Not Just Another Patient part 7

Disclaimer: I only own the OC's

A/N: Ridiculously long chapter is ridiculously long, enjoy. Also I got a tweet from Curt and died so yeah R.I.P me

Warnings for way too many song references and really dumb jokes.

Songs to know before reading this: Sugar We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy, Give Me Novocaine by Green Day, Rat A Tat by Fall Out Boy, and Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! At The Disco (be sure to watch the music video, you won't be disappointed)

Also, the timeline in this is kind of confusing. It takes place like a long time after Niff are in grad school, obviously. They're pretty old in the story, and it honestly pains me to do the math because the image of Riker and Curt as old men make me sad. I'm just not ready to picture it. I mean I'll most likely see it one day, but not today. They aren't growing up, just nope.

(Also, I just recently became aware that when writing dialogue there should be a comma at the end instead of a period if there are still more words being said after the quotation mark. So it's like the proper way to put things would be: "We are actually fictional characters and there is a teenage girl controlling us," Jeff informed Nick with a frightened scream. Instead of: "We are actually fictional characters and there is a teenage girl controlling us." Jeff informed Nick with a frightened scream. I would also like to point out that I can't be bothered to edit everything I've ever written to fit this or change my writing style. I'm honestly just lazy, sue me. So yeah, not changing it. My grammar isn't perfect on here and I honestly don't think anyone cares that much so yeah)

Nick then moved the mask to cover his face and turned on the light. He moved it up to where it was directly over Skyler's mouth, then picked up his mirror and explorer tool. "Okay Skyler, can you open for me?"

Her brave façade finely fell and she couldn't be brave anymore. She wasn't brave, and there was no way she could do this. Tears slowly started escaping her eyes despite her desperate attempts to hold it in. She shook her head in a panic.

Nick quickly set down his tools and moved his mask down to where it wasn't covering his face anymore. "It's okay, don't panic. I won't do anything until you say it's okay." Nick assured. "Just breath. Okay? Talk to me, what's wrong?"

Skyler took a deep breath that came out as more of a strangled sob. She couldn't breath, it was impossible. She became more panicked when she realized she couldn't breath, she must have been having an allergic reaction to something.

"It's okay, you're okay." Nick soothed, pulling a brown paper bag out of a drawer. "Here, breath into this. I promise it'll help." Nick handed her the paper bag. Skyler did so, breathing in and out into the paper bag. Nick rubbed circles on her back as she calmed down. Soon she was okay, she handed Nick back the bag and he tossed it in the trash bin.

"I'm sorry." Skyler quickly apologized after she regained her rational mind.

"No sweetheart, it's okay. Don't apologize. Just don't hesitate to tell me if you're scared, don't pretend to be brave. It's okay if you're scared, we're human; we all have fears."

Skyler nodded. "I was just so scared because you'd see... I'm so embarrassed. It's worse than being naked, I'll be so exposed. I'm sure it's horrible..."

"Sweetheart, I'm sure I've seen worse. I've actually dealt with black and rotted teeth. You have nothing to be embarrassed of." Nick reassured. "Give me a smile, just real quick."

Skyler blushed at that, but did. She gave Nick a two second or so smile. Nick smiled too, that was the first time he had ever seen the young girl smile with her teeth. "You see? Your teeth are anything but rotten. You've got a beautiful smile in your own little way."

That actually made Skyler feel so much better, like the little freak out she had earlier was so unnecessary. She laid back in the chair that was already reclined and opened her mouth, even surprising herself. Her mouth actually wasn't open that much, just enough to prove to Nick that she was ready.

Nick quickly pulled his mask back over his face and picked up his tools. "Open a little wider for me, hun."

Skyler did so, a little reluctantly, but she did. As soon as she did the foreign touch of medal started to touch and scrape her teeth. She closed her eyes. It brought back horrible memories, but she quickly turned away from that; it was in the past.

"Your teeth aren't nearly as bad as you made them out to be." Nick said from behind his mask. He started to look at Skyler's teeth but realized that she desperately needed a cleaning, the plaque and tarter build up was making it hard to see. He swiftly switched out his explorer for a scaler. "Okay Skyler, raise your hand if you need a break or anything. I'm going to clean your teeth real quick though, I need to make sure everything is nice and clean so I can see better." Nick explained. Refraining from saying anything along the lines of her teeth being dirty, she already felt bad enough and it wouldn't help.

