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Kate Bishop ([info]bishop_strings) wrote in [info]newalliance,
@ 2015-03-20 20:42:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:hawkeye ii, speedy ii

Who: Kate and Mia
When: Friday March 20
Where: Project Positive Life
What: Kate's not here to volunteer
Warning: Although I don't anticipate this will contain anything graphic or possibly any details, it is safe to assume everything in this thread has a TRIGGER WARNING for sexual assault.
Status: Complete

Kate had spent a lot of time at Project Positive Life over the past few months. She volunteered a couple days a week, spending afternoons answering the phone, doing the filing, and manning the reception desk. Mia's words about the different types of people who came into the foundation were true and Kate had spoken with and gotten to know some people she never would have spoken to before. Her father and sister would be horrified if they knew what she was doing - Kate wasn't sure what they'd do if they knew the real reason she'd come here.

Kate had stopped a mugging and then a car theft last night and she wasn't sure what changed after she returned home for the night but when she got up in the morning, she knew she couldn't stop making up excuses not to do this. Her therapist would be thrilled. She was still in her school uniform when she walked in, the purple of her cardigan almost the same color as her costume. She wasn't scheduled to volunteer today.

Kate leaned her forearms against the counter, took a deep breath, and looked at Mia. "I need to be tested."


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[info]miaishere
2015-03-21 05:32 am UTC (link)
Kate hadn't been scheduled today so when she came in, school uniform and everything Mia was kind of confused. She looked serious, which wasn't too out of sorts. After all, since she'd been getting to know her, she'd learned that while Kate could be fun she was generally a far more serious sort of person than Mia was herself. This was different.

The waiting room was empty, and Mia didn't say a word. She put up a sign to ring the bell for assistance. "C'mon." She said taking her friend's hand and pulling her through the door to the back. She didn't take her to an exam room, but her office which was incredibly more homey. "Wanna talk? We weren't expecting anyone so our RN went to get some food, but she'll be back soon."

Mia could fill out the intake forms. It was all self explanatory anyway. "Sit down." She said calmly, motioning to the small loveseat.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-21 06:10 am UTC (link)
This wasn't so different from the first time Kate had come here. There would be forms, Kate knew. She'd seen plenty of it from behind the reception desk. What Kate hadn't seen is what happened when you were the one filling things out, instead of distributing paperwork.

She settled into her seat and waited.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-21 06:34 am UTC (link)
Kate was usually more talkative than all that. Mia pulled her tablet off the desk before sitting next to her friend. She wanted Kate to know she was there, but also tried to be careful to let her have some personal bubble space.

She tapped a few things on the screen. "Is there a particular reason why now?" It was a bit curious considering how long she'd been volunteering here.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-21 05:54 pm UTC (link)
This was an opportunity to lie. It would be easy to say she met a guy, hadn't used protection. A few mi the ago, Kate might have done that. Anything to make getting through it easier. She didn't want to tell the lie now. This had happened to her and she couldn't pretend anymore.

"I don't know. I should have done done it before but - I wasn't ready."

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-21 08:04 pm UTC (link)
Mia prided herself on reading people. And really whenever someone did decide to get tested, and by them, there really was a great deal of anxiety involved. "That's alright." She said quickly, not wanting her friend to feel bad that she'd waited.

She put a hand over her friends to get her attention, so she'd look at her. "Better late than never." She explained. "We'll just go as slow or as fast as you want, alright?"

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-21 08:41 pm UTC (link)
"It's okay," Kate said, looking at Mia. "It's been slow enough. I want to get this taken care of."

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 12:16 am UTC (link)
She nodded, offering her friend a tiny sort of smile. "Alright then." She turned to face her more fully, tucking a leg under herself. "As you know it's a blood test and a urine test." Kate would have read this paperwork before. "It tests for most everything but HPV because that's done usually with a pap smear, and we don't always have a doctor on sight to do that, but you're at an age that you probably received your vaccination for it."

Mia was at that age too, but it wasn't exactly like her father kept up with her medical things once her mother had died and on the street that wasn't a priority. By the time she'd gotten into Oliver's care she'd even been missing even her basic MMR boosters.

Mia tapped the screen a couple of times just to take some history. "Any history of any STDs?"

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 12:55 am UTC (link)
"I got the vaccine a year ago, I'm good," Kate confirmed. "And no. No STDs," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears. There was a hint of flatness in her voice. Kate was learning that being ready to do something and that thing being easy we're different.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 01:20 am UTC (link)
Mia ticked off some boxes. "Number of sexual partners, male and/or female." Mia kind of hated the Q&A. She used to not understand why the questions were necessary. After all you either had an STD or you didn't.

