Saving the Doctor Pt. 01

Author's note:

For those who have read my two other stories, I'm taking a step back from the betrayal theme on this one, at least to some extent. This is a longer, multi-part novel(la?), that's been in the works for more than a while, but the finishing touches are finally being put on the (mostly happy) ending, so I'm going to start posting it.

As a warning to everyone, you'll notice the tags do include both Romance and Cheating, so if it's not already obvious, the protagonists will partake in cheating behaviour (though I'm trying to keep it real and not glorify it too much here). Also, the later chapters will involve brief instances female-on-male physical violence and non-consent. Just in case any of that is a non-starter for you.

Otherwise, cheers, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

*******

Saving the Doctor,

Part 1. A Shoulder to Lean On,

"No. No way. That's not what I came here for." he said.

Jon took a breath and tried to look at his patient reassuringly, "It's a routine medical exam. It's not as bad as you think, and it's necess-"

"No! You're not comin' anywhere near my ass. Just gimme some pills or some shit."

"You told me you're having trouble urinating, and at your age if you've never had a prostate exam before, you should actually have one regardless," Jon explained.

"Forget I said it then. I'm peein' fine," he said crossing his arms stubbornly.

Jon sighed. "Well I can't make you, but I want you to know it IS recommen-"

"Yeah that's right you can't make me," he interrupted. "I know you're a newbie but you can't go shovin' your fingers at everyone who walks in the door. Goddamn waste of time like I thought. At least I get to tell my wife I was right. Can I get some percocets at least?"

"Wh... Excuse me?"

"Percocets, er, oxy-whatever. My buddy lends me some for when my gut starts hurtin' worse than usual. Works like a charm, at least for a while."

"That is... not appropriate. Look if you're having ongoing abdominal pain we should at least talk about that," Jon said, not wanting to, but knowing he should.

"Well... it HAS been getting worse. And um... I've been noticing some blood in the toilet every now and then, but it's usually just- hey DON'T give me that look you're still not stickin' your finger up my ass!" he said, pointing at Jon's concerned face and leaning back.

Jon furrowed his brow and tightened his mouth, trying not to glare, and spoke carefully, "I know you're not comfortable with that... today, and that's... fine for now, but I think I should ask you a few more questions, because honestly it's sounding like you might need a colonoscopy. Again, at your age..."

"I think I've heard of that. Is that like a scan?" the man asked suspiciously.

"It's a scope, a camera that they look inside your colon with," Jon explained.

The man narrowed his eyes, "...and how do they get the camera inside you?"

Jon watched the door slam and stared at it blankly for a few seconds before turning back to the computer.

After the last patient had finally gone, Jon rubbed his hands over his face in front of the computer screen. He tried to breathe out slowly, calming the tension that had been building up steadily throughout the day. The whirlwind of patients was over, the clinic closing up, but he had a ton of chart notes to catch up on. Maybe he could make it home before 7:30 today.

Five weeks into his new practice as a rookie MD and it wasn't feeling any easier. He knew it would be tough, and he had tried to prepare and streamline things as best he could, but if he was honest with himself probably nothing really would have prepared him for being on his own.

Ten years of post-secondary education and I still feel like I know nothing, he thought to himself.

Deep down he knew that wasn't really true. He had done well in med school and residency. He passed his exams, not with ease, but with respectable marks. His preceptors were usually impressed and recommended him. It wasn't really the medical details of things that challenged him though. It was everything else.

It was the pace, trying to do everything that he knew needed to be done for these people in the short time given to him for each appointment.

It was the entitled, aggressive front so many patients put on, often demanding tests and treatments that were completely inappropriate. He knew it ultimately came from a place of fear and vulnerability, but that doesn't help much when a man's yelling at you that he'll sue unless he gets exactly the amount and strength of valium that he's entitled to as 'a goddamn taxpaying citizen'...

It was their skepticism in knowing he was new doctor, and the implication he would never be as great as Dr. Orson - the recently retired doctor he had inherited a lot of patients from. He had never met the man, and he was sure he was a fine doctor overall, but he probably couldn't work the EMR on the computer to save his life, and it showed in his abysmal notes on everyone's disorganized charts.

