FicWad

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P.S. - And ideas on how to avoid having to replace all the quotations and apostrophes?))

A young, blonde woman walked at a quick pace down the white halls. It wasn't often that she got to be in this corridor or anywhere near this section of B complex, so she needed to move fast. Her job was simple, just a little check-up for the quintuplets. She even had three armed guards trailing close behind her. Nevertheless, she was still nervous about going to the last couple of doors. She had been told that it was routine, but she wasn't stupid. She knew this was the first time.

At the first airlock, she took a moment to steady herself, then knocked lightly on the second door and opened it slowly. Unexpectedly, the boy inside was still lying curled up on his side in bed, fast asleep. Reminding herself to be careful, no matter how harmless he looked, she stepped inside and walked closer to him.

Gently, careful to touch the blankets and not the boy, she shook his shoulder. "Wake up. . ." She said quietly, softly. "Come on, wake up."

Solace shifted and made a small, sleepy noise, then turned and looked at her over his shoulder, bright blue eyes blinking slowly. "Mama?"

She stopped in surprise for a moment before remembering what she'd been told. "It's time to get up." She said, "Will you sit up for me?"

He nodded slowly and pushed up into a sitting position, stretching with a yawn. She tried not to flinch away. Setting her bag on the floor, she started to open it and take a few things out.

"What's that?" The boy asked, leaning a little closer.

She inched back just slightly. "I'm a doctor," She said, "These are my tools."

He tilted his head to the side, looking at her curiously. "Tools?"

She nodded and pulled something out of her bag. "This is called a stethoscope."

"A stetho . . ." He looked confused.

She smiled a little. "This is gonna let me listen to your heart and lungs."

His eyes got wide. "It will?"

She nodded and held it up to him. "Want to try first?"

He nodded quickly.

"First, put your hands in your lap, palms down."

He did as he was told.

She held the stethoscope up to him. "I'm gonna put these on your ears, all right?"

He nodded and stayed still as she did so.

"Okay. Now listen close."

Careful not to let her hands touch him, she placed the other end of the stethoscope against his chest. He started to say something, but she put a finger to her lips and he fell silent. She was surprised at how well he listened, but she knew she shouldn't have been. His eyes grew wide again and he broke into a smile.

She pulled the stethoscope away and took it away from his ears. "See? Now it's my turn to listen, okay?"

He nodded and stayed still while she cleaned off the stethoscope before putting it in her ears and setting the end against his shirt. She didn't dare let it touch his skin, lest her hands do the same.

"Stay still," She said when he fidgeted, "Let me know if I hurt you, all right?"

She caught his nod at the upper edge of her vision and kept doing what she was doing. It confused him when she told him to take deep breaths, but after a bit of instruction and explanation, he did exactly what she told him to. The rest of the check-up proceeded the same way. He was perfectly healthy, if a few pounds underweight. Still, his body structure was a little smaller than the others, so it didn't worry her.

When she left, he looked heart broken, but she forced herself to keep walking. Innocent though he may have looked, she knew perfectly well what he was capable of. She couldn't let her guard down if she was going to check the others too.