Tiny Dancer [EverlyxSterling]

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Natalia had a solid half hour of peace. She was able to focus and pray, something she had not bothered with in a long time. It seemed appropriate. She didn't know how else to get help for her friend. The doctors were useless fucks and there was nothing else Natalia could offer that would be helpful. She prayed for healing, but also for forgiveness. Many people were under the impression that people who used rosaries were not particularly keen on the subject of forgiveness and kindness. Natalia, however, clung to the belief that all transgressions could be somehow forgiven. Perhaps it was simply because she did not see any other way to be considered acceptable by any sort of deity other than wiping her slate clean. How else was she going to get anywhere, living the life that she did?

After that half hour, however, she was interrupted. There was a solid footstep nearby, announcing the presence of a doctor. Instead of looking up, Natalia ignored the man until he cleared his throat. Even then she stayed still, but she was listening.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Miss Corrigan's parents have signed off.." he began, his tone bored. She opened her eyes and sat up a bit, looking over at him to see he was looking at his clipboard instead of at her. Blinking a few times, she simply stared at him for several moments while he explained that Lily's parents had finally shown their faces and decided to sign paperwork saying that their daughter was better off with a pulled plug.

"Excuse you?!" Natalia demanded, interrupting the man as she stood up and gave him a vicious glare. He finally looked up at her, surprise registering in his expression.

"I'm sorry, but-" he began again, only to have her take a step toward him and force him to shut up.

"No, you aren't sorry, you miserable piece of shit," she hissed, furious. "Those people that call themselves her parents haven't even been here to visit her and I've never seen them around! She's twenty-two and can make her own decisions, they don't get to step in and say to kill her off!"

"Well, considering she's unconscious and they are the next of kin.." the doctor attempted.

"I don't give a rat's ass what your procedures are!" she snapped. "You take one more step in here and I will shove that fucking clipboard so far up your useless ass that you will choke on it and die right here on this floor, you understand me?!" she threatened, going on to yell at him in Russian until he finally turned and left, quickly going to the nurses station to call for security as Natalia slammed the door shut so hard the walls trembled.
 
Damien heard the woman's heated words from inside the room. He also, along with everyone on the level, heard the door slam angrily and the echo that bounced down the sterile corridor like a shockwave. The bemused doctor, having been rudely ejected and dressed down, was dialing his phone while walking toward the elevator bay. Damien knew what would happen next, he knew his friends from security would soon arrive and, in turn, eject the woman from the hospital.

As Damien sat in that filthy chair, he realized he felt the urge to intervene. A part of him sighed and rolled his eyes, and thus began a heated, internal debate. This woman was obviously the product of bad luck and bad choices, judging from his encounter with her the previous morning. Her conduct was rude and impatient, symptoms displayed just now that will result in the bitch getting her skinny, crack whore ass tossed to the curb like the garbage she probably was.

But then, a different sentiment flooded the hollow crags of his soul — compassion. How long would it be until he found himself in precisely the same situation? His mother was terminal, there was nothing he could do to change his mothers situation. That helplessness must feel crippling. He felt it this morning when the Hospital attempted to extort him, and he'd felt it everyday in this damned place. How would he snap when his back was pressed toward the cliff?

The collective footsteps of heavy men could be heard from around the corner. Their pace was unrushed, even reluctant, and Damien rose to intercept them at the door. Jackson led the group of three guards. They snapped on latex gloves, and donned the false enthusiasm of wrestling a rabid cat.

"Hey, Jackson ... There's a woman inside here. She's just real upset, you know. Let me talk to her, huh? If I can't get her to leave, you can do your stuff."

Jackson looked grateful at possibly avoiding a hostile ejection. He nodded and stood tall.

"Sure. You got five minutes."

Damien nodded, then slowly opened the door and slid inside.
 
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Natalia ignored the crash of a picture falling off the wall in the room and shattering into a hundred pieces on the floor when the door slammed. The broken glass was not important, and neither was the ruined piece of garbage that passed for art in this stupid place. All that mattered was Lily. She wasn't stupid. Right now, that doctor was probably pissing his pants and calling for help. They weren't just going to back off and allow her to stay here to protect her friend. What she wanted didn't matter - she wasn't even related to Lily, even though she saw the girl as a sister. She sighed and slowly walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it and taking her hand.