But a full profile helped for the after part. It helped decide which tests should be a priority and how to go about talking about the use of protection. She'd never gone through the questions herself. She supposed her doctor had known her story and figured she didn't need to question the fifteen year old that much.

"I know it can be difficult or embarrassing for some people to talk about but we need these answers." This was a judgement free zone.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 01:47 am UTC (link)
"One." Disgust was heavy in Kate's voice. She hadn't been a partner in any of it and it was revolting to describe it that way. She turned her face away from Mia and stared hard at the wall. Her shoulders were right, as if she was drawing a bow.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 02:41 am UTC (link)
And Mia's stomach dropped straight to her feet. One word with that much venom and her sixth sense was sent overboard. And her gut about these things was never wrong. She had an ability to peg abusers a mile away. She could tell who was being victimized by how children acted towards parents and wives or girlfriends acted around their significant others.

She sort of stayed on the look out for it, and tended to go extra hard on victimizers. She had a feeling that Teddy might not think that was healthy for her, but it was her own version of therapy.

But to help Kate right now... she wasn't exactly sure how to help. There wasn't anyone to beat up in this room, and she had a feeling based on the reactions that this was a bit recent.

She turned the tablet off and tossed it gently to the chair in the room. She was wondering if it was actually her intention to volunteer the day she came in. But that wasn't a question to ask.

No, Kate probably needed to feel a little less alone. She didn't like to share. She didn't like being pitied, which is what she tended to think everyone thought after hearing these types of things. Besides if Kate needed to talk was it really alright to bust in with her own shit?

Mia opened and closed her mouth in a couple of false starts before taking a deep breath. "How long ago did it happen?" It was an easy question to answer without getting too into specifics.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 03:05 am UTC (link)
When she walked into the clinic today, Kate knew there was a good chance she would be admitting what happened. Being ready to do this meant being ready to stop pretending it hadn't happened. It helped then, that Mia was a friend, though there was little that would ease the sick feeling in Kate's stomach.

"Last fall," she said. They were going into spring now. She used to feel like it was an accomplishment to make it through a few days and now it had been almost six months.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 03:22 am UTC (link)
Mia had questions. She was entitled to any information about this, but she wanted to know if Kate had known the guy before, what had happened. "And you didn't go to the hospital after?" It wasn't said in an accusing tone, but it was something they would need to know. The hospital would've given her some preventative treatments for things.

She watched her friend for a second. Mia was concerned for her well being. "If I said it gets easier, would you believe me?" She asked her.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 03:50 am UTC (link)
Kate shook her head. "I couldn't - I didn't know how to handle it; my dad's always working." And Kate hadn't known how to admit what had happened.

"My friend Dick's a cop." She forgot that Mia knew him too, Kate had seen them talking at a fundraiser. "I almost called him to ask what happens but I..." Her voice trailed off. She hadn't been able to bear the idea of Dick knowing, too afraid of how he'd look at her. Kate had been terrified of how everyone would look at her if they knew.

"I'm getting better," she added.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 04:15 am UTC (link)
"Dick Grayson's a good guy." Mia absolutely adored him. She used to have a massive stupid crush on him. It wasn't too serious. Mia always understood nothing would come of it, but he was cute, and so genuinely nice and adorable with a nice smile and hair. He was crush fodder.

"He'd give you a pretty fair understanding of what would legally go on." She swallowed. "It's harder after this amount of time, but you're rich, pretty, well-known, and white. Upside there'd be a dragnet over the city." She bit her lip. "Downside to that is that regardless of rape shield laws and the fact that you're a minor someone will publish your name, and it becomes huge news and they'll question everyone you know and all your movements will be a story. If you've ever drank at a party, or anything."

"It's brutally unfair, but if you want to do that I know some people to call." She didn't want Kate to think it was hopeless and useless, but she wanted to be pretty honest about what might happen. "I never told anyone, sometimes I feel pretty shitty about it, but there wasn't much I could do at the time."

Honestly, escaping her father's house was an extremely good time to be selfish. She needed out of there and she couldn't exactly think about the long term consequences of going to the police. Besides 12 year olds in general didn't think in big picture terms.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 08:11 pm UTC (link)
Everyone probably had a crush on Dick. Kate had worshiped him when she 13. That was another reason she hadn't wanted to ask Dick for help. It was probably a stupid way to feel but no one liked to think someone they admired might pity them.

"It's not fair," she said. "Why should it only matter because it's me? And then the price is I become a special episode of SVU?" If Kate's name got out, what happened to her would be national news. The kind of stuff television pundits give speeches about and newspapers publish editorials on. She exhaled sharply and looked at Mia.

"Do you wish you had?"she asked gently.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 08:46 pm UTC (link)
"You could talk to a lawyer, see about protecting yourself if that's something you want." But Mia wasn't entirely sure about that either. "I think you'd have the clout to be believed." Because let's face it if the perpetrator was someone in Kate's social class and the victim very much not. That would be a different story.

