Shifter Paradise Cafe

Anthony laughed at the reminder and nodded. "Two Anthony Special's coming right up," He announced before began to work on doing just that. Actually, though he would never tell her, there was a recipe to his madness though he made it so that no one really knew what it was. It had been a favorite of his roommate and Anthony had perfected the recipe until it was as detailed as it could be with the intent of making it for Kayla again. As he worked he began to hum, soft, gentle music that meant nothing but was pleasing to the ear. "Kayla?" he finally asked as he set the creation to bake for a few moments on the stove, turning to her with a big smile on his face. "This has been the most relaxing morning so far, despite getting up late. I've been running nonstop for the last four years it feels with my residency. It's... Well it's really nice to be back here, with you and this house and all the memories."
 
"Well, of course it was relaxing. You slept all morning long," she pointed out teasingly, then smiled and nodded. "I know what you mean. I haven't been running around a hospital or anything, but the restaurant keeps me pretty busy.. as you saw already," she explained, looking away for a moment. She hadn't meant to remind him of her torturous schedule. Crap. Maybe she could get him to forget about it again by talking about something else, but she doubted it. At least he seemed set to let her enjoy lunch before prodding her with medical things.


Eugh. Doctors.


"I'm really glad you're back.." she said quietly, looking back up at him.
 
Anthony looked over at her and sighed before he turned back to cooking. "I have no room to really complain about how much one works, as you said, running around a hospital is part of my job description, but last night you were nearly falling unconscious. Anyone with brains could have seen it. I can't... I can't stand people that put others in harms way just because they don't feel like doing a tad of work," he explained before he turned around with two large plates of food and placed one in front of the girl before taking his and sitting down next to her.

"I'm glad that I get to see you more often," he told her before looking down at his food and taking a bite. He approved, but would Kayla?
 
Kayla was silent at first, trying to think of a response. It really wasn't anybody's fault except for her own. She knew that he wanted to blame her boss, but Kayla had volunteered for the shift and knew it would be hard. It was just impossible to turn down hours when she was so hard pressed for cash. How could she explain that to Anthony? His life was perfect. He had a degree and an amazing job that mothers dream of their little boys getting. His parents were supportive and he was on the fast track to settling down in this small town with some cute little housewife and kids. That thought pained her.


"It wasn't her fault. I wanted the shift," she finally said, looking up as he set the plate in front of her. She took a bite and smiled immediately, glancing over at him. "This is even better than last time! One of these days I'm going to find out your secret," she declared, taking another bite happily.
 
Anthony looked at her and shook his head. "She should have refused you after so many hours. I'm not saying--" he started to say before her compliment was voiced and he grinned. "If you can find out my secret dear Kayla, then I'll teach you how to make the Anthony Special so you can make it whenever you want no matter if I'm around or not." Deciding to let the other point rest he looked away and took a few satisfying bites of his food. With a happy noise he devoured the rest of the food with a happiness that could only be given off by something that loved food. It wasn't the most healthy of options, but it was sure delicious.

"So, I figured, after I do a little check up, if you still feel up to it we could hang out for longer if I don't feel you need to rest more. If you are up to it that is," he said with a brighter smile as he finished off his food.
 
"Why would I ever want to make it when you aren't around? I'd never be able to eat all of this alone," she said, grinning back at him and continuing to eat. Honestly, what was in it didn't matter, because it was so delicious that she felt like she was going to burst. She was nearly done when he finished and brought up the check up, which made her grimace at him. Damn doctorly duties. She blinked at the rest of what he said and giggled.


"Anthony, I'm not made of glass. I think I can handle some hanging out. I feel weird not doing anything right now anyway. I should be serving the mid-day rush in my uniform right now, not sitting around.." she said, shaking her head a little and finishing off the lunch before settling back in the chair. That was the most she had eaten in a long, long time. It felt nice. "Can we skip the check up..?"
 
Anthony rose and shook his head before realizing that in all his excitement to get ready for the woman he had left his hair down and it went flying around him. Groaning softly he put the plate down and brushed it out of the way with an annoyed hand. He'd have to make sure that he tied it back before the check up. "No, Kayla, you nearly fainted yesterday. We should see if it's more than just exhaustion. You were running a small fever to. As a friend I would feel much better if you'd let me give you a check up. It won't be anything invasive, I promise. I just want to check your heart and lungs and your blood sugar and pressure. They are quick little things that could tell me if you are worse than you appear, or feel, to be," he explained as he washed the plates off and looked back up at him, strands of hair falling into his eyes. "I know you don't like us doctors, but you don't have to worry about me okay? I'm not going to try and make you do a billion tests like most of them do just to make you pay an arm and leg. And it's free. What's wrong with a free little exam?"
 