Cold. Unresponsive. Dead.

She mentally flinched away from the word. For years she had actively avoided death. Even when people she knew were overdosing and being stupid, she simply looked the other way. Watching the life leave the eyes of somebody you care about was draining in more ways than one. She didn't know if she could live through that again, yet here she was. There was no way that Lily could breathe on her own less than twenty-four hours after being hit by a car. She didn't have a chance. Her parents didn't even care, and that made Natalia more furious than sad.

The door handle clicked and she stood up immediately. Security, or the doctor. Either way, she was not about to just sit there like some dainty lady and let this happen without a fight. She went over to the door quickly and drew back, her plan to punch whoever it was square in the nose. However, Damien was a little more to the side than she expected, so she ended up clocking him right in the cheekbone. She blinked a moment later, realizing who it was. The disapproving drummer boy. She scowled, not bothering to apologize for punching him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"
 
The blow came as hard as it was unexpected. Her fist grazed his cheek, and the strength of her punch surprised Damien. She was a skinny thing, but had strong fists. His eyes flashed angrily with a piercing intensity restrained by disciplined patience. Don't do that again, they said. His rubbed his jaw gingerly. It still stung, and he knew the swelling would soon start.

The security detail moved in closer with concerned faces, but Damien shook his head at them and closed the door. He spoke in a calm, stern whisper.

"If you're done being stupid ..."

Damien took the opportunity to assess the situation for himself. Anything from this woman's mouth would likely be a filthy mixture of bile and threats. She's just scared, he told himself. He saw Lily lying upon the bed, wires and tubes sprouting like vines across the landscape of her infirmary. The linen sheet cover was neatly folded across her waist; it was still perfectly pressed, undisturbed by her lack of movement.

"I'm the only thing standing between you and a wrestling match with three very strong security guards. I think I see what's going on here, and I have two words for you."

Damien furrowed his brow, conveying his place in the room. She might be a train-wreck, but she needed to bend, however slightly, if he was going to gain any purchase with his charity. He stood in front of her, face hard as steel.

"Living. Will."
 
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Natalia glared at him, disliking how he said he was some sort of shield between her and the security guards. As though she cared. She would take them all on and go out screaming before she allowed herself to be walked out like some petulant child. When he explained his genius idea of a way out, she almost wanted to laugh at him.

"If she had a living will, her parents wouldn't be able to sign off," she pointed out, annoyed. "She's only twenty-two for crying out loud. She's probably never even thought of being in a situation like this and now she's here and they're going to murder her for no fucking reason!" she went on, getting more and more upset as she went on. This was her fault, all her fault, and she didn't know how to fix it.
 
"No Living Will, eh?"

A crooked smile broke across Damien’s face. “You know that, and I know that.” He jerks his head toward the door. “But, those assholes don’t.” Damien crossed his arms gently and began to mill in place.

“New York State’s kinda ape-shit about the legality of people’s right to refuse self-termination. Living Wills trump whatever the doctor’s think, whatever emotionally-impaired parents and spouses demand. You need to convince the Hospital that your friend has a Living Will expressly forbidding that life support be withheld in the event of incapacitation.”

Damien stood a bit taller. “There’s a nice, but very fidgety bird of a woman named Judy on the second-floor. She’s the Hospital’s Ethics Officer. It’s her job to ensure that all deaths in this hospital are legal. The hospital is a machine run on greed, and nothing scares that machine more than a lawsuit. If you’re willing to scream at a doctor, and go toe-to-toe with security guards, the Hospital might think you’re crazy enough to take them to court. You’re right … Lily here probably doesn’t have a Living Will. But, the red tape created because she might have one will delay her plug being pulled by about a month.”

Damien looked back sympathetically to the dying woman on the bed. “A lot can happen in a month.”
 
