RP LOG with 1twntyovreighty | Medical Intervention
[Follows THIS]
Rick had to admit that he was liking having his own room, and not just a curtained off bed in the ER. There was something a little more intrusive about only having a sheet separating you from the next bed over. And at least this way he didn't need to share the mysterious Dr Watson with anyone. He was still keen on seeing what she looked like in the flesh after Dave talked her up. How could he not want to have a run at her? Rick wasn't about to go and change all his spots. Taking a run at the big leagues when he was apparently only the equivalent of a little league was one of those things.
He wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to look appealing in a hospital gown, or when he was feeling like shit, but he was going to try his best. He watched the door and waited for the oncologist. Chris wasn't here like he'd wanted, some emergency taking him away. Even Dave wasn't here. His petite brunette had come to take him home, and Rick couldn't exactly blame Dave for wanting to escape with her. She was gorgeous, and clearly cared about him. She definitely didn't care about Rick though, and if looks could kill, he'd have more to be concerned about than the cancer.
He'd almost lost himself in his thoughts when he heard heels click against the lino and blinked to find himself looking at a gorgeous woman in a white coat. The oncologist. "Dr Watson, I presume?" he asked her with his best smile.
Bella had a metal medical file tucked under her arm and she tilted her head at him a little with a hint of an amused smile. "Wow, I've never heard that one," she returned and pointed at him briefly with her pen. "You should be a comedian, Mr Deleo. I fear you've failed in your calling as a pilot. Those gifts, can't possibly be wasted now, can they?" She tucked the pen into the pocket of her lab coat and held her hand out to him. "Dr Bella Watson, but you can call me Bella, since Sherlock Holmes jokes really don't suit you, sir."
"That's just mean, you know. It's not nice making fun of a cancer patient. It might be the last thing you ever say to me." Rick gave her a slight smirk and shook her hand, brushing his thumb lightly against the back of hers. "I have to admit you're even better looking than I was expecting. Dave talked you up a little bit but I'm pretty sure he undersold you."
Bella really wasn't foreign to patients trying to flirt with her. She was younger than most of her Oncology colleagues, and when people were faced with something like cancer, it wasn't unusual for them to try and cover up any fear with a light banter. As it was, she had heard how Rick's brother was with his interesting reputation, but so it seemed to run in the family. She leaned in just a little, dropping her voice to a hushed whisper like she was about to share an important secret with him. "Just for the record, it's generally not considered good ettiquette for an Oncologist to joke about dying people," she told him and put her finger to her lips, but she smiled at him. "You're a smooth talker, aren't you? I'm going to have to keep an eye on you and your diseased body parts. Dave is a gentleman, and also happily not single. I don't think over selling me was on his agenda." She pulled her chair over and then handed him her chart. "Can you read out your details for me, and confirm I have the right patient. Last thing anyone wants is a prostate exam when it's supposed to be the kidney, right?"
Rick winked at her. "I don't know, might be the one time I actually enjoy a prostate exam. And yes, I'm a very smooth talker. You're more than welcome to keep an eye on any part of me you want. Not just the diseased ones. I've seen Dave's not single. She's definitely cute, but I think you're cuter. And also, just for the record, how long are you planning on putting up with smooth talking before reminding me about doctor-patient boundaries?" He held the chart, and took a moment to focus on the words. "Um, Rick Deleo, kidney cancer, post-op infection... blah blah blah. No mention of a prostate. My loss."
"You're a kill-joy, aren't you? I was just about to remind you, and you took all my fun away," Bella told him with a small smirk. "You need to focus on your priorities, Mr Deleo. You really know how to do a job on your system, don't you? Surgical dressings aren't applied to be a torture device. They do actually have some clinical purpose, believe it or not. You're going to be on antibiotics for a few days yet, at least until your bloods come back negative of the infectious strain. I got a slight indication from Dave that things between you and your brother are somewhat strained, but I'm only going to say this once, so I don't sound like a broken record. You should accept his help. He's a very good doctor, and he might be able to stop you making anymore stupid decisions that put your life at risk. I don't want to lessen the seriousness of this. You have an infection in a cancerous op site. The chances it hasn't spread are very little. But that's why I'm here. To find out exactly what is going on with your cancer, and the best regime to tackle that. Properly. There are no quick fixes. It's going to be a long, hard road."
