and I laughed at his serious expression before heading across the room and down the hall.
The selection of clothes in my closet were so beautiful, it took me a while to settle on something. It was all made to enhance my figure and I had to wonder how Frankie had worked out my size just from looking at me. After Nicoli's reaction to the lingerie, I wondered what he'd think of the low-cut white dress I picked out which clung to my hips and accentuated what little curves I had.
I walked back to the lounge and found a dark skinned woman there with kind eyes and grey hair pulled up into a sleek bun. "Hello, my love, I'm Dr Greene, you must be Winter?" Her eyes dipped to the dress I wore then flicked to Nicoli in surprise. "Are you...heading out somewhere?"
"No," Nicoli grunted, a smile playing around the corner of his mouth as he took in my outfit with an appreciative look.
"Oh okay...well I'm afraid I'll need you to take that off in a moment dear so I can have a look at you. Shall we do this somewhere more private?"
"You can use my bedroom," Nicoli offered, pointing us down the hall then looking to me. "Shall I stay with you?"
"We might need to discuss some personal things," Dr Greene said quickly, giving me an encouraging smile. "I don't bite."
"She does though," Nicoli laughed and I bit my lip on a smile. "She also doesn't speak to strangers, so if you need her to answer questions she can do so through me or write them down."
"Oh my, okay," the doctor agreed and Nicoli led the way through to his bedroom.
Dr Greene entered last, pushing the door closed and placing her bag down on the bed. "If you can take the dress off then and hop up here Winter that would be great."
I looked to Nicoli who gave me a comforting smile and I pulled off the dress, moving to the bed to lie down.
Dr Greene took in my scars with professionalism, but there was an underlying sadness in her eyes as she moved closer to inspect them. "Is it okay to touch you? I'm going to check for any nerve damage or lasting injuries. Mr Romero has instructed me to be very thorough so this may take a little time. I'll just apply a small amount of pressure in places and you tell me how that feels, okay dear?"
I nodded, a ball rising in my throat as she laid her hands on my right foot, checking each of my toes and confirming I could feel them all before moving up to my ankle then my calf, working all the way up to my thigh. She moved onto my stomach next, pressing down in places and watching my reaction closely as she asked if I felt any pain. I shook my head, feeling none. The only place I hurt were where the bruises and cuts hadn't quite healed from my last encounter with The Five, but there was nothing that wasn't on its way to mending.
Once she'd checked over my front, she had me roll over and she tutted as she took in the scars there. "Goodness me, you have been through the wars my dear, haven't you?" She sighed sadly as she started at my feet again, working up each of my legs until she reached my back. As her fingers grazed along my spine and onto my shoulder blades, the sensation dulled until I could hardly feel anything there.
"Feel this?"
I shook my head.
"How about this?" she asked, but again I felt nothing. "There’s a little bit of nerve damage here. If you could have someone massage this area twice a day it may bring back the feeling eventually, but there are no guarantees."
“I'll do it," Nicoli spoke immediately and I turned my head to look at him across the room, my heart squeezing at the way he was staring at me.
The doctor finished her examination then asked me to roll back over. "I think it would be best if you step out of the room for this next part, sir." She glanced at Nicoli and he looked to me for an answer. I nodded in agreement, finding I was comfortable enough with the woman now. She clearly wasn't going to hurt me.
“I'll be just down the hall if you need me," Nicoli said then strode from the room and the door clicked shut as he left.