Natalia blinked and stared at him as he explained how she could easily run the hospital around in paperwork circles. She realized he was right. Given just a bit of doubt, a judge could give serious consideration to anybody contending that a hospital had terminated life prematurely. No hospital wanted that sort of publicity, and Natalia knew that anybody who saw her would know she wasn't going to keep her mouth shut. She'd run to the papers with that sort of garbage if she had to. All she had to do was threaten them in the right manner and she would have time... would it be enough?

She frowned and turned, looking at Lily. There was no way the girl actually had a living will, but with the voice of doubt would come borrowed time. Was it enough? Would she heal and wake and be able to leave this place before the hospital realized she had been leading them on? She didn't know. Lily might not recover at all. She sighed, trying not to picture her mother there instead of the young stripper. It wasn't the same, she kept telling herself. This was different. Lily hadn't been driving a car down a highway, she had been pushed.. while high. All her fault..

"Fine. I'll go threaten Judy until she's terrified to let the doctors make a move," she muttered, crossing her arms. This was such a pain. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. It was too hard to deal with this amount of stress. She needed a fix, and she needed it bad. First Judy. Then a hit.
 
Damien gave a lop-sided grin as he turned to face the door. He decided he was glad he'd intervened, if only to get this insane woman off his mother's floor. Damien carefully cracked the door open, and saw the security guards milling about the corridor. They seemed to wake up when Damien came into view, and took steps forward until Natalia sulked behind him.

"I think the situation's over. I'm going to walk her out. She's just upset ..."

Jackson nodded in gratitude, and dismissed the other guards. It was break-time anyway, and they all produced cell phones and began looking for a signal. Damien walked forward with purpose down the sleek, white corridor. Damien wanted to stay ahead of the woman, and strode hard to make certain she never walked beside him. He knew the shortest route to Judy's office, which required an odd jog that appeared redundant, but produced a short hallway. Along this hallway toward the end was a single elevator. He pressed the down button.

The elevator ping rang softly as Natalia reached the doors as they split open to an empty car. Damien held the elevator door, then followed behind Natalia. After pressing the "2" button, he leaded against the opposite side of the elevator from Natalia. The sound of hydraulic whooshing accompanied their decent.
 
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'I'm going to walk her out...'

Hmph. She glared at Damien's back in annoyance, not ready to budge, but she didn't want to fight security if she didn't have to. Instead of arguing, she sighed and went over to Lily, leaning down to kiss her cold forehead. There was no reaction. She frowned more and straightened up, picking up her bag and coat from the chair and followed her 'helper' out. The guards weren't even looking at her. Idiots. Then again, she wasn't a threat anymore, so they had no reason to follow her around like lost dogs. She scowled at them anyway. It was not nearly as satisfying since they didn't notice.

Oh well.

She followed Damien, in no hurry now that she had a plan and solution in place. Follow him to Judy, make the woman fear for her job or her life, secure Lily's life for a bit longer, then go find a dealer. There was one nearby and she knew it. Perhaps after that she would grab lunch. It was what, nine in the morning? A good time for lunch. She pondered that for a few moments, looking up only when she heard the ding of the elevator arriving. Damien's gentlemanly gesture of holding the door open for her struck her as odd, but she stepped inside anyway and leaned back against the wall.

She avoided looking at him, not wanting him to start up some sort of argument about the drugs that he knew Andrei was selling her. Now was not the time for him to tell her to be careful with her own life and make some sort of analogy to Lily. If he started, she was apt to strangle him against the wall. She was tense just thinking about it.. but, he didn't say anything. The entire ride was silent until the elevator dinged to tell them they had arrived at the correct floor. She straightened up, waiting for him to move since she didn't know where they were going.
 
Damien tilted his head up, confirming their destination, then walked straight and to the right. He ducked into a shallow corridor, made around a wooden door with a plate glass viewport. He fished in his pocket and produced his wallet, then removed a card. It used to be an access card, but was long worm and scuffed. It looked stiff and hard with one corner worn from repeated use, so that the underlying metal shined brightly. Damien looked around discreetly, then jimmied the card into the latch to open the secure door from the outside.