Skyler open her mouth back up and allowed Nick to do so. It felt really uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt. It was actually taking a while. So she opened her eyes back up. Nick was looking inside of her mouth intently, scraping occasionally. She then looked to Aurora who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room on her phone. She had to hold back an eye roll, what a great help Aurora was being. Gosh.. This was so uncomfortable. She tensed up when Nick got to the area of her sore tooth though, hoping he didn't hurt her by mistake.

"You're doing great hun, just a little longer and I'm done with this part. Try to stay still though, I'm not going to touch the sore tooth." Nick reproached.

Skyler tried to stay as still as possible while Nick worked. He was eventually done though, leaving Skyler to close her mouth for a moment.

"Okay, this is more so to remove stains, but I feel like you would benefit from this just because it overall brightens the appearance of your smile." Nick divulged whilst putting the polisher head on the hand piece. "Okay, it's going to make a loud sound but won't hurt." Nick continued, turning on the polisher for Skyler to hear which echoed in the small room.

Skyler jumped, naturally, the sound wasn't exactly that pleasant. She was okay though. She opened her mouth without being told to do so, and after Nick put the paste on the polisher quickly, he got to work. This part actually wasn't as uncomfortable as the last part, and took less time.

Soon Nick finished up and let Skyler rest her mouth again. He then grabbed a strand of floss. "Okay, open up. This is the last part." Skyler obeyed. As soon as Nick started to do this Skyler's gums started to bleed. He didn't scold her for it, honestly if the young girl wasn't already so ashamed he would have, he would say something about it later though. He finished up with that and then got the explorer and mirror, ready for the actual examination now.

When Nick was done flossing Skyler let her mouth fall shut a little, but once he returned with the tools she opened back up. "I'm starting the exam now. I'm not going to touch the sore tooth though." Nick's tools went to the area with the problem tooth. "Okay, so this is the sore one?" Skyler nodded. "Yeah, I can see where the filling fell out. It's a pretty large hole, but luckly no major bacteria got in it. It'll just be a filling. You're lucky, when this happened to Jeff he needed a root canal." Nick said, babbling slightly. He continued the exam. He retracted his tools once he was done. He sat up Skyler's chair, he wouldn't need to be back in her mouth for a few minutes.

"Okay so, I found a few other problems during the exam. Four cavities as well as the broken filling. My main concern today is the broken filling because it's causing you pain." Nick explained.

Skyler felt her cheeks burn red at that statement. That was way too many and she knew it. She felt so ashamed for not doing better, disgusted with herself, and even just felt like crying. How had she let it get this bad? She just settled on saying nothing and merely giving her head a nod.

Nick scooted his swivel stool over to his laptop, pulling up the x-rays from earlier. He discovered one other cavity in between two back molars. He had to hold back a sigh, he understood why the poor girl was embarrassed. He had seen worse, and for the most part the problems looked rather old; probably from not proper care as a child.

"Okay sweetheart, I found one other cavity between two back molars. Don't worry about all that today though, we're just gonna focus on getting you out of pain for the time being." Nick interjected into the previously silent room. "I'm going to go get the materials I need for an upper composite." He explained before walking out.

Skyler shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Aurora looked up to an anxious looking Skyler and opted to try and help. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Skyler looked up. "Yeah, I'm okay." She whispered, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of jumpy. It's okay if you're a little nervous."

Skyler shrugged in response. Secretly she could hear the sound of her own heart beating violently in her chest. She silently wondered if she was having a heart attack or if she was just getting herself worked up. Nick then walked back in with a tray. The tray had a sheet placed over it, Skyler had to hold back an eye roll. She wasn't going to run away at the sight of some tools, her phobia wasn't that bad. At least that's what she was trying to convince herself. Her heartbeat seemed to speed up as Nick sat down on his swivel stool. She wasn't going to have a panic attack again, she wouldn't let herself. She told herself to breath, that nothing would happen.

