#doctor patient au

[darkwingsnark]

DR. Mario Universe Bowuigi AU

Random because of another night of being up from pain, but I wish there was more fan content centered around Dr. Mario Au shenanigans. With it being a more work-based medical drama, with maybe the idea that Luigi isn't a fellow doctor and just happens to be the brother of a world renown infectious disease specialist. Mario still has his rivalry with Bowser, just as co-workers with a competitive streak. Luigi visits the hospital often to have lunch with his brother at the hospital food court, more so as he can make sure his older bro is actually making time for it. He's known for being so into his work that he'll skip meals. So of course Luigi has heard his brother come home and complain about that no-good orthopedic doctor keeps dismissing his help when patients tend to have conditions that overlap-- like infections post operations. Or stuff like hearing about fights going down in the hospital during meetings.  So when Luigi breaks his leg, of course he's nervous when that means he'll be sent to the guy his brother hates. That he is told is very demanding and confrontational. Only for Bowser to be an amazing doctor, if blunt and sassy. And he recognizes Luigi as being the guy Mario has lunch with, putting pieces together when he sees his chart. Luigi expects Dr. Bowser to start treating him cruelly. To take out his aggression from Mario out on HIM. Only for Bowser to actually open up more and get chattier-- cracking jokes rather than keeping it strictly business. Well well well, after all that big talk from the guy, looks like there's something Mario CAN'T do: treat his brother. WELP, looks like I'm gonna have t'rub it in that jerk's face n' show 'im how it's done! Cue Luigi and Bowser seeing each other a lot more as Bowser-- from his own sense of pride and wanting to make Mario feel like utter shit-- taking on a lot more of the treatment than he would usually do. Usually he'd pass thing off to Resident Docs or physical therapists. But oooh no, not with THE Dr. Mario's brother! Gotta show that guy up! Luigi's gonna go home and have to constantly tell that clown how wonderfully he's being treated. Mario, of course, is frustrated on some level. But he can't complain when the koopa gets results. Seeing his brother heal and get better is all he really cares about.... Even if he doesn't like the fact he has to hear his baby bro talk about his obvious crush on Dr. Bowser, that he himself doesn't realize yet.

[lvnesart]

Discovering Khaenri'ahs secrets together!

Bonus pissed off big brother:

[pyjamacryptid]

little girl, a patient: can I have a lollipop

doctor merlin in the 21st century: can you have— I have created butterflies from nothing and horses from smoke. I have seen empires rise, fall, crumble, and start from nothing but a fish in a poor man’s hand. I’ve fought witches and failed them too. I’ve laid waste to armies and blessed nations of people with health that will never make up for it. I have pantsed Kings and kissed Queens. I have stood upon the precipice of this world and called forth the ocean only for time to swallow me whole and spit me back out. And I would do it all again if I could grant you, dear Matilda, a lollipop.

little girl: strawberry?

merlin: say no more, Tilda, this should clear up the taste of that cold medicine right away

[halorvic]

The danger is clear and present: COVID isn’t merely a respiratory illness; it’s a multi-dimensional threat impacting brain function, attacking almost all of the body’s organs, producing elevated risks of all kinds, and weakening our ability to fight off other diseases. Reinfections are thought to produce cumulative risks, and Long COVID is on the rise. Unfortunately, Long COVID is now being considered a long-term chronic illness — something many people will never fully recover from. Dr. Phillip Alvelda, a former program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office that pioneered the synthetic biology industry and the development of mRNA vaccine technology, is the founder of Medio Labs, a COVID diagnostic testing company. He has stepped forward as a strong critic of government COVID management, accusing health agencies of inadequacy and even deception. Alvelda is pushing for accountability and immediate action to tackle Long COVID and fend off future pandemics with stronger public health strategies. Contrary to public belief, he warns, COVID is not like the flu. New variants evolve much faster, making annual shots inadequate. He believes that if things continue as they are, with new COVID variants emerging and reinfections happening rapidly, the majority of Americans may eventually grapple with some form of Long COVID. Let’s repeat that: At the current rate of infection, most Americans may get Long COVID.

[...]