Kayla sighed softly as Anthony washed the plates, looking down at her lap. What was wrong with his free exam was that she knew he was bound to find something. There was no way for her to hide when it came to medical things. She couldn't fool the numbers. If he saw how little she weighed, or if her heart betrayed her by giving that oddly erratic beat while he was listening.. He would know. She knew that she wasn't the healthiest girl around, but she really didn't want him to worry. It was her problem, not his. The only good part was that he wasn't doing blood tests or anything, so her larger secret would remain nicely hidden.


"Yeah, okay.."
 
He smiled when he heard her agree and nodded, going around the island to give her a small hug from behind. "That's a good girl. You'll be fine, I know you will," he said softly to her before he turned and walked towards the living room. "Come on then. Let's get this done. If you'll sit on the couch while I go get my hair out of my face and the few things I'll need to do the exam." And with that he trotted up the stairs. He knew he didn't need to worry about Kayla as he brushed hair out of his eyes for the third time before blinking. Why did he keep his hair long when every one of his teachers had tried to get him to cut it? it took him a few moments but then he remembered. Because once, a very long time ago, Kayla had said it looked cool. That was enough for him to relax a bit and shaking his head, letting the hair settle around him naturally.

Quickly he pulled the hair tie he needed out and grabbed his medicine bag and was back down in the living room as if he hadn't just been remembering a time when it might have, somehow, been possible for him and the girl to be together, when he wasn't so tired or worn down that each night he needed to shift just to be able to keep human the next day. He was so tired, but so glad to be back in the town where Kayla was.
 
"I won't be fine. I'm going to be some sort of weird experiment for you or something," Kayla grumbled, getting out of the chair and following him to the living room. she took a seat on the couch and crossed her legs, her hands in her lap as she looked around. The pictures on the walls were updated a bit, but she recognized one on the mantle. She blinked and got up, walking over to pick the frame up and examine it. It was a picture of Anthony and herself, years ago, back in high school. They were sitting in a booth at the old arcade, sharing a basket of chili cheese fries. She smiled and set the picture back on the mantle carefully, turning just as he came back into the room.


"You really haven't changed much at all, you know," she said, shaking her head and sitting back on the couch. "No needles, right?"
 
Anthony blinked as he saw the picture and smiled. It was a fond memory of his, that day. It had been the day he'd decided to become a doctor and had been trying to get the courage to ask Kayla to date him before he left, but hadn't because she'd been just so happy at the arcade he didn't want to disrupt it. "What do you mean I haven't changed?" he asked as he put the bag down on the coffee table and opened it. "And only a small needle and you won't see it Kayla. I have to check your blood sugar, which will only need the smallest prick on your finger to test it." He pulled out the common instruments he would need to check her out. "Honestly you won't see the needle or feel it for more than a split second.
 
"I thought you weren't supposed to test blood sugar right after eating. Who knows how much sugar and crap you put in that Special of yours?! It's unreliable. Better to just avoid it entirely and not stab me with needles," she said quickly, crossing her arms to hide her hands from him. Childish, maybe, but she had more than one reason for not wanting her blood sugar taken. She shook her head a little and smiled, her mind going back to the picture. "And what I meant was that you're almost the same as you were in high school! Now you just carry around tiny swords of doom to jab into people.."
 
"Actually that is the case with most, but I know exactly how much sugar I put in that meal you just ate and I've studied the charts. If your blood sugar isn't very high after eating that then we need to definitely pay attention to your blood sugar on a normal day. Please, just let me check okay? It won't hurt, I promise Kay," he said softly with a gentle smile up at her before he took a small device that had a small button on it before he showed it to her. "You can even do it yourself while I get the test strip ready. I always hated have others do it to me. All you need to do is press that little button with the hole up against your finger and you'll feel a small prick and then it'll be over."
 
Of course he knew how much sugar he put in. Kayla was sorely tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but instead she just took the glucose meter from him and sighed. As if he really had to explain to her how to use it. Her mother used to use one every day, multiple times. He should remember that. She frowned and pressed her finger against the end, filled with horrible misgivings. What if somehow.. No. She couldn't afford to think about that. Instead, she pushed the button and flinched, then handed the meter back to him as she watched the small dot of blood appear.


"I'm going to die of blood loss.."
 
"You will not," Anthony told her with a gentle laugh before he took the machine that would test the blood and rested it against the blood that appeared before smiling up at the girl. "If you did then I wouldn't be much of a doctor now would I?" He set aside the machine while it processed the blood and quickly placed a small Carebear bandaid over the dot, grinning teasingly up at him before he rose. "See, all better, now you won't die of blood loss my friend."

