Shine light into darkness 9: Doctors orders

[ronfiction]

Lou sneezed hard as he walked into the small lobby of the local doctors clinic outside of Pines Bluff. Ness had opened the place up after the incident at the gate had cleared out most of Whisper Hill. When the government had promised funding to relocate the local tribe and construct for them a new village, the tribe and the government both agreed that things on the reservation should go back to the way they were supposed to be; which meant all non-members of the tribe weren't allowed to live in the limits of the reservation.

Having been inducted into the tribe by it's members, Lou was one of the few exceptions to this rule and was welcomed to live on the reservation. Lou to his credit, got allotted a chuck of land on the very edge of the new reservation limits of Pine Bluffs, that way when he hosted odd people at his mansion, they were kept away from the folks in Pine Bluffs proper. Ness was one of the few people who lingered around the region and set up shop, but had to organize her business outside of the reservation.

Lou made it a point to visit her practice whenever he needed her help, and he was starting to need to do that more and more. When their friend Mike had come back to Coos county, to live with Lou, they had forgotten the draw back of having someone with Mike's condition around all the time. Lou and Alice were now constantly getting sick and the construction crew at the mansion was starting to get worried about their boss's constant illness.

Lou for his part made it a point to visit the doctor's office often now and was constantly on some sort of medication. Lou was in the lobby waiting for only a few moments before Ness came from out back and gave her old friend a raised eyebrow. Lou gave the changeling a nod and then sneezed again. "Good morning Doc, thanks for seeing me... again."

Lou said and Ness motioned for him to follow him out back to her examination room. Lou and Ness went through the motions of the check up and soon she was getting ready to write him a prescription for an other antibiotic. Ness scribbled some on the note pad and tore it off. She held it out for Lou to take but when he did, she pulled it away and got him off guard. "Lou, we gotta talk long term solution for this problem." Ness said to him. Lou squinted his eyes in annoyance and reclined in chair he was sitting in.

"What do you mean Ness?" Lou said in a tired voice. Ness leaned against the counter across the room and folded her arms across her chest. "We've got to figure out how you're going to live with Mike without getting yourself killed." She said, addressing the elephant in the room. Lou rubbed his face some and shrugged his shoulder. "You know, I used to worry about getting cancer from my time in the power plant, I used to worry about a wolf spirit god tearing me in half, I used to worry about bugs from space, Japanese gangsters and of course a darkness from beyond our world. Now, it's the common cold that's gonna kill me. Yeash."

Lou said and sneezed again. "There's nothing common about it. I have no idea how many Protean there left in the world, but it's clear that simply being around one is enough to make you come and see me all the time." Ness said and motioned to her clip board. "I've adding some top of the line air filter systems to the house as we speak. Hopefully that will help keep Alice and I from catching his cold all the time." Lou said with a chuckle. Ness shook her head again, clearly still worried.

"Lou, it's the middle of August and you've been sick 5 times. What's gonna happen when it's flu season?" The doctor said in a stern voice. Lou heaved a heavy sigh and lowered his head. "Ness... He's got no place to go. He needs someone to look after him, he needs some kind of a family. I know that if Dallas was still around she would have taken care of him but..." Lou's voice wavered for a moment and he took a deep breath to steady himself. He wiped away a tear, not sure if it was because of the topic of discussion or just because he was congested.

Ness gave Lou a sad nod and walked over to her friend. "I know you want to help, you've already done a lot to help your friends. But you've got to take care of yourself from time to time too. It's a miracle you survived going through the gate. Just... don't waste your second chance at a normal life. There are a lot of folks who didn't get that." Ness said and handed Lou the prescription. "Just make sure you get those air filters installed as soon as you can. And for the love of god, wash your damn hands."

Lou looked up at the changeling and smirked as he took the prescription. "I take it this is a case of take two and call me in the morning?" He asked. Ness nodded. "Yep, doctors orders. You're no good to Mike, or anyone, if you're dead Lou."