Doctor, Doctor, tell me the news

Taking a deep inhale of breath Bailey woke up as the car stopped. He didn’t remember falling asleep in the vehicle or any of the drive, but he did know his eyes felt incredibly heavy, it was hard for him to not close them and just go back to sleep. He started to do just that when he felt himself being shaken.

“Bailey, we are here. Come on, wakey, wakey.” Opening his eyes halfway he turned his head away from the window he was leaning on with a pout to his lips.

“Oh…k.” If his purse hadn’t still been strung over his shoulder he wouldn’t have even considered needing to look for it as he got out. Things around him felt sluggish for himself and somehow also hyperactive for others, like everyone was moving at a different pace than him

“I didn’t act this way when I was sick.” Bailey blinked heavily at her for a few seconds.

“Yes you did, but I also read the medicine bottle before I gave it to you and like I think you gave me more than one dose.” Candi bit her bottom lip, in addition to not reading the bottle she also hadn’t measured anything. She knew she hadn’t acted like Bailey was, but her friend was right about that, but she wasn’t going to admit it.

“It isn’t my fault you can’t handle medication, now come on. Leave everything to me, okay?” Bailey nodded, following her inside. Taking a seat where Candi told him to, it only occurred to him that he had to tell the doctor about the hormone imbalance and Candi couldn’t know about that. Could she?

“Are you able to fill this out?” Bailey leaned his head back to look up at Candi, surprised that she had snuck up on him when she had just left a second ago, but somehow had a clipboard with a pen tethered to it with a few pieces of paper clipped on in her hand.

“Yeah…” Bailey took it, opening his purse to pull out his wallet to get the insurance card that he had been given. It of course was the same insurance card that Miss April had given over to the doctors when she had taken him to get the infernal contraption glued to him. He held it in one hand and the pen in the other starting to fill out the paperwork starting with his name. Bailey Ann Best, Age eighteen, Birthday… His eyes stayed on the clipboard as his half lidded eyes tried to focus on what was in front of him, the eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Till he felt the clipboard being taken from him gently, causing his eyes to fully open. Bailey wasn’t sure when they had closed or had long they had been that way, but now Candi had the paperwork and was filling it out. He took either side of the sweater, pulling it tighter to himself, the medicine made it so he could hardly stay awake at all. Making him feel helpless.

“Sorrrrry.” His eyes were already half closed again as he looked over to his friend. Who only flashed him a smile, she had said something, but he missed it as he closed his eyes again. Suddenly he opened them again, his body jerking awake.

“I need to… I need.” Bailey smacked his lips together, his mouth felt dry and his mind was foggy in the same way it had if he stayed up for longer than a day. “To talk to the doctor.” Only half awake he noticed the clipboard was gone when she put her hand on his, giving it a little squeeze.

“I know, we are already at the doctor's office. Remember?” Bailey nodded, of course he knew that.

“You don’t… you can’t… the doctor to know.” Bailey scrunched up his nose, the words weren’t coming out right. “I need to tell him.” Candi nodded, still holding her best friend's hand, giving it a few pats and feeling much guiltier now than she had even as they pulled up to the office. She wasn’t planning on going into the visit with Bailey, but she was positive now that she would need to.

“I can tell the doctor anything you need.”

“Buuuuuuut.”

“Do you trust me?” Bailey nodded, leaning closer to the girl. His head felt so heavy on his neck for some reason. The girl was sunshine incarn… incor? She was sunshine and he could trust her.

“Yeeee…ah” Candi gave a small squeeze to Bailey’s hand. She had seen some people sloshed at corporate parties she went to with her father and Bailey seemed to be close to that with how she was reacting to however much of the nyquil she had given her.

“Then tell me and I will make sure he knows.” Bailey let out a whimper, closing his eyes tight, forcing himself to open them back up.

“My hormones are… bad. Bad? I like need a shot to fix.” Bailey pulled his hand away, reaching up with both hands to cup his chest. Candi gave her an uncomfortably large smile. ‘She noticed… of course she noticed! Be cool, be cool, you only helped her. She probably is just worried with how fast her chest had grown, the boob fairy didn’t tend to work that fast.’

“I will tell him, I promise.” Bailey still leaning closer to her tried to not, but instead just rested his head on her shoulder.

“Ohhh….k.” He said before closing his eyes again.

He woke up when they took him into the back, checking his height and weight, his blood pressure before being escorted into the familiar room. All doctors' offices seemed to set up their patient rooms the same. Candi had been talking to the nurse, he wasn’t sure what she had said and as he climbed up on the exam room table he couldn’t even picture the nurses face or gender that had just a moment ago checked his vitals.

“Lets get that off you so the doctor can do his thing and hey maybe if we are lucky he will be cute.” Bailey nodded his head as Candi helped take the sweater from him, his eyes following it the entire time as she sat in a small chair in the corner with it in her lap.

Sitting there he pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs, leaning his head down and to the side so he could try and stay awake for when the doctor came in.

“Bailey did you tell your Mom you aren’t feeling good?” He hadn’t, but it didn’t matter she wasn’t here.

“No.”

“Do you want me to tell her?” Bailey moved his head to look away from the door and to his friend, giving his head a few shakes before moving back to how he was. He slipped back to sleep, vaguely hearing her talking, but it felt so far away that he couldn’t catch a single word. Candi had just kept on talking and talking and someone was talking back to her in a deeper voice, Bailey wanted to reach out and touch his lips wondering if it was him, but his voice didn’t sound like that. It felt like it took multiple tries, but he was able to open his eyes and was able to see a tall bald man with a thick brown beard and soft blue eyes looking between Candi and himself.

“So you are saying she made the appointment believing she has a hormonal balance issue because her breasts grew too quickly and today she is sick with a cold, but is also on her period with bad cramps?” Candi’s eyes flicked to Bailey, giving her a weak smile seeing that she was now awake.

“Yeah, and the pills we talked about, is… is she going to be okay?” The tone of the man’s voice as they talked had started out friendly, but it seemed to change more and more to one of annoyance. The man seeing where the girl in front of him was looking turned to notice the actual patient was awake now.

“I hear you were taking some pills you didn’t know about, that is never a smart thing to do.” Bailey shook his head, he hadn’t taken anything he didn’t know… then he thought of this morning. He hadn’t asked Candi about the pills or the nyquil he had just taken it. The man was probably mad that Candi had to come back here to help him.

“Sorrrrry.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are. Teen girls aren’t exactly known for their judgment or patience. I had a sixteen year old in here just yesterday asking for a referral so she could get implants. Sixteen, can you believe that?” The man rolled his eyes.

Moving his hands, Bailey touched his breasts, he didn’t want implants that sounded crazy he wanted what he had gone, that girl should have his chest, he didn’t need it. He found himself giggling a little, it didn’t work that way, but he would gladly let her just have them. “I don’t need implants…” Bailey was going to continue his thought, but when he paused the doctor picked back up talking.

“No, no you do not Miss Best. Honestly look a little worse for wear, but that is just a virus and will pass. I do not give out antibiotics for viruses, that is how we get super viruses and other than that you seem healthy.” Bailey shook his head, reaching out with both hands to take the doctor's hand in his own, pulling it to his chest, he needed him to understand.

“My chest… it.” The doctor gave the girl a tight smile, soon as she had pressed his hand to her chest he pulled it back. He did not need a sick girl with moon eyes wanting his attention and doubly so when there was someone else in the room to witness.

“I’m well aware of your chest, we talked about that. Remember?” Bailey blinked a few times, looking over at Candi then nodding slowly. “So is there anything else?”

Candi hopped to her feet, this wasn’t the first time a doctor had blown her off. The man had just given her a lecture on the dangers of taking pills or giving pills to someone that they didn’t know what they did. She did know, she had taken them herself, but Bailey had also taken more than her and in a shorter amount of time. It had the same results, but with things laid out like they were, it also now made her worried of what harm it would do. The man had said something about organs or kidneys. “What about her organs and stuff?! Oh, oh and can you give her something to help with her cramps? They seem like really bad.”

Bailey hadn’t even caught the man’s name, but he seemed in a hurry to leave when he grunted, sitting down in the little stool as he faced him. “I’m going to send the nurse in to take some blood, we some quick tests we can run here in just twenty minutes. The rest would have to be sent off to the labs. Then when we see what is going on we can do something or nothing…” He shook his head. “As for your cramps. Do you normally have them this bad?”

Swallowing hard Bailey shook his head, he had never had a period and would never. “Okay, are your periods regular?” Again Bailey shook his head, really wanting him to leave and get the nurse for the bloodwork.

“Can we like umm do the test?” Bailey tried to look at him sweetly, but he was struggling to just stay awake. The doctor closed the folder he had in his hands, slapping it lightly on Bailey’s leg, it was obvious to him she felt uncomfortable talking about the subject with someone outside of her OBGYN.

“Okay, sure. Last question, what birth control are you on?” He asked as whatever she had been given wasn’t doing its job if she wasn’t regular.

“None, I like can’t get preggo.” Bailey smirked before resting his head against his knees. The doctor let out a long sigh.

“Of course you think that. Okay, I’m going to get you something prescribed for now. Follow the directions, it is important. Okay? OKAY?!” He asked a little harsher when Bailey didn’t respond. It caused Bailey to pull his legs closer to himself and nod. He wasn’t going to take birth control, no matter how much of a meanie the bald man wanted to be. “Good, the nurse will be in shortly and then I will come in to discuss the findings when we get the results. For now, just hang out here.” Watching the man go Bailey stuck his tongue out at the closed door before looking over his friend.

“He was not cute or nice.”

It didn’t take long for the nurse to come into the room, Bailey knew right away it was the same person before. A younger man that looked to be almost thirty, clean shaven with wild eyebrows and a look of someone from the middle east. Like with the doctor Bailey didn’t know his name and considering he probably already introduced himself he didn’t want to ask. His visit was short, taking five vials of blood with him as he went. Reaching down to touch the bandage around his elbow, Bailey frowned. “Did they like need that much or like are they also vampires?”

“Ooooo doctor vampires! That sounds like a fun story, instead of saying I want to suck your blood!” Candi said in a bad imitation of someone from Transylvania. “They can be all lets get bloodwork done, it will be… delicious, I mean helpful.” Despite not feeling well Bailey giggled along with his friend as she climbed up on the exam table with him. He was happy she was here to help him, but the doctor was sure going to be in for a surprise when he found out Bailey was a guy by looking at his blood. He was going to need to **** himself to stay awake when he came back in and ask her to let him hear the results alone so she wouldn’t find out that he was a fraud. He really was her friend, she was the best person like ever, but when she heard who he really was, she wouldn’t understand. He didn’t understand anymore, and she would leave him. Just like everyone left him. The thoughts brought tears to his eyes and before he knew it he was leaning on the very girl he knew would abandon him when she found out she had been lied to.

Candi held her emotional friend, she understood. She had bad months before and to find out Bailey wasn’t taking birth control was a surprise to her. She had seen what Bailey had packed before in bags and she had just been in her medicine cabinet, but she just hadn’t thought about it. That and with her not feeling well of course she was an emotional mess. So she just held her till she fell back to sleep, a light snore filling the room as they sat there together. She did consider recorder her to show her that it wasn’t her who snored, and Bailey had just been projecting.

The two waited for an hour before the doctor came back into the room, she gently shook Bailey to wake her up. “Okay, we have the results here.” Bailey blinked a few times at the man holding a folder in his hand. He turned his head to whisper into Candi’s ear.

“Can, could umm can you wait outside, I umm just in case its bad.” Candi took a deep breath, she was not going to let her friend face bad news by herself, but she also didn’t want to get into an argument in front of the man who had already been stern with her. So she would go stand outside, but she was not going to let Bailey keep whatever news it was to herself. She was going to be there for her friend, if she liked it or not. Candi nodded, hoping off the table and leaving the room.

“I will be right outside.”

The man in the room with Bailey watched her go a bit perplexed, but carried on. He really didn’t care what crazy things young girls thought. “Okay, yeah. As I was saying, I have your results right here. There is some abnormalities…” Bailey swayed slightly, his eyes half open as he tried to focus on what he was saying. The word abnormalities caught his attention, but he was also using words he didn’t understand.

“What? I like don’t know what you mean?”

“You have a hormonal imbalance, the migraines you listed on the paperwork when you made the appointment could be caused by them. Along with a few other things, but don’t you worry we will get all of that under control and you will be back to feeling like your old self before you know it.” Bailey smiled at the man in the white coat happily, that was exactly what he wanted to hear.

“So like what do I have to do? Are you going to inject me or like what?”

“No, no need for any injections.” He looked back down to the file, the girls estrogen was higher than he would like, her testosterone level was much higher than he would like though and he figured the extra testosterone caused her body to try and fight it with extra estrogen so as soon as he got one under control the other would do so naturally. He didn’t want to over prescribe to his patients. “I will give you a prescription for something to block the bad hormones.” He said dumbing things down the ditzy girl. He rocked his head from side to side mentally correcting himself, the girl might be an airhead, but it could just as easily be because her and her sister took too much of the… no he corrected himself again. They were both airheads, who took too much nyquil when they wanted to take dayquil. “You will take that and your birth control and nothing else that isn’t over the counter or prescribed by myself or another doctor. Got it?”

Bailey groaned, kicking one of his feet so that it hit the exam room table. “No, I like don’t need birth control I’m like not having sex! Like at least not right now and… and…” He could see the girl was clearly frustrated.

“Hey, hey it's okay. Think of it this way, you aren’t feel well right now and the pills I’m going to give you will help you feel better. One you will have to take for a short time and the other for ahhh longer. You do want to feel better right?” Bailey squinted at him, nodding once slowly, then again a bit quicker. There was an episode of house where he had told someone to smoke cigarettes when everyone knew they were bad, but it was because as bad as it was the other medicine for it… Bailey was pretty sure he was remembering it correctly. That the medicine would be worse for the man than the cigarettes and this man had seen his blood work so had to know the truth. So the birth control had to be like the cigarettes.

“The pills will help me be myself again? I will be a man?” The doctor was looking down at his paperwork, making some notes for her file when he looked up at her. Pretty sure she had asked if the pills were going to make her a man. He shook his head, deciding he had heard wrong or in her state she had meant to say woman. If the girl wanted to see being on the pill as the gateway to womanhood he wasn’t going to saying anything about it.

“Absolutely, you take your medicine and you will be the person you want to be.” Bailey hopped off the table, wrapping his arms around the man, who seemed much taller now that he was standing on the ground, three extra inches of height from his shoes or not.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Before he could respond Bailey let go opening the door. “I’M GOOD! I’M HEALTHY! LET LIKE GO HOME!” Bailey yelled into the hallway. He knew the burst of energy wasn’t going to last, but soon as he got back he was going to have the best sleep ever. No more worries about the future, his body taken care of and Aunt Megan taking care of things with her.. Her.. investigator. Things were going to be fine! He thought happily for a moment before Candi half tackled him with a hug as he stepped out of the exam room. Those two things happening would mean no more of her and that very thought hurt, so much that when he hugged her back he didn’t want to let go. If he had known someone even half as good as she was growing up his entire life would have been different. He hoped the world never crushed her like it did him.