Rick's expression sobered and he tried not to look like he was too uncomfortable with the hard word from Bella. She did at least sound she knew what she was talking about and that was oddly reassuring. If he hadn't been so set on flirting with her before, he would be now. "I'm sure you'll find a way to punish me for being a kill-joy, Bella. For the record, you should probably know I've never been a good boy. And my brother is why I'm here. I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I can't promise I won't on occasion feel an urge to run, but this is about not giving in."
This time, Bella didn't banter back with him. Her expression remained serious as she waited for him to finish talking. "This is about your health, Rick," she corrected. "I don't doubt there are a lot of underlying issues with you and your brother here, probably a lot of emotions resulting from it. That is not a foreign occurrence for me. It's something I see a lot with my patients. But this is about you. I'm here for you. I'm here to give you the best chance you have to beat this. That means not running away, that means recognising the urge to run away and turning it into something else. It means accepting your brother's help, it means understanding that this is just as much a burden for him as it is for you. It's just as painful. You need each other. It's a two way street. One thing I need from you to do my job to the best of my ability is 100% honesty from you. When I ask you a question, I need you to answer the best you can. Let's put that theory to the test, hm? How are you feeling?" she asked him, holding his gaze.
"Pissed off I'm probably not going to feel horny for a long while," Rick replied and then shrugged. "You asked, that's honest. I feel like shit, Bella. And I feel like I'm still letting my brother down, but at least he still wants to be my brother. And I feel a little cheated that I don't get to be a one of a kind patient for you. I'm just the latest in a long line. Hurts me right here," he murmured as he touched his chest. "And you're just going to have to deal with the jokes, okay? Some habits are hard to break. I'll be serious in between."
"Not while the infection is there," Bella agreed, taking a few notes in his file. "But then, we don't authorize sex in the hospital anyway, so you're in the same boat as every other patient. No special treatment yet again. You're really drawing the short straw, aren't you?" She glanced back up at him with a small smile. "People with cancer still have sex lives, you know. Not something I particularly suggest you ask Dave about, because he had a type of cancer that affected his whole body and took the hit quite hard, but you might just have to take my word on this one. The infection is the reason you're feeling so sick right now, not the cancer. The cancer and the op are more likely to be causing you things like blood in the urine or aches and pains in your lower back. You've also managed to pick up a urinary tract infection because of the improper functioning, so there's probably pain and discomfort peeing. The antibiotics will tackle that too, but you need to keep drinking water to flush everything through. To get down to the basics here so you can understand a little better. The kidneys, while two separate organs, operate as one and with something like a tumor and cancer, we regard them as one organ. If there is a disfunction in one, it affects how the other operates. It's why we prefer to take the whole thing if there is a tumour, to maintain the health of the second one. Because you kept the disfunctional one and further affected it with the trauma of surgery, I can guarantee that the other is probably ailing right now. I want to run some tests, do an ultrasound, and a CT, and even though I know you're feeling sick, I want these done within the hour. I'm going to take more blood and someone will keep taking your blood every day at the same time so I can monitor any changes. Once the infection is out of your system, I want to remove the cancerous kidney, and then we talk chemo. I do all my surgeries myself, so if you have any questions, you can ask me any time. That cell number on my card is twenty four hours a day. I do ask that unless it's something urgent, you wait until you see me next because I don't function terribly well on little sleep," she added with a wry smile. "In saying that, I will give you a referral to a psychologist who specialises in cancer patients. Some people just like to have someone to talk to. But I'm a firm believer that if the option is there, family and friends are a good first port of call for that."
Rick bit back a grin. "I'm sure I'll find some way to deal with the short straw. And even if people with cancer do have sex lives that would still require having someone interested in being with someone that has cancer. Not exactly the greatest pick up line, is it? Guess my right hand still loves me at least. It's not like pissing blood comes up in ordinary conversation, but yeah, I got some idea of what you're talking about. Just figured my back was because of some general discomfort. If the cancer's spread to the other kidney, does that get taken out too, or am I just fucked? You lady doctors and your CTs. You know, you got me alone in a room right now. You don't need a CT to get me alone. Although I might just ask that you buy me dinner first. Don't want you thinking I'm easy." Rick arched an eyebrow slightly as he sucked on his bottom lip. "Guess maybe I got my brother, and Dave. Not exactly sure how I'm gonna go with the opening up, but I'll try. Baby steps right, Doc?"
