[002] Doctor's Hours

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

This is a waiting room inside a large hospital, comfortably furnished and provided with a mixture of medical journals and fashion magazines. After a reasonable wait, a bustling nurse calls out the appointments, everyone who arrives. "Doctor Mizuno will see you now."

Inside the doctor's office, bookshelves line every wall, packed with heavy textbooks. Doctor Mizuno, remarkably young for her title (youngest in her world, it's rumored) sits behind the sturdy desk with a quiet, self-satisfied smile. She's wanted to be in this place for so long; the thrill of finally achieving it hasn't worn off even in dreams. It's enough to make her smile in the faces of the people who think she's only here because of her mother's famous name, and go about showing them how wrong they are by her results.

"How are you feeling today?" she asks her patient.

Comments

[sevencolored.livejournal.com]

"I'm afraid I could be better... Well, I'm certain just a common cold but I'm afraid my friend has been so worried about me that she told me to come see a doctor."

A girl around Ami's own age has taken a seat in front of her and confided that she is indeed not doing very well. Her health had always been on the poor side after all. But her attitude about her own illness seems to be one where she believes it's okay to shove it off and wait for herself to get better. Alice hardly ever came to the doctors and while she was being polite as always she was also the slightest bit uncomfortable.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Ami has already quickly looked over whatever medical history Alice may have provided from the waiting room. She looks up at Alice herself, able to give the patient her full attention now.

"Let's see if it's just a cold," she suggests. The dull routine of the basics is next: temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and pulse. She jots down each reading. "If it is," she continues while she goes about her business, "I'll prescribe some medicine to make you feel better quickly."

Mostly vitamins, but the truth is a cold is best cured by boosting the body's already-existing defenses and helping the patient to get solid rest.

[sevencolored.livejournal.com]

"Thank you." Alice nods a bit, still keeping her polite demeanor up. "I hope this will make my friend stop worrying about me. She can overreact at the littlest things sometimes."

Alice giggles a bit to herself to try to keep things light and happy in the room. But the fact that she just visited a doctor just to make Marisa stop worrying for her speaks volumes on it's own.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Ami knows a thousand ways to try to cover the bad things. She's a girl who still insisted she was fine when she was passed out in bed sick from her exposure to dark energy.

So it doesn't take too much to realize Alice is nervous. Ami steadily finishes her examination anyway, and her voice comes close to Alice's ears as she feigns polite sympathy while looking inside them. "How troublesome."

And how fortunate Alice is to have someone worried for her health, though Ami supposes her comrades would, too - since it could affect her fighting. She puts away the blood pressure cuff and various implements before seating herself properly, ankles crossed.

"You seem in good health, all things considered. Extra vitamin supplements should help the cold disappear quickly." She pauses, and can't help a very slightly amused smile at her own next words: "Shall I give you a note saying so for your friend?"

[khakiwinner.livejournal.com]

He probably doesn't need to be here, but he understands the importance of regular checkups. It isn't as though he is experiencing any true problems in general that he is aware of. Physically, he isn't...exactly the most normal when it came to heart rate and so on. None of the gundam pilots are - they've been trained for incredibly severe circumstances. His endurance level is far higher than the average person's.

It isn't bragging or something he held over other's heads. It is simply a fact and a necessity to have been able to help the people of the colonies. He'd had to complete that training. So as much as he isn't fond of seeing a doctor for a regular check, it is far more important to ensure that nothing is wrong.

The worst thing would be to let something go unnoticed until it became a liability for business dealings, now that he's taken up his father's business. He smiles at the doctor, unwilling to let her be bothered by his own thoughts. "I'm well, I believe. I just need to make sure nothing's being overlooked and my friends are insisting I be seen to ensure I'm not overworking myself."

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"Yes, of course." Ami's finished glancing over whatever medical history Quatre provided while he was waiting, which hopefully includes some of the numbers to expect, or she's in for a surprise in a few minutes.

"Stress is a very real problem nowadays, Mister..." It's when she's about to say his name that she realizes it, though she keeps herself from faltering more than the barest second. "Winner."

