A Needle in the Stomach
Characters: Susanna, Ryan, Violet, and Cal Setting: The Clinic, afternoon
There wasn’t anyone in this place that she actually trusted completely, but Susanna had to admit that she trusted Ryan more than anyone else. He knew the most about her, and they had plans for the future, whether they would stick together after they got their freedom or not. It didn’t matter that she felt something for Reece, something that she couldn’t name, not when Ryan was there, scooping her up into his arms as gently as she thought he could. She still groaned as it jostled the needle still sticking out of her skin, closing her eyes and resting them against his shoulder. She waited until they were in the elevator and the doors had closed before she even tried speaking, not bothering to open her eyes or try to lift her head. “I’m going to kill that little bitch,” she whispered, hoping it would be soft enough for the surveillance to miss it but not so soft that he wouldn’t hear her even though her mouth was near his ear.
Ryan was as careful as he could be as he carried her. She was his partner-in-crime, if only after the fact just now. They had plans, plans he wanted to see come to fruition. It would be too much fun to go wild with someone like her. But first he had to make sure she was going to be all right. While she could be a threat to him--and would, he knew, if things got too hard on her--he actually didn't want to see her dead. He turned his head, his lips hiding against her temple as he replied to her. "She deserves it. Gotta be careful, though," he murmured back very, very quietly. "Can't get caught."
She sighed softly at his words, knowing they were true, but not wanting to be careful. She’d been pushed to the point where she didn’t give a flying fuck what happened to her, she just wanted Meg dead. “I know,” she replied, voice still just as soft. “We’ll talk more later. God, it’s been a fucked up day.” Getting stabbed was just the cherry on top of this dark, twisted sundae of a day.
“Remember, play the long game,” he whispered. “Behave, like I’m supposed to.” He pressed his lips to her temple, not only for the camera. He wanted that bitch dead, too, but things were stirred up quite a bit as it was, and anything happening to the other woman too soon would be too obvious. He really didn’t want to lose his ally over carelessness. “What happened, anyway?” he asked in a more normal voice as the elevator came to a stop and he waited for the doors to slide open. He walked slowly and carefully down the hall toward the infirmary, not wanting to jostle the needle.
Forgetting herself for a moment, Susanna tried to wrinkle her nose at Ryan, only to groan when the motion sent waves of pain through her face. “I know, I know,” she murmured after a moment. She’d lost sight of the long game today, but she just hadn’t been able to help it. She’d wanted a fight, and Meg had been the perfect one for it. Things would have been just fine if Reece hadn’t come along, she thought with just a tiny bit of bitterness. “Meg didn’t appreciate my input on Dominic’s removal,” she answered honestly, lips twitching a bit. It wasn’t like the cameras hadn’t seen the whole fight or her reaction when she’d told Ryan about Dominic being removed in that way in the first place.
Her nose might just be broken, Ryan suspected, but it was hard to tell right now. She’d likely have some spectacular black eyes, either way. He found himself unconcerned with how it made her look, though he had concern for her amount of pain, and a selfish interest in if she’d still be up for fun and games in a day or two. He snorted. “Oh, Susie Q. I’m sure she didn’t appreciate that.” And here she’d been lecturing him on behaving, he thought with some exasperation. Amusement was in equal amount, though, and he kind of wished he’d gotten to see the fight. He just hoped she hadn’t outed him in the process, though she probably wouldn’t be this friendly acting if she had. “So she jumped you, then?”
“I was just going off the things she was saying, the way she was acting. It’s not my fault she didn’t like hearing what she was so clearly projecting,” Susanna muttered stubbornly. And she’d quite enjoyed taunting the girl. It had been a while since she’d had the opportunity to do so. He did look amused, at least, not that she’d expected anything else from him. She’d been the one trying to keep him on the straight and narrow, not the other way around. “Mmm, yes. She charged me, drew first blood, and I fought back. Would’ve... done some proper damage if Reece hadn’t pulled me off of her.”
