ANONYMOUS SAID:
what I need- vet lucas doing his usual routine checkups when all of a sudden this blonde woman bursts through his office door carrying a fish bowl with a Swedish Fish candy in it and being like 'so I accidentally flushed my four year old son's fish down the toilet and I was kinda hoping that you could work your animal doctor magic and help me convince my son that he's still alive. if not then you'll be in charge of officiating the funeral. do you really want a fish funeral on your conscience?'
Lucas is trained for a lot of things. He's taken kidneys from dying chihuahuas, birthed baby horses on farm calls, even performed brain surgery under the wing of one of the best veterinarians in the world- yet no matter how much experience he's had, there was nothing that could prepare him for a frantic blonde running towards him, snatching him by the collar after noting his white lab coat and badge.
"A vet? You're a vet?" she asks him quickly, managing to get a nod in response. "Okay, look, here's the deal: I accidentally killed my son's fish when I was cleaning the bowl and she went down the drain, and I need you to work your vet animal doctor magic and convince him that she's alive. In exactly one minute and fourteen seconds, I am going to re-enter with him from the bathroom absolutely hysterical, and I need this to be believable. I don't care whose fish you gotta take, but there needs to be one swimming in here by the time we walk out, capiche?"
Lucas gulps, her intimidating stare knocking him down a peg even though he towered over her in height. "I-uh. Yeah?"
A grateful grin broke out, spreading a flushed look to her face as she lets out a deep sigh. He couldn't help but smirk at her, wondering how much thought she had to put into her plan to get it out in a single breath.
He stood at the counter, waiting as he watches her pad towards the bathroom before almost immediately returning, the bowl she had been carrying now in the hands of a tiny boy, tears welling in his eyes.
"A doctor!" The woman wails, her hand draping over her heart, "We need a doctor!"
He holds back a chuckle, raising his hand as if he's surprised, "I'm a doctor!"
"Oh, doctor," her son gasps, "I need you to fix my goldfish, Chelsea! She's refusing to swim! She can't eat! I need you to fix her please!"
Lucas puts on a serious expression, his hands wrapping around the glass container before raising it so he can investigate.
It isn't until now that he realizes what is actually floating in the bowl; a fucking Swedish Fish. A bright red Swedish Fish is staring back at him. He went through years of medical training to diagnose and replace a floating piece of candy. He has degrees in veterinary medicine, and he's looking at aSwedish Fish.
He raises his gaze to notice the boy's mother now glaring at him, the gap in conversation making her son anxiously step in place.
"Hm," he clears his throat, removing one hand to tap on his chin. "Let me see what I can do."
He leads them towards the waiting room, promising to return shortly with one healthy Chelsea. He freezes as he watches the child glance at his mother. "Mommy, can I please speak to the doctor alone? This is a tough time for me- as a parent. I'd like to be in the room during the operation."
She immediately finds Lucas's eyes, a soft nod leading her to allowing permission. "I- um.. yeah?" Color drains from her cheeks as her son rises from his seat and walks to Lucas glumly. He could tell that she was panicking, knowing that if the young boy stared at the bowl enough he would notice the treat in the water.
"We'll be back, and if there's anything too major to do that is just far too serious to have a parent in the room with the patient, I'll send him right out," Lucas winks, the smile from before softly returning on her lips as he links hands with the younger client and enters an examination room.
"Okay, look," the boy deadpans, his solemn expression falling entirely, "Chelsea is dead and there's a Swedish Fish from my lunch yesterday in that bowl, and we both know it. But my mom out there? She's really torn up about this so I'm gonna need you to work out something here, doc." He reaches into his back pocket, tugging out ten bucks. "This is an entire week's allowance," he informs the vet, passing over a five dollar bill. "I need you to get us another fish. Chelsea was all gold, a little darker around the tail. I'll distract my mom while you work out the rest of the details- oh, what the heck!" He hands Lucas the rest of his money. "For your good deeds. Buy yourself something pretty." He pats down the cash into his palm, nodding softly.
Lucas can't help but gain a smile at the scene, completely blown away by this family. "Thanks," he says slowly, eyeing the money in his grip. He would definitely sneak it back to his parent at some point before they leave the office, but the gesture was sweet.
"No, thank you," the boy grins back, one that made Lucas had seen only minutes ago in the waiting room. He watches the kid slump his shoulders, mustering out a soft sniffle as he shuffles to the door.
"I'll tell her that this got a little too much for me, seeing her with all that equipment. You have about an episode of SpongeBob at most, so don't take your time, Dr…"
"Friar," Lucas finishes.
"Right, Dr. Friar."
He stands dumbfounded as his company leaves the room, the sound of his soft cries towards his parent hardly audible through the thick wood.
"Degrees," he mutters to himself with an undeniable grin, scooping out the gummy and tossing it into the trash before beginning to replace the water in the bowl so that he could go sneak a goldfish into it from the tiny aquarium in his office. "I have degrees for this job."