My sister a dentist my brother a doctor

Austins checkup

AUSTIN'S POV

"I think you should maybe do Taylor next, she's pretty scared as well," I said, trying to pass the attention off to my sister.

Honestly, I wasn't sure why I had agreed to let Selena do all of our checkups today. Maybe it was because I knew she'd be starting her new practice and wanted to support her, or maybe I was just avoiding the fact that I hadn't had a checkup in a while. But either way, I knew she'd find out about it today.

"Someone is really quick to throw their sister under the bus today," Selena teased with a sympathetic smile.

I didn't have a good comeback. My nerves were already getting the best of me, and now I had no idea what to say.

"I mean, I—" I stammered, trying to find the right words.

"You'll be okay, Austin," Selena said gently, her voice trying to reassure me. "Why don't you just go next, yeah?"

I hesitated, my palms beginning to sweat.

"I really can't," I said, shifting uncomfortably. "I'll go last."

"Austin, come sit," Selena urged softly, clearly not willing to let me keep stalling. "This was your idea, after all."

She had a point. It was my idea to have our checkups done at Selena's new office. I'd been so enthusiastic about it at first, thinking it would be easy, but now, sitting here with all the equipment around me, I felt a wave of hesitation wash over me.

"Austin," Selena said again, snapping me out of my thoughts with a gentle but firm tone.

"Oh, uh, yeah, okay," I finally muttered, standing up and walking slowly over to the exam table, feeling my heart pound in my chest.

Selena gave me a small, understanding smile before getting to work.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing the thermometer and sticking it in my ear.

It beeped, and she quickly took it out, checking the reading before moving on to the next part of the exam. She grabbed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around my arm, fastening it tightly. I could feel my heartbeat racing as she stuck her stethoscope under it and began inflating the cuff. The pressure felt uncomfortable, and I shifted slightly, hoping the moment would pass quickly. She finished, removing the cuff and recording the result.

"You doing alright?" Selena asked, her voice soft and calm as she began warming up the metal end of her stethoscope in her hands.

"Yeah, I'm good," I replied hesitantly, trying to keep my voice steady, but I wasn't completely convinced.

I could feel my anxiety bubbling beneath the surface. Selena listened to my heart and then moved the stethoscope to my back to check my lungs. Her movements were so smooth and practiced, but it still felt like time was moving too slowly.

"Sel, would you be able to let me know if I need shots before the end?" I asked, my voice small.

I wanted to prepare myself mentally for whatever was coming next.

"Yeah, sure," she said, walking over to the computer on the desk.

She scrolled through my medical file for a moment, and then returned with a small nod.

"Just one," she said, looking up from the screen.

I let out a small breath of relief.

"Oh, that's not as bad as I expected," I said, my shoulders relaxing just a bit.

Selena didn't seem too concerned with my reaction as she grabbed the otoscope from the wall and started checking my ears. I watched her carefully, still trying to get a sense of what the rest of the exam would entail.

"What did you expect?" she asked, glancing over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"A lot more than one," I replied, though I wasn't sure why I thought I'd need more shots.

The anticipation had just made everything seem worse than it was. Selena moved on and checked my nose and throat. I tried to relax, but the idea of the shot was still hanging over me. She asked me to lie down, and I did, feeling the coldness of the exam table against my back as she began feeling my stomach.  After a moment, she helped me sit back up, and I could feel the tension returning. My eyes locked onto the tray beside me where she had placed the needle and other instruments.

"You'll be fine. It'll be nice and quick," Selena reassured me softly, as she placed the tray on the table beside me.

But I couldn't help it. The sight of the needle made my stomach turn.

"Don't watch me," she said, making me a little embarrassed at how nervous I was.

I turned my head, hoping to avoid seeing what was coming next.

"Maybe let's not do this part," I said, my voice shaky, though I knew it wasn't going to change anything.

"Austin, just look at the wall. You're fine," Selena said, her voice calm, but I could hear the gentle insistence in her tone.

I looked away, staring at the wall opposite me, trying to distract myself. Just as I did, I felt the cold wipe of the alcohol swab on my arm, and then *poke*. I jumped, instinctively flinching as the needle went in.

"You're good. It's all done," Selena said, her voice soft and reassuring as she quickly removed the needle and pressed a bandaid onto the small puncture.

I let out a long, relieved sigh and slowly turned my head back to face her.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought," I admitted, though I couldn't quite shake the discomfort of the whole experience.

Selena smiled warmly.

"You did great, Austin."

I couldn't help but laugh nervously, still feeling a bit wound up.

"Thanks."

I jumped off the table, ready to be done with the whole thing.

"That wasn't fun at all."

Selena chuckled at my discomfort.

"You'll be fine. Alright, who's next?"

Taylor immediately backed up, looking a bit pale. I could tell she was anxious, but there was no hiding it now.

"I think you should maybe do Taylor next," I said, hoping my earlier joke would lighten the mood a bit. "She's pretty scared too."

Taylor gulped, and I could see the nervousness written all over her face.

"Thanks for that, Austin," she muttered sarcastically, clearly not thrilled about it being her turn

I gave her a small smirk.

"You're welcome."