Slow Man (Owen)

Owen was sitting in his office, sipping at a glass of water when Sean came in. He had found a temporary assistant to help up front for the time being. And he was so thankful for that today. Today, he was supposed to be married. He was supposed to be standing by a minister watching his bride walk down the aisle to him. He needed a drink badly, but he had a clinic to run first. Then, when he got home, he would drink himself into a stupor. He absentmindedly stroked Duke's head, which was rested on his thigh.

The alarm on his iPhone went off, telling him it was time for another appointment. He had already had several today, but this was his last one. For that, he was incredibly thankful. It meant that he was not far away from a bottle of tequila. Owen took another swig of the water and got up, making his way over to the door. He cleared his throat and tried to make himself look a bit more presentable. After all, he had realized today that he was seeing and treating the head psychologist of Hammel. Surely, Owen had to make himself look a little less crushed today. Normally, he wouldn't have given a damn, but today he had obvious reasons to.

He straightened himself up and exited the his office. It was time to get the last appointment over with and he hoped that Dr. Neville knew nothing of Owen's more recent past. Apparently some rumors had traveled around town about what happened to Owen when he went to medical school. It had crushed him that people would be so petty as to talk about something so personal like that. In fact, it made him rather angry. He tried to not let it bother him, but that was difficult to do. He didn't need anyone talking about his personal life.

Dr. Neville had aged since Owen had been at Hammel, but that was to be expected out of both men. Owen smiled and reached his hand out to Sean, "It's so good to see you again, Dr. Neville. Please, follow me." He led him into one of the exam rooms and started to wash his hands. "How have you been?" He asked over his shoulder.

Owen reminded himself to stand up up straight and to exude confidence. The man was telepathic and if he didn't fool himself, he wasn't about to fool Sean. Once Sean entered the room, Owen ushered him over to the scale and took down his weight and height. He had Sean sit down on the exam table and took his temperature, writing it down in his chart.

He set the chart down and washed his hands again, this time slipping some gloves on. He rolled over to Sean, a smile on his face. "I'm well. Glad to be back in the area. This has always been home for me." He reached up and felt Sean's glands, writing a few notes in the chart again. If he just remained silent and professional, his facade wouldn't crack under the pressure. Paranoid, Owen knew that Sean knew what was going on in his head. However, Sean would never say anything unless prompted, so Owen refused to do any prompting.

His stethoscope went to listen to Sean's heart and chest. He instructed Sean to take a few breaths as he passed the cold metal between the two lungs. With the touch of Owen's hand on Sean's shoulder, Owen was able to tell that Sean's blood flow was spectacular and there was no clots to be worried about. Owen would have to draw some blood to check on a few things, but he was confident that the older man was in good shape.

"You're looking to be in very good health, Sean. I'm going to run over a few more things. Do you need documentation for this visit?" He didn't know if Sean was doing this for work or personal reasons. Owen checked his reflexes and continued to document his findings. "Have you been having any problems? Shortness of breath, sleeplessness, soreness?"

Owen glanced up at the clock and held back the look of pain on his face. It was the exact time his wedding was supposed to start. He sighed, pushing that into the back of his mind and focusing on this appointment. He would send the blood off and get results within a week. Owen cleared his throat, "I will draw some blood to test your hemoglobin, cholesterol, etc. Is that all right with you?"

Sean would be correct in assuming he was well. Owen was surprised at how good his health was. He didn't say anything about that though, nor give any indication. He just continued to document things on chart and made a mental note to give Sean documentation at the end of the appointment. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Owen to take care of physicals. However, the blood did need to be sent out. He would sent a copy of the results to Sean as well as log it in his newly created file.

"I'm glad to be back. This is home to me." He commented when he could. He wanted to keep Sean comfortable and it seemed that some small talk would help with that. "Medical school and residency was an adventure, but I was ready to come back." Hopefully Sean didn't press too much into medical school and residency. All of that would allude to what Owen was really struggling with. And his desire to have a drink would only increase.

"A little pain is usual. Your bones aren't what they used to be. You're welcome to take some calcium supplements and some aspirin if the pain is bad." He mentioned his sleep wasn't as good as it should be. Owen frowned a little, "Have you always had a hard time sleeping or is that a recent development?"

Owen pulled some gloves on and prepared Sean's arm for some blood drawing. It wouldn't take long and then the appointment would be done. It just depended on whether Sean said anything about his past. That would change things. He put a tourniquet on Sean's arm and sterilized the area. "A little prick." Owen warned as he inserted the needle into one of Sean's veins. He connected several tubes, one at a time, to the need and let them fill. They would be sent off when Owen left the office.