A/N: If you couldn't tell, these are told in drabble format. They can relate to each other, but most of them don't .
"Can you please stop moving?" Herbert asked sharply. "In order for me to do this, you must be…"
"Well if you'd stop jabbing me!" Cassie shot back, hissing in pain as he made another pass with the needle. "You're supposed to be sewing the hole up, not making new ones! Jesus, I thought doctors were supposed to do no harm! Of course, this is you we're talking about, so…I guess that whole oath thing doesn't matter."
Herbert simply glared up at her, inwardly admitting that perhaps he was rushing to finish mending the gash in her thigh. She immaturely stuck her tongue out at him from where she was sitting, which naturally had to be on top of his examination table. Of all the hospitals in the state, she had to choose Miskatonic. Or rather, Vlad had chosen it since Cassie wasn't exactly in the shape for walking or driving, but just the same – Miskatonic wasn't the only hospital in the state.
He chose not to retaliate, seeing as he had to focus on treating her whether he wanted to or not. If he didn't know her better, he'd say the frighteningly large man she traveled with had beaten her. Her makeup was a little thicker than usual, in attempts to cover the bruised eyes and split lip, and her arms and legs were covered in superficial cuts as well. Only the one on her thigh had gotten infected, probably due to her attempts to treat it with basic first aid.
"May I ask how this happened?" he asked briskly.
He could feel her looking at him with that incredulous look. "As your doctor, it's important that I know," he added.
She smirked. "It was insane," she said, a slight smile spreading over her usually sulky face. "A little while back, me and Vlad ran into this guy called Father Wrath. Creepy, cross-dressing son of a bitch that liked cutting up drunk college girls with a butcher knife. Anyway, we did away with him, but it turns out he had this nephew that went around dressed up just like his uncle. Me and Vlad tracked him down and…"
"So I suspect 'knife-wound' would be an accurate description of the injury?" Herbert asked, cutting her off as he cut the thread and rolled back on the stool he was sitting on to examine his work.
"Hey, you're the one that asked, pal!" Cassie said flatly.
He rolled his eyes and looked her in the eye as he absently reached back and grabbed the gauze, which he promptly began wrapping around the injured area.
"Why are you here?" he asked finally. "Of all the hospitals in the country, I'm sure you could have found one closer to the location of this…slasher you so vehemently believe in."
He finished with the gauze and gave her leg one more unnecessary yank, causing her to see stars and be relieved that he'd given her the tetanus shot earlier. "Well, the closest thing I have to a doctor elsewhere is a vet over in Illinois," said Cassie rolling her eyes and swinging her good leg as he stood up. "And as nice as Lisa is, I figure the less she sees of us, the…"
"You asked for me specifically," said Herbert. "Why not Dan? Or one of the doctors in emergency?"
She jumped down from the table and drew in close to him, returning the glare he was sending her, causing her to feel like she was racking up a collection of specific Herbert West glares in her mind.
"Just checking up on you, Dr. West," she said. "Knowing what I do about you, I'm sure you started a new science project in your basement. I'm just making sure we don't have a repeat performance from last time."
"I'll have you know I don't appreciate people who judge my work, Ms. Hack," said Herbert. "I think it best you leave, now. I'll write you a prescription for painkillers if you like. I suggest you give that muscle some time to heal, as well."
"Screw it, I don't need any of that," said Cassie, turning around and grabbing her jacket off the table. "Just gimme the antibiotic and I'll be fine."
She turned back to him and frowned, grabbing him by the tie, pulling him towards her and kissing him quickly on the cheek before she yanked the prescription note out of his hand. "Be good," she said, before going out through the door and slamming it behind her.
Vlad was already waiting for her outside, sitting on a stool and talking to Dan, who was obviously curious about what had gone on inside the examination room. Vlad looked up at her and gave her a goofy smile, which she returned brightly as he stood up, causing some of the nurses that were already staring something more to gawk at.
"See ya, Dan," she said, smiling at the other doctor, punching him playfully in the arm as she went past. "C'mon Vlad, let's see where we can get us some free Jell-O."
The doors at the end of the hall swung open and the two of them disappeared behind them. Dan simply sipped his coffee, figuring that he'd be hearing Herbert complain later – something he seriously wasn't looking forward to. The nurse at the reception desk tapped him on the shoulder. "Is that girl seeing Dr. West?" she asked.
"Herbert doesn't have a girlfriend," said Dan, smiling. "And yes."
