The Wolf In sheeps clothing

....Makes Sense I Suppose........

Niall cracked open his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He felt absolutely vile. He had no energy and zero incentive to get out of bed. He was just too miserable to move, his normally happy -go-lucky nature was buried under a dark cloud. He pulled the sheet over himself, just wanting to hide away from both the world and himself. He didn't fall asleep just drifted into a black hole of nothingness.

Doctor Ward checked with his secretary , who informed him that Niall had still not rung to make the appointment the doctor had requested he make, neither had he answered any phone messages. All attempts to contact Niall failed as every call went straight to voice mail. The doctor was now worried as it was the third day of non contact. He had planned on driving out to Niall's home several days ago , but had opted to give his patient a few days grace. But no contact had been made and the doctor decided he needed to chase the matter up .

The insistent buzzing of the gates security buzzing pulled Niall from his dark pit and he listlessly pressed the intercom to find out who was asking admittance to his house.

"Yes?" Niall spoke briefly.

"Niall, it's Doctor Ward. Would you let me in please? I'd like a chat with you" the doctor spoke into the speaker outside the gates. 

"Yeah, sure" Niall responded and pressed the button that allowed the gates to swing open so the doctor could drive through. They clanged shut behind him almost immediately and he drove up towards the house where Niall stood, waiting, by the open door.The doctor immediately climbed out of his car, grabbing his medical bag as he did so. His first glance at Niall's appearance confirming that he had been wise to make this house call. He followed Niall into the coolness of the house.

"You didn't make your appointment Niall" Doctor Ward said pleasantly as he sat down facing Niall. Niall just shrugged. "How are you feeling?" Another shrug. Doctor Ward kept his tone light but tried again. "You're not looking too well, care to tell me what's going on with you?"

"M' fine" Niall mumbled

""Niall, no you are not fine., admit it.  Look, the reason I needed to see you is because I have the results of the second lot of blood tests we did  and we need to discuss what I found"

"Anaemia" Niall said dully " that's what you said it was". He just wanted the man to go away, he couldn't feel bothered about anything anymore.

"Yes, I did. The first set of blood tests showed that but you remember I wanted the second set done because some illnesses seem simple on the surface. I call this particular illness a wolf in she eps clothing as it hides behind seemingly innocent issues." The doctor was patient. The more he looked at Niall and spoke to him, the more he realised the illness was flaring up. "Let me explain.

The rash on your face..."

"Sunburn" Niall interrupted

"Rash" the doctor said firmly "Across your cheeks and nose, aches and pains as if you had flu, swollen joints, that chest pain you experienced and, I can tell from speaking with you now, depression, are all part of this illness." Niall just shrugged again making the doctor sigh quietly.

"So, what is this illness then" Niall now sounded irritated.

"Systemic lupus erthematosus. It's an autoimmune disease that can attack the body from the inside out. It can affect everything, skin, joints, organs. Everything. There is no cure at the moment but it can be treated.  " the doctor said quietly " Often  it's just called Lupus"

"Lupus... that's latin for wolf" Niall mumbled to himself."Wolf in sheep's clothing...makes sense I suppose"

"I'm sure you've possibly heard of it before?" the doctor asked and Niall nodded once

"Yeah, a great friend of mine has it, Selena Gomez" Niall replied, frowning "But..........." he stopped speaking as he tried to recall everything Selena had told him about the illness. His face paled.

"It's treatable Niall. There are medications that help and lifestyle changes too. It's not the greatest thing to deal with but it's far from being the worst. Doctor Ward spoke encouragingly.

"Thanks for coming up, Doctor" Niall stood up abruptly "I'll walk you to your car"

"Niall, you can't just ignore this. You'll need treatment" Doctor Ward told him. "I know you're probably overwhelmed by it all at the moment but we do need to discuss how this will be managed."

"Look, I know you mean well but...look...please leave". Niall said stubbornly.

"Niall, I'll give you some time to think this over but I do need to see you soon to discuss a treatment plan. The sooner we get that started, the sooner you'll start to feel better" the doctor persisted.

"Later, maybe" Niall's voice was shaking with some suppressed emotion. He held open the front door and gestured to the car parked right in front. "Drive safe". He turned and shut the front door immediately and the doctor climbed back into his car. The talk with Niall hadn't gone well and he was even more worried about the young man now he had seen , not just his physical state, but also his emotional one. He'd have to keep and eye on this particular patient. He only hoped that Niall would accept he needed help and contact him. He drove towards the security gates as they swung open allowing him to leave. Things were not looking good.

Niall slowly climbed the stairs up to his bedroom and fell back on the bed. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes then turned onto his side and curled up into a tight ball, head touching his knees. 'Anaemia' he thought, that was all it was meant to be. He fell even further into his dark pit.

Like a dripping tap the words repeated in his brain "no cure, no cure, no cure............."