LP: A recent JAMA study found that US adults with Long COVID are more prone to depression and anxiety – and they’re struggling to afford treatment. Given the virus’s impact on the brain, I guess the link to mental health issues isn’t surprising. PA: There are all kinds of weird things going on that could be related to COVID’s cognitive effects. I’ll give you an example. We’ve noticed since the start of the pandemic that accidents are increasing. A report published by TRIP, a transportation research nonprofit, found that traffic fatalities in California increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022. They also found the likelihood of being killed in a traffic crash increased by 28% over that period. Other data, like studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, came to similar conclusions, reporting that traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high across the country in 2021. The TRIP report also looked at traffic fatalities on a national level and found that traffic fatalities increased by 19%. LP: What role might COVID play? PA: Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple. Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.

[...]

LP: You’ve criticized the track record of the CDC and the WHO – particularly their stubborn denial that COVID is airborne. PA: They knew the dangers of airborne transmission but refused to admit it for too long. They were warned repeatedly by scientists who studied aerosols. They instituted protections for themselves and for their kids against airborne transmission, but they didn’t tell the rest of us to do that.

[...]

LP: How would you grade Biden on how he’s handled the pandemic? PA: I’d give him an F. In some ways, he fails worse than Trump because more people have actually died from COVID on his watch than on Trump’s, though blame has to be shared with Republican governors and legislators who picked ideological fights opposing things like responsible masking, testing, vaccination, and ventilation improvements for partisan reasons. Biden’s administration has continued to promote the false idea that the vaccine is all that is needed, perpetuating the notion that the pandemic is over and you don’t need to do anything about it. Biden stopped the funding for surveillance and he stopped the funding for renewing vaccine advancement research. Trump allowed 400,000 people to die unnecessarily. The Biden administration policies have allowed more than 800,000 to 900,000 and counting.

[...]

LP: The situation with bird flu is certainly getting more concerning with the CDC confirming that a third person in the U.S. has tested positive after being exposed to infected cows. PA: Unfortunately, we’re repeating many of the same mistakes because we now know that the bird flu has made the jump to several species. The most important one now, of course, is the dairy cows. The dairy farmers have been refusing to let the government come in and inspect and test the cows. A team from Ohio State tested milk from a supermarket and found that 50% of the milk they tested was positive for bird flu viral particles.

[...]

PA: There’s a serious risk now in allowing the virus to freely evolve within the cow population. Each cow acts as a breeding ground for countless genetic mutations, potentially leading to strains capable of jumping to other species. If any of those countless genetic experiments within each cow prove successful in developing a strain transmissible to humans, we could face another pandemic – only this one could have a 58% death rate. Did you see the movie “Contagion?” It was remarkably accurate in its apocalyptic nature. And that virus only had a 20% death rate. If the bird flu makes the jump to human-to-human transition with even half of its current lethality, that would be disastrous.

[hajihiko]

Did you know they keep people awake for lobotomies? And that they access the brain through the eye lid area? Just… wanted that information out there (I can’t be the only one who knows)

I did know both those things! Horrible stuff. This isn't exactly related but I never understood when people think 'asylum horror' is about the patients because to me its always been about the insane horror of experimental medicine and malpractice and the people subjected to it, how they were treated.

Also I'm pretty sure this is all past tense I THINK they don't Do That anymore. Sure hope not.

[metalbvcky]

There's No Cure for Love — A Stucky Medical AU with doctor Steve + patient Bucky

The hospital is Steve's life. He practically lives here, day in and day out. It's what he does best. Help people. Save people. Try to make a difference in someone else's world even when his own has been slowly crumbling. His Ma's health was declining, though things seemed to have stabilized for now. The entire reason Steve changed specialties all those years ago was because of his Ma's illness. Not because of the organized chaos of the ER, but the reality that an ER doctor like himself could not focus properly while grieving over a dying loved one. And well, there was something to be said about slower-paced work. "I have this patient," Steve tells his mother while nursing a weak vending machine coffee, relaxing in a rocking chair on the porch of the assisted living home. "Bucky."

Bucky hates his life. He hates switching majors. He hates the fact he hasn't kissed another boy. He hates the insanely large mansion he lives in. He hates his family— his mother's heavy involvement in politics, his father's billion-dollar real estate empire. his two out of three sisters for bending over their father's will. He hates everything.

But most importantly, he hates whatever the fuck illness or disease he seems to have been born with. He's gone through countless tests, treatments, and procedures throughout his entire life. Hospitals and clinics are his personal hell. Nurses don't understand. Doctors don't care. He's broken.

"They don’t believe me," Bucky says with a forlorn sigh. "No one ever does."

"I do."