He turned as the machine beeped and he picked it up. He frowned a little at the reading and looked over at her for a moment with a worried look. "Okay, we'll go with your lungs next and then your heart okay?" he asked as he picked up the stethoscope and sat next to her on the couch before hesitating with light pink cheeks. "If you'll um, place this under your dresses front over your right breast please, unless you feel comfortable with me putting my hand there instead."
 
"Aw, how cute! Are these from your personal stash? I always knew you had a soft side," Kayla teased gently as she smiled at the bandaid. She watched his expression closely as he looked at the meter, worrying the second that he frowned. How bad was it? He didn't mention it. She hesitated, then rolled her eyes and took the end of the stethoscope.


"You act like we don't know each other," she chided, placing it over her heart and holding it steady even though her anxiety was nearly making her shake.
 
"If I didn't know you then I wouldn't have as much problem with sticking my hand down your shirt for medical reasons, but you are my friend Kayla, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable around me," he explained before thinking. "And that just made me sound creepier than I already did. And yes they are from my personal stash. My personal stash for children patients that I helped my last semester of residency."

He quickly placed his hand over the tool and held it there for several moment, listening to the heart beat underneath. He counted them off and then frowned deeper as he recounted them before he looked up at Kayla and then shifted the small disk over to her other side. "All right, take a deep breath, hold it for a second and then release, please." he said waiting to listen to it before asking her to repeat it again on the other side. Already his worry was at least three times as much as it normally would have been because she was his friend. There was something seriously wrong with her for her heartbeat to be that irregular and her reading to have come back that low. When he was done he put the instrument away and stood in front of her, his fingers going up to touch her throat, testing for the lymph nods that were there to see if they were swollen.

"It doesn't look like you have an infection of some sort, but your blood sugar is very low," he told her before he took out a blood pressure machine and motioned for her to hold up her arm. "Just one more thing and we'll be done okay?"
 
"A bit creepy, yeah, but I forgive you," she said, laughing a little.


She moved her hand out of the way as he took hold of the end of the stethoscope, watching him since she had nothing else to focus on. The intensity of his eyes had changed over the years. There was less laughter and more of a mature determination. It wasn't an unattractive change, but she couldn't help but wonder where the boy had gone who she used to challenge to air hockey battles. He was missing, but was he gone?


His expression changed, she noticed. Frowning more. That wasn't good. She took a deep breath obediently, held it for the count of two, then let it out naturally. As he put it away, she tipped her head back slightly and let him press up against the nodes. Typical doctor thing. She relaxed when he said she didn't have an infection, but it was obvious he still wasn't happy. Deciding against protesting, she nodded and held up her arm as he gestured.


"You really should smile more, Anthony."
 
Anthony was working the instrument up around her arm, taking note of the lack of fat around the arm to protect the bone and muscles. While in most cases he would strongly urge his patients to lose fat and gain more muscle, her arms felt as if they were naught but skin, a little muscle, and bone. When she spoke he blinked and looked up at her, cutting off his internal dialogue of what was wrong with her. It took him a moment to realize what she had said and then he smiled, though there was still that unending worry in his gaze as he looked back down and secured the flap down before turning to take the pump and look up at her again.

"I'll smile when I know what is wrong with you and be able to find some way to make you better," he explained before he started the quick test which was automated. "Thus far the only things that are normal about you are your lymph nods and your breathing. Your heart is far too out ofsync and your blood sugar is really low. Depending on what the numbers are for this test, I may relax or get even more concerned. You are also underweight. I can tell that because I know you. This dress is tied far too tight in the back for normal and I could tell when I helped you up yesterday. You are exhausted, which would explain the collapsing yesterday, and underfed."

He said all this in a mater-of-fact way though his gaze was filled with worried as he looked at her. "The best thing that this modest doctor can say is that you need more food in your diet, more sleep, and a good dose of sugar in your diet--" he paused to look at the machine as it buzzed it's findings. "And a lot more red meats. Your blood pressure is low as well. Can you do these? More sugar, more rest, and more food? I know girls these days aim to be a size 0 but it isn't pretty to see, or healthy. I mean you are beautiful, I'm not saying you aren't, but you could use a bit more meat on your bones."
 
Kayla looked away from his worried eyes as he listed off everything that was wrong with her. There was nothing that she didn't know. Her heart was probably struggling to keep her going since her energy was spent on merely surviving while she worked at a normally punishing pace at the diner. She wasn't giving herself the energy because she didn't eat. It wasn't just a simple lack of appetite, but she could tell that Anthony thought she was losing so much weight on purpose. Sure, girls aimed for this size, but her? She had never cared.


"It's not like I'm this skinny because I want to be. You don't need to give me the eating disorder talk," she said, frowning and sliding the cuff off before standing up. This was a mistake, her conscience yelled at her. She had known, yet come anyway. Why? "I should go.."