Chapter Four

Double D*D PHD Trick

Allen's scowled deepened as he walked into the hospital lobby, immediately spotting a few familiar faces posing questions toward Narain, Dr. Robert, Nurse Liza and Sarah, and the Director himself. He had expected Lenalee to be on the case fast, however, not this quickly. It had only been a day. It normally took a few days for approval and gathering who they might all need, and researching further, of course. Then, Komui most likely trusted his judgement as much as the next when it came to posing new cases. Allen had a tendency to find the most important ones or they found him. Quite literally sometimes.

"Dr. Walker, can you come here for a minute?" the Director asked kindly as soon as he spotted Allen.

Allen leisurely walked over to the group of people, recognizing most faces-Lenalee, Komui, Reever, Kanda, and Lavi. A tall silhouette with skin impossibly paler than Allen's flesh that could quickly get a position on any vampire movie and a very, extremely... immensely nervous brown-haired jittery lady was standing beside Lenalee. They were both new faces and he guessed they were new agents... What a career for the woman. I hope she can handle it.

"Hello." Allen greeted politely, waving slowly. "How's everybody doing today?"

"Fine, thank you." Lavi replied cheerfully.

"Oh good! Now if only you actually listened to my orders. If you get hurt that won't be my problem." Allen claimed, poking Kanda in the chest and eyeing Lavi peculiarly, then staring at Lenalee and Komui warmly. "It's nice to see you again, Komui. I've already had the pleasure of meeting your sister, but she was... a bully."

Lenalee snorted. "You attacked the man at the help desk, Walker!"

Allen smiled, blinking innocently and clasping his hands together. He looked like a child playing innocent after they did something really bad. "Did I?"

"Yeah, he quit after you left." Reever sighed. "May I ask why you did that?"

Allen dropped his innocent act, chuckling a little. "Why, he was so rude to me and, well, I ave him precisely five minutes to let me through. As you can see, I'm a very persuasive man, and not just with words. But hey! It worked. Dear Lenalee came to his rescue. Besides, it isn't like I planned on hurting him that bad."

"You seriously attacked someone?" Narain muttered, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"I didn't attack him. I put pressure on the nerves in his neck, inducing fear so he'd allow my access or to get someone out there. It worked well." Allen said.

Lenalee stared at Allen. She could almost feel Allen's hand under her chin. She couldn't believe she fell for such a downgraded trick. A shame hung over her and it wouldn't go away until something happened to Allen. No, no... She wasn't a spiteful person. But it'd be nice to see something happen to Allen once in awhile. Although she hasn't seen Allen in a long time... So, she might have missed a few things. Because, apparently, Allen was a doctor. Lenalee never anticipated Allen going into the medical business, nor had she expected him to waltz right in the Black Order yesterday.

"Hold on! You know each other?" Lavi asked, pointing at Lenalee and Allen. "How?"

"We do know each other. Actually," Allen purred, snaking an arm around Lenalee's shoulders and bringing her hand to his lips. "We used to be lovers." A

"Used to be. Look, I accepted this case because you recommended it. What happened in the past stays there, and frankly Allen-"

"I know, I know. You want me to go to hell and rot in the fire." Allen let go of Lenalee. "I was a bit of a jerk back then, but things have changed, Lenalee. I'm living a stable life, I have wonderful colleagues, I don't have to worry about being kicked by you, and I have more patience. Then, considering my former career, my cruel demeanor was usually necessary. I guess it sometimes reflected involuntarily in my life outside of work. I'm sorry."

"Allen, you're still a jackass."

"This jackass used to be who you loved. So, if you please, don't be so crude. We can to a mutual understanding to break up. I don't see why you have such a grudge."

"Because you quit!"

"Yes, I did. I did because I can and I wanted to. It's my choice to be who I want to be. If you're holding a grudge against me for that, Lenlaee," Allen said softly, staring at her sincerely, "I believe you're the jackass here. Not me."

"Lenalee, don't fight with him. You know he'll win." Reever whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He was a psychological expert."

"It's because of his fucking psychology shit that it makes him seem like a bastard." Lenalee hissed, crossing her arms. "Stop it."

