my beautiful, little recovering patient.

She stirs at times and every so often the heart monitor does jump in speed but only for a moment.

I've got her all taken care of for when she wakes from the anesthesia. The surgery went flawless and there were thankfully no complications during. Dr. Springer was gentle as she helped mend the vocal cords in Red's throat so that they can heal properly and she can speak again painlessly.

The recovery is going to be painful so I made sure I have her pain medication, items to keep her occupied during recovery, and I'll be making quite a few ice cream runs. I want to make sure she is at as comfortable and in the least amount of pain possible. It's the least I can do after nearly giving her a heart attack when I basically threw her onto a surgical table.

Once she is fully recovered from this surgery and starts showing perfect behavior for a while, she can have some eligibility to leave this place. But a patient needs to go through a ton of evaluation first. We can't let potentially harmful patients leave the facility if they aren't entirely rehabilitated.

The thought of Red actually being fully recovered and rehabilitated to a whole healthy state makes me ecstatic and proud. But, the idea of her leaving me and possible never seeing her again puts a very unsettling feeling in my gut that I don't even want to have to think about.

I've grown a very strong and special bond and attachment to Red. I've been taking care of her for a while now, and it would be inhumane to lack some sort of connection towards her. And it's not necessarily one of love or lust. She is definitely a beautiful young girl, but my bond is more of a guardian and child sort of bond.

Okay, I may have the tiniest feeling of lust towards her but the idea of a doctor loving his patient in that sort of way is extremely prohibited and taboo. It just wouldn't work.

It's difficult not to have feelings of affection or a "crush" towards a patient, especially a beautiful young girl such as Red. I'm a doctor and that makes it extremely hard to even go out and socialize and find a love interest. So interacting with any sort of female in a close way is bound for me to get attached to, even if it is to a younger, mentally scarred, uncooperative, stressful girl.

Speaking of the devil, I watch as her eyes flutter open in a groggy fashion. She looks around for a confused moment. Her icy eyes take hold of me and she immediately sends a harsh glare my way, seeming to recollect what has happened.

I chuckle quietly, "morning, sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

Her amusing glare leaves me and she instead stares at the wall.

"Oh, you. Don't be like that," I say, smiling lightheartedly at her grumpy behavior.

She turns back to me and shoots another nasty glare which is only more entertaining than the last one. She opens her mouth and it looks like she is going to say something, but when she tries to utter anything, she stops immediately, grabbing her throat with her dainty hands.

Her eyes instantly fill up with tears as she cups her throat in pain. It's when she blinks that the tears spill and roll down her porcelain face. I automatically react by getting up from my chair and getting closer to her.

"Oh, dear. I know it's painful, but you can't be doing any sort of talking, alright? It will only last for a couple days, but I've got your pain medication ready for you. Okay, hun?"

Red swallows and even more tears squeeze from her eyes, making guilt swirl around in my stomach. I look at her with sorrowful eyes, wishing I could somehow take away all her pain.

I retrieve her pain pills and shake the correct dosage into my palm, but when I turn back around I find her starting to rip the tape off her arm that keeps the IV in.

"Red, settle down," I say as I rush over and take her hands into mine. I show her the pills, "these are going to take your pain right away."

I smile and take a juice box and put a straw in it so she has something to swallow them with. To my surprise, let's me place the pills into her mouth and grabs the juice in her hands to sip it.

Her face crinkles up in discomfort when she swallows it down, and more tears shed from her eyes. Her orbs flicker to me and she lets out a pained sob.

My face drops, "oh, sweet girl. I know it's hard, but you're going to feel so much better soon."

I pull her into my arms but she uses her fore arms to push me away. She shakes her head and continues to cry lightly.

"I know, you're so miserable," I say, hugging her despite her efforts of pushing me away.

I give her a comforting squeeze before backing away, "now those pills have a drowsy side affect to them to help you sleep. You're going to need ample rest in order to recover fast and properly."

She gives me a dazed look and I can already tell that the pills are very fast acting by the look of her eyes. She already wants to fall asleep so I bring her blanket up to her chin to cover up her whole body, and stroke my hand over her forehead and down her hair.

"Rest well."

I step out quietly. I decide to feed myself in the cafeteria since I'm getting quite hungry.

I walk down the third floor hallway and flinch, startled when a manic patient slams himself up against the glass of his door from the inside. I place my hand over my beating heart and keep walking down the hallway towards the elevator.

After having lunch in the cafeteria, I decide to head up to my office to take care of some paperwork.

At the end of each day I have paperwork to fill out regarding my patient's behavior. And at the end of each week is a different assignment to fill out. I am just behind on a few days and I know I need to get them done for Red's file.

Once I'm finished with my to-do list, I figure it's late tonight to bring Red her dinner for the evening. So I make my way back to the cafeteria and get something that can accommodate to her sore throat. Soup and yogurt.

I bring the food on a tray up to her bedroom, happy to spend some more time with her. I unlock her door, holding the tray of food with one hand and step inside.