“Right… the doctor… now hurry!”
“But we’re grounded, we can’t leave the house!” Brie added, chuckling to herself like she was a comedy genius.
“You WILL be grounded later. Come on, out the door.” Said an increasingly exasperated Hillary.
“If you’re just going to ground us later anyways, why should we listen to you?” said Tina, teasing her mom even further.
“Because, I… for every minute we’re late to the doctor, you get tickled for two when we get home!”
“If you can catch us.”
“Car, please!”
Hillary’s heart didn’t have any room to get angry with her daughters, so her threats were rather hollow, but it worked in her favour because Tina and Brielle usually couldn’t bring themselves to stress her out too much. It did add a few minutes to the clock for Hillary to adjust her hair and fix her clothes to be presentable enough to go outside, but the sisters opted not to push their luck when they knew very well that they were the cause of that.
The doctor’s appointment was especially important because the family’s usual doctor had a very strict policy regarding late showers, even if they had made an appointment. Tina noted her mom driving as close to the speed limit as possible without going over, and a few times she could have safely rolled through a stop sign or gone a little past the limit, but she could never bring herself to break the rules. Which was unfortunate for them, because they walked into the door at 9:05, five minutes late. The receptionist took one look at the family, panting from jogging to the front door, and sadly yet understandably shook her head “no.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t agree with how strict Doctor Jameson is, but he’s already told me “late is late”. He will not see you today.
Hillary sighed, resigned to defeat. At this point, watching her deflate, Brie and Tina were starting to feel bad, and it was Tina who decided to try and shoot a lucky shot.
“Aren’t there any other doctors here who have any space available? We’re just here for a plain checkup.”
The receptionist looked at her calendar, and bit her bottom lip. It seemed as if there was something on her mind, but she turned to the family and took a deep breath before continuing.
“Well… we have one new doctor, Doctor Rodriguez. BRAND new, today is her first day. She doesn’t have any patients or clients yet, and I’m sure she’d be happy to see you… but again, it’s her first day…”
“Oh, I’m sure that would be fine!” chimed Hillary. “Everyone has to have a first day some time!”
Tina couldn’t help but wonder why the receptionist seemed so worried, but shrugged it off as it meant that there’d be no awkward drive home and punishment awaiting them. In theory. The receptionist scribbled something down in pen, and invited the family to sit in the waiting room while she notified Doctor Rodriguez. There was an audible sigh of relief from Hillary, and her daughters relaxed a little when they saw their mom happy.
They didn’t even need to wait two minutes before the door to the lobby swung open, and a pretty woman entered the room with a beaming smile. Doctor Rodriguez didn’t look like she was any more than a year out of medical school; unlike every other doctor or physician the family had seen, she was young and full of life; her jet black ponytail hung behind her bright white labcoat, which almost radiated angelic warmth when she looked at her first ever patients with enthusiasm.
“You must be Hillary? And Brielle and Tina? Lovely to meet you, I’m Doctor Maria Rodriguez! Come this way please!”
The family followed Maria down the hallway, where she welcomed them into her checkup room. It was quite clear that she had only just moved into the office, as it was still entirely barren except for a photo of a cat on the wall and a few file folders on her desk. At least it was clean.
“All right, now let’s beg… oh, wait, I forgot, back out to the hallway! Sorry!”
Frantically, the doctor led them back out of her office into the hallway, where they took their heights and weights on a large scale before she led them back in. At this point, all three of the family could agree that yeah, Maria was new. But, it was just a checkup, and not a surgery. Unfortunately, Rodriguez’ inexperience manifested a few more times in short order.
Brie sat on the edge of the exam table while Rodriguez prepared to test her reflexes with her small hammer. Distracted while making idle conversation with Hillary, Maria put her hand down to steady Brie’s leg, and squeezed a little too thoroughly in the upper knee.
“HEY hehehe!”
“Oh whoops! Let me just…”
But her own reflexive attempt to remedy things just had her instinctively squeeze Brie’s other knee, prompting another ticklish jolt and a kick into her own abdomen. Tina and Hillary gave each other the side eye.
Later, Tina sat upon the table while Rodriguez prepared to check her ears. She prepared her otoscope to blow a small puff of air into Tina’s ear canal, and as she readied it, her desktop computer came to life with the sound of an email notification. Maria turned to face it, losing her aim in the process and blowing a puff of ticklish cold air straight into Tina’s neck.
“AH! STAHAhap!”
“Hm? Oh dear, hold on…”
Grabbing the bulb of the otoscope and pulling it away would have been smart if she didn’t blow another puff of air across Tina’s neck again, this time underneath her chin and making her sink her head into her shoulders as she fell forward. Brie and Hillary gave each other the side eye.
Lastly, Hillary sat on the exam table while Rodriguez prepared to test her abdominals. The young mother rolled up her shirt to give the doctor access to her midriff underneath, and a few medical taps to her stomach seemed to yield good healthy results. Going to feel her sides, however, and Hillary jumped as soon as the doctor made contact.
“EEP! Your hands are cold!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry! Let me just try here…”
“AH that’s ticklish!”
This time wasn’t exactly Doctor Rodriguez’ fault, but Hillary constantly squirming to get away from Maria’s clawing hands only resulted in the Latina trying to get a new grip on her patient, only to get a new ticklish spot along her sides or ribs. Five times, she tried to get a steady hold on Hillary, and five ticklish jolts sent her spasming away, whereupon she almost fell off the table on the last attempt. Brie and Tina gave each other the side eye.
After all three had received their basic exams, Maria excused herself and left the room for a few minutes. At this point, Hillary and her daughters breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at each other, ready to judge this new doctor.
“Well… it could have been worse.”
“Did she not get to practice somewhere? Or is she just clumsy?”
“I think we just have a ticklish problem. We’re not exactly normal.”
Soon, the door opened and Maria entered, clipboard and papers in hand. She looked at Hillary, and said:
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