Mike worked his jaw worriedly. He'd felt a continual twang of pain jostle radiate through his left cheek for over a week now and was sincerely regretting not coming in sooner. All problems were better tackled early on, but it was out of his hands now. At least he was here.
He'd never much liked hospitals, or anything that remotely resembled one. The polished floors; antiseptic smell. Mike Ross couldn't shake the unease settling in his stomach; he was walking with a brick in his stomach, and butterflies in his throat, despite all attempts to soothe his nerves.
Once checked in, he sat in one of the far waiting rooms; one he'd never seen before. His usual dentist had taken leave which meant he'd be dealing with someone new today. Dr Zan, or Zin, or something? The lack of familiarity wasn't helping his nerves. He could hear the whir of machinery and various other noises he didn't dare decipher, and he stirred uneasily in his seat.
"Mike Ross?" A nurse interrupted his thoughts, beckoning her to follow him along the white corridor.
Each door was the same, cream paint and silver door handle. All completely uniform to except for the different name tags framed on each: "Dr Finnigan", "Dr Por".
Each promising their own set of unknown horrors behind, Mike was sure.
They finally reached his door after what seemed like an eternity of walking, and he was ushered inside by the nurse. The door closed swiftly behind him, but not before he caught a glance at the plaque adorning his own personal cell; 'Dr Zane'.
As he surveyed the room for its usual equipment: beige reclining chair, large round light, overhead slip lights; his eyes fixed on the person sat before him, and he did a double take. Rachel Zane was sat, brown eyes glancing over his records on the computer. Her hair was tied neatly back into a ponytail, and she was clad in a white coat. Memories of their shared past flooded his mind, stirring up a mix of emotions he wasn't prepared to confront. It had been years since she'd left the firm.
"Mike Ross" She smiled, turning to greet him. Her voice was light-hearted, almost joking. Perhaps at the surprise evident on his face, or perhaps because she'd been looking forward to this reveal. Mike's heart was still skipping beat at the sight of her, his words caught somewhere in his throat. He had no idea Rachel had become a dentist. alone his dentist. It had been a while since they'd spoken, and he certainly hadn't banked on them meeting like this.
Amused by the confusion, she smiled at him again before donning a pair of gloves and a mask. "I'll be your dentist today" she said, suppressing a laugh at his baffled expression.
"Rachel," he managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper. "I had no idea..."
Rachel smiled beneath her mask, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Life's full of surprises, isn't it? Now, let's get started." She gestured to the seat beside her. He obliged.
"I've taken a look at your records. We really should update those x-rays next visit, but for now I think we'll just get started. That okay with you?"
Mike nodded, his heart still racing with a mixture of nerves and something else he couldn't quite name.
Rachel began placing tools on the bench beside him, and he forced himself to relax into the beige chair in its slow recline. He'd always hated this part. It felt like some relinquishing of control, like he'd have no escape for what came next. He tried to focus on the present, pushing aside his fear or the thoughts of their shared past.
Suddenly, the glasses were on his face, and a light was shining over his mouth; he wished he'd put on chapstick. Tools were in front of him: a mirror and an explorer.
"Open wide, please," Rachel instructed, her voice gentle but firm.
Mike complied, his jaw feeling unnaturally heavy as Rachel began her examination. Her hands began checking the gums and soft tissues. It twinged in spots, but nothing was too bad. Her touch was light but thorough, and he somehow felt safe in her care, despite his fear.
Maybe even more than safe He thought. He could feel the heat radiate from his middle and heading down despite the objections in his head.
Soon she moved onto examining the teeth themselves, tapping and scraping at every one, her gloved fingers tracing the contours of his teeth. Mike felt a surge of nervous energy coursing through him again, his muscles tensing with anticipation and was it excitement?
She started to near where the pain had radiated from, and Mike was reminded of the dread he'd felt.
Finally, she reached the back of his mouth on the left side, her movements slowing as she paused on a particular molar. Mike held his breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for what was coming. Her diagnosis.
"I'm afraid you have a cavity," Rachel said, her voice tinged with regret and compassion.
Mike nodded. He knew this was coming, and had been dreading it, but somehow the confirmation was worse. More real.
He loathed this feeling of vulnerability, especially in front of her. This wasn't how their first meet was supposed to go.
She retracted the explorer and mirror, and Mike took the chance to close his mouth again. Something about it being open left him feeling more exposed than he'd like.
"So, what's next?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady and light-hearted, but it fell flat. Rachel was exchanging her tools for different ones. He could hear the *clack* of the tools on the metal sheet and caught sight of the dreaded needle.
Rachel turned towards him, her gaze meeting his with a mix of sympathy and determination. His middle panged again with that feeling. She hesitated for a moment. "We'll need to fill it, but don't worry, Mike. You're in good hands."
