No Doctors

[quark_assassin]

WHO: Dustin and Tae
WHERE: Temba Hospital
WHAT: (reluctantly) meeting with an actual medical professional about some biotech installs
WHEN: Backdated to early April
WARNINGS: Descriptions of surgery, self-surgery, medical narcotics use? Also your standard Dustin-related warnings, he's a rude boy.

This is necessary. We made a deal.

It's what Dustin keeps telling himself as Billy leads him around the Hospital's halls, as an attempt to tamp down the flares of anxiety that urge him to turn around and leave. He's already been pushing his personal limits when it comes to interacting with people that he's been, so far, deliberately avoiding, and only because he trusts Tommy to keep his brother accountable. Putting himself in Tae's care, though - a stranger that has made her interest in studying her patients clear over the network? Dustin's amazed that he's agreed to even go talk to her, let alone ask for her assistance. Maybe the painkillers Billy gave him were stronger than he expected them to be and they're fucking with his ability to reason.

But the rationale comes back to him every time he thinks about trying to just install the one interface node in his arm yesterday, on his own. Even if he could work around the implants in his back, there's no way he could do all of them himself. He can't imagine putting himself through that level of pain again when better options exist. His studies of the mystery suit in his workshop suggest that this will all be worth it in the end, but it's hard to think that far ahead when the door to Tae's office is right in front of him, and Billy's footsteps are getting fainter as he walks away.

Dustin takes a bracing breath through his nose, squares his shoulders, and puts on his best, unimpressed glare. Then he invites himself inside.

Comments

[quark_assassin]

Dustin maintains a level, deadpan stare.

"Yes."

[butterfly_kiss]

Of course he was. She sighs and grabs her comm to start writing out her list. The sooner this was done the sooner she could get grumpy pants out of here.

[quark_assassin]

True to his word, Dustin does, in fact, sit there and fume for the entire time Tae builds the list. He's not even doing it to be petty; accountability is very important to him, especially with people he finds as implicitly untrustworthy as medical researchers. That way, if she does something with his samples he doesn't approve of, Dustin can do something about it and have evidence to defend his actions against anyone that gets in his way.

He does start to look steadily more uncomfortable, though, the longer this goes on. A heightened metabolism combined with the ASIS processing foreign material at a blistering pace means drugs - things like the painkillers Billy gave him - wear off very fast, and now his arm is starting to hurt pretty badly again.

[butterfly_kiss]

She notices the fidgeting. Notices it enough to set the notes aside.

“What’s wrong? You’re clearly not the ADHD sort.”

[quark_assassin]

"--I'm fine," Dustin answers a little too quickly. He doesn't look especially fine; he's gone pallid and tense, and he keeps trying to shift and cradle his arm in a more comfortable position, but nothing quite works. At least that undercurrent of panic from this morning is gone thanks to Billy's reassurances - everything is healing, probably no infection, this is fine, just. Hurts like a bastard in the meanwhile.

Trying to deflect her attention, Dustin follows up immediately. "Are you done with the list?"

[butterfly_kiss]

No, he doesn't look fine at all. But she knows what to do with this. She knows those looks. She turns fully and leans in to look in his eyes.

"Are you in pain?"

[quark_assassin]

Dustin stares directly back, gaze flattening and jaw setting like he might fight her for this. But he doesn't. She's called his bluff and he won't lie.

Goddammit.

"...Not an unexpected amount," Dustin mumbles, quickly looking away.

[butterfly_kiss]

"That's not a yes or no. I'm trying to see if I can give you more pain medication," she says with a sigh.

[quark_assassin]

"Of course you are," Dustin mutters, sounding not at all convinced. Pain medication laced with whatever other bullshit she thinks would be interesting to observe, more likely. He narrows his slightly unfocused eyes at the far wall. "I'll get more from Billy on the way out."

From a source that he knows can be held directly accountable by someone he trusts. Tommy's reliability is doing a lot of heavy lifting for his brother's reputation, at least in Dustin's eyes.