So, Jon went into most appointments essentially blind, but with patients expecting him to know their every detail. He was still able to get most people on his side eventually, and explain why they needed this or that, instead of whatever it was they were expecting. Most left reasonably satisfied, but it took so much time, and so much mental and emotional effort, that every patient seemed to drain more life out of him.

Okay, enough belly-aching, get the fuck to work Jon, or you'll be here till midnight.

He started typing away at the remaining notes and consults he had to finish.

"Hey Dr. Davidson, I'm heading off unless there's anything else you need."

He looked up to see his assistant Beth in the doorway. She was in her early twenties, very good looking, with a peppy friendly exterior, but with a bit of a snobbish streak that slipped out on occasion. She was a waitress part-time as well, and her personality seemed more suited to that than a clinic assistant, but she did her job well. Very well, if he was being honest. Despite her somewhat ditzy personality she was always on the ball, and her tight organizational skills were the only thing keeping him afloat some days. She layered on the makeup more than he thought she needed to, and dressed a bit more provocatively than a lot of women in the workplace, but she was obviously free to do so, and he wouldn't dream of mentioning anything; he just worried about a girl with her body grabbing too much attention from some of the sleazier male patients.

He realized he was staring blankly at her and finally remembered to speak.

"Oh, uh no I'm alright, thanks Beth," he replied, turning quickly back to his computer, worried his staring had come off as creepy.

"Okay, you sure? You're always here so late and I like, kinda feel bad," she said, looking at the wall and fidgeting with the hem of her miniskirt.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's been a long, rough day again, but don't worry about it, you can head home. You were a great help today as usual, so thanks," he responded, wondering why she was lingering.

She smiled at his compliment and stood awkwardly for a second as if she wanted to talk more, but another doctor came up the hall behind her.

"Hey Jon, how'd clinic go?" Doug interrupted.

Beth said a polite "Hi Dr Pauls," with a slightly annoyed look, and left silently.

He took her place in the doorway without acknowledging her.

Most of the other GPs the group practice were nice enough, but they were a little in-their-own-world. At least the one's he'd gotten to know so far. It was a mix of 5 other men and 2 women, but he was the youngest by far. The closest to his age was almost 10 years older than him, and as far as he could tell so far, the guy's entire lives outside of the clinic consisted of golf and poker, two things he couldn't help but find painfully boring. The women were friendly and down to earth, but wrapped up in their school-aged families whenever they weren't at work.

"Oh, hey Doug. Yeah it was busy enough that's for sure, still working on keeping up with the pace," Jon said.

"Yeah you'll eventually get used to it. Damn computer's not giving you trouble is it?" he asked.

"No actually that's one thing I think I'm okay with" Jon replied honestly.

He didn't know why these guys were so fixated on that. They kept offering advice and tips for the computer system that he didn't need. In fact many of their "tips" were flat out wrong, and he'd actually helped a couple of them realize they'd been mis-charting stuff for years. What he needed advice on was how not to spend an entire hour filling out ridiculous insurance forms while work piled up, and how to tactfully hang up on a phone call from a hypochondriac.

"Tough luck on your first go at the poker table on Saturday hey?" Doug joked.

"Yeah, like I said I'm not much of a player," Jon said, trying to smile through a tinge of bitterness.

They had cleaned him out mercilessly. Thankfully the buy-in wasn't horrid, but it was still a kick in the nuts. He had figured he'd give it a try and attempt to bond a bit with these guys, but in the end he couldn't help but feel taken advantage of. Mostly he was pissed off at himself for caring at all about a game he didn't even like.

"Well if you want in again sometime just let me know. You had a couple decent hands. You might eventually get better if you can stop us from leaving you bankrupt," he said, laughing at his own joke.

"No I think I'm good, thanks though," Jon said politely.

"Just not much of a card player I guess?" Doug asked.

He actually was, he loved playing bridge with his grandfather when he was back home, and lots of other games. Just not poker, or gambling in general. He preferred board games actually, but he knew that wouldn't be "manly" enough for their crowd.

