[Ami] Half-Light

[island-muses.livejournal.com]

Five, maybe six days into her captivity, she'd lost count at the beginning and couldn't be certain, Ami's life fell into a routine: breakfast, shower, "interview" with Ethan, lunch and then an indeterminate stretch where she might be left to her devices, subjected to more blood tests and injections, or drilled and questioned by a clinically cold Asian woman. While Ethan psychoanalyzed her, always under the pretense of making her life "here more comfortable" – and Ami never for one moment doubted that it was pretense – the woman bombarded her with questions regarding her abilities and how far she could stretch them. Unlike Ethan, Dr. Sakai – Ami tricked the dinner nurse, Steph, into revealing the name of the woman on the fourth evening – did not hold the captivity of Ami's friends over her head as a threat, though she did reveal and hint at far deeper and greater knowledge than she should have had regarding Ami and Megabyte, the Tomorrow People in general, Scott, Walt, River and Mara than the woman should have been privy to.

Sakai's questions were concise and direct without subterfuge. When they were not, they were simply confusing and frustrating and often embarrassing.

"Did either of your parents have paranormal abilities?"

"No," Ami repeated the same answer that she'd given the day before and the day before that. "I've told you this before. No, my parents were both perfectly normal."

"Grandparents? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins?"

"No already! Am I even speaking English?"

"No brothers or sisters?"

Ami folded her arms beneath her breasts and glared at the woman from the pseudo-safety of her bed. She'd long grown tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

Dr. Sakai returned her stare for a long moment. Finally, heaving a sigh, she flipped to another page in her clipboard. "Are you fertile? Have you ever monitored or measured your fertility?"

*That* was new. Ami actually felt herself frown before she could stop it. "I don't know. No. Why would I?"

"Is your partner fertile?"

"What's that got to do with anything? You're holding me here to find out what Scott's sperm count is? Rather have that arse over tit, don't you, then?" Ami learned early on that trying not to name names or identify her fellow survivors and castaways served no practical purpose. Sakai knew the people, and pretending only made the questioning sessions drag onward.

"How often would you say that you and Mr. Hayden engaged in sexual intercourse on a daily basis?"

The question angered her, mortified her and saddened her all at once. It was none of this woman's business, this woman – this pseudo-doctor who held her captive against her will and was keeping her *away* from Scott, didn't have the right to ask such things or to expect an answer. The asking itself reminded her of the ache and emptiness she felt, of the hollow just beyond her senses where Scott should have been, but couldn't be felt.

"None of your bloody business."

"Did you have intercourse the morning before you were brought here?"

"I'm not going to answer that!"

She didn't answer, and those questions were never asked again.

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[Claire] Loo break? (tag open)

[sophiedb.livejournal.com]

"Would you stop that infernal clattering?"

Claire stuck her tongue out at the nurse and carried on knitting. She was making a blanket for the baby, although at this rate is was going to be a scarf for an adult. A big long stripy scarf with lots of colours, because her crafty skills really weren't up to things like sleeves and booties (a bit like the palm weaving), but bog-standard stockinette seemed to be going well and she was too happy to get stressed about doing anything technical when the Dharma people were going to be looking after the baby anyw-

"I. Said. Stop!"

Claire yelped as the needles were ripped from her hands and locked in the medical cabinet. "What did you do that for?"

"Is a bit of piece and quiet too much to ask for?" the evil cow retorted before returning to her post by the door.

Scowling, Claire cast about for something else to do. It was bad enough being holed up in here rather than outside without the bitch over there disrupting the few pleasures she was allowed to enjoy. Apparently anything too strenuous might increase her blood pressure, and that was a bad thing, but where caging her with Nurse Irritable fell on the scale Claire had no idea. Normally she'd be chatting with Ethan at this time of day, which was nice and fun and soooo much better than the silent grouchy one over there, who was supposedly looking after her but spent more time watching the door than anything.. medical. Whatever it was that nurses were meant to do.

Something bright caught Claire's eye: a book of nursery rhymes. She'd been singing them to the baby most days and had gotten fed up with reading the same thing over and over and over again, but this was different.

She leaned over and grabbed the book, smiling sweetly at the nurse when she looked over, then opened it up at random. Excellent choice!

"Ring a ring o'roses
A pocketful of posies
Ah-tishoo! Ah-tishoo!
We all fall d-"

"Shut up!"

"Stop interrupting me!" Claire bit back. "I'm supposed to be cool calm and collected over here, all nice for the baby, and you're so wound up and nasty that I can't!"

The nurse strode over to the bed, brandishing her funny gun thing. "Do you want me to use this on you?"

Claire drew her knees up, wriggling backwards into her pillows as the book fell away. "Ethan said he wouldn't let anyone sedate me any more, that it'd be dangerous. Where is he?"

"'Where's Ethan?'" the evil woman sneered, once she'd gotten over a sudden fit of the giggles. "Don't even bloody tempt me. Now what?"

Looking down at the floor, Claire shook her head. She was terrified of this woman and she didn't even know why - everything had been so nice for the last few days.. Then she remembered. This woman had taunted her when she'd first arrived, back when they'd been asking all those questions. Sooooo many questions. But she'd been nasty, the nurse that was. And Claire too? Really? No... surely not. This place was happy, jolly, good, sweet, cheerful, all that nice stuff, just for the baby.

She looked up, biting her lip. "I need the loo."

"Oh no you don't."

"I do!" Claire re-iterated, wide-eyed at the thought of lying. Teasing maybe, but not about this. "Really, I have to go all the time these days."

"Well you'll just have to hold on, won't you?" the nurse ground out, scrunching her face up like she was about to pop as she flushed red from the neck upwards.

Someone else went red like that, but Claire couldn't remember who. Probably herself. A kick to the bladder brought her back to the present.

"I can't! Hold on I mean! C'mon, what's the problem - it won't take long?" she pleaded, wriggling for emphasis. "It'll stink in here otherwise, you know it will!"

"God, too many happy meds really is a bad thing.." the nurse muttered angrily, looking out the window frantically while clicking her radio. It was silent. "Ok, but we're going to have to run."

Claire smiled her thanks brightly, but she did have to correct the woman on one point. "I don't run, I waddle. You could always push me in the wheelchair?"

"Argh!" Nurse Volcano vented, tucking the gun-thing into her belt as she unfolded the contraption. "Ok, get over here sharpish. They really don't pay me enough for this!"