Haley loved going to visit her Uncle Stephen at his office. Stephen Brooks was the doctor of their dog Barkley.
The little girl herself loved pretending to be a little vet with her own toys. Sometimes, her dolls or stuffed toys would get sick or injured, and she would cure them. Her Mommy and Daddy weren't always happy when they found certain medical supplies missing from the cabinets, but Haley didn't have time to be apologetic when her friends were in need of help.
So, naturally, Haley became very excited when her mother proposed a trip to Stephen's office in order to surprise the vet. It was always fun to give Stephen a nice little shock. He was always excited to see Haley, because she was his youngest godchild. With that settled, Hilary and Haley made their way towards Shinagawa-ku, taking the short and easy train to get there. It was a lovely day, and the walk wasn't a long one, so Hilary had decided that she and Haley could walk there.
Stephen performed a lot of house calls, but when he wasn't doing that, he was taking appointments in his office, which was an extension of the City Medicine and Healing Center. Stephen was the one who handled more serious illnesses and injuries so other doctors could focus on simply healing animals from bruises. You could enter the office from the outside, and that's exactly what the mother and daughter pair did. Before Hilary could do anything, however, Haley skipped over to the front desk, excited to greet Stephen's trusty nurse.
"Hiya, Veronica!" Haley greeted the young woman, trying to jump up to the counter of the desk.
The aqua haired woman leaned over and found the small girl to be hopping up and down. Giggling, she walked out from behind her post and knelt down in front of the child, gently patting her on the head.
"Well, hello, Haley!" She beamed. "What a wonderful surprise to be seeing you around here!"
"It was my Mommy's idea," Haley smiled.
Veronica looked up and found Hilary to be smirking at the two. Quickly getting to her feet, Veronica approached the doctor and greeted, "hello, Hilary! What brings you around these parts?"
"Forrest had something from Goodshow that he needed to give me," Hilary explained. "But, before heading over to the hospital, I thought I'd come here and pay Stephen a little surprise visit! Seeing Haley always brightens up his day."
"He could really use that right about now," Veronica smiled sadly.
At this, Hilary quickly became alarmed. "Why? Is there something wrong with Stephen?" Such a thought caused Haley to become startled as well. She scurried back over to Hilary and hugged her mother's leg, staring up at Veronica with scared eyes.
"Stephen's fine, he's just been very busy all morning," Veronica glanced back at the door that led into the examination room. "You see, the head nurse went out this morning to gather some fresh medicines, and while they were out, the two found a very badly injured baby duck by the pond."
"Oh, that's terrible!" Hilary frowned. She absolutely hated to hear about any injured creature, but when it was a youngling, that only tugged at her heart strings all the more. After all, she was a physician too. Anything bent out of shape would always draw her pity.
"He's been with that poor little thing ever since the nurse brought it in," Veronica shook her head. "I've gone in to check on him a few times, but he just won't leave the room."
Haley had remained silent the entire time, listening to Veronica's sad tale. She, like her mother, felt so bad hearing about a sick bird. But Haley also knew she could help Stephen to cure it! After all, she always helped out her toys.
So, with steely conviction and a determined look on her face, Haley detached herself from her mother and ran through the separating door before Hilary or Veronica could even attempt to get to her.
"Haley!" Hilary hissed, storming towards the door. Veronica, however, reached out and lightly grabbed Hilary's arm, stopping the brunette in her tracks. She whipped her head around, confused as to why Veronica wasn't letting her go. All Hilary got in response, however, was a delicate smile.
"Don't worry about it, Hilary," Veronica reassured. "You said it yourself, after all. Seeing Haley always brightens up Stephen's day."
XXX
There was only one examination room in the office, so it was easy to find for the little girl. All the other rooms were Stephen's study, the file room, the medicinal storage, and the recovery room.
Haley first peered into the door frame, not wanting to just jump in and scare Stephen. Normally, she would, but she didn't want to frighten the hurt baby duckling. Glancing up, Haley could see the duck lying on the examination table, which had been transformed into a bed for the time being. The Duckling had a bright red blush over its beak, a sign of fever, and had its right wing wrapped up in bandages. Stephen was standing by the counter, leaning down to write something on a chart.
"Stephen?" Haley finally squeaked.
The dark haired man whipped around, obviously surprised by the calling of his name. He looked all over for a few seconds before lowering his eyes and realizing that the one who had called for him was actually closer to the floor than anywhere else. She offered him a tiny smile, not wanting the doctor to become upset by her sudden appearance.
