Mystery sat in the passenger seat of the van, sneaking glances out of the corner of his eye at the driver. As far as he could tell, Arthur had been honest about their destination when he'd asked Mystery to come with him. Nothing about this situation suggested he was being taken to the vet, but Vivi had pulled many creative contrivances to get him there before. You never really knew for sure where you were headed until you were there, or at least, that was Mystery's philosophy after his third trip, "Totally just to the park for a walk."

He could hear Arthur's heartbeat, slightly erratic in his chest. His breathing came and went in an unnaturally steady pattern that suggested all concentration not allocated to driving was focused on keeping his airflow stable.

Soon enough, they pulled into the parking lot of Tempo First Medical Center, just as Arthur said they would. Mystery huffed a sigh of relief. No vet today. Arthur shifted into park, pulled the emergency brake, and removed the key. The putter of the engine died out, taking with it Arthur's breathing and mobility. His hand, still clutching the key, hovered just in front of the ignition. Wavering.

Ah. Of course. This is why.

Mystery rose to his paws and crossed to the center seat, gently nosing Arthur's arm.

Arthur flinched, his hand jerking back. The keys flew somewhere in the back. His pupils were like pinpricks, and his breathing more closely matched the heart rate Mystery could hear thundering away. His right arm curled around to grip his prosthetic and he dropped his forehead to the top of the steering wheel, eyes shut tight.

Mystery's ears and tail lowered. He sat next to Arthur, leaning his weight into the man's side. He stayed silent, waiting as Arthur slowly worked his way through the panic. After precisely seven minutes and an acceptable reduction in heartrate, he cleared his throat. "Seems I'm not the only one around here who hates going to the vet. I don't suppose you could shift Vivi on this subject for me?"

A short laugh broke from Arthur, taking some of his tension with it. Muscles loosened. Arthur released the grip on his prosthetic to place his hand on Mystery's head, the fingers massaging the spot just below his skull that set his tail wagging every time. "Sorry, buddy. I've gotta go, and…" he caught on the sentence for a moment, then picked it up again, "... and so do you. But it's not your turn today."

"So I've gathered." Mystery inclined his head toward the door. "Shall we?"

Arthur nodded, fumbling with the handle. Mystery leaped into the back while Arthur exited.

All kinds of scents in the clutter back there. Musty books. Bits of wood and animal bone. The winter-ice scent of the baseball bat he never let touch him. The smell of sweat and skin cells and saliva on the thin pad and blanket. Crushed Monster cans, empty coffee cups, and greasy tools. In the middle of it all, a set of keys with a little plastic crown-wearing wrench attached. Mystery took this between his teeth and leaped back into the front seat, then out the driver's door.

Arthur was waiting for him, pale, but standing. "Thanks, buddy." He stooped to retrieve the keys, then clipped the end of a long, red leash onto Mystery's collar. "And thanks for coming."

Outside the privacy of the van, Mystery merely woofed in response.

Arthur took the end of the leash in his right hand, walking up to the front doors. They parted automatically and Arthur paused there for a moment. When Mystery pressed up against his leg, he wobbled his way in.

"Arthur Kingsmen," he said at the check-in window. "Here for… ch-check up. Doctor Noble."

Mystery couldn't see the receptionist, but her voice sounded kindly, even as she said, "Well, Mr. Kingsmen, she'll be ready to see you shortly, but the dog… unless it's a service animal?"

Arthur's knuckles tightened. "M-ma'am… last time I needed… sedation. To do this. I… am trying a different option. He's very well behaved. Please. Ihavealetter. Mytherapistshouldhavefaxedityesterday."

Mystery pressed against Arthur's leg again, setting one paw on top of his foot and pressing down. Arthur took a deep breath, repeating the last two sentences. "I have a letter. My therapist should have faxed it yesterday."

A chair creaking. Drawers opening and closing. Papers shuffling around. A head of short, hazel hair and keen eyes popped over the ledge, inspecting him. Mystery regarded her solemnly. No tail wag, no bark.

I am a picture of dignified calm.

"It's all in order, Mr. Kingsmen. I apologize, it's just a bit of a deviation from standard procedure. But your file has the letter, as well as a note from Dr. Noble. Please, have a seat."

Arthur walked stiffly to the farthest corner he could find and sat, his back rigid. Mystery followed, never more than a foot away.

"Arthur Kingsmen?"

He jolted to his feet, nearly dropping the leash. "Yes. Me. Here." He walked in after the nurse who'd called his name. Mystery didn't like the syrupy smile she wore, or the way she clicked her tongue at them, or the way she raised her eyebrows rather pointedly in Mystery's direction. Still, he controlled the urge to bristle, raising his head a little higher as he padded beside Arthur.

Weight. Height. Urine test, for which Mystery was required to stay outside with the syrupy nurse. Apparently there had been issues with some patients who attempted to cover up substance abuse by substituting samples from their pets. Arthur accepted this with a nod, spent exactly ninety-seven seconds in the bathroom, then came out to trade the sample for the end of the leash.