Bella gave a small laugh. "And have you miss out on the wonderful hospital food? Never. Besides, you're NBM from now on. How about I shout you to another bag of IV fluids? I hear it can be as good as oysters, just not necessarily as an aphrodisiac." She watched him closely, unable to help being curious about the relationship he had with his younger brother, because it sounded far from rosey. "You don't have to talk to anyone you don't feel comfortable with. This is not about forcing you to do stuff you don't want to. It's about finding the right collection of methods that help you the best. It would be nice if you could feel comfortable enough to talk to your brother or Dave, but this isn't Oz. There is no ideal solution. There is no wizard to make it all better. I want to focus on the damaged kidney for now. I will scan both to see if there is any indication of how the other one is, but I think it will be too soon to tell. We take the diseased one and start you on chemo, we might be lucky to have a tiny window here that halts any spreading to the second kidney if we hit it quick enough. It's why you're on intense antibiotics and you need to be on them until the infection is gone. That's the key here. So, you aren't going to do anything stupid like running away on me, are you?" she asked, tilting her head as she remembered the brief information Dave had given her on the Deleo brothers that morning.
"NBM? That's just no fun at all. Always have preferred using my mouth for a lot more than just eating," Rick responded with a smirk as he couldn't help but look Bella over again. She really was something. "Maybe I grew up in a fishing area, but oysters can keep to themselves. Never was a fan of them. Give me IV fluids any day. It's fine, really. Hell, it might even be the thing that gets us back to talking again properly. I need to prove to him, and to you apparently, that I'm not going to run anywhere. I'm here to stay. I want to get things right for a change. So no, I'm not going to run away on you. You're gonna be stuck with me, Bella."
Bella smiled at him, realising that she well had her hands full with this one. It wasn't a prospect that bothered her, in fact, he intrigued her on top of everything else. "That's my plan, Rick. That's very much my plan," she told him with a small nod.
Word Count | 2,504
Rick had to admit that he was liking having his own room, and not just a curtained off bed in the ER. There was something a little more intrusive about only having a sheet separating you from the next bed over. And at least this way he didn't need to share the mysterious Dr Watson with anyone. He was still keen on seeing what she looked like in the flesh after Dave talked her up. How could he not want to have a run at her? Rick wasn't about to go and change all his spots. Taking a run at the big leagues when he was apparently only the equivalent of a little league was one of those things.
He wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to look appealing in a hospital gown, or when he was feeling like shit, but he was going to try his best. He watched the door and waited for the oncologist. Chris wasn't here like he'd wanted, some emergency taking him away. Even Dave wasn't here. His petite brunette had come to take him home, and Rick couldn't exactly blame Dave for wanting to escape with her. She was gorgeous, and clearly cared about him. She definitely didn't care about Rick though, and if looks could kill, he'd have more to be concerned about than the cancer.
He'd almost lost himself in his thoughts when he heard heels click against the lino and blinked to find himself looking at a gorgeous woman in a white coat. The oncologist. "Dr Watson, I presume?" he asked her with his best smile.
Bella had a metal medical file tucked under her arm and she tilted her head at him a little with a hint of an amused smile. "Wow, I've never heard that one," she returned and pointed at him briefly with her pen. "You should be a comedian, Mr Deleo. I fear you've failed in your calling as a pilot. Those gifts, can't possibly be wasted now, can they?" She tucked the pen into the pocket of her lab coat and held her hand out to him. "Dr Bella Watson, but you can call me Bella, since Sherlock Holmes jokes really don't suit you, sir."
"That's just mean, you know. It's not nice making fun of a cancer patient. It might be the last thing you ever say to me." Rick gave her a slight smirk and shook her hand, brushing his thumb lightly against the back of hers. "I have to admit you're even better looking than I was expecting. Dave talked you up a little bit but I'm pretty sure he undersold you."