Allen nodded. He would comply to her wish. He hadn't used psychology on anyone unless his occupation called for it for some patients. He knew how to anger them or to easily calm them down. It was a trick of his he picked up as a child and he realized just how handy that trick was when he became a detective and when he got in a relationship. If there was ever an argument and he was able to keep his cool, Allen could soothe the fiery flames of the sinful anger faster than throwing water over the flames. Sometimes he used his trick unintentionally. Sometimes he was a jerk. Sometimes he wasn't himself and he knew this may be a problem he'll have for the rest of his life. Perhaps it was in his genes, perhaps it was out of old habit. Perhaps he had a personality disorder that made him act like this occasionally... Or it could be a bitterness inside of him he felt from his past trying to escape once in a while. Sadly, he found he was mean to Lenalee more often than anyone else. It was likely that it was because she was his partner or she was closest to him after a few horrid things went down.

"I'm sorry, Lenalee. Truly, I am. But this isn't about that, now is it?" Allen said, sighing with exhaustion. "I'm glad you approved of the case. I'm sure the Director wouldn't mind the investigation."

"... Dr. Walker, are you saying you're the one to report this so-called-"

"-I'm sorry, Director." Allen interjected, pushing a few strands of white locks out of his line of vision, then he offered a smile. "The death rate is unkind and sadly, it's not untrue. Seven months is a long time and there are no signs of a new disease. The facts are there, and me being the a former detective, I couldn't let this incident pass by when lives are at stake. I am a doctor and my job is to save as many lives as I can, but I can't do that if someone is killing my patients somehow."

The Director stood up straight, eyes slanted. "Killing? You think someone is killing our patients?"

"Shhh. You don't want the people to hear about this." Allen murmured, eyeing the waiting room. It had a definite increase in numbers. Looking at it now, Allen realized some of them had been here before and their conditions have worsened. "If word spreads, then our reputation will diminish and no one will come to us. We'll have to shut down and I don't think anyone would hire any of us."

"This is preposterous!" Director exclaimed, flailing his arms about. "You could have at least told me you were reporting it."

"No, I couldn't have." Allen stated, grabbing Lavi's wrist and pulling it in front of his face to check his watch for the time. "Hmmm, I'm late. Well, it's because of you Director. So I expect not to be in trouble for not clocking in."

"Of course... But I'd like to speak with you before you leave today."

"If it's about my report to the police, then I must decline. It was absolutely necessary and I'm not the only one that would agree. Or if you want, we can discuss the financial standards of the hospital. Where is the money coming from for all of our patients, hmmm?"

"Donations."

"Wealthy donations." Narain uttered, glancing at Allen's calm figure. "I agree with Allen. He knows what he's doing, so I wouldn't fret about it Director. Why don't you let Allen speak with the Detectives and they can figure this out. Allen can make the investigation easier for everyone."

The Director groaned, rubbing his temples. Allen merely continued counting down the seconds on Lavi's watch, ignoring the stares in his direction. Lavi, though, had stepped forward so his arm wasn't stiffening because of how it was twisted in front of him. Allen's shoulder hit his chest, hardly noticeable. Allen tapped his foot. Though he was silent they all knew he was waiting for hs boss to respond. He already knew the answer. They all did. The Director couldn't turn them away without expecting more problems.

"Very well. I trust-" There's that word again. Trust. "-Dr. Walker. He is one of the most sufficient medical expert I've worked alongside with and I'd let my life lay in his hands. Why wouldn't I let this rest upon his shoulders?"

"Thank you, Director. I appreciate it." Allen smirked, and Lavi saw a glint in his eyes.

"You've got three patients in the ER, Dr. Walker. I suggest you hurry." And with that the Director was off.

"I thought I was working in the pediatrician center today!?" Allen shouted.

"That's tomorrow." Narain reminded, gesturing for everyone to follow him to a private room. "Allen can answer any questions you may have. Allen can show you around. Allen can just help you completely."

"Thanks."

"It was our idea."

"You agreed."

"But I have work to do."

"So. Do. I."