“Mmmmhmmm,” he said in a knowing fashion. She’d fed Meg’s already crazy personality, he suspected, not that he blamed her. The crazy ones were always the ones who were funnest to wind up. It was akin to a cat playing with a mouse or a bird, he rather thought. A lot of fun before one bit down. At least until someone tried to stop you. “How unfortunate,” he said rather dryly. He’d have loved to see Susanna do more damage. “And she just kept going batshit crazy, and he didn’t stop her?” That was his thought, having heard about Meg more than just his brief encounter with her, but it would make sense. Who used a knitting needle, anyway? Not that that idiot Reece shouldn’t have done better; he had a few choice thoughts and words on that particular subject. He didn’t care if Susanna slept with the man, but the guy could at least take better care.
Sighing again, she nodded very slightly. “Something like that, yes. I was going to punch her again, hopefully knocking her out to keep her from attacking me again, and that’s when he grabbed my arm and pulled me off. He was so focused on keeping me from doing more damage that he clearly didn’t consider what she would do once freed. She came at us with this damn thing and stabbed me before I even had a chance to react,” she explained. Reece hadn’t really meant to let her get stabbed, she was certain, but that didn’t mean she didn’t blame him to a point. “He did try to help afterward, and then he restrained her, to a point.” Though why she was even attempting to defend Reece right now, she wasn’t certain.
“Still careless and uncalled for,” Ryan said , shaking his head slightly in place of a shrug that would jostle her too much. He did wonder at her defense of the man, and if he should be concerned. While he wasn’t possessive of her in bed, he had to wonder where she would stand if Reece tried to force a choice on her. He approached the door of the infirmary, having to shift her slightly to be able to open it.
“Hello, is anyone in here?” he called out. An inward part of himself stirred, wondering if Becka was down here.
Violet was present and accounted for, and when she heard someone calling, she hopped to, immediately. "Yes!" she called, walking quickly toward the voice. "What seems to be the trouble?" she asked, just before she came into view. Seeing a woman being carried by a man, she immediately clicked into action. "Exam room one, that door." she said, pointing to the one in question.
If Susanna hadn’t been worried that the movement would hurt her further, she would have shrugged at that. There was no love lost between Ryan and Reece, and she just needed to brush it off, though she found it rather sweet that Ryan was so concerned for her. And maybe that was just the pain, because neither Ryan nor herself were prone genuine sweetness, but it sure did seem genuine.
“Oh, not much,” Susanna answered the girl’s question in a pained but sarcastic voice. It was something else that she was able to still be snarky through the pain. “I’ve just got a giant needle sticking out of my stomach.” Though to the girl’s credit, she hadn’t been in view yet when she’d asked.
Ryan ducked them into the indicated exam room, setting Susanna down carefully on the exam table. She was light, certainly, for she had very little fat on her though some nice, lean muscle he always enjoyed. That didn’t mean that such a trip wasn’t a mild strain on him, though, though he was much stronger than he appeared at first glance. He tried not to jostle her too much.
“Crazy bitch stabbed her with a knitting needle,” Ryan expounded in a more polite voice. Susanna had pain as an excuse; he did not. However, he saw no harm in calling Meg a bitch. She was. And she was crazy. “Didn’t want to take it out just in case.”
Violet ignored Susanna's snappy commentary, instead immediately gloving up, and taking a brief visual assessment of the damage in general. "You did the right thing. Thank you. I'm going to need you to find Cal, please." she instructed Ryan. It wasn't a request. A lot of this she could deal with just fine, but stabbings weren't nearly as easy to deal with as the movies made it look. Not by a long shot. It also looked to her like the woman's nose was broken.
It was probably a good thing that Susanna was being ignored, because she wasn’t so sure she could keep up the snark with as much as the pain was trickling in as the adrenaline wore off. She groaned softly when Ryan set her down, even if he had tried to set her down gently. “Cal’s not around?” she asked with clear concern. As much as she didn’t want to get into any in depth conversations with the perceptive man, she trusted his medical ability and knew nothing of this girl.
Ryan nodded. At least she sounded like she knew what she was doing. “Hang in there, Susanna. I’ll fetch the doc,” he said, smoothing back a strand of her hair absently. His lips quirked and he nearly admonished her to play nice with the nurse, but in her current pain, he suspected she might not take it as it was meant. He nodded to them both and slipped out of the room to go find the doctor.
"Not at current, but don't worry," Violet said, tone confident and calm. "I've got you, and he'll be here soon." Assuming the guy could find him quicklike. She didn't actually know where Cal might be. But the facility wasn't that big, right? Sure. And in the meantime, she could definitely do damage control. "What's your name?" she asked, getting scissors out to cut around the knitting needle in the woman's abdomen.