He took his place in the exam room. The nurse alternated between vapid questions and a stream of chatter as she took his blood pressure. Checked ears. Checked eyes. Stethoscope over the heart. Over the lungs. He offered one-word responses, his eyes fixed on the wall across from him. Her lips pursed as she jotted down notes.

"The doctor will be in shortly," she said. "You'll need to remove your upper clothing and the prosthetic. She'll knock before she comes in."

Arthur nodded at her back. The door shut behind her. Mystery finally released as quiet a growl as he could. One corner of Arthur's mouth turned up. "Yeah. I know. Just a script-follower, though. No real harm."

He peeled off the vest and set it in the stationary chair in the corner. He gripped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, dropping it on top of the vest. Then he sat at the foot of the exam table and began to remove his prosthetic.

The prosthetic couldn't hold very much weight by itself, as Arthur had explained to them in the design process, and Arthur was determined to have something as close to a functional left arm as he could design. The challenge had been to distribute the weight of whatever that arm was holding to the rest of his body, not allowing it to strain the connector. To this end, he'd developed a harness that connected to the prosthetic. At six points, mesh cords wrapped in cloth attached to the connector end of the prosthetic. These cords branched out into a harness that cradled his upper torso like a spiderweb. Each branch of the cord had a turnbuckle that he could use to adjust the tension. The mass passed around him from behind, fit over his right arm like a vest, and curled around front to attach back at his left side, where he could manage the hooks that held it in place with his right hand.

His breathing eased as he focused on each step of this task, carefully loosening six main turnbuckles, unhooking each of the attachments, unwinding the harness from his front and shrugging his right arm through the hole. That done, he squeezed the two buttons that would release the main connection, tilting forward so that the prosthetic fell into his lap and not on the floor.

Mystery focused on the prosthetic. Truly a work of craftsmanship. Arthur claimed it wasn't nearly all he wanted it to be, but Mystery remembered a time when many would have traded memory fragments, parts of their personality, or whole souls for a work of lesser quality, or even the mirage of wholeness. Anything that would bring them closer to physical completion was worth, so they believed, the internal fragmentation.

Fools.

Arthur rolled the harness around the prosthetic and hopped off the table, nesting it on top of his clothes. The returned to the exam table, perching at the midpoint this time. He patted the foot of the table, glancing at Mystery. "Would you…?"

He didn't need to ask twice. Mystery bunched up his hindquarters and leaped onto the table, seating himself by Arthur just as the promised knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Doctor Noble poked her head in, rich auburn hair tumbling around her shoulders. "Hello, there."

Arthur nodded at her, but kept a grip on the end of the leash. Mystery lifted his ears and allowed a tail wag. Doctor Noble was a brusque, warm woman who had turned a blind eye to Mystery's vigil throughout Arthur's first stay in the medical center. Sometimes she would even drop a biscuit on the floor on her way out of the room.

She entered the room, snagging the rolling chair with a foot and plopping into it as it came close to the table. "Nurse Candace was kind enough to remind me of our no-dogs policy when she handed me your chart. I reminded her that I haven't yet reached a decision about retaining her."

Mystery's tail thumped twice. Arthur's lips twitched a little.

She flipped through the pages a bit, then set the chart aside and stood. "Alright, let me see." She washed her hands, gloved up, and came up to Arthur's left side. Mystery leaned forward, craning his neck to see past Arthur's torso. To watch her. "You following all the steps I told you? Cleaning this?"

Arthur flinched as her fingers made contact with his skin. "Yes." His eyes were fixed forward again. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Mystery butted him from the side, pushing him to sit further back on the table, then draped himself across Arthur's lap. The hammering pulse he could feel through Arthur's legs slowed. Arthur's hand found the spot just below Mystery's skull again. "Yes, Doctor Noble. It's part of the morning routine."

From his new perch, Mystery could look up at Arthur's left side. The first surgery had sewn and bandaged the remaining stump of Arthur's arm. The next had removed what was left up to the shoulder socket, to make a full prosthetic easier to anchor in. There was a connector port, slightly larger than the bone that should be there, sticking out from the flesh. Scars traced outward from it, all along his shoulder and a little down his side. The third surgery had been unusual. Installing an experimental piece of technology was not something most surgeons leaped into. Mystery wondered, briefly, how many waivers Arthur had had to sign to get them to agree to it.

"Healing well," she commented, still probing. "Does that hurt?"

"No."

"Can you feel it?"

"A little."

"Any swelling or discharge?"

"No. Swelling went down after the last visit."

"Good to hear." Still, she swabbed the area with alcohol, then gestured to his other arm. "I'd like to take a blood sample while I'm here. Might as well get everything out of the way myself, if you don't mind. Might make Nurse Candace think a bit more about how she interacts with patients if she's not sure she's needed."

Mystery sneezed to cover a laugh.

Arthur extended his right arm. "Please."

As Doctor Noble swabbed his arm, she said, "So. Last time you were a bit unconscious, so I didn't get to ask. How's the pain?"

