"Only ten minutes left…" Dylan trailed off, "Sorry what's your name?"

"Adrienne"

"And your real name?"

"I like Ben… sorry"

"No, Ben it is then."

"Thankyou"

Ben had been lying in the scanner for ten minutes, and so far had kept his claustrophobia under check, but it was getting harder by the second. He couldn't help but feel trapped on the sliding panel that held him still in the confines of the metal tube.

"H-how long?" His mouth was dry and his voice cracked as he waited for the reply.

"Nine minutes, we're nearly done"

He tried to focus on the buzzing light of the CT and count his breaths but all at once, they seemed to be rushing too fast like a waterfall filling his chest and his legs were shaking, but numb. Tears flowed down his face as the bed was slid out of the CT and Dr Keogh stood over him. He flinched instinctually, interpreting the look on Dylan's face as one of annoyance, not seeing the fear and worry that it actually held.

"Here, sit up" Dylan gently helped the boy into a sitting position and jumped as he pulled his knees to his chest rapidly and closed his eyes, panting heavily. "It's okay, you're okay" He said softly, not entirely sure how else to alleviate the boy's panic other than by waiting it out with him. He looked to where Rita and Seb stared through the glass and gestured for them to leave, and give the boy and himself some privacy.

Taking a seat next to the boy, Dylan put an arm around his shoulders, which he sank into, his back relaxing a little more. "Why didn't you say you were claustrophobic, eh?" he asked, his voice soft and patient. It wasn't like him to react to other's emotions like this and it took him aback a little, but he kept pushing through.

"Di-didn't wanna cause trouble" Ben hiccoughed, trying to halt his crying.

"It's not trouble…" Dylan mumbled gently into the boy's curls as Ben turned to face him.

"C-can I hug you please?" The tears in his eyes made them glisten even more than before and Dylan couldn't help but nod when he saw the sadness behind the mask of his face. He'd worry about losing his job later.

"Miss Chiltern?" Seb called across the waiting room, instantly picking her out from the sea of injured people waiting for their names to be called. "We've found your daughter…"

Julia stood, slipping her phone into her bag, and Seb remarked at how pristine she kept herself and her tailored outfit, mentally comparing her to her child whose clothing looked a few years old and who clearly hadn't slept in a while, but shaking the thought. The poor kid had hurt herself badly, while Julia had clearly been at work all day: there was bound to be a difference in appearance.

"Right this way" He smiled, flirting once more, and nearly tripping over his own feet when she smiled back. Damn she was well put-together. "We can wait outside cubicles, and I'll find out which one she's in."

"Thankyou" she smiled, following him.

"Alright?" Dylan murmured, now the boy's sobs had died down. He was growing increasingly concerned about the lack of effect the pain of his chest was having on him, yet the amount of panic he was showing around the CT.

"Mm I'm sorry" The boy whispered.

"Nonsense… It was probably a bit much having a CT, I'm sure we can carry out the examination in cubicles and have you stitched up soon enough, and then you can be on your way."

The concept of leaving the hospital was exhausting for Ben and he pulled away from the doctor, who helped him lie back down, before calling Max to assist with getting the trolley back to cubicles.

"Cubicle three please" Dylan asked, watching the boy closely. Something certainly seemed off and he kept re-running what little personal information he had against what he'd learnt while in university, but something just didn't add up.

Dylan had transferred Ben into a cubicle and was nearly done stitching his wounds when a woman all but fell into the cubicle, relief falling flat across her face when she saw him.

"Adrienne honey" She cooed walking to the bed, ignoring the paling of her child's face. "What happened to you sweetie?"

"Seb – who is this?"

"Adrienne's mother. When you asked her what her name was, I overheard and went to get her mother. She's been very worried."

Dylan looked down at Ben and back at his mother and it clicked. It had been obvious all along what with them both being pale with dark curls, albeit his mother having slightly neater curls than him. Still the expression on the boy's face wasn't quite right.

Suddenly, Dylan's instincts crept in. The sudden pallor of Ben's face made sense now; or at least, he hoped it did.

"Okay, well it's not very helpful having her here now when I'm trying to stitch, so excuse me, but there's a coffee shop across the ward, Dr Grayling can show you where it is." His voice was clipped, though he tried to restrain from letting on what he thought he knew.

"Here, come with me" Seb offered.

"No thank you. I'd rather stay with my daughter; I'm not hurting anyone."

"Very well" Dylan replied, "Seb, can I have a word outside please?" Seb nodded and left the cubicle while Dylan tied off the last stitch. "I won't be long" Dylan reassured Ben, before peeling off his gloves and placing them in the bin beneath the bed.

"What was that all about?" Seb asked, as Dylan strode over to the counter at the centre of reception.

"I have reason to expect something isn't quite right between Ben and his mum" Came the reply as Dylan placed the clipboard down. "Noel, can we have some parental overnight stay forms, a medication and allergy form and a parental consent for care form please?"

"Do you really need all those?" Seb asked, "And what do you mean not right?"

"Did you even stop to look past that woman's bust to our patient's face?" Dylan snapped, annoyance seeping through his voice.

"Well no. What bust? I was looking at the patient results!"

"Well Ben looked quite off to me, and I'd like to buy us some time alone to see if he's alright."

"Wait who is Ben?!"

"Our patient!" Dylan roared, before quietening his voice and looking down, "He's transgender, but I don't think his mother is aware. If you could do me the favour of finding Rita, I'd appreciate it. And then maybe you should stick to cubicles, before you put another patient's life in danger."

"She's hardly in danger" Seb scoffed, "And transgender is just another term for attention-seeking, so I'll call her by her correct pronouns if that's okay with you."

"Good. Find Rita. And remember Ben's correct pronouns are his and he."

Seb strode off, telling Rita to go to Dylan on his way.

Dylan nodded at Rita who made her way across the ward to hi. "What's up?" she asked, clocking the expression on his face and his stance to support it.

"Has Ben said anything to you?"

"Ben?"

"Oh my god" Dylan sighed, "Adrienne or something. He's transman?"

"Oh okay Ben, yeah um he asked if I helped people and would I believe him if he told me something, but he didn't get that far because Max came to take him to CT…" she trailed off "Why? What are you saying?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems like there's something weird going on between him and his mother…"

"What sort of weird?"

"Come see for yourself… Noel's getting some forms for her to fill out because she seems unlikely to separate herself from him at this current point… We need to get Ben on his own I think…"

"Okay, d'you want me to come back to cubicles with you for now?"

"That'd be good yeah thanks" Dylan nodded, his expression revealing him still to be deep in thought.