InsaneJournal

maintaining eye contact went a long way in making sure a patient was comfortable
Who: Richard, Merrill, Frodo
What: Merrill gets bloodwork to confirm the pregnancy
When: Early Thursday Morning
Where: OB/GYN Office
status: Complete
Rating: PG, For Medical Stuff



Richard had been back to work for just long enough that the days were starting to take on a rhythm that had embedded itself in his subconscious. Everyday, he got his coffee from his local Starbucks on the way in--because the coffee at the office was terrible--and had enough time to sit down and drink every drop before seeing his first patient. Depending on which technicians were in, he had a morning chat with either Bridget or with Melissa about their respective rambunctious children. He checked his email on his phone and then it was time to get down to business. Lady Business.

This morning, his first patient was Merrill Sokolov, someone new judging by the amount of paperwork resting in the door pocket. He picked it up and leafed through it, his eyes automatically knowing where to find the important details. Merrill was in her late twenties, slightly underweight, and was here for a pregnancy test and a preliminary exam. Pretty straightforward.

He knocked on the door and awaited the OK signal, in case she wasn't properly covered, yet. Melissa joined him, as the female technicians always did with the male doctors, and they entered together. He greeted Merrill warmly. "Ms. Sokolov, I'm Dr. Alpert. So, you think you might be pregnant?" He was smiling, but he never offered congratulations. Just in case.

Merrill was sitting up and smiling when the doctor entered the room. Her hair was pulled back and her pointed ears were visible. "Hello!" she said brightly. She was a little nervous, but her cheery excitement outweighed that.

Richard's eye twitched at the site of her ears. Was this some kind of freakish body modification? He found it a little disconcerting--especially since Merrill's disposition didn't seem in line with that like e behavior. "And this is your first pregnancy?" he continued, after missing a beat.

Merrill nodded, trying to keep her hands in her lap. "Yes." It was funny; they hadn't planned this pregnancy, and Frodo had been planning to propose before they even knew.. It wasn't expected, but now she realized she wouldn't know how to react if he told her that she wasn't pregnant. She was a little nervous.

He flipped through some pages. "Well, we'll see if we can get the big question answered for you as soon as possible." With another doctorly smile, Richard took a seat in his little rolling chair and swiveled down to the foot of the table where Merrill was seated.

"So, what I'm going to do Merrill," he said, as he set up the table. "Is check to make sure that your cervix is closed and that your Fallopian tubes are clear." Keeping up light conversation and maintaining eye contact went a long way in making sure a patient was comfortable. "If you can just scoot down for me."

Merrill scooted down the table, shifting a little awkwardly on the paper. She was beginning to regret leaving Frodo out in the waiting room. They'd known it would be a little awkward, and he'd wanted to give her some privacy during the exam, but she found herself more nervous on her own.

Richard could read a nervous patient quite easily and he smiled broadly to calm her. "So, any plans for Halloween yet?"

Merrill nodded. "Well, we're getting married right before Halloween! We haven't really made honeymoon plans, but since I'm a teacher, it might be easier to wait until there's a break from school. But if we're here, I think I have an idea for a costume."

"I suppose we could wear costumes on our honeymoon. For Halloween, I mean!" She blushed. It was probably silly getting embarrassed about a relatively innocent comment right now, considering where his hands were.

Richard looked at Merrill as if her comments were the most typical in the world. Of course, they weren't, but he was a professional. "There's going to be some pressure here. What's your costume idea?"

Merrill winced a little, biting back a little noise. "Um. She's a friend. Well. She's from. It's hard to.. like a pirate. I'm dressing like a pirate." Sometimes she made things too complicated.

Richard still failed to look fazed in the slightest, in spite of the pointed ears and anxious chatter. She was dressing as a friend, who was also a pirate? He chuckled and nodded. "I've been a pirate once or twice..."

He rolled back. "And we're all done." Richard stood up and pulled off his gloves. "Everything looks great. Your cervix is closed and I didn't feel any masses, so... we'll draw some blood today and see where your levels are. How long ago did you get a positive test, by they way?"

Merrill sat up, shifting back to get more comfortable. “On the 22nd,” she answered. “Can my fiance come in?” she asked as she held out her arm for him to draw blood from. “For the results?”

“Oh...” Richard cleared his throat as he jotted down a few notes. “It’ll be a few hours before we get a result. We’ll just give you a call, okay? And Melissa will take you to the lab to draw blood. You can dress and meet her in the hall. Do you want your fiance to meet you there?” He gently touched Merrill’s outstretched arm so that she would lower it.

It touched some deep, locked-away recess of Richard’s heart to see her so eager. Weird ears or not, the young woman was sweet. There was no question in his mind that she was pregnant. It didn’t make him at all happy to withhold judgement, but it was one of those cases where he wasn’t legally allowed to say anything until he had the bloodwork in front of him.

Richard returned to his office to prepare for his next patient. Melissa took Merrill's paperwork and searched the lobby for Frodo Baggins and was a little surprised that the man who rose from his seat was so much older than Merrill. But he was cute as a button! She asked him to follow her to the technician's room and sat him down in a spare chair.

Frodo tapped his foot nervously against the linoleum floor.

“Oh,” Merrill said, lowering her arm and blushing a little. “Okay. Than you.” After the doctor left, Merrill changed back into her clothes. She opened the door to the exam room, peeking out into the hall to look for Melissa. These hallways were always a little disorienting, and even though they were generally empty, she always felt like she was going to get in trouble for going the wrong way.

Thankfully, the tech came out and directed Merrill to the other room where Frodo was waiting for her. She smiled to him, trying to look less nervous than she felt.

Frodo rose anxiously to his feet. He, too, had been assuming there would be a more immediate answer. He looked at Merrill expectantly.

“He said things look good,” Merrill told Frodo as she sat down, pulling up her sleeve. “But they have to do the bloodwork.” She reached out to touch Frodo’s hand. “The doctor seemed nice, I think.” She hadn’t spent much time with him, but she liked him well enough.

“But soon, though?” Frodo asked.

Melissa smiled at him. “I’ll mark this so it will go through first thing.” She prepared her needle and tied a rubber band around Merrill’s arm. She was very good at drawing blood and she slipped the needle in as smoothly as anyone ever could. “Aaaand, all done.”

Merrill smiled at Melissa. “Thank you,” she said, grateful that they were making her a priority. She normally didn’t like the idea of cutting in line, but she was eager to have answers as soon as she could. It was a little selfish, maybe, but she and Frodo were on pins and needles.

“Is there anything else today?” Merrill asked, not sure if that meant they were done with blood work, or Done-done.

“Nope, that’s it,” Melissa chirped. “You’ll get a call from the doctor in a little bit. I’ll make sure he calls you first, okay?”

Frodo reached for Merrill’s hand as they stood up. “Thank you,” he said. They walked back down the disorienting hallway and somehow made their way back outside. The noonish sunlight was warm. He squeezed Merrill’s hand anxiously, but Frodo knew this was more of a formality than anything else. At least they would know when the baby had been conceived and how far along she was.

“Just a few more hours.”