BBE BABB | May: Hurt/Comfort @buckybarnesevents BBE Juneiverse | Medical Stucky Bingo | O1: AU Medical Setting @stuckybingo

♥ this is an upcoming multi-chap WIP— I have not started it quite yet (currently finishing up my last WIP) but posting will be TBD sometime later this year ♥

[yuwuta]

peds surgeon yuuta??? u cant say things like that i need to jump. the cartoons, the glasses, of course his freaky ass would have a thing for u calling him doctor okkotsu i need to die id wanna tease him sm and be all over him but i cant think of anything if its in a hospital how did the greys anatomy ppl made it work?

the grey’s doctors were FREAKS LMFAOO bc there is not space to be doing all that in the on call rooms…. honestly yuuta is probably too busy to even try anything with you in the hospital 90% of the time… he’s either in surgery or buried in the research library or falling asleep standing up 😭 sometimes you two pass each other in an empty stairwell and have time for a kiss or two, but never more than that (also because yuuta has very little self-restraint when it comes to you… if he allowed himself more than that, then it would be much harder to stop…) 

sometimes the two of you will fall asleep in the same on call room. yuuta will page you there and by the time you arrive he’s already half asleep, it’s probably his only nap in the last 24 hours, so you do your best not to wake wake him when you cuddle up next to him. you get a few hours of bliss in his arms before his pager is waking the both of you up, and he’s got to scurry downstairs to the peds floor and in his hurry he doesn’t realize he’s snagged your lab coat instead of his own, and it’s only when he’s haphazardly slipped it on and the arms are too short and the shoulders are too tight that he figures it out. it’s too late by then, because gojo is the attending on this case which means he doesn’t miss anything, which means he’s the first to giggle and tease, poking at your name embroidered above the breast pocket, “oh? i didn’t know the two of you got married already! oh and you took her last name, how noble, yuuta!~” 

[sarahowritesostucky]

📖 "Hydra Sanatorium"

Rated: Explicit

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers

Tags: a/b/o, medical institutionalization, cognitive disability, made up kinky medical things, diapers, catheters, non-con medical procedures, restraints, forced wetting, hurt/comfort, humiliation, kind!Careworker Steve, bratty!Patient Bucky, alpha Steve, omega bucky, dub con everything due to a/b/o biology, dry humping, forced orgasm, masturbation, implied self harm, orgasm therapy, age difference (19/30), omorashi

Summary: Bucky is a troubled teen coping with the traumatic transformation of late-onset omega puberty.

Steve's been developing too much of an attachment, he knows he has. But he might not have the self control to remain detached anymore.

Chapter 1: A Weekend in the Pens

Chapter 2: Holding It in

Chapter 3: A Catalyst

Chapter 4: Release Therapy

Chapter 5: Excited Catatonia with Aggression

Chapter 6: Inflation Therapy

Chapter 7: Pheromonal Oil Massage

Chapter 8: Sensory Reset Therapy

Chapter 9: Persistent Genital Arousal

Epilogue I.

[tales-of-green-hill]

An assortment of Emerl arc sketches (I probably have more tho)

(More detailed context in my previous post!)

[sadistic-softie]

My favorite unhealthy character dynamic:

Parasocial doctor/patient where the patient keeps purposely getting hurt just so this one doctor can treat their wounds because getting their wounds treated is the equivalent of peak intimacy for them.

They can't get enough of this one doctor treating them and they catch unrequited feelings and the doctor becomes more and more concerned and horrified about the parasocial nature of the patients feelings for them and the self harm the patient keeps doing. Over time, the doctor starts genuinely getting attached to the patient from the constant worry and repeated caring for them.

The doctor even starts to wish for the patient to come back with another injury so they can see them again while also pleading with them not to get into so much danger, which only makes the patient fall more in love. And it's really dangerous and unhealthy and traumatic and beautiful in all the worst, most horrible ways.

I've had this idea in my head a lot but I never felt confident enough to write it into a story in the past because I didn't think I could write it properly yet but I think I can figure something out now maybe with enough motivation. This could also work for fanfictions and AUs and such. I just love stories about horrible relationships and moral ambiguity, especially if it takes the time to make it beautiful without glorifying or condoning shitty things.

This dynamic is something I think of a lot for various characters in these fandoms:

House M.D.

