Little One

Part 4

"De? Wake up sweetheart" Cam's voice echoed distantly through his mind, and he couldn't resist a silent grumble as his body started to wake up. Still unable to speak, he opened his eyes and glared up at his sister, cross at having been disturbed.

Cam just smiled. "I know you're not going to be very happy with me for this" she began, stepping aside to allow the new arrival to come forward and kneel down beside the couch.

Indeed, her brother's glare intensified when he spotted the stethoscope around the man's neck and the doctor's bag in his hand.

"Don't look at me like that" she chuckled, sitting down beside her brother's head and stroking his hair gently. "You've met Doctor Fletcher before; he's just going to check you over, that's all."

Hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously, flickering over to the doctor - who smiled kindly at his patient. As they flew back to settle on Cam, she saw the grumpiness beginning to resurface, and she couldn't help but sigh heavily.

"Come on, De" she pleaded, trying not to sound too annoyed at him - he was always especially grumpy when he was ill, particularly when he was feeling really bad.

That just made her feel more concerned, and increasingly grateful that she'd decided to call the doctor in.

Finally, her brother nodded reluctantly, turning back to look at the waiting Doctor Fletcher, giving him a nod as well - as if giving him permission to come closer.

The doctor shared a knowing smile with Cam before he set about beginning his examination.

Cam had to admit she was mildly surprised when Dec allowed the doctor to proceed with taking his temperature (it was high), checking his pupil responses (normal, apparently), feeling his pulse (weak, but regular), and listening to his chest; all the routine things doctors did that normally had her younger brother protesting like mad when he wasn't well.

However, when the doctor came to checking his throat, things began getting a little interesting.

Cam had warned Doctor Fletcher when he'd arrived that Dec's neck and throat were horrendously painful, especially when they were moved, touched, or he was forced to open his mouth and/or try to make any sort of noise. It was no surprise, then, that the mere suggestion of the doctor getting her brother to open his mouth so it could be examined properly got a response that - if he'd been able to make a noise - would have sounded suspiciously like a growl, his teeth baring as his lip curled into what could only be described as a snarl.

"De" she muttered warningly, as if she were speaking to a dog - telling it to lower its hackles. She knew it was just a protective mechanism, that it was just his way of trying to prevent any further pain; but that was still no reason to act like this, she reasoned. "Behave. He just wants to look in your throat to see if he can work out why it's so sore."

Dec just clamped his mouth shut, refusing to open it and pulling his head away from Doctor Fletcher's hands.

Cam was quicker though, and she caught her brother's head in her hands and forced her chest in behind him, so he could no longer try to squirm away. Placing her fingers on his jaw, she gently started to prize it open - like she used to do when their Mam used to get her to help out whenever Dec had to be given medicine as a young child.

Apparently - just as he'd been able to back then - her brother recognised defeat at this point, and slumped into his sister's arms, opening his mouth willingly, albeit still a tad reluctantly.

"I know it hurts, De" Cam soothed, moving her hands once it was clear that Dec was going to behave now, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him close, "But it won't be for too long, and it'll hopefully help Doctor Fletcher work out what's wrong, then you can start feeling better, okay?"