After explaining what he had to to the Detectives he got them all nurse or janitor outfits. There's no way he was going to let them walk around with a badge and gun and question the patients about this. It'd only cause havoc. The patients would leave if they thought they were going to be killed by someone for some unknown reason. Allen made it clear that if anyone gave away their position as a detective to anyone they better quickly come up with a lie about the case or get the hell out. They need to remain undercover, which was one of the hardest things to do for any detective if your fictitious alias' life didn't meet your liking or standards. This would be good practice for Mr. Grumpy Pants, Missus Fret-A-Lot, and Mr. Vampire Guy. Lenalee was excellent at it and Komui and Reever were gone with the wind. They were executives, detectives in the closet. In other words, they don't work on the scene for emergency cases like this. They aid; they gather information. So on, so on.

"Yo, Lena?" Lavi asked quietly, out of Allen's hearing range.

"Yes, Lavi?"

"Did you and Doc really date?" Lavi questioned, raising his only visible eyebrow.

Lenalee felt the stares of her colleagues drift to her back. Why did Allen have to bring that up? Why did he have to mention that? Now they'll never let it go... And with Lavi, God help her. He found something he was fascinated by and that meant trouble. However, he did promise Bookman to stay away from Allen.

"He is an interesting character." Krory murmured. "I can see why Lenalee would be infatuated with him."

Lenalee sighed, agitated. "Allen is a nice person... However, sometimes he was harsh. He could easily subdue criminals as he was trained for it, but he typically refused to hurt any women. Thus, he resorted to psychology to subdue them. His charm is what half the girl population dream of as a hormonal imbalanced teenager. He couldn't be any more of a gentleman than he is, but as you saw, he can be rude and..."

"Bastardly." Lavi finished.

"Yes, that, but he can also be manipulative. Allen never treated me badly and we rarely got in a few fights. Whatever feelings we had for each other at first quickly died. There's nothing between us and I don't think there truly ever was. But Komui did give him a hard time about the relationship... Although I believe Komui approved. He just couldn't ruin his rep about protecting his sis, you know?" Lenlaee explained.

"So why are you... bitter toward him?" Miranda asked hesitantly.

"It's not just because he quit." Kanda remarked, speaking for the first time today.

"It doesn't matter. I just want to get this case over and done with. I'm sure Allen feels the same." Lenlaee muttered, glancing around idly. "But I have a question for you, Lavi."

The redhead watched Allen enter a room with a graceful smile. He couldn't help but notice how his rearend swayed just a little bit. Just a tiny bit. Lavi wouldn't be able to see it if it weren't for his extravagant eye that could see even the smallest of details. God, he loved photographic memory as well.

"Yeah, what's that?" Lavi murmured, half in-tuned.

"Why do you keep staring at Allen's ass?" Lenalee inquired blandly.

"I'm trying to find out... How he shops for men clothing when he's so slim." Lavi said.

"Right..."

Kanda wasn't sure if he should be disgusted or amused about this whole thing. He was stuck as a nurse who worked right under Allen's wing like a puppet on a string. For five days straight. It was horrible and for once, though silently and inwardly, Kanda commended both the women and men who worked in this occupation because he actually felt his stomach churn at some of these things he's seen. It all ranged from throw-up and urine to blood and bones sticking out of the flesh, then to the occasional naked patients of both sex and of all ages. The children, though, were never fully dis-clothed. If they had to do surgery or something Kanda noticed Allen would only let a certain area show for the surgery or if it had to do with something else he would make sure the child was comfortable and that only certain nurses of the same gender as the child were in the room. Usually, the parents were allowed to stay if the child was okay with it. Allen did whatever he could to protect the children and make them feel comfortable. He didn't want them to strip so he could do his job and hope they would feel better. He always asked for permission, and for the kids, he double-checked the permission a thousand times. It was really sweet... Even Kanda couldn't be numb to it, but he could pretend. But either way, this scenario was extremely rare. It's only happen three times in the past five days.

In all, Allen was more generous and caring when it came to the kids.

However this job was sickening! Who in their right mind would want to do this? Then again, that's what they say about police since they're being shot at and they're shooting people. Kanda could handle blood. Kanda could handle anybody's attitude. He could handle just about everything, but this. Yet... It was amusing to see how Allen interacted with his patients and how easily he could pretend nothing was wrong and that all of his patients would come out alive... They didn't. It was pretty obvious someone was killing the patients when you're playing nurse and tending to the patient's to-get-healthy whims and needs. That isn't amusing though.

