Dr. Luke's - Is There a Doctor in the House?

[V for Vizetta]

WHAT are you thinking?

Patches had been asking herself this since she left Venice's neighborhood, slowing to a jog once she entered the commercial district, although she'd traced almost a straight line (such as the streets would allow).

Oddly, she wasn't questioning her last action with the hedgemink before she left, which had been a rather innocent kiss on the cheek. Rather... it was the fact that she actually hadn't wanted to leave nearly that quickly, if at all.

It's not like you could just move in. Even if... well, it wasn't the food, or the house you didn't wanna leave, huh, Patches?

THAT line of thought was quickly dismissed with a harsh shake of her head.

You're just grateful to him for helping you out, that's all!

The carrit, finally slowing down to a stop, glanced over her shoulder, looking in the direction she remembered Venice's house was in.

... Yeah... just grateful, that's all. She then turned, and much to her own surprise, stumbled, beginning to feel a bit woozy. It couldn't have been from the running, and it wasn't from what VENICE gave her... but whatever it was, she was feeling unsteady, and now nauseous.

Something I ate earlier... must've been bad... Gotta find somewhere to lie down.

So, Patches stumbled into a nearb alley, behind a building of... some kind, she didn't really care what it was, but she DID care when she stumbled into a trash can, toppling it with a loud crash. Stifling a curse, she decided to just lean against the now toppled trash can, and hope no one had heard that.

Just... lie down for a bit... try not to be sick... I'll be fine, I always am...

[SHM 128 III]

Patches may have not been aware of where she was, but fortune was indeed smiling on her, as the building she stumbled behind was none other than the office of a certain...

@luke@

... Dr. Luke Giatros, who had heard the crash from an open window and was now making his way outside and towards the back alley. Upon rounding the corner seeing the carrit, he paused. She looked like a stray, and yet, also appeared surprisingly clean. Maybe she was just lost? Either way, she certainly didn't look too good.

"Uh... Excuse me!" he called out, "Are you okay?"

[V for Vizetta]

Patches' head jerked up, earning a groan as she clutched her head, the sudden movement doing her no favors as she almost slumped against the trash can supporting her.

Crap. An overlander heard me... I'm SCREWED. Next stop the pound. The carrit then straightened as best she can, getting out a small hiss...

Before nausea took over and she doubled over, leaning on the trashcan again, BARELY keeping herself from losing the meal she'd had earlier.

"Go... 'way."

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Luke remained silent as he watched the thrope clutch her head as she got up before proceeding to double-over again. Despite her instance to leave, he knew she was obviously ill. He took an oath when he became a vet: It was his duty to help her, whether she wanted it or not.

"Please..." Luke insisted as he slowly walked towards her, "I'm a doctor. I can help you."

[V for Vizetta]

The carrit looked up at Luke, her hair obscuring her eyes as she... didn't quite glower at him.

Ok, so he was a vet. That didn't make him any better than any other overlander. It just meant he could patch up beasts... But as much as she would hate admitting it, she probably needed the help.

But she could prolly be just fine if she could just... go lie down somewhere.

So she took a step back... and for some odd reason, it refused to support her weight as fell backwards, and crumpled to the ground, everything suddenly just... going black as her headache almost SCREAMED through her skull.

So she hit the ground like a rag doll, with only a pained groan. Whatever was wrong with her, her body was NOT handling it well.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Luke stumbled back in fright as he saw the mutt suddenly go down. That settled it: He was going to help her. Running over to her fallen body, the doctor knelt down and carefully lifted the carrit into his arms. He carried her back into his office and gently set her down on one of the examination tables.

At first, he simply stood there, trying to diagnose what she had without having his patient concious to descirbe her symptoms. Judging from her behavior before, she appeared to be nauseous. Combined with her apparent vagabound lifestyle, and food poisoning seemed to be the most likely canidate. Of course, her falling, hitting her head against the ground, and blacking out just complicated matters, what with potential head trauma and all.

However, all of this was just guess-work: He needed to perform some actual tests to determine what was wrong with this thrope. With a sigh, Luke left the room to go grab some testing supplies.

[V for Vizetta]

Patches, of course, was beyond all this at the moment, her body completely still except for her breathing, and... yeah, there was a lump forming on the back of her head where it struck the hard concrete of the alley.

And she'd been having such a GOOD day, too.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

After a few minutes, Luke returned, carring a small bag. Ordinarily in cases of food poisoning, he'd ask for a sample of either the paitent's stomach contents - usually via vomiting - or of their feces, obtained, naturally, the next time they had to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, this patient was unconcious, leaving both of those options... unavailable. Instead, he pulled a syringe out of his bag. It wasn't the prefered method of determining food poisoning, but a blood test was the only method he had at the moment.