Arthur shrugged. Mystery dug his claws lightly into Arthur's thigh, producing a wince. "It's… there, sometimes. I take the meds most days."

"Most days?" she prodded, tying a rubber strap to his arm.

He glanced up. "Some days I forget."

She stared him down. "You really need to…" she stopped, then turned and prepped the needle. "Is there a reason you forget?"

"It… makes me really drowsy. It's hard to focus on my projects sometimes. Or my work."

Her shoulders loosened. "Mr. Kingsmen, if the medication is an issue, we can change it out. We can also talk about alternatives to medication, though some of them require extra visits. Make a fist a few times." She brought the needle over, searched his wrist, then poked it through his skin.

A sheepish look crossed his face. "Ah. And. You couldn't talk to me about those options last time when I was unconscious."

"Exactly. Which is why your dog is welcome here anytime you visit. This is the smoothest your checkups have gone. I commend you for find a way of dealing with your fears."

Mystery laid his head down on his forepaws, still draped across Arthur's lap, as the doctor and Arthur discussed medications and treatment options. Arthur's pulse never settled into a steady rhythm, but it didn't sound like a panicked bird trying to get through a closed window either. Doctor Noble set the blood samples aside, then swabbed and taped the puncture. Stripping off her gloves, she scrubbed her hands, then came over and scratched Mystery under the chin. "Take care, you two. I look forward to your next checkup. Maybe I'll have something for him next time. The lab will give you a call about your samples in the next couple of weeks, so keep an ear out for your phone."

"Will do. Thank you."

Doctor Noble scribbled a note for a new prescription and handed it to Arthur. Mystery hopped down as she left, and Arthur began the laborious process of re-attaching his prosthetic.

Arthur's right arm trembled a little, and he was having a difficult time lining up the connection. Mystery sighed. "Vivi may be a better option in the future. She would be able to assist you with this."

Arthur glanced down for a moment, then returned his attention to the prosthetic. He snapped it in place, sucking in a sharp breath, then wriggled around to get the harness in reach from its place behind his back. "I do it every day. I don't need help for this. It's just a little tricky at first." He pulled his arm through the hole, then began connecting the hooks. Then he tightened the turnbuckles one at a time, testing each until he was satisfied.

He pulled on his shirt, shrugged into his vest, and picked up the leash. He checked out at the side window, slid his credit card, and left. His pace picked up as he crossed the lobby and out the front doors. He couldn't open the van door fast enough, his key kept sliding off the metal. When he finally let them both in and shut the door, he slumped like someone had cut all the strings holding him up.

Mystery said nothing, but gently licked his right hand. And for a while, that was all there was; the sound of cars pulling past, Arthur gasping for air, and the near-silent stroke of a tongue across skin.

"You know why I wanted you to come?" Arthur finally asked, his voice reedy and thin. "I mean, they say all kinds of great things about the presence of animals and all that. But. I know for sure they're all telling the truth. I know it, because you were there the whole time. Anytime the nurses weren't looking, you were somewhere in the room. Mostly laying on my legs or my chest. I was pretty out of it, but I could feel the weight and warmth of you, y'know? And I heard you."

Mystery froze.

"I heard what you were saying." The right arm moved to circle around Mystery. "I couldn't say anything. I was too scattered to do much more than listen, then get out of there as soon as I could. But I heard you. And you were the one who tracked me down in the woods, afterward."

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it soon enough. I was the fool this time. Too caught up in the wrong kind of sight to see what was happening. Mystery's insides twisted. Arthur heard all that blubbering? Remembered it? Well that wasn't utter mortification, no, not at all.

"I think… I think what happened was about as much your fault as it was mine." Arthur looked down at him. "And they tell me it wasn't my fault. I know… I know it was a little bit my fault, even if they won't hear that from me anymore. But, mostly not my fault. And I think that's about how it is for you, too."

Mystery whined, dropping his head.

Arthur dragged his fingers through Mystery's fur, stroking along the grain down his back. "M'not mad. And I don't want to be scared of you. It… it still happens sometimes. Me being scared of you. I was hoping you could help me with that. And with other… issues. Like the hospital. I know you're mostly with… under? Bonded to? Vivi… I don't know how that works, really. But do you think you could hang with me, sometimes?"

Mystery swallowed back the heaviness in his gut and nuzzled Arthur's arm. "It would be my pleasure. I do insist on some of the visits involving a ball moving at high velocity, though. Not everything can be hospital visits."

Arthur grinned weakly, sticking the key in the ignition. "Right. Not everything is hospital and vet visits."

Mystery nodded, sagely. "Precisely. Wait, what?!"

Note: I cannot tell you how relaxing it is to write this way. I forsee some conflicts arising, but most will be low-level. Some high-level intrigues may happen, but I'd try to keep them self-contained in one long chapter. Oh my word. I feel like I stretched out and kicked back. What even is this style? I need more of it. Also part of this was heavily inspired by a mini-comic by Mohegan567 on t(um)blr.