"I need to get a drink of water." She rushed out before standing up. She remembered there was a water fountain right outside of the waiting room. She didn't even get out of the room before she realized how vigorously her head was pounding. Everything started to go fuzzy and then all she saw was black.

When she was able to fight her way out of the darkness she saw Nick's face, she was back in the chair. Her head was pounding and everything felt heavy, she was so weak. Nick was holding her feet up and was yelling commands at Aurora. "Wha...?" She tried to ask, but it didn't come out right.

"You passed out, you're okay. Can you tell me what your name is?" Nick then accepted that cup of water Aurora handed him. He handed Skyler the cup of water while asking this. "Drink it." He added.

"I'm Skyler Catherine Hart." She whispered, taking a sip of the water.

"Have you eaten today?" Nick questioned.

"Just some pain killers." She admitted.

"I think you might have just gotten yourself worked up a little too much. You haven't eaten though, which concerns me. Your blood sugar might have also dropped from that. I just want to make sure you're okay." Nick said, his voice laced with concern but still stern. "Aurora, grab me a lollypop from the cabinet over there." Nick ordered Aurora once again.

Aurora scurried back with a cherry lollypop, handing it to her father. Nick then unwrapped the lollypop and handed it to Skyler. "I need you to eat this, you need to get your blood sugar back up. Bite into it though, it'll work faster like that."

Skyler was still a little out if it. "I feel so weak." She mumbled.

"That's normal hun, but I really need you to eat the lollypop and drink your water."

Skyler took another sip of the water, but didn't bite the lollypop, just sucked on it. Nick gave her a disapproving look. "I can't bite into it." Skyler whined. Nick's expression softened in understanding.

"Just suck on it for a while, I think you'll be fine though." Nick then let Skyler's legs rest back down, deeming her okay. He made a mental note to do a fluoride treatment to help with that later.

"Why did you have to do that? What exactly happened?" Skyler asked tiredly.

"It helped send blood to your brain faster, the holding your legs up part." Nick explained. "Well, when you stood up you fainted. I stood up when you initially got up anyway though, so I was able to catch you when your knees buckled and you went out. I put you back in the chair because it was there. You didn't hit your head, so you should be fine."

Skyler nodded. She was starting to feel a little better, the pounding in her head was starting to dwindle and her strength was returning. She threw away the rest of her lollypop and finished off the water soon, and she was feeling normal. "Can we just get this over with? I'm still kind of out of it and maybe that's a good thing."

Nick was already scrubbed in, he did this while Skyler was regaining herself. He simply nodded and started to adjust Skyler's chair. He then moved behind her head and adjusted the light. "This part will be really quick." Nick informed, pulling the mask over his face and the sheet off the tray.

"Wait." Skyler stated as she started to feel panicky again, she knew this was the part with the injection. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, music always helped. It made her strong in a way. She realized she didn't have earbuds or anything though.

Aurora looked at Skyler with a knowing look, then pulled some purple ear buds out of her purse. She walked over and handed them to Skyler. Aurora made a move to leave back over to her seat but Skyler stopped her by a tug on the wrist. "Stay, please." Aurora smiled. She grabbed Skyler's hand and held it.

She quickly put in the earbuds and pulled them into her phone, then pressed shuffle. At first she thought the song was Sugar We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy, the intro sounded just like it, but then she realized what song it was and let out a laugh. Nick stopped once again to look at her in concern. Skyler showed the song that was playing to Nick. Nick let out a small laugh. Aurora grabbed the phone and looked, laughing as well. The song was Give Me Novocaine by Green Day, how ironic.

"Well actually, it's lidocaine. Green Day got it wrong, novocaine wouldn't last long enough. Dentist don't even use it anymore." Nick informed the girls proudly.

"You need to not only tell Green Day this, but also Fall Out Boy. They have a song called Novocaine. I guess lidocaine just isn't as catchy?" Aurora said with another laugh.

"I'm sorry, I'll be a good little cooperative person now." Skyler said, opening her mouth up. The music was still playing. She felt something heavy enter her mouth and grew tense though.

