Chapter Text
It was a drab July morning that Emily was brought in. She knew that her tantrum would not come without a consequence, and here she was.
"I'm in daddy's hospital now!" She said to Ruth who was reluctant in bringing her here. A little too reluctant, but it needed to be done. They walked into the admissions area. Emily shifted nervously in her seat; her corset bit into her side causing her to straighten up.
"Be patient Emily." Ruth said in a hushed tone. Ruth remembered when she was here, in fact she was Emily's age. How different it was then. The place scared her in more ways than one and to witness her daughter being admitted tore at her.
What did I do wrong to you Emily? Ruth thought to herself as she saw Emily begin to cry. Fear was eating her daughter from the inside out. Finally after some time, a nurse came and both Ruth and Emily stood up. Ruth offered her handkerchief and Emily wiped away the tears. The group walked down a short corridor and into an office where a man was sitting in his chair.
"Daddy, I'm sorry that I'm here. Please don't punish me." Emily pleaded.
The man looked at her and opened his mouth ready to speak.
"What seems to be the problem Mrs. Bukater?"
"Emily hasn't been herself lately. This morning she had a massive tantrum, luckily it wasn't in front of my parents."
"I see. I too have noticed that she has not been herself, when she was visiting us after the term was over she didn't wish to do anything.""What do you think it could be? Could she be depressed?"
"I don't know, perhaps she could be bipolar; you do know the four faces of Emily do you not?"
"No, what are they?"
"I will tell you. I have collected hundreds of pages of notes on Emily, studying her during all the times that she has been with us."
"You study her?"
"Well not in that sense, but I do keep notes. I have observed Emily when she is content and happy. I like that 'face' of her. She will go into an active phase when she will do everything. The last two, angry and sad are the ones that concern me the most; when Emily is angry she throws tantrums. Sad Emily is another 'face' that you must watch for. She will cry for hours, often angry and sad go hand in hand."
"That sounds rather complex. The tantrum she had this morning was spectacular. She didn't like the way I laced her corset. She's wearing a polka dot slip under it. I didn't really like the fact that she was wearing that, but since she loves polka dots I let it remain."
"Yes, she does love polka dots."
"I didn't know my underthings bothered you." Emily added in.
"I just didn't know that you could have a polka dot slip." Ruth replied.
"My prognosis is this: I want Emily admitted. The average stay is three to five days."
Emily could not believe what she had just heard. To her, it felt like someone stabbed her in the heart. She was visibly shaken and it showed. She felt betrayed, but at the same time she felt relieved. She wanted to show Dr. Langdon that she was a good girl.
"I will be a good girl daddy, I promise you."
He looked at her and smiled.
"I know you will be. You're always obedient."
Ruth heard this and smiled. He was right in that context. Emily had secretly been Ruth's favorite child, even though she loved all three of them the same. A nurse entered the room to collect Emily. The nurse was carrying what appeared to be blue hospital clothes.
"You will have to change into these, you may not wear street clothes in this facility. She was led to a small room and was ordered out of her clothes. The nurse noticed right away that she was wearing a corset.
"You'll have to take that off, the laces could choke you." The nurse said.
So with that, Emily undid the hook and eye enclosures and let the corset fall to the ground. Now she was standing in her polka dot slip.
"Polka dots, how cute. How old are you?" The nurse asked in a light hearted tone.
"I'm thirteen years old." Emily replied.
The nurse simply chuckled as Emily slipped the slip over her head. A few minutes later, they emerged from the room. Emily was clad in blue hospital clothes.She wasn't prepared for this...