fandom_clinic | Clinic Hours - Friday January 13th 2006

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Clinic Hours - Friday January 13th 2006

Taking his time coming up from town, Wilson let Cash off his leash to run around the courtyard the way the puppy was used to playing in the morning. Sipping his coffee, he gave the young dog a half an hour before whistling and calling to him. Unlocking the clinic doors, he set about getting the place open for the day.

Cash ran down to the end of the hall and whimpered a couple of times at the door that lead to the apartment but a pause in his activities and a cuddle from the oncologist, coaxed the puppy back up to the front of the clinic. Coffee was started and music was put on, playing quietly at the desk. Rather than picking up his usual crossword puzzle, Wilson tugged out a small rubber ball and sat in the waiting room, tossing it up against the wall for Cash to chase and try to catch.

Doctor and puppy are in! By all means stop by.

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Standing up, with the petition in one hand, Wilson gently pressed the back of his other hand against Blair's forehead.

"You look flu-y...and you feel flu-y. Are you taking anything?" Then with just a breath to break up the two ideas he nodded. "Yes, why not. Gremlins are living creatures too after all, even if they are a pain in my as...backside."

Blair smiled and pulled out the petition (http://www.livejournal.com/users/chasingangela/31244.html) and a pen for the doctor to sign.

Blair blushed. "Well, I-uh-" Blair pulled the unopened medicine from his backpack and held it up. "Dr. House gave me these to take."

As Wilson took a moment to sign the petition Cash, hearing a familiar voice came dashing back up towards the reception area, yipping excitedly as he danced around Blair's feet.

"Cash, back." Wilson admonished gentle and the little puppy immediately sat on his heels but he wriggled all over as he looked up at Blair.

Turning to exchange the paper for the pill bottle, Wilson read the label then gave the bottle a quick turn of his wrist, counting the number of pills inside before he glanced at Blair.

"These tend to work better when you actually...take them." He pointed out softly, the question of why Blair hadn't hanging in his tone.

Blair smiled and sat down on the floor, opening his arms for Cash.

Looking up, he shrugged. "Man, it's just-just "I've never taken western medicine before and Naomi always told me that it's against nature and totally is bad for your body and you should really only take natural remedies and I did eat soup and drink lots of fluids like Dr. House said and I just sorta, you know, scared about taking them." Blair took a deep breath.

Wilson watched as Cash darted eagerly for Blair's chest, crawling up into the youth's lap and giving him eager puppy kisses.

A corner of the oncologist's mouth lifted as he thought about the number of times he'd dealt with cancer patients who had searched out and followed strick homeopatheic treatments and with a gentle smile he carefully folded his long legs and sat down on the floor across from Blair and Cash.

"I think I can understand that." He tossed the pill bottle back and forth in his hand. "And honestly? Naomi is...not entirely wrong. What's happened, Blair is a virus a living organism has infiltrated your body and is busy trying to replicate itself. Standard virus behavior be fruitful and multiply and all that but your body isn't really too keen on sharing real estate with the virus so it's busy fighting the virus off. It's actually not the virus that's making you feel crummy it's your body's defense mechanisms at work."

Setting the pill bottle down in front of his crossed legs, Wilson watched Cash curl up against Blair, grunting and squirming for a belly rub.

"The biggest offender at the moment is the fever. You're body is literally making it uncomfortable for the virus to hang around by elevating your temperature but this is also affecting how your normal functions such as heart rate and blood flow are responding. This is why you might be feeling dizzy? Or fatigued or listless. That combined with swollen lymph nodes in your neck, where antibodies are being produced but also making your throat sore, means you probably don't feel much like eating, which adds to the fatigued. Add in the congestion which just affects appetite and ability to rest and it just ends up being a big cycle of being miserable."

Touching the bottle again, Wilson eyed the label thoughtfully and nibbled on his lower lip.

"If you really don't want to take these, how about a compromise. I'll give you some Tylenol. It's a simple, over the counter analgesic which will help lower your fever, which will make you feel a lot better trust me and also help your throat feel better. This will help support the good done by eating the soup and drinking all the fluids. What do you think?"

