No Longer One Chapter 9

    George pulled up to the small clinic. It was night again.  Only the doctor’s car was out in the parking lot. A single dim light was on to the entrance.  George turned the doorknob and walked in.
    “How is she?”  George nervously asked as saw the doctor at his desk.  A small television was broadcasting the news.  Several emergency vehicles were at the Obsidian Agency building.  The fire had been put out but there was still a frenzy of activity.  George turned it off.  Dr. Bartram looked up at him.
    “I have good news.  She molted while you were away.” The doctor began.
    “She did?”  George asked as his eyes went wide.
    “Yes. She has two new legs now identical to the others.  But she still hasn’t woken up. She needs more rest.”
    “Well I’ll be. You have no idea how this makes me feel.” George said with relief.  “So it is possible for her to molt after all.”
    “Yes.  That means it is possible for you as well in that stage.”  George looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. That had not occurred to him.  He walked over to Leeanix’s cot and pulled up the stool beside her.  He took her hand and looked her over. He smiled pleased to see she was no longer missing legs on her tail.  He sat with her for a while but then looked up. He remembered the things he had stolen.
    “Dr. Bartram, could you looks some things over for me?”  George asked.
    “Sure. What is it?”  Roland Bartram said.  George pulled out the little vial from his coat and the print outs.  He handed the paper work to the doctor.
    “I hope I got everything that was relevant. And finding this really surprised me.”  George said as he held out the vial with the brown and white substance.  “This is a piece of my shell.  They removed this from me in the 1880’s if I remember right.”  The doctor reached for the little bottle as George handed it to him.
    “1880s?  Just how old are you, George?  Who did this and why?”  The doctor asked amazed.
    “Old. Trust me.” George said amused by how that always shocks humans.  “But the darndest thing was one person told me it wasn’t something in the Obsidian Agency’s  archive, but something that Leeanix had had before she lost her memory.”
The doctor just stared at George a moment.
    “The Obsidian Agency? So that was you that did all that?”  Bartram said.
    “Yes that was me. I told you to pay no mind to the news.” George said calmly.
    “They mentioned someone thought a cowboy had done all that destruction.”  Bartram said concerned for George, but he just smiled at him.
    “There are lots of cowboys in Dallas. What makes them think it was me? Hehe.”
    “So you know about her past, and you haven’t old her?”  Bartram asked.
    “Yes and that’s one reason I destroyed everything. She told me she doesn’t care.  That she likes her new life.  I intend to keep it that way. So don’t  you start digging into her past other than what I show you here and keep it to yer self!”  George said sternly.  “I can tell you she used to be a botanist. They had that listed as an unknown plant. Heh heh, partially true.”
    “Alright let me take a look and run some tests.”  The doctor replied and walked to the back of his office.