NBC Hannibal

Saw (specifically for Lawrence Gordon ships)

[secret-spirit]

Lol

[kingdomvel]

Assisted Reproduction AU

This was inspired by my experience in the lab this week (so I may get a bit sciency, sorry) and developed between @somethingsteff (some words here are directly hers, I can’t take credit for all) and yours truly through messages.

So in this au, Obi-Wan and Satine are friends, and Satine wants to have a son, or daughter, she doesn't care, but she wants to have a child and either she is a lesbian or she doesn’t have a partner, so she talks about it with Obi-Wan. They decide that, even if they are 100% not interested in a relationship with each other, this is 2024, times have changed, and they are not getting any younger, and both of them have wanted to be parents for a while, and Obi-Wan can’t imagine finding someone he wants to be a parent with in the near future, so they decide to be coparents.

After a doctor meeting to talk about their options Obi-Wan comes back to the hospital alone, because Satine was busy and it’s not like she is needed. This appointment is for Obi-Wan to take a semen sample, the first of many, so they can check the number, quality and mobility of his sperm cells to better assess their options. And while he is there at the doctor’s office, answering questions about how no, it’s not that they have been trying and couldn’t conceive, they are just friends and no, he doesn’t have any previous children, there is one boy sitting behind the doctor all through it. The badge on his lab coat marks him as a student but he is not paying attention to what the doctor is saying – which Obi-Wan is pretty sure he should be doing – he is looking at Obi-Wan. His eyes don’t stray for one second from Obi-Wan, his gaze intense to the point Obi-Wan should be uncomfortable, but he can’t find himself not appreciating the attention.

When it’s time to take the sample Obi-Wan is taking long, too long. Anakin is waiting in the lab for the hot man who for some divine reason hasn’t come here married and wishing to have a baby with his wife but is single to bring his sample, but the man is not coming (in every sense of the word, Anakin guesses). It’s been 45 minutes and from experience, Anakin knows that people normally take between 15 to 20 minutes, so either this man has some incredible stamina (and isn’t that a thought) or there is something wrong. There are some people that get nervous, Anakin guesses not everyone is comfortable jerking off in a setting where everyone knows you are masturbating a couple of rooms away and is then going to judge your sperm. The moment the doctor mentions that they should probably check that everything’s alright with Obi-Wan, Anakin jumps out from his chair. He says that he was planning to go to the cafeteria for some coffee, so he will just stop by to check on him on the way.

Anakin goes to the place where Obi-Wan is currently trying to take the sample, to masturbate, the door thankfully hidden from privy eyes inside another room, and knocks on the door.

“hey, are you alright in there?”

“Yes, everything is fine.”

“Are you sure? You can go take a walk to clear your head if you need, or I can get you some visual help?”

Obi-Wan is completely mortified because this should be the easy part of the process, he just needs to masturbate and come inside a tube, nothing complicated, and he is failing enough that the student intern is asking him if he should get some porn for him. “No, I am fine, don’t worry, I will be out in no time.”

“Do you want some… actual help?”

That startles Obi-Wan enough that he opens the door. “Excuse me?”

“I can help you, you know, if you need me to.”

“Isn’t that completely illegal?”

“Maybe, but I’m only a student, and you are very hot, and you said you are single so…” he smirks and comes in the room, closing the door behind him, “why? You thinking of taking up my offer?”

So Anakin helps Obi-Wan take the sample, and then comes back to the lab all smug before Obi-Wan comes to leave his sample, equal parts mortified and smug/satisfied/flirty because damn, Anakin is hot, and he feels lucky he got a hand job from him.

The next time Obi-Wan has to see the doctor, he insists Satine doesn’t need to come with him, and Satine looks at him with a bit of suspicion but she agrees. The moment it’s time for him to take the sample, Anakin makes his excuses and makes his way to Obi-Wan again. Maybe this time he gets a hand job himself in return.

In between doctor visits and Anakin maybe very illegally getting Obi-Wan’s number, they start dating, and Anakin becomes the third parent of a very non-traditional family.

Years down the line, when the baby is now a sixteen? Seventeen? Year old boy called Korkie, Anakin makes an off comment of “of course, you’re my kid after all”.

“Uh, Uncle Anakin, I know this is a non-traditional family but that’s not really true.”

“Sure it is, I was there when you were conceived.”

Obi-Wan and Satine - because Obi-Wan told her about how the samples were obtained a few months down his relationship with Anakin after one too many glasses of wine because Satine insisted he had to drink for the both of them, and they both agreed to never tell Korkie about that – immediately think about the hand jobs and exclaim “ANAKIN” “ANAKIN YOU CAN’T TELL HIM THAT”

Obi-Wan, “and that’s not exactly true.”

