Characters: Abernathy, Bill Ford (NPC), the family doctor (NPC)
Setting: Friday, Upstate NY
Rating: SFW
Content: AB goes home to get her ear checked out.


Abernathy sat outside the floo station with her backpack slung lazily over her shoulder. Aunt Veruca had picked her up at school, brought her to the floo and dropped her off with a concerned hug. Bill was picking her up in a minute. He insisted that she come home early on Friday and had to haggle with Pendragon to get her out of school.

Their family doctor was going to check out her ear and recommend a course of action. A medi-wizard check up would be next weekend down in NOLA at Aunt Veruca's insistence, but Bill insisted on seeing a muggle doctor.

Abernathy was irritated at the whole situation.

She was missing the Valentine's dance, and while she didn't really have any plans (and she could easily avoid Sam at one of the most romantic events on campus) it bothered her that she couldn't chose to go or not go either way.

Bill pulled up in the jeep and punched his daughter in the shoulder as soon as she settled in the front seat. "You done fucked up good, kiddo."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Can we get this shit over with?"

He didn't argue with that, the worry etched in his face as he drove through the snow covered landscape to the doctor that had seen Abernathy since her very first cold. Once inside the office they sat tediously quiet in the pale blue waiting room. Billy wanted to offer his support, but he didn't know what to say to this troublesome daughter. He still didn't understand why some kid threw a quod at her and hadn't gotten in trouble for it.

The nurse smiled at the door. "You've gotten so big, Abby," she gushed. "Do you want your dad in with you?"

Abernathy looked furtively between the nurse and her father. She did want him with her, but she didn't. She was nearly an adult, yet she was desperate to have daddy hold her hand and tell her it was going to be okay. "Yeah, he can come along."

Bill followed them both through to the small exam room. AB took a seat on the edge of the table, sitting on paper that had been pulled down to cover the cracked leather. She sat in more nervous silence with her dad who was sitting on the old wooden chair stashed in the corner.

The doctor came in after the silence stretched almost to the breaking point. "Abby Ford. Haven't seen you in a few years. Not since that last nasty fall out of an orchard tree, if I remember correctly. How are they treating you down in New Orleans?"

He did remember correctly and she couldn't help the little smile tugging her lips. She shrugged about NOLA. "Not so bad."

"Ah, which is why you're here today, huh?"

AB smiled at the kindly old doctor and waited nervously as he fitted his otoscope up to his eye. He peered into her right ear and then into her left. "Oh yeah," he said. "There's been some damage done." He waited for an explanation and finally Billy spoke up.

"Some idiot down south lit a firework and it flew off right near her head."

"Lucky you didn't get burned," the doctor admonished.

"We have a great school nurse," Abby answered quickly. As a tag team, Bill and his daughter were fairly good at making up stories on the spot and staying consistent later on. They had to being wizards living in a muggle community; it was a simple survival skill..

"Any pain?" he asked still peering into her ear. He pulled the otoscope out and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Not as much as there was at first," she replied dutifully. "There's a bit of ringing still."

"Any dizziness?"

She shrugged. "It's not so bad. I can walk."

The doctor clucked his tongue. "Well, I don't think there's much I can do for you. You'll just have to tolerate the ringing for now. I'd hate to try and help and make it worse in the long run. You need to see a specialist."

This was what Bill suspected. Abernathy had undersold the problem on the phone, which instantly had him on high alert. "Any chance of getting an appointment this weekend?"

Shaking his head the doctor frowned kindly. "Doubtful, but I'll see if I can pull a few strings and get you into a friend down in Glens Falls. Early next week okay?"

Billy noticed the falling expression on Abernathy's face. "I don't want her to miss too much school over this."

"Next break isn't until April," she supplied.

"Oh, no. Don't want to go that long. The problem might get exacerbated without treatment. Let's see if I can't get you an appointment for Monday. You'll just have a long weekend from school," he added cheerfully.

Bill waited for Abernathy to make some sort of smart remark but she nodded quietly. "Anything I should do until then?"

"No loud noises. No music headphones, on the left side at least. No construction work," he teased kindly. "You can take some aspirin if it gets painful again. Call if you notice any severe changes and I'll come in straightaway to see you."

She nodded. It was just as well she wasn't at that stupid Valentine's Day dance. She'd have to wear those dorky earplugs Nurse Ducote offered her. She raised two fingers like she was in the girl scouts. "I promise to be on my very best behavior until I see the specialist."

The doctor knew the Ford children well enough to doubt that. "Take care. I'll have Melanie squeeze in an appointment for you and call as soon she knows the time."

Billy rose and shook the doctor's hand as they exited. It hadn't really solved the problem, but having seen a doctor was comforting to him in a way he couldn't explain if asked. He eased into the driver's seat and looked over at Abernathy who had grown steadily more quiet as the day progressed. He didn't like this silent creature in the place of his usually loud daughter. "You gonna make it?"

She sighed and didn't look over at him. She was too close to crying, that feeling of pent up emotion about to spill over choked her. She shrugged, knowing that he was watching her and hoping he'd leave it at that.

"Well. I'll tell you what, we'll go pick up something for dinner, whatever you want and we'll have an easy weekend at home." He wasn't going to tell her it would be all right; he didn't want to be proven a liar on Monday.

Just the same, she was grateful for the distraction he offered and nodded "yes" to the suggestion. Come Monday she'd have a better idea of what to expect and how much harder this was going to get.

Tags: !complete