Hidden Desire book 1 (Un)Control(led)

Chapter 34. Rainbows and Teddy bears.

Briel watched closely and found no sign on the nurses face or anyone else they encountered that him being here was weird in any way. He followed her to a tastefully decorated office and offered him a comfortable looking beanbag. Briel was always grateful when he was appointed a seat. It helped him avoid the awkwardness of picking one himself. Looking around he saw no couch or chairs. Besides all sorts of beanbags strewn across the right side of the office he saw that the left side of the wall was lined with six large balls forming a rainbow.

Walking in through the open door was a tiny plump woman with a warm open face and infectious smile. Briel tried to wiggle out of his beanbag to properly greet her and shake her hand.

"No need to get up", she waved him off. "I'll come to you", sticking out a confident hand.

He looked up at her not quite making it to eye level.

"Laurel N. Hardy", she smiled shaking his hand. "But you may call me Dr. Laurel."

"Gabriel Corbett", he replied grinning at her name.

She noticed and nodded.

"Yes, you heard that correctly. Both my parents have an unusual taste in humor."

She gathered an iPad from her desk, picked the orange ball from the wall and took a seat in front of him.

"It's not uncommon for me to see grown-up patients, so you don't stand out in any way, Gabriel", she explained in a soft tone waiting for him to make eye contact before nodding with a reassuring smile.

"Mr. Russell told me you have a slight limp. It won't interfere with the MRI, but still I would ask you if you have any metal plates or screws in that leg?"

Briel shook his head. 'Certainly that meant she didn't have his old files and let out a soft sigh of relieve.'

She picked up on it immediately.

"Your past is only interesting if your present condition makes it so. Today I want to help you get a better picture of your overall health at this moment in time. We received the blood, urine and stool samples and the lab is busy with all sorts of tests. Results will be ready on Thursday."

She checked her iPad.

"After the initial examination we'll continue with the MRI. That will take approximately forty-five minutes. Are you claustrophobic?"

Briel shook his head. Besides he knew how MRI's worked.

"You don't have to tiptoe around me, Dr. Laurel. I'm familiar with physicals."

For a second she blinked at him, then a beaming smile appeared on her face.

"Right then, let's get moving."

Briel had to say that this was the most laidback examination he'd ever had. Dr. Laurel removed all pressure from him by explaining every step and entertaining him with funny anecdotes from her work making him follow her instruction without much thought.

"Mr. Russell requested I'd skip the groin and testicular exam and said he would handle that himself", she said making it sound like a question.

"I'm shy", he answered dodging her inquiring gaze with a deep blush while putting on his shirt.

"I understand", she nodded. "Nevertheless, please don't hide or ignore anal fissures or lesions because it's an awkward subject to talk about. Nothing is more important than your health", she pointed out.

Dr. Laurel checked her list.

"I think we have everything we need from this side. Let's continue with the MRI shall we?" She looked over at Briel. "Would you like some music during the procedure?"