The Bunker

Chapter Sixteen: Physicals

Claire walked over to the small station near Simon's office, she took a rubber band out of the drawer and pulled her long red curls into a high ponytail. As she walked toward the large door she pulled on her own white coat that Simon had given her and pressed her hand to the scanner. As the door slid open she looked over at Lucas who looked up to meet her gaze, but she had to pull herself away and look down at the tablet. This was work mode, time to do what she loved to do even if she wasn't working in the OR. "Don?" Claire looked up, the man beside Lucas stood up. He was tall, almost taller than Lucas, dark hair and tan skin, he nodded at her, "Follow me." Claire smiled politely as she backed into The Med Bay. 

Claire lead him back to a bed and asked him to sit down, she pulled up Don's file and looked over at him, "Don Kendrick?"

"Call me Grey, it's my middle name," He crossed his arms and watched her type something into the tablet.

"Noted, I'll make that your preferred name." Claire looked up at him with a smile.

"Thanks," He clenched his jaw.

"Ok, age?" Claire went thought the questions on the tablet.

"Twenty-nine." Grey answered everything she threw at him.

After a few minutes of questions she checked his lungs after he pulled his shirt off, got a full medical history, or at least what he could tell her, recorded his weight, measurements, and asked about any medications he took. Grey took a deep breath and looked at  her, "Asthma."

Claire turned to look at him, "Ok, how bad?"

"Not...crazy. I haven't had an attack in six months." Grey rubbed the back of his neck, "I have two inhalers in my bad downstairs."

"How many do you go through a year?" Claire looked at him and he felt comfortable.

"Maybe one or two." He nodded. 

Claire put that in his file, "Do you have one with you?" Grey dug in his pocket and pulled out a red cased inhaler and held it out to her, Claire took it and nodded, "Ventolin. We have that, so don't worry." Claire reached out to hand the inhaler back to him.

Grey took it, he smirked, "That's comforting."

"Yeah, I was surprised too. There's a lot of medication in here. I don't think anyone needs to worry." Claire smiled, saving Grey's file, "You're all set."

"Thank you," Grey pulled his shirt on and hopped off the bed, he looked over at her and smirked, "Lucas is a good guy." Claire looked over at him, suddenly feeling embarrassed, "I've known him for a while, good friends with Sean. Just...I know there's no rules anymore. Who the hell knows what is going to happen."

"What are you saying?" Claire took a quiet breath in.

"I'm just saying...he's a really good guy," Grey nodded.

Claire nodded, "Yeah."

"Yeah," Grey smiled, "Thanks again."

"Yeah, uh...can you send Sean in?" Claire watched him nod and walk away.

As Sean walked in Claire looked up at him, she smiled and pointed to the bed, "Have a seat, and if you could remove your shirt."

"Woah, Lucas is my best friend!" Sean laughed, "I'm kidding!" He sat down and pulled his shirt off.

"Does everyone know?" Claire asked while pulling up Sean's file.

"Do we all know you sleep in the same bed as my best friend? Yeah, but's cool." Sean smiled at her, Claire could tell he was the funny one.

"Sean Thomas, how old are you?" Claire worked on the tablet.

"Thirty-one! Though I look like I'm still in my early twenties don't I?" He smirked.

Claire smiled back, "Sure. Ok, blood type?"

"I don't know," Sean nodded.

"Ok, well we need to find out, let me take a vile and we can run it," Claire went to grab what she needs, Sean got nervous all of a sudden as she walked away.

As she returned she saw the look on his face as she walked to his side, "You ok?"

"I hate needles." Sean nodded, "I've seen my friends get tattoos, I was there when Lucas got the moon on his thigh, and I almost passed out."

Claire tied the elastic around his arm and looked over at him, "Moon on his thigh?"

"Oh yeah, it's really cool looking. It's for his sister, he hasn't seen her in years but loves her very much." Sean kept his eye on the other side of the room, avoiding looking in her direction, "I should stop, I don't want to give away everything about him." He chuckled. 

"Right," Claire took a vile of blood and continued with the questions to try and keep Sean's mind off the of needle. After about fifteen minutes they were done, "I'll input your blood type after I run it, I'll let you know."

"Thanks," Sean pulled his shirt on, "I like you. You seem nice."

Claire grinned, "Thank you."

"Who's next?!" He pointed to the door, "I'll send them your way!"

"Lance." Claire nodded.

Claire examined Lance, Hank, and Clark before Keptner walked into the room and sat on the bed. Claire felt weird with him there, she didn't know how to take him, he made her feel small. "Keptner Grant, age?"

"Thirty-eight." He looked across the room at the door, she could feel him avoiding her glance.

Claire took a deep breath, this was her thing. Practicing medicine was her happy place and no one was going to make her feel this way, "Ok listen," Claire clicked the tablet off, "I don't know that I did to you. I don't even know you, yet you look at me like I'm an embarrassment."

"Because you are." He looked over at her, his face stern, Claire stepped back, "I trusted all of my guys. I thought I could trust Lucas, he never did me wrong. Did he tell you he signed a contract? A contract that he broke bringing you into the bunker?"

"A lot of people made it to the bunker that weren't supposed to, not just me." Claire starred at him.

Kept shook his head, "But he brought you." Claire hated how he said that, "I worked my ass off to get this job. Those guys...they're the only family I have. I wanted to keep them safe. Lucas broke my trust bringing you here. I had to take the fall. I had to take the punishment."

"No one planned for what happened," Claire pursed her lips together feeling stressed.

"No, but I did." Keptner sighed, "Just...do your examine."

The examine was awkward, but she got through it with his short one word answers and avoiding her eyes. Once he stepped off onto the floor and pulled his shirt on he crossed his arms, "I'll send Lucas in. Don't keep him long." Kept walked toward the door leaving Claire feeling exactly what she was trying to avoid, small.