Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.

Marinette felt uncomfortable sitting on the examination table. Her family's GP was currently examining a jar of her pee for a second time. The coincidences that led to this situation were quite embarrassing.

Over the course of three days the week prior, Marinette had excused herself from the same class three times to use the bathroom to transform into Ladybug and fight akumas. The only thing was that she never actually used the toilet in those visits. When class resumed later after the akumas were dealt with, Marinette had needed to go for real on those three occasions.

The teacher had accommodated her requests but after the third time a note was sent home to Marinette's parents. The note explained that her bathroom habits were odd and disrupted the class. In spite of this her habits didn't affect the quality of Marinette's work. It suggested that Marinette be checked by a doctor for a bladder infection or other problems.

Dr Médecin frowned and turned to her computer then to Marinette's mother and then to Marinette. The doctor stood up and explained her findings, "The urine sample shows no indication of infection and Marinette seems healthy otherwise. However, I want to send the sample off to the lab for further testing."

Marinette's mother nodded attentively. Marinette quickly hopped off the examination table. "Does this mean we can go? I'd like to get back to school." Marinette's flustered look and impatient mood did not go unnoticed by the doctor.

"Not yet," Dr Médecin continued, "There's something else I'd like to discuss."

"But I…" Marinette tried to interrupt.

"I thought you said my daughter was healthy. Is something wrong?" Mrs. Dupain-Cheng questioned with alarm.

"I couldn't find anything giving Marinette the symptoms of an infected bladder, but during the general check up I gained insight to a more pressing concern." The doctor handed Marinette's mother a file of Marinette's medical history. "Marinette has lost several kilos since her last check up and is even more underweight."

Shock and confusion spread across Mrs. Dupain-Cheng's face. "But we increased her caloric intake, we had teachers monitoring her eating habits at school, we were maintaining a healthy weight!"

"This is why doctors suggest follow ups and regular check ups. We spot things parents miss." Dr. Médecin admonished. Marinette was long overdue for a checkup. "I suspect you are excessively exercising, Marinette. You haven't been truthful about how active you are with your parents, have you?"

Marinette knew she had to stop this thread of conversation. Her sudden weight loss would line up with Chameleon and the higher frequency of akumas since then. More questions would lead them to discovering she was Ladybug.

"I...I'm perfectly fine," she stuttered,"I…I'm just petite."

"This isn't the first time I've dealt with a stressed teen putting up a front for their parents and friends." The doctor countered. "You're not just underweight, Marinette, you're also suffering from a lack of sleep and exhaustion. The makeup doesn't fool me and we need to treat this now before it gets worse."

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng stared closely at her daughter and moved in for a frightened hug. "Honey, why didn't you tell us you were struggling? It must be bad if you're wearing makeup. You never wear makeup."

"Mum, I'm not struggling," Marinette insisted once more as she irritably extracted herself from the hug. "It's just that I want my crush to like me!"

The doctor and Marinette's mother exchanged a look. Marinette's mother spoke in a solemn tone, "Dear, you shouldn't have to make yourself lose so much weight to make him like you."

"I'm not doing it deliberately; it just sort of happened." Marinette didn't want them to think she had a self image problem but neither did she want them to figure out she was Ladybug. However, her panicked outburst was the wrong thing to say.

Her mum put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You knew you were losing weight and didn't ask for help?"

Why wouldn't they leave her alone already? Marinette brushed her mother's hand away in annoyance. "I knew you'd react like this. I have it under control. I'm okay, really!"

"No, you don't have it under control and you're not ok." Doctor Médecin stopped Marinette from interrupting her and continued, "We need you to understand how serious this is, Marinette. Step on the scales again, measure yourself against the giraffe on the wall then find where your weight and height meet on the BMI chart."

Marinette scowled sullenly but did as instructed. She didn't care right now what her mum thought of her rebellious teen tantrum. She might cop it later for her attitude but it didn't matter. Marinette was in a sour mood from all the prodding and poking of the physical exam and being embarrassed by both the doctor and her mother.

Marinette stepped on the scales and took her reading. She dramatically made a show of sliding a hand along her head and twisting to see the result as she stood next to the childish giraffe picture. Then she slowly dragged her finger across the corresponding chart for her age group.

'Girls are supposed to be lighter than boys, right?' Marinette thought absently as her finger got closer to the final destination. Her finger reached the correct point. "Oh," was all she said.

Fifteen minutes later Marinette was outside her school in her mother's car with a new dietary regimen and a doctor's note excusing her from strenuous physical activity. She roughly grabbed her backpack and opened the car door. As she stepped out of the car her mother lightly touched her hand.

"Marinette,you know you can talk to me if you're struggling don't you?" Her mother asked carefully.

Marinette slung her backpack across her back and crossed her arms. "I know."

"We'll get this right this time. You'll see." Her mother tried to reassure her. "I know you're feeling embarrassed right now, but…"

"I'm feeling a bit more than that!" Marinette scoffed crossly. "I'm angry, I'm upset and I'm frustrated. What are my friends going to think? They're all going to make fun of me!"

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng smiled to try one last time to cheer up her daughter. "You have good friends here. I'm sure they'll understand. If they don't, if they make fun of you then they need to grow up and learn some manners if they want you to consider them your friends."

"It's not just that," Marinette mumbled under her breath. "Why couldn't we have gone to the doctor after school. Then I wouldn't have had to face my friends until the next day."

Her mother shook her head. "Sweetie, you know how hard it would have been with the bakery. We didn't know what was wrong or how serious it was. It was best to get there as early as we could to find out the problem."

The lunch bell rang behind Marinette. She had missed all her morning classes. "All it's done is give Lila more ammo." Marinette muttered quietly not intending her mum to hear.

She heard anyway. "Honey, is there something you need to tell me?" She asked causing Marinette to tense up.

"No, leave me alone!" Marinette yelled as she turned around and stumbled up the stairs and through the school entrance.