Bella really wasn't foreign to patients trying to flirt with her. She was younger than most of her Oncology colleagues, and when people were faced with something like cancer, it wasn't unusual for them to try and cover up any fear with a light banter. As it was, she had heard how Rick's brother was with his interesting reputation, but so it seemed to run in the family. She leaned in just a little, dropping her voice to a hushed whisper like she was about to share an important secret with him. "Just for the record, it's generally not considered good ettiquette for an Oncologist to joke about dying people," she told him and put her finger to her lips, but she smiled at him. "You're a smooth talker, aren't you? I'm going to have to keep an eye on you and your diseased body parts. Dave is a gentleman, and also happily not single. I don't think over selling me was on his agenda." She pulled her chair over and then handed him her chart. "Can you read out your details for me, and confirm I have the right patient. Last thing anyone wants is a prostate exam when it's supposed to be the kidney, right?"
Rick winked at her. "I don't know, might be the one time I actually enjoy a prostate exam. And yes, I'm a very smooth talker. You're more than welcome to keep an eye on any part of me you want. Not just the diseased ones. I've seen Dave's not single. She's definitely cute, but I think you're cuter. And also, just for the record, how long are you planning on putting up with smooth talking before reminding me about doctor-patient boundaries?" He held the chart, and took a moment to focus on the words. "Um, Rick Deleo, kidney cancer, post-op infection... blah blah blah. No mention of a prostate. My loss."
"You're a kill-joy, aren't you? I was just about to remind you, and you took all my fun away," Bella told him with a small smirk. "You need to focus on your priorities, Mr Deleo. You really know how to do a job on your system, don't you? Surgical dressings aren't applied to be a torture device. They do actually have some clinical purpose, believe it or not. You're going to be on antibiotics for a few days yet, at least until your bloods come back negative of the infectious strain. I got a slight indication from Dave that things between you and your brother are somewhat strained, but I'm only going to say this once, so I don't sound like a broken record. You should accept his help. He's a very good doctor, and he might be able to stop you making anymore stupid decisions that put your life at risk. I don't want to lessen the seriousness of this. You have an infection in a cancerous op site. The chances it hasn't spread are very little. But that's why I'm here. To find out exactly what is going on with your cancer, and the best regime to tackle that. Properly. There are no quick fixes. It's going to be a long, hard road."
Rick's expression sobered and he tried not to look like he was too uncomfortable with the hard word from Bella. She did at least sound she knew what she was talking about and that was oddly reassuring. If he hadn't been so set on flirting with her before, he would be now. "I'm sure you'll find a way to punish me for being a kill-joy, Bella. For the record, you should probably know I've never been a good boy. And my brother is why I'm here. I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I can't promise I won't on occasion feel an urge to run, but this is about not giving in."
This time, Bella didn't banter back with him. Her expression remained serious as she waited for him to finish talking. "This is about your health, Rick," she corrected. "I don't doubt there are a lot of underlying issues with you and your brother here, probably a lot of emotions resulting from it. That is not a foreign occurrence for me. It's something I see a lot with my patients. But this is about you. I'm here for you. I'm here to give you the best chance you have to beat this. That means not running away, that means recognising the urge to run away and turning it into something else. It means accepting your brother's help, it means understanding that this is just as much a burden for him as it is for you. It's just as painful. You need each other. It's a two way street. One thing I need from you to do my job to the best of my ability is 100% honesty from you. When I ask you a question, I need you to answer the best you can. Let's put that theory to the test, hm? How are you feeling?" she asked him, holding his gaze.
"Pissed off I'm probably not going to feel horny for a long while," Rick replied and then shrugged. "You asked, that's honest. I feel like shit, Bella. And I feel like I'm still letting my brother down, but at least he still wants to be my brother. And I feel a little cheated that I don't get to be a one of a kind patient for you. I'm just the latest in a long line. Hurts me right here," he murmured as he touched his chest. "And you're just going to have to deal with the jokes, okay? Some habits are hard to break. I'll be serious in between."