He knew that much, and nodded a wooden smile, trying to relax in his chair. Waiting for the inevitable.
She'd attached the bur to the handpiece and placed it aside, now holding a needle in her hands. It looked disproportionately huge. Were needles always 6 feet long? He thought to himself.
"Okay, I'm going to need you to open wide again," Rachel said, her voice breaking through his thoughts. Mike complied, his jaw feeling strangely heavy again as Rachel applied a numbing agent and then the anaesthetic.
After a few minutes, and a thumbs up from Mike, she knew he was numb, and unhooked the drill from her bench. It was go time.
As she began to drill into his tooth, Mike began to feel the heat radiating off her. There was a perfume he hadn't noticed. Something about the way her eyes bore into him. Well, his mouth anyway. Even the drilling itself. It wasn't just the heavy pressure in his tooth, or the sound that reverberated through his body, but something more. There was something tingling that couldn't be ignored, and Mike felt himself flush with embarrassment, hoping Rachel hadn't noticed. Am I really getting off on this? He thought.
With each pass of the drill, Mike couldn't help but squirm. He could feel the tug on his jaw and the vibration shaking his body. Rachel moved with practise hands, unaware or indifferent; she'd made a cross in his tooth, and little by little was drilling away the decay with methodical strokes. The cavity had been brimming under the surface for some time, and she'd wished she'd had the chance to treat it sooner.
She paused for a moment. "I'm just going to change my bur, Mike. We're going to use a more sensitive handpiece to remove the decay closer to your nerve."
Mike didn't like the sound of that, but that did nothing to dissuade his body's actions. He hoped his body hadn't betrayed himself enough for to be noticed, but whether or not Rachel had clocked on, she gave no sign.
Soon they continued. The drilling sound and feeling no longer a stranger to his mouth. Will I even have any tooth left? He thought. It sounded like a whining car on its last legs, moving steadily and relentlessly into Mike's sore tooth. He could almost feel the pain of it now. He'd presumed they'd reached somewhere sensitive. Just how damn big was this thing?
To top it off, each painful pass felt like another tug against his jaw that radiated down his spine. The sensation was unexpected, but not unpleasant. He could feel his trousers pushing uncomfortably against his arousal and looked up at Rachel's deep brown eyes again for signs of acknowledgement or even bemusement but saw none. She was too concentrated on her work. Making sure to remove the last bits of decay.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Rachel set aside the drill, that part complete.
The filling that followed was a quiet affair. She isolated the tooth and applied a white composite.
After 10 minutes, he was done. Mike let out a sigh of relief, his muscles relaxing as the tension drained from his body. He closed his eyes for a moment. Feeling relief knowing not just that it was over, but that he'd managed to get through without too much embarrassment.
He opened his eyes to find Rachel smiling down at him, mask removed; her gaze soft and inviting. There goes that pang in his stomach again.
She let out a soft chuckle as if reading his mind and stroked one gloved hand across his jaw on the left, where only moments ago she'd been working.
"Thank you, Mike," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "You're certainly not the first to get aroused during a filling" she said breathlessly, leaning in to kiss him gently. His mouth was numb and sore, but he tried to his best to kiss her back, albeit a bit messily. She released him with a chuckle before turning away to complete her charts, the chair now rising again. His lips feeling lonely without hers.
"Well, thanks, Rachel. For everything. Really." He said as he gathered himself. He wasn't sure what else there was to say. Should he ask her out? His mind was begging. Caught between going outside and chipping his tooth just to come back, and outright asking for her new number.
"You're welcome, Mike." Rachel smirked, still filling in the details of his teeth and new filling on her records.
Without another word, he turned to leave, with a parting glance at her, but she didn't look back.
He paid, and left the clinic, his mind buzzing with conflicting emotions. He could feel every fibre in his body asking him to run back to her. One last kiss, and then he could move on.
He was interrupted by someone calling his name.
"Mike, Mike! You left this." He turned, looking for the source. His eyes caught a glimpse of Rachel, hand outstretched through a window on the side. He jogged over and she handed him his phone. He hadn't realised he'd left it. Perhaps it had fallen out of his pocket during the procedure.
"Oh, thanks." He said casually, pocketing it. He tried not to betray his disappointment. We're not in Hollywood. He started to turn away again before she pulled him by his tie towards her, casting a quick glance back at the door behind her. Her face was inches from his.
"Call me, okay? I've put my new number in there. You really should change your password more often." She teased, and with one last peck on the cheek she pushed him away from the window and turned back just in time to greet the patient walking through her door.
Mike began his walk away from the clinic, smirking slightly, despite his numb mouth. He felt that more than one of his problems had been solved that day.