#hsmtsmts sickfics

[rickybowensfever]

Sicktember - Ricky’s Doctor Visit

 Part two of What If Ricky Missed Auditions?

Read on AO3

#Sicktember prompts 

Doctor’s Visit/Check Up

Contagious

CW: Lack of appetite

By Friday, Ricky felt awful. He had a pounding headache, his throat was raw, excruciatingly sore and his fever lingered from the day before. While his Dad was calling him out of school for another day, he texted him. 

R:  can you take me to the dr? 

D: Sure!!

Ricky sat in the cold office. Fluorescent lights flickering. He wore a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. He was shivering even though he just took another dose of medicine before he left the house. Talking was becoming unbearable as the pain in his throat got worse with every word he made out. 

“Ricky Bowen?” the nurse called out. 

Ricky nodded as he heard his name and walked back with the nurse to an empty room. 

“So, Ricky, what’s going on?” she asked, with a laptop resting on her lap. 

“My throat. Is. Sore” he said, hoarsely. Almost rolling his eyes at her questions. His throat hurt so much, he’d rather not talk. But, he knew that was impossible. 

“Right. Okay. And, when did that start?” she asked. 

“Wednesday” he muttered, wincing as he talked. 

 After what felt like a million questions, the nurse exited the room until the doctor came in. 

The door opened and a tall, brown man in a white coat came into the room. 

“Hi, Ricky! I’m Dr. Martinez” the man said, taking a seat where the nurse sat. 

Ricky answered the same questions he just told the nurse. He felt annoyed having to repeat himself especially when his throat was on fire. 

The man examined his eyes, nose, and finally, his throat. 

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m going to run a strep test. Is that alright?” he asked. 

Ricky nodded. Sure, whatever would make him get out of here faster and make his throat hurt less. 

The doctor came back with a white stick incased in plastic. He opened the plastic and revealed the thin stick. 

“This will be a little uncomfortable, but it’ll be quick” he explained, holding the instrument up in the air. 

“Open” the doctor instructed. Ricky opened his mouth and the doctor swabbed his throat. Ricky coughed, groaning from the pain. 

“Be right back!” the doctor said. 

Ricky yawned. God, he was so tired. He just wanted to go home and go right back to bed. 

Minutes later, the doctor came back. 

“Hi, Ricky. The strep test came back positive,” the doctor said, “I’m going to write you a prescription for some antibiotics, and I can write you a doctor’s note as well. You’ll probably be back at school in about 5-7 days. I’ll consult with your Dad on when the note should be good until” the doctor explained to him. 

He quickly wrote on a white sheet of paper and handed it to him. 

“Here is the prescription. You can give this to your dad and I’ll walk you out” the man said.  

Ricky nodded. “Thanks,” he said, raspy. 

“Sure thing! Feel better” he said as they walked into the waiting room. 

“Mr. Bowen, a word?” the doctor said. Mike got up from his seat to greet the doctor. 

“Dr. Martinez, nice to meet you,” the man said, and continued to fill his Dad in on everything. 

 Ricky sat in the waiting room until his Dad finished talking. “Alright, let’s get this prescription in and I’ll take you home to get some rest. Then, I’ll go pick it up later. You might want to give Nini and Miss Jenn a heads up. Sorry, bud” his dad said, feeling bad for his son. 

 Ricky was relieved when the car drove into their driveway. He quickly unbuckled his seat belt and slowly walked up to his room. 

“I’ll bring up some more of that pain reliever and maybe some soup?” His Dad asked his son as he was halfway up the stairs. 

Ricky turned his head, nodding at his Dad. 

“Sorry, I know you’re in pain,” he said, “Get some rest, and I’ll keep the soup on the stove for later” 

Ricky nodded again and finally made it to his bed where he curled up under the covers and fell asleep. 

 His phone was blowing up when he woke up. His room was dark. Ugh, he must’ve been asleep for hours. 

N: hey babe, any news? 

N: hope you’re resting, love you <3 

Wildcats GC 50 Unread Messages

 His throat was raw, the pain medicine from earlier clearly wore off. Ricky dreaded having to tell his friends and Nini that he was too sick for auditions. It was Friday. Usually, he was going to Slices with Nini and meeting their friends there for their Friday night plans - playing board games and watching movies on Netflix at Ashlynn’s. 

Ricky took a deep breath. He took his phone, tapped Nini’s messages opening them on his screen, and started typing away. 

R: gonna miss auditions 

R: i have strep 

Nini was probably already at Ashlynn’s, rehearsing for tomorrow. So, while he waited for his phone to buzz, he attempted to get out of bed and get his antibiotics. 

He slowly walked down the stairs, hearing the TV playing. His Dad was watching college baseball. Trying to be as quiet as possible, his Dad inevitably heard him. 

“Hey, Rick! I got your medicine and there’s some soup on the stove. Medicine is on the counter” 

“Thanks,” he said, his voice hoarse.  Ricky took the white bag from the pharmacy and pulled out an orange bottle with his name on it, reading the directions, he took one large pill chasing down with water. 

His appetite was non-existent. But, he knew he had to eat something. He clicked on the stovetop where the pot of soup was sitting and stirred it with a spoon, waiting for the heat to kick on. 

Bzz. 

 N: Aw, that’s not good :( I’m sorry! I’m at Ash’s and everyone says to get better!

N: Let me know if you need anything! Love you <3

R: thx but strep is contagious, i don’t want you catching it 

N: That doesn’t mean I can’t drop something off at your house :)

Ricky smiled softly.  He was so excited for auditions when Miss Jenn announced it. Though, he would’ve preferred HSM 2. He was more prepared for that, anyway. However, since he auditioned and was the lead for High School Musical, he really enjoyed singing and dancing - and now it was being taken from him. 

Well, I guess that’s what he got for trying to miss his Math test.