"Not while the infection is there," Bella agreed, taking a few notes in his file. "But then, we don't authorize sex in the hospital anyway, so you're in the same boat as every other patient. No special treatment yet again. You're really drawing the short straw, aren't you?" She glanced back up at him with a small smile. "People with cancer still have sex lives, you know. Not something I particularly suggest you ask Dave about, because he had a type of cancer that affected his whole body and took the hit quite hard, but you might just have to take my word on this one. The infection is the reason you're feeling so sick right now, not the cancer. The cancer and the op are more likely to be causing you things like blood in the urine or aches and pains in your lower back. You've also managed to pick up a urinary tract infection because of the improper functioning, so there's probably pain and discomfort peeing. The antibiotics will tackle that too, but you need to keep drinking water to flush everything through. To get down to the basics here so you can understand a little better. The kidneys, while two separate organs, operate as one and with something like a tumor and cancer, we regard them as one organ. If there is a disfunction in one, it affects how the other operates. It's why we prefer to take the whole thing if there is a tumour, to maintain the health of the second one. Because you kept the disfunctional one and further affected it with the trauma of surgery, I can guarantee that the other is probably ailing right now. I want to run some tests, do an ultrasound, and a CT, and even though I know you're feeling sick, I want these done within the hour. I'm going to take more blood and someone will keep taking your blood every day at the same time so I can monitor any changes. Once the infection is out of your system, I want to remove the cancerous kidney, and then we talk chemo. I do all my surgeries myself, so if you have any questions, you can ask me any time. That cell number on my card is twenty four hours a day. I do ask that unless it's something urgent, you wait until you see me next because I don't function terribly well on little sleep," she added with a wry smile. "In saying that, I will give you a referral to a psychologist who specialises in cancer patients. Some people just like to have someone to talk to. But I'm a firm believer that if the option is there, family and friends are a good first port of call for that."
Rick bit back a grin. "I'm sure I'll find some way to deal with the short straw. And even if people with cancer do have sex lives that would still require having someone interested in being with someone that has cancer. Not exactly the greatest pick up line, is it? Guess my right hand still loves me at least. It's not like pissing blood comes up in ordinary conversation, but yeah, I got some idea of what you're talking about. Just figured my back was because of some general discomfort. If the cancer's spread to the other kidney, does that get taken out too, or am I just fucked? You lady doctors and your CTs. You know, you got me alone in a room right now. You don't need a CT to get me alone. Although I might just ask that you buy me dinner first. Don't want you thinking I'm easy." Rick arched an eyebrow slightly as he sucked on his bottom lip. "Guess maybe I got my brother, and Dave. Not exactly sure how I'm gonna go with the opening up, but I'll try. Baby steps right, Doc?"
Bella gave a small laugh. "And have you miss out on the wonderful hospital food? Never. Besides, you're NBM from now on. How about I shout you to another bag of IV fluids? I hear it can be as good as oysters, just not necessarily as an aphrodisiac." She watched him closely, unable to help being curious about the relationship he had with his younger brother, because it sounded far from rosey. "You don't have to talk to anyone you don't feel comfortable with. This is not about forcing you to do stuff you don't want to. It's about finding the right collection of methods that help you the best. It would be nice if you could feel comfortable enough to talk to your brother or Dave, but this isn't Oz. There is no ideal solution. There is no wizard to make it all better. I want to focus on the damaged kidney for now. I will scan both to see if there is any indication of how the other one is, but I think it will be too soon to tell. We take the diseased one and start you on chemo, we might be lucky to have a tiny window here that halts any spreading to the second kidney if we hit it quick enough. It's why you're on intense antibiotics and you need to be on them until the infection is gone. That's the key here. So, you aren't going to do anything stupid like running away on me, are you?" she asked, tilting her head as she remembered the brief information Dave had given her on the Deleo brothers that morning.
"NBM? That's just no fun at all. Always have preferred using my mouth for a lot more than just eating," Rick responded with a smirk as he couldn't help but look Bella over again. She really was something. "Maybe I grew up in a fishing area, but oysters can keep to themselves. Never was a fan of them. Give me IV fluids any day. It's fine, really. Hell, it might even be the thing that gets us back to talking again properly. I need to prove to him, and to you apparently, that I'm not going to run anywhere. I'm here to stay. I want to get things right for a change. So no, I'm not going to run away on you. You're gonna be stuck with me, Bella."
Bella smiled at him, realising that she well had her hands full with this one. It wasn't a prospect that bothered her, in fact, he intrigued her on top of everything else. "That's my plan, Rick. That's very much my plan," she told him with a small nod.
Word Count | 2,504