Nothing But Flowers (Johnlock)

Chapter 1

"See you in a week, Mrs. Carter," John said as his patient stepped into the waiting room. Her movements were careful, leaning heavily on her walker with each step.

Looking down at his tablet, he called out the next name. "Joseph Agrinya."

The large man stood up with a wide grin, his dark skin and huge frame such a contrast from the waiting room full of mostly small Caucasian octogenarians. He moved forward with his crutches, an assistant at his side watching him closely.

John nodded in welcome, and waved the man into the hallway. "Exam room four." Walking behind the man, he looked for other signs of injury or misalignment aside from his right leg.

Once his new patient was settled, John reviewed the information on his tablet. "So, Mr. Agrinya, can you tell me how you got your injury?"

His assistant, a younger, slim man, puffed up in affront. "You don't know? It's been on every channel!"

The patient made a settling gesture to his friend. Looking back at John, he gave a slow, easy smile. "Please, Doctor, call me Joe. I was tripped by the Forward of the other team on Monday."

"Here. You can watch it yourself." The assistant shoved his own tablet into John's hands.

A video was queued up, and John watched it, cringing slightly as he watched Joe falling, and the slo-mo replay. "Yes, I can see your knee was overextended there." One advantage of having professional athletes for clients was often seeing footage of their injury occurring.

He looked through the scans that had been done already. Getting up, he performed a quick physical examination on Joe. The athlete didn't show many signs of pain, even when John moved the swollen joint. Many athletes were used to dealing with high levels of pain.

"Definitely an ACL tear, which we can repair with a biogenic ligament. It will take about two months to heal before you can ease into retraining though," John said, watching the man's expression closely. Two months was most of his season, and he wouldn't be at a competitive level for months after that.

Joe didn't look pleased, but nodded in acceptance. "I expected as much."

"I will need a full list of all your performance enhancing drugs, vitamins and other procedures you have done over the years," John said, again watching his patient closely.

The man glanced away, shifting in his chair.

The assistant shook his head. "You can't expect Mr. Agrinya to give you that information. It is highly confidential."

Standing up, John set down his tablet. "Well, I cannot proceed without full disclosure. I will give you the name of some other surgeons you can consult with."

The assistant blustered, grumbling and swearing, as he stood up and passed Joe his crutches.

The athlete remained sitting, his dark eyes looking over John assessingly. "How can I know this information won't get out?"

"I am bound by law under Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. My staff have all signed non disclosure agreements." John calmly stood his ground.

Joe waved him back into his chair, leaning forward. "You understand I play in the DADT league. Enhancements are allowed."

The assistant nodded. "Joseph Agrinya is one of the top ten players. Many would like to follow his regime."

Sighing, John tried to keep his expression neutral. "You have come to me for a reason. You know I'm the best. I wouldn't be in that position if I leaked private information."