She knows him. But that was a dream, wasn't it? A dream of a ship at sea, a beautiful dream but no more than a dream.

"How good to see you again." She recovers nicely, this one, as she prepares to take his vital signs.

[khakiwinner.livejournal.com]

There's a few notes - nothing that explains why it's normal for him to have those results, but definitely notes that those are what's to be expected from him.

"It's good to see you again as well, Miss Mizuno," his smile turns almost sheepish for a moment. He's not a shy young man, but the realization that she was from his dream wasn't an entirely comfortable realization. Was he dreaming again, then...?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Clearly the dreams are fate. Or Quatre enjoying dreaming of an attractive girl (they don't call it 'plain-looking soldier Sailor Moon' after all). Or both.

"Let's begin then," Ami offers professionally. She measures the heart rate and blood pressure and temperature; all the basics. Each one is jotted down and earns a quick double-check against the numbers Quatre provided.

[veritatemdilexi.livejournal.com]

"The elbow has been a little stiff," Calpurnia answers, rotating her left shoulder. It pops, a low, subtle sound, and not entirely natural. There was a lot of work done to repair that arm, and most of the bones on the left side of her body. One wouldn't even be able to tell that, once, they had all been shattered by the crushing blow from a guardian servitor.

...well, except a professional glancing at her medical records, that is. "It hasn't affected my duties yet, but they thought I should have it looked at regardless."

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

In the quiet of the office, she can hear that pop, and Ami makes the proper concerned frown. She's already reviewed whatever medical history Calpurnia provided during the wait, enough to tell her the basics her current patient has seen fit to reveal.

"I'm glad you did," she says evenly. "Too many people let small difficulties go too long, and then they become harder to correct."

[veritatemdilexi.livejournal.com]

"Even the smallest wounds eventually fester." Anyone in her line of work knows that sentiment all too well. Unfortunately, that one knot of scar tissue on her hip still irritates her from time-to-time, but there are reasons those were unable to receive proper treatment - same with the claw-marks across her eye. They serve more as reminders than hindrances, thankfully.

Which begs the question of why Calpurnia was in what felt like a civilian medical ward, of all places... but it isn't a priority.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Those are the words of someone with experience. They resonate inside a girl who has her own scars; Ami is, after all, also a soldier. How she reconciles that with this, is for her own mind to try to justify. It doesn't always do a good job of it. Those words also resonate inside the lonely genius whose pangs of separation from others - such small things at first - had all but consumed her.

"How is your grip with the affected hand?" If had been immobilized for very long while healing, in Ami's world it would have taken away to get back to workable shape.

As she speaks, Ami reaches for the arm to put it through its paces herself. Her touch - here and now, at least - is firm and confident, but seems to know how to stop short of pain or resistance.

[veritatemdilexi.livejournal.com]

She has seen many things, it was true; nothing quite like such a young girl with skills as these, and an experienced touch to accompany it. It was admirable, even if it tugged at that gut feeling of hers that something was out of place. What was a relative child doing diagnosing someone like her? Who could tell...

"My grip has been steady," with a small wince, she twisted that hand back and though it seemed to rotate fine, there was a lot of tension therein as she did so. "I will admit it affects my finesse, and there is a dull ache that persists after training." Yes, 'training' not 'physical therapy'.

[neotitanium]

Dorothy walked in the door, looking very much like she didn't want to be there.

"I feel like I should be at the ESUN summit on L-4, not checking on a non-existent heart murmur."

She arched an eyebrow at the girl. Hm...that face was familiar. Then again, Dorothy ran into a lot of prominent figures at the social gatherings she was forced to frequent.

"They say you're the best. Do your worst."

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

The specialist in cardiac medicine (ever since Mama developed heart troubles after Princess Snow Kaguya's attacks) raised an eyebrow. She'd seen the medical history provided by Dorothy.

"It seems pretty well documented for something nonexistent," she said blandly. "Shall we begin?"

[neotitanium]

"I'm aware," she gritted out.