"Haley…" Stephen breathed. He was completely shocked. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"Mommy brought me to see you," Haley murmured. "It was a surprise. But…the Duckling…"
"Oh," Stephen turned around fully and looked down at the injured Bird. "Did Veronica tell you about him?"
Haley nodded wordlessly. "Is he okay?" Her voice was full of concern, and this is what finally caused Stephen to smile for the first time that morning.
"I think he'll be just fine," Stephen replied. He didn't want to promise anything, of course. As a vet for twenty years, he knew things could change in the blink of an eye. But he wasn't about to tell Haley that. She loved animals just as much as her parents…and she was just a little girl, on top of it. "But I'm keeping an eye on him. Just to be safe."
"What's wrong?" Haley sounded only the slightest bit placated.
"He's got a broken wing and a fever," Stephen answered. "But I wrapped up his wing, and gave him some medicine for the fever. Now he's sleeping."
At this, Haley's eyes widened and she pressed a finger against her lips, hissing a gentle, "shh."
Stephen chuckled. "You really are your Mommy's daughter, huh?"
Haley looked confused at this suggestion. Smirking, Stephen went on to explain, "that's always what your Mommy used to do when you and your big brother and big sister were babies. If you were sleeping, that's how she told your Daddy to not be so loud."
"Oh," Haley understood now.
Smirking, Stephen knelt down before the little girl and stroked her soft, dark locks. Haley appreciated this and let out a small giggle, staring up at her doctor with big, russet eyes that pierced right through the vet. He just couldn't resist the little sweetheart.
"You like to make your toys feel better, don't you, Haley?" Stephen asked. Almost every time he went over to the Granger house to check on Barkley, he ended up having to play doctor with the girl. One might think that having to play pretend with your own career might be the worst thing in the world, but Stephen really didn't mind it one bit. Sometimes, it was fun to escape the real cases he was faced with every day. It was easier to cure a doll's fever than to mend a real bird's broken wing.
"Uh huh," Haley nodded.
"Well then, how would you like to be my nurse for this little duckling?" Stephen inquired. He had to choke back a laugh when Haley's eyes nearly fell out of her head.
"Me?!" Haley squeaked.
"Yes, you!" Stephen chuckled. He lifted Haley up in his arms and sat her on the side of duckling's bed. Haley twisted her body around and stared at the sleeping anatidae. It let out a very small snore, and Haley grinned in response.
"Here, Haley."
The child looked up and found the doctor to be slipping his stethoscope off of his neck. Haley thought that Stephen looked rather spiffy in his white doctor's coat. Underneath the coat, he wore an orange sweater and olive green pants with a black belt.
"A stethy?" Haley asked, reaching out for the tool.
"Yeah, stethoscope," Stephen smirked. He knew Haley couldn't properly pronounce it. "You can wear this around your neck, just like I do."
Carefully, he slipped the instrument around Haley's neck. The metal circle of the tool hung down to her legs, since she was so small, but that didn't seem to bother the girl all too much. She picked up the circle and examined it, trying to see her reflection in the surface.
"We can listen to its heart beat once he wakes up," Stephen informed the girl.
"What else?" Haley looked up at Stephen.
"Well, his fever has definitely gone down since I gave him that medicine, but there's still some more we could do to help duckling," Stephen smiled. He walked over to the sink and started to run the water. As it ran, he took a white cloth and soaked it for a few seconds. Once it was wet throughout, he turned off the water and wringed out the cloth until it was just damp. Folding it up, Stephen brought the wet material over to Haley and handed it off to the child. "You can put that on Duckling's forehead. It'll make him more comfortable."
Haley leaned forward and gingerly placed the damp cloth on Duckling's forehead. The duck Bird sighed contently in his sleep, causing Haley to grin.
"Great work, Nurse Haley," Stephen complimented. This only made Haley happier.
Just then, the duckling's eyelids twitched, and soon afterwards, they lifted up, revealing the young bird's wide eyed stare.
"Oh, hi!" Haley giggled. Stephen heard his goddaughter's squeaky voice and turned his attention back onto duckling. When he saw that the little chick was awake, he was a little surprised, but nevertheless smiled and placed his hand atop the duck's head.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're up, little one!" Stephen cooed. "And how are we feeling after that nice nap?"
