To Walk Alone

- discharged -

- Sif -

"Doc, just the man we wanted to see," Nick said, shooting up from his seat and clapping his hands once. "One final check and she can be released, yes?"

"I just need to double check that your bones are all where they need to be in the shoulder, and make sure any lingering marks are healing properly now that you have successfully shifted back," Doc explained but she shook her head.

"Everything's just fine, thanks," she said stiffly, allowing her dislike of the doctor to be very evident in her tone, but the doctor only closed the distance between them as if she had given her approval.

"I can't release you until the final checks are done," he insisted, but her eyes caught the sudden shift of Jake's posture though it was only brief. "Did you have any issues shifting?"

"You're seriously going to check me over in front of everyone?" she demanded, clearly unimpressed by his informal motives. "Whatever happened to patient doctor confidentiality?"

"I'm not asking you anything inappropriate or highly personal, Sif," he said, looking down at the clipboard he held. "I need to check the rotation of your shoulder and ensure everything is properly healed. It'll only take a minute."

"Try not to be difficult, Sif, he's only doing his job," Nick pressed.

"His job is finished, I'm fine." The last thing Sif wanted were his hands on her again.

"Sif -," started Nick but she cut him off.

"Shifting was fine, a little pop at the end in the shoulder but nothing to worry over. Cuts are healed and aside from a little stiffness in my shoulder and arm, there is no pain. Head turns from side to side without any issues, and I can flex all my fingers without difficulty. The only issue is that I don't know what day of the week it is and my food's getting cold."

Nick facepalmed himself in frustration and the doctor was clearly unimpressed.

"I can spell my name backwards and count to ten, too, but I see you haven't written anything else down so that's probably not relevant," she added. "Anything else on your clipboard I missed?"

The doctor glared at her with complete disdain, and he drew in a deep breath as if he were trying to keep his composure together. He then reluctantly turned toward his Alpha. "I'll get her discharge papers ready," he said unhappily, but Alpha Korbin only nodded once.

Nick stood there with his eyes closed, shaking his head. When she met Jake's eyes once more, she thought perhaps there was a hint of amusement behind the icy glare he was giving her, but she turned back to Nick as the doctor left the room.

"Do you always have to be so...oh, what's the word...charming?" groaned Nick as he waived a hand carelessly through the air. She snatched up the bottle of water from the tray and twisted off the cap.

"It's in my DNA," she mumbled, and he heaved a sigh.

"Well, gentlemen there you have it: Sif the Impossible," he announced.

"I wouldn't have been impossible if he hadn't drugged me without my consent. All he had to do was stitch me back up, not perform heart surgery," she mumbled between bites of her sandwich.

"It was necessary, Sif, in case you've forgotten you were bleeding everywhere, and he needed to fix you," Nick said with a roll of his eyes.

"Technicalities," she sniffed, then took another bite of her food.

"Finish eating, we'll meet later to discuss whatever the hell is going on," Korbin said, then without allowing her to argue he followed the doctor out of the room.