Satine, “I met Anakin AFTER I was pregnant with you.”

And Anakin, who had never told Obi-Wan and Satine that he had helped with the in vitro in the lab because he thought it was obvious that he did is like, “what? But I WAS there”

“That doesn’t count”

“What do you mean it doesn’t count, I saw his fertilization, I took care of him before he was inside you, I am like his second mum.”

And everyone else in the room is like “wot”

“I thought you were just a student?”

“Yeah? That’s why I was doing all that stuff? I had to learn the whole process, I even picked him out for you -you are welcome - and thanks to Obi-Wan I saw every. Single. Step.” He finishes with a smirk.

“ANAKIN”

(Korkie catches the meaning of that and promptly gets out of the room)

Whenever Korkie acts up, Anakin just tells him “when you were a clump of cells you didn’t give me this attitude.”

[borrowedtimeandspace]

Perspective Taking

Foggy

From this list of g/t prompts

AU: The Donna Trilogy; A Patient, and Time

Note: Told ya I wouldn't quit these three <3 Bringing in a classic trope that was very fun to play with. Set shortly after Zepheera resolves to try joining the Doctor and Donna on their adventures again, and sometime well before Midnight.

~~~

Zepheera's vision was blurry as she blinked up at the ceiling. She found familiar shapes above as things slowly cleared up. Brighter dots of the lights all over the domed ceiling, the squiggling towers of the coral supports, the console and center column itself in the corner of her eye…

The fogginess that struggled to clear up was in her memory. The last she recalled, the Doctor had approached her and Donna with a strange-looking contraption. He'd apparently invented it wholecloth, and it was untested, but he was so completely certain of its function that Donna and Zepheera didn't have a chance to question it.

What had he called it? Quantum commutation something-or-other?

“...Zepheera…!” The call of a familiar voice snagged her attention.

“Doctor??” she responded, voice instinctively raised to be heard by her giant, distant-sounding friend.

“Ow…! Keep it down, we're right here!” the Doctor scolded, a little louder this time.

Zepheera frowned. That didn't make any sense. If her friends were anywhere close to her, she wouldn't just be able to hear them much more clearly than she did the Doctor now. She'd be able to feel the power in their voices from such a proximity.

With some effort, she lifted her head to look around. Her gaze remained turned upward out of habit; where else would she find people over a dozen times her height? And she still couldn't put her finger on it, but something felt…off.

Zepheera forced herself to sit up, hoping to shake off this strange feeling so she could get up and find out what happened, but that only made her twice as dizzy. Everything above her, especially the nearby console, it all moved too fast. Her eyes squeezed shut to try and force the feeling away, and she ended up leaning against something vaguely rough and round. She didn't recognize what it was through the sudden seasick feeling that had overcome her.

“It's alright, Zepheera! Just… Don't move!”

Donna's voice made Zepheera stiffen from head to toe, and it started to sink in why everything felt so wrong. Her human friend sounded just as distant as the Doctor, even as she shouted. And now that Zepheera was somewhat upright, her voice sounded like it was coming from below, not above.

Zepheera took in a long, slow breath as she mentally prepared for what she was about to see.

Squinting her eyes open, she turned toward the voices and forced herself to look down. The sight made her stomach flip all over again.

The Doctor and Donna stood barely taller than Zepheera's longest finger!

They were only a few feet away, much closer than she'd originally thought. Their approach was slow going on their much shorter legs, haltingly making their way closer to Zepheera while struggling to keep their balance on the catwalk-style floor. The Doctor's steps were more confident than Donna's, putting him slightly closer, but he still had to choose each carefully. And now that she knew to pay attention to it, Zepheera could just make out the sound of him faintly grumbling under his breath about slip-resistance being a moot point at this scale.

Zepheera tore her gaze away from them to look more closely at her surroundings as it belatedly hit her. The grate on the floor was much smaller than she'd grown used to, only her fingers would be able to slip through now. She was about eye level with the old yellow seat across the way while sitting down. And the thing she was leaning against for balance was the console itself.

Her friends didn't just get smaller. Zepheera got bigger.

“How did…?”

“Just breathe,” Donna emphasized, drawing Zepheera's wide eyes back to them. The encouraging instruction made her notice that her breathing had become shallow in the midst of all the realization, so she put effort into slowing it down and evening it out.

