The Gift

Chapter 7 : Second Opinion

LEORIO'S POV:

I travelled home early today after work, as I was also to fetch Stefan at the airport along the way.

Today, he will be seeing Alluka and hopefully, with his help, we could go down to the bottom of the problem and see the real case about the kid.

As we walked into the house, it was cool and the see breeze was really chilly. I immediately shut the door and turned only to see Xander sitting on the living room with Killua, Gon and Alluka.

"So we've got visitors!" Xander said.

"Leorio, we've been talking to your housemate. He told us he's also working at the same hospital as you."

Gon said,  with all smiles on his face.

Well, I don't feel very pleased knowing that Xander had the chance to talk with my friends, since he would always try to blab negative stuff when given a chance. It's not that I loath my housemate but he's actually not my type of guy to make friends with.

"Indeed we do... however I'm senior to him since he hasn't passed his recidency yet..he kind of failed it twice, you know..." Xander tell-tales so mockingly which really bursted my bubble.

That was totally uncalled for!

I could see that Killua seems to be uninterested of the situation, his eyes fixed and steady. Good thing he appears not be listening.

I motioned to introduce Stefan to them to put an end to the annoying talk Xander has started.

Stefan, cleared his throat to make a point and I clearly understood.

"Guys this is Stefan! He's my friend from Perth and he's the one to check-up on Alluka." I tried my best not to look so akward. I'm not used to formal introductions, but Stefan is some sort of traditional which makes this intro nescessary.

Unfortunately, Blabber-Xander strikes again dropping another bomb.

"Why bother a busy doctor from Perth when you actually live with the one they call "medical prodigy'?"

...Where is Lira anyway?  he asked so passively as if Stefan wasn't standing beside me. How insensitive.

I saw how Stefan's face flushed from pale to crimsom red. This is totally embarassing.

Everybody's face was blank and the deafening silence grew.

" Leorio personally wants Stefan to see Alluka and I think he's got a very good reason for that." Gon blurts out killing the awful silence brought about by Xander's commentary.

Xander looks at Gon and smiles,

"Yep...maybe you're right...he might have a very good reason for that. Besides ,I don't think Lira would do this, not when his ex just announced wedding plans with another co-doctor,  she might be more busy mending her broken heart..I'm off now..I've got OR in two hours." 

And with that Xander left. What a douchebag! I do personally regret, consenting him to share space with us inside the house.

"Is he always that inappropriate?" Killua asked cooly as if he didn't experience what big of a moron Xander is.

"MOST OF THE TIME..." I emphasized.

"And who's Lira?" Gon asks sounding confused.

"She's the other co-doctor who shares space here." I answered briefly.

I aplogized to Stefan after what had happened earlier, but he seem not to mind, he's rather interested to know if what Xander have mentioned about Lira was true.

"Did they really break up? and how is she coping up with it?" Stefan looks at me like a dog begging for answers.

"I don't really know, I haven't talked to her." I explained while trying not to prolong this talk. I wanna dodge this topic about Lira. I do feel guilty enough for not calling her and check if she's okay after the news came out about Lyle's wedding.  And I find it wrong to talk about her in front of Gon and Killua, because they haven't even met her.

I guess one reason Stefan immediately agreed to travel here from Perth was that he's expecting to see Lira around.

Why is it a common nature to man to oggle about the failure and misfortune of a person who has been constantly successful. I'm quite sure Lira's not enjoying the attention.

I shifted the conversation to Alluka's consultation, besides, that's what we are supposed to do in the first place.

"Maybe we can check on Alluka already. She might be sleepy later on and might not be able to cooperate with us." I tried my best to change the conversation without being obvious.

So we all went upstairs to facilitate the check-up. Stefan did the same procedures like I did and we waited again for the lab results for a few days.

Then the time came when we all got to see if Stefan and I have the same findings or otherwise. I was quite nervous, what if I'm wrong?

That'll be a big question to my profession, but what if I'm right, then that will lead us into a more complex problem. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Either of the two outcomes posts a very good view for us.

We all sat down on the living room.

Killua and Gon looked really serious.

Stefan, looking into all the results of the exam seem puzzled.

"It's unusual but none of these show anything abnormal."

Again. It's the same.

Killua's face got very pale. I knew he was hiding something from me. And Stefan's findings just validated that whatever he might not be telling me may be the real cause of Alluka's sickness.

"Is he having problems lately?" Stefan asked Killua but he was spacing out.

Stefan repeated his question but this time Killua got it.

"Alluka's fine, she is just okay. He'd talk normally the way he always does. He's just awfully sleepy...." was Killua's indefinite answer.

"But it's not even narcolepsy. His EEG result is okay." Stefan says.

"Would you allow me to talk to her tomorrow?" Stefan asked Killua and told him he's ready to give Alluka psychiatric assessment.

"I'll think about it."

...and again Killua was silent. He hasn't been talking alot lately. He must be really worried about Alluka, but I need to ask him about the the thing he's not telling me about.

Stefan finally decides to go back to the hotel where he stays. He plainly rejected my invitation to stay at my place because he doens't want to bump on to Xander again.

Knowing that Stefan and I ended up with the same diagnosis lifted up my spirit. I thought I made some mistake. However, this situation just made the whole puzzle even more mind-buggling?

What makes Alluka sick?