Life Finds a Way

Questions

When Clarissa slowly pushed herself back into consciousness she found her limbs felt heavy and she almost wanted to go back to sleep. There was a pressure in her head but no pain. She was having a hard time focusing but she remembered she had had a migraine that must have come from the 7th circle of hell. She also remembered she was not in a place she could relax, at least not until she figured out who set her up, and how. She had barely stirred, not even opening her eyes, when she heard voices nearby. Since it seemed as if they didn't know she had awakened yet she stilled and listened. One of the voices seemed to be from the red head that had carried her, but it was the words that had her holding her breath while she listened.

"As my report to the General stated, she seemed to have a migraine. It looks as if it stemmed from a bad case of mako poisoning." The woman's voice was interrupted by the red head.

"Mako poisoning? Are you sure?" He sounded full of disbelief.

"Yes sir. We took some blood samples to verify and honestly, I can't understand how she was even awake. With the level of mako in her system she should be at the very least catatonic, if not dead. I'm not sure how she's still breathing." When the woman stopped Clarissa heard two sets of footsteps head her way and quickly started breathing again, trying to make it seem as even as possible.

Clarissa wasn't sure if it was because her act was convincing or because they hadn't really looked at her yet, but the conversation continued next to her bed. "We took a second sample to make sure the first wasn't contaminated, but they both showed almost as much mako as a Soldier First would have. It takes multiple boosters to get to that level and she is definitely not a Shinra employee. It is hard to imagine anyone else being able to get someone to that level without being found first."

By this point Clarissa had heard enough. This joke was becoming downright creepy. There were far too many people involved, not to mention the doctors. Had someone convinced the doctors to go along with the gag? It made no sense that they would keep up the façade even when they thought her asleep. She wasn't sure who was responsible, but she was done listening, especially as she was feeling much better than the first time she woke up here.

She opened her eyes to see the red head staring right at her. It seemed as if he realized she was awake despite her efforts. Silence descended for a brief moment before the doctor realized she was awake and turned to check up on her. "Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Clarissa broke her gaze away from the intense stare of the tall man and faced the doctor. "My head still has pressure but there is no pain. My stomach also feels much better. I'm not sure what you gave me but that is the most effective migraine treatment I've ever had."

"Do you get them often then?" The doctor was working on taking her vitals again while she asked questions.

"Not as often as I used to, maybe five or six a month. They can get pretty bad when I do though."

"I'd say that's still pretty often. You said that's better than it was? How often were they previously?"

Clarissa was trying to pay attention to the doctor's questions, but she kept getting distracted by the red head that had not stopped staring at her. "Ah, um... what was that? Oh, never mind. I used to get them several times per week. Compared to that I'm happy with a handful of times per month." She was still feeling a little scatterbrained from the migraine she was recovering from and the man standing next to the bed wasn't helping. She did her best to block out his presence, so she could focus on the doctor. She barely caught the last part of another question.

"...doing to help when you do have them?" It took Clarissa a moment to understand what was being asked.

"Oh, well my doctor and I are still trying several things to see what works. I am majorly allergic to the most common type, triptans, so it's hit or miss on anything else." The doctor gave her a strange look before responding.

"I've never heard of triptans. Are they a new experimental drug?" Now it was Clarissa's turn to give a strange look.

"Um, no. I first tried it over a decade ago." At that response the doctor narrowed her eyes before finishing her vital checks and turning to the red head again.

"Commander, if you would come to my office I can get the report for you." She turned back to Clarissa briefly. "As for you, I imagine you are still wore out after that attack. Why don't you rest, and I'll be back later to check on you?"

The red-haired man looked reluctant, like he had something to say, but he followed the doctor out of the room. Clarissa didn't realize how tensed she was until they both left. Once they were gone she closed her eyes to see if she could actually go back to sleep. She was tired enough still that it didn't take her long.

edit 11/2/19