Title: Adjustments
Author: Listabets
Rating: PG13 may end up R but I'm not sure
Category: Robert and Elizabeth romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Robert or Elizabeth. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit for my own amusement, and hopefully for the amusement of those reading this.
Robert shrugged his right shoulder into the neoprene harness that would help keep his prosthetic snugly attached to what remained of his left arm. He was feeling rather lucky that he didn't need an extra power pack to run the new arm-that he had enough residual muscle and bone to both support the weight and operate the small motors that would allow him a bit more movement and certainly more freedom.
"Dr. Romano I need you to slide your left arm into the socket and we will use the EMG tester to ensure that the electrodes are placed correctly for optimum signal activity." Julie instructed as Robert readied himself for the final fitting of the new Myloelectric arm.
"If I had an ARM to put into the socket wouldn't this entire process be rather redundant?" Robert shot back sarcastically.
"How about we call it what it is-it's a stump. Nothing more and nothing less." He glared at the young woman, truly wanting to upset her in some way and make her feel as lousy as he was feeling at this moment.
"OK.... let's slide that stump into the socket and see how the fit matches up to the plan." Un flappable Julie continued to make sure that this very complex prosthetic fit the very complex patient, completely thwarting Robert's desire to start a fight. Stepping away from her patient Julie regarded him quietly.
"OK, you mastered the training arm very quickly so lets run through the operations of you new prosthetic."
Over the course of the next hour Robert practiced reaching, grasping and holding with the new electric arm. He was pleasantly surprised at how well he was now able to bend the elbow, control flexion, and rotate his wrist. The one thing that disappointed him was that while the fingers looked fairly realistic they did not move individually. The hand opened and closed but he could not perform the one function he really missed.
"Considering this damn thing cost me about $70,000 you would think they could come up with a way for me to give the finger!!" Robert grimaced as he tried vainly to make the fingers work independently.
"Couldn't that be an optional package to add on? Maybe that's what I can do with what remains of my dwindling medical career." Robert continued to try to give Julie the finger but succeeded only in opening and closing the hand.
"I have an idea, and you may find this to be a suitably obscene alternative." Julie tried to hide her smile as she demonstrated the movement. Taking her left hand she placed her fingertips, palm side down under her chin and flicked her hand up and out away from her face.
"That would have much more impact if you were not smirking at me!" Robert tried to remain unresponsive to her smile but was not terribly successful. They began practicing the gesture until Robert got the flick of the wrist just right and his trusty prosthetisist felt that he was well on his way to mastering his new arm.
............................................................................ .
The elevator slid shut as Robert headed down to the ER to gather some paperwork he needed prior to his return to work next week. He glanced down at his hand and practiced opening and closing the fingers. Idly he began rotating the wrist right and left and was feeling quite pleased with the results of his first day out with the new arm. As the elevator came to a halt Robert glanced up and realized the door was opening onto the OR floor. Sliding his left hand into his pocket Robert fought the urge to hop out and find Lizzie. As the doors slid shut again with no one getting on Robert struggled with his disappointment. Squaring his shoulders he prepared to enter the ER for the first time since the amputation. The car once again came to a stop and as the doors separated Robert stepped out right into Lizzie.
"Robert! Excuse me I wasn't paying attention! How are you?" Elizabeth had stepped back to give him space to exit and was now searching his face with her eyes.
He regarded her coldly "It has been lovely Lizzie. Exactly like a spa vacation, although it may seem a bit drastic to lose weight by having an arm removed, it has really worked for me." Robert's voice dripped sarcasm. "I take it you have been worked off your feet since I have not heard from you once in the eight weeks since the procedure."
Robert began moving away from her toward his office "I really must not take up any more of your time, just need to pick up some things from my office and head on home."
As he reached the door he turned to face the speechless Elizabeth. With a deft flick of his left hand Robert told her to "Fuck Off" using his newly acquired gesture.
Robert stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him. "Well.... physical therapy turned out to be more useful then I imagined." Robert muttered to himself, but he didn't feel as satisfied confronting Elizabeth as he thought he might. Her expression had been shocked and unreadable. Rubbing his eyes Robert wondered if he had just burned a very important bridge.