    Roland Bartram was amazed by everything George had just told him.  He put the sample down and began to read over the print out.  It wasn’t too long.  About fifteen pages.  It was about the brutal experiments they had done to Leeanix. He better understood how she had sustained her injuries.  But some of their results looked familiar to him.  He got up and went to cross reference with his own notes.  He then cross referenced it  with George’s file and began to compare them.  George Smith watched puzzled.  He wondered what was going on.
    “Amazing.”  Roland whispered.
    “What? What is it?”  George asked anxiously.
    “I don’t know let me double check to be sure.”  Bartram said as he looked over both files.  George rolled his eyes getting annoyed again.  He walked over to the window and looked out.  About five minutes later Bartram came back holding the files.
    “George, you better have a seat.”  He said seriously. George sat on a stool and stared nervously.  “George…you really are Leeanix’s father.”  Dr. Bartram said.
    “What?”  George said he threw his head back in surprise. “That’s not possible!  I have never…”
    “No it’s true.  If what you told me about how gifteds work is true then she is your daughter. That’s your chitin sample ancient as it may be right?”  Bartram said. George nodded.  “Leeanix was studying that sample before her accident. While working to create new medicines from plant toxins part of your sample got into her blood stream accidentally.  She died then came back to life in this new form. With your DNA.  That explains why you were such a compatible blood donor.  Your blood and hers are the same.  The same DNA.  She’s your daughter.”
    “Well I’ll be.”  George said in quiet astonishment.  He smiled and looked over at the sleeping Leeanix.  But he did not smile for long.
    “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy about this.”  Bartram said confused.  George slowly looked back at him.
    “I am.  But I’ve done some really stupid things lately.  See, her and I have been talking a lot getting to know each other.  I’ve been trying to teach her the ways of a centipede.  Before all this happened she asked me a question about our blood.”  He stopped there.
    “What did she ask?”  Bartram said curious.
    “She asked why was it yellow, was it because we were plants or centipedes. She asks a lot of questions like that. I get very annoyed.  I got angry and told her ‘What does it matter? It just is. Doesn’t matter why.’  She pressed on and said something about it’s good to know the answers so if someone asks you don’t looks stupid. I thought she was back sassing me.  So I got angrier and yelled at her and she ran off to her room.  I didn’t think it was important.  Now I see it was very important and she was on to something.”  George said disappointed in himself.  Bartram sat silent for a moment going over what he had heard.
    “You should never stifle a child’s curiosity.  Learning new things is always good. Knowing that she use to be a botanist tells me she has likely always been a very curious person.  When memory is lost personality does not change.   What is she like now?”  Bartram asked.  George lifted his hat up a bit.
    “She’s silly, playful, doesn’t seem to take things seriously at times.  Doesn’t seem to pay attention too well. She doesn’t focus and has so much on her mind all the time.  And she loves to read what I thought was useless knowledge. I got her a whole bunch of books. She liked that.”  
    “I see. While you are  so serious.  Encourage that playful side of hers.  Try to lighten up some yourself.  And when she wakes up, you can tell her it’s because you’re centipedes that your blood is yellow.”




    She awoke on her side.  The sunlight was coming through a window or so she thought. It was bright and she was curled up on a small thin bed.  Leeanix Smith was partially covered and her tail was trailing over the side onto the cold, tiled floor.  She slowly turned over onto her back and saw George at her feet. His arms were draped over across the small bed and his head lay on the cushion facing away from her.
    “George?”  Leeanix said softly.  George sat up. His eyes went wide and he sighed with relief.  
    “Oh goodness you’re awake.”  He said as he went over and gave her a hug. Leeanix reached for him eager to embrace him.
    “You found me. I was so scared.”  She said exasperated.
    “So was I, but it’s ok now.  I’ve got you and I won’t let anything happen to you.”  He pulled back and looked her over.  “I made everyone pay.” He said softly.  Leeanix smiled at him.  She then looked down at her tail and pulled it onto the bed as though it were a pet cat.
    “My legs came back!”  She said surprised.
    “Do they still hurt?”  George asked concerned.
    “No. I don’t think so.”  Leeanix said as she squished them feeling for pain.  The doctor walked in at that point.
    “How are you feeling?”  He asked.
    “Who’s that?”  Leeanix said frightened at the site of another man in white.  She grabbed George by the arm and pulled in close to him trying to hide.
    “It’s ok.  He’s my friend. This is Dr. Bartram. He helped fix you up.  He’s patched me up many times when I’ve been wounded.  One of the few humans I trust.  He’s not here to hurt you.”  George said trying to calm her down.  Leeanix peeked out from behind George’s shoulder.
    “Doc, give us a moment.” George said shooing him away with his hand.  Bartram nodded and walked out.
    “I’m still tired.” Leeanix said as she leaned back. She reached up and pulled her hair and antennas back then realized something. “Oh no I lost your hat!”  She said worried.
    “Ah, that’s ok. It didn’t fit you right anyway.  Don’t worry. I’ll get you a new one.”  He said.  Leeanix smiled at that then sunk back into her bend and fell asleep.
    “Doc! She’s still pretty weak.”  George said as he stood up.  Dr. Bartram took her pulse.  
    “She’s been through a lot. It’s not surprising.  But she is recovering and should be fine soon.
    “Alright well I’m going out and I’ll be back in a few hours.”  George said.  Bartram gave him a horrified look. “Oh don’t worry. I promise I won’t hurt anyone this time….unless I have to. Hehe.”  He chuckled and then walked out.