"Stay still honey, it won't hurt, I assure you." Nick then jiggled Skyler's cheek softly, then injected the lidocaine.

Skyler only felt the jiggling of her cheek and didn't even notice Nick had given her the injection until the syringe left her mouth. Skyler let go of Aurora's hand. Nick sat up her chair and turned off the light.

"That's the worse part." Nick said pointedly.

"But... I didn't feel anything." Skyler muttered.

"Exactly." Nick gleamed.

Skyler started to feel the effects of the medicine, it felt strange. "I get a funny feeling but that's alright." Skyler singsonged.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "You have a song quote for literally everything."

Skyler winked. "You got that right Rory."

"Don't call me that, it sounds like a guys name." Aurora complained.

"But it's cute!" Skyler gleamed.

Nick stood up. "I'm going to grab a few minutes with my beautiful husband, I'll come back when it's time to start." He then walked out into the waiting room where Jeff was curled up on a sofa, reading a book on his phone from what it looked like.

"Hello beautiful." Nick purred into Jeff's neck.

"Hi Nicky. How's Skyler?" Jeff questioned.

"Well she fainted, but besides that she's going strong. She just needs a few fillings and she'll be okay."

"Oh no, she fainted? I'm pretty sure I was way worse than she is and I never fainted." Jeff pondered.

"That's because I never let you get out of the chair. I've seen you go pale as a ghost and hyperventilate profusely. You would have if I'd let you stand up." Nick said pointedly.

"Then why'd you let her stand up?"

"It happened really fast." Nick defended. "I caught her before she could fall though, so that counts for something."

Jeff grew tired of talking about Nick's work really fast. Instead of telling him to hush, Jeff pulled Nick into a passionate kiss, running his fingers through Nick's hair as he did so. Nick gave into the kiss. After a few seconds they pulled away.

"You could have just told me to shut up." Nick said through a smirk.

"Oh but Nicky, that was more fun." Jeff stated smugly.

Nick sighed. "Jeffy, we're getting old. Do you remember back before Aurora? We used to have so much fun. Now everything is about work and Aurora."

Jeff frowned. "That's what happens when you're a parent. We just need a weekend getaway, we can rest when we're dead. Don't say we don't have fun anymore, because we do."

"I know, I'm just so tired Jeffy. I'm getting old, it's true. I mean look at me." Nick gestured towards his slightly greying hair.

Jeff gave Nick another chased kiss. "I am looking at you. You're still just as handsome as the day I met you. You're not getting old, you're growing older. There is a difference. You see that grey hair? You earned it. The grey hair represents years of hard work and raising a little girl. I love you, please don't be sad."

Nick smiled. "You're right.." He trailed off. "I just feel like the best parts of our lives are over, you know? Like things aren't going to get any better than this."

"You need to lower your standards because it's never getting any better than this." Jeff stated. "No but really, we're all fighting getting old in high hopes of a few more minutes to get on St. Peter's list."

Nick burst out laughing. "You think you're so clever. You just quoted Fall Out Boy you dork. You are in fact not clever, stop doing that."

Jeff shrugged. "I thought it was pretty clever."

Nick sighed. "You're right though. I'm like whiskey, I'm only getting better with age." He said with an eyebrow waggle.

"Is your hair Christian Gray?" Jeff asked.

"What?"

"Oh I was just wondering... I mean it's like 50 shades... Of grey."

Nick laughed again. "I wouldn't know what you're talking about. I'm so gay I can't even think straight."

"I would make a gay joke, butt fuck it."

Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm so done with you." He said exasperatedly. "Also that book was disgusting, don't bring it up." He said through a laugh.

"But how would you know unless you've read it...?"

"I have a filling to do, I'm out of here. Now you really should hush or I can totally arrange an hour or so in the chair for you."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "I'm not even scared anymore, that won't work." He said, sticking his tongue out like a child.

"Is that why you're sitting in here away from the noises and smells?"

"I'm in here so painful sounds don't distract me from my book." Jeff stated.

"Painful sounds." Nick echoed. "That sounds a little bias."

"Shut up and go do your filling, dentist dude."

"Dentist dude." Nick repeated again. "I should put that one on my coat. Nick Sterling-Duval DDS, residential dentist dude. Doesn't it have a nice ring to it?"

