The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 40

"Doctor, I'm sorry, but my appointment will have to wait. After last night's riot, the ZPD needs every paw..."

UNfortunately, she also had her mother with her.

"Judith Laverne Hopps, do you have an appointment with this doctor today?"

"Well...yes, mom..." she admitted uncomfortably, "But you saw..."

"Then you go wait for him in Room D like he said."

"Mom, please..."

But she already knew it was no use; Bonnie Hopps with her paws on her hips and that expression on her face was the proverbial irresistible force.

"Don't make me thump my foot..."

All right, fine...but Judy was not going to go quietly into that limbo. Turning to Dr. Jarabal, she quickly explained to him her other reason for being here. The cuscus nodded his understanding at once.

"You needn't worry Detective Hopps; Max...errr, March isn't scheduled to be discharged until tomorrow morning."

"See, dear? Nothing to worry about," her mother chimed in, "He'll still be here when you're done."

And so Judy ended up spending the next few minutes having her vitals checked by a marmot; temperature, blood pressure, blood/oxygen level, etc. That being done, the nurse subjected her to the usual round of questions. Have you had any falls? How would you rate your mood? Are you experiencing any bouts of dizziness, any feelings of lightheadedness, have you had any falls, headaches, shortness of breath? She answered no to all these inquiries except for the last one.

"But I'm a lot better than yesterday," she insisted.

The nurse-marmot only grunted as if she heard that line a thousand times before-which she probably had-and then informed her, "The doctor will be with you shortly," before departing.

...which of course, he wasn't; no sooner did the door close, than time began to move at a sloth's pace. Looking at her watch, Judy saw that it was 11:42. When she looked again, two hours later, it was 11:45. At one point, she thought she found a distraction to help her pass the time; a rack full of magazines pegged to the wall. That is...until she grabbed the top one and saw the broadly smiling face of Leodore Lionheart on the cover. The caption read, "Is This Our Next Mayor?'

She immediately put the magazine back where she got it.

When Dr. Jarabal finally knocked on the door, he entered to find her hunched in a chair with her fists clenched and a mile-deep frown on her face.

He then proceeded to make the same inquiries the nurse had made, although when it came to the subject of Judy's breathing issues, his questions were considerably more pointed. Next he proceeded to go over her with a stethoscope...again with more detail than in a standard examination.

However, it quickly turned out to be worth it.

"Well...I must say, Detective Hopps, there has indeed been a great deal of improvement in your breathing since yesterday. Just the same," he raised a finger in a tut-tut gesture, "I think it would be wise to have you wear an abdominal brace for the coming week."

"Sure, okay," Judy answered, in no mood to argue after having gotten off this lightly. She'd been assuming, up to now, that she was probably going to be admitted-and that this time her doctor would refuse to take no for an answer. "Uh, where would I go to pick it up?"

"McCatt's Medical," the cuscus answered. "Have you got your phone handy? I will text you the address."

She did, and was more than happy to comply. At last; maybe now, she could finally...