Jeff's body was wracked with tremors as he followed Nick down the stairway. Jeff's foster dad turned around when he heard whimpers escaping from his newest son. Nick ruffled Jeff's hair and put a hand on his back to support him as they walked towards the garage. Jeff didn't like this one bit, he felt like he was being forced into this. He got skittish as they approached Nick's office and tried to duck under his foster dad's arm. Nick gently grabbed the collar of his shirt and held him in place.
"Jeff, we talked about this, nothing is going to hurt you."
Jeff couldn't get any words out at this point and was just whining quietly. This is not how he wanted to spend his first day with his new family. He knew he was being a child about all this, after all he was sixteen. So he slowly let Nick push him through the door. Nick shut the door and turned to Jeff.
"Alright, Jeff, have a seat. I want to talk to you first."
Jeff complied and sat on the very edge of the reclining chair, not putting his feet on or letting his guard down. Nick sat down too and rolled his stool over so he was facing Jeff.
"So, I'm not going to judge you or get mad, but how long have you been avoiding this situation Jeff?"
Jeff bit his lip and looked away from nicks gaze. "A year, maybe two" he admitted. Nick didn't look convinced.
"Judging from your reactions a few moments ago I think we both know that's not entirely truthful Jeff" Nick reasoned.
"Okay, probably more like four years" Jeff confessed.
Nick nodded knowingly. He grabbed a few disposable tools and placed them on a tray near Jeff's legs. Jeff looked away and shut his eyes; he was getting nauseous and lightheaded. Nick noticed and began speaking to distract him.
"So Jeff, I see you have your nose pierced on the left side, how was that when you did it?" Nick inquired.
Jeff had to think about it for a minute. "It hurt a lot actually; I don't know how people do it more than once."
"Well if you can make it through that, this will be nothing" Nick smiled. "You're looking a bit pale Jeff. I think if you lay down you would feel less faint" Nick tried to reason. "Just close your eyes and block everything out."
Jeff tried to sit properly, but when nick reclined his chair he got jumpy again and a few tears rimmed his eyes and trickled down his cheeks.
"Jeff, can you let me look at your teeth now?" he asked as he laid a bib across Jeff's chest and flipped the light on. Jeff heard him pick up his tools and went into slight panic mode. His eyes flew open and he stared intently at Nick and everything surrounding him. Jeff kept his mouth closed as his breathing picked up.
"Jeff, calm down. Close your eyes again, you were doing great before. Just don't look at anything and breathe" Nick coaxed.
Jeff listened to his new dad much to Nick surprise and went back to his self-affixed meditation. Jeff opened his mouth fractionally, but it was a start.
"That's great Jeff, you're doing great, just a little bit more though. If you need me to stop just raise your hand."
Jeff opened his mouth a little wider, just enough for Nick to gain access. Nick began checking Jeff's teeth thoroughly just in case there were other problems. Jeff felt the metal tools touching his teeth and he flinched away reflexively.
"Stay still Jeff, you're okay" Nick soothed. Jeff couldn't handle it though and continued to flinch with every move Nick made. As Nick moved closer to his sensitive area Jeff's hand flew up in panic. He sat up abruptly and started hyperventilating. Nick rubbed his back soothingly until he calmed down again.
"Are you okay now Jeff?" Nick asked.
"Yeah….. I just…. I was afraid you would touch it… and it would hurt again. Please don't touch it Nick, please?" Jeff begged.
"Jeff, I won't hurt you. I promise not to touch it. Let's try again."
Jeff smirked a little to himself and repositioned himself. Nick looked around some more, tapped a few teeth, and did a little scraping. All of which made Jeff cringe, until finally he placed his tools back on the tray and turned off the light. Jeff sat up and looked Nick in the eyes. He was starting to trust his foster dad, or dad, as he was growing fond of him now.
"Well, is it bad?" he asked meekly.
"Not at all, in fact you only have three cavities. Pretty good for someone whose been avoiding this for a while."
Jeff's eyes grew wide and his stomach sank. "Th-three? C-cavities? Are you sure, I mean one I get sure but maybe the other two aren't really there right?" Jeff tried to justify.
Nick placed a hand on his shoulder to try and clam his youngest son down. "you're going to be just fine, it won't hurt, we'll just take care of them tonight and you'll feel much better" Nick grinned and reclined Jeff's chair again.
Jeff became wildly distressed at the thought of how fast this was happening. He saw Nick gathering a few tools he would need and his heart fluttered when he glimpsed a hypodermic and vial on the counter. The only thing Jeff feared more than the dentist was any type of needle. The damn piercing in his nose was his cousin's idea, and they had gotten him drunk prior to doing it at his friend's studio. Jeff flinched at the mere thought and climbed out of his seat quickly. Nick looked up and tried to calm Jeff as he pressed himself against the door to the hall.
"Jeff, don't over think this, it will be over before you know it, and all you'll feel are two pinches" Nick rationalized.
"I can't, I can't, I can't do this Nick, I just…..no I just can't." Jeff repeated profusely and bolted out the door. He tried thinking his way through the brand new house and decided his best chances were to find a spot outside to flee. Jeff slid through the kitchen and flung open the back patio door. He ran outside and turned to see if Nick was following him, surely he had to be. Jeff failed to watch his step and ran straight into the pool in the back yard.
Nick heard the splash and found his son soaking wet in the lap pool, treading water. "Alright Jeff, out of the pool. Go dry off so we can finish this" Nick pointed over his shoulder to the house. Jeff shook his head stubbornly. He figured he was safe in the protection of the water.
Nick smiled deviously "you want me to come in and get you out myself; I promise you if I have to do that Jeff you will be sorry."
Jeff could hear the intensity in nicks voice and meekly got out of the water. "Nick, I'm sorry, please….. I don't like needles. I'm really sorry." Jeff shut his eyes and waited for the yelling to begin. Nick just sighed. Go upstairs and change. Be down here in five minutes. We're going to work through this as a team.
Jeff unscrewed his eyes and looked confused at Nick. "You're not mad? Aren't you going to shout at me?"
"What would that accomplish except make you more stressed Jeff? Besides, it was really funny to see you soaking wet" Nick laughed energetically. "Go change, I'll be down here waiting."
A/N: okay I lied; it's a three-shot. Do those exist? Anyway, I hope you like ya. Review and subscribe. Don't forget to send me prompts of what you want to read. I am a fanfic fairy.