Doctor's Orders

"Where the frak do you think you're going?"

Laura winced at the accusatory tone in his voice, and let her hand drop from the tent flap back down to her side. She turned around slowly, and schooled what she knew was a guilty look off of her face.

"It looked like you had your hands full right now." She said, looking around the packed infirmary tent. "I thought I'd come back when things weren't so busy." She smiled innocently. He didn't buy it.

"Ha. It's always busy. And I'm not gonna spend another three weeks chasing you down to get you in here." Cottle cocked his head towards an empty bed. "Get in there and take your shirt off, I'll be there in a minute."

Laura gave him her sternest glare, but as always he seemed completely immune. He continued to stare back at her, a half-finished cigarette hanging from his lips and with a put-upon sigh, she acquiesced and stalked towards the bed with more petulance than was strictly necessary.

Pulling the thin curtain around the cubicle, she sat down on the bed with a huff. The old doctor was nothing if not predicable, yet he still managed to get a rise out of her every time. She quite thought he enjoyed it, actually. He was infuriating.

After a moment her irritation passed and was instantly replaced with a much more familiar emotion. She took several deep breaths, and raised her hands up to the top button of her blouse. She fumbled once before managing to slip the disc through the hole, and closed her eyes for a moment to steady herself, calm her heart rate. She repeated what she had been chanting to herself for days as she made excuses for not coming in sooner, for not pressing too deep when she bathed. It's ok. It's gone. It's not coming back.

She shook off the unsettling thoughts as the smell of smoke got stronger, and worked quickly to unbutton the rest of her blouse, finishing the last just as he swept through the curtains. He gave her a quick nod and took the cigarette from his mouth and stubbed it out in an aluminum dish sitting on the tray next to the bed, and went to stand back in front of her.

"You know, when I said I wanted to see you every three months, I meant it. Not three months or whenever you happen to decide to grace me with your presence."

Laura had a snappy retort on the tip of her tongue, but with a glance to the little tendril of smoke coming from the dish on the tray, she acquiesced as well. "I've been busy is all. It's been a lot of work to get things organized at the school."

"Hmmph. Well, in the future, see that you get in here when you are supposed to." The lecture apparently over, he looked her up and down with a critical eye. "How are you feeling?"

Her gut reaction was to lie. She couldn't do it. "A little tired," she admitted quietly.

He grunted in acknowledgement, and pulling his stethoscope from around his neck, he pressed it to her chest. "Breathe deeply."

She concentrated on her breathing, forcing her lungs to take in air and expel it normally. He listened briefly to her heart, then moved to her lungs, his face serious as she continued inhale and exhale on his command.

Pulling away, he placed his hands on her neck, palpating the lymph nodes there before moving to check the others.

"You've lost weight."

She nodded once solemnly. After her cure, she had taken great pleasure in the return of her appetite, had enjoyed filling out her clothes again. She had delighted in the way the red dress had looked on her when she found it in the market, accentuating curves that had so recently been a distant memory. The onset of colder weather had forced retirement of the dress, but even the bulky secondhand sweaters that had replaced it hung more loosely now than they had a few months ago. She tried not to think about it.

Cottle finished the rest of her exam and caught her eye, waiting for permission. She nodded and reached around to unclasp her bra, shutting her eyes tightly as he gently laid his hands on her right breast.

His movements were efficient and economical, carefully palpating and examining without comment. She let him manipulate her arms as he pulled them up or out to complete the exam. Switching from the right to the left, her breath caught involuntarily at the first touch of his fingertips, memories rising unbidden to the surface. She concentrated on breathing steadily, on not reacting as he probed a little deeper on this side, the pressure bordering on painful.

At last he pulled his hands away and grunted once more. "All done."

She opened her eyes reluctantly, and searched his face. He said nothing as she refastened her bra and slipped her blouse back over her shoulders. The infirmary bustled around them, but all Laura could hear was the pounding of her own heart in her ears as she did up the buttons. She couldn't force herself to look at him again, to see the pity that would be written on his face.

"Just tell me. I can take it." She was surprised how steady her voice sounded.

"You work too damn much, and you don't eat enough, just like the rest of us on this frakking planet."

His words were unexpected, and she chanced a glance up. He had pulled another cigarette from his pocket but didn't light it. His expression showed nothing but his customary annoyance.

"You're fine. No sign of any abnormal tissue."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and couldn't help the burst of laughter that followed it. "That's good."

He agreed with another grunt. "Yes, well, I still want you to take it easy. You have assistants in that school of yours, use them. You don't have to do everything yourself. And here…" He stood up and rummaged in a drawer in the corner, and pulled out a small white sack and handed it to her.

"Ration bars," he said, answering her unvoiced question. "One, twice a day, along with whatever regular meals you can find down here. No excuses."

"But these are for the children."

"I said no excuses. They are for anyone who needs them, and you do. Your body is still recovering from a massive shock. You need to eat more and work less, understand?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"Good." He stood up and opened the curtain, but stopped before leaving. "And next time, three months means three months."

"Yes doctor." She had the good sense to act chagrined.

"Hmmph." He grunted again as he pulled out a small package from his pocket and offered it to her.

"What is this?"

He didn't answer, just thrust it towards her again. Taking it, she examined the small bundle closely before holding up to her nose. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she took in the unmistakable smell. "You told me you were out of these."

He took his lighter from his pocket and lit the cigarette in his mouth, taking two long puffs before answering. "I lied. Consider it your reward for being a good girl and coming in for your check-up."

He chuckled to himself as he walked off without waiting for her response, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. Laura smiled, and slipped the package into her pocket before heading of the infirmary and back into the brisk evening air.


End file.