    George pulled his motorcycle up to a Western clothing shop just outside of Dallas.  This was something he had not done in decades.  He looked hesitantly at the sign then entered, ducking through the standard sized doorway.  The man at the counter stared at him. George rolled his eyes annoyed but made his way over to him.  
    “I need a hat just like mine, only smaller.” George said pointing at his hat.  The shop owner started at him again.
    “I think we can do that.  But why would you want a smaller hat?”  He asked.
    “It ain’t for me.  It’s for my daughter.”  George said a little uneasy then looked down.
    “Ah, now isn’t that sweet.  A daddy’s girl huh? Wants to be just like her old man.” He said happily.  George frowned and bared his teeth.
    “Just get the hat already!”  He growled.  The man became frightened and went into the back room to get it.  George closed his fits. He thought about killing the clerk and taking all the hats. Then Leeanix could just have her pick of which ever ones she liked.  But he couldn’t do that. He had to control himself. He’d already caused too much of a commotion which wasn’t his usual style. The man soon returned with several smaller hats that looked like the one he was wearing.  George lifted each one and looked them over. At last he found one that he knew would fit Leeanix just right.
    “Ah, this one.”  He said.  He reached into his duster and pulled out a tenth of an ounce gold coin and set it on the counter.  The clerk picked it up and looked at it.
    “A five dollar coin.” He said curious.
    “It’s worth more than five dollars.”  George said as he took the hat and went out the door.

    George returned to the clinic. It was now evening.  He walked in holding a glossy white plastic bag in one hand and a big potted plant in the other.  He went straight to the back room where Leeanix was.  George gently placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her.
    “Hey. Wake up.”  He said softly.  The doctor walked over.  “I know people bring flowers to their loved ones but I’ve never seen a full out plant.”  The plant was fairly large like a small tree.
    “She needs this.  She’s probably hungry.”  George said.
    “Hunger?” The doctor repeated surprised.
“Come on sleepy head get up.” George said a bit more forcefully.  Leeanix whimpered in protest but finally opened her eyes and sat up.
    “George.” She said happy to see him.
    “Here I brought you this.”  George said as he held out the small tree.  Leeanix grabbed it by the trunk and held on.  It soon began to shrivel. The leaves turned brown and fell to the ground like crinkly paper.  The plant was soon dead. “Oh that’s much better.” She said relieved.  George looked up at Dr. Bartram.
    “We’re parasitic plants.  Taking the energy from other plants helps us heal.”  He explained. Leeanix looked up at the doctor a bit unsure still.
“Fascinating.  I’m sorry I scared you.”  Bartram said.  “You had your first molt and have recovered completely.  I don’t see any need for you to stay here any long. You’re free to take her home.”  He said to both of them.
    “That is great news. Thank you so much, doc.” George said as he got up and shook his hand.  He pulled out a 1 oz gold coin and set it on the Bartram’s book shelf.

    As they were heading out George stopped and turned.
    “I got you a new hat.”  He said as he pulled it out of the white bag.  He watched Leeanix’s eyes light up at the sight of it.  He handed it to her and she put it on right away.
    “Yes this one fits great!”  She said happily.  George smiled and led her out to his bike. George reached for one of the handle bars then paused.  He turned and looked back at Leeanix and said,
    “Oh and to answer your question. Our blood is the color it is because we’re centipede.”
Leeanix smiled and  gasped happily.  George smiled proud.  “Now get on. Time to go home.”