Aurelia wakes up early; her alarm blaring in her bedroom and she stares up at the ceiling silently. The nightmares are still lingering in the edges of her mind and it takes her a while to return to the present. A deep part of her mind is dark, she cannot see and she flails around trying to return. Once she is back, she sits up and heads to shower.
Her medical appointment is set twice yearly which is an annoyance. Upon Dr Zayne's insistence, he has been keeping her on a close watch over the past five years just so he knows her heart's condition. Ever since that incident, many things have changed and the dynamic between them has changed too.
She dresses in her usual outfit; jeans and a white t-shirt before pulling on a jacket over her outfit. Stuffing her socked feet into boots, she grabs a bag, and her headphones and leaves her apartment. Glancing at her watch as she makes her way to the elevator, she figures she'll have plenty of time before reaching the hospital.
She decides to take public transport as there is a direct route from her apartment to the hospital because she can't be arsed riding her motorcycle today. So she plugs in her music and enjoys her journey.
With ten minutes to spare, she exits the train station and heads up the escalator which will lead her to the hospital. It is conveniently built within the vicinity of a train station. She doesn't know who the planner was but they need a pat on their back.
She appears in the lobby and heads to the usual registration counter. The nurse knows who she is by now and they chat while she gets her registered, Aurelia spins to the seats as she waits for her turn.
It's routine by now so she knows what to do.
About five minutes after the agreed appointment, her name is called and she heads to his room. She steels herself as she gets prepared to meet her doctor, the one who's been by her side since they were children.
She knocks and she hears his usual cool tone telling her to come in. Sliding the door open, she steps into the consultation room and sees her doctor seated behind the desk, his silver eyes staring hard at the monitor in front of him.
"Sit."
She rolls her eyes at his comment, his eyes never leaving the monitor, and sits on the swivel chair, waiting for him to start saying something. He types something on the keyboard; his manicured nails running across the keys swiftly. The only sound in the room was the creamy clicking of the keyboard.
"How are you, Aurelia?" he asks. His sharp eyes turn to look at her. "Is there anything out of the ordinary to report to me?"
She stills her tongue to stop herself from telling him that it's been five years and counting. If there's anything out of the ordinary, he will know by now. He's her doctor and primary care physician, there is no way he won't know if there's something wrong with her.
"No."
"No?"
He stops typing and faces her, turning his whole body to look at her, and closes the distance between them until she can feel his ice powers creeping up on her. It seems like he knows she is hiding something from him. She tries not to retreat due to his closeness.
"Don't lie to me," he says as he removes his stethoscope and starts to check on her. "I would refrain from lying to your primary care physician."
"I am not," she says stubbornly.
He scoffs at her and continues listening to her heart. She tries to keep her breathing normal, enough that he doesn't detect anything but it is hard when he's that close. She can see how long his eyelashes are and how silvery his eyes are.
"I need you to keep breathing," he says as his eyes glance up at her. "I won't want to attempt CPR on you ever again."
She stills herself and tries to concentrate to breathe; trying to ignore the fact that Zayne is staring hard at her. She tries to ignore the fact that Zayne was the one who resuscitated her and kept her alive while she was fighting for her life. He was the one who made sure she had the best care while she recuperated.
She owed him a lot.
Ever since that incident years ago, her heart has suffered the most damage and though she had gotten used to the ailment, the people around her have not. Especially the man before her. Zayne is looking at her hard, which makes her nervous.
"You have a high heart resting rate," he says as he sets his stethoscope around his neck and he frowns at her. "I know you keep yourself trained, so there is one other thing that affects your resting heart rate. Have you been sleeping well?"
Shit.
"Aurelia."
She looks away. "I have been pulling all-nighters for weeks," she murmurs and presses her lips flat as she can feel the look of disdain on his face. "I was clearing out a bunch of Class A creatures in Zone 13."
"Ignoring your doctor's orders, are you?" he asks flatly. "I might have to speak with your Captain one of these days."
"Aww come on, Dr. Zayne!" she whines. "She's going to think I'm lame!"
It seems it is the wrong thing to say to your doctor because he leans close and flicks her forehead with his fingers, a frown creasing his forehead. His professionalism as her doctor has disappeared.
"If this keeps going, I am forced to keep you on house rest," he says sternly, his brows knitting in a frown. "You are putting too much pressure on your heart. You're only twenty-nine. And I want you here with me until I die."
She stares at him open-mouthed. "You … you're not that old either, you're two years younger than me!" she says in disbelief. "We're going to stay together forever. I told you that when we were kids."
A hint of a smirk appears on his face as he turns away to type on his keyboard - updating her report with the current findings. "Ensure you have plenty of sleep and eat well," he says, his silver eyes looking up to hold her in place. "I will see you on your next checkup next month or so."
After all is done, she sits outside and waits for Zayne to come out of the clinic to have lunch together. It was a thing that they do every once in a while and she figures that he just wanted to see how she is.
His work schedule remains unstable due to his profession as a general cardiac surgeon, leaving him with little time off. The situation was even more demanding during his residency and fellowship years. She recalls the countless occasions when she would visit the hospital, bearing food and a change of clothes for him, amidst his rigorous training and demanding hours.
"Let's go, Aurelia."
Looking up to see that he had arrived, she got up and they made their way out. As they walk, they pass his colleagues and they exchange pleasant greetings. By the time they leave the hospital, it has taken them an additional twenty minutes. Aurelia is impressed by just how popular her friend is amongst his colleagues.
She didn't think he could be civil with his colleagues but she digressed. They were making their way towards his sedan, in the hospital's basement.
"Where shall we eat?"
"I have found a new place you might like."
"Nice."