Untouchable: Chapter 17: Labs
Oliver slept poorly, from wanting the clock to go off for his doctor appointment, he was worried that he might have an opportunistic infection or have moved to stage three FIV. When his alarm finally went off, he had been awake for what felt like hours. He showered and reluctantly ate, not wanting any other reason to feel nauseous.
The nurse behind the desk was Karry the pigeon he met when he saw Sean.
Oliver said, "Oliver Cunningham, here to do labs, the on-call nurse last night said he left tickets for me."
"Oh Karry that was me, I'll take it," pence said from the back.
"Are you sure, you were about to clock out," she said.
"Yeah it's no problem, he's a friend of a friend," pence said then came around the counter and got the door for Oliver.
Pence was a floppy eared dark furred Jack Russel with a brown patched eye, and looked vaguely familiar.
"So we've met before?" Oliver asked while he followed Pence.
"No, but you and your buddies sat near our table at Purrfection and my buddy Neal said you went home with my friend Sean," Pence said with a conspiratorial grin.
"Well Sean when home with me but it didn't go well," Oliver said.
"You guys didn't hit it off?" Pence asked.
"Thing's went great till I kissed him," Oliver said then stopped with Pence while he opened the lab door.
"Hey Shelly, I got this one," Pence said then led Oliver to a seat, "is your tongue horribly barbed or something, I'm mean Sean goes all doe-eyed for cats."
"I'm guessing he never told you he's allergic to cats," Oliver said.
Pence froze while he reached for the vials and a syringe, "no he didn't, he told Everyone he had a Catnip Allergy and couldn't handle the smell, and most cats eat enough Catnip that you can just tell, you know."
"Yeah Xander didn't even know about it apparently," Oliver said, then he looked away and tried to breathe normally while Pence found a vein.
"Wow was Xander mad about that?" Pence asked.
"I assume so, Xander and Sean had a fight Saturday and I guess that might have been a factor too. I think Xander's feelings for Sean had a- ouch," Oliver said.
"Shit sorry, Xander has feelings for Sean?" Pence asked and stabilized the needle again, "I mean, I had no idea, I just thought they had a bromance, being friends forever and all that."
"Yeah Xander's been going out with my friend Paul, but he seems pissed at Sean for not being jealous I think," Oliver said, "I mean why else be angry."
"They have been friends forever, are you sure Xander has those feelings," Pence asked.
"I think so and it seemed his sister Sharron thought so too."
"You met the Ice Alpha herself," Pence said, "She nearly killed Ken with a glare."
"who's Ken? and she is a bit intense," Oliver said.
"Oh my partner, he's a lab," Pence said, "So have you or were you going to tell Sean about your status."
"I was, if I didn't chicken out, I mean Wolves cant get it or be carriers," Oliver said.
"That's what the evidence assumes but we don't know with certainty," Pence said.
"Well I haven't really talked about it to anyone, well I did last night for the first time," Oliver said, when Pence pulled the needle Oliver's head spun.
"Feeling ok?" Pence asked.
"Oh the nausea was kinda intense there," Oliver said.
"I see with the symptoms you described, it could be a simple stomach bug, I mean you should be passed the symptom stage," Pence said.
"Even if its hitting stage three?" Oliver asked then leaned back as he continued to have the spins.
"You might but it's more likely that you're just sick or something like that," Pence said then blotted the puncture point then swabbed Oliver's thoat.
"I'm always sick now," Oliver said darkly.
"You are but everyone is, and we spend our lives managing all the Bacteria and Viruses, you just need a bit more help than others," Pence said, "the culture and blood test with tell us what's going on.
"If you hadn't been up all night I'd assume you were a morning fur," Oliver said.
"I am but, it's also my weekend now, I have the right to be chipper," Pence said.
"I was hoping to ask you a few things about my meds," Oliver said.
"About interactions? Because I'm not a pharmacist but otherwise I know them fairly well for a dog," Pence said.
"Will there be side effects and do I start tonight or do I start now and again tonight to get it into my system?" Oliver asked then sat up with his head beginning to clear.
"Oh no just start tonight with the one pill and take it with food or the side effects might be worse than they would be otherwise," Pence said.
"So there are side effects," Oliver said and rubbed his arm, "I won't loose my fur will I? I read about the medicines from the 1980's and 1990's that did that."
"I can't say that you couldn't but you shouldn't it's not listed as a side effect, and you'd look good with or without fur." Pence said.
"Thanks and I doubt that," Oliver said, "so what should I expect?"
"Most furs have more vivid dreams than normal, some have hot flashes, and nausea if not taken with food. In fact all the symptoms are worse when taken on an empty stomach," Pence said.
"Ok I'll have a snack before bed too," Oliver said, "you know, I haven't had any dreams that I could remember since highschool, might be nice."
"These aren't normal dreams, they are generally more intense emotional dreams," Pence said, "like lucid dreaming or a hallucination."
"Here's hoping it's of the massage I had a few weeks ago," Oliver said and stood.
"That's the spirit," pence said then led him out of the hospital.
When Oliver reached his car, he realized he hadn't called Sean like he said he would.
He dialed Sean's number but reached the voicemail, "hey sean I'm looking forward to dinner, I'm going semi formal, unless you tell me otherwise, it's weird to say it but I miss you, I hope to hear from you soon."
Oliver blushed at his words, then he drove to work.