"I'm... Not sure if you can hear me," the doctor began as he dabbed a numbing agent on Patches' arm, "but you may feel a slight pinch right now. I'm taking a blood sample so I can test to see what is wrong with you, okay?"

Not waiting for a reply (obviously), Luke picked up the needle and, with a sigh, injected it into the mutt's arm, slowly draining blood into the hollow tube.

[V for Vizetta]

Of course, there was no response from the carrit as Luke spoke, but she did just BARELY flinch as he started taking his blood sample. She was still quite unconscious, it seemed, although her tail had begun moving slowly, but only the tip, like any idle feline's would.

Her mind, however, was occupied with the memory of when she'd been younger, and fallen, hitting her head. It hadn't knocked her unconscious, but it had REALLY hurt, and Rachel had tried to be a doctor to her, only managing at best to just get her some ice... but the effort had been appreciated...

Odd, though... even with the head trauma involved in that memory, she usually enjoyed memories of Rachel... So why was something telling her she needed to wake up? Strange.

The only sign of this internal struggle against waking up, however, was a soft mumbling as her head shifted positions.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

With a sample of the carrit's blood now in his posession, Dr. Luke got up and left the room. He needed to process the sample in order to hopefully determine what illness she had, so he made his way towards the medical lab with the vial of blood to test it. Ordinarily he'd ask for one of his assistants to do it, but it was already after hours, so they had all gone home for the evening. Besides, the thrope was currently unconcious, so there was not much he could do besides wait for the test results to come back and be there when she finally woke up.

As he walked, Luke began to question himself. Why was he doing this? She was just a stray, it was not like she could pay for his services. The government theoretically 'reimbursed' him for it as a 'public service,' but that check hardly ever payed off the total cost, and regardless, since the office was closed, he was really doing this off the books, anyway. Again, he asked himself: Why was he doing this?

... Because she has no one else to turn to.

And that was all the reason he needed.

[V for Vizetta]

The test itself would take a little over half an hour, which would give the vet plenty of spare time. ... Of course, Patches was only unconscious for half that time.

The carrit groaned quietly to herself, not sure where she was, but trying to sit up, simply because it didn't seem familiar to her. Of course, her head protested this immensely, and was quickly backed up by her stomach also telling her it would very much light her to lie back down.

"Nnngh... My head... my everything..." Patches grumbled, reaching back to find a rather tender spot on the back of her head, which, like anyone else who'd make this discovery... poked it.

"Ow!"

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Patches was not alone as she awoke. Having already begun the testing procedure, Luke decided to let it run on it's own and return to keep an eye on his patient. Sure enough, she woke up not long after.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, although her grumblings didn't seem to indicate anything good.

[V for Vizetta]

"I've felt be-" The carrit, suddenly realizing she wasn't alone, jumped, and then groaned again, glancing at Luke with her good eye.

"... Who're you?"

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Luke didn't even flinch at Patches' startled reaction. He suspected something like that would happen and had prepared himself for it. Smiling warmly, he got up from his seat and introduced himself.

"I am Doctor Lucas Giatros. I found you outside after you hit your head and fell unconcious, Ms..." he paused and quickly glanced at the nametag on her collar (no address tag, unfortunately), "Patches, is it?"

[V for Vizetta]

"Yeah... M'name's Patches." The carrit sighed, one hand coming up to hold the nametag almost protectively.

"You're a doctor... right, you... said that in the alley, didn't you?" Patches asked quietly, holding her head with one hand (and covering her bad eye in the process).

"So... when do the Beastcatchers come take me away, huh?"

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

"... Let's not worry about that right now," Luke suggested, "I'm a little more concerned with your well-being at the moment."

That, and Luke was a little torn about what to do. He was legally obligated to contact the pound whenever he brought in a stray, but he always felt a sense of betrayal whenever he helped someone, only to send them off to that place, a fact that quite a few strays pointed out as they were being taken away. Respect for the law or respect for the beast... Why did he always find himself stuck between these two options?

... Well, she wasn't an 'offical' patient. Maybe he could work out something using that loophole...

"Listen, I need you try and remember as much as you can what you've eaten in the past week. I suspect that you have food poisoning, and knowing what you ate should help me narrow down the possible causes."

He paused before motioning towards Patches' head.

"I may also need to perform some simple tests to make sure you didn't suffer any head trauma from that fall."

[V for Vizetta]

Patches just hiked an eyebrow weakly at his response, before, as he requested, she started going over what she'd eaten in the last week... which didn't amount to much.

So, moving her hand to more effectively count off her fingers, the carrit started her list of what she'd had.

