by Kit Fawkes
North shrugged, remaining quiet as Carol checked them in and accepted a stack of paperwork. When the woman who might be her mother passed her one of the clipboards filled with paperwork for her to complete, North was happy to have something to focus besides Carol or the forthcoming appointment.
She sat staring at it for a moment without seeing as she contemplated how her parents had secured an appointment with the geneticist so quickly. They must be close friends, because she doubted they could have gotten in otherwise.
She lifted the pen to her mouth and chewed without thought on the lid as she stared at the blur of words in front of her, finding it impossible to start writing. She was stuck on her name, which was crazy.
She had been North Campbell for twenty-one years, and she would continue to be North Campbell even if she found out that wasn’t her birth name. Regardless of what Sam had done, or why he’d done it, she was comfortable with that name, while she couldn’t imagine ever wearing Nara Allis and feeling comfortable with it.
“Is there a problem, dear?”
She shook her head at Carol’s question and finally broke the paralysis that had kept her from filling out the paperwork. The first page was fairly smooth, and she had most of the information. There was a spot for insurance, and she wasn’t entirely certain what that was. She understood the basic concept of insurance, but not how it applied to medical care. She leaned over to Carol. “What do I put here?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m sure you don’t have insurance, but we’re taking care of this.”
With a nod, North continued, filling out the rest of the front side before flipping to the back, which wanted an accounting of her medical history. “How detailed should I be?”
“Have you had any surgeries, or any emotional problems, like an eating disorder or addiction?”
North’s eyes widened. “No, I haven’t had anything major.” She wrinkled her brow. “For that matter, I don’t think I’ve had anything minor either. I must have an amazing immune system, because I never get sick.”
Carol’s eyes gleamed with interest. “Perhaps you should put that down. It might be of interest to the doctor.”
North followed the suggestion, writing a quick sentence explaining her medical history. It was very brief, since there wasn’t anything to tell besides a couple of childhood injuries.
The next section was strange. She examined the questions before she started answering, growing more and more perplexed. “What is this? Why are they asking if I’ve had visions?”
Carol gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I think they mean hallucinations, dear. They’re probably trying to screen you for mental disorders, like schizophrenia.”
North had a basic understanding of mental illness, having covered it in some of the medical books her father had assigned her to study as part of her curriculum, and she was certain she didn’t qualify for the diagnosis.
She tried to answer the questions as best she could, even though they were bizarre and personal. Perhaps that was the standard set of questions, and she wouldn’t know since she’d never been to a doctor’s office before. Deciding she was overthinking it, she answered as honestly as she could.
She had just finished the last page when the receptionist called Carol’s name. When the other woman stood up, gathering her coat and purse, North did the same. She followed her back after turning in the clipboard to the receptionist, who directed them through the next door.
A silver-blonde woman with a pale complexion that blended almost seamlessly with her white suit met them just around the corner. “Hello, Carol. It’s lovely to see you again.”
“Hello, Kira. This is my daughter, North.” She emphasized it in a way that suggested she was just humoring North.
North hid a grimace as she extended her hand to shake Kira’s when the other woman offered it.
“It’s lovely to see you. Jim and Carol have looked tirelessly for you.”
“I might not be their daughter.” She was compelled to remind all three of them of that fact.
Kira nodded just once, and not a strand of hair fell out of her perfectly arranged coif. “Follow me please. Pytor managed to work you in this morning, and he’d like to start in his office reviewing the paperwork before we move on to testing.”
The word testing made North’s stomach clench with anxiety. “What sort of tests?”
“Oh, the usual.”
Kira’s answer did nothing to enlighten her. “What do you do here, Kira?”
“I’m Pytor’s assistant, and also a geneticist.”
North had nothing else to say, and she followed Carol and Kira quietly into an office that was larger than the cabin she’d shared with her father. They had to walk a ridiculous number of steps to reach the middle, where the desk dominating the center of the room stood.
There was a handsome dark-haired man seated behind it, though he was probably old enough to be her father. He looked to be in his late thirties, but surely had to be mid-forties or older to be a highly-respected geneticist. He pushed back from his chair and came around to meet them, holding out his hand first to shake Carol’s, and then to take North’s.
She was expecting a handshake, but he grasped both of her hands between his and just stared at her for a long moment. It was unnerving, and his hands felt clammy. At first, she was discreet as she tried to pull away, but when he continued to hold her, his gaze roaming over her face, she finally tugged her hand away forcefully, uncaring if it was rude.
He made no mention of it and acted as though it hadn’t happened as he gave her a friendly smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Nara.”
“She prefers North,” said Carol with only the faintest bite in her tone.
If he was surprised, it didn’t show in his tanned face. “Let’s just go over this paperwork, shall we, North?”
She shrugged as she followed Carol the last few feet to the chairs placed in front of the desk, taking a seat on the inside as Carol maneuvered herself to the outside. It was as though the older woman thought she might make a break for it, and North was seriously considering the idea.