Blair smiled down at Cash and rubbed his belly happily. He petted him absently as he listened to Dr. Wilson explain just what made him sick.

"Tylenol will help with the dizzy stuff and everything? Because I need to keep protesting today and hang more posters and when I do this," Blair bounced where he was sitting and swayed, holding on carefully to Cash. "I get all woozy."

"Well, I'm going to be honest here Blair. Tylenol will help but you really do need to rest as much as possible. Give your body a chance to fight off the virus." Wilson admonished with a gentle sort of concern.

Cash was in puppy nirvana and his paws kept wrapping around Blair's wrist.

Blair tussled gently with Cash while he thought.

"Okay, man. I'll rest." Blair lied shyly, not making eye contact. It was sort of the truth, Blair thought, he would rest tonight, after he had done all he can for the gremlins.

"Thanks..um..for talking to me and stuff."

Wilson chuckled. He'd been lied to by the best, House...come on.

Looking again at the label to get the young man's name, Wilson stared at the top of his curly head.

"Blair." He said with a soft firmness. "You rest for a couple of days, this all goes away and you're back on your feet by Monday. You wear yourself out, you will extend the length of time you feel crummy and potentially make yourself worse and this becomes a thing that lasts for a couple of weeks. Couple of days, couple of weeks. You're choice. I'll go get you some Tylenol."

Wincing slightly as he pulled old knees back to himself, Wilson pushed up to his feet and walked towards one of the exam rooms, returning a minute later with another bottle.

Cash, in the meantime, was all full of fierce puppy growls as he tussled happilly back with Blair, jumping up at one point and racing around the young man, yipping eagerly, before he jumped back into his lap.

Staring at Dr. Wilson as he left, Blair groaned. So now he not taken the pills that Dr. House had given him, and he had lied to Dr. Wilson.

Giving Cash a hug, Blair stood up to meet Wilson as he came back into the room.

"I'm sorry I lied, man. It wasn't respectful or right and I shouldn't have done it." Blair paused and bit his lip. "I hear what you're saying and I understand, I just- I can't not try, you know? If the gremlins die and I spent all day taking a nap...I just couldn't take it."

Smiling with an understanding sort of ruefulness, Wilson leaned against the counter one hand pushed into the pocket of his labcoat.

"Thank you, for the bit about the lying. I won't tell you it's all right because 'it's not right to fib' and all that but I understand. Let me tell you something about gremlins. They're hardy. They're not stupid and in a show down between the admins and the gremlins I'm putting my money on the gremlins. Still, it's good of you and the others to take up for them and I really admire your mindset in this, given the havoc grelmins can cause." Wilson winced thinking of a few of his gremlin bite cases.

He considered trying to explain to Blair that it was never wrong to want to do your best but that it had to be tempered with the understanding that sometimes no matter what you did the end result wasn't going to be what you desired but he decided a fourteen year old didn't need that level of life lesson quite yet.

"I'm not saying all day, I'm not even saying you have to nap. Just try to get to bed at a reasonable hour, sit down for your meals and for just brief periods through the day. You can start right now. How about some tea and ooooh let me think what have I got...oh an orange. How about some tea and an orange?"

Blair looked down ruefully, when Wilson started talking. He didn't mind lying so much, but not to good people.

Blair smiled gratefully. "Tea? You've got tea? I would love some!" Blair bounced sorta tiredly. "I can try an orange too." He said helpfully, trying to show he wasn't all bad.

A thought crossed his mind. "Sit? I could sit...I could do a sit-in! That's resting, right?"

"I have tea. Lavender tea even, which is supposed to be good for your health. At least, that's according to my friend, Aziraphale."

Wilson walked to the little table that held the coffee pot and also a pot of hot water that Wilson had started keeping around for when the angel stopped by as well as for his own tea craving. As he mixed up the tea, he also peeled a rather plump, healthy looking naval orange he'd brought for lunch, setting the fruit out on a napkin and then pouring a cup of the fragrant tea for Blair.