Susanna did spare a smile for Ryan, looking at him through eyes that were starting to swell just a little bit. “I’ll be fine,” she said confidently. Because despite the injury, she had every intention of bouncing back and killing the wild-haired bitch. “You’re properly qualified?” she asked directly, though how she was able to even think about such things was a mystery. Apparently pain didn’t shut off the bitch. “Susanna,” she answered, fighting down the instinct to protest cutting her dress. It was already ruined, but she hated the idea of anyone taking scissors to it.
"Yes, I am." Violet answered Susanna, getting the dress out of the way as much as possible. Then she turned to grab and crack an ice pack, shaking it to activate the cold. "I am a fully trained RN, I was at the top of my class, and you're in good hands." She held out the ice pack. "We need to put this over your nose, to try and get the swelling down a little." It would also give Susanna something to do with her hands, some active assignment, while Violet surveyed the damage more.
Eying the nurse as much as she could, Susanna considered that before deciding that she just didn’t have much choice in the matter. A nurse wasn’t a trained doctor, but hopefully Ryan would find Cal soon and Violet would prove to be as good as she was claiming. “That would be ideal,” she said as she took the ice pack and put it over her nose and eyes. The cold did feel very good even as the pressure stung. “Your name?” she asked.
"Violet." She answered. "Are you having any trouble breathing, Susanna?" Violet asked, getting bandages and gauze out along with sterilization swabs. So far as she could tell, it looked shallow enough, which was a good thing, and the needle itself was helping keep the bleeding down. Susanna didn't seem to be fuzzy or losing consciousness, so that was good too.
Violet, now that was a lovely name, Susanna thought absently. “Through my nose, yes. In general, no,” she answered, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, not that Violet would be able to see it with the ice pack there. It wasn’t in derision for the question, more out of annoyance for not having anticipated Meg’s fucking headbutt.
"That's good." Violet said, tone encouraging. "Here's what we're going to do. Right now, the needle is helping keep the bleeding down. And so long as we keep you immobile, we'll avoid any further damage. When Cal gets here, we can get the needle out and stop the bleeding as quickly as possible. How are your pain levels right now? From one to ten, one being the lowest, ten being highest, where would you rate things?" she asked, as she clasped Susanna's free wrist, taking her pulse.
“Oh, no problem, I enjoy having a needle sticking out of my abdomen,” she replied dryly, though she really had nothing against waiting on Cal for the needle to come out. Susanna was a woman with a fairly high pain tolerance level, but with the adrenaline mostly worn off now, she was definitely feeling it. “A five or six,” she answered after taking a few moments to try to assess the pain she was in, keeping her arm as relaxed as possible as Violet took her pulse.
Again, Violet ignored the commentary. She was a professional, and sometimes, you just didn't engage. People said all kinds of nasty things when they were in pain. "We'll get that down." Violet assured her. She leaned in closer to peer at the scratches on Susanna's cheek, glad they weren't very deep. "After we get the needle out, we'll disinfect these, get them all bandaged up."
Susanna lifted a hand and waved it slightly, as if unconcerned with the scratches. They were battle wounds, and while she hated the idea of her face being marred in any way, they would be a reminder of just why she couldn’t let Meg go unpunished for this. “I do not take mind altering drugs,” she said, almost a hint of warning in her tone. If Violet intended to give her any medication, she wanted to know what she would be getting. Control was clearly very important to her even while in pain.
"Noted." Violet said. Though she'd been thinking more motrin, not anything stronger. It was Cal's call, really, though she would be sure to put Susanna's preferences down as well. "Try not to move." she added, since Susanna had waved her hand. "Do you have any allergies?" She wondered if Cal had a file on her already or not. She set aside bandages and antiseptic for the scratches, getting everything laid out and as prepared as possible for when Cal arrived.
Susanna did roll her eyes behind the ice pack at that, though she also dropped her hand back to the table, if only because she didn’t want to inadvertently cause more damage. “No,” she answered because it would be far too immature to point out that speaking was in all actuality moving. These questions had to be asked, and so she would answer them and try to play nice.