Rating: PG13 may end up R but I'm not sure
Category: Robert and Elizabeth romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Robert or Elizabeth. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit for my own amusement, and hopefully for the amusement of those reading this.
Robert shrugged his right shoulder into the neoprene harness that would help keep his prosthetic snugly attached to what remained of his left arm. He was feeling rather lucky that he didn't need an extra power pack to run the new arm-that he had enough residual muscle and bone to both support the weight and operate the small motors that would allow him a bit more movement and certainly more freedom.
"Dr. Romano I need you to slide your left arm into the socket and we will use the EMG tester to ensure that the electrodes are placed correctly for optimum signal activity." Julie instructed as Robert readied himself for the final fitting of the new Myloelectric arm.
"If I had an ARM to put into the socket wouldn't this entire process be rather redundant?" Robert shot back sarcastically.
"How about we call it what it is-it's a stump. Nothing more and nothing less." He glared at the young woman, truly wanting to upset her in some way and make her feel as lousy as he was feeling at this moment.
"OK.... let's slide that stump into the socket and see how the fit matches up to the plan." Un flappable Julie continued to make sure that this very complex prosthetic fit the very complex patient, completely thwarting Robert's desire to start a fight. Stepping away from her patient Julie regarded him quietly.
"OK, you mastered the training arm very quickly so lets run through the operations of you new prosthetic."
Over the course of the next hour Robert practiced reaching, grasping and holding with the new electric arm. He was pleasantly surprised at how well he was now able to bend the elbow, control flexion, and rotate his wrist. The one thing that disappointed him was that while the fingers looked fairly realistic they did not move individually. The hand opened and closed but he could not perform the one function he really missed.
"Considering this damn thing cost me about $70,000 you would think they could come up with a way for me to give the finger!!" Robert grimaced as he tried vainly to make the fingers work independently.
"Couldn't that be an optional package to add on? Maybe that's what I can do with what remains of my dwindling medical career." Robert continued to try to give Julie the finger but succeeded only in opening and closing the hand.
"I have an idea, and you may find this to be a suitably obscene alternative." Julie tried to hide her smile as she demonstrated the movement. Taking her left hand she placed her fingertips, palm side down under her chin and flicked her hand up and out away from her face.
"That would have much more impact if you were not smirking at me!" Robert tried to remain unresponsive to her smile but was not terribly successful. They began practicing the gesture until Robert got the flick of the wrist just right and his trusty prosthetisist felt that he was well on his way to mastering his new arm.
............................................................................ .
The elevator slid shut as Robert headed down to the ER to gather some paperwork he needed prior to his return to work next week. He glanced down at his hand and practiced opening and closing the fingers. Idly he began rotating the wrist right and left and was feeling quite pleased with the results of his first day out with the new arm. As the elevator came to a halt Robert glanced up and realized the door was opening onto the OR floor. Sliding his left hand into his pocket Robert fought the urge to hop out and find Lizzie. As the doors slid shut again with no one getting on Robert struggled with his disappointment. Squaring his shoulders he prepared to enter the ER for the first time since the amputation. The car once again came to a stop and as the doors separated Robert stepped out right into Lizzie.
"Robert! Excuse me I wasn't paying attention! How are you?" Elizabeth had stepped back to give him space to exit and was now searching his face with her eyes.
He regarded her coldly "It has been lovely Lizzie. Exactly like a spa vacation, although it may seem a bit drastic to lose weight by having an arm removed, it has really worked for me." Robert's voice dripped sarcasm. "I take it you have been worked off your feet since I have not heard from you once in the eight weeks since the procedure."
Robert began moving away from her toward his office "I really must not take up any more of your time, just need to pick up some things from my office and head on home."
As he reached the door he turned to face the speechless Elizabeth. With a deft flick of his left hand Robert told her to "Fuck Off" using his newly acquired gesture.
Robert stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him. "Well.... physical therapy turned out to be more useful then I imagined." Robert muttered to himself, but he didn't feel as satisfied confronting Elizabeth as he thought he might. Her expression had been shocked and unreadable. Rubbing his eyes Robert wondered if he had just burned a very important bridge.