"Here you go, have a seat." He nodded towards the rather comfortable desk chair and moved to carry his own coffee towards a nearby waiting room chair.

"Blair you do understand that gremlins are not likely to thank you for all you're doing for them? They are slaves to their nature ... I say this only because a sit-in, while a very worthy form of protest can also leave people a little vulnerable to...the gremlins themselves."

Blair curled up in the chair and sniffed the tea happily.

"Mmm. He's right. Did you know that Tibetan monks use lavender butter to treat nervous disorders and romans used it in their baths to promote sleep and stop depression? A shaman we lived with once used it as a sunburn salve after I got baked during a vision quest."

"It doesn't matter if they don't like me or anything. It's not about that. It's about not letting a minority get oppressed without having a voice to speak for them. It's just not right that the first option 'the man' chose was to exterminate them." Blair bounced angrily, his tea cup jiggling. "Exterminate! That means kill, man. It's just not right."

Blair grinned pointed with his foot at the stick with the sock tied on lying on the floor next to his backpack. "I read about them on a gremlin tips poster. Also, I'm getting some twinkie wrappers from this guy later. The poster said gremlins don't like the noise if we tie them to our clothes."

Blair thought carefully. "It's a good point though, I don't want people to get hurt. Maybe I'll do the sit-in by the Principal's or Dean's office. It might be safer."

"Aziraphale usually is, especially on the subject of tea." Wilson grinned with obvious fondness. "You should go down and see him some time, I rather think you'd like the Shop and he always has tea for visitors."

Wilson blinked at the idea about the twinkie wrapers.

"Ah...I don't know that that's been proven exactly, Blair so you might not want to put too much faith into it just yet." A kind way of saying that some senior classman had been having a bit of fun at the freshmens' expense.

He smiled then, watching Blair get passionate about his protest, something that had Cash darting eagerly around the young man's feet.

"Blair, relax I'm on your side. Gremlins have just as much right to be around as we do it's not right for any one being to put themselves above another. I'm just saying, there is a reason why they have the reputation they do and it's never good to completely lose focus on that fact in the heat of defending the minority. You're taking the right steps, believe me I would never put my name to something I didn't support and have faith in. Just try to remember that a 'reasonable' approach is likely to yield more positive results than a 'rabid' one. Be passionate but be logical as well. If you don't like 'the man's' plan, put together one of your own to present as an alternative. Now, have a bit of orange, it will make my old bones feel better."

Blair laughed at Wilson calling himself old and took a bite of orange. He ate quietly as he thought about what Wilson had said, maybe he could work on an alternate plan during the sit-in.

Finishing the orange with a very loud slurp, Blair slid off the chair and nuzzled Cash. "Thanks, man, for..you know.."

"Anytime." Wilson said, reaching into his pocket and digging out a little white card. Taking his pen, he wrote out two numbers on the back then stood and held card and Tylenol bottle out towards Blair.

"Take these both the pills and my numbers. I work both up here and down in town so if you need me this weekend, since Dr. House is out of town, just call my pager. Try taking the Tylenol and if you aren't feeling better by Sunday, I would like to see you again on Monday."

Blair stood and took the bottle and the card. "Dr. House said that too, that I should come in on Monday. That's when he's going to be back. So I guess you're dog sitting for him this weekend. You're taking good care of Cash, right?" Blair stopped. "I mean, I'm sure you are! You're not like a puppy kicker or something or uh- I just-ugh." Blair covered his face with his hands.

Blair mumbled from behind his hands. "Pager. Tylenol. Monday. Got it, man."

Wilson's laugh was warm and friendly and good humor made his dark eyes dance as he grinned at Blair.

"I am a horrible puppy kicker." He tried to say with a straight face but couldn't. Reaching out he gave the young man's shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"Tylenol, rest, pager, Monday...have a good weekend, Blair."

"You too, man!" Blair grinned back and left, waving at Cash and leaving a poster (http://tinypic.com/k4dz5c.png) behind.

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