Story: Amenable

This was inspired by and fills the “Soonest Begun Is Soonest Done” square of my January Fresh Starts Bingo card. 625 words, it is an immediate follow-up to "Softened," and continues exploring Althea's treatment process at RePrint.

Amenable

Two days later and Althea thought it was time to get rolling with the next step of the process. She’d watched the short video of herself giving consent to the RePrint procedure, with only a vague mention of her reasons for going forward with the process, and then spent the next day and a half alternately sleeping, taking short brain teaser tests, and growing increasingly restless.
 

When the nurse returned with her lunch she pressed. “I’d like to get started today, with uh, with meeting the Guardians.” She strived to sound confident, but thought her nerves were showing through.
 

The nurse smiled, still gentle and serene, but perhaps a bit feistier than yesterday. “Yeah? If you’re raring to go I can get Dr. Carey to come in, discuss starting the first round of RePrinting.” 
 

Althea nodded, putting all her conviction into it, while simultaneously feeling her stomach explode with butterflies.
 

~~~
 

It’s only a couple of hours later then, golden motes of late afternoon sunlight filtering through the wide window, that finds her moved over to the comfortable set of armchairs that fill the opposite side of the room from her hospital bed. The room had grown familiar and comfortable and Althea had been reassured that it was just fine to bring her fleece throw with her to get seated. She’s running one soft corner through and around her fingers as she tries to relax back into the cushions.
 

Dr. Carey had joined her in the opposite armchair and looked relaxed, sipping what smelled like spicy chai from a sky-blue travel mug.
 

“I’m excited for you Althea. I’ve discussed your progress with Nurse Manning, and I agree that you’re ready to select your first Guardian. What can I do or provide before we get started to make you as comfortable as possible?”
 

“Maybe, uhm, maybe, you can run me through how I pick again?” Althea stumbled, glancing down and watching her fingers twist in the plush fleece.
 

“Absolutely. The first Guardian is your reintroduction to touch and intimacy on a familial level. We want you to meet several candidates, all trained for RePrinting, and select the one that feels the most like “family” would to you. They’ll come in here to your room, with their reaction cards, and at some point during the interaction they will offer you a casual touch experience. Maybe a handshake, maybe a fist bump, maybe something else completely – whatever feels natural to your moment.” Dr. Carey paused, sipping her tea, then continuing. “Your only job is to feel & record those feelings. Does the prospect make you feel safe, happy, like a sibling, an aunt, or a grandparent? I know you didn’t have any biological relatives who could participate with you, but we want you to try and select a first Guardian who can rebuild a sense of family for you.”  
 

“Do I have to touch all of them?”
 

“Nope. If you can tell that they’re not the right fit for you then absolutely not. And use the reaction cards. It isn’t considered rude to complete those right while you’re meeting the prospective Guardians. Especially since your reaction might mean that some of the prospects aren’t right as a Familial Guardian but might be perfect for one of the next phases!” Dr. Carey was animated, her travel mug started to wave enthusiastically as her hands began to talk as well.
 

Althea stroked the purple, blue, and black swirls of her throw, gathering courage. “Can I start now? I think I’d really like to meet them, and well, the sooner I start the sooner we’ll know if this worked right?”
 

“There’s absolutely no rush, but if you believe you’re ready then let’s make it happen.” Dr. Carey grinned, bright and eager.