The Doctor had come to a stop a short distance from Zepheera, hands in his pockets and head tilted back to take in her new size and the enormity of his console room. Donna, not far behind, finally caught up and immediately popped him on the back of his head.

“And you can go on and answer the question, dumbo!” she chided as the Doctor choked out a pained noise. “What the hell happened??”

The Doctor glanced sheepishly between his companions, rubbing the spot where Donna had hit him. “Well… There's always room for error.”

“A lot of room for it, now!” Donna shot back, spreading her arms wide to indicate the room at large.

Any words of defense caught in the Doctor’s throat as the ground rumbled under them both. The nature of the floor led them both to have fairly wide stances in order to stand already, so their balance wasn't terribly thrown off. They wavered only briefly until the tremors calmed down, and then glanced Zepheera's way.

For her part, Zepheera thought she'd hardly moved. The Doctor and Donna had walked up from behind her, and having to twist half her body around to keep an eye on them wasn't exactly comfortable over time. So she'd braced her hands against the floor and scooted to sit on one hip and give her bent legs room to rest on the floor.

She simply wasn't used to her movements carrying such weight to them. Feeling heat rising in her olive cheeks, she offered a contrite grimace and whispered, “Sorry…”

“Look,” the Doctor sighed, running both hands down his face. “Altering the mass of living organisms is extremely complex. To have it be done with little to no ill effects on the subject, let  alone three is– and I'm really not trying to brag here, I'm only stating facts– a total screaming genius feat!”

“Glad he really tries for us, eh?” The remark slipped out while Zepheera was concentrating on slowly and gently shifting her body to lay flat, facing her friends properly. She glanced back to make sure she wasn't shaking them up with her movements anymore, and caught a glimpse of Donna's smirk.

“Humble as ever, he is,” she agreed with Zepheera.

The Doctor gave an exaggerated eye roll and tossed up his hands. “Well obviously, things didn't go as planned.”

“And what was that plan again?” Donna prodded.

“I thought we went over this!” 

“All I remember is you busting in with some new gizmo, yappin’ at ninety miles per hour, and then–”

“Urgh, fine.” The Doctor shot a look upward to find Zepheera still at last, propped up on her elbows and ready to listen. He softened a little, then explained.

“The purpose of that ‘gizmo’ was temporary proportional homologization. Admittedly it was a bit cobbled-together, and a malfunction seems to have translated the effects to be transpository rather than coextensive as intended–”

“In English,” said Donna and Zepheera in unison, the latter more weary than annoyed like the former.

The Doctor heaved an exasperated sigh. “Wires got crossed, and instead of making us all the same size, we swapped sizes.”

 “See? Wasn't so hard, now was it?” Donna said with a snarky smile.

Before the Doctor could think of a comeback,  Zepheera asked him, “Why'd you want to do that?”

The tiny Time Lord rounded on her, flabbergasted that she would even ask. That died down a tad when he locked onto Zepheera’s now-humongous violet gaze; she was only curious about the Doctor's reasoning, not strictly against the idea.

“Well… I mean, come on, we're all curious, aren't we?” He looked to Donna and Zepheera in turn. “Haven't you wondered what it all looks like from the other side? Even just a little bit?”

Neither woman could deny it, so he nodded and pressed on. “The main idea was that, by making us all the same size– either Donna and I coming down to you or you coming to us, Zepheera– the one or ones who aren't used to being that size could have some guidance that way. Y'know, at least one of us wouldn't be…”

“Totally lost?” Donna offered.

“Yeah,” sighed the Doctor after failing to come up with an alternative that sounded better. He gave a shrug and admitted, “I got a bit overexcited about it all and didn't give it a once-over before trying it out, so…sorry.”

Zepheera started to nod in reply before remembering that even that small shift would now affect her shrunken friends. She'd been around them more than long enough to know that for certain, and she simply found it normal. The others…not so much.

Donna huffed and tossed her hands up, muttering something about how it was a good idea; her voice was now too quiet for Zepheera to make it out clearly over the short distance. 

“You said, ‘temporary’?” Zepheera recalled. “How long's this meant to last?”

The Doctor tugged thoughtfully on an earlobe. “Oh…considering how swimmingly this test has gone, it's hard to say. Could all go back to the way we were in an hour, maybe…or two, or five–”

“Five?” echoed Donna and Zepheera. The oversized borrower forgot herself, and her exclamation came out more strongly than she meant it to. Her jaw clamped shut when she saw her friends wince at her volume.

No matter how many hours this lasted, she doubted she'd ever get used to this.

[herosplatling-replica]