"It's easier this way ... trust me."

Damien returned the card to his wallet, then led Natalia to a professional area with tacky (reproduced) paintings of flower still-life's on wall of putrid peach. He stopped short, then looked at her coat. "You might want to put that on ... Judy is easily flustered. You don't want to overdo it." He then stepped to a door titled "ETHICS OFFICER" in medium-sized font and knocked.
 
Natalia followed along, pausing when he rummaged around in his pocket for a wallet. She leaned against the wall boredly, then blinked in surprise as he started breaking into the door with the card instead of simply unlocking it. Well, well. Mister Drugs Are Bad was displaying skills worthy of a street criminal. How dare me. She smirked a bit, following him inside and glancing around. Eugh. Why were hospitals never decorated properly? Being around this too long was going to make her ill too. She grimaced, then looked up as he suggested she put on her jacket.

"Isn't intimidation what we're going for?" she asked irritably, but she did slide it on. It was too warm to bother fastening it closed, but she looked less like a whore and more like somebody who didn't know how to dress properly for daytime hours now. As if that mattered when lawsuits were involved.
 
A timid, harried lady opened the door and greeted the pair with wide eyes behind thick, coke-rimmed glasses.

"D-Damien?"

Her voice was high-pitched, and cracked around the margins. Judy epitomized a gentle soul who endured constant, overwhelming stress. Risk mitigation was like a station of purgatory for the reclusive woman, and she had been working in this office for over twenty years. The strain had taken its toll, and frayed, gray hairs sprang from her scalp in exasperated protest. The look she gave Damien was one of surprise, and paled in comparison to the shock of seeing Natalia in full sexual glory.

"But, D-Dolores didn't tell me you were coming."

"Oh," Damien assured her, "she was busy and just waved us in."

"I see." Judy's voice squeaked like a grown mouse. "Is this about you mother? Did you receive the information about hospice care?"

Damien looked nervously around. "Um, ... no, Judy. I'm here with my fr..." Damien shot a hard glance at Natalia's impenetrable persona. "... someone who has a grave concern that you should strongly consider about one of your patients."

Judy backed into her office and sat behind a bland desk of faux wood, perfectly ordered. Two chairs sat before the desk, and Damien removed his jacket, folding it to one side. Damien wore a wrinkled navy-blue short-sleeve shirt, and half of an elaborate tattoo was visible beneath the sleeve hem. He wanted this to be over with, and helped himself to a small plastic carafe of coffee. The brown liquid steamed into a placid dixie-type cup with a folded paper handle too small for human usage. Damien sipped, and squinted in disgust.

"Is something wrong, Damien?"

"This coffee ... is terrible."

"Oh," Judy said, almost with reflective confusion. "But, it's hazelnut-flavored."

"It's too weak," Damien said. He placed the cup on the desk corner. "Judy, I'll let ..." Damien froze, not realizing he had forgotten the woman's name. Natalie? Shit. "Well, she can explain."
 
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Natalia stared at Judy as the woman appeared. She was older than expected, but there was an edge to her voice. Stress. The woman was obviously kind but overworked. Natalia was reminded of one of her instructors in Juilliard. Determined to push Natalia to success, the woman had worked endlessly, putting in hours upon hours on weekends and evenings for extra practice. It was not until exhaustion landed her in the hospital that Natalia had even realized what a toll it was taking on her. She frowned slightly at the memory, slowly following Damien into the office and taking the seat next to him.

This would need to be handled a bit differently than she planned.

"My name is Natalia. It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Judy," she said, giving the woman a kind smile. Her voice held a thicker Russian accent than usual, giving thought that perhaps her odd dress was because she was foreign and not a slut. "Damien told me that you could assist me in a small problem. See, my friend Lily Corrigan is a patient here. She was just admitted last night after a nasty accident. Her parents have insisted that her life support be terminated, but I simply can not allow that to pass. Lily has a living will in place and has told me all about it, because I had questions when I made my own. I would hate for the hospital to make such a grievous error. Lily is like a sister to me and I will not hesitate to press charges if something goes awry with her care."