"People are fucking ridiculous. Some of it is gross sexism and victim blaming, and some of it is a person's need to believe that bad things only happen to bad people. So if they're good nothing will happen to them, but since it happened to you you must be bad in some way." She ran into that a lot.

This was getting into specifics, and these were thoughts she always sort of pushed out of her head. "I know some say they regret not doing anything, and I know some say they do regret going through all that and having nothing come of it, but I imagine for those of us who do get justice there's something extremely validating about knowing the person that hurt you in behind bars."

That was a general answer though, and Kate had specifically asked her. Mia found that she couldn't lie to her. "I try not to think about it. I ran away from home when I was twelve and at the time I could only think about myself, and there's not anything wrong with that." It was something that she told herself repeatedly whenever a bit of guilt crept in. She looked away for a second. "But I wouldn't lie that it makes me sick to my stomach to think that my father might have done that to someone else after me."

Although, she was almost 100% positive that Oliver paid him a visit, not that she ever asked or he ever told her as much.

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 08:53 pm UTC (link)
Kate's eyes widened and she hoped she wasn't doing to Mia what Kate had been so afraid of: of being seen differently. "I'm - Mia, I'm sorry."

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 09:04 pm UTC (link)
She suddenly felt incredibly self conscious. The only people she'd had open conversations about this stuff was Teddy and Connor. Cissie knew, but Mia hadn't ever really said more than yeah this happened and left it at that.

So she couldn't help her reflex to brush off the concern. "It is what it is." She replied quickly with a sort of noncommittal shrug.

She finally glanced over at her. "But, yeah, that's a decision you've got to make and there's no rhyme or reason or logic behind who regrets doing what." She bit her lip. "But there's probably going to be a lot thinking about the What-ifs no matter what direction you go in."

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 09:23 pm UTC (link)
Some of the tension drained out of Kate's shoulders and she shifted in her seat, leaning against Mia in a show of comfort and support. "I don't want what happened to happened to someone else but what you said about the dragnet and the media? It would be like that and more. I don't want that either but how do I live with myself if someone else gets hurt?"

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 09:46 pm UTC (link)
Mia did tense up for a second when Kate moved closer, but she relaxed almost as fast as the tension had built up. "I don't have an answer for that." She replied honestly. She felt bad, but she didn't really have one.

"But it's not your fault. It's his." But shit if that wasn't easier said than done. And it was something she herself had a hard time believing on the rare occasions she let herself think about it.

"I generally think people put to much responsibility on us." She pointed out. "When girls report it rarely goes anywhere, and they're questioned like they're the ones at fault, but if we don't report it and it keeps happening that's our fault too. It's bullshit."

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 10:19 pm UTC (link)
"It is bullshit," Kate agreed. "But what else can you do?" Besides dress up in purple and patrol the park with a bow and arrow.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 11:00 pm UTC (link)
Mia scoffed a bit, but offered her a small smile. "Find a hobby." It was a bit of a cheeky answer but finding something else to concentrate on was a bit helpful. "Not a good answer I know."

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 11:10 pm UTC (link)
So basically...dress up in purple and patrol the park with a bow and arrow. "So what happens now? With the test?" Kate asked, changing the subject.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 11:19 pm UTC (link)
"We take some blood. You give a urine sample. Most STDs, will be back within 72 hours. Gonorrhea takes a week." She patted her friend's hand and reached over to pick the tablet back up. "But the one good thing is that it's been six months and you haven't been active since so we don't have to worry about retesting. HIV, on average takes three months to show up on a test, although never longer than six. So we'll be fine there."

She powered the tablet back on, happy to have something for her hands to do. "After we collect it all. The wait will probably be annoying."

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 11:36 pm UTC (link)
Kate nodded and tried to prepare herself. "Okay. Okay," she said,taking a deep breath.

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[info]miaishere
2015-03-22 11:43 pm UTC (link)
Mia gave her a smile before standing up. She went to the door to see that their nurse had returned, and was finishing up her food. Mia waved her over. She exchanged a couple of words Kate wouldn't be able to hear and handed her the tablet. "You know Rosa?" At least well enough to know her name.

Mia rather loved her. She was soft spoken and had a smile that usually made you feel at east with her.

Rosa smiled. "C'mon, sweetie."

When she was practically out the door Mia spoke up. "Kate, when you're done if you want to talk I'll be around, but if you want to go home and pass out in bed that's fine too."

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[info]bishop_strings
2015-03-22 11:47 pm UTC (link)
Kate nodded. "Thanks, Mia." She gave her friend a small smile and walked over to Rosa. Time to get this done.

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