"quakk," the duck quacked softly. Haley laughed once again. She just thought this baby Duckling was so cute!
"Haley, we should listen to Duckling's heartbeat now," Stephen instructed the four year old.
"Okay!" Haley chirped. She stuck the rubber coated ear buds in her ears and raised the metal scope to Duckling's chest. Before she touched it to the Bird's body, however, she frowned and looked up at Stephen. "Where's it go?"
Chuckling, Stephen pointed at the right side of Duckling's chest and replied, "right here."
Haley nodded and gently pressed the scope in that spot. She listened intently for a few seconds before smiling, much to Stephen's delight.
"I think it sounds good!" Haley commented. "Tell me." She took off the stethoscope and handed it back to its rightful owner. Stephen gathered the medical tool in his hands and pressed the ear buds into his own ears, fixing the scope over Duckling's heart.
"Yes, that's a perfect heart rate!" Stephen beamed.
"Good boy, Duckling," Haley giggled, stroking the baby duck's fluffy yellow head. She loved the feel of his coat. Since this Duckling was just a baby, he had much finer and softer feathers than a mother duck. That reminded her… "Stephen, can I get my Mommy?"
"Any special reason?" Stephen inquired.
"I want her to meet Ducky," Haley explained. "He's my first real patient!"
At this, Stephen laughed. This girl was just the sweetest thing. There was no way he could say no! "Sure thing, little girl." He lifted her up and placed her back on the floor, not wanting the small child to jump off the examination table and hurt herself. "I'm going to bring Duckling into the recovery room. You can bring your Mommy in there."
"Okay!" Haley nodded before running back down the hall towards the door that led out into the waiting room. When she pushed back the door, she found that her mother and Veronica were still the only ones in the room. They were talking to one another until they realized Haley was back in their presence. "Mommy, come 'ere!"
"Sweetie, I can't bother Stephen while he's working," Hilary frowned. Haley had a feeling that was supposed to be a sly scolding for what she'd done before, but the girl still wasn't deterred.
"It's okay," Haley assured. "I'm his nurse!"
"Huh?" Hilary blinked.
"He made me his nurse!" Haley giggled. "And I made Duckling feel better! Wanna see him?"
"Uh Duckling?…sure," Hilary smiled sweetly at her daughter. The brunette got to her feet and followed Haley back through the swinging door. The four year old led her mother into the recovery room, where three different beds were situated. There were curtains between each one for privacy, but since two of the beds were empty, the drapes were pulled back. The duckling was sitting up on the bed closest to the window, with Stephen at his side.
"See, Mommy?" Haley grinned up at her mother. "I'm a good nurse!"
Hilary glanced at Stephen, who was now smiling sweetly at the woman. "She is a pretty good nurse, Hilary. Not gonna' lie."
"Great, you want to hire a four year old?" Hilary smirked.
"It might not be so bad," Stephen shrugged. "I'd only have to pay her in candy."
"Quake?" the duckling quacked. That made Haley giggle; she was obviously happy to see that the baby bird was feeling much better.
"Oh, he's so cute!" Hilary beamed. She knelt down beside the bed, grinning at the baby duckling. The little duck turned to look at her, blinking his wide eyes at the woman. "What a sweet baby. Haley, did you feel how soft his feathers are?"
"Uh huh!" Haley nodded.
"He's going to be okay, isn't he, Stephen?" Hilary frowned up at the doctor.
"I don't know, why don't you consult Nurse Haley about that," Stephen smirked.
Hilary rolled her eyes, but nevertheless turned her attention onto the little girl standing by her side and asked, "Nurse Haley, is Duckling going to be alright?"
"Of course!" Haley beamed. "Doctor Stephen wrapped up his wing, and gave him medicine for his fever. And I put a cold towel on his head for his fever, too, and I listened to his heartbeat! I think baby Duckling will be good!"
"That's wonderful to hear," Hilary giggled. "Thank you, Nurse Haley! You like this job, don't you?"
"Yes, Mommy," Haley rubbed her cheek against Hilary's side.
"Do you want to grow up to be a vet instead of a beyblader?"
At this, Haley balked. "I don't know…I want to be both! And a ballerina, too!"
"Oh," Hilary stroked her daughter's hair, "well then, I think that's a perfect plan! What do you think, Doctor Stephen?"
Stephen noticed the mischievous look in Hilary's eyes and playfully shook his head. "I agree. Nurse Haley sure has one healthy imagination!"