Satisfied, she gave the frazzled woman a polite smile and crossed her legs, hands in her lap.
 
Damien sat in shock as Natalia constructed a perfectly reasonable, rational, and measured case, clarifying the situation and the likely consequences. He hoped Judy hadn't seen his blank face, and he looked downward. His eyes rested on Natalia's impossibly toned stockinged legs. He sighed quietly, trying to collect himself, wondering if he had just witnessed an alternate personality to this seemingly erratic woman.

Natalia ... Natalia was her name.

Damien returned his attention to the exchange, and Judy gazed at Natalia over her thick glasses. "Lily Corrigan, you said?" Judy began typing with amazing agility, a skill acquired from writing and processing thousands of legal briefs and narratives. She read her computer screen while listening simultaneously. Her eyes cut like daggers into the information before her. Though meek, Judy possessed a formidable mind and analyzed the situation with acuity. Her glance, however, turned fearful when Natalia mentioned the most dreaded of phrases: press charges.

"My, M-My Dear, first of all, we intend on getting to the bottom of this, rest assured." She quickly references her computer screen, then adds a question. "But, I'm confused. If Ms. Corrigan possesses a Living Will, why have her parents authorized her removal procedure? Are they aware of her Will?"
 
"No."

Thankfully, Natalia remembered a bit of what Lily had mentioned in passing about her parents when they were chatting one of the few times Natalia wasn't too high to forget everything the instant after it was said. She knew that Lily was saving up for school, though the girl had never mentioned which one she was attending or talked about any of her classes. Still, she had given Natalia a little bit to work with.

"They are not close. Lily lives with her parents, but she is twenty-two and it is more of a rental situation. I have not personally met them, but I have heard her complaining that they are abusive drunks," she said, making the last part up on a whim. It would explain the lack of communication, and it would likely make Judy a bit more sympathetic.

"Regardless of their knowledge of their daughter's wishes, I do not understand why the hospital would agree to such a startling thing without a full day of possible recovery. It is an abomination. I imagine your local press would have a field day with such a thing, would they not? Less than twenty-four hours after getting struck by a car, a girl is allowed to be brushed off like some sort of ant? Surely your institution here is not that eager to get another injured person in that bed."
 
"... do not understand why the hospital would agree to such a startling thing without a full day of possible recovery."

"Well, the-"

"... an abomination."

"That's putting it strongly-"

"... imagine your local press would have a field day with such a thing, would they not?"

-gasp-

"... is allowed to be brushed off like some sort of ant?"

"Your not being reasonab-"

"Surely your institution here is not that eager to get another injured person in that bed."

"Ma'am, your accusations are groundless. I asked but a simple question, and you've responded with threats."

Damien leaned forward, tentative to the new tone driving the conversation. "I think Natalia here is simply making you aware of the possible fall-out, for I understand Lily was beloved by many."

Judy's hair gray hairs sprang more stiffly when she spoke. "I'm trying to understand what's happening here, and can't while being blackmailed." It was then that Damien remembered Judy had a testy side, one that only emerged when backed against the wall. That was why Damien asked Natalia to don her coat, for the sexual nature of her appearance would only rile the stifled functionary.

"At the very least, Judy, there is cause for investigation? The parents have not even visited their daughter." Damien tried to recall every detail Natalia screamed from the recovery room. "Don't you find it odd that parents who don't visit their broken daughter immediately sign her death warrant?"

"Well, it is all very unusual ... I just am trying to get to the bottom of things here." A huffy breath followed Judy's words now. "The doctor has already recommended removal from life support, but I'm suspending that until the situation with her parents has been brought to light. Do you have access to her Living Will, or know which attorney drafted the article for our use?"
 
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Natalia took a few slow, deep breaths to calm herself while Damien intervened to put Judy's ruffled feathers back in place. It was exceedingly difficult to not stand up and threaten the woman with the very chair she was sitting on. She just wanted to scream and yell and curse until this idiotic waste of space female did what she wanted.