"Any other medical conditions?" Violet asked, taking a moment to jot everything down in her own shorthand. She would type it all up later, but for the moment, she wanted it down and done with.
“No,” Susanna answered simply. She was healthy and this wasn’t going to change that.
"Is there anyone else injured?" Violet asked. She assumed Susanna didn't stab herself with a knitting needle. So, she needed to find out sooner than later if there was another emergency to deal with.
“Not enough to seek medical attention, unfortunately,” Susanna answered darkly before she could think about how it might reflect on her.
Violet merely nodded, keeping her own reaction to that statement entirely to herself. She was focused on the matter at hand, which was her current patient. And if there wasn't another one out there, then that meant she didn't have to divide her attention at all. That was good. "Thank you." she said. "Is there anything else I need to know?" she asked, giving the floor to Susanna, just in case.
“Not that I can think of,” Susanna answered honestly, not able to think of anything. Of course, Cal might have more questions for her later. Cal always seemed to have questions.
For a short moment there, upstairs from the clinic? Cal actually didn’t have questions, at least not ones he was heeding. The talk with Becka had been about as good as Cal could hope for at a time when the damage was still so fresh, the impact of it still taking shape on her, and the response throughout the facility so disorganized. He'd left her in her new room a short time ago, heading downstairs with an extra edge of alertness as he moved now, some watchful quality for anyone who seemed to be watching for her.
But with nothing blatant being laid out in front of him? He didn't feel one bit bad about not heading down to the clinic immediately. He wasn't a detective who could crack what had happened, at best he could offer a profile of the attacker (though even that would be loose), and Violet and Becka had both told him before: Cal needed to work less. He needed to spend some parts of his days out of the clinic, enjoying the facility's luxuries and meeting the others here outside of the doctor/patient context. At the very least, he needed to eat more regularly.
Which had been the name of the game in his visit to the kitchen, a visit that saw Cal heading back towards his room with a bottle of water tucked under one arm and a bowl of grapes perched in his hand. He was idle as he walked across the courtyard, twisting the grapes free of their stems one by one, then popping each up into the air and letting it fall into his mouth. Chewing with a small smile, Cal had to sigh to himself as he moved. Today had already been hectic, and it wasn't even late into the afternoon.
Ryan headed up from the infirmary. He knew the doctor on sight, and he'd made sure to find out what room the man was in. He might be what he was, but knowing where the doctor lived was always common sense, and it could save his life. He'd always known where the closest hospital was before prison, and it was basically the same thing. He decided to start at the room--which was empty--and then decided to work outwards. It was lucky for him, really, and for his limited supply of patience that he saw the man not far away. "Cal?" he said, voice lifted in question. "I was sent to find you. You're needed in the infirmary."
It figured, of course, that the first time in a few days where Cal had opted to actually go elsewhere? Something happened and they needed him in the clinic. Like wearin' a damn pager all over again, he thought with only the faintest sour tone, something short-lived in the wake of someone needing help. Catching his most recent toss before it reached his lips, Cal dropped the grape in the bowl with the others and quickly closed the distance between himself and Ryan. "What's goin' on down there? Ryan, right?" he clarified, just to be sure, "Who's hurt, and is Violet already involved?"
"Yeah, Ryan," he said with a nod. "Violet is already down there. She's the one who sent me," Ryan told him. "Susanna got stabbed by that... by Meg," he decided he probably shouldn't say 'that crazy bitch' right away, "with a knitting needle. I also think her nose is broken." He could already tell she'd have black eyes, or at least, he rather thought she would. "I think it's enough that Violet doesn't want to do it on her own."
"Stabbed?" Cal echoed, eyebrows darting up above the frames of his glasses. Well shit. That definitely spurred him into action, prompting a nod of his head for Ryan to follow as Cal started a long-legged jog for the elevator. "Broken nose isn't so bad, but where'd that needle get put in her?" he asked as he moved.
Ryan followed, picking up his pace accordingly as they made for the elevator. Hopefully it would still be there and they wouldn't have to wait. "Stomach, about here," he said, indicating. "Not very deep, though. A bit bloody, but I wouldn't guess it's too bad," he said. At least, he did hope so. Losing Susanna would be losing the one person he could stand to be around for any period of time.