extremely self indulgent au - intern taking the role of angela in a lobcorp au. they're definitely handling it like a champ (lie)

[tyranitarkisser]

Nurse Mituna?! Do you trust her....

[softquietsteadylove]

HI!!!

it’s been a long time since the last doctor au. Can we get something new, please?

Thena eyes the woman chatting up her Gilgamesh. He's making friendly conversation, she knows. But the woman is obviously aiming for more than just friendly, the way she keeps laughing and smiling and putting her hand on his arm.

She has no one to blame but herself, Thena knows. The hospital fundraiser has been scheduled for months, and she's the one insisting their relationship remain secret from their coworkers. And of course Gil agreed, because it's Gil.

But watching women be all over him all night has been one hell of a just desserts. She takes a sip of her drink. Gil catches her eye and makes a bit of a face. He shrugs, which fits into the woman's story enough that she doesn't notice. But he's apologising to her - Thena - for it.

But she has no one to blame but herself.

Maybe the secrecy is overrated. She looks over to the dance floor, where Sersi is happily tucked into her husband's embrace as they sway to the music. They seem to make it work. Thena doesn't know how someone as sweet as Sersi is with someone as bullheaded as the orthopaedic specialist himself. But maybe the same could be said of her and Gil.

Thena tosses back the last of her champagne and walks straight towards Gil's table. This is why people don't like her socially--she's overly direct, chilly, has no bedside manner when it comes to her colleagues. She stares at them, "mind if I cut in?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Not at all," Gil smiles though, and it's all the assurance she needs. He even pulls out the chair next to him for her.

His visitor visibly and audibly scoffs and rolls her eyes. Thena thinks she recognises her from HR or accounting or some other level of administration. She gets up in a huff anyway. Thena seats herself, tugging her dress around without a thought to the delicacy of the material.

But Gil sorts out the skirt of it more nicely. He even lets his hand brush the side of her leg where the slit allows him to. He sneaks his eyes up to hers, "you look beautiful."

She's glad that woman got up in a huff as she feels her face warm up several degrees. "Nothing you haven't seen before."

Because he helped her get ready, after they'd had a few good rounds in her bed, and before arriving in separate cars. Still, he compliments her, because of course he does. He swirls his own champagne, looking quite smart in his dark green suit.

All the doctors are in tuxes, but she likes how this colour brings out his eyes.

"Are you making any good connections?" he asks, like any of their colleagues would. It's as much a night for them to have off as it is for them to schmooze wealthy benefactors into donating to the hospital.

"None," she deadpans, and he laughs from his belly in response. She loves his laugh. "You?"

He snorts and throws back the last of his flute. "No one even knows us."

"That's not true," she nudges his arm as she leans back in her chair in a very unladylike way. She gestures, "Kingo knows how to work a crowd."

True, the man of the hour is in the centre of a circle of people listening to his stories. She's quite sure he's trying to convince someone to write a medical drama about his stories as an EMT.

"Well, I'm no Kingo," Gil shakes his head at his partner, not that they would have him any other way.

Thena spares a furtive glance around them, although most have moved on from the tables to search for more finger food or hit the dance floor. She risks brushing her hand over his casually, "you're better."

Gil matches her energy, though, letting his hand cup hers for just as brief a moment, "you're in a good mood tonight."

She can say it's the booze, but she's only had the one glass. It's not to her taste, but it's part of the atmosphere. "When was the last time we got a night off to do this?"

He gives her a grin that's a little mischievous on the tail end. "Our first date?"

She looks away again, because sometimes these little moments still make her feel like she's liking him from afar again. "That was a good night."

"Our only date, in some ways," he corrects, although there's no malice or ill will behind it. Even though he would love to have more proper dates to their name as a couple.

Thena sighs, though, because he deserves that. He deserves to go wild to his romantic heart's desire, no matter how overwhelmed it makes her feel. She leans forward against the table, "Gil-"

"Oh, Gil!" a shrill voice singsongs over the music.

Thena scowls as her whole body knots up. His friend is back, and she's brought company. "Eros."

"Thena, darling, looking ravishing as always," the self-proclaimed 'god of love' himself grins at her. He is one of the doctors in a full blown tuxedo. "Gotten any donations?"

"No, no one donates to an emergency room unless it guarantees benefits to them personally." The two newcomers look at her uncomfortably but it's true; no one ever donates to the emergency room because it's for the public, not for the highest insured patients.

