Sex Addiction

II

"And how long have you gone without smoking, Mrs?" Harry asked in what Ron called his 'customer service' voice, looking up at his new patient.

Maria Campbell came in with a severe addiction to smoking- a pack a day for the last seven years. Her son, James, rushed her into the ER when she started coughing up blood. As it turns out, her lungs were essentially solidified on the inside, and when she let out a gasp her lungs tore open and flooded her airways with blood.

"Jus' b'fore 'came in," she rasped, letting out a slight cough that sounded like an old machine trying to start. This poor woman. She was only 37 and already on the verge of death if she didn't stop smoking as soon as possible.

"Okay, and do you think you could make it to the end of this session without any side effects if you didn't smoke at all- for the duration of the session, I mean," Harry asked, briefing himself on her medical file once more as he conversated.

"Hell no," she laughed weakly, brushing a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear. "Dizziness, vomiting, migraines, all the good stuff after an hour without a fag."

"Does it disrupt your sleep schedule, Mrs?"

"'lease, call m' Maria. Yeah, 'd say i' does."

"How many times do you think you wake up per night to smoke, Maria?"

"'five'r'six?" Maria coughed, wincing as she pounded a hand to her chest. "Mo' than thaht, i' ye coun' breathin' trubbles."

Harry hadn't heard many New England accents, but he could tell that this was definitely one of the more intense cases. Maybe Massachusetts? 

"Okay, so seeing how your life is in danger, I'm going to have to be a bit strict on what I want you to do, alright?" Harry slid over to face her more directly, rather than his computer, and started jotting down notes as he watched her expressions carefully.

"I want you to do breathing exercises- Five in, three hold, six exhale- as many times a day as you can without pain. This will cause bleeding, because you'll be shedding the hardened interior of your lungs and coughing it up, but the pace I've put you at should help it go more smoothly and with less pain." Harry wrote what he was saying as he said it for both his and her reminder. "People often choose to do this in a hot bath because the humid air makes it less painful, and I definitely recommend that if available. Does that sound alright?"

"Five i' three hol' six exhale?" Maria questioned, her brows furrowing.

"Oh, alright. So for that you'll want to inhale steadily through your nose for five seconds, hold that breath for three, and then take six seconds to exhale slowly through your mouth. Do you want to do it with me a few times? I can get a nurse in here incase anything goes wrong."

"Ye' don' need t-"

"It'll make me feel better to know that you're doing it safely and correctly at home," Harry added, cutting her off slightly. She finally gave in and nodded, allowing him to call in the nurse.

"Maria, this is Saphie- She's the room-to-room nurse for this hall. She's here to make sure nothing goes wrong, alright?"

Maria nodded, thanking the nurse as she accepted a bucket, looking up at Harry for instructions.

"Okay, Saphie, I'm going to ask you to do a 5-3-6 count for us."

"Alrighty sugar, whenever y'all are ready."

Harry didn't know how he got so many accents in his workplace- it was the UK, yet he got too many American accents to keep track of. "You ready Maria?"

The brunette nodded, so Harry motioned to Saphie. "In on my cue- one.. two.. three.. four.. five..- You're doing great, hold, two.. three.. exhale two.. three.. four.. five.. six."

Harry winced, hearing her glass lungs crack as she coughed, trembling slightly as she hovered over the bucket, making gagging noises. A few seconds later, a rush of blood with chunks of dead flesh, and another, and another, until there was no more. 

Harry let the nurse take care of her from there until she was okay. He was scared that she was going to never do the breathing again, but she seemed almost relieved. "'elt like I was dr'wning b'fore. Sure sh' hurt like a bitch, bu' relief feels bettah."

"I think that's all we need to go through, right now," Harry said, smiling. "You did great today, and try to smoke less but that's not a priority at this point, okay? Just focus on healing."

When he said his last goodbyes, shutting the door after suggesting nicotine patches mixed with sugar pens, he turned, preparing to get ready for his next appointment, but it seemed he didn't have time, because Draco Malfoy was sitting in his chair.

"Christ, Malfoy!" Harry placed a hand over his heart, trying to calm it down. "How long have you been there- How did you even get in?"

"I've a wizard, Potter, and this is a muggle institution. I was gonna be late for my appointment if I didn't apparate straight here."

"Why would you have been late?"

Their first session had been mostly chat, since Draco kept diverting the subject, hence no actual work had been done, but Harry had planned to change that this session. Now, he wasn't even sure why he'd even asked Draco, it was obvious why he was late. Hickies blossomed down his throat, his hair was disheveled and his cheeks were even still a little flush. Harry guessed if he apparated so much as forty seconds earlier, he wouldn't be wearing any clothes, either. 

"You had sex that ended two minutes before your sex addiction therapy session," Harry stated, staring the blond down as a disappointed expression.

"Well I forgot I had therapy until my five minute reminder went off, you should be glad I was with a minute man," Draco sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "Not my proudest conquest, I'll admit. Now Alvarado- Fuck, that man had me reeling for hours, literally. I'll never find someone like him again." 

"Malfoy, you're missing the point," Harry groaned. "First, please get out of my chair."

"But this one is so much comfier," Draco pouted, sprawling into it more and spreading his legs.

"Malfoy, get out of my chair."

"Mm, dominatrix- I appreciate that. But no, I'd like to stay here, thanks."

"Move."

"Make me."

Draco rose a brow in a challenging manner, crossing his arms over his chest while Harry scowled. "You're a pest, you know that? Like mosquito that you can hear but never catch."

"Love the dirty talk, Potter- could use a bit of work but I dig it." Harry's jaw dropped and Draco snorted. "Kidding, kidding- but not about the chair. You should let me sit in it for today."

Harry didn't get any progress done that day, either.