They were in luck as they reached the elevator doors and Cal thumbed the button, getting them to slide apart neatly to reveal the waiting elevator. "Sounds like she's lucky, but I'll need to see for myself," Cal agreed as they stepped in, resolving to save the rest of his questions for Violet or Susanna herself. The work never stopped, it seemed.
Ryan leaned against the side of the elevator as it went down. He studied Cal a little, wondering what the doctor was in for, though so long as he did his job well it didn't matter that much. He nodded, though. "Yeah, I'm hoping she'll be just fine." He was worried, inasmuch as he ever really worried. The faint agitation showed, showing as worry and perhaps a bit of anger. Crazy fucking little blonde bitch.
"From the sound of it, I'm betting she'll just be tender for a few days and have some bruising around her injury sites. Nothing life-threatening," Cal assured him as the elevator descended. If they were in normal prison, it'd be a different story entirely with potential infection and contamination. But if they were in normal prison, the stabbing itself would've probably gone very differently. "Try not to worry," he offered as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. "At least not until you see me start worrying." That was shared with a faint grin as Cal stepped out quickly, moving for the clinic door.
Ryan listened carefully and nodded. It was reassuring to know he didn't think Susanna was in too much danger. Ryan hadn't thought she was, but he would be keeping an eye on how the doctor reacted and on Susanna until he was for sure. It would be terribly disappointing to lose his ally at this point; his little black heart was rather set on the 'kill those bitches that put him in prison and go to France' plan they'd concocted while the power was out. "Gotcha," he said with another nod, and continued to follow the doctor to the infirmary.
Bustling right through the main clinic space and back towards the exam rooms, Cal had a practiced confidence about him as he swapped out his bowl of fruit and bottle of water for a pair of gloves without breaking stride. He’d resanitize the main space later, right now he wanted to know exactly what was happening. “Vi?” Cal called as he snapped his gloves on, stepping through the door of the exam room, “What’re we lookin’ at?” Yeah, questions aplenty had returned.
"Abdominal puncture with a knitting needle, facial scratches and a broken nose." Violet rattled off without a greeting. "I've laid out everything we'll need, and Susanna has made it clear she wants nothing mood altering for her pain medication."
Susanna was relieved when she heard Cal’s voice, not that Violet had given her any reason to doubt her abilities. “Mind altering,” she corrected, though it really could be the same thing. She was enough of a snob to make a point of correcting her. “I’m handling the pain just fine for right now,” she said, though it really wasn’t entirely true. She just had control issues and felt better pretending that she was in control of her pain levels just then.
Ryan went to stand near Susanna, reaching out to touch her shoulder gently with a warm hand before moving to stand back out of the way. It couldn’t hurt to appear to be the concerned lover, which in a way he was, though at this point he was pretty reassured that she would be okay, and so what worry he had felt was tapering off though the mask was still on, and he was still going to be there to support her--and protect her, if need be.
Looking over the abdominal wound where Violet had cut away Susanna’s dress, Cal gave a sparse nod of acknowledgment over Violet’s synopsis. “Might have to make do with a few effects on your clarity, Susanna,” Cal warned. “Anti-inflammatories alone can leave you a touch off-kilter, but it’s nothing to fear, and it’s preferable to letting this heal after treatment without them.” Why did everyone here seem terrified of mild prescriptions? In cases where substance abuse had been an issue, like Adam’s? Cal could understand.
“I’m very good with pharmacology, Susanna. Trust me when I say that it’ll be worth it in the long run, both for your stomach and your nose,” he explained, glancing Violet’s way. “Apply a topical to numb her out, then prepare dressage. We’ll clean up the abdomen before setting her nose.” He looked Ryan’s way, offering a smile that mixed sympathy with gratitude; it was good for him to be here, but it was also going to be cringe-worthy to watch for most people.
Violet had already set everything she knew she'd be needing up, so she didn't have to dig for supplies when Cal gave direction. Instead, she just grabbed exactly what she needed from the counter, and deftly got it done in efficient, short order.
Susanna couldn’t see Ryan, but she felt his hand on her shoulder and smiled just a bit at it. She liked that he was there, though it did little to make her like what Cal was saying about the drugs. She liked to be in control, but in this she knew that Cal was right. It would be a bitch to recover without anything. “If you say so,” she mumbled just a touch dramatically. And then she fell silent as the doctor and nurse started working on her.