Three 'G's and an 'A'

Chapter Four: River

Being an assistant doctor at the hospital was hard. He was always running from one place to another, getting coffee for coworkers, checking on patients, and working at the twenty-four hour clinic (where he got some pretty interesting clients). However, despite how taxing the job was, he wouldn't change it for anything.

"Good morning Mrs. Redlund," River said, walking into room 562, a bright smile on his face as he looked at the middle aged lady on the bed. "How are you feeling today?"

Kaddi Redlund looked up from her book to the assistant doctor and smiled as well. "Ah, hello Dr. Hale. My legs can't move again, and my arms are hurting."

River nodded, moving forward to massage her limbs gently. Kaddi was one of the unlucky people with Frontotemporal Dementia, specifically Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, which causes muscle stiffness, difficulty walking, and occasionally problems with eye movement. Although FTD is technically a neurological condition, with Kaddi's physical reactions, and constant stay, she had a need to be placed in a normal hospital room. "So how are your eyes? You're reading, so I take it they're fine."

Kaddi nodded, watching as the young doctor's assistant massaged her legs, easing the stiffness. "They've been fine for the past couple days, I can only hope they don't start spasming before I'm able to finish this chapter." River laughed lightly, moving on to her arms.

"Has your daughter come in to visit you today?" He asked, keeping the conversation going and hoping to distract his patient from the discomfort she was probably feeling.

"Why?" She asked, a sly smile forming on her face, "Do you have a crush?"

River smiled lightly, "Not at all," he flashed his right wrist where a thick light blue wristband covered his names, "but I just want to make sure you're not too lonely in this boring hospital room."

"Nonsense. I have your adorable smile to keep me company," River smiled in reply before grabbing the clipboard at the end of the bed and writing her condition on it.

"Oh Mrs. Redlund, you flatter me." He put the clipboard back into its container, "You know I would marry you in a heartbeat, but alas, I don't want your husband to feel left out." He joked along with her. They laughed for a little bit before River checked his pager. "I'm sorry to leave you, but I have another patient to get to. Get some rest, and call if you need anything."

Kaddi smiled and bid her farewells as River walked out the door. This next patient, John Finnegan, wasn't his biggest fan. Of course River tried his best to be kind to him, but the man simply did not enjoy having someone quite a bit younger than him being his doctor. River understood that there would be several patients that would be suspicious of his abilities as a doctor, seeing as he was a nineteen year old boy, and a lot of them had kids his age. However, John Finnegan took it a bit too far.

As soon as River walked through the door, the man was cursing everything, "Great, they brought the child. Can't I have a real doctor? Why do they have to send you?"

River smiled tightly, trying to hold onto his good mood. "I'm sorry sir, but the doctor is busy, and since I'm a doctor-in-training, I'm the next best thing." John rolled his eyes grumpily, "What's the problem?"

John sighed heavily, "My knee hurts."

"Well, you did get out of surgery yesterday, it's bound to be a little tender," he tried to say it as kindly as possible, but the man was having none of it.

The patient sat up quickly, his face a mask of anger. "Don't patronize me, kid. I could have you fired."

As calmly as possible, River tried again, "I wasn't trying to disrespect you sir, but you need to understand that your knee is going to hurt for a while. The best I can do is give you more pain killers, try to numb the discomfort."