[butterfly_kiss]

Tae sighs and shakes her head. She reaches into the desk she's at, pulls out a bottle, and hands it over.

"Billy will tell you these are likely the same he gave you. Good luck."

[quark_assassin]

Dustin lets the bottle of pills sit on the table in front of him for a moment, eyeing them warily like a coiled snake. Then, to Tae, an arched eyebrow. She doesn't expect him to just take her word for it, right? That would be ridiculous.

But he can check with Billy on the way out. Even if the pills aren't what Tae says they are, he can probably get Billy to verify and change them into something more palatable with his bullshit reality-warping powers or something. Or he could simply not take them and go curl up in his blanket nest until the pain goes away. Both options seem preferable to doing something about it now.

With a tsk of annoyance, Dustin snatches away the bottle and stuffs it in a pocket. "Well?" he says tersely. "The list? Done?"

[butterfly_kiss]

Yes, she would expect him to take her word for it. She's the actual physician here, genius.

"Yeah, done," she sighs. "Can I have the damn blood now?"

[quark_assassin]

Dustin doesn't move to offer anything, keeping his stare as level as he can manage.

"Let me see it."

[butterfly_kiss]

With an exasperated sigh she hands over the list.

"You're making this so much harder on us both."

[quark_assassin]

Dustin's expression remains flat and implacable as he grabs the list away. Good, he thinks bitterly. It's worth the hassle to make sure he stays safe. If a nosy doctor is inconvenienced by consequence, that's a bonus.

He takes a moment to flick his eyes over the tests, then another moment to mentally catalogue and interpret them. The list is handed back.

"Acceptable," Dustin mutters. "Alright - let's get this over with."

[butterfly_kiss]

The woman rises and moves over to a cabinet to get out supplies.

"I'll be glad to have it done."

[quark_assassin]

Dustin grunts his agreement. The sooner this is done, the sooner he can get back to doing something useful - or, more likely, trying to get more sleep. He's so fucking tired.

As Tae rummages for her supplies, Dustin preps himself. Drawing blood from as close to the site of his existing implant as possible will probably provide the most informative results, so he gingerly rolls up the sleeves on his thin right forearm, places it stiffly on the arm of his chair. There are fresh bandages wrapped around midway between his elbow and lightly shaking hand.

[butterfly_kiss]

Sleep was fair. She pulls out her kit and a few vials with colorful tops and thick materials in the bottom. Then some gloves, the cotton, tape, lots of other things.

"Have you had your blood drawn before? You know what you're in for?"

[quark_assassin]

Dustin watches Tae with narrowed intensity from his seat, both because he wants to make sure that she doesn't do anything suspicious with her tools, and so that he can wrench his attention away from staring at his own wounded arm. Her question, though, breaks him with a scoff.

'Have I ever had my blood drawn,' he thinks ruefully. There were periods in his life where it was almost once a week. He thought it was weird when he read about people being afraid of needles - how did they function, with how common of a procedure this was? Like being afraid of a toothbrush. It wasn't until a few years ago that Dustin realized just how uncommon his situation was.

He doesn't explain any of this, of course. "Yeah," Dustin says instead, flatly. "I am."

wrap this soon?

[butterfly_kiss]

Alright then. Tae offers a brief nod and reaches out to tie off the tourniquet.

"Then I won't explain it."

aye cap'n

[quark_assassin]

Dustin grunts his acceptance and lapses into silence for the actual blood-drawing process. His uncanny familiarity with the process shows; he doesn't flinch, doesn't tense, and although he is far from the picture of casual ease, Dustin keeps his attention flickering between the equipment and Tae to make sure she doesn't slip anything under the radar while she assumes he'll have his guard down.

That's the first step done. As soon as he can get away with it, Dustin rocks back to his feet. "Three days," he says, knees wobbling slightly under his weight. Need to make a stop at the Diner on the way back. "I'll update Billy on the way out."