“Hm, perhaps I should have recommended that he come a bit later?” Gath grunted as he climbed down the stairs. He glanced around the house, then began a vague attempt to tidy up the living room. “The medic said he will be here in five or ten minutes. He already knows the place. He did not need directions.”
Retvik, who was in the middle of eating a bowl of mashed vegetables, blinked. “You called him already?” he spat, his mouth still full.
“Yes.”
Retvik swallowed, then sighed. “Well, I should not be too annoyed. The quicker we get this over with, the better. You called Medic Feteer, yes? That was who Elksia recommended.”
“But how does he know where we live?” Gath was confused. He had already given up tidying.
“Elksia probably invited him around. Or… Arkay maybe, when he was under Feteer’s care…”
Gath shrugged. “I guess he is not busy either then.”
“Clearly.”
Retvik abandoned his meal, then headed upstairs to change his stomach wrap and put some shoulder armour on. He was never that old-fashioned, but he was certainly old enough to want to wear proper armour when others were visiting. A stomach wrap wasn’t enough.
Gath finished off Retvik’s meal, then joined Retvik upstairs.
“You seem annoyed.”
“I am just tired.”
“And scared.”
“And scared.”
Retvik fell silent. Gath left him alone to his thoughts and made another attempt at tidying up the front room.
It was about ten minutes later that someone knocked at the door. Retvik was lying down in the bedroom and nearly jumped out of bed when he heard the knock, both expecting and not expecting it. Gath swiftly answered and let in a lightly armoured, elderly Rethan, a Standard-type clearly closer to 150 than 100. He carried a huge leather bag and wore a brown and yellow scarf around his neck.
“You must be Medic Feteer.”
“Ah, and you must be General Gath!” Feteer immediately took Gath’s hand and shook it. “You look well. Where is my dear patient?”
Gath pointed upstairs. “He is in our bedroom. And please, I am no longer a general.”
Feteer nodded, and glanced around the large home, before slowly climbing the stairs. The open layout meant he immediately spotted the nest Retvik had built for himself.
“Very well. I would prefer it if you remain down here, Gath. I must keep this private between myself and Retvik.”
Feteer slowly and cautiously climbed the stairs. He knocked as he entered the bedroom.
“Hello…” Retvik muttered.
“Hello, General Retvik, I am Feteer, and I shall be your medic today.”
Out of his leather bag, Feteer pulled out a disk, which somehow folded out into a small stool. He sat down and pulled out a packet of anti-bacterial wipes and a sealed packet. He wiped his hands, pulled out a pad and pen from his bag, then opened the sealed packet and put on some rubber gloves.
“Tell me, how do you feel?”
“Worried. Tired.”
Feteer immediately started writing things down.
“Have you had mood swings?”
“Yes.”
“Changes in diet?”
“I am drinking a lot of water.”
The writing was somewhat annoying. Scratchy and irritating.
“Has there been any blood in your urine?”
“Uh, no.”
“Any stains in the bed when you wake up in the morning?”
“No.”
“Have you noticed any leaking from your underneath?”
“No.”
“Any nausea or sickness or vomiting?”
“No.”
Retvik watched as Feteer wrote everything down, then pulled a stethoscope out of his bag. He placed one end in his ear hole, then placed the other end on Retvik’s neck.
“One deep breath, then breathe normally for 20 seconds.”
Retvik did as he was told. When Feteer was satisfied, he moved the receiving end of the stethoscope to Retvik’s stomach, where his chest armour met his stomach skin.
“Same again. One deep breath, then breathe normally.”
Again, Feteer listened in. He reached for his pad and pen, wrote something down, then placed the stethoscope inside a plastic bag.
“Is there a problem, ser?” Retvik asked nervously.
“No.”
“No problem?”
Feteer shrugged as he started putting everything away. “You are perfectly healthy, Retvik. You are just scared because you do not want to lose this one, on top of the normal increased nervousness and aggression related to being pregnant. I recommend to you what I recommend to all egged Rethans, keep on drinking plenty of water, do not drink alcohol, eat a balanced diet with a mixture of vegetables, starch and protein, and get as much rest as you can.”
“Is that all?” Retvik felt slightly better.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
Feteer left the bedroom and slowly headed back downstairs. Retvik followed him. Gath was waiting in the kitchen.
“Gath, do not fret, your partner is as fit as a tree. You keep him like that.”
“Do we… owe you anything for this visit?” Gath asked as he opened the door for the good medic.
“Don’t be silly!” Feteer smiled as he walked off towards his vehicle. “You look after yourselves now! Farewell!”
“Good bye…”
Gath and Retvik waited until the medic drive off before closing the door.
“Do you feel better now?” Retvik asked.
“Yes. Do you?” Gath shrugged.
“I do, actually…”
“Good…”