"Just more of the D&D type," he ventured, against his better judgment.

Doug made a neutral face that clearly gave away that he had no idea what Jon was talking about.

"No worries, see you tomorrow Jon. Don't work too hard," He smiled and left.

He didn't resent them, they were just different people, with different interests.

Jon was a nerd at heart, and had long since come to terms with it. He liked it that way. He had always been into sports, but never came close to identifying as a jock, considering himself more of an 'athletic geek' and disconnected from that crowd. However, as time went by med school and residency took over more of his life, anything more than jogging and a bit of strength training fell by the wayside, and now he missed the camaraderie of his old teams. Doug and the rest of these guys acted like jocks but didn't seem like they'd played a sport in many years, if ever. Preferring to argue about stats and trades that he could only feign a passing interest in.

What he missed more than his sports teams were his old nerdy friends. They'd lost touch through the last few years as medical school swallowed up his life. Back in the good old days they'd always have some new board game to try out, the more obscure the better. Or a really bad sci-fi horror flick from the 60's to get high and giggle at, and then debate the scientific merits and plausibility of whatever premise it had, the more ridiculous the better. The last straw was when he couldn't even make time for the occasional online game after he moved cities for residency. They eventually stopped asking him if he was free.

He occasionally sent a text or email checking in with one or two of them. They seemed like they were doing well. He made it seem like he was too.

He broke out of his reminiscing trance. Okay back to work.

He tried to focus as best he could but sleep had been an issue recently as well. So many doctors tried to pretend they didn't need sleep, but he knew they were still as human as anyone else. No one gets completely used to it, and it wears you down, as he had experienced firsthand rotating through his residency. What he hated most now was that he had no excuse. He wasn't up all night at the hospital anymore, he was simply lying in his own bed trying to shut his brain off and he couldn't do it.

The stress will fade, he kept telling himself, just power through and you'll find your groove.

They were his fiance's words. They didn't feel any more reassuring now than they did when she had said them.

He was about to close out of a note when he suddenly caught the prescription name out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't the one he had wanted. He must've mis-clicked the next one down. Fuck. It was still the same general type of medication but in another class. Not a horrible mistake but still... Stupid and careless. He must've been in too much of a hurry to notice.

It had already been forwarded to the pharmacy. It was the one that most of his patients used, just beside the clinic in the same strip mall. He picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hi, it's Dr. Davidson, can I speak with a pharmacist please?"

He waited impatiently through the godawful elevator music as he was transferred.

"Hello," a friendly female voice finally answered.

"Hi, this is Dr. Davidson, from the Creekside clinic."

"Oh hi! I'm Carly. I'm one of the pharmacists here. It's good to put a voice to your name finally, I've been seeing it more and more," she said.

"Yeah, I just started at the clinic. It's uh, good to meet you too Carly," he said, a little thrown off by her congenial tone. Then he asked himself why, and felt almost sad that he was so unused to a normal friendly conversation.

"...How can I help you Dr. Davidson?" she said, sounding amused at the few seconds of silence.

"Right, sorry I need to change a prescription I sent in. I made an error, and I'm hoping it hasn't been filled yet," he said, his voice sounding flustered despite himself.

"Oh no problem just let me log in. Might take a few seconds."

"Sorry, it was a stupid mistake, but I'm glad I caught it."

"Pssshh, no worries, happens all the time," she reassured him casually.

"Really?" he said, doubtfully

"Oh yeah, I get a few a day at least. Yours couldn't have been that bad a mistake otherwise I would've caught it and called you."

"That's... good to know," he said, still a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry I got your back, it's what I'm here for."

"Thanks," he said, feeling gradually more comfortable.

"It's taking a long time to log in just bear with me. I was signed off getting ready to leave."

"Oh, sorry to keep you," he said.

She giggled, "Quit apologizing, I'm just doing my job."

"Okay sor-" he caught himself and couldn't help but chuckle as he heard her snort in laughter.

"How do you like working at the clinic so far?" she asked, with a giggle still in her voice.

"Oh, well it's... a nice clinic, really modern, well designed," he said, not wanting to gripe.

