[interesting]

The female doctor had finished her checkup of Tina and was now doing her follow-up. The teenage girl was sitting alone in the observation room, with her mother anxiously awaiting the test results. It was now late in the afternoon, and the clinic was empty. Then again, the place was private. Gael apparently had means.

"Miss Brant?"
"Yes," Justine said as the doctor moved up to her.
"I finished the checkup and we sent blood for analysis but... I can tell you the basis of her condition."
"And?"
"Extreme exhaustion, dehydration..."

The doctor's attitude was clinical, not much empathy in her words.

"Has she been raped?"
"No! God no!..."
"Then she was sexually active, and whoever was with her was quite forceful. My exam revealed bruises inside her vagina."
"Oh my!..."

It wasn't actually a shock.

"I would recommend her not frequenting whoever did that to her."

There was something the doctor wasn't saying.

"And her blood?"
"We'll have results in a few days. Gael said she was covering the expenses..."
"She's one of your patients?"
"Yes."

Justine looked back at her daughter, still waiting in the other room.

"So... what do I have to do to help her?"
"Give her fluids. Electrolytes would be good. And make her rest. And no sexual activity for at least a few days. We need to give her body time to heal. And I would stay away from whomever she has been with recently. Cases like these are borderline rape, but if no one presses charges, nothing happens."
"I'll take care of her, doctor."

The doctor looked back at her patient.

"She also had a minor fungal infection. I prescribed an ointment cream that she needs to administer. It is contagious, so it might be wise to talk to whomever she had sex with."

Considering how intimate she had been with her daughter, Justine cringed. She asked the question as generally as she could.

"Do you know when she would have gotten it?"
"Hard to say. It's well developed so maybe a few days at least..."

The doctor, thankfully, didn't catch on. Justine went to join Tina in the observation room to check up on her. The doctor moved towards Gael.

"What's her story?"
"Single mother, down on her luck, looking for a good time... hooked up with her at the lesbian place I hang out at..."
"Better get yourself checked out too."
"I'll come in tomorrow, doc... right now, I need to take care of that woman. She's... got issues."

Both of them looked back at the mother and daughter duo, wondering what had led to this situation. Gael was highly interested in finding out for herself, and not simply because of professional curiosity. In these two lay an unspoken challenge, one that the psychiatrist wanted to win!