What's amusing is not only the interaction between Doctor Whitey and his patients, but the interaction between Lenalee and Allen, between Lavi and Allen, and Allen's reactions to Kanda as he was testing the Doctor's patience which would thin every day. Sometimes the guy had a backbone and carefully spoke to Kanda in a threatening manner or had him do something he completely detested.

But Kanda hadn't forgotten about the case. No, not at all. He was on the lookout for any possible suspects, but so far? None that seemed plausible. None except for Dr. Robert. The man was suspicious and he had a lot of patients. If Allen was rushed to the operation room Dr. Robert usually got most of Allen's patients. However, he heard something rather interesting.

"Does anyone know if Dr. Walker proposed yet?" a female nurse whispered at the help desk.

"He said he was going to do that Saturday." another nurse murmured, giggling. "His girlfriend is so lucky to have him. I hope she says or said yes."

"I don't know... Dr. Walker seems a little weird since his day off."

"You really shouldn't pry into Allen's personal life." Sarah, a nurse Kanda has come to know as one of the sharpest and kindest nurse here and who worked under Doctor Narain, said.

"You can't say you're not interested in it. I mean, those two are a perfect together. If he asked her and she said no, it would explain why Dr. Walker is so down."

Down? Kanda didn't think Allen was acting strange at all. He was friendly and annoyingly, he smiled almost always.

"Sarah, why don't you ask Doctor Narain if he knows? Those two are best friends. They've known each other for years! He should know."

"It's really none of our business." Sarah laughed.

"I agree with Sarah. If the doctor wants to tell us, then he will." Liza, another nurse that Kanda often had to work with, claimed, printing out a few medical charts. "Besides, we should focus on our work right now."

"If who wants to tell you what?" Allen asked, walking up to them with a stupid smile.

"Oh, it's nothing." Sarah said, waving her hand dismissively.

"We were... wondering if you proposed to Road yet?" a nurse asked, biting her lip.

Allen's smile almost instantly fell from his face, then it came back, weak and fragile. "No. Our date was had to be cancelled because something came up. I haven't seen or heard from Road since Saturday morning. She texted me Saturday afternoon, but that was it. I believe it has something to do with her job." Allen stared at the floor sadly. "It's been a little lonely at the house without her."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor. We shouldn't have..."

"It's alright. I understand you've all been excited about it because I accidentally let my secret slip. But, hey, it was delayed. Not a no. Cheer up! We need to get back to work ladies... Oh, I almost forgot. Nurse Kanda!"

Kanda twitched and he heard a few people failing miserably to stifle their laughter. Ah-hem, Lavi. Angrily, Kanda pivoted a corner and stomped over to Allen who was casually leaning on the desk with his arms folded, a smirk on upon his stupid face that Kanda so badly wanted to bash in. For a moment, Kanda struggled to keep himself from yelling and hollering and he clenched his teeth, a vein visibly throbbing on his forehead from anger.

"Yes, what can I so pleasantly help you with, Doctor... Beansprout." Kanda hissed.

That smirk twitched, causing Kanda to smirk. He stood a little taller as if to only prove his point about Allen being a beansprout. In response, Allen stood up straight, puffing out his chest in disdain as he narrowed his eyes, faking a sweet smile. It was useless. Everybody could clearly see his anger and frustration that Kanda had caused to stir. They all found it very amusing.

"I need you to report to room twelve. A man needs some help. His lower body has been numbed with anesthetics because we're doing an emergency kidney stone removal. Before we proceed with the non-surgerical phase he needs to go to the restroom. We still need his urine for testing. Help aid the man, Nurse Kanda." Allen said through clench teeth, handing Kanda a cup and a few wipes. "Don't forget your gloves."

Kanda fucking hated this case.

Okay! Thanks for all those reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it. Anyways, don't worry about the case. I'm not going to drag it out. The real interesting stuff will begin in the next chapter or the chapter after. So please continue reading! And don't forget to check out my forum. I'm going to be updating it today or tomorrow. Thanks! Oh, wait. I have one question. What do you think the D stands for in the chapter title Double D? If anyone gets it right I will... write a oneshot of any kind to the person who gets it right. Sound good? if you have something else I can do that's appliable to writing or my forum (along those lines) let me know. *U*