The smell reminded him of old band aids and not in a fresh from the box sort of way. It was the kind of nasty you could only find upon taking off a ripe six week old cast that had been worn while trekking across the entire span of the American southwest during summer.

Gunther kept focusing on breathing through his mouth. He pushed his arm down in order to stabilize the wobbly kitchen table that looked to have been purchased back in the 1960’s. The design of the tables surface was so god awful he contemplated closing his eyes so he could block that from his mind as well. He couldn’t, she had sheers and he didn’t want to come away from this with anything less than he was expecting to lose.

The woman beside him slid the tip of the shears down the length of the cast. “Just think, another few minutes and you will be free of this thing.” Dr. Madox’s eyes met his and said, “Did you want to keep it, you know… as a memento?”

Gunther shook his head as he could feel his lips curling up in an involuntary sneer, “Uh, no thanks.”

She laughed, “Oh sure, you say that now-.” She inched the tip of the large cutting shears further down the length of his cast. “But come the day after next, when you wake up in the middle of the night realizing how much you could have sold the thing for on eBay…”

His sneer sharpened, “Please tell me you’re kidding with me.”

She answered by speaking to the air as if she was talking only within her head, “If I can convince him to leave it then I could sell it and keep the money.”

“Eewww… This thing reeks to high heaven.”

She met his gaze again, “Yes, mostly. You would be surprised at some of the fetishes there are out there. Two girls, one-”

He turned his head away, “Okay, enough already.”

“Oh, so you do know what I’m talking about?”

Without making direct eye contact he said to her, “Do you treat all your patients with this kind of bedside behavior?”

She laughed, “Oh don’t go pushing this off on me. It’s your twisted brother’s fault. I swear I would be just happy reading my latest smut novel in peace. But no, he rolls my way and shows me all the stuff he’s finding on his nightstand surfing pad. Two donkeys, one-”

Gunther blurted out, “Stop! He’s yours now. I don’t need the play-by-play of your nighttime activities in bed.”

Her brows came together, “Why all the sudden modesty? I mean you’re the older sibling. The stuff he tells me you showed him.”

Gunther shook his arm, “Can we keep this professional so I don’t have to go and report you or something.”

Her back stiffened, “What crawled up your butt?” Her eyes widened as she leaned towards the shears again, “Ahh, two midgets, one-”

Gunther began shaking his wrist, “Hello. Focus. Here and now please?” He then felt a sudden piercing pain and wished he hadn’t shook his forearm so feverishly. He had let out an involuntary yelp of pain.

“Did I get you?” She pulled back on the shears and saw the tip had a snip of flesh. “Looks like I did.”

Groaning, “I’ll have you know I’m not paying for this.”

She grumbled, “Just so long as you leave the cast here…”