un: Bachelor | text

[thantagonist]

Attention Fellow People of Etraya,

I am Doctor Daniil Dankovsky, Bachelor of Medicine. As I understand it, few of you have seen a doctor lately. That simply won’t do! Please, don’t wait to get sick to establish care. I am situated in the hospital, ready to take consent forms and make updated medical histories. At least a few of you have unaddressed concerns, I just know it. The average person comes to see the doctor when it’s too late! Though we cannot die here, there is no reason to suffer unduly.

And if you are otherwise healthy, perhaps think of it as helping me out. In the event of an outbreak, it is far more helpful to have complete clinical pictures of the inhabitants. Especially, as I understand it, there are many biological differences in this population.

Please come visit me during my clinic hours, every day from 10am to 6pm.


[What Daniil really wants is to meet more of the unusual inhabitants of Etraya more quickly as well as conduct casual interviews of the sort of people who are slated to save the universe. But he can’t just say that completely outright.]

Comments

[thantagonist]

I may have taken some things under duress of the dwindling of my supplies.

[And he figured it would be improper take anything he wanted from the caninets. Though he had already begun to consider it. Danill sighs.]

…If I must.

[Daniil only even agrees at this stage because he understands how it looks if he flat, outright refuses.]

[Daniil crosses one arm over the other. He doesn’t want to ask, but he’s humbled by everything he doesn’t know. Daniil has fallen gracelessly from brilliant doctor to antiquated fool. He didn’t even know everything he didn’t know.]

I already know smoking isn’t good for you. But do you believe it necessary to stop completely for this?

[badlydisarmed]

Smoking killed about a hundred million people between your time and mine.

[ A handy fact to have as a doctor. ]

Like I said, I would quit while I'm ahead. Opioids are insidious, I've seen enough colleagues get hooked I cut-off painkillers altogether as soon as I was coherent enough to speak after I lost the arm.

[ He's frankly lucky he didn't trip directly into some kind of addiction. ]

[thantagonist]

[oh how Daniil hates getting his own advice back to him.]

I already advise my own patients not to smoke. What I asked is if it will interfere with starting a modern drug regimine.

I know what a morphine addict looks like and the harm they do to themselves and everyone else. I’m careful. I’m not an addict.

[RIP to everyone else but Daniil is built different.]

[badlydisarmed]

[ Says every addict ever. ]

It would. If I'm prescribing anything I need to know what it's interacting with. For instance, if I give you Xanax and you also take morphine, it could kill you. And sure, Aurora would bring you back, but I don't want that on my conscience.

[thantagonist]

[He can’t help thinking it. He’s held it together so far.]

There’s a death price. And I can’t afford lose anything.

[Daniil takes a hard swallow. He stares at nothing on the wall for a moment. He knew there were consequences to this. He he’d have to quit everything. But he pictured quitting from the comfort of his own city, his home, his lab. …with all the things he meant to do sorted out. The mysteries finished with. The town saved.]

[He crushes his eyes closed and presses his face into his hands.]

I’ll do it. But don’t tell anyone, please.

[badlydisarmed]

There's doctor-patient confidentiality— I don't know how modern that is, but it's part of the training. Doctors don't discuss their patients with other people.

[ There's some nuance to it, but in this case there aren't really any other doctors to discuss patients with, plus the point is to put Daniil at is. ]

Cw/tw for foreseeable tags for suicide discussion

[thantagonist]

Please excuse me for a moment.

[Danill stands suddenly and leaves the room.]

[I know what I have to do. ]

[I have no choice. I’ll have to trust Doctor Romano. ]

[I need to make this choice while my mind is still clear.]

[ He stands in his makeshift bedroom as time stretches out before him. He stares into the darkness of the room. Turning the light on would be too much.]

[He’s only gone thirty seconds before he snatches his doctor’s bag out of his room, coming back with his heart pounding. Sweat starts to bead at the nape of his neck. He holds his jaw tight with his lips pursed. He closes his eyes tight, breathing through his nose until he can slow his breath enough to talk properly.]

I need you to hold some things for me.

[badlydisarmed]

[ Robert has always known he's not meant to counsel. He's an okay teacher, sometimes, if the student has a backbone, but he's terrible when it comes to emotions and addiction.