"Lesse... I've had... Old, but cooked, chicken, at least, I think it was cooked... Some ice cream that I SAW get thrown out... Some cuts of meat from behind the butcher's... and fresh lobster."

She then thought a little more, then added one last note.

"And I've drank a lot of water."

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Luke nodded as she listed off the things she ate: potentally uncooked meat, old ice cream, fresh lobster, and water. Having eaten those, it was likely that what she had was either Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, or...

... ... ...

... Wait a minute... She had fresh what?

"Uh... Forgive me..." the doctor interrupted, "... Lobster?"

[V for Vizetta]

The carrit glanced up at Luke, her eyes narrowing a bit.

"I didn't STEAL it, if that's what you think. I... Another beast helped me out earlier today. Had a rich owner. ... Nice kid." Patches glanced to the side, her next comment seeming more to herself as a faint hint of red bled through her fur, that could probably be blamed on her illness.

Probably.

"Real nice kid..."

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Luke nodded, not really noticing her blushing.

"I never said you did."

Leaning over the carrit, the doctor took note of her facial features, particularly the eyes.

"Hmm... Eyes are not dialated, that's good... No leaking cerebrospinal fluid... All signs are pointing to minimal head tramua. Now, could you try to sit up for me, Patches? I need to look at the injury on the back of your head."

[V for Vizetta]

"Sure, sure..." Patches mumbled, slowly sitting up, and wincing as her headache attempted to convince her to lie back down. Once she was sitting up, her hands rested in her lap, as she resisted reaching up to touch the injury to the back of her head again.

The injury in question, was a cut on the back of her head, that at the moment wasn't bleeding much, but... that could have been just from her hair sopping up some of the blood.

That was going to need to be cleaned up.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Luke frowned as he observed the wound. Thankfully, it didn't appear like it would require stitches, but its location would make it hard to clean and dress. Walking over to a nearby sink, the doctor took some clean cloth and held it under the fauset for a few seconds. After ringing out the excess water, he went back to Patches and began to gently wipe up the blood in her fur and hair with the damp fabric.

"Are you experiencing any head pain or dizziness right now that you did not have before due to the food poisoning?" he asked as he continued to clean the cut. Besides the physical injuries, he wanted to make sure the carrit was fine mentally as well.

[V for Vizetta]

Except for a bit of wincing as Luke pressed a little too hard, Patches was still as the doctor cleaned her wound.

"No... nothing really, except what I had before I hit my head."

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

"Okay good," the doctor replied, "it appears as though the only damage done due to the fall would be this cut, then. I just hope there aren't any long-term symptoms that are not showing themselves yet."

Throwing the towel into the trash, Luke went over to the drawer and pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some cotton balls. After pouring some of the antiseptic onto the cotton, he returned to Patches.

"This is probably going to sting a little," he warned as he began dabbing the wound with the cotton ball, "don't worry, it's just disinfecting the cut."

[V for Vizetta]

Letting out a quiet hiss, Patches flinched a little from the sting of the hydrogen peroxide, glancing over her shoulder at Luke with her good eye.

"..." The carrit was quiet as the human treated her injury, still feeling a bit nauseous, but not wanting to show it, even in front of the vet.

Good luck with that, Patches.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

"There you go," Luke announced as he patted the wound dry, "it's already starting to clot up nicely. Just don't pick at the scab and it should heal fine by itself within a few days."

Getting up, Luke made his way towards the door.

"I'll be back in a minute. I have to go see the results for your blood test. That, with your input, should help me determine what kind of food poisoning you contracted so I can treat it properly. Just lie back down and wait for me to come back."

[V for Vizetta]

Patches just nodded quietly, until the door closed behind Luke... and she bolted (ignoring the nausea the rapid movement induced) towards a trash can.

She'd made a valiant effort, but frankly, the nausea was winning.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Unfortunately for the carrit, Luke returned very quickly, test results in hand.

"Okay, I got the results back," he began as he opened the door, "it appears that you... ... ..."

The doctor paused as he watched Patches with her head burried in the trash can.

"Uh... Patches?"

[V for Vizetta]

Oh great. Patches froze, except the tip of her tail, which up to a moment ago, had been limp. But now it was twitching wildly.

She wanted to pull away from the trash can, but... the problem was that if she did, she would... probably ruin the nice doctor's floor.

So all he got was a weak mumble fro the depths of the trash can.

[SHM 128 III]

@luke@

Quickly pieceing together what Patches was probably about to do, Luke ran back out for a moment before returning with a deep, metal bowl. He walked to the hunched-over carrit, rested a hand on her shoulder, and offered her the bowl.

"Here, use this," he insisted, "it's a bit more sanitary than using a trash can, trust me."