Ellie woke with a start. Her eyes flew open and she saw the sterile ceiling tiles of a hospital. Instantly remembering what had happened on her walk home, she sat up and looked around in a mild panic.
She was sitting in a hospital bed, and still wearing her normal clothes. The bed was situated in a room with a closed door and a police officer standing guard in front of the door. Looking to the other side of the bed, a privacy curtain obscured the shape of a person and another bed.
"Where am I?" Ellie asked as she turned back to the officer.
"County General Hospital. McArthur law enforcement private suite." the officer responded from the door.
A middle age woman in a lab coat walked around the privacy curtain on Ellie's other side. She quickly stepped over and took Ellie's wrist in her hand to take Ellie's pulse. "You're safe here. I'm Dr Tannis. What's your name sweetie?"
"Uh, Ellie." She shook her head. Strange memories flooded through her mind. "What happened?"
The doctor pulled out a flashlight and shined it into Ellie's eyes. "Look at me. I don't know, they don't tell me that. They just want me to make sure whoever they bring in is healthy."
"Oh." Satisfied with her results, the doctor put down the flashlight and Ellie looked down at the bed. "So? Am I uh... healthy?"
"Let's find out, sweetie. Do you know what today is?"
"Thursday."
"Okay. And what do you do for a living?"
"Uhm I'm a student?"
Dr Tannis nodded, "Alright, you don't seem concussed. Looks like you got into a bit of a scrape. Remember how that happened?"
Ellie paused and thought back. She remembered running from the brute of a man and being tackled. She remembered kicking him in the side to... knock him off of... her...
What the... that can't be right. Another me with an extra head? That's crazy.
She closed her eyes and thought, trying deeply to uncover the truth of what happened to her. But all she could remember was crazy magic.
"Hey, if you don't remember, it's okay. Just say so. I'm here to help you." Dr Tannis smiled at Ellie as she reopened her eyes.
"No, I remember. I just... I think you're going to think I'm crazy."
"Most people who think they are crazy... aren't. Why not tell me what you remember, and we'll go from there, okay?"
Ellie took a deep breath. What choice do I have?
"I was walking home, and this guy from high school started to follow me. He uh... he was a bad person back in high school. Was expelled. I recognized him, and I think he recognized me." Ellie stopped and covered her eyes in her hands, trying to hold back tears at the scarring experience she had just been through.
"He... he was drunk. He said things... he was going to rape me." A sob cut her story short and she cried into her hands.
"Take your time, sweetie."
She sobbed into her hands for several minutes. All the fear, tension, and stress that had been built up during the chase escaped through her eyes. In the distance, several doors slammed. Ellie's emotions expressed themselves through her crying until they had nothing left. She let out a long sobbing sigh and flopped back onto the bed.
"Uh... that... guy. He chased me. I tried to lose him in the back streets but it didn't work. Thank god I had my phone and was able to call 911." Ellie looked over to the officer standing in front of the door. He was watching her, but remained otherwise motionless.
"But that guy, he uh... he caught me. I tried to fight back, but really I didn't have a chance. The last thing I remember is the police arriving. Did... did he?"
Dr Tannis shook her head. "I don't think so, sweetie. The officers said you were conscious when they arrived on the scene, and that all your clothes were still on. I haven't done a full physical examination. Wanted you to be awake first. You'll need an exam to determine if you were violated. You can opt out if you want."
Ellie let out a sigh. "I... I guess I want to know for certain." She looked away at the wall. The memories from earlier in the evening continued to eat away at her.
Why do I remember that crazy magic stuff? Was that just a daydream that got out of hand? If it was, then what really happened? There must be some reason I'm under guard... What did I really do?
Dr Tannis asked the officer to leave the room so they could have a little privacy, and he complied. She left for a moment as well, and returned wearing a pair of latex gloves. "Okay, I need you to stand up. Over here."
Ellie complied and quickly stripped off her clothing. The examination only took a couple minutes, during which time both women were silent.
The doctor pulled off her rubber gloves. "You're fine. I can't find any trace."
"Oooh, thank god." Ellie nearly collapsed onto the bed. It was only that she was still naked that prevented it.
"Go ahead and put on your clothes. There's no reason to keep you here, you should be good to go home. Those scrapes and bruises will heal over time."
Ellie rapidly dressed herself. "Oh that's great. Phew. I'm never walking home by myself again."
Dr Tannis agreed, "Definitely. Not in that part of town anyway. I do have one question for you before we discharge you though.'
Ellie finished slipping on her last tennis shoe and stood up. "Okay."
"Just over here." Dr Tannis slid the privacy screen next to the hospital bed back, revealing another occupied hospital bed. In the bed laid another Ellie. But she was not like the awake Ellie - she had 3 heads on her shoulders. 4 large breasts poked against her shirt. 2 right arms lay along her right side, and a single left arm along her left side.