Pytor had the clipboard in front of him, and it must’ve been ferried back to him by someone else while Kira greeted them. He read quietly for a moment, though occasionally made a noise that sounded like a purr of satisfaction. When he lifted his head, his coal-black eyes focused on her with a new kind of intensity. “Tell me about your childhood.”
She frowned. “I really don’t see the need. We’re just here for a DNA test, aren’t we?”
“Please indulge my curiosity.”
North felt churlish refusing, though she really didn’t see the point, and she wasn’t anxious to open up about growing up with Sam. Perhaps it was strange to feel protective of the man who might have kidnapped her, but she didn’t want them to know anything about him. Surely that was all part of her coping process. “It was fairly basic. It was just Dad and me, but I had a happy childhood.”
“How are you raised? What kind of education did he give you?”
That question seemed completely unrelated to determining her paternity, but she couldn’t think of a reason not to answer. “Mostly, it was textbooks, though there were a number of fiction books and lively discussions. I suppose you could classify it as a classical education, and there was an emphasis on being a decent person, so my generation wouldn’t make the same mistakes as the ones that had caused the collapse of society.”
His brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”
Carol shook her head. “That’s how he explained keeping her locked away from the world. He told her there was no civilization to turn to, and the humanity had devolved to a bunch of savages.”
Dr. Douglas surprised her with a dark chuckle. “Perhaps he wasn’t entirely wrong about that assessment.” Then his expression changed, becoming more impersonal again. “And you were never ill?”
North really concentrated for a moment, trying to recall a time when she might’ve had the sniffles, the flu, or ev
en something as benign as childhood chickenpox. Coming up with a blank, she shook her head. “I really don’t remember ever being sick.”
“But you were injured occasionally?”
She nodded, unconsciously pushing back the sleeve of her sweater and holding out her arm to the doctor, so he could see the small silver scar that slashed the underside of her forearm. “I fell on ice one winter while learning how to skate, and it was jagged enough to cut me deeply. That’s the only scar I have, though I did cut my finger with a knife once when I was learning how to cook, but it healed quickly.”
He made an ambiguous sound. “I imagine it would have.”
After staring at the paperwork for another moment, he looked up, pinning her with his dark gaze. “And you’ve never had visions of any kind?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have schizophrenia. I’m sure of that.”
He shared a look with Carol for a moment before nodding. “Excellent.” Except he didn’t sound too happy about that. “What about any other unusual talents? Are you stronger than average?”
North started to say no, but then recalled the moment when she had lifted her father out of the house yesterday. “I guess there was one time, but it had to be the adrenaline surge. When my father was so sick yesterday, I managed to get him out of the house and into the truck by myself, and he outweighs me by at least a hundred pounds.”
“Yes, adrenaline,” he said in an offhand way. “How about any other talents? Do you move quickly, or are you extremely flexible?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, and I really don’t see what this has to do with anything.”
“I’ll be comparing your medical history to your family’s history later in the event the DNA test shows that you are the Allises’ daughter.”
“Oh. Well, I still don’t know about any other special talents.”
He gave her a smile. “Perhaps you just haven’t discovered them yet, North.”
There was a strange tone to his voice, and it sent a shiver down her spine just like she’d gotten when she stepped into the building.
A moment later, he spoke again, and there was no trace of it. “Right, well I’ll send Kira in to move you to an exam room, and she can collect samples. After that, we’ll do a full body scan, and then we’ll have an answer within the hour.”
“That soon?”
He nodded at North’s comment. “You’re a special case, so we’re going to rush things. And fortunately, Carol is right here to provide a DNA sample as well. As long as you match her, you must be their daughter.”
North was surprised to find out they would know so quickly, but also relieved. She stood up from the chair and followed Carol and Kira from the room a moment later when the brunette came to retrieve them.
They went into another room farther down the hall, and this one looked more like she would’ve expected a doctor’s office to appear. There was an exam table covered with some kind of waterproof fabric, a large light overhead, and myriad medical supplies stacked neatly in a shelf.
She’d never had a blood test before, but she was pretty sure that was what was about to happen as she watched Kira prepare a needle and syringe. She was woozy, so she decided to lie back on the bed instead of sitting up for the blood draw.
“Just a little poke now.” A millisecond later, the needle pierced her arm, and while it was uncomfortable, it wasn’t as bad as she had psyched herself up to expect.
After another moment, Kira pulled out the needle and quickly bandaged the spot. “There we go. Now open your mouth, North.”
North complied, allowing Kira to scrape the side of her cheek with a long swab. The other woman stored it in a clear tube before turning to Carol to repeat the process. “Let me rush these to the lab, and then I’ll get you over for a scan.”
When the other woman had left the room, she turned to Carol. “Is the body scan necessary? Won’t the saliva and blood tell us everything we need to know?”
“We want to make sure you’re in top health, dear.” Carol’s face darkened. “I’m certain they’ll be looking for healed broken bones and that sort of thing.”