"Yeah they just renovated it last year," she replied. "It's nice the construction's finally done so I got my parking spot back."

"Yeah I bet."

"Kinda stressful just starting out?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied automatically without thinking, "It's uh, just a lot of work, there's always a lot of patients and it's tough to keep up. Plus adjusting to all the ins and outs of all the practical things, when you're new it's... yeah it's a bit stressful," he admitted.

"No kidding, I get it," she said. "For what it's worth you've already got a good reputation."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, well I mean, myself I can tell you know what you're doing, you've already corrected a lot of antiquated crap that Dr. Orson had people on, and the way you're really meticulous about dispensing instructions, and you've done a lot of careful tapers. I can just tell you put a lot of thought into it. Unlike some doctors, believe me."

"Thanks," he said, smiling and feeling the first gratification in weeks.

"Plus so many patients are beaming about you. They say you're such a nice man who takes the time to talk to them and explain things. All the old ladies are conspiring about how to set you up with their granddaughters. And, the people who don't like you, are the one's who I'd be concerned if they did. Honestly, I've been wanting to stroll down there myself and meet the new hotshot doctor in town and find out what all the fuss is about."

He couldn't help but laugh, "That's good to know, thanks. Try to steer the old ladies in another direction for me if you can though okay?"

She giggled again "I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."

It felt good to be smiling on the phone for once.

"Okay it looks like I'm all loaded up, what's the patient's name?" she asked.

He gave her the info.

"K. She hasn't picked it up yet but... there's nothing wrong with this prescription," she said, sounding confused.

"Yeah it's not the medication I wanted though."

He explained to her the change he wanted to make.

She laughed, "Mr. perfect here making sure guidelines are strictly followed I see. You were sounding like you'd given the woman cyanide or something."

"Thankfully we don't have an auto-template for that so my ham-hands are spared," he joked.

"Hey at least you're using templates. Even with a mis-click here and there it spares more mistakes then it causes. Most of the other guys down there keep typing theirs in by hand still. The spelling mistakes I tell you.."

"Seriously? The template menu is literally at the top of the prescription box."

"Right??"

He told her the dose and duration to make the prescription out.

"Well thanks Carly, it was really nice talking to you."

"Yeah you too Dr. Davidson, maybe I'll see you around."

"Yeah. It's Jon by the way."

"Bye Jon."

"Bye."

He hung up the phone. Dumbfounded at how good he felt from just a simple conversation. God, she sounded cute, and just had this reassuring, soft, friendliness like they'd known each other for years. She had taken 5 weeks of built up inadequacy and soothed it out of him for a brief few minutes like magic. Maybe he was just starved for normal human contact, he thought.

He needed to get home to his fiance.

Elaina. She was the one he should be opening up to. That hadn't been easy lately. She'd been caught up in her own work, but seemed to find it much more satisfying despite being even busier than he was. She had already texted him that she was picking up supper, so she'd probably beat him home. She always seemed annoyed when that happened; implicitly, or sometimes explicitly, judging him since he only had a clinic, while she also had hospital patients to take care of. He worked through the last few charts as quickly as he could and headed out the door.

Elaina was the reason they had moved here. She was a nephrologist and had searched a long time to find the perfect spot to set up practice. The assumption was that he, as a family doctor, could pretty much work wherever they ended up, while openings for her were harder to find. It was technically true, but he had felt kind of pulled along for the ride, without much say in the matter.

She had settled on this small city, with a decent sized regional hospital and fairly middle-class population. It had a very suburban feel. It wasn't a long drive from two larger centers should they feel the need to escape to a metropolis, but too long to commute. Jon had done a lot of work with inner-city clinics during his education, taking electives and extra training in that type of work, hoping to eventually make it a large part of his practice. He was more than a bit disappointed when he found out where she wanted to move to, and he did make a case for looking elsewhere, but ultimately her needs were more important.

He had met her in his first year of residency, when they were on the same hospital rotation. She was a few years ahead of him, and as a senior resident she seemed like she was on another level and frankly, out of his league. It was she who asked him out, to his surprise, the day after the rotation was finished.