"Well, what if I make a donation?" Eros grandstands, putting on his most winsome smile and even reaching into his suit jacket pocket. Does he really have his checkbook just...in there?

Thena points, "admin will take it."

The woman gets tired of playing this game. She sidesteps Eros to put her hands on Gil's shoulders. "Oh, enough business! It's time for you two to take to the floor."

Gil just stares. Just because he's big doesn't mean he likes getting climbed on like a children's jungle gym. He shakes his head faintly at her; he's asking what to do.

Thena sighs. That's why she brought Eros with her; he's a distraction to keep her from stealing Gil's attention again. Stealing attention from her own partner is an amusing thought. But she hasn't had enough to drink for it to be thoroughly entertaining.

The woman backs up as she stands. She and Eros watch as Thena grasps Gil's tie, pulling it out from his suit jacket and using it to turn his head and drag his lips to hers. She even makes a dramatic little moan just for them.

Gil is happy to oblige. He responds, sliding his hands up her body in the way that's familiar to them. They were doing exactly this a few short hours ago. When they part he doesn't even look to see if their audience has stuck around. "Thought you'd never ask, honey."

Thena keeps her hold on Gil's tie as she moves towards the dance floor, abandoning her clutch on the table. There's nothing in it but her phone and, well, a few contraceptives (in case Gil got ahead of himself on the way home).

"Y'know, sweetie, I have no complaints," Gil voices as he closes the distance and fixes his tie again. "But you could just ask."

She sighs as they turn towards each other to dance properly. He pulls her against him as her temper simmers itself dry. "I got the feeling she wasn't going to take no for an answer."

"Well, she would have had to," he assures her, even as they begin swaying to the music. She doesn't really know how to dance, but he takes the lead, holding her hip and her hand out in his. "Although watching my girlfriend grab me like that will probably haunt her for a while."

"Good," Thena mutters darkly, still off-put by the memory of her latching onto Gil's shoulders (like she has any right).

"Are you sure?" he whispers, still holding his head up if she wants more discretion. "If she doesn't have everyone knowing before we leave for the night then Eros certainly will. I wouldn't be surprised if he's crying to HR right now."

She does laugh faintly at the mental image of Eros snotting and whining like the little boy he is. "We're technically in different departments."

Gil chuckles, "guess you're right. But I'm asking you."

He's asking if she really wants to go public, or if she wants to deny their claims to the very end. Because he'll be with her, if she does, because of course he will.

Gil is receptive as she leans up to kiss him again. Maybe she can - somewhat! - understand what people see in the romance of it all. Swaying to music, Gil's arms around her, kissing him without a care in the world. There is something that makes the pleasure centres in her brain explode with euphoria.

"I'll take that as a yes," he smiles at her, even swaying a little more in his elation.

She tries to keep her head held high instead of shrinking away from the people observing them during their own dances. She clears her throat, pretending she can't feel how hot the tips of her ears are. "If it keeps her off of you, then yes."

He bends his head down, kissing the side of her neck. But it's not any invitation to mischief or show of dominance. He emerges again and kisses her on the forehead. "Can I tell those orderlies that check you out all the time that you're my girlfriend, now?"

She smiles, because it's Gil, and their relationship is no different now than it's been for the past several months. "You don't tell them I'm your wife?"

"Oh, I do," he answers instantly, and now she laughs. And sometimes when she laughs, she catches him looking at her in a way that makes all of her insides feel like jello. "But everyone knows you're my wife. Not everyone knows you're my girlfriend."

That is true. They were long ago anointed work husband and work wife. People are used to it, and it somewhat muddies the waters on what their relationship to each other actually is. And Thena will not be un-muddying them any time soon.

She moves Gil's arm more around her for herself, tucking herself into his chest in a way that makes moving more awkward instead of easier. But he folds around her comfortingly, happy to shift from foot to foot rather than really dance. "Then all the world can know I'm your partner."

She sighs as he presses a kiss to the top of her head, "I like the sound of that."

There's no going back from this. She always says that their personal lives have no place in the hospital. But she can't think about any of that, drowning in the endorphins this one man overtakes her brain with every time he smiles. And she has no one to blame but herself.