"I would throw a pillow at your pretty little face if I had one. Now shoo." Jeff said with a shooing motion.

"Aw, he called me pretty." Nick said in mock before walking into the back office.

Jeff laughed, he married an idiot.

Nick walked back into the room Skyler was in. He laughed at the sight in front of him. Skyler wasn't what interested him, she was on her phone. It was Aurora. She was curiously looking at the tools on the tray, careful to not touch any important parts so she didn't infect the tools.

"Do we need to talk about something?" Nick said through a chuckle.

Aurora snapped her head up. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I won't mess with anything else."

"No hun, you're fine. It looks like you're smart enough to not infect anything. Why though?"

"I don't know, I'm just mildly fascinated. Your line of work I mean, it's kind of interesting." Aurora mumbled. "Is that weird?"

"Not at all. Heck, I'm getting old. I won't be working for many more years. Around the time I retire could be around the time you graduate from dental school if you really wanted to. I'm not forcing anything on you, but you could learn so much from me if you wanted."

Aurora smiled. "I think so. I have a good idea of what I want to do career wise. I want to follow in your footsteps."

Nick smiled. "Well if that's what you want then I'd be more than happy to help you out. You can start shadowing me whenever you're ready. It would give you a head start."

"Can I watch you do the filling?" Aurora questioned shyly.

"If the patient is okay with that." Nick replied, looking towards Skyler.

Skyler looked up, a little more pale than when Nick first walked in. "I guess so..." She mumbled. "I don't want any part of this though. I'm closing my eyes and blasting my music."

"That's fine, whatever you want. Are you ready to start?" Nick questioned.

"Yeah, I think so." Skyler said quietly.

"Okay." Nick said, walking over to the sink to scrub in again. He then put on gloves. "Are you feeling good and numb?" He asked, walking back over to Skyler and sitting on his swivel stool.

"I think so." Skyler stated as Nick leaned her chair back. "Can you make sure though? I mean I've read somewhere that it doesn't always work..."

Nick adjusted the light over Skyler's mouth. "You're right, the medicine has a different effect on everyone. I'll be sure to check, I do with all of my patients." He then picked up his mirror and turned it around to the flat side. "Open please." Skyler did. Nick tapped on the tooth with the opposite side the mirror was on. "Can you feel that?" Skyler shook her head. "Yeah, you're good. If you could feel that it would drive you crazy."

Skyler then plugged in her headphones and pressed shuffle on a playlist titled 'Good Songs'. The song that came on was Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! At The Disco. She shut her eyes tightly, picturing the music video in her head, which was oddly satisfying. Well, a half naked Brendon Urie was anything but a dissatisfying image. He didn't look like that anymore, but still. She felt like she was born in the wrong generation. All the bands she liked were either broken up or really old. She turned her mind away from that and focused on the music.

"Okay Aurora, come over here." Nick beckoned. Aurora obeyed. "This is the tooth that's our main concern." Nick explained, pointing to the problem tooth with his explorer. "She is already numb, so I can start to clean out the decay." He went on. He then turned on the hand piece and started to get rid of the decay.

Aurora watched in fascination as Nick did so. "How do you keep your hands so steady?"

"I had to train myself. A job like this takes very steady and precise movements." Nick answered. "We actually have steadier hands than surgeons from what I've gathered. Like if you gave a gun to a surgeon and a dentist, the dentist will be the better shot every time."

"Have you ever shot a gun?"

"Actually, yes. I'm a pretty good shot too." Nick said with a small laugh.

Nick would pull back Skyler's cheek when he was drilling, then when he wanted to check the hole he would use the mirror to direct light onto the tooth for a better look. It seemed really complicated, it even made Aurora's head spin at the prospect of ever being able to do such work.

"Okay, all the decay is gone. What's the next step?" Nick asked Aurora.

"You fill it, right?"

"Yes, but it's more complicated than that." He then placed a cotton ball type thing in Skyler's mouth. "I need to do this so no saliva gets to the tooth while I'm filling it. Saliva holds unbelievable amounts of bacteria, and if any got in the tooth than it wouldn't be sterile anymore."

