I shifted uncomfortably in the cheap plastic chair, Noodle had insisted that I go to a doctor and wanting to please her, I did. She sat next to me idly flipping through an old magazine.

"Noods, I still thin' this a bit unnecessary." I grumbled. She gave looked over at me and shook her head.

"Too late now Muds, you have to because I don't want your arm falling off." She replied, unimpressed by my complaining.

"My soddy arm won' fall off." I muttered. A nurse walked in just then and I shot her a loathing glare before she raised her clipboard for the next patient.

"Niccals?" she called, I sighed and stood up.

"Good luck." Noodle whispered.

"Right this way please." She directed, ushering me into a small room where I took a seat on the table, lighting a cigarette. The nurse looked irritated. "You can't smoke in here." She said quietly, I took a lengthy puff of my fag and smirked at her.

"Yes I can, watch." I said, taking another drag before putting it out.

"The doctor will be with you soon." She said, ruffled, before leaving. I sighed and inspected my face in a mirror hanging on the wall, grimacing into it. I looked old. I never remembered looking that aged, all the lines and wrinkles stood out vividly.

Was this what Noodle had to look at every day? I asked myself. Stubble grew on my face and my green skin made me take the appearance of a permanently seasick, drunken sailor. I looked away, not wanting to inspect further features, such as my eyes and scowl lines.

The door reopened and I redirected my attention to the man that just walked in. He stuck a hand out and I shook it. "'Ello, I am Dr. Elric, you came to me complainin' of-" he searched the clipboard in his hand. "A shoulder gash?"

I nodded. "Yeah, 'bout that, me girlfriend wanted me teh come ov'r 'ere 'cause she said it was lookin' bad." I said.

"Alright then, let's take a looksie 'ere," he said, I took my shirt off and he came forward. I winced slightly as he unwrapped the toilet paper covering my arm, peering at his face to gauge the reaction. The doctor's eyes widened.

"'Ow bad do ya thin' it is?" I asked eagerly. He shrugged.

"I'm jus' glad you came in when you did…" he trailed. "I can get you some medications for it and it'll heal up in a few months, but you'll have a pretty nasty scar."

I shrugged. "I don' care about the scar, jus' that I won't have to lop the bloody thing off." I muttered.

The doctor stepped back and rubbed the back of his head. "Is that a gunshot wound?" he asked. I shook my head vigorously.

"Naw, I- er, my girlfriend's dog pushed meh and I fell forward onteh a, er… fence?" I said hopefully. The doctor seemed to doubt it but shrugged as he wrote some things on a bit of paper and gave them to me.

"'T's not my business. Have a good day Mr. Niccals." He said indifferently.

"You too." I replied, standing and putting my shirt back on. I greeted Noodle at the waiting room, picked up my medicine at the pharmacy, and then went back to Kong.

Once we were inside the Winnie, Noodle was determined to rub the stinking ointment onto my shoulder, hardening her heart to my howls of protest.

"Stop whining!" she snarled. I attempted to twist away and was rewarded by a smack to the back of the head.

"I don't need the soddy medicine!" I complained, fighting feebly. She ignored this and applied the medication anyways, wrapping it back up in toilet paper.

"Now don't mess with it Murdoc!" she warned. "Thank you by the way, for going in to get it looked at." She added in a much quieter tone. I nodded and leaned back on the bed.

"Urgh," I groaned, my eyelids heavy. We had so many things to do, and I still had to go find out about 2D's whereabouts… life was too difficult.

The phone rang and Noodle crossed the Winniebago to pick it up. "Hello?" she said into it delicately. There was a voice on the other end and Noodle's eyes widened before she hung it up.

"Who wos tha'?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. Noodle looked at me with a smile.

"Stay here." She instructed, putting her coat back on and pocketing the keys to the Jeep.

"Wait, who wos on the soddy phone?" I demanded, slightly irritated.

"Russel, he ended up in front of some store in Soho. I'm going to go pick him up and bring him back to Kong." She replied, opening the door.

"Is he normal sized again?" I asked but she was already gone. "Fuuuuuck" I said to the ceiling, closing my eyes and allowing sleep to take over.