Just What the Doctor Ordered
"How are you today Hayate-chan?" Ishida-sensei flipped through Hayate's charts, glancing over at her with warm concern. She had only been the little girl's doctor for about a year, but Ishida felt more fond of Hayate than any of her other patients. It was tragic, Hayate's inexplicable paralysis, yet the girl never lost her smile no matter how many trips in and out of the hospital.
"Alright," Hayate said, giving her a sheepish grin.
"Alright?" Ishida gave her a stern look. "The nurse said you were sick last night?"
Another sheepish grin sealed her guilt. The doctor clucked and waved the clipboard admonishingly. "If you're not feeling well you have to say so. Hayate-chan trusts her sensei, yes?"
"Of course!"
"Good," Ishida said, patting Hayate on the head affectionately. "So," she asked again, "How are you today, Hayate-chan?"
"My stomach's still a little queasy," Hayate confessed this time. "But it's much better than yesterday! I feel a lot better too, and I'm really not tired or hurting anymore."
Dr. Ishida smiled as she readied the thermometer device, waiting for the electronic display to turn on. "Do your legs hurt at all?" Despite the trouble, any time Hayate landed in the hospital Ishida would carefully take her through all their usual tests to make sure that the paralysis hadn't spread any further. While it hadn't spread higher up Hayate's body in the last year—which was a relief—each time the girl's legs seemed to get weaker and less responsive, a fact that always horrified Ishida. She hid her true worry from Hayate though. The girl was too kind by far, and Ishida knew that Hayate would strain herself to try and ease her doctor's concerns, which was the last thing Ishida wanted.
Hayate really was such an exasperatingly considerate child.
"The nurses are really nice, and they help me turn a lot so my legs don't hurt at all," Hayate answered, blinking her kind blue eyes up at Ishida. She obediently opened her mouth for the thermometer, holding it under her tongue, well-practiced at the routine. "Um pheelin muhch betther, reahy."
Ishida laid a hand on Hayate's forehead, the more inaccurate but comforting way to judge Hayate's temperature. "Hm, you're a lot cooler than yesterday, so that's good." She heard the thermometer beep and scribbled down the number on her clipboard. "Well, Hayate-chan, all your tests came in fine, so there are no worries there. I'm still a little concerned about your fever though. I think I might want to keep you here for one more day, just to make sure that you're completely better."
"If you really think so, sensei…" Hayate mumbled, looking at her lap then glancing up imploringly. "But if I'm okay to go home, I really would rather not be any trouble here."
Ishida hummed, looking through the charts again as an excuse not to answer right away. It was true, Hayate would probably be alright going home, but she was reluctant to send the girl back to her empty house the day before her birthday. Ishida never understood how Hayate could possibly be allowed to stay all alone in a large house while disabled, but all her protests were answered with oddly evasive notices from her superiors. Something about special circumstances, and an uncle who had explained this to that person, and signed that for this clause…
But none of that solved the problem of leaving a nine-year old child alone in an empty house.
"Sensei?"
"Hayate-chan, are you sure?" Ishida set her clipboard down on the bedside table and took a seat on the bed, patting Hayate's hand. "It would be no trouble to have you stay another day for observation."
The girl smiled one of her sweet, gentle smiles. "I don't want to take up space that someone else who's actually sick might need…"
"You are someone who's actually sick, Hayate-chan," reminded Ishida, tapping the girl on the head.
"Still, I'm lots better today, aren't I?"
"Yes, you are," Ishida assured her while also sighing and conceding the point. She studied Hayate's innocent and open expression, struggling to keep her personal emotions and her professional logic separate. Long stays wouldn't be good for the girl, exposing her to the stronger germs in the hospital environment, and the mental strain of being constantly hospitalized wasn't good either. Hayate would probably do better at home, although it would add another constant worry to Ishida's own mind.
"Okay, I'll let you go home if you promise me something?" Ishida gave in. "You have to promise to go home and rest. Get lots of sleep, and come in again tomorrow for your scheduled check-up—we did some of the tests yesterday, so it'll be really quick, okay?"
"Okay," promised Hayate, nodding.
"Good girl," smiled Ishida, and handed Hayate her clothes from the bed-stand. "I'll be back in a minute."
She left Hayate to change and walked outside the room, sliding the charts back into the box beside the door. Making her way over to the nurse's station, Ishida spotted one of them changed out of their scrubs and ready to leave. "Ah, Hitomi-san? Can you please do me a favour?"
The tall blonde woman nodded curiously. "Of course, sensei."
"Could you please walk Hayate-chan home? It's alright if she needs to stop for groceries on the way, but please make sure she gets home safely and that she goes to bed."
"Hayate-chan?" Hitomi grinned and nodded again, her eyes warm. All the nurses had a soft spot for Hayate, although it was rather sad how often they all saw the girl. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
"Thank you," Ishida said in relief. She returned to Hayate's room, walking in as Hayate finished transferring herself to her chair and was pulling the sheets neatly flat and centering her pillow. Ishida didn't want to ruin the pleasure Hayate got from being polite and helpful by letting her know that the nurses had to strip and remake the beds anyways, and so she waited patiently for Hayate to finish.
"Hitomi-san has just finished her shift and will walk you home…is there anything else you need?"
"Nothing sensei, thank you," Hayate replied, bowing in her chair and giving her another smile.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Ishida watched Hayate wheel herself out into the hallway and cheerfully greet Hitomi, the two of them chatting enthusiastically as they made their way to the elevator. Alone on her birthday…maybe Ishida should call her and ask Hayate if she'd like to go out and eat after their check-up tomorrow?
One of her colleagues came up to her side. "Oh, is Hayate-chan alright?"
"Yes," Ishida reassured her, smiling despite her internal worries. "It was just a bad flu, her condition isn't any worse."
"It's such a sad thing, for such a young girl to be paralyzed like that. Her condition is stable though, isn't it?"
"For now," Ishida said softly.
It was Hayate's birthday tomorrow.
Please, Ishida prayed, closing her eyes, if there are any kind gods listening…let that poor little girl become happy and well, and not alone anymore.
Author's Note: And we all know who showed up the next day! ^_^
I always felt that Dr. Ishida was a kind doctor, and how sad it was that she's the only person to call Hayate for her birthday. She was so happy and oddly accepting of the Wolkenritter when they showed up, so I wanted to give Ishida a fair shot at fanfic time =).
Just wanted to say, thank you to all the kind reviewers! You guys really make writing a joy, and I'm very happy that you take the time to let me know your thoughts on my work. I try my best to take your feedback into consideration as I write! =D