She knew she was being difficult but the heart murmur had never been a problem. She had used ZERO just fine despite the stress it put on her body.

"Let's get this out of the way. Dr. Mizuno, is it?"

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Ami confirmed her name. "I'm glad to have such an agreeable patient." There might have been more than a little irony to the tone, but the slightly-too-bright smile never wavered. It was almost unnatural.

"Please allow me to take your vital signs." Temperature, heart rate, pulse... Ami drew near with stethoscope and blood pressure cuff at the ready.

[snipestress.livejournal.com]

"I don't really want to talk about it."

...Which really didn't make much sense, because she came here for some reason, right? How did she even get here in the first place? Wait, are those...books?

Yoko's confusion is obvious. Her posture is rigid and awkward.

"It's been raining for days now...it hasn't let up at all," she says idly, knowing that she needs to say something, but doesn't have the heart to say it. "I have my own bedroom now, with a soft bed and sheets--but it feels colder than the nights where we had nothing but a dying campfire and sleeping bags. Even though I've been reunited with my friends from home, I feel--..."

She clams up.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"You feel lonely anyway." Ami finishes the sentence as a shrewd guess. Who knows the coldness of loneliness better than her? Or the way it's possible to be near (false, in her case, back then; no wonder she'd left) comrades and not feel right?

"So go on if you want. I'll hear you out."

[snipestress.livejournal.com]

She nods.

"I had failed," Yoko says with a shaky exhale. "I failed my promise to him--to watch his back. But Simon thinks it's his fault." She looks down. "But it's his own fault. He is--was--a bit of an...idiot." Yoko forces an empty laugh.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"Your promise to Simon?" Ami specifies. But of course, that isn't really the point. "In battle, you can't watch everyone's back. If you fought hard for what you wanted to do, don't have regrets."

... do I need to warn for "bad patient"

[auncyenhalig.livejournal.com]

She recognizes this doctor. The girl who bought flowers and asked to see her house.

She's not sure if that makes being here better or worse. She doesn't like hospitals, she doesn't like doctors. They remind her too much of labs and scientists, even if this one puts an effort into looking more appealing. It looks a lot better than what she'd expect from the slums, even ... Is she above the plate? Why didn't they go to a doctor in the slums?

She bolts up from her seat, intent on leaving, but the hand of the woman standing behind her stops that action. "Mom--"

"Sit down, Aerith. You're making my grays come in quicker."

There's no visible resemblance, but the way they talk certainly seems like mother and daughter. Yet Aerith gives the older woman an apprehensive look as she sits back down. Finally she looks back to the doctor, her hands clutching each other in front of her chest.

"Hello, Ami," she says. "I'm okay."

As for medical records? There are none. Just self-reported: no broken bones, no cavities, no allergies, perfectly healthy. ("I don't need a check-up", even, scribbled in a margin.)

roooofl i laughed at the tag so hard. and there may have been squeeing. ilu <3

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

They hadn't parted well. Ami is not the sort to forget that. However, here, she is a professional with a job to do.

It's just bonus that said job involves making Aerith a little uncomfortable this time. Ami smiles blandly, as though nothing in the world is wrong - and decidedly as though she's ignoring Aerith's miniature outburst and the note in the margin.

"Thank you," she says to Aerith's companion; she'd hardly lay hands on a patient herself. She turns to Aerith next.

"I can be quick, if you don't resist."

oh man you are fast <3!

[auncyenhalig.livejournal.com]

That smile is not helping Aerith's outlook one bit, but it does prompt her to find a bit of steel in her voice as she sits up straighter.

"It should be quick anyway," she says. "There's nothing wrong with me."

sorry >_< i get overeager. >_>

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"Your medical records did mention that," Ami can't resist saying. "Shall we go ahead and see?" Unflappable, this doctor. Ami makes a slight show of gesturing to the exam table, a polite demonstration overlapping the obvious message: Aerith isn't leaving until she's finished.

"You should relax," she adds as an afterthought. "I don't have any intention of hurting you." And she's good at what she does.