North hugged herself, trying to control the surge of anger filling her. “I already told you my father never hurt me. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re wasting your time.”
“We need to do the scan to be sure.”
She opened her mouth to continue protesting, but decided against it. If they needed proof that Sam had never hurt her, then that was the best way to provide it. Maybe at least then they would stop painting her as an abuse victim. She doubted the Allises would ever have a good opinion of her father if he had really taken her from them, but it was important to her that they know he had been kind and loving, and it wasn’t just for their peace of mind. She was driven to protect his memory too.
Kira returned less than five minutes later, and this time Carol went a different direction when they exited the exam room, appearing to be heading back toward Dr. Douglas’s office. She followed Kira into yet another room, quickly stripping down to the gown the woman had laid out for her when she was alone. She left her clothes folded neatly on the bench before exiting to find Kira waiting for her. The woman held a glass of something glowing faintly blue, and she extended it.
North looked at it doubtfully. “What is that?”
“It’s contrast dye.”
She eyed it doubtfully, refusing to take it. “What’s in it?”
“Dye and sterile water. It’s no big deal. Really.” With a tinkling laugh that sounded false, Kira brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. “See, I’m just fine, and you will be too. We need to be able to get the best pictures possible.”
Still reluctant, North finally took it and swallowed as quickly she could. It was surprisingly tasteless, reinforcing Kira’s assertion that it held nothing more than dye and sterile water. She handed back the glass a moment later, and Kira waved her into a smaller room.
Inside, there was a large enclosed machine, with only a bed attached to what looked like a retractable tube. That appeared to be the entrance and exit, and she moved over to it slowly, wanting to withdraw her consent.
Instead, she laid down on the bed, shivering in the cold air. Kira was there a moment later, tucking a warm blanket over her and giving her a kind smile. “Just try to relax, and don’t move if you can help it.”
The machine started whirring as Kira pressed the button that took her deeper inside it. There were flashing lights above North, and they gave her a headache. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid them, though she could still detect them through her eyelids. At least with her eyes closed, they were manageable instead of outright painful.
Kira’s soothing voice filled the tube. “Try not to think about anything and just let your thoughts wander.”
It seemed like a strange suggestion, but maybe it was easier to get the scan done if she was completely relaxed. She was less likely to fidget, right? North found it impossible to totally clear her thoughts. Too much had happened to her in just the last day for that to be feasible.
She started to feel drowsy, and with her eyes already closed, it was difficult to stave off the urge to sleep. It wasn’t the most relaxing place ever, but since she hadn’t slept well the night before, she wasn’t entirely surprised when she woke from a nap a short time later to find she was out of the machine and lying on the bed.
Kira bustled over, seeming to be waiting for her to wake up. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
North bit back a yawn and shook her head. “I guess not.”
“If you know the way, you can head back to where you left your clothes and get dressed. You’ll be meeting with Pytor again in his office, and your mother’s already waiting there. I need to finish processing the results, unless you need an escort?”
North sat up and slid to the floor with her bare feet. “No, I think I remember the way. Thank you.” At Kira’s nod, she crossed the room again and pushed down on the door handle so the door swun
g outward. She was back in the dressing room shortly, and once again clad in her clothes moments later.
She made her way down the hall, but soon realized she must’ve taken a wrong turn. As her feet slowed, and she looked around her, studying the names on the doors with interest, she realized maybe it hadn’t been such an accidental wrong turn. Part of her was deeply curious about what went on in Dr. Douglas’s office. There were some trappings of medicine, but she had the unshakable certainty that more than medicine happened there.
Unfortunately, the doors provided no enlightenment. They had innocuous labels, like “Supply Closet.” When she reached the end of the hall, she found a different kind of door. She thought it was called an airlock, though she couldn’t remember for certain, and had never seen one in person before. She stood before it, looking for some kind of identification, but it was conspicuously absent of any kind of labeling.
A hand fell on her arm, making her scream as she turned in shock. Her heart was racing, and she pressed her palm to her chest as she stared up. A guilty feeling washed over her when she met the disapproving gaze of Dr. Douglas. “I’m sorry. I think I got lost.”
For a moment, he looked angry, but then his expression cleared. He sounded lighthearted when he put a hand on her shoulder and started directing her forward. “The old left when you should’ve gone right, huh? This place is big enough to get lost in four times over, and you wouldn’t be the first patient to take a wrong turn. Let’s go meet your mother, shall we? I have the test results waiting.”
She nodded, disliking the man’s hand on her shoulder, though she couldn’t explain why. Perhaps it was as simple as he was a stranger, and she wasn’t used to being touched by others. Her dad had been a hugger, but that was the extent of her physical interaction with people, so it was no wonder she felt awkward with his touch, which was probably perfectly acceptable by societal standards. She would just have to learn how to fit in and get used to such things.
He led her into his office, and she took a seat beside Carol again. It took the doctor another moment to cross behind his desk and sit down, and he immediately opened the folder in front of him. “Congratulations, Carol. You’ve finally found your daughter.”