But there's no one else, and Daniil is coming out from some nightmare scenario where he had no one else. So here they are. ]

Sure, I can keep them.

[ Not here, probably. Because this is a man getting rid of his stash, so he can't keep it somewhere obvious.

He'll have to keep a closer eye on the morphine downstairs too. Not that he thinks he could stop Daniil from getting some if he wanted to, but removing temptations is part of the support, isn't it? ]

[thantagonist]

[Daniil locks his eyes on Robert’s face as he pulls out two guns. A revolver and a little two shot. He places them on Robert’s coffee table.]

[badlydisarmed]

[ Those are not drugs.

He looks up at him, unable to conceal his surprise. ]

... if you have any extra ammo, you might as well let me keep it too.

[thantagonist]

[Daniil also pulls out drugs. It’s like a museum of drugs that no one takes anymore. Mercury. Rat poison. Opiates of horrifying concentrations. Stimulants that have long been banned.]

All the ammo I have is already in the guns.

[Daniil folds his hands in his lap to fight against his rebelling mind, his very instincts.]

[badlydisarmed]

[ Good thing he has two hands because it means he can put all of these away so much faster. He's not frantic about it or anything, but he is quick to find an empty drawer to store all of it in.

He'll move it later and probably set some kind of way to tell if the drawer's been opened. ]

Have you gotten familiarized with the earpiece yet?

[ It's also a good thing that Daniil didn't mention he was self-medicating with rat poison. This conversation would probably have gone poorly if he had. ]

[thantagonist]

[Daniil is already nauseous. It takes him a moment to hear Robert.]

I think so. Unless there’s some specific setting you’re referring to.

[Daniil refills his wine glass and gestures emphatically with his other hand. He pushes his hair out of his face, trying to will the panic away.]

[badlydisarmed]

There's an encyclopaedia, you can look for... pretty much anything.

[ That was probably Finch's doing too. They'd probably be stuck in the library without his contributions.

Robert holds out his glass for a refill though he's wishing he had something stronger than wine. ]

[thantagonist]

[Daniil refills Robert’s glass like they were students rather than respectable doctors.]

Why are you telling me this?

[badlydisarmed]

Why wouldn't I tell a colleague that there's an easily accessible and searchable encyclopedia?

[ Daniil can be addicted to knowledge rather than to rat poison. Plus, having something to do should keep his mind off the drugs. ]

[thantagonist]

[Daniil looks up at him miserably. He scrubs his face with his hands.]

I changed my mind. Give me my gun back.

[badlydisarmed]

That would be very mean, I've already formed an affective bond with it. I'm emotionally attached now.

[ He would fight him for this gun now and no one wants that. ]

[thantagonist]

[Romano has abs now, doesn’t he? He would win.]

Very funny. I’ve known my Debutant much longer. He was my first kiss. How do I know you’ll treat them right?

[badlydisarmed]

[ He does have abs. He lost weight at Solmara and he works out so he's kept them. ]

First partner in years, I wouldn't dare fuck it up.

[thantagonist]

[Daniil is the weaker between the two for sure then. He has broad shoulders, but his coat really pads him out. He pinches the bridge of his nose as groans.]

[This is going to hurt, isn’t it.]

[He knows it. He doesn’t have to ask or look it up in an encyclopedia.]

You’re a good man.

[It’s a little unclear if that’s keeping the joke going or a genuine admission. ]

[badlydisarmed]

I suppose I could be worse.

[ Are they done pretending there are no issues to address? ]

If you have trouble sleeping, wake me up. I bark but I rarely bite.

[thantagonist]

[It takes two to tango.]

Is that all, then? When would you like to see me for my check up, doctor?

[His voice is a little sharp.]

[badlydisarmed]

I wasn't planning to monitor you actively, but if you want regular appointments we can set them up.

[ Daniil isn't a child and Robert is a shit babysitter. If it turns out the man needs to be watched, Robert will figure it out but he'd really rather not. ]

[thantagonist]

[Robert had been careful to not call him an addict. But he knew tonight would be horrible. Tomorrow would be worse. They both knew this.]

[Likewise Daniil would rather not be watched.]

[Still. He was surprised. Were the roles reversed and a colleague came to him, he might offer to handcuff him to the radiator.]

[Hes not sure if he can actually avoid humiliating himself.]

I would comment on your negligence if I didn’t prefer it.