Chapter Twelve
Arthur sat on a wall on the university campus, playing with his phone before dialling. The phone rings at the apartment. Merlin rushes to answer it.
"Will?" Merlin asked in a panic.
"No, it's Arthur," he said in concern.
"I can't talk to you right now. Mordred's having another asthma attack and I need to get him to the hospital. I was just about to call 911."
"I'll be right there," Arthur said as he quickly stood up and rushed to his car.
"Ok," Merlin said before hanging up.
Merlin rushed through the hospital towards the reception desk. Arthur rushed behind him, carrying a sick Mordred.
"Excuse me," Merlin said as he reached the desk. "My son's having an asthma attack."
"If you could just wait your turn," a nurse said distractedly.
"He cannot wait," Merlin stated in a panic.
The nurse looked up at him and asked, "Insurance?"
"Medicaid."
"Put your name on the list," she said as she looked down at a file.
"No, he can't wait," Merlin said angrily.
"Neither can these other people."
"Hold on. Listen to him," Arthur said in anger, as Mordred struggled to breathe. "He can't breathe."
"He has to wait his turn," the nurse said forcefully.
"You think you can intimidate me the way you do these other people?" Arthur said.
"Excuse me?" the nurse said angrily.
"I'm a lawyer," Arthur said with force. "Get a doctor now or I will hit this hospital with a lawsuit that specifically names you," he looks at her name badge, "Nurse Carter."
Nurse Carter looked at him before saying, "Hold on a minute," then dialled a number on the phone.
Mordred lay on the bed in a hospital room. Arthur stood to the side, while Merlin stood next to the bed as the doctor looked over Mordred.
"How did he get this bruise?" the doctor asked.
"We were playing at home and he ran into a table," Merlin said.
"Has he ever had an attack like this before?"
"Yes. Have you read the file?" Merlin asked frustrated.
The doctor opened the hospital file, glanced at it, then closed it again before checking Mordred's breathing.
"Well, I don't hear any wheezing," the doctor said as he stood up straight and turned to Merlin. "He seems alright now."
"No, I've researched this," Merlin said in anger. "If he's not wheezing, that's a bad thing. It means his chest is really tight."
The doctor wasn't paying much attention as he wrote in a notebook, then he looked up and said, "Why don't you leave the diagnoses to professionals."
"I think I know my son."
The doctor wrote out a prescription. "This should be enough medication to take care of him for a while," he said as he handed it over.
"No. They keep giving this to him and he just gets sick again."
Arthur looked at the doctor in disbelief. "You check him out for 30 seconds and that's it?"
"I have dozens of other Medicaid patients waiting."
"His name is Mordred," Arthur said angrily. "He's not a Medicaid patient. He's a kid. A very scared, very sick one. You're a doctor, you're supposed to care about him. But if all you care about is whether or not he's good insurance, then here …" he took out his wallet, "figure out what you're fee would be if he wasn't poor, then out it on my card …" he threw his card at the doctor, "and do your job."
"He'll be fine," the doctor said frustrated. "He just needs a stronger inhaler."
"Listen to me," Merlin said angrily. "He has an inhaler. He keeps ending up here. I can't keep putting my son through this. I read that these attacks might be triggered by allergies."
"He hasn't been tested for allergies?" the doctor asked in surprised.
"No! He has an inhaler, that's it!"
"And no blood tests have ever been done?"
"Never."
"I'm ordering blood work and full allergy work up," the doctor said as he wrote in Mordred's hospital file. "You can have the results tomorrow. Call me," he said as he left.
Mordred continued to lie silent and still on the bed. Merlin looked at him exhaustedly.
The three of them were at the apartment. Merlin walked into Mordred's bedroom, Arthur followed him carrying a sleeping Mordred. Arthur and Merlin put Mordred to bed silently before they walked back into the living room.
"I don't know how to thank you," Merlin said to Arthur.
"You don't have to thank me." Arthur smiled sadly at Merlin before saying, "I understand why you needed a decent job." He looked at him before whispering, "Goodnight."
Arthur left the apartment as Merlin followed him to lock the door.