The next few minutes consisted of different liquid-y substances that Aurora couldn't be bothered to remember, blue lights, sharp tools, metal thing-y things, and lots of Nick talking. She appreciated the opportunity, but there was only so much she could remember in one go. Soon Nick was nearing the end of the treatment. He took out Skyler's earbud.

"I need you to be coherent for the next parts." Nick explained. "Can you bite down... Okay. Does that feel okay? Okay." He then simply polished off the tooth.

"Okay, you're all done." He sat up Skyler's chair and threw away her bib along with his gloves and mask. "You're not done. I still need you to have a fluoride treatment, probably a few, and you still have a few more fillings to undergo. You're done for today though, is that okay with you?" He said with a smile.

"That's perfect." Skyler stated. The girls walked out into the waiting room while Nick cleaned up. Jeff was still reading the book on his phone.

"Hey papa, we're almost ready to go home." Aurora said to her father.

"Oh good, this chair kinda sucks anyway. How are you feeling Skyler?" Jeff asked.

"I'm good, numb, but good." A few minutes past and soon the small family plus Skyler were in Nick's car. About halfway into the drive home Nick spoke up.

"By the way Skyler, I'm not mad, so when I say what I'm about to say don't think I'm mad. You need to improve on your flossing. When your gums bleed it's not a good sign. Your hands don't bleed when you wash them, the same theory goes for your gums. You're at risk for gingivitis, which isn't okay. You're 16, that's way too young. I need you to start flossing twice a day until they stop bleeding, then you can go to once a day." Nick stated.

Skyler nodded shyly. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it's okay. I just know you can do better." He stated. "Oh and Jeff."

"Yes, dear?"

"You really are due for a cleaning, both of you." He said to Aurora as well. "I'm scheduling this all for next week. Skyler's follow ups and yours and Aurora's cleanings."

"Okay, Nick. We get it." Jeff said, slightly irritated.

"Why are you getting snappy? You're not hiding anything, are you dear?"

"I'm just tired Nicky, nothing to hide. I think I've had enough dental talk today for like the next year. Also, your chairs in the waiting room kinda suck." Jeff stated.

"My chairs are awesome." Nick defended. "Ooh, Aurora. Tell your papa what you told me today."

"Oh yeah." Aurora said quietly. "Well I kinda think maybe I want to follow in dad's footsteps. Career wise I mean."

"Oh gosh, another one?" Jeff said with a laugh.

"That's how I feel." Skyler spoke up.

Jeff laughed at that. "No really, that's great honey. It'll definitely pay better than my teaching job does."

"I think we need some music now." Skyler stated, plugging her phone into the aux cored. Now because everyone in the car basically had the same taste in music, they started to sing along to the song.

"AM I MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR YET?"

A/N: I seriously love you guys, thanks for your support. I had to do a bit of research to properly write this chapter, and I'm sure it's not all correct, but oh well. I usually don't like to beg for reviews because it looks unprofessional/tacky/I can't think of the right word because it's too late to function. You should totally leave me a review though because I love reading them a lot. I want to hear what you guys thought of this. Also, am I the only one who noticed Give Me Novocaine sounds like Sugar We're Going Down in the beginning? Fun fact: once I saw FOB live and made a Snapchat video in which I spelled Suger We're Going Down instead of Sugar We're going done because I'm a genius. That video is forever ruined because I can't spell. Also have I ever mentioned how much I want to touch Riker's hair? Like really, I bet it's really soft. I wonder if I ever met him how he would feel about that... Anyway, review because it makes me make happy whale sounds. I'm just gonna pretend that makes sense. *tired whale sound* Okay I'm going to bed, ta-ta! (Ridiculously long author's note is long, leave the word Patrick in your review if you read it all)

ALSO. I'm giving you guys a job. I'm having writer's block on I wanna see your real smile, so you should totally help me out. I'm planning on making it a few more chapters. So yeah, send me prompts and ideas or just anything you want to see in that story. Thanks again guys! (Also yes I'm not bolding the bottom author's note because the thingy thing is being stupid and I can't deal with it rn because it's like 2AM)