What the?!? It... it was real! I... oh wow... I guess I really did get beaten up.
"Can you tell me who this is?" Dr Tannis motioned towards the occupied bed.
Ellie sheepish looked up to Dr Tannis. "Uhm... Yes... That's uh... That's me." She blushed, certain that Dr Tannis was about to have her committed to a mental ward.
"Okay, good." Dr Tannis calmly picked up a patient chart from the end of the bed and marked on it with a pen. Ellie stared at Dr Tannis, dumbfounded and unable to believe it. Her mouth hung open.
"What!?!? You.. you knew about this?!" The words barely escaped past her disbelief.
"Yes, of course. It's in your file and everything. Though it looks like your hydra genetics activated during the fight. That's probably why your hydra body is still asleep, still recovering from growing another head. At least that's what it sounds like, from what the officers told me. We still don't know all that much about how hydra genetics work." Dr Tannis paused and quizzically observed Ellie's shocked expression. "What?"
"Why didn't you ask me about this first?!?"
"There was a possibility you had a concussion or memory loss. If you had insomnia or memory loss, would you want you first question to be: 'how many of you are there?' No, of course not." Dr Tannis smiled and motioned Ellie towards the door. "The officers have your personal effects. They're going to want a statement too."
"Uh, okay." Ellie turned around and reaching the floor and return the doctor's smile. "Thanks. Really."
"My pleasure Ellie. Before you go, do you mind if I wake up your hydra?"
"Ehrm? Go for it."
"Great! Anything I should know first? Some people are... aggressive when woken up."
"Oh, uh, no. Just... be gentle." Ellie opened the door and stepped out. Two officers waited outside. One walked over and greeted Ellie then showed her over to another private suite and started to take her statement of what happened. A few minutes in, Ellie gasped uncontrollably as she woke up a second time, across the hall. She dismissed it as a surprise hiccup and continued giving her statement..
Ellie woke up a second time to a soft hand touching her shoulder. Her eyes flew open, presenting her with 3 perspectives of the hospital roof and Dr Tannis's smiling face. She also saw, felt, and experienced her other body giving a statement across the hall. Hydra Ellie sat up and rubbed two of her heads with her right arms. "Oof." "Hi Doctor Tannis"
"Ellie?"
"Yeah." "That's me." "Yup." Ellie cringed and winced triply as she responded with 3 different phrases at the same time. "Sorry. Yes, I'm Ellie."
"No problem. Do you remember anything from earlier today?" Dr Tannis was using her best bedside manner, smiling softly and staying just within range.
Ellie stood up off the bed and started to strip down, "Yeah. Everything we did with my other body. And uh... you know. The chase with the police." All 3 faces blushed a deep red at the mention of the chase.
"Well, your inter-body link seems to be just fine. And from your disrobing, I'm guessing you want a physical examination for this body too? Just to be sure?"
Ellie nodded her outer 2 heads. "Yes. Just to be sure."
As Dr Tannis performed the examination, Ellie was able to see herself in a full length mirror. She marveled at how her breasts were both larger, and she now had 2 pairs of them. Each breast was now a D cup - a stark contrast to her other body which had B cup breasts. It took her nearly a minute to figure out that the growth was probably sparked when she was tripped and fell face first onto the concrete asphalt. Thinking back, she had no trouble identifying the trigger for her growing a 3rd head - it had clearly been when one of her heads had been knocked unconscious.
"Okay, and you look to be good too. No signs of violation that I can find."
Three sighs escaped Ellie's lips and she started dressing again. Thankfully her tube top meant she had no trouble getting her heads and arms plenty of space, but the clothing was a bit tight against her dramatically increased chest.
Dr Tannis marked off some notes on her chart and once Ellie was dressed, remarked, "It's a bit of an honor to be able to examine you. I haven't had the chance to examine anyone with expanded genetics before. It must really be an interesting life."
Ellie blushed again, "It is. I'm still trying to figure out how to live it."
Dr Tannis laughed, "After 35 years I'm still having the same problem, and I don't have any expanded genes! I can't imagine what it must be like to grow up like that. School must have been an interesting experience. Ah but I'm saying things I shouldn't as a professional. Sorry, sorry! You're set to go!"
Ellie grinned. "Thanks again Dr Tannis."
Hydra Ellia left the examination room and waited in the hallway for a minute as Normal Ellie finished giving her statement to the officer and collecting her personal belongings. When Normal Ellie walked into the hallway, she rushed forward and hugged herself.
I should consider getting permanent bodies. If I didn't have 2 bodies, tonight would have gone very different...
Ellie then...