Yet, on the other hand, she knew she was being unreasonable. This woman was driven by procedure and was likely not used to such an overwhelming force. Natalia had to back down a little bit, but she couldn't. The longer they sat here, the antsier she was getting. She needed something, anything. At this point she was willing to down a bottle of Nyquil just to get her by until she got something decent. She rubbed her temples, trying to think of other things. Thankfully the gesture suited the conversation.

"No," she muttered, straightening up to eye the woman with a frown. This was too damn hard..

"Forgive me for my outburst, Judy. You did not deserve that. I am simply distressed to see my friend in such a situation. The suspension you enacted is going to have to be enough for now. I will find more information on her will if I can," she managed, her hand absently rubbing her arm as she fought to retain her focus. The stress was making it worse..
 
Damien was sensing a change in the chemistry between the two women. On the one hand, Judy seemed to be less excitable and dizzy from Natalia's energy. But, at the same time, Natalia seemed to be descending and losing focus. Damien decided that the errant had been served, and he moved to extricate the participants from one another before an emotional pyrotechnical display resulted. Natalia was rubbing her arm, and Damien thought he knew what that meant. Damien hoped Judy did not notice, for any association with drugs or heroine could undermine this entire subterfuge. He rose quietly.

"Yes, Judy," Damien said, making sure Judy directed her gaze at him. "You have been more than kind for agreeing to look into this. I'll be around every morning if you find something." Damien looked to Natalia, who he thought was stretching thin, like a thread of infinitely small diameter- still technically together, but tenuously so. Part of him wanted to place his hand on her shoulder, but he didn't dare. Instead he recovered his jacket and began to walk behind Natalia to open the door.
 
Natalia realized that Damien had stood and she quickly followed suit, thankful that her bag was in her hands because it gave her something to grasp on to and not fidget like she was aching to. Oh, it was a damn shame there was nothing in this bag except for empty baggies, a wallet and some pencils and tissues. No pills, no syringe, not even a joint. She had already smoked all of her cigarettes too. If Judy had said anything, Natalia probably would have shrieked at her, but the woman seemed to be placated with Damien's assurances that he would be checking in every day.

"I have to get out of this fucking hellhole," she muttered as soon as the door was closed behind them. She pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, quickly texting the dealer that she knew was nearby and letting him know that she was headed his way and she needed something good. That done, she felt better.. slightly.

She made her way back to the elevator, then paused before hitting the button and glanced up at Damien. In the back of her mind, she was still processing what Judy had asked about his mother. It was no random chance that he was in the hospital. His mother was here as well. Was she dying? Just recovering from a broken bone or some other minor thing? It was not her place to ask, and she told herself that she didn't give a flying fuck about his issues even though he had taken the time to help her.

"Thanks."
 
Damien enjoyed a very deep breath, calming his scattered nerves. He'd done it. He may have saved a young woman's life, in spite of her volatile friend. He regarded Natalia with a cautious air. They were just outside the Risk Management suite, and within earshot of Judy's office. There were a number of things he honestly wanted to convey to this woman. Damien decided that none of them would be taken kindly, and simply waited in agitated silence.

"Thanks."

Frank came to Damien's mind just then. Damien knew the old warrior would strip you naked in profanity when pissed off, but conveyed the most sincere thanks without uttering a single word. Damien heard Natalia say the word everyone says. He knows she didn't have to say anything, and the tone of the word was not horribly offensive. But, Damien felt an in-substance of genuine gratitude. Damien banished his judgement that she must be an impossibly selfish creature, and did what he thought would garner the least cause for spiteful reaction.

He looked down and nodded, not meeting her gaze. "Sure," he said softly. Natalia was checking her phone anyway, so there was nothing to worry about. The elevator door opened, but Damien remained in the Lobby.

"Going back up," he said. His eyes were drawn heaven-ward as he waited for the up elevator bell to ring. This encounter should have been anticipated, but it's execution was far more uncomfortable than he imagined. He just wanted it to be over. He slid on his jacket, covering his tattoo safely once more. In his heart, he thought trouble follows this woman, and hoped to never meet her again.
 
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