Who: Billy Batson and Caitlin Snow What: Billy's in need of some medical advice Where: The Clinic When: Last week sometime Warning: low Status: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Billy was nervous, and he wasn’t sure entirely what to do. He was growing breasts! And he had noticed his skin seemed smoothed and less hair was growing on his chest.
How the hell was that happening? He was a little taller, and growing some, so he knew he was in a growth spurt,but still. He’d never heard of this happening! At first he thought he would check in with magic users. But the only one he really trusted was Zatanna. And he did not want to go to her with this.
So… that left medical people. He made an appointment, making sure he did not get assigned to Doctor Banner, but otherwise left it open. Seeing Cassie’s dad for this would be way too weird and awkward.
He sat in the clinic waiting room,having checked in and waiting on the next available doctor. He wore a large baggy shirt, as he had to see Natasha earlier, and a stiffer shirt under that to conceal things. But he still felt conspicuous and out of place.
***
It just so happened that Caitlin was the next doctor free. She knew there was someone in an exam room who was here by appointment, but she hadn't quite caught up on why he was here.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Snow," she greeted warmly as she entered the room, extending a hand toward Billy politely. "I'll be your physician this afternoon."
She figured getting the introduction out of the way was the first order of business.
***
Billy blinked, and blushed a little and nodded. Well, this would be embarrassing, but really, why not? This whole thing would be embarrassing. “I’m Billy Batson. Doctor, thank you for seeing me.”
He smiled, and shook her hand, his cheeks still red.
***
"No problem," Caitlin said, trying to have a good disposition, not wanting to make things more uncomfortable for the boy. "It's what I'm here for."
Actually, she was only here because this was the best place to get some use of her skills. She usually was too awkward to deal with patients, but she'd been getting better since she'd been working here.
"Nice to meet you," she continued, reaching for his chart that'd been waiting for her in the room. "Can you tell me why you're here?"
***
Billy winced, and then nodded. “Ah… I have a slight problem, and at first i thought it was nothing, but.,.. I am growing larger in the chest area. Like… as if I was growing, ah..” he blushed bright red. “As if I was growing breasts.”
His ankles hung a little longer out of his pants and his wrists out of his shirt, giving a clue to the observant that he was in a growth spurt, and thus in the middle of puberty.
***
Upon hearing about his symptoms, she tried even more to be more sympathetic. She could tell he was embarrassed to tell her that, and that made her feel a little bad because she hadn't gotten his chart before arriving in the room.
"How old are you?" she asked gently, though she spoke normally, treating him like she would any patient. She wouldn't ever make fun of his situation. Anyone who would was a terrible person. She liked to think she was good. Not Killer Frost.
"Sometimes things like this happen at a certain age," she said, giving him an explanation for why she asked about his age.
***
Billy smiled lopsidedly and nodded, sighing. “16, nearly 17.” He cocked his head, listening, glad of her treating him respectfully. Not many docs did that. Being treated as a kid was… irritating. He smiled warmer at her and nodded as she indicated she had some clue what was going on, maybe, and he hoped she would be able to stop it.
“So how do we stop it?”
***
Caitlin took a seat on one of the chairs, making sure she was facing Billy. She wanted him to know she was taking this seriously, and she didn't want to keep anything from him. This was about his life and no one else's right now.
"Your symptoms sound like something called gynecomastia," she explained. "I know that it such a terribly clinical sounding term, but I can assure you, it is not life threatening or anything like that. But I would like to run a few tests to make sure that's what we're dealing with first. If you don't mind. Just some blood work."
She thought very carefully about her next words. "There are some treatments for this. Lifestyle changes such a diet are some ways to control this. And there are some hormone treatments. If we go that route, I may need to get permission from your guardian."
She had no idea of what his living situation was when she mentioned that. All she knew was that these sorts of treatments were not to be taken lightly with teenagers going through puberty.
***
Billy brightened as she put a name to it, then assured him it was not life-threatening. “Oh? Oh. Blood tests can tell?” He swallowed. Maybe this could work out! “I just want this over, so whatever needs to be done, I will take it.” he nodded.
“I do not have a guardian. I’m emancipated. I make my own decisions as far as medical treatment.” He nodded, worried, fearful, but with real hope for the first time in awhile.
***
Caitlin was surprised by that. She assumed he had been assigned to a guardian, but that was simply because she believed that’d been a pretty successful refugee program. She also could understand the need for some to be free to make up their own minds. She sure wished she could have been emancipated from her mother many times when she was a teenager. Of course, her mother wasn’t easy to be around.
“Well, if you are making medical decisions on your own, then I will tell you everything you need to know,” she said. “For starters, you should know the side effects of these hormone treatments can be difficult. We could just go with a lifestyle adjustment and wait for this to go away on its own, too.”
She wasn’t sure he’d want to do that after her next words. “Though it could take up to two years for that to occur.”
***
“Please do. I would like to know everything.” He had been emancipated almost by sheer force of will, and with good lawyers. He was doing well for himself, so far, and he looked forward to many more good days and good years. He hoped she could help him.
He listened. Her words made him wince, and made him blink a bit. “Two years?” he hid his face in his hands. “How much more will these grow in that time, before it goes away? They’ve already gone, in less than a month, from nothing to what measures as a ‘b’ cup, and have gotten hard to conceal as it is. What kind of lifestyle change could help with that?” His face was flushed red and his eyes pricked with tears as he faced the idea of two more years of this.
***
Caitlin couldn’t help feeling sympathetic. She knew how hard this must be for a teenager going through such a thing. She remembered thinking something like getting a pimple felt like the end of the world to her when she was a teenager. That was nothing compared to what Billy must be going through.
“Like I said, we have a few options here. The hormone treatment will likely cure this faster,” she said, still showing him as much compassion she could. “But you’ll need to be aware of the side effects.”
She offered a small, reassuring smile. “If you want to go that route, I will be with you every step of the way. Maybe you can think about it for a few days, talk with some people you trust to support, and you come back to me with a decision.”
She was doing her best to balance treating him like an adult as well as a teenager in need of some potential guidance.
***
“I’d like to hear more, and know what the side effects are, as well as the other options. And anything you can tell me, really. Do whatever tests you need to do, Doc.” He knew she had mentioned blood work, or he thought she had, anyway. And he wanted to get things started as soon as possible.
He felt nervous, and a little faint, and was worried about it, and embarrassed by it. But at the same time, her calmness, and her warmth, was helping. Especially her assurance that she would be there with him all the way. That helped too. A lot.
“Thank you, Doctor Snow. I appreciate that.” He smiled at her. And while his smile was shaky, it was there, at least?
***
Caitlin smiled back and nodded.
“Now, why don’t we get started on that blood work.”
It was a start, hopefully, to getting him the help he needed.