‘Very funny,’ said Tammy, regaining composure. ‘Now listen, much as I’d love to catch up with you, Finn — to hear why you walked out on me all that time ago — I believe you’re here for medical reasons?’
Finn cleared his throat, a serious look coming back into his eyes. He looked as though he wanted to say something in particular, then decided against it. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s right. Medical reasons. As long as this isn’t too… weird for you?’
Weird? It’s beyond weird? It’s weeeeeeeeeeeeeeird. It’s weirdo beardo.
OK, calm down, Tammy, you’re going all Jabberwocky again.
Tammy took a deep breath and led Finn into the surgery. For a moment, for some reason, she got the urge to let Finn sit in the doctor’s chair, so that she could sit in the patient’s chair and offload, but thankfully, she ignored that instinct.
‘Now, tell me, what seems to be the problem?’ she asked.
Please don’t let it be anything genital.
Or… pleaseletit be something genital?!
Oh jeez, you need to stop that this instant, Tammy.
‘It’s my lungs, actually,’ Finn said, taking a breath and wincing slightly.
OK, his lungs. She could examine his lungs without going all silly, right?
‘Your lungs feel painful?’ she asked.
‘Sometimes,’ he said. ‘It kinda comes and goes. It’s better since we came to Liberty, but I’ve noticed since the weather’s got colder it’s gotten worse again.’
Tammy nodded, a list of possible illnesses scrolling through her mind. There was only one way to get more information. She was going to have to listen to his chest. And the best way to do that was without the barrier of clothes. She thought back to medical school.
‘Auscultation must be carried out on bare skin for optimum results.’
Yep, it was a medical fact. Nothing wrong or creepy about asking him to take off his shirt.
‘I’m going to have to listen to your breathing,’ she said. ‘I’ll need access to your chest and back.’
Finn didn’t seem bothered by this. In fact, he seemed to be expecting it. He took off his jacket and sweater, and then finally, removed his plain white t-shirt.
Tammy felt that fluttering feeling again as she watched him expose his bare chest. The man wasrippedas heck. He had proper, chiseled pecs and a six-pack. How was that even possible? The Finn she remembered was hot, but he was so bookish and artsy too. How did someone so sensitive and creative get the kind of genes that let them bemodelmaterial at the same time? Finn Healy had it all. It just wasn’t fair on the rest of the planet.
‘I’m going to hold this against your chest now,’ said Tammy, pressing the stethoscope’s diaphragm against Finn’s skin. He felt so warm and taut, so perfect beneath her fingers.
She listened to the sound of his breathing, expecting to find nothing of interest. Finn and his brother had always been practical jokers as kids. She kinda assumed this was some kind of trick. That Finn was just here to spy on her or watch her squirm. Maybe he even saw her in the bar last night, realized he knew her and came here to taunt her with his sexy-ass muscles.
But as she listened to both his chest and back, she heard something. A high-pitched wheezing sound. The telltale sign of asthma.
‘I’m going to prescribe you a steroid inhaler,’ she told Finn. ‘Then what I’ll do is—’
‘Already got one,’ said Finn, cutting in. ‘Doesn’t work.’
Tammy was surprised. ‘Oh. OK. That’s a shame. Looks like we’re going to have to investigate further.’
Finn raised an eyebrow at her. ‘It’s a shame because you have to spend more time with me?’
Tammy blushed. ‘No, not at all. I mean it’s a shame the inhaler hasn’t worked.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Finn. ‘I’m just yanking yer crank.’ He pulled on his t-shirt and she felt a pang of disappointment.
‘Fill out this form for me,’ Tammy said, reaching into a file in her bag and pulling out an asthma record sheet. ‘I want you to make a health record for me.’ She handed him a peak flow meter and he nodded. ‘Let’s meet again in a week. By then, I should have more equipment. We’ll try a reverse spirometry test and a few other things. We’ll get to the bottom of things, Finn. I promise.’
As much as Tammy hated having to treat this man — her abandoner — she didn’t like to leave a mystery illness unchecked. If she had been unsure about whether to stay in Liberty before, now she was certain. She had to